Hamas-Themed Birthday Cake For 4-Year-Old Australian Boy Sparks Outcry

A four-year-old Australian boy's birthday cake with a Hamas theme that showed an operative surrounded by Palestinian flags has angered many on the internet. The cake was designed by a bakery in Sydney, which proudly shared photos of it on social media. Since the outcry, they have deleted their social media accounts. The Australian Federal Police are currently looking into the matter, as per a report in News.com.au

On Tuesday, Oven Bakery by Fufu shared pictures of the small child with his finger up, standing next to a big cake that was adorned with the Palestinian flag and an image of Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas. The toddler imitated the pose while wearing an attire like the person on the cake and a headscarf. Further, the image of the Hamas official also appeared on some cupcakes with a Palestinian flag.

Although a section of people appreciated the bakery for the cake and called the boy a "champion." However, many slammed the bakery, which forced it to remove its Facebook and Instagram profiles. Several people slammed the family for their decision to design a cake with such an insensitive theme.

Robert Gregory, CEO of the Australian Jewish Group, told the Daily Telegraph, "Dressing a child up as a terrorist, including with what appears to be a Hamas headband is reprehensible and a form of child abuse."

Australian politician Chris Minns added that the photos were "horrifying". "Kids parties should be innocent and fun, not hateful," he said.

Notably, according to the Australia government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the country has "listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation". It is illegal to support it, following a wave of anti-Semitic incidents that occurred during demonstrations against the war in Palestine last year.