Rest vs. retail in Jerusalem’s tug of war on culture

Orthodox and more secular Jews at odds on Shabbat

Yossi Cohen was shocked when city inspectors warned him last month to close his downtown convenience store during the Jewish Sabbath or else be socked with fines.

“For 20 years I’ve been open during Shabbat ( Hebrew for Sabbath), and suddenly the city decides I have to close?” said Cohen, one of eight convenience store owners ordered to shutter from sundown Friday until Saturday night. “The message is clear: The municipality doesn’t want non- religious people in this city.”

The closure order, which faces a court hearing Wednesday, was part of a compromise that Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who is secular, recently struck with ultra- Orthodox city council members who threatened to block a movie multiplex from opening on the Sabbath in a secular part of the city unless the convenience stores were shut on the Sabbath.

The mayor agreed to close the eight markets but allowed a dozen others in different Jewish neighborhoods to remain open on Saturdays.

The mini- market standoff is the latest battle over the religious character of this city between the ultra- Orthodox and more secular Jews.

The 330,000 residents in West Jerusalem — which is overwhelmingly Jewish, unlike the mostly Arab eastern district — have very different views on how to observe the Sabbath. Roughly half of the people are ultra- Or- thodox, while the other half range from moderately Orthodox to secular, along with a few thousand Muslims and Christians.

Haredi Jews, who hold more than a third of the city council seats and wield strong political clout in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s razor- thin coalition government, say being open on the Sabbath destroys the sanctity of the day of rest.

Einav Bar, a secular city councilwoman, said even the city’s secular residents savor the “quiet, family- centered atmosphere that envelops West Jerusalem on Friday afternoons,” when public transport and shops shut down before the start of the Sabbath.

But she fears the mayor’s crackdown “could drive non- religious residents and tourists from the city.”

PHOTOS BY MICHELE CHABIN FOR USA TODAY In overwhelmingly Jewish West Jerusalem, half of the residents are ultra- Orthodox. The other half range from modern- Orthodox to secular. So here, shopping vs. shuttering stores has becomes a point of contention.

Yossi Cohen faces fines if he doesn’t shut his store on Sabbath.