The Struggle for Jerusalem’s Holy Places investigates the role of architecture and urban identity in relation to the political economy of the city and its wider state context seen through the lens of the holy places. Reflecting the broad disciplinary backgrounds of the authors, this book provides perspectives from architecture, urbanism, and politics, and provides in-depth investigations of historical, ethnographic and policy-related case studies. The research is substantiated by fieldwork carried out in Jerusalem over the past ten years as part of the ESRC Large Grants project ‘Conflict in Cities’. By analysing new dynamics of radicalisation through land seizure, the politicisation of parklands and tourism, the strategic manipulation of archaeological and historical narratives and material culture, and through examination of general appropriation of Jerusalem’s varied rituals, memories and symbolism for factional uses, the book reveals how possibilities of co- existence are seriously threatened in Jerusalem. Shedding new light on the key role played by everyday urban life and its spatial settings for any future political agreements about the city and its religious sites, this book is a useful reference work for students and scholars of Middle East Studies, Architecture, Religion and Urban Studies.

An entirely fresh take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that examines the life-shaping reverberations of wars and ongoing tensions upon the everyday lives of families in Jerusalem. An American, secular, diasporic Jew, Lis Harris grew up with the knowledge of the historical wrongs done to Jews. In adulthood, she developed a growing awareness of the wrongs they in turn had done to the Palestinian people. This gave her an intense desire to understand how the Israelis’ history led them to where they are now. However, she found that top-down political accounts and insider assessments made the people most affected seem like chess pieces. What she wanted was to register the effects of the country’s seemingly never-ending conflict on the lives of successive generations. Shuttling back and forth over ten years between East and West Jerusalem, Harris learned about the lives of two families: the Israeli Pinczowers/Ezrahis and the Palestinian Abuleils. She came to know members of each family—young and old, religious and secular, male and female. As they shared their histories with her, she looked at how each family survived the losses and dislocations that defined their lives; how, in a region where war and its threat were part of the very air they breathed, they gave children hope for their future; and how the adults’ understanding of the conflict evolved over time. Combining a decade of historical research with political analysis, Harris creates a living portrait of one of the most complicated and controversial conflicts of our time.

Napoleon’s invasion of the Middle East marks the beginning of the modern era in the region. This book traces the developments that led to the making of a new and separate geographical-political entity in the Middle East known as Eretz Israel and the establishment of the State of Israel within its bounds. Thus, its time frame runs from Napoleon’s invasion of Eretz Israel / Palestine in 1799 to the establishment of Israel in 1948–1949. Eretz Israel as the formal name of a separate entity in the modern era first appeared in the early translations into Hebrew of the Balfour Declaration, while in the original document the country was referred to as “Palestine.” During the period of Ottoman rule the territory that would in time be called Eretz Israel / Palestine was not a separate political unit. Among Jews, use of “Eretz Israel” increased only after the beginning of Zionist aliyot. Had the Zionist movement not arisen, it is doubtful whether the development to which this study is devoted would have occurred. The motivating force behind that process is without doubt the Zionist element. That is why Jews are the major protagonists in this book.

This topical book addresses contemporary concern with the interconnections between geography and morality. Covers both the geographical context of morality, and moralities in geographical methods and practices. Contains up-to-date case studies based on original research. Deals with controversial issues, such as problems of globalization, European integration, human rights in Nigeria, territorial conflict in Israel, and land reform in post-apartheid South Africa. The editors are well-published leading international authorities. The contributors are drawn from Australia, Eastern Europe, Israel, South Africa, the UK and the US.

This book examines the politics of Jerusalem since 1967 and the city’s decline as an Arab city. Covering issues such as the Old City, the barrier, planning regulations and efforts to remove Palestinians from it, the book provides a broad overview of the contemporary situation and political relations inside the Palestinian community, but also with the Israeli authorities.

This edited volume offers profiles of contemporary Israeli Haredi (i.e., Jewish Ultra-Orthodox) society from several disciplinary points of view, resisting a generalized approach and examining the different, sometimes competing currents, that define it. It is argued that Haredi society has undergone a process of rejuvenation in recent history: demographically, it has experienced steady and consistent growth; on the Israeli political stage, Haredi parties have become increasingly influential; and culturally, the Haredi presence is increasingly felt in Israeli news media, popular movies, and TV series. Each of the chapