Activists have targeted a new Gail's bakery in Brixton with an anti-Israel protest involving posters showing bombs strapped to loaves of bread.

The upmarket bakery chain has faced an angry backlash from a protest group over both alleged ties to Israel's war in Gaza and 'gentrification' of the south London neighbourhood.

Billboard posters have been put up close to Brixton Market urging a boycott – featuring an image showing a loaf of Gail's bread wrapped by an explosive device. 

It follows other Gail's branches being vandalised by pro-Palestine protesters, including in Archway, north London.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism today condemned the posters which follow similar attacks on the chain elsewhere. Gail's denies links to Israel.

Gail's has been consistently targeted by activists who accuse the firm of complicity in Israel's military actions in Gaza, saying its largest shareholder Bain Capital invests in Israeli defence and cyber-security firms.

Activist group Strapline is behind the posters and urged people not only to stay away but also to protest against the arrival of Gail's in Brixton.

Slogans on the posters say 'A rising threat' and 'Avoid Gail's', linking the firm to what activists describe as 'the genocidal state of Israel'.

Accompanying text on the poster also accuses the firm of sitting 'at the intersection of aggressive corporate expansion which harms local communities'. 

The campaigners describe Gail's as embodying 'the current wave of what can only be described as late-stage gentrification in Brixton'. 

A spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism told the Daily Mail: 'Targeting a bakery because of perceived associations is collective punishment dressed up as virtue.

'Palestine activists have been targeting branches of Gail's for a long time now - sometimes violently.

'The association of the bakery with Jews, Israel and rapacious capitalism is a classic trope. The police should monitor this situation before it escalates.'

There has also been plenty of social media criticism of the posters - including many people saying they were now more motivated to go to Gail's rather than stay away.

One called the poster campaign 'pathetic', adding on X: 'Anything that tidies up the area around the Tube is to be welcomed. I am not a fan of Gail's but I will be going in for a coffee next time I am in Brixton.'

A fellow X user asked: 'Why on earth would anyone wish a business to fail, employing local folk?'

Another online commenter said: 'It's illogical to target them for having investors that also invest in Israel without targeting all the other chains that do and there are dozens of them, many near there.'

Speaking to the Mail, Sharise, 28 said: 'I think it is a good opportunity [for the community]. It is a nice cafe to go to and it is in the local area so I think it is a great idea.'

She added that she would be ignoring the boycott: 'Yeh [I will still support it]. People are allowed to have their own opinions and should be allowed to shop wherever they want to go.'

Chris Brown, 55, said: 'It means it is not another empty shop. When you go down Regent's street you see every other shop is empty. Oxford street every third shop is empty.

'Now when you see in Brixton empty shops, empty, empty, empty it is a bad sign. So anyone who wants to come to Brixton and be successful, good luck to them. I don't believe it is gentrification, it is for the benefit of everyone.

And the owner of a local fishmonger added: 'This is good for local businesses because it is a brand so people will come here because of it. So I think it is a good positive thing.'

Gail's is based on a firm founded in 1993 by British-Israeli baker Gail Mejia before Israeli entrepreneur Ran Avidan led its expansion from 2005 onwards, opening its first branch in nearby Hampstead, though neither remain involved with the business.

In 2021, with Gail's valued at £200million, Boston-based private investment fund Bain Capital acquired a majority stake in the business that now has 170 outlets across the UK.

Gail's branches have been targeted by anti-Israel activists, with the Archway outlet targeted for a second time last February by pro-Palestine vandals who smashed windows and painted anti-Zionist graffiti. 

The coffee shop's windows were smashed and messages daubed in red paint including 'Reject corporate Zionism' and 'support local business'.

The word 'boycott' was painted above the bakery's logo and an anarchist symbol was drawn near the door.

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'.

Activist group Strapline has shared video footage on Instagram of the Brixton posters being pasted up close to the new opening next to Brixton Tube station.

The accompanying caption states: 'Maybe it's their extortionate prices, or their algorithmically-driven predatory growth model, or it could be the fact that Bain Capital, its owners, have significant investments in the State of Isr*el.

'Or it could just be the fact that I'm bored of bland coffee shops dominating our urban landscape.

