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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
World

Sabbath cafe clash lays bare Israel faultlines

Ultra-Orthodox protesters demonstrate against Cafe Basimta operating on Shabbat, the weekly Jewish day of rest, as secular activists stage a counter-protest in support of the cafe, in central Jerusalem

JERUSALEM - Alma Ronen has been fighting in the Israeli military nearly constantly for more than two years. Spending her Saturday not in uniform but in a T-shirt and jeans, she would like to enjoy a coffee outside -- and resents that her more religious compatriots think otherwise.

Every week since June, ultra-Orthodox protesters have descended on a cafe in central Jerusalem that lies precariously close to their neighbourhood, angered it has opened on the Sabbath, or Shabbat, the day of rest when observant Jews shun work, machinery and exchanging money.

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