RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesDozens of Haredi men and boys protested outside a recently opened Jerusalem cafe on Saturday for being open on the Sabbath, clashing with secular patrons and police after they burst through barricades.
The demonstration marked the fifth straight week ultra-Orthodox demonstrators have picketed the business and appeared to be the largest yet.
Cafe Basimta, which is one of the few Jerusalem eating establishments to operate on the Jewish day of rest, has been facing repeated harassment in recent weeks from Haredi protesters during its weekend hours.
Footage published by Hebrew media on Saturday showed secular customers and police officers confronting some of the Haredi protesters and trying to block their entry to the cafe's premises on Agripas Street in central Jerusalem.
One secular patron could be seen in a video published by Ynet preventing an ultra-Orthodox man from entering the cafe by pulling at his prayer shawl.
Only after the demonstrators were on the verge of breaking into the cafe did police begin to forcefully disperse them with the use of batons, according to Ynet.
The news outlet reported that this week's demonstration had the highest turnout rate by ultra-Orthodox picketers since the protests began over a month ago.
עימותים בין שוטרים לבין מפגינים שנעו לכיוון המחסומים שהציבה המשטרה מסביב לבית הקפה | תיעוד @VeredPelman https://t.co/pRBtPimzA2 pic.twitter.com/JEfXpQy2xF
Organizers of the protest said this week that they had appealed to more ultra-Orthodox communities to join the latest demonstration, according to Haredi media. Avigdor Liberman, head of the right-wing opposition party Yisrael Beytenu, arrived at Cafe Basimta on Saturday morning to show support for the establishment.
"It cannot be that having a cup of coffee on Saturday morning turns into an act of civil courage," Liberman said in a video taken at the scene, in which protesters and security forces could be seen and heard clashing behind him.
Suggesting the ultra-Orthodox demonstrators would be better off serving in the Israel Defense Forces, he added, "The vandalism we're seeing behind me — all of this just proves that these guys need to channel their energy against Hamas, against Hezbollah, against the Houthis, but not here in Jerusalem, against peaceful citizens."
הגעתי הבוקר לחזק את בית הקפה במרכז העיר ירושלים שמותקף על ידי חרדים קיצוניים.
לא יכול להיות ששתיית קפה בשבת בבוקר תהפוך לאקט של גבורה אזרחית. את הוונדליזם שאנחנו רואים מאחוריי – כל זה רק מוכיח שהחבר'ה האלו חייבים להוציא את האנרגיה מול חמאס, מול… pic.twitter.com/rx24YHorM3
— אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) August 1, 2026
"When we come to power, they won't have time to protest. They'll all be running in basic training," Lieberman concluded, referencing ongoing efforts by the ultra-Orthodox community to legislate a blanket military exemption for Haredi youth. Some 72,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 24 are currently eligible for military service, but have largely ignored conscription orders. The IDF has said repeatedly in recent months that it urgently needs 12,000 new recruits amid the ongoing multifront conflict.
Secular Israelis have flocked to the cafe in response to the protests, though some have eased their support in light of its ties to Christian missionary organization Jews for Jesus.
In an unusual move, the Hapoel Jerusalem soccer team announced last month that it would give Cafe Basimta free advertising on players’ uniforms for the coming season in an act of solidarity, but later retracted the offer after learning that the cafe is an official project of Jews for Jesus.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
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