Overview
- Dozens of chareidi protesters gathered outside a recently opened café on Agrippas Street to object to its decision to operate on Shabbos.
- Video of the protest spread online and prompted dozens of secular residents to arrive in solidarity, filling the café and turning the dispute into a public standoff.
- Demonstrations unfolded in repeated waves, during which at least one protester overturned a table and others tried to deter customers from entering.
- Yerushalayim Deputy Mayor Yossi Havilio publicly backed the idea of businesses staying open on Shabbos to help retain secular residents, and Mayor Moshe Lion condemned violence and urged restraint while stressing preservation of order.
- Separately, a later report alleges the café’s ownership is linked to a company tied to the missionary group Jews for Jesus, a claim the owner has disputed and described as inflaming tensions; the episode highlights recurring clashes over Shabbos commerce and the growing role of social media in sparking quick counter-demonstrations.