4-Year-Old's Hamas-Themed Birthday Cake And Outfit Spark Outrage: 'A Form Of Child Abuse'
A bakery in Australia faced intense backlash after making a Hamas-themed birthday cake for a 4-year-old boy.
Sydney's Oven Bakery by Fufu was forced to shut down its social media pages after it shared on Tuesday a photo of the Australian boy posing with the large cake at what appeared to be his birthday party, the New York Post reported.
The cake was decorated with the Palestinian flag and a picture of Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida with his finger raised.
In the snap, the young boy wore a headscarf and outfit similar to Ubaida's and copied his pose.
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Ubaida was also depicted on the cupcakes that accompanied the birthday cake.
The bakery also posted photos and a clip giving a close-up view of the birthday cake, which was mostly black and white and featured two depictions of the masked Hamas member -- one at the top and another at the base of the cake.
Oven Bakery by Fufu later set its Instagram account to private and removed its Facebook page after receiving numerous negative comments over the post.
Several public figures spoke out against the Hamas-themed cake, including New South Wales, Australia, Premier Chris Minns, who described it as "horrifying" and "hateful."
Australian Jewish Association chief executive Robert Gregory also called out the child's family for dressing him up in the same outfit as Ubaida, accusing them of indoctrinating the boy at a young age.
"Dressing a child up as a terrorist, including with what appears to be a Hamas headband is reprehensible and a form of child abuse," Gregory was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
Hamas does not appear on the United Nations Security Council's list of terrorist groups.
However, some on X, formerly Twitter, thought the outrage was unwarranted.
"American kids will have a GI Joe birthday party and it's not news," one person commented.
"That's an Abu Obaida-themed cake. If little Aidyn can dress up like a cop or a US soldier, little Omar can dress as his hero," another wrote.
Another declared, "If I had a bakery, I would do this. Keep crying."
A deadly attack by Hamas-led militants in southern Israel in October 2023 killed around 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
Israel's subsequent military response in Gaza has left roughly 35,000 Palestinians dead, the Associated Press reported, citing the Gaza health ministry.
The International Criminal Court has accused two Israeli leaders -- including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- and three Hamas leaders of war crimes in connection with the conflict.
