'Result of haredi terror': Jerusalem's Basimta Cafe to close on Shabbat after weeks of protests

Jerusalem’s Basimta Cafe will stop opening on Saturdays after weeks of ultra-Orthodox protests against its operation during Shabbat.

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This is a difficult and painful decision that stems from a deep responsibility toward our customers, our faith and Israeli society as a whole.

The management said it made the decision with a heavy heart after the cafe became a focal point of friction and danger. Continuing to operate under those conditions, it said, did not fit the identity and values it wanted the venue to promote.

“This is a difficult and painful decision that stems from a deep responsibility toward our customers, our faith and Israeli society as a whole,” said Eli Birnbaum, chief executive of Jews for Jesus. He said the cafe had become a place of conflict and danger, contrary to the group’s belief in love, respect and bringing people closer together, including people who oppose them.

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Now we are asking to return Basimta Cafe to what it was intended to be: a calm, pleasant and open place for coffee, culture and dialogue.

Birnbaum thanked the police, the Jerusalem Municipality and supporters who came to the cafe in recent weeks. “Now we are asking to return Basimta Cafe to what it was intended to be: a calm, pleasant and open place for coffee, culture and dialogue,” he said.

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A coffee shop in an alley just wanted to do something simple: open on Shabbat in Jerusalem. Not to force anyone to desecrate Shabbat, not to change anyone’s way of life. Just to allow those who choose to drink coffee on Shabbat in their city.

Yair Golan, chair of The Democrats party, condemned the decision on X, calling it the result of “haredi terror.” He said the cafe had only wanted to open on Shabbat for people who chose to drink coffee, without forcing anyone else to violate religious practice. “That’s what coercion looks like,” Golan said, warning that the pressure could spread to other cafes. He said his party would defend the freedom of secular, traditional and religious Jews to live in Jerusalem and Israel.

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That’s what coercion looks like.