Jerusalem Story - The City Retold

Featured Topics

Closure and Access to Jerusalem

Jerusalem is known as an open, international, “city of peace.” For millions of Palestinians, however, it is a closed, virtually unreachable, city.

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The Separation Wall

Israel's Separation Wall, called al-jidar by Palestinians, has drastically reshaped the geopolitical fabric of Jerusalem.

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Land

In Jerusalem as in the rest of the country, land is the locus of the struggle for control. Here we explore the status of land in Jerusalem and its environs.

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Who Are the Palestinians of Jerusalem?

Palestinians comprise nearly half the population of Jerusalem and have built, and shaped, the city for centuries, yet their stories are rarely told.

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Forcible Home Expulsions

How the city of Jerusalem works in tandem with the settler organizations to take away Palestinians’ private homes by force.

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Blog Post Update on Human Rights in East Jerusalem: “We’re in a Very Dangerous Situation”

A Palestinian human rights activist in Jerusalem describes the dangerous spike in Israeli violations of Palestinian rights there since Israel declared war on Gaza on October 7.

Blog Post Impact of Israel’s Gaza War: “Jerusalem Is Completely Isolated”

Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza is disproportionately impacting Palestinian women in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Blog Post Khazaaen, the Jerusalem Archive for Palestinian Social History

Khazaaen was set up with the goal of preserving the stories of Jerusalemites, but it quickly became a bigger and more far-reaching project.

Blog Post Layali al-Tarab fi Quds al-‘Arab Festival Closes Its 2023 Season

Palestinian Jerusalemites usher in the fall season with a splendid Arabic music festival.

Short Take The Legal and Institutional Complexities of What It Means to Be a Palestine Refugee

There are 5.9 million registered Palestinian refugees with the UNRWA, and they continue to have a unique status under international law.

Interview Palestinians’ Historic and Legal Rights to Palestinian Nationality

Palestinian Jerusalemites are indigenous natives who enjoyed full citizenship rights and whose international rights were profoundly violated when Israel denationalized them as it established its state. A conversation with international law expert Susan Akram.

Graphic Ever More Precarious

The evolution of the legal status of Palestinians of Jerusalem, from the 19th century to today, with milestones of increasing precarity along the way

Forcible Home Expulsions
Video Sharing Our House with Israeli Settlers in Sheikh Jarrah

A twin brother and sister offer the viewer a glimpse of life in Sheikh Jarrah, where Jewish settlers are aggressively targeting Palestinian homes for forcible expulsions.

Personal Story Haunted by Waiting for Expulsion in Sheikh Jarrah

The al-Qasem family home in Sheikh Jarrah, home to three generations, is a target for Jewish settlers.

Backgrounder The West Side Story, Part 1: Jerusalem before “East” and “West”

Before 1948, Jerusalem was not split between an “East” and a “West.” Rather, a cosmopolitan, multiethnic New City grew organically out of the Old City.

Personal Story “It’s Not My Village Any More”

A survivor of the Deir Yasin massacre tells her haunting story.

Personal Story The End of Arab Qatamon—A Memoir

A vivid memoir attesting to what it was like to live through the violent transformation of the New City of Jerusalem into West Jerusalem in 1947–48

Blog Post Gaza War: Escalating Israeli Abuse of Palestinian Prisoners Is Hidden Front

Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners before and after the October 7 Hamas attack is taking a toll.

Blog Post Mohanad Darwish: “I’ve Never Been Surrounded by This Many Rifles in My Entire Life”

What is it like to come of age in Jerusalem as a Palestinian male?

Blog Post Children at High Risk: “After Gaza, the Most Dangerous Place for Palestinians Right Now Is East Jerusalem”

The October 7 war has led to increased violations of Palestinian children’s rights in Jerusalem and across the oPT, and defending them has become more challenging.

Bio Amin al-Husseini

A founder of the Palestinian nationalist movement; a devout, diplomatic, and popular leader who spent much of his career in exile

Feature Story Armenian Community Steps Up Resistance to Land Deal as Xana Gardens Intensifies Violent Takeover Efforts

Armenians in Jerusalem organize a peaceful, round-the-clock sit-in to guard their community’s property.

Roundtable One Month On—Palestinian Jerusalemites Reflect on the War’s Impact on Their Community

Under the radar, Palestinian Jerusalemites are also feeling the brunt of Israel’s fury in the wake of October 7. A community at risk takes stock.

Blog Post Israel Muzzles Free Speech, Arresting Dozens and Creating Fear

New Israeli legislation and court decisions create a climate punishing all dissent and solidarity with Gaza.

Blog Post Impact of Israel’s Gaza War: “Jerusalem Is Completely Isolated”

Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza is disproportionately impacting Palestinian women in Jerusalem and the West Bank.