In Jerusalem, a dispute over a café that opened in July has sparked fierce protests. The operators of Café Basimta on Agrippas Street reserved the right to serve their customers coffee on Shabbat as well. This brought them weeks of massive demonstrations by ultra-Orthodox neighbors — on Shabbat. Tables were overturned, windows were loudly pounded, barricades were erected, and trash was dumped.
Why did the Haredim target this particular café? After all, according to City Councilwoman Laura Wharton, nearly 100 establishments in Jerusalem are also open on the Jewish day of rest. It was likely due to the café’s close proximity to the religious neighborhoods. Certain areas of Jerusalem are so exclusively ultra-religious in character that residents close off entire streets in their neighborhoods on Shabbat. Agrippas Street is within reach.
According to the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, 44 percent of Israeli Jews nationwide are secular. The ultra-religious Haredim account for 16 percent. In Jerusalem, however, the picture is different: there, the Haredim make up 46 percent of the Jewish population, 25 percent are religious Zionists, and only...
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