Ultra-Orthodox Protesters Clash Over Cafe Opening on Shabbat in Jerusalem

For the fourth consecutive Shabbat, ultra-Orthodox protesters gathered outside Cafe Basemta on Agripas Street in Jerusalem to oppose its opening on the Sabbath. Police arrived to contain the demonstrators within nearby alleys to keep them away from the cafe. Earlier in the morning, an unidentified individual threw a bag of feces at the cafe entrance, an act captured on security cameras. Last week, local ultra-Orthodox residents also protested the cafe's Shabbat operation. Supporters of the cafe, including customers and other residents, stood behind partitions and shouted back at the protesters, who accused them of "destroying Jerusalem." The demonstrators blamed the cafe and its patrons for the recent murder of a 19-year-old in the Nahalat neighborhood, citing the "violation of Shabbat" as the cause. Adir Schwartz, Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor and chairman of the Awakening Movement, who visited the cafe with activists, condemned the intimidation attempts by extremists. He stated, "Activists stood with the business owners throughout Shabbat and made it clear that a small extremist group cannot dictate how Jerusalemites live."