Campaigners who accuse Pret a Manger of caving in to pressure to boycott Israel are staging a protest at one of the sandwich chain’s central London branches on Sunday.

Hundreds of people organised by Stop the Hate UK, an anti-discrimination group, are expected to gather at the Strand branch.

The group accuses the chain of scrapping plans to open a string of branches in Israel after pressure from pro-Palestine activists to ditch its investments in the Jewish state.

The firm has denied it caved in to anti-Israel militants, claiming that travel restrictions in the region have made it difficult to continue with the launch of its planned outlets.

Stop the Hate UK says its protest is aimed at the “discriminatory tactics of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement”. It claims the decision by Pret to abandon its expansion into Israel marks a surrender to the demands of a movement that perpetuates “divisiveness and hatred”. 

Movement seeks to ‘isolate and demonise’

Itai, the co-founder of Stop The Hate UK, said: “We cannot allow companies like Pret A Manger to give in to a movement that seeks to isolate and demonise Israel. This protest is not just about Israel, but about standing against the normalisation of anti-Semitism.

“We are here to show Pret and the world that the Jewish community, and those who stand with us, will not be silenced or marginalized. This is a call for justice, unity, and peace.”

Pret announced earlier this summer that it was abandoning plans to open 40 shops in Israel as part of an agreement with Fox Group, an Israeli retail group, and Yarzin Sella Group, a food service business.

The decision was hailed as a victory by pro-Palestine groups, who claimed it was the result of public opinion shifting against Israel over the military assault on Gaza, which followed the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas.

Ben Jamal, the director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “This decision sends a message to all companies – if you provide support for Israel’s apartheid and genocide against Palestinians, you will face the strength of our movement, who will boycott your products and protest at your stores.

“Israel has got away with crimes against humanity for too long. The people of the world are holding Israel to account by refusing to let their spending or saving finance war crimes. It’s high time our political leaders followed suit by ending arms sales, and financial and diplomatic support to Israel.”

Activists had begun to call for a boycott of Pret, arguing that investment in Israel while it conducts “a genocide in Gaza” was unjustifiable and reprehensible.

Pret denied its decision had anything to do with the campaign against investment in Israel. A spokesman said: “We have taken the difficult decision to end our current agreement with Fox Group and Yarzin Sella Group.

“We had tried to delay this decision for as long as possible, but the significant ongoing travel restrictions have meant that our teams have not been able to conduct the checks and training needed to set up Pret in a new market. Under the terms of Pret’s travel insurance, any colleagues travelling to Israel would not be insured.

“We want to express our sincerest thanks to the teams at Fox Group and Yarzin Sella Group, who have been supportive and extremely collaborative partners.”