The management of Jerusalem's Basimta Cafe decided that the establishment will remain closed on Saturdays amid weekly haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protests against its Shabbat operations.
According to the cafe’s management, the decision to stop operating on Saturdays was made with a heavy heart, after the establishment became a focal point of friction in recent months. It explained that continuing the situation was not consistent with the identity and values they seek to promote at the venue.
"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 CEO of Jews for Jesus Eli Birnbaum. "The cafe has become, over the past several months, a focal point of friction and danger, a reality that contradicts our identity as Jews who believe in Jesus and our belief in love for others, respect, and bringing people closer together, even with those who oppose us.”
He thanked the police, the Jerusalem Municipality and those who came to support 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.
What coercion looks like
Following the announcement, The Democrats party chair Yair Golan decried the decision as one made as a "result of haredi terror," in a post on X/Twitter. "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."
"For weeks, they subjected it to terror, violence, protests, and threats, until it gave in and decided to close."
"That's what coercion looks like," Golan said. "And if we don't stop it, it will continue to the next coffee shop.
"We The Democrats respect the Shabbat of those who choose to observe it. And we demand exactly the same respect for our Shabbat. Jerusalem belongs to all of us. Israel belongs to all of us."
He affirmed that should he and his party be elected into the next government, "we will protect the freedom to live here as Jews, as seculars, as traditionalists, and as religious, each in their own way."
"A business that wants to open on Shabbat in a place where the law allows it, will open. Whoever wants to observe Shabbat, will observe it," he said. "We don't ask permission for our freedom. We defend it. We fight for it. And that's exactly what we'll do. Because without the Democrats, there won't be true democracy."
Yisrael Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Liberman echoed Golan's sentiment in his own X post.
"Israel 2026," Liberman said. "Drinking coffee on Shabbat - forbidden. Hating, attacking, and rioting on Shabbat - permitted."
"This is not our Judaism. We will not yield to the evaders, we will not allow the State of Israel to be turned into a State of Halacha. Live and let live. Without coercion."
Protests began in early July
The protests began on Saturday, July 4, when dozens of haredi demonstrators, many of whom were reportedly minors, descended on the cafe in four separate waves, surrounding the building, banging on its windows, and overturning tables.
On August 22, haredi demonstrators set up barricades around the cafe in an attempt to prevent patrons from entering, as security footage showed at the time.
Also in August, a 75-year-old man was arrested after he vandalized the cafe with spray paint, as well as damaging the restaurant's lock and throwing garbage at it.
In response, secular Israelis have conducted counter-protests against the haredi activists, with Liberman having joined Basimta Cafe supporters earlier in August.