The boss of a popular burger chain has gone into hiding after one of his restaurants was firebombed before protests erupted outside.
Hash Tayeh, who founded Burgertory in 2018, has moved his family to a safe house after he exploded into the news when he was filmed leading a pro-Palestine march in Melbourne’s CBD three weeks ago.
After the burger boss defended and doubled down on his stance his Caulfield restaurant was attacked by arsonists before 400 people protested down the street.
Mr Tayeh had previously asked people not to join the protest and had said that he feared for the safety of his workers who had already been threatened with violence.
Now he has launched a GoFundMe to help rebuild the destroyed Burgertory which has inflamed the issue again and attracted horrific comments online.
Hash Tayeh (pictured) has gone into hiding after his Burgertory store in Caulfield, Melbourne, was attacked by arsonists on November 10
Mr Tayeh has since launched a GoFundMe to try and raise the funds to rebuild his store (pictured after fire)
Mr Tayeh appeared on ABC’s Q&A before going into hiding where he explained to the panelists that he has become a martyr who now faces abuse daily.
‘I practiced my right to protest the genocide that is happening is Gaza, the media was weaponised against me and other pro-Palestinian protestors for standing up to injustice,’ he said.
‘How can we protect people standing up for injustices without the threat of being cancelled or defamed?’
Mr Tayeh, who has Palestinian heritage, claimed that his staff had been told that they work for a terrorist and that he had been called a pig in the streets.
‘I was told that I would be made a shaheed dog, which in translation means “you’ll be made a martyr of”, so someone’s threatened to kill me,’ he said.
Despite the abuse he has faced, Mr Tayah has continued to persistently push his pro-Palestine stance and appeared as a speaker at a rally on Saturday in Melbourne.
Draped in a Palestinian flag he promised not to be silenced or intimidated by the media or people on the street.
‘In the past weeks as I advocated for peace … my own establishment became a target,’ he told a crowd of thousands at the State Library.
‘The other day, in a cruel act of arson, our store was reduced to ashes. To those who sought to silence us with hate and violence I say: you will not succeed.’
Mr Tayeh has blamed ‘zionists’ for burning his store down and his GoFundMe says that the arson attack was a hate crime which left his store ‘unrecognisable’.
Thus far the campaign has raised more than $53,000 of it’s $300,000 goal, which will go towards rebuilding the Burgertory and providing staff support payments.
The burger boss has doubled down on his pro-Palestine messaging since the attack however, appearing at a protest again on Sunday where he vowed to not back down
Footage surfaced on Sunday showing two hooded figures setting Caulfield’s Burgertory alight at 4am on November 10
Messages on the fundraiser’s page left by those who chose to donate offer a mix of resilience and sorrow for ‘s current culture wars.
‘I wanted to share a message about hope. But I have none left. I am sorry dear,’ one woman wrote after donating $5.
‘On top of having to grieve the massive loss from the genocide, it is not fair for you to also have to grieve the loss of everything you have built for yourself and for your community,’ another woman who donated $10 wrote.
‘The message sent by destroying this store is to scare other prominent figures in our community into being cautious about speaking out and to punish those that do,’ a third added after donating $100.
Elsewhere on the internet trolls have been reveling in the destruction of Caulfield’s Burgertory by posting cruel torments.
One member of the Jewish community posted a video of the wrecked restaurant to X with the caption: ‘Something smells burnt, I’m not sure if it’s the cooking smell or the smell of burnt children in Gaza.’
‘I’m sorry I am so happy that this is an arson attack because this person is a pro-Palestine,’ the young man says in the clip.
‘Anyone that is pro-Palestine is a Nazi and deserves to be attacked. Maybe not killed, just ruined, ruin their life.’
The Jewish community has condemned the video and distanced themselves from the man who filmed it, stating that his comments were not an accurate reflection of their values.