A new branch of a Gail’s bakery has been targeted for a second time by pro-Palestine vandals who smashed windows and painted anti-Zionist graffiti.
The shop in Archway, north London, only on opened last week but has been repeatedly attacked as part of an ‘intimidation’ campaign.
The coffee shop’s windows were smashed and anti-Zionist messages were sprayed onto the front early on Wednesday morning.
‘Reject corporate Zionism’ and ‘support local business’ were daubed in red paint, while ‘boycott’ was painted above the bakery’s logo and an anarchist symbol was drawn near to the door.
Gail’s has been consistently targeted by anti-Israel activists who claim it has close connections to the Middle Eastern nation.
The chain was founded by Israeli baker Gail Mejia in the 1990s and rapidly expanded by Israeli entrepreneur Ran Avidan from 2005 – but both are no longer linked to the company.
The business says it has ‘no links with any country or government outside the UK’ and its chief executive has branded the campaign against it ‘completely unacceptable’.
The latest assault took place shortly after 1am on Wednesday.
The coffee shop’s windows were smashed and anti-Zionist messages including ‘reject corporate Zionism’ were sprayed on the front
The coffee shop’s windows were smashed in what was the second attack in less than a week
In a statement, the Met Police said: ‘It is believed the offences were committed at around 1.12, when several windows were smashed and paint sprayed at the business.
‘Officers have attended the cafe and spoken to staff. Enquiries are ongoing to establish whether the latest incident is linked to a similar incident of criminal damage on Wednesday, 18 February, when officers attended the business within minutes of it being reported to the police.’
The previous attack on the Archway branch took place just hours before it opened to the public.
A small crowd of protesters arrived as the shop doors opened. Some held signs calling for people to support local businesses rather than the bakery retailer, which now operates in more than 170 locations across the UK.
But others held up signs suggesting Gail’s was ‘funded by investors in apartheid’.
One held a sign saying: ‘Boycott Israel for genocide and war crimes in Gaza.’
Tom Molnar, the co-founder and chief executive of Gail’s, said the ‘repeated attempts’ to ‘intimidate and endanger’ were ‘completely unacceptable’.
He said: ‘We remain focused on playing a positive and meaningful role in feeding people better and attempts to disrupt our commitments to the communities we serve are primarily unkind and ill-informed.
‘Our immediate priority is to work closely with the relevant authorities to help ensure this does not happen again and provide reassurance to our bakery teams.
Pro-Palestine protesters arrived at the newest branch of Gail’s which opened in Junction Road, close to Archway Tube station, on Thursday
Pro-Palestine vandals daubed the words ‘Free Gaza’ and threw red paint over a newly opened branch of Gail’s, as activists accused the bakery chain of ‘funding Israel’
Gail’s has previously faced accusations of being Israel-owned or backing Israel’s ‘war machine’ – claims that the company owners have disputed
‘As we have previously made clear, we are a British business with no links to any country or government outside the UK.’
Gail’s is currently owned by Pizza Express entrepreneur Luke Johnson and American investment firm Bain Capital.
Bain was among 500 other venture capital firms that signed a letter in support of Israel following the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, and it has investments in Israel, including in AI, cybersecurity and software companies.
The owners have previously hit back at claims that the company ‘funds Israel’ and says calls to boycott the chain are derived from misinformation.
A spokesperson told The Guardian in 2024: ‘Gail’s is a UK-based business with no specific connections to any country or government outside of the UK and does not fund Israel.’
Meanwhile, co-founder and chief executive Tom Molnar told The Times previously: ‘Gail’s proudly has Jewish roots and there’s plenty of stuff out there celebrating our heritage and history, but it’s not true it’s Israel-owned.’
‘There’s some just crazy stuff on the web thinking we are funding Israel, which is just completely ridiculous.
‘We’re a wholly UK-based business, paying UK taxes, it’s just ludicrous and I think it needs to be called out.’
Nevertheless, a small crowd of demonstrators turned up outside the chain’s newest branch to protest against ‘gentrification’, the company’s ‘dodgy record on workers’ rights’ and false claims of its funding of ‘Israeli war tech’.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism told Daily Mail: ‘In case anyone required further proof that this is not a peaceful movement, here it is.
‘This is yet more blatant thuggery from pro-Palestine extremists trying to pass off intimidation and vandalism, driven by a blind hatred for the world’s only Jewish state, as progressive activism.
‘Smashing up a branch of Gail’s does nothing to advance peace in the Middle East; it simply spreads hate on British streets.
‘The Metropolitan Police must ensure that those responsible face the full consequences of their actions.’
