Hash Tayeh speaks out on alleged attack: ‘A firebomb, a weapon of hate, threatened the safety of my innocent two-year-old son’
Palestinian activist and burger restaurant owner Hash Tayeh says his Templestowe Lower home was the “target of terror” after a molotov cocktail was allegedly hurled at the property.
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Arsonists have targeted the family home of Burgertory restaurant chain owner and Palestinian activist Hash Tayeh.
Attackers allegedly threw a molotov cocktail at his Templestowe Lower house early on Friday morning.
Mr Tayeh had delivered a public address at a pro-Palestine rally the previous day.
It comes after his Burgertory restaurant in Caulfield North was torched in November.
Mr Tayeh said the mystery arsonists torched his family home while he and his family were asleep inside
“On Thursday after our Flinders Street rally, in the dead of night, while my family and I slept, our home became the target of terror,” Mr Tayeh wrote on Instagram.
“A firebomb, a weapon of hate, threatened the safety of my innocent two-year-old son, burning directly beneath his bedroom.
“Where was the protection we deserved? While police flood peaceful protests and guard corporate giants like McDonald’s and Starbucks from stickers, where were they when our sanctuary was under attack?
“I refuse to be silenced by fear, I demand justice.”
Footage of the attack on Mr Tayeh’s home shows a hooded figure in pale clothing throwing the explosive at his property before walking away.
A second camera trained on the home shows the molotov cocktail sparking flames in an area Mr Tayeh said was located next to his young son’s bedroom.
The Caulfield restaurant was torched on November 10, just hours before a violent clash at nearby Princes Park, when a Caulfield synagogue was evacuated as hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the area.
Members of the pro-Palestine and Jewish communities clashed, with police forced to pepper spray one man and tackle another to the ground.
Two men, 27-year-old Habib Musa and 24-year-old Wayle Mana were both charged over the fiery attack on Burgertory, which allegedly caused $450,000 worth of damage.
Both men will return to court for a committal mention on May 30.
Mr Tayeh late last year flew to Egypt to help deliver aid for Gazan civilians and has previously said he believed the attack on his restaurant was a hate crime.
He has remained a vocal critic of the conflict in Gaza and has attended several rallies in Melbourne’s CBD in support of Palestinian civilians.
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