NEW YORK — Sabrina Naimark, a Jewish Panamanian living in Manhattan, had been a longtime fan of the city’s Israeli-owned Breads Bakery chain when she saw news that employees were rebelling against its ownership.

Some of the company’s workers voted to unionize this week, and among their demands was that Breads halt its “support of genocide,” citing offenses such as partaking in a Jewish food festival.

Naimark’s brother used to work for Breads and she adores its babkah and labneh, she said. When she saw a call in the Jewish community to support the bakery after the employees’ accusations, she headed to the chain’s Upper West Side branch with an Israeli flag on her shoulders.

“Because of October 7th, there’s a family that has been created and every single time we come with our flags to help companies that are being boycotted, to counter protests and celebrate Jewish pride,” Naimark said. “It’s a reminder that we’re always going to be here, stronger together.”

Naimark was one of hundreds in line on Friday afternoon to support Breads as the city’s Jewish community rallied behind the beloved bakery. The line stretched the length of the block on Broadway, with customers wearing stickers that said “Zionist,” chatting, and holding Israeli flags.

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The crowd gathered in response to a call from Shai Davidai, a Jewish community activist who came to prominence with his harsh criticism of antisemitism at Columbia University, where he was a professor until he resigned in July.


Shai Davidai outside Breads Bakery on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, January 9, 2026. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

Davidai circulated his call to gather at the Upper West Side location on Friday afternoon online, saying, “We need to show Jewish businesses that we have their backs.” The initiative was part of a project Davidai is launching called Here I Am, he said.

“It’s just nonviolent, peaceful activism. Everyone here basically came and said, ‘Here I am. There’s a problem, I got the call, and here I am to help solve it,’” Davidai told The Times of Israel, calling the union demands a “dangerous precedent” and an attack on Jews and Israelis.

“We came as a community, not just to support them financially, but to show them that the Jewish and the Zionist community is here,” he said. “Zionism is normal. We’re not these evil warmongers like we’ve been portrayed and only if we all come out of hiding together, that’s how we’re able to do that.”

“No hate, no anger, no arguments, just a show of solidarity and support,” he said.


Customers line up at Breads Bakery on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, January 9, 2026. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

The union, which is calling itself Breaking Breads, announced its demands on Tuesday, condemning the bakery’s participation in last year’s Great Nosh, a citywide festival of Jewish food held on Governor’s Island.

“The workers refuse to participate in Zionist projects such as fundraisers that support the ‘Israeli’ occupation of Palestine, baking cookies with the ‘Israeli’ flag, and catering events such as the Great Nosh, which are connected to organizations that donate millions each year to the IDF,” the group said.

The employees at Breads, a spinoff of a Tel Aviv bakery with six outposts in New York City, say “over 30%” of the company’s 275 workers signed cards in support of the union, which will be represented by United Auto Workers. They are alleging poor working conditions, low and unfair pay, and a lack of “respect” from management.

But the workers are also calling on the bakery’s operators, CEO Yonatan Floman and founder Gadi Peleg, to end Breads’ ties to Israel. Both men are Jewish Israelis, and Breads’ menu features items from across the Jewish diaspora that are popular in Israel, such as rugelach, challah, bourekas, and its award-winning babka.


Customers line up at Breads Bakery on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, January 9, 2026. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

“We cannot and will not ignore the implicit and explicit support this bakery has for Israel,” Breaking Breads posted on Instagram on January 1 in a statement that appeared in English, Spanish, Arabic, and French. It said it had announced itself to Breads’ management days earlier.

“We see our struggles for fair pay, respect, and safety as connected to struggles against genocide and forces of exploitation around the world,” the statement continued. “There are deep cultural changes that need to happen here, and we need to see accountability from upper management.”

US labor laws do not generally enable unions to make political demands of employers, or protect employees’ ability to take action for that purpose.

Despite anger at the union demands, the mood on Friday was upbeat among the customers, the employees were cheerful toward the sudden influx, and all the interactions were cordial.

Those in line were mostly Jews who were familiar with the bakery and lined up with friends and their pet dogs. Many bought challah for Shabbat dinners. Other supporters who could not attend in person placed orders online.

Several supporters said they saw the union’s demands as an abuse of union values.

Matt Driscoll, who has served as a teachers’ union representative, teaches at a school a block away from Breads’ Union Square location, where he often shops.

He said he was in favor of workers’ rights and the union’s calls for improved workplace conditions, but viewed their demands against Israel as discriminatory toward the owners.

“Other people are not allowed to discriminate against them and that’s what it felt like, to me, the workers were doing, even as a unionist myself,” he said.

“It’s not in solidarity with Israeli workers and Jewish workers. It harms them,” he said.

Maureen O’Kicki, who described herself as a secular, non-Jewish Zionist, came to the bakery after seeing posts on social media.

“I think it’s an unfortunate movement in our country to use unions for political purposes against Israel,” she said. “I think they obviously have an incredible history in our country, but I don’t think they should be used to weaponize antisemitism and anti-Zionism.”

In a similar incident, weeks after the October 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel, hundreds of Jewish New Yorkers showed up to support the Upper East Side’s Caffe Aronne after its employees quit due to the owner’s support for Israel.

“I’m really happy to see that there are a lot of people and it’s peaceful and we vote with our dollars,” said Lois Barth, who heard about the gathering at Breads from a friend and came despite not being familiar with the bakery before.

“This is what it takes. It’s grassroots. It’s being the foot soldier for what’s right,” she said.

JTA contributed to this report.