A newly launched branch of the well-known London bakery chain Gail’s was defaced after demonstrators staged a pro-Palestinian protest accusing the company of supporting Israel, JTA reports.

The chain, which operates around 170 stores across the United Kingdom, recently opened a location in north London. The debut was met by a small group of protesters holding a large banner reading “Boycott Israel For Genocide And War Crimes in Gaza.” Another placard alleged that the company was “funded by investors in apartheid,” according to video footage of the protest shared online.

In a clip posted to X, a Jewish passerby challenged the demonstrators, asking, “Why are you protesting a UK-based business saying ‘Boycott Israel’? Is it because they’ve got Jewish directors?”

One of the protesters replied that the bakery’s earnings were “going to private equity owners and investors” who had invested in Israeli “war tech.”

After the demonstration concluded, the storefront was splashed with red paint, and graffiti was scrawled across the exterior reading, “Boycott Gail’s, funds Israeli tech.”

The Metropolitan Police in London said no arrests had been made in connection with the incident and that officers were “continuing to review other footage to identify any lines of enquiry that might help to identify the suspects.”

Gail’s began in the 1990s as a wholesale baking operation founded by Israeli bakers, including Gail Mejia and Ran Avidan. The company opened its first retail location in 2005.

In 2021, the business was purchased by the American private equity firm Bain Capital, which has holdings in Israeli technology firms.

“We are a British business with no specific connections to any country or government outside the UK,” a spokesperson for Gail’s told the Jewish News. “Our focus right now is on working with the authorities and making sure our people feel safe and supported.”

The north London incident is not the first time a bakery with Israeli roots has faced protests. In the United States, the Israeli-inspired chain Tatte has been the subject of both in-person and online demonstrations. In New York City, the Israeli bakery chain Breads recently encountered unionization efforts that referenced the establishment’s “support of the genocide happening in Palestine.”

Jewish organizations and leaders in the UK swiftly condemned the vandalism, warning that it reflects a growing pattern of targeting businesses perceived to have Jewish or Israeli ties.

“Targeting a business on the basis of alleged or perceived Israeli and or Jewish connections reflects a very worrying trend. Across the UK, companies and individuals are increasingly singled out by reference to their association, real or otherwise, to Israel, with an inevitable disproportionate impact on the Jewish community,” a spokesperson for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said. “That is not legitimate protest; it is creating an atmosphere of intimidation for Jewish businesses, staff and customers. And is part of a wider trend to try and drive Jews out of wider civil society.”

The European Jewish Congress also denounced the incident, calling it “deeply concerning” in a post on X.

“Targeting a local business because of perceived Jewish or Israeli associations reflects a troubling normalization of hostility that must be firmly rejected,” the post read. “Such acts have no place in our societies and must be unequivocally condemned.”

British Labour Party Member of Parliament David Taylor criticized the protest as well, writing on X, “This is pure anti-semitism, no ifs, no buts.”