Hundreds rally at Jerusalem Shabbat cafe turned flashpoint for religious-secular tensions
Weekly protests over cafe’s decision to open on Shabbat have drawn opposition leaders, including Democrats chief Yair Golan, as religion-state tensions move to the fore in the election campaign
Hundreds of Israelis gathered outside Jerusalem’s Basimta cafe on Saturday to support the business as ultra-Orthodox protesters returned to demonstrate against its decision to remain open on Shabbat, in a dispute that has become an election-season flashpoint over religion and state.
Dozens of police officers were deployed near the cafe in central Jerusalem as verbal clashes broke out between the two sides. Objects and liquids were thrown at ultra-Orthodox protesters from nearby apartments.
The confrontation has repeated itself for several consecutive Saturdays, drawing growing numbers of supporters of the cafe as well as ultra-Orthodox demonstrators demanding that it close on Shabbat. It began on July 4, weeks after Cafe Basimta opened in Jerusalem's Nahlaot area. Dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters arrived in several waves, shouting "Shabbos," banging on windows and, according to cafe staff, overturning a table.
Opposition politicians have increasingly joined the counter-protests, including Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats party, who arrived at the cafe on Saturday, turning the dispute into a broader political battle ahead of Israel’s election.
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The cafe has also faced scrutiny over its links to Jews for Jesus, a Christian missionary organization, a revelation that prompted some previous supporters to distance themselves.
The protests nevertheless continued, with the site emerging as a symbol of wider tensions in Jerusalem over Shabbat observance, religious coercion and the role of ultra-Orthodox parties in public life.