Jerusalem municipality shuts down Shabbat coffee stand near cafe that caved to Haredi protests

Inspectors from the Jerusalem municipality shut down a coffee stand on Saturday that was set up by liberal activists near a cafe that announced it would no longer operate on Shabbat after weeks of protests by ultra-Orthodox demonstrators.

An inspector told the activists from the Hitorerut organization that they had “received orders from higher up” that the stand needed to be shut down, the Ynet news site reported, adding that there was no answer given when the activists asked who had given the instruction.

Reports said that the official line from the inspectors was that the stall did not have a permit.

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Adir Schwartz, head of Hitorerut and a deputy mayor of Jerusalem, said that the dozens of people who came to drink coffee at the stand showed that the secular residents of the capital were not willing to give up the fight.

“Today we proved that while violence may have succeeded in closing the doors of Cafe Basimta, it failed to close Jerusalem,” Schwartz told Ynet. “Dozens of Jerusalemites came here on Shabbat, drank coffee, sat together and showed that the liberal public does not intend to disappear and does not intend to give up its public space.”

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“We will continue to be here and fight for a free and liberal Jerusalem, where everyone can choose how they want to mark Shabbat for themselves. We cannot allow extremists to impose on us the religious wars that Jerusalemites are tired of,” he said.

Cafe Basimta has been the scene of sometimes violent protests by members of the ultra-Orthodox community. Counterprotesters have rallied in favor of the cafe staying open on Shabbat, with police on the scene on a weekly basis.

The coffeehouse said Thursday that the decision to close, starting this weekend, “was made after prolonged deliberation and with a heavy heart, out of a desire to prevent and calm the anger and restore peace to the cafe.”

The activists from the Hitorerut party — a faction in the Jerusalem municipality — announced Friday that they were determined not to give in to Haredi religious coercion, and that the coffee cart would be operated by volunteers.

Also on Friday, Yesh Atid MK Meirav Cohen said she met with the owners of the cafe to lend them her support, alongside Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Yosi Havilio, who has said he hoped to convince the cafe’s operators to reverse their decision.

“The story of a café that wants to open on Shabbat, because there’s enormous demand for it in the city, is the same story as the secular school in the Kiryat HaYovel neighborhood that they’re trying to push out, the same story as the light rail that ultra-Orthodox extremists are sabotaging,” Cohen said.

“Surrendering to bullying comes at an enormous price. I can’t place the full weight of the struggle for liberalism in Israel on the shoulders of a small Jerusalem café, but it was important to me to offer backing and explain the implications of their decision,” she said.

Haredi demonstrators have protested outside Cafe Basimta almost every Saturday since it opened in June on Agripas Street, where no other cafes open on Shabbat.

In some cases, protesters banged on the cafe’s windows and overturned tables. Last month, a woman put glue in the cafe’s lock, causing a brief delay in its opening on a Saturday morning.

Counterprotesters have rallied in favor of the cafe staying open on Shabbat, with police on the scene on a weekly basis.

Cafe Basimta is an official project of Jews for Jesus, a Christian missionary organization that seeks to convert Jews to believe in Jesus.

But the cafe’s religious affiliation caused unease among some secular Israelis who had rallied in support of it. The Hapoel Jerusalem soccer team withdrew an offer of free advertising for the business after learning of its ties to Jews for Jesus, while maintaining support for the cafe’s freedom to operate.

Jerusalem has become increasingly Orthodox over the years, driving out large segments of its secular population.

The clashes at the cafe came amid broader tensions in Israeli society on the issue of Haredi military service, with extremist ultra-Orthodox factions often holding violent protests against conscription.

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