Jerusalem

Who Attacked Jascha Heifetz in 1953?

Although ties to Jewish extremist organizations were suspected, the person who attacked a violinist in 1953, allegedly for performing the works of Richard Strauss, has never been found. The story resonates with conflicts in Israeli society today. 

Will the US Build an Embassy on Palestinian Land in Jerusalem?

by Rashid Khalidi

As the new ultra-right wing Israeli government prepares to escalate the dispossession of Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the United States should not allow the siting of its embassy to give cover to this project. 

How Christian Archaeologists Fed Today's Strife in Jerusalem

by Andrew Lawler

The incursions of 19th century Christian archaeologists onto Jerusalem's historic acropolis created a sense of seige on the part of Palestinian Muslims, which is echoed today in ongoing conflict over the city's religious sites. 

Jerusalem: A Divided and Invented City

by James A.S. Sunderland

Both Hamas and the Israeli right base their claims to Jerusalem on understandings of the city as shaped by the orientalist and segregationist values of British governors during the Mandate period, and not on the city's longer heterogenous and multicultural history. Peace activists look to that history as an example of coexistence. 

Why the Al-Aqsa Mosque has Often been a Site of Conflict

by Ken Chitwood

"Controlled access to the site reminds Palestinians of their relative powerlessness in their ongoing land disputes with Israeli authorities. At the same time, attacks at Al-Aqsa resonate with Muslims across the world who react with horror to what they see as the desecration of one of their most sacred sites."

Sheikh Jarrah Highlights the Violent Brazenness of Israel's Colonialist Project

by Noura Erakat and Mariam Barghouti

Media attention to the recent actions of Zionist settlers displacing Palestinian occupants of East Jerusalem should not give the impression that this activity is new. The authors argue it is part of a process that has been continuous since 1948. 

Teshuvah: A Jewish Case for Palestinian Refugee Return

by Peter Beinart

Peter Beinart argues that the history of the Jewish people and the events of 1948 compel Israeli political leaders and American and world Jewish organizations to recognize a right of return for displaced Palestinians as part of a resolution to the current crisis in East Jerusalem. 

The Complicated History of Religion and Archaeology

Modern archaeology has largely succeeded in instituting professionalization and historical rigor to the study of sites of theological significance, but the discipline has a long and continuing historical entanglement with efforts to find proof of religious doctrines.

Jerusalem Criticizes Berlin’s Jewish Museum for ‘Anti-Israel Activity’

Its latest show, “Welcome to Jerusalem,” also got people talking. And it appeared to draw criticism from an unlikely source: the highest levels of the Israeli government.

If Trump Wants to Divide Jerusalem into Three

by Daniel Pipes

If Ben Caspit is correct about Trump proposing to divide Jerusalem into three, the consequences will be major and long lasting.

We Wanted to Publish an Illustrated History of the Holy Land. We Couldn’t Make Everybody Happy.

by H. G. M. Williamson

One compromise was to stop our history in 1918.

What Happens When a Holocaust Memorial Plays Host to Autocrats

Yad Vashem is both a memorial of a genocide, and a tool of Israeli realpolitik.

The Fantasy of an International Jerusalem

by Martin Kramer

One-hundred years ago, over a lunch, the internationalization of Jerusalem became irrelevant—and it remains so.

Gil Troy back’s Trump decision on Jerusalem

The McGill historian says Israelis shouldn’t be deterred just because there’s opposition.

Rashid Khalidi opposes Trump decision on Jerusalem

by Rashid Khalidi

But he sees a silver lining:  “The US Can No Longer Pretend to Be an Honest Broker of Peace.”

Daniel Pipes backs Trump decision on Jerusalem

by Daniel Pipes

"Good for Trump ignoring threats of the Arab street rising up; the riot veto must not be allowed to determine policy."

Why Trump’s evangelical supporters welcome his move on Jerusalem

by Julie Ingersoll

The nation of Israel and the role of the city of Jerusalem are central in the “end-times” theology – a form of what is known as “pre-millennialism” – embraced by many American conservative Protestants. ​

Pakistani Historian Mobarak Haidar says Muslims “have no religious basis to rule Jerusalem”

His comments were circulated widely by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)

Another way Trump will get us Killed: to move US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem

by Juan Cole

Israel conquered most of Jerusalem and its hinterlands in 1967. It then annexed these regions in a quite illegal move.

The Conflict in Jerusalem Is Distinctly Modern

Here’s the history.