Municipal inspectors shut down Shabbat coffee cart set up after Cafe Basimta ends Saturday service
Dozens visit volunteer-run stand before city officials give organizers ten minutes to remove it, citing orders “from above”
Municipal inspectors shut down a coffee cart set up outside Cafe Basimta in central Jerusalem on Saturday, shortly after it began operating in response to the cafe’s decision to close on Shabbat.
The cart was organized by Hitorerut, a liberal faction in the Jerusalem municipality led by Deputy Mayor Adir Schwartz. The group launched the initiative after nearly two months of ultra-Orthodox protests prompted Cafe Basimta to stop opening on Saturdays.
The cart was staffed by volunteers and supplied by an outside vendor, with no involvement from Cafe Basimta. Dozens of residents visited it before municipal inspectors arrived, according to Hitorerut.
Footage from the scene showed an inspector giving the organizers ten minutes to remove the cart, saying the order had come “from above.” The cart was subsequently cleared from the site.
Hitorerut said it would continue a crowdfunding campaign intended to finance the cart’s future operation.
Cafe Basimta announced on Thursday that it would no longer open on Shabbat after the protests repeatedly escalated into clashes and vandalism. The cafe said the decision was taken “with a heavy heart” in an effort to reduce tensions and restore calm.