Jerusalem Notebook

Rediscover Jerusalem through a Palestinian lens.
Cancer Patients from Gaza Being Treated at Jerusalem Hospitals Appeal Israel’s Deportation Order

They have cancer; they struggled to get to Jerusalem for treatment; now they face deportation to a war zone without health care.

Closure and Access to Jerusalem Palestinian Jerusalemites Invent Apps to Navigate Unpredictable Checkpoint Statuses

The hazards of driving while Palestinian

Spiritual and Religious Life al-Barazeq al-Maqdisi, a Ramadan Treat

Nowhere can you find barazeq as scrumptious as you find it in Jerusalem during Ramadan.

Blog Posts

Who Are the Palestinians of Jerusalem? A City in Distress: East Jerusalem Noir

Palestinian authors describe Jerusalemites and their struggles to navigate their daily lives despite crushing Israeli colonial practices. A book review.

The Separation Wall One Man’s Tragedy, Dissected, Exposes the Brutalities of Israel’s Rule over Palestinians

The story behind a tragic accident offers a window into a brutal settler-colonial landscape. A book review.

What Is Jerusalem? Reconstructing the Life and Erasure of Jerusalem’s Moroccan Quarter

This definitive history of Jerusalem’s iconic Moroccan Quarter explains its significance over centuries, how Israel destroyed it overnight, and why it still matters. A book review.

What Is Jerusalem? Jerusalem, the Living, in the Book, My Jerusalem

A collection of 44 essays and poems brings to life the voices of Jerusalem’s indigenous Palestinian community and the visitors who encountered them. A book review.

What Is Jerusalem? Colonial Jerusalem

Colonial Jerusalem, written by Thomas Abowd in 2014, seems more relevant today than ever. A book review. 

The West Side Story The Nakba as Experienced by a Jerusalem Child

The trauma of losing home and familiar ways of being in the world lingered with author Nina Bazouzi Cullers for decades after her family left Qatamon for the Old City. A book review.

What Is Jerusalem? Stories from the Old City: Matthew Teller’s Nine Quarters of Jerusalem

Matthew Teller’s biography of Jerusalem’s Old City offers history as well as the lived experience of today’s Palestinian residents. A book review. 

The Origins of an Iconic Jerusalem Art Form: Armenian Ceramics

Feast of Ashes by Sato Moughalian chronicles the origins of the Armenian ceramic tradition in Jerusalem, first introduced there by the author’s grandfather, a refugee from the Armenian genocide. A book review.