Overview
- Cafe Basimta announced on Thursday that it will no longer open on Saturdays after nine consecutive weeks of protests that turned the business into a flashpoint in the city.
- Management, which says the cafe is run by the Messianic group Jews for Jesus, said the decision was made to lower tensions, protect customers and staff, and because the conflict ran counter to the organization’s stated values.
- The protests began in early July and escalated to physical attacks including thrown eggs and stones, overturned tables, glue in a lock and a bag containing feces, while supporters staged counterprotests and formed protective human chains.
- Politicians and public figures criticized the closure as a concession to ultra-Orthodox pressure, calling it evidence of rising religious coercion and prompting some municipal leaders to explore ways to keep a Saturday café presence in the area.
- The episode highlights a wider fault line in Jerusalem over Shabbat regulation, local bylaws and anti-missionary sensitivities, and arrives as debates about public life and religious coercion are sharpening ahead of national elections.