A well-loved bagel business in Sydney found itself overwhelmed with negative feedback in the wake of a tragic shooting at Bondi Beach, which has prompted many Jewish families to contemplate relocating to Israel due to safety worries.

Candy Berger, the owner of Lox in a Box, operates her traditional Polish bagel stores across four locations in the city, including a shop in North Bondi.

This past Sunday, Berger and her team had to abruptly abandon their work when Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed, 24, allegedly opened fire on a crowd at Bondi Beach.

“Everyone just dropped what they were doing and ran to find safety,” Berger recounted in a video shared on Instagram.

She expressed her shock and heartbreak over the incident.

Following the attack, Berger was dismayed to find her business flooded with one-star reviews, which she subsequently highlighted through online screenshots.

‘My alarm went off, I had to gain all my strength and courage to get out of bed this morning and show up for my team and community,’ she said. 

‘This (the screenshot) is what I woke to in my inbox… It’s so disheartening, where’s our collective humanity?’

Within hours of the attack, her business was plagued by one-star reviews (pictured)

Ms Berger said her staff has been undertaking safety training after the massacre

Ms Berger added: ‘Antisemitism is not a joke… posting negative antisemitic reviews can really harm a small business like ours.

‘We have always been a super inclusive business, we have always tried our hardest to never exclude anyone, so reviews like this actually do hurt, personally.’

The screenshot showed at least six reviews posted within three hours, all giving the business one star for ‘service’. 

Ms Berger has been open about the struggles she and her terrified staff have faced since the massacre, with her team now undergoing safety training.

‘We are not okay. Our hearts are broken. Our staff are terrified,’ she wrote. 

‘We are devastated. We stand by our community and are deeply affected by the horrific terrorist attack.’ 

It comes as a growing number of Jewish families consider leaving Australia for Israel after 15 people were killed in the shooting at Bondi. 

The Zionist Federation of Australia said there has been a significant uptick in Jewish Australians moving back to Israel since the October 7 attacks in 2023.

Lox in a Box owner Candy Berger (pictured) said her team fled mid-service when two alleged gunmen opened fire on a crowd celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach

A growing number of people in Australia’s Jewish community are considering if they should flee the country for Israel in the wake of the Bondi massacre (tributes placed at a memorial)

Jewish mother Chavi said she and her family felt like ‘sitting ducks’ in Australia after the attack

President Jeremy Liebler said he expects that number to rise in lieu of the horrific attack at Bondi. 

‘I think what shifted after Sunday – and again, this is very, very, very fresh – it’s shifted to a genuine sense of fear about their physical security, from a fear about their place in society,’ he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

‘It’s very fresh, so are people packing their bags? No. I don’t think people make these decisions in a snap. But if you’re asking me, “have these events caused a very real rethink of our role in our place in this country?” Yes, it has.’

Jewish mother Chavi, 27, said she and her family now feel like ‘sitting ducks’ in Australia.

She used her body as a human shield to protect her seven-month-old son as shots rang out at the Hanukkah event on Sunday night.

‘Definitely we have thought about moving to Israel, but you vacillate between it and Australia, you meet Australians who are good and supportive,’ she said, adding she couldn’t ‘abandon’ the Jewish people in light of the tragedy.