For years, Jews for Jesus has experienced strong opposition for having a presence in Jerusalem. Extremist groups have sought to stop our efforts to share about Yeshua (Jesus) with our fellow Israelis, and only a few years ago, these groups successfully pressured our landlord to evict us from our Jerusalem space. But by God’s grace, we now have our own building in Jerusalem, where we recently launched a coffee shop called Café BaSimta (Café in the Alley). 

From the beginning, Café BaSimta has been about far more than coffee. We opened to create a place for connection and hospitality, a place where Israelis could gather, build relationships, and encounter the hope we have in Yeshua. That approach included opening our doors on Shabbat, a time when much of Jerusalem shuts down and secular Israelis have few places to gather.

In recent weeks, however, our Shabbat hours have drawn significant opposition from members of the ultra-Orthodox community. Antagonism around our identity as Jewish followers of Jesus followed suit. Repeated protests outside the café had grown increasingly disruptive, at times resulting in clashes with law enforcement and creating an atmosphere of chaos around a place intended for peace. 

Yet even in the midst of this hostility, we saw God bring remarkable good from a difficult situation. The protests amplified Israeli (and even global) attention to Café BaSimta and to Jews for Jesus. Israelis who had never heard of our ministry suddenly learned about Jewish faith in Jesus. What was intended to oppose our message became an opportunity for thousands more to encounter it.

But Café BaSimta was never meant to become a battleground; it was intended to be a welcoming destination, a place of respite. Increasingly, the controversy surrounding our Shabbat hours changed that atmosphere, shifting the focus away from connection and, instead, toward divisiveness, politicking, and heated debate. 

To preserve Café BaSimta as a peaceful haven in Jerusalem, we have prayerfully decided to stop conducting commerce on Shabbat. After all, the point was never to sell coffee, but to love and serve our neighbors. We remain committed to what led us to open our doors on Shabbat in the first place: creating space for relationships to deepen, faith to be explored, and a community to grow and flourish together.

Announcing the closing of the coffee shop on Shabbat led to even more opportunities. Our Israel director, Eli Birnbaum, was able to give multiple interviews on prime-time news channels in Israel, explaining the heart of our ministry and why this kind of conflict doesn’t align with our values as Jewish followers of Jesus. On national news, he was able to share what we truly want people to know: that our Messiah has come, and his name is Yeshua. 

Our organization exists to point people to this Messiah—the atonement for our sins, the healer of our world, and the fulfillment of our Hebrew Scriptures. That’s our message, our purpose, and our passion. We’re thankful that the attention surrounding the café has given us a chance to proclaim that hope, and now, to point forward to a vision for peace and unity in Israel through Messiah Yeshua.