{"id":989000,"date":"2026-08-08T13:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/989000\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:24:15","slug":"haredi-demonstrators-protest-jerusalems-basimta-cafe-opening-on-shabbat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/989000\/","title":{"rendered":"Haredi demonstrators protest Jerusalem’s Basimta Cafe opening on Shabbat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dozens of police officers were deployed as, for the sixth consecutive Saturday, haredi (ultra-Orthodox) demonstrators gathered to protest Jerusalem\u2019s Basimta Cafe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the cafe has become a focal point of a struggle surrounding the operation of businesses on Shabbat in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Every weekend for the past six weeks, those who disapprove of the caf\u00e9 being open on Shabbat have protested<\/a> at the location, while supporters of the business held counterprotests, seeking to support the business owners and support its continued operation.<\/p>\n

Politicians show support for Batisma Cafe counterprotest<\/strong><\/p>\n

During this Saturday\u2019s protest, Democrats Party chairman Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yair Golan<\/a>, Democrats Party CEO Omer Lubaton-Granot, and MK Meirav Cohen joined the counterprotest.<\/p>\n

Cohen, in a post on X\/Twitter, addressed the ongoing struggle surrounding the caf\u00e9 and discussed having met with the owner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he opened the place on Shabbat, emissaries came to him and offered him money so that he would close,\u201d Cohen wrote about Yoel Ben David, the owner of Basimta Cafe. \u201cHe said no thank you, and from that moment he has been subjected to demonstrations outside his caf\u00e9 every Shabbat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came to strengthen him and thank him for his steadfastness in the name of the values of freedom and liberalism,\u201d she continued. \u201cJerusalem belongs to everyone, Israel belongs to everyone, and besides that, the coffee is really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to a report from i24NEWS regarding last week\u2019s protest, Haredi protestors banged on the cafe\u2019s windows. Cafe patrons reportedly shouted \u201cenlist, enlist\u201d at the protesters.<\/p>\n

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman<\/a> attended last week\u2019s protest in support of the cafe.<\/p>\n

Cafe owner hopes for harmony between religious, secular communities<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a conversation with Maariv, the caf\u00e9\u2019s owner stated that his attitude towards the protests is simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love and respect the religious community and absolutely do not hate Haredim. I want them to be able to pray in peace, for us to be able to drink our coffee in peace, and for all of us to be able to live here together in harmony,\u201d Ben David told Maariv. \u201cIf this can happen in Tel Aviv or Haifa, then why not in Jerusalem?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ultra-OrthodoxUltra-Orthodox protesters demonstrate against a cafe operating on Shabbat and clash with Israeli police, while secular protesters hold a counter-demonstration in support of the cafe in central Jerusalem, August 8, 2026. (credit: OREN BEN HAKOON\/FLASH90)<\/p>\n

When asked how he feels about being at the heart of public controversy, Ben David stated that, while he sometimes feels exhausted, he overall is doing well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very encouraged by all the support we\u2019re receiving,\u201d he continued. \u201cThis support, and all the people who want to make sure that our right to open on Shabbat is preserved \u2013 it\u2019s simply moving and warms the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben David also described receiving support from the religious community as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout the week, many religious people have come here to show their support, and one of them even approached me and apologized on behalf of the Haredi community,\u201d he recounted. \u201cThey are joined, of course, by the entire secular-liberal community in the city, which is fighting for our right to run the business as we see fit, without pressure and without anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dozens of police officers were deployed as, for the sixth consecutive Saturday, haredi (ultra-Orthodox) demonstrators gathered to protest…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":989001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[235097,99,47043,50,7237,83653,139940],"class_list":["post-989000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-haredi-protests","tag-israel","tag-jerusalem","tag-news","tag-protests","tag-shabbat","tag-yair-golan"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117060114064340484","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/989000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=989000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/989000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/989001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=989000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=989000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=989000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}