Kemi Badenoch has branded an article in the Guardian ‘disgusting’ – after it claimed the opening of a Gail’s bakery near a Palestinian cafe is ‘heavy-handed aggression’.
The Conservative Party leader condemned the opinion piece today, saying it is ‘appalling’, ‘ridiculous’ and ‘antisemitic’.
It follows a storm of accusations on social media after the column suggested the presence of the new Israeli-founded bakery near the independent cafe was ‘symbolic’ of the war in Gaza.
The Israeli embassy’s spokesman in the UK, Alex Gandler, said the piece, published on Saturday, was ‘an astonishing exercise in bigotry disguised as moral commentary’.
Ms Badenoch has now waded in on the debate, telling the Jewish News it is ‘extraordinary that Gail’s bakeries are being attacked now, supposedly because they are Israeli-owned’.
She said: ‘This is just a cover; it’s antisemitism. It is disgusting. We need to stamp out this culture.
‘We need more enforcement, more punishment for people who carry out these violent acts… they are trying to intimidate people.
‘I think it was an utterly ridiculous column… appalling, actually.’
Kemi Badenoch (pictured) has branded an article in the Guardian ‘disgusting’ – after it claimed the opening of a Gail’s bakery near a Palestinian cafe is ‘heavy-handed aggression’
A Gail’s in Archway, north London, pictured after it was attacked by vandals. A Guardian opinion piece prompted outrage after it described the opening of the shop as an ‘act of heavy-handed high-street aggression’ against Palestinians
The Guardian article features an interview with the Palestinian owners of Cafe Metro, Faten and Mahmoud, in Archway, north London – where a new branch of Gail’s was recently established.
Mahmoud said that ‘we compete with them (Gail’s) legally’, adding they had nothing to do with vandalism on the store before it opened.
Faten and Mahmoud had themselves been the target of violence by pro-Israeli activists previously.
Gail’s was founded by Israeli baker Gail Mejia in the 1990s before being rapidly expanded by Israeli entrepreneur Ran Avidan from 2005 – but both are no longer linked to the company.
In 2021 Boston-based private investment fund Bain Capital acquired a majority stake in the business – which now has dozens of shops across the capital and its outskirts.
A string of Gail’s branches – including its new Archway cafe – have recently been targeted by anti-Israel activists who claim it has close connections to the Middle Eastern country.
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’.
In this weekend’s feature, Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew described the arrival of Gail’s 20 metres away from Palestinian-owned Cafe Metro as ‘symbolic’ and ‘an act of heavy-handed high-street aggression’.
Is the row over Gail’s bakery opening being blown out of proportion or is the criticism justified?
The article features an interview with Palestinian cafe owners in Archway, north London, pictured, where a new branch of Gail’s was recently established
Mr Liew wrote: ‘Critics accuse (Gail’s) of accelerating gentrification and squeezing out smaller outlets. Campaigners point out that its parent company, Bain Capital, invests heavily in military technology, including Israeli security companies.’
He added: ‘And so even though Gail’s describes itself as “a British business with no specific connections to any country or government outside the UK”, its very presence 20 metres away from a small independent Palestinian cafe feels quietly symbolic, an act of heavy-handed high-street aggression.’
But Ms Badenoch said: ‘What it was insinuating, in my view, was based on antisemitism. We are a country where it hasn’t mattered where you’ve come from… we have always been open and tolerant.’
The Guardian today responded to anger over the column, telling the Jewish News: ‘Complaints about Guardian journalism are considered by the internally independent readers’ editor under the Guardian’s editorial code and guidance.’