'Either way, late-stage gentrification has hit Brixton, or maybe it already had. It's easy to lose track.

'Love bread, bun Gail's. Instead why not support local businesses.'

Strapline said in a statement to Brixton Buzz: 'We want to draw attention to the damage being caused by Gail's bakeries across London through a capital-driven ownership which prioritises aggressive corporate expansion into our local communities.'

They also alleged Gail's was 'also maintaining significant ties to the genocidal State of Israel through investments into Israeli cybersecurity and defence firms'.

The approach has provoked criticism, with one online commenter saying, 'Sounds rather anti-Semitic to me. I'll be off to Gail's' – prompting Strapline to reply: 'You do that x.'

Other Instagram posters were more supportive, with replies such as 'Top notch' and 'I've been avoiding Gail's since they sold out.'

Another said: 'Brixton has fallen.'

While speaking to the Mail Shelia, 65 said: 'Well, I'm just really disappointed that you know something that is supporting Israel and the ongoing genocide that's going on there.

'That these companies are not being spoken to by our government. That more isn't being done. So people need to really get out there and find out.'

She now does not shop at Gail's: 'No, I used to until I learnt more about the boycott, and where they were, how they were supporting it [Israel].'

She now gets her coffee from the 'lovely little independent coffee makers like the Portuguese in the market back there, which does far better coffee.'

Archie, 27 said: 'I'm for it [being boycotted], to be honest. Gail's are everywhere and I'm pro Palestine. I'm not for the funding of Israel, but I mean it's so deeply ingrained in the economy, it's kind of hard to go to a shop that doesn't have some links to the genocide.'

While Anne and Jane, who are both 60 said: 'Our people have had to build up from nothing, from really bad places, and keep going and keep going.

'They started by buying up the houses, that's when prices started to go up. They started up the hill and now they are spreading like a contamination across the high street. So no I do not support it.'

Ugeema said: 'I agree with the boycott. I am trying to boycott as many shops as I can, Marks and Spencer is another one of them.

'They should be boycotted because of the genocide that is happening. And they [the boycotts] are working. They are feeling it. Boots, Barclay's I am also boycotting.

Gail's owners have previously hit back at claims that the company 'funds Israel' and say calls to boycott the chain are derived from misinformation.

A spokesman 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 Mr 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.'

A Change.org petition opposed to the new Gail's in Brixton attracted 1,321 signatures but planning permission was granted last month by Lambeth Council.

The petition's organisers said online: 'The proposed development of a Gail's Bakery branch in Brixton is causing genuine concern among residents and local business owners.

'Many fear that the introduction of another large chain bakery will not only disrupt the distinctive character of our area but also directly threaten the livelihoods of our cherished local bakers and café owners.

'Independent businesses in Brixton have thrived on community support, offering personal attention and unique experiences that large chains simply cannot replicate.

'This petition is not against bakeries or new investment in Brixton. Rather, it is a call to protect the area's independent spirit and ensure that development supports local entrepreneurs and preserves the distinct identity of the neighbourhood.'

Gail's says the new Brixton opening will bring 15 to 20 new jobs to the area and bring back into use a space lying empty since autumn last year, with the previous occupant being noodle bar Chopstix.

A spokesman said: 'We are a British bakery born and bred in London and believe that a healthy high street is a diverse one made up of many different businesses, from many different backgrounds, each playing its part.

'Our scale is a force for good - using growth to support exceptional farmers and producers, strengthen local food economies and help build a more resilient food system.

'We know Brixton has a strong sense of community and a brilliant mix of independent businesses, and we appreciate how much that means to local people.'

Other areas where there has been opposition to new Gail's branches have included nearby Crystal Palace and Walthamstow in north-east London – with critics warning about potential negative effects on local independent bakeries.

The baker chain was originally a wholesaler called The Bread Factory founded by Gail Mejia in 1993, supplying artisanal bread and cakes to restaurants and hotels from a site in Hendon, north London.

Tom Molnar and Ran Avidan, two business leaders working at one of the world's biggest consultancy firms McKinsey, bought half the company in 2003 and two years later opened a first branch in Hampstead, in the London borough of Camden.

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, cyber-security and software companies.