Haredi Protests Target Jerusalem’s Basimta Café Over Shabbat Opening

Security footage released by N12 News shows Haredi demonstrators erecting barricades outside the Basimta Café in central Jerusalem on a Saturday morning. The action marks the eighth consecutive week of protests against the café’s operation on Shabbat. The demonstrations began on July 4, when dozens of demonstrators—many reported as minors—descended in four waves, surrounding the building, banging on windows and overturning tables. Earlier in the week, Israel Police arrested a 75-year-old suspect for spray-painting graffiti, throwing garbage at the café and damaging its lock.

The Jerusalem Post

The café is an official project of Jews for Jesus, a Messianic Jewish organization that professes belief in the divinity of Jesus while presenting itself as Jewish. No mainstream Jewish denomination considers this combination compatible with Judaism. The café’s Shabbat opening has drawn repeated opposition from ultra-Orthodox communities, who view the operation as a violation of Sabbath observance.

The Jerusalem Post

In response to the ongoing demonstrations, several politicians joined counter-protesters. Yair Golan, chairman of the Democratic Party, Omer Lubaton Granot, party CEO, and Meirav Cohen, MK, attended a recent rally supporting the café’s owner, Yoel Ben David. Avigdor Liberman, chairman of Yisrael Beytenu, also appeared with supporters, condemning the protesters and linking the unrest to broader security concerns.

The Jerusalem Post

Cohen used her X post to highlight the personal pressure on Ben David, noting that emissaries offered him money to close the café and that he refused, resulting in weekly demonstrations. She framed the counter-protest as a defense of “freedom and liberalism” and praised the café’s coffee. He called for Haredi men to enlist in the military and warned that, if his party assumes power, demonstrators would be redirected to basic training rather than street protests.

The Jerusalem Post

• “When he opened the place on Shabbat, emissaries came to him and offered him money so that he would close,” — Meirav Cohen

The Jerusalem Post

• “I believe above all in the principle of live and let live. Drinking coffee on a Saturday morning cannot become an act of civic courage,” — Avigdor Liberman, yisrael beytenu chairman

The Jerusalem Post