The Jerusalem Municipality is working to compel the closure of the ‘Mifletzet Café’ on Shabbos, located in the park in Kiryat Yovel. Efforts to keep the café closed failed the past Friday night, eliciting the anger of chareidi coalition partners in City Hall.
Hundreds were on hand to mark the café’s reopening after four months, during which time the café was closed by a court order. Among those enjoying the reopening were Deputy Mayor (Hisorarus) Ofir Berkowitz and councilpersons from the Yerushalmim and Meretz parties.
The court gave the green light for the reopening of the café despite the city waging a legal battle against it, turning to the court three times to prevent the Friday night reopening. After the court closed it down, the city requested the court prohibit the reopening until the café obtained all the necessary permits.
According to the report appearing in Haaretz, last week, the city sent five inspectors to find reasons to prevent the reopening. On that same day, Thursday, the court rejected two requests by the city for a closure order. Simultaneously, negotiations between the city and the owner towards reaching an understanding broke down.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
I cringe as much as the next guy when I see or hear about Chillul Shabbos. However, can someone please explain to me how this helps anyone? Are these policies driven by a fear of Chillul Shabbos spreading? I mean, let’s be honest, people’s behavior will not change due to the closing of a cafe. Anti-religious sentiment will only grow from these things. Can anyone explain?
kollelmqn, what are you finding difficult to understand? That the cafe is breaking the secular law or breaking the coalition agreement with the frum parties in the municipality? So, the frum members of the city council are protesting to the mayor about it. This is not chas ve’shalom a public “hafgana” (demo) against the poor, innocent, unwitting cafe. This would of course, be something totally unacceptable. And you could be certain that this very intrepid, chareidi website would be the first to let us all know about it. This is just the frum members of the city council trying to work out something to keep this cafe closed on Shabbos.
You ask “how this helps.” How what helps? Are you recommending that objections ever be raised in the city council about chilul Shabbos, treife restaurants, and other modern niceties?
Just to remind you and all the others who come to visit Yerushalayim, and comment how impressed they are with the atmosphere on Shabbos in the city. And rightly so, it’s a wonderful atmosphere. But, we need to always remember exactly how this atmosphere came about. It’s not because former mayor Kollek was such a great mokir Shabbos. It’s not because the secular city council or the national govt. understands and recognizes the holiness of Shabbos. It’s because frum Jews fought for it. 55 and 65 years ago, there were sometimes almost pitched battles on the streets of Yerushalayim against the police to attain this “marvelous Shabbosdig atmosphere.” At least 2 Chareidim lost their lives r”l in these battles. The city realized what was going to happen if they don’t agree to block vehicular traffic in certain areas of the city. Along with passing municipal by-laws that require business establishments throughout the city to close on Shabbos and yomtov. Over the years, some restaurants and entertainment venues have quietly opened, and the frum community, together with the frum members of the city council, try to prevent the disease from spreading. The anti-Shabbos groups have to know that there will be resistance to spreading chilul Shabbos in the public sphere of Yerushalayim. Exactly how to do this is sometimes in question. But, we cannot simply ask them nicely to close on Shabbos. Hasn’t worked; this is the middle east, and Israelis have a different mentality than Americans. What works in the U.S. won’t work over here. And vice versa. לא הרי זה כהרי זה. Let us daven for Mashiach Tzidkeinu to arrive be’meheira and solve these, along with all the other problems!!