There are Saturdays when Jerusalem looks like a city that surrendered long ago to its religious wars. This Saturday looked very different. By the afternoon, the ultra-Orthodox protest against the opening of Hasimta Café on Saturday had ended, but anyone expecting to see frightened business owners and customers backing away under pressure found almost the exact opposite: crowds of supporters arrived, packed the area outside the café, formed a long line to get in and transformed the street into a public demonstration of the city’s liberal presence.
Footage from the scene shows dozens upon dozens of people filling the narrow street near the café, some waiting to enter and others simply remaining in the area. Among them were secular Israelis, religious liberals, members of the Religious Zionist community and supporters who had come from the Tel Aviv area and central Israel. Their message was difficult to miss: anyone seeking to pressure a Jerusalem business because it opens on Saturday should take into account that the other side also has a public, a voice and a presence.
The event also drew considerable media attention. Reporters, photographers and other members of the press arrived to cover the confrontation surrounding the café’s Saturday opening, alongside content creators documenting the scene for social media. Among those present was content creator Asaf Gotthelf, who came to cover the event from his own perspective.
What happened at the ultra-Orthodox protest outside Hasimta Café in Jerusalem?
The ultra-Orthodox protest against the café’s operation on Saturday was dispersed during the afternoon, and the demonstrators left the area. Supporters, meanwhile, continued arriving in large numbers. The picture on the ground was difficult to interpret any other way: an effort intended to intimidate the business ended up strengthening it and turning the café into a destination for people who wanted to show their support.
It was also a sharp response to an attempt to determine, through pressure in the street, what Saturday in Jerusalem should look like. Instead of closed doors, there was a line. Instead of silence, there was a crowd. And instead of the liberal public retreating, people came specifically to show that they had no intention of disappearing from the city’s public space.
A small café has quickly become the arena for a much larger dispute over Jerusalem’s character, businesses operating on Saturdays and the question of who gets to dictate how others should live in the city. The event also brought together groups that do not always stand on the same side: secular and religious Israelis, Jerusalem residents and supporters who came from the center of the country.
Did the protest against businesses opening on Saturday in Jerusalem achieve its goal?
If the goal was to keep people away from Hasimta Café, this Saturday produced exactly the opposite result. The photos and video from the scene show a café surrounded by people and a street packed with supporters.
In this battle, at least this time, those applying the pressure withdrew while the people they were trying to pressure remained in the street. For several hours, Jerusalem received a reminder that its liberal population has a pulse as well, and when it decides to leave the house and make itself visible, it is very difficult to ignore.
