Odeya Azoulay, one of Israel’s leading singers and the face of fashion retailer Adika, asked the company to shut down its newly relaunched website on Saturdays, bringing one of Israel’s most persistent debates over religion and public life into the world of online shopping.
The revamped Adika website went live two days earlier, but visitors who tried to shop Saturday were instead greeted with a message saying, “Tzadikot, see you after Shabbat” — using a playful Hebrew term meaning “righteous women.”
Odeya Azoulay
(Photo: Omri Silver)
The closure is significant in Israel, where observance of Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest that runs from sundown Friday to nightfall Saturday, has long shaped political and cultural disputes over commerce, public transportation and other services. While many businesses close during Shabbat, online shopping sites generally remain accessible because purchases do not necessarily require employees to work in real time.
Religious faith is a central part of Azoulay’s personal and artistic identity. The popular singer, known professionally as Odeya, has previously spoken publicly about becoming more religiously observant.
Adika, however, is not specifically aimed at religiously observant consumers or women who follow Jewish modesty standards in dress. The decision to close the site on Shabbat therefore quickly became a subject of debate among shoppers. Many voiced support for the move, while others said they would boycott the retailer.
Some critics also questioned whether ticketing websites continue to allow customers to purchase tickets on Shabbat for Odeya’s own concerts, pointing to what they described as a potential inconsistency between the singer’s position on the fashion site and sales connected to her performances.
The Adika brand was revived this month under the name Adika Studio, with its website operating under the Adika Style domain. Odeya was chosen to lead the relaunch as the face of the brand and its new marketing campaign across social media and other platforms.
Her role extends beyond conventional celebrity endorsement. She is also involved in the brand’s content and collections, including decisions on styling, design and individual items.
Adika was founded in January 2012 by Adi Ronen and Dedi Schwartzberg and became one of Israel’s early online fashion success stories. The company helped usher in a shift among Israeli consumers toward online fashion shopping at a time when brick-and-mortar stores still dominated the market. It sold original designs and accessories, some imported from China.
Golf Group, a publicly traded Israeli fashion and retail company, acquired a 75% controlling stake in Adika in January 2015 at a valuation of about 40 million shekels, then roughly $10 million. A full merger of Adika into Golf Group was completed in 2022.
Adika also operated an international website, while Golf expanded the brand into physical stores. But the business later struggled, and Golf decided in late 2023 to discontinue the brand. Adika’s website and stores were liquidated and permanently closed in April 2024.
Its revival this month marks an attempt to bring back a brand once closely associated with Israel’s transition to online fashion retail — this time with one of the country’s prominent young singers playing a central role in its identity and products.
Golf Group is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Clal Industries, controlled by billionaire Len Blavatnik, owns a 52.6% controlling stake in Golf, while Steimatzky Group, owned by Eyal Greenberg, holds 15.5%. The remaining shares are held by institutional investors and the public.
Responses from Golf Group and Odeya will be published when provided.