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The Big Picture

Foundations
Land and Space
Access, Mobility, and Fragmentation
Status, Voice, and Governance
Home, Family, Mind, and Soul
Community Capacity

Foundations

What Is Jerusalem?
The starting point for anyone wanting to grasp the realities faced by Jerusalem’s Palestinians

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.

The West Side Story
The erased and all-too-often forgotten violent history of how West Jerusalem came to be
Land and Space

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.

Settlements
Israel has used Jewish settlement as a pivotal strategy to control, disrupt, and radically transform the Jerusalem geopolitical landscape.

Forcible Home Expulsions
How the city of Jerusalem works in tandem with the settler organizations to take away Palestinians’ private homes by force.
Access, Mobility, and Fragmentation

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.

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

Neighborhoods beyond the Wall
The 10 abandoned Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem destined for excision from the city
Status, Voice, and Governance

Precarious Status
Most Palestinian Jerusalemites have a legal status that is unique in the world: Although they are indigenous, they are stateless.

Representation
Who represents Palestinian Jerusalemites?
Home, Family, Mind, and Soul

Education
In East Jerusalem, education has been a battleground since Israel occupied it in 1967, and the struggle is only intensifying.

Spiritual and Religious Life
For centuries, Jerusalem has been holy to the three monotheistic religions. What are the realities facing those who wish to worship in this treasured holy space today?
Community Capacity

Health and Health Care
How have Palestinian Jerusalemites helped build health care in the city, and how is that system treating them today?

Surveillance and Detention
How do ubiquitous surveillance, mass arrests, and prolonged detentions facilitate Israel’s iron grip of control over Palestinian Jerusalemites?

Institutional Capacity
Israel’s long record of deinstitutionalizing and de-developing the Palestinians of Jerusalem against the counterpoint of their resilience and determination to retain their agency and dignity in their city

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Qanun

Palestinian girl plays the qanun in Lifta, Jerusalem, as part of a youth music video by the Naqsh Ensemble

Video An Instrumental Ode to a Beloved City

Young Palestinian Jerusalemite musicians play qanun across Jerusalem landscapes.

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Foundations

What Is Jerusalem?

Who Are the Palestinians of Jerusalem?

The West Side Story
Land and Space

Land

Settlements

Forcible Home Expulsions
Access, Mobility, and Fragmentation

Closure and Access to Jerusalem

The Separation Wall

Neighborhoods beyond the Wall
Status, Voice, and Governance

Precarious Status

Representation
Home, Family, Mind, and Soul

Education

Spiritual and Religious Life
Community Capacity

Health and Health Care

Surveillance and Detention

Institutional Capacity

Home
The Big Picture
Jerusalem Notebook
Bios
Quick Facts
Lexicon
Organizations on the Ground

About
Contact
Volunteer
Jerusalem Story Authors

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