We arrived in Jerusalem in April 2019 and this week, after three and a bit years, we will leave. A lot has happened but how much has changed? Nothing is better, so is it all worse? On a personal level, the past three years have been some of the most interesting, exciting and privileged of … Continue reading The parting shot
Seeking to grab a quick lunch on a Saturday – Shabbat – in Israel, led us into the Arab town of Umm Al Fahm, where we were greeted with unexpected hospitality. Before we went, I didn’t know anything about Umm al Fahm other than that it ‘had a bad press’, and I’m glad I saved … Continue reading Kindness in Umm al Fahm
By now, the footage of Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral procession being brutally attacked by Israeli police forces in East Jerusalem today has been broadcast around the world. Many will call it shocking: instead, I would call it chilling. https://twitter.com/RiyaAlsanah/status/1525122100259872768?t=ZkBHDtIS3jQO4vk3VuPxRA&s=08 It was not shocking that the police forces used brutality on a peaceful gathering: this has … Continue reading RIP: A funeral attacked
A sombre atmosphere has fallen over Jerusalem and the West Bank today as people woke to the news that the much-loved Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh had been shot and killed in Jenin this morning. Shireen was on duty reporting on an Israeli arrest operation in the Jenin refugee camp. She was wearing a … Continue reading A beloved journalist
‘You can’t imagine what we are going through’, said Adam Manasra, referring to the pain inflicted on the small community of Wadi Foquin, in the wake of two recent killings by Israeli forces and a backdrop of demolitions, environmental poisoning and continued encroachment on the village lands. It was a Tuesday evening in Palestine and … Continue reading News from Wadi Foquin
When Putin decided to invade Ukraine with zero grounds or provocation it was the natural order for the international community to ‘Stand with Ukraine’ and start isolating Russia through sanctions and other measures. People around the world were appalled and they expected to see immediate action taken to defend innocent people. Not all aggressors use … Continue reading Is Israel guilty of apartheid?
‘Soap, knafeh, cafes...that’s Nablus’, said our tour guide for the day, teeing up the places he would take us. It was a rainy Saturday in January and we had come with several other families for an insider’s tour around Nablus. In keeping with the generous spirit of Nablus, our guide was actually not one but … Continue reading Why I love Nablus
Arriving in the small West Bank town of Aboud, with zero expectations about what we might find, I was unaware that I was about to be charmed by this historically rich Christian town. It might surprise you to hear that despite being called the Holy Land on account of Jesus’ birth, life and death in … Continue reading The Saints of Aboud
It’s olive picking season again and that means that many people take to the fields in a rush to pick their olives in the narrow window after the first rains but before the cold weather sets in. Olive picking is a deep-rooted part of Palestinian society that has been part of the annual calendar for … Continue reading Olive Highs and Lows
Over the past few years, we’ve spent a fair amount of time in Bethlehem one way or another and have really enjoyed the relaxed, low-key vibe and the novelty factor that this iconic place actually exists. The low-key factor however, means that after you’ve been to the Church of the Nativity and wandered around some … Continue reading Backstreet Bethlehem
Last weekend we were thirsty for a Palestinian adventure, and we headed off into the West Bank with the intention of tracking down a new and bizarre landmark alongside a 1970’s retro experience. Our travels took us past Nablus to a café that has opened inside a Boeing-747 and to the area of Al-Bidhan for … Continue reading Swimming in Al-Bidhan
Walking along Edinburgh’s prestigious George Street, on an August afternoon with the wind and drizzle whipping my umbrella around, Palestine was far from my mind. That was until I stumbled across Hadeel, a Palestinian Fair trade craft shop, nestled inside one of the grand Georgian buildings. Stepping inside, I was astonished to see almost identical … Continue reading Finding Palestine Abroad
On a hot summer’s day, the sea started to beckon, and we set off for the picturesque town of Jaffa, that holds a special place in the hearts of many Palestinians. Jaffa is an ancient port town on the Mediterranean coast, that has been inhabited for thousands of years. It features in several Biblical stories … Continue reading Jaffa
It was just after eight on a hot Sunday morning as we pulled out of our driveway and spotted our friend Ahmad who was delivering the daily newspapers. ‘We can’t chat as we have important business at Qasr Al Yahud, we’re baptising our friend’s baby this morning’. ‘Is it being born in the river?’ he … Continue reading The Baptism Site
On our way to Zabuba, the most Northern village in Palestine, I vowed that we would never return. We were already running late before we got lost following the woefully bad navigation app, we scratched the car turning an impossibly tight corner through narrow streets and we were bickering and in a bad mood. Then … Continue reading Tobacco picking in Zabuba
One of the most surprising things that has happened in Israel over the past few months has been the unrest that has occurred across the country in solidarity with Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Is this tension new or was it there all along? Nourooz lives in the Northern town … Continue reading The girl from Tarshiha
Sadness, anger, frustration, and perhaps a small flicker of hope. These are the emotions that a lot of people are carrying into the new week across Israel and Palestine. A cease fire came into effect from Friday at 2am which has stopped Israel’s bombing of Gaza and Hamas firing rockets out of Gaza into Israel. … Continue reading Insanity is not breaking the cycle
Many people around the world already know that Israel’s line that it is merely defending itself from Palestinian militants is wearing thin even with their American friends. You would have to go back thousands of years in history to decide who started it, when it started or who is to blame, so let’s park those … Continue reading Playing War Fair
The view from Sheikh Jarrah - an update on a week of violence around Jerusalem, Israel and Palestine.
On Monday, I wrote that I feared that people would lose their lives in the current escalation of tensions between Israel and Palestine, and they did, but not in the way that anyone expected. During Monday, thousands of Palestinians were protesting their right to pray in the Al Aqsa mosque as Israeli police stormed the … Continue reading Flash Update
There is a lot of fuel on the fire in Jerusalem at the moment and it is burning. As I write this on Monday morning, Israeli police forces are clashing with Palestinians at the Al Aqsa mosque site and in several other locations around the Old City and it is being reported that hundreds of … Continue reading #savesheikhjarrah
East Jerusalem has featured prominently in the news over the past week. On 27 April, Human Rights Watch issued a 213 page report which examines Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and concludes that there is strong evidence that Israel is committing crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution. This is most severe in the occupied territories … Continue reading News from East Jerusalem
It has been a troubled week in East Jerusalem, with clashes breaking out across several areas of the city in response to rising tensions between Jewish and Muslim residents and also Muslims and the police. The holy month of Ramadan is underway, and it is usual for this to create some unrest in Jerusalem. During … Continue reading Clashes in the city
It is impossible to live in East Jerusalem and not to hear regular tales of injustice, including unnecessary police brutality, house demolitions and a wide range of acts designed to strip Palestinians of their dignity. Only last week a couple were shot in their car at a mobile checkpoint a few miles away from Jerusalem. … Continue reading (un)peaceful protest
As you approach Jerusalem on the main highway from Tel Aviv, Lifta stands like a ghost town on the hillside. It is a prominent reminder of the Naqba[i] which saw the residents of many Palestinian villages scared away from their homes during 1947-1948. Lifta is unique in that many of the original houses are still … Continue reading Lifta
We had heard that Wadi Fukin was a ‘nice place for a walk’ and made a few enquiries which resulted in the instruction to meet a man called Ata outside the village mosque on Saturday at 0930. We thought he might point us in the direction of the walking routes, but he was generous with … Continue reading Wadi Fukin
East Jerusalem Diaries 