Popular Israeli Food Chain Boker Tov Closes Final Belgian Outlet Amid Escalating Harassment

The Antwerp-based Israeli food chain Boker Tov has shuttered its last remaining restaurant and filed for bankruptcy, citing a relentless wave of hate messages, death threats, and boycott campaigns that made operations untenable. Owners Tom Sas and Sharon Printz, a Belgian-Israeli couple, described the ordeal as a mix of targeted antisemitism and wider anti-Israel sentiment, which intensified following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.

Launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Boker Tov quickly gained popularity for its fresh Israeli-Mediterranean dishes, including hummus, falafel, and shakshuka, evoking the vibrant food scene of Tel Aviv. At its peak, the chain operated four locations: two in Antwerp, one in Ghent, and one in Brussels. It even published a cookbook and drew a diverse clientele in Antwerp's historic Jewish quarter, home to around 20,000 Orthodox Jews.

The restaurants' welcoming interiors and outdoor seating became community hubs, but this success turned into a liability amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Shortly after October 7, 2023, Boker Tov posted a message mourning the attacks and calling for peace. This sparked an immediate backlash, including floods of negative online reviews, cancellations of catering events, and physical harassment such as spitting incidents. By late 2023, staff reported daily threats, and the owners noted insurance and security costs soaring due to safety fears for employees and family members.

"At one point, we were getting up to 1,000 hate messages per hour, including death threats, not over policy, but simply over identity," the owners told Haaretz.

Attempts to mitigate the damage, such as rebranding to downplay Israeli themes and altering interiors, proved futile. The Ghent location closed in September 2025, followed by one Antwerp site being listed for sale. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever visited an Antwerp branch in September 2025 to express support and condemn the antisemitism, but the chain's financial losses became insurmountable.

Critics, including some in online discussions, argue that business missteps, like rapid expansion during economic uncertainty, also contributed to the downfall, and question the lack of robust police action against reported hate speech and threats, which are criminal offenses in Belgium.

In Belgium, over 300 cultural institutions and 875 artists have joined calls for boycotts of Israeli entities, citing allegations of war crimes and genocide against Palestinians.

Jewish advocates and commentators decry the campaigns as veiled antisemitism, drawing parallels to historical economic exclusion of Jews. Israeli activist Hen Mazzig highlighted the case on X, stating, "What’s happening to Boker Tov is part of a wider pattern across Europe: Cultural spaces, businesses, and everyday life becoming hostile terrain for anything visibly Jewish or Israeli. History has seen where this road leads. Ignoring it never ends well."

Similar incidents include the closure of another Israeli-owned restaurant in Lisbon due to graffiti and intimidation.

European Union agencies have reported a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across Belgium, France, and the UK since 2023, often intertwined with anti-Israel activism.

Jewish leaders warn that such boycotts risk eroding communal safety and fueling demonization.