Popular Jerusalem Cafe Closes in Shabbat Feud
We Want Our Cafe: Fans of Restobar, a non-kosher favorite for secular residents of Jerusalem, protest its closure in the holy city. Image by haaretz
Restobar, one of the few restaurants in central Jerusalem that was open on Shabbat, shut its doors Monday after its landlord refused to renew the lease unless the establishment closed on the Jewish day of rest.
Shahar and Avigail Levy, the owners of the eight-year-old restaurant-bar located in Rehavia, announced the closure on their Facebook page Monday morning.
“It’s sad that in Jerusalem in 2013 there are benighted people who impose on others to accept a way of life that isn’t theirs by force … and in one fell swoop erased the livelihood of some 50 employees and dozens of suppliers who were sustained by this business for many years.”
A demonstration took place Monday evening in front of the eatery to protest what organizers said was religious coercion.
Since its opening in January 2005, the nonkosher Restobar has been an attraction for secular residents.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
