A Jerusalem cafe targeted by Haredi protesters for opening on Shabbat said Thursday that it would henceforth be closed on weekends, with the owners saying that causing controversy was contrary to their faith as Messianic Jews.

Cafe Basimta said the decision to close, starting this weekend, “was made after prolonged deliberation and with a heavy heart, out of a desire to prevent and calm the anger and restore peace to the cafe.”

The cafe is an official project of Jews for Jesus, a Christian missionary organization that seeks to convert Jews to believe in Jesus.

Jews for Jesus CEO Eli Birnbaum said in a statement that choosing to close on Shabbat was “a difficult and painful decision that stems from a deep responsibility to our customers, to our faith, and to Israeli society as a whole.

“The cafe has become a focus of friction and danger in recent months, a reality that contradicts our identity as Jews who believe in Jesus and our belief in loving others, in respect, and in bringing people closer together,” said Birnbaum. “We seek to restore Cafe Basimta to what it was intended to be: a calm, pleasant, and open place for coffee, culture and conversation.”

Adir Schwartz, the head of Jerusalem’s liberal municipal party Hitorerut, said the cafe’s decision to close set “a dangerous precedent where extremists’ terrorism won, despite the massive Zionist support that........

© The Times of Israel