Overview
- The café’s management announced Thursday that it will no longer operate on Saturdays after about two months of repeated Haredi protests over its Shabbat opening.
- Protests outside the city-center café included thrown eggs and stones, overturned tables, attempts to force entry, glue placed in a lock, and reports of feces being thrown at the premises.
- The business is run by Jews for Jesus, a Messianic organization, which intensified opposition from Haredi groups and added a contested identity layer to the conflict.
- Supporters of the café repeatedly gathered on Saturdays to defend customers, once forming a human chain as police used force and stun grenades to disperse clashes.
- The closure underscores the larger dispute in Jerusalem over public life on Shabbat, highlights how local rules and social pressure shape business decisions, and may reduce immediate confrontations while leaving the wider conflict unresolved.