A branch of Aroma Café in Israel decided it wishes to receive kashrus certification, requiring it to close on Shabbos. The announcement to patrons was made on Sunday, 25 Tammuz, posted on Facebook. To the surprise of management, their announcement was met with many angry responses, including threats of boycott.

The announcement simply informed clients the branch was turning kosher, and therefore, it would no longer open on Shabbos, but it will continue serving patrons the remainder of the week.

The managers of the branch also wanted to turn to a target audience that was kosher and was not welcomed by many surfers and customers who were quick to condemn the move. “It’s too bad,” wrote one comment, “in a completely secular neighborhood that is ignoring the needs of the residents and financing the corrupt rabbinate? Response to a reporter in a similar vein, saying: “Too bad, your audience is mostly secular, and it’s really unfortunate and so is the freedom to return Petach Tikvah to the days when it was a religious city?!”

Later on came threats of boycott. “We will not arrive on weekdays, the whole idea is that there is an open center that provides services on Shabbos,” a surfer wrote, adding: “An excellent reason to stop entering Aroma.”

Another respondent even wished the managers of the place to lose their source of income. “I hope that your ‘holy’ audience will fill in the gaps, but in practice I mainly wish you to go bankrupt.” Another response said: “If you surrender to religious people like this in the heart of a secular neighborhood, you can forget about me in your other branches as well.” Another surfer wrote simply and declared, “You are boycotted.

It should be noted that along with the many angry responses, there were also those who went to the defense of the cafe and against those threatening the boycott. “In most cases,” he wrote, “places that carry out changes in kashrus do so from economic considerations. It is a pity to provoke hatred and boycotts about such a thing, just as you would not want to boycott your business that is closed on Shabbos for your considerations – do not do it to the landlord”.

Another commentator who criticized the criticism said: “I wonder what the reactions here would be if the branch was closed on Sundays because the owner is Christian or on Fridays because the owner is a Muslim.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)