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

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.

Who Are the Palestinians of Jerusalem? Newly Renovated, the Armenian Museum in Jerusalem’s Old City Reopens

A newly renovated museum in Jerusalem’s Old City explores 3,000 years of Armenian art, culture, and history.

Spiritual and Religious Life In Sufism, Food Is a Divine Gift—Izzeldin Bukhari Offers It to Celebrate the Heritage of His People and His City

Izzeldin Bukhari founded Sacred Cuisine to celebrate Palestinian culinary heritage and his city, Jerusalem, and to express the essence of his Sufi religion, which views feeding others as a form of love. 

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 West Side Story An Israeli Prime Minister Now Lives in the Villa Salameh in West Jerusalem

Yair Lapid, Israel’s 14th prime minister, controversially moved into Villa Salameh in Talbiyya, the former home of exiled Arab Jerusalemite businessman Hanna Salameh.

Four Generations and 100 Years of Ceramic Artistry: The Balian Design Studio

Photographer Mustafa al-Kharouf reveals his love for Armenian ceramic art as part of our series on Jerusalemites’ favorite places in the city.