The secret nightlife of Jerusalem’s old market
Ultra-Orthodox leaders are fighting to keep the old Jerusalem market of Mahane Yehuda from slipping further into a hot nightspot.
Jerusalem’s iconic Mahane Yehuda Market has undergone a dramatic change over the past six years. During the day it’s a colorful market with stalls selling vegetables, spices, fish and nuts. At night it turns into a focal point of the area’s entertainment scene. When the sun goes down and the stalls are shuttered, dozens of bars and restaurants open their doors and the owners put out chairs for the hundreds of Jerusalemites and tourists who flock to the place. On Thursday nights (the start of the Israeli weekend) the market area becomes one huge party.
The market straddles the boundary between ultra-Orthodox and secular Jerusalem and symbolizes the struggle over the city’s character. While the ultra-Orthodox are fighting to preserve a spiritual-conservative Jerusalem, Mayor Nir Barkat has worked to turn Jerusalem into a pluralistic, Western-style city
As of the beginning of 2017, more than 400 shops and businesses operate in the Mahane Yehuda Market. There were once no restaurants there, only stalls, but since 2010 some 20% of the shops have turned into bars or restaurants. The new restaurants helped the market recover from the deep economic crises of the previous decade caused by a wave of terror attacks targeting the popular venue. But not everyone seems pleased with the change.
Ultra-Orthodox residents are complaining about this transformation. One of them told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the flourishing bars and restaurants in the market are causing “severe breaches in modesty.” The market is adjacent to ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, and for their residents the market's night scene is a major problem.
