Protesters who came to support the Basimta coffee shop in Jerusalem on Saturday. Credit: Itai Cohen For secular Israelis who came to support Jerusalem's Basimta café for the fifth consecutive week against escalating ultra-Orthodox protests, the dispute is about much more than a cup of coffee10:09 PM • August 08 2026 IDTPale Jerusalem stone and narrow entryways are flanked by iron barricades and Israeli police officers scrutinizing passersby. But this is neither the British security zone in the final years of the Mandate over Palestine nor the tense Damascus Gate at the Old City during Ramadan, but a renovated courtyard in central Jerusalem that has, for the fifth consecutive week, become a battleground over the opening of the Basimta coffee shop on Saturdays. In the NewsThousands of Israelis Rally Against Netanyahu Gov't, Haredi and Settler FundingIn Gaza and Lebanon, Netanyahu Is Betting That Trump Has Run Out of SteamSenate Republicans Narrowly Confirm Todd Blanche as Trump's Attorney GeneralHunter Biden Discusses Father's Deteriorating Health as Ex-president Speaks OutIran Says Hormuz Deal With Oman 'Very Close' – but Not Enough to Reopen StraitRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIHow Israel's Elbit Armed the United Arab EmiratesIsrael Captured 230 Square Miles of Lebanon, Razed Villages and Built New BasesHow a Teen, Not a Journalist, Debunked Israel's Gaza 'Voluntary Emigration' PlanFormer Mossad Chief Appointed to Lead U.S. Defense Technology Company'I Saw Pictures of Dead Kids. In the Army They Told Us We Only Kill Terrorists'As Stevens Falters, Michigan Jews Ponder Their Place in the Democratic Party