Haredi calls for boycott of bread giant after board chair protests leading rabbi

Haredi politicians and groups have called for a boycott of Angel Bakeries, one of the country’s largest bread enterprises, after Omer Barlev, the chair of its board of directors, protested outside the home of a leading ultra-Orthodox rabbi.

The calls were already heeded by several yeshivas, considered Angel Bakeries’ biggest customers, which canceled their orders for bread, the Ynet news site reported Friday.

Participating in Thursday’s “protests” against the government’s contentious plans to drastically weaken the judiciary, Barlev, a former public security minister, sparked outrage among the Haredi community after he posted a photo of himself outside the home of Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the 100-year-old spiritual leader of the United Torah Judaism party.

Barlev stood alongside protesters from the Brothers in Arms reservist group, with banners declaring, “Without enlistment there is no reconciliation,” in reference to demands for an end to the blanket military service exemptions afforded to Haredi yeshiva students.

Barlev wrote that the government’s plans to pass a law exempting Haredi men from military service was a “bribe” to convince politicians of the need to back the judicial overhaul plans.

“Beyond and in addition to the importance of military service for all, the law of ‘inequality of the burden’ that the coalition intends to enact is a bribe by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Justice Minister Yariv] Levin to Haredi parties so that they will vote for the judicial overhaul,” Barlev wrote.

עכשיו בבני ברק עם אחים לנשק. ומה הקשר בין ההפיכה המשטרית לשוויון בנטל? מעבר ובנוסף לחשיבות שרות הבטחון לכל, חוק ה"אין שוויון בנטל" שבכוונת הקואליציה לחוקק הוא השוחד של נתניהו ולוין למפלגות החרדיות בכדי שיצביעו בעד ההפיכה המשטרית. pic.twitter.com/VPrfFbR7G5

— עמר בר-לב (@omerbarlev) May 4, 2023

Haredi politicians were quick to come out against Barlev, and Angel Bakeries by extension, with one lawmaker saying it called into question whether the company’s kosher certification was reliable.

“Barlev doesn’t understand what the Torah is and what is great about the Torah. Everyone needs to decide if it is permitted to buy food products from him. I despise him!” wrote United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni. “We should seriously consider if we can trust their kashrut.”

Shas chair Aryeh Deri retweeted a post by Haredi journalist Yaakov Rivlin calling for a boycott of Angel.

Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech told Kan radio on Friday that she will also join the protest against the company.

“It cannot be that the chair of Angel’s board of directors goes to protest at the home of one of the greatest of this generation. Barlev’s remarks are very problematic, hostile, deeply hateful, and ignorant of this world. The boycott will end when Omer Barlev faces judgement. The boycott needs to continue until he is fired,” the far-right lawmaker said.

However, the call to boycott Angel was met by counter-calls among opposition politicians and anti-judicial overhaul protesters for supporters to buy bread from the bakery.

On Thursday, Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman posted a photo of himself purchasing Angel bread in response to the boycott calls.

“To the best of my knowledge, the State of Israel is still defined as a democracy and people are allowed to express their positions. We will not allow ultra-Orthodox activists to harm the livelihoods of Israeli citizens,” he tweeted.

בדרך חזרה הביתה עצרתי לקנות חלות לשבת במאפיית אנג׳ל. למיטב ידיעתי, מדינת ישראל עדיין מוגדרת דמוקרטית ולאנשים מותר להביע את עמדותיהם.
לא נאפשר לעסקנים החרדים לפגוע בפרנסה של אזרחי ישראל. pic.twitter.com/2YUrbEQnJn

— אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) May 4, 2023

Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak said he began his Friday morning by purchasing bread from the company.

“Rotten and brazen politicians, who are demanding to double the budgets for Yeshiva students and add no less than NIS 2 billion to education that doesn’t teach core studies and submits Haredi children to a life of ignorance and poverty, are also trying to harm the livelihoods of hundreds of Angel’s workers,” Beliak tweeted.

Up until last month, Netanyahu’s coalition moved at high speed with proposals to bring most judicial appointments under government control and curb the oversight powers of the High Court of Justice, but halted the process for talks on a compromise deal amid mass nationwide protests.

The ruling Likud party has been seeking to delay passing the draft law, fearing additional public pushback if it works to pass unpopular legislation after losing significant support over the overhaul.

Haredi Knesset members have leveraged the upcoming vote on the 2023-2024 state budget in late May to push for progress on the exemption law. The budget must be passed by May 29 to prevent the Knesset’s automatic dissolution, resulting in snap elections.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.