Current sectionJewish WorldShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeUltra-Orthodox protesters and counterprotesters at Café Basimta in Jerusalem, in July. Credit: Itai CohenIn Jerusalem, ultra-Orthodox extremists are targeting a café that opens on Shabbat. In Ramat Gan businesses have been torched or vandalized. The battle is not only over the Jewish day of rest, but over Israel's identity03:35 PM • August 06 2026 IDT"That was the first time in my life I was truly afraid," says a restaurant owner in central Israel. His only "sin" was posting on Facebook that his restaurant would remain open on Tisha B'Av, a fast day commemorating the destruction of the temples in Jerusalem. In the NewsFrom Jerusalem to Herzliya, Israel's Jewish Battle Over Shabbat Turns ViolentA pro-Israeli Victory in Michigan Offers Important Lessons for DemocratsIsraeli Settler Who Killed Palestinian Activist Indicted One Year LaterIn Trump's Postwar Lebanon, Israel, Iran and Hezbollah Could All Be SidelinedLike We Did in the Summer of '62: The Year the Twist Took Over Tel AvivRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIThis Israeli ultra-Orthodox Feminist Activist Has a Warning for U.S. JewsHow Israel's Elbit Armed the United Arab Emirates'I Tried, I Got Crushed by AIPAC': Andy Levin Is All-in for El-SayedIt's No Wonder Israelis Want War. Violence Has Become a Source of JoyDozens of IDF Soldiers Desert Sde Teiman Base in Protest of CommanderIsrael Captured 230 Square Miles of Lebanon, Razed Villages and Built New Bases