At Jerusalem’s shuk, locals are cynical, relieved and angry over Iran ceasefire deal

Shoppers at Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market expressed a mix of anger, relief, and cynicism over Israel’s ceasefire agreement with Iran on Tuesday.

The ceasefire announcement that went into effect at 7 a.m., announced by US President Donald Trump several hours earlier, had already been broken by both sides as of Tuesday afternoon when The Times of Israel hit the capital’s shuk. Iran had shot two missiles at Israel’s north around 10:30 a.m., some three and a half hours after the ceasefire began, and Israel responded several hours later with a small strike against an Iranian radar north of Tehran.

Trump, who had helped broker the ceasefire after 12 days of fighting, responded with a strong public display of frustration, saying Iran and Israel “don’t know what the f*ck they’re doing.”

To David Sasson, the owner of a popular butcher stall in the market, that was an unacceptable affront.

“There shouldn’t have been a ceasefire. This was very bad,” Sasson shouted, with a voice used for many years to hawk his products to customers. “Why did Bibi [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] give in to Trump? They should have gone all the way. We have to finish with peace, not war.”

Nonetheless, he said he was proud of the way Israel managed the war.

“No country would have done what Israel did,” he said. “Bibi did a very good job.”

Shopper Yehudit Adler said she saw things both ways.

“It’s good and bad. We started this war to achieve a certain goal, and we didn’t achieve it,” she said. “I don’t know how much they actually destroyed, but we know that Iran still has some of its nuclear facilities left. But on the other hand, it’s good that we are done with this war. There was a lot of destruction, and people were dying.”

“This whole thing isn’t in our hands, anyway,” she added. “It’s all in God’s hands.”

Victor Schmelzer, shopping in the Mahane Yehuda market with his wife Susan, expressed mixed feelings on the ceasefire agreement.

“You know, we’ve been through October 7, and we’ve seen everything that’s been going on,” Schmelzer said, referring to Israel’s continued frustrations negotiating with Hamas for the return of hostages taken in the terror group’s attack on Israel 20 months ago. “If this ceasefire holds, and Iran doesn’t go back on its word, then it’s great. But I don’t have much faith that will happen.”

Schmelzer, a retired surgeon who splits his time between Jerusalem and Boynton Beach, Florida, said he thinks Trump’s push for a quick ceasefire was rushed and premature.

“I really appreciate Trump’s efforts, but I think he’s a little naive to this part of the world. I don’t think he really understands how to negotiate with these people, because they tell you one thing and then they do another. I think Trump wants to use a lot of pressure to stop the war and declare victory for himself, but not necessarily for us. I don’t think the job was finished.”

Rosalind Hershkovitz, a singer and composer living in Jerusalem, said she is also deeply skeptical.

“I don’t trust the Iranians at all,” she said bluntly, expressing doubt about whether any agreement would hold. She said it was unlikely that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could accept defeat, no matter how badly his country suffered as a result.

“There’s something about our enemies now that they don’t seem willing to surrender, no matter how badly they are losing,” Hershkovitz added. “During World War II, Germany and Japan surrendered when it was clear that they had lost. But Hamas has been wrecked, and they refuse to admit it to themselves, and I think Iran will do the same thing.”

Nonetheless, Hershkovitz said she hopes for quiet.

“I don’t know what hope we have for peace, but I really hope we get a break,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting a full night’s sleep.”

Debra Neal, who runs a hair salon near the shuk, was more enthusiastic about the ceasefire holding.

“I hope it’s real,” she said. “I want to go back to work.”

Neal said most of her clients had canceled their appointments since the beginning of Operation Rising Lion on June 13.

“Clients are nervous, and I don’t have easy access to a shelter in case of a rocket siren,” she said. “Also, if we had to run outside for a siren while someone was in the middle of certain chemical treatments, it could ruin their hair.”

Neal said her opinions about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had changed significantly over the course of the war.

“Ever since the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve felt like Israel has been a dictatorship, and it felt like everything that has happened in Gaza destroyed the country,” she said. “But, I hate to say it, I’m proud of him. The way the IDF was so precise about everything in its strike on Iran was super impressive. I still think we need a change in government, but I feel like there’s a little more badass in him.”

Others viewed the situation through a more uncompromising lens.

“The stated purpose of the Iranian regime is to destroy Israel,” said Michael, a visitor from the UK wearing a cross around his neck. “When the regime falls, it will be better for Israel and the world.”

Michael, who declined to give his last name, said he was stranded in Israel after his flight home was canceled. “But I’m not in a rush to get back home. I might stay for a few more weeks.”

Michael spoke highly of the leaders of Israel and the US, calling Netanyahu “a solid bloke who understands reality when others don’t,” and saying that Trump is “much smarter than people realize, much smarter.”

Meanwhile, Aryeh Dolinsky of Kfar Adumim, a suburb of Jerusalem, expressed clear disappointment.

“I think it’s very bad,” he said firmly. “We didn’t finish the job, and we gave up because it was too difficult.”

Nonetheless, Dolinsky said he trusted that a higher power was arranging everything from above.

“I think everything is from God, and that He knows what He is doing,” he said. “That’s why I’m still happy.”