There can be no justification for murder, the violence in Jerusalem isn’t about metal detectors, and there is a way out of this. Tensions in Jerusalem exploded last week in a bloody day that left four Palestinians and three Israelis dead. Israeli security forces killed two Palestinians during demonstrations outside Jerusalem's Old City on Friday, while a third Palestinian was shot and killed by a settler in the East Jerusalem settlement of Ma'ale Zeitim. On Saturday night, a fourth Palestinian was killed during protests. Meanwhile on Friday, a Palestinian from the West Bank village of Kobar broke into the adjacent Israeli settlement of Halamish…

At least two Palestinians are killed by Israeli security forces during demonstrations over the closure of the Al-Aqsa compound. One Palestinian was reportedly shot dead by an Israeli settler. Updated below: Later Friday night, three Israeli settlers were stabbed to death in a West Bank settlement. Photos by Oren Ziv, Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org Three Palestinians were killed and hundreds of others were wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem on Friday. Clashes erupted following a mass prayer in the Palestinian neighborhoods surrounding the Old City, after Israeli authorities placed restrictions on entry to Haram al-Sharif compound for prayer…

Over the last week a series of escalating events on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif has threatened peace and security at the holy site and for Jerusalem as a whole. Ir Amim have created the following primer to help make sense of these rapidly spiraling events and to raise the call for a swift, agreed resolution of the current conflict. By Ir Amim The catalyst The current escalation of events at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound (also known as Al Aqsa compound, the Noble Sanctuary, the Esplanade, the compound) began last Friday with a heinous attack that claimed the lives of two…

Netanyahu called Trump and Putin's ceasefire in Syria a 'bad deal.' But it could be the one thing that prevents Israel from being dragged into war — whether by miscalculation or military escalation. By Shemuel Meir The dramatic announcement by presidents Trump and Putin of a ceasefire in “south-west Syria” earlier this month was greeted in Israel with skepticism. Official Israel wasn’t impressed with the agreement reached by the two superpowers to establish and enforce a buffer zone on Israel’s northern border in the Golan Heights, free of all military activity. [tmwinpost] In the first Israeli cabinet meeting held after…

“No Country for Jewish Liberals,” by Larry Derfner, Just World Books, 260 pp., $26.95 Moving to Israel was an experiment of sorts for Larry Derfner. As a journalist, it was an attempt to advance his career. More significantly, at least with the benefit of hindsight, it was an attempt to reconcile the intoxicating appeal of muscular nationalism with the liberal values he absorbed in his Los Angeles home and by coming of age in the Vietnam-era anti-war movement. It was easier to be liberal in the United States because the real-world consequences of dovish policies rarely put you at personal…

As opposed to Palestinian refugees, the fate of the Syrians expelled from the Golan Heights by Israel in 1967 was covered up and hidden from public awareness. Even today, most Israelis believe the area was largely empty of Syrians, and anyone who may have been there fled voluntarily. By Irit Gal Among the Syrian refugees fleeing their burning country to the European countries that were kind enough to open their gates, there are those who belong to a second generation of refugees. The first fled in 1967 when the Syrian Golan Heights were conquered by the Israeli army. In contrast to the refugees in the West Bank and…

The Israeli government doesn't believe LGBTQ Israelis should be able to adopt children, yet continues to tell the world what a wonderful place Israel for the queer community. By Yael Marom The past few days have been a stark reminder of just how the Israeli government views the LGBTQ community. The Welfare Ministry's statement calling LGBTQ families "irregulars," who should not be allowed to adopt children, is just the latest in a number of legislative moves and court decisions that go directly against LGBTQ rights. As the annual Jerusalem pride march approaches, the queer community in Israel can clearly see the…

Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated against the use of metal detectors outside the holiest Muslim site in the country, following a lethal attack on Israeli security forces late last week. Photos by Faiz Abu Rmeleh and Oren Ziv, text by Oren Ziv Hundreds of Palestinian worshippers held a mass prayer outside the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday, after Israeli authorities forced them to pass through metal detectors at the entrance to the compound's gates. The measure was put in place after the area was closed off for nearly three days, following a lethal attack by three Palestinian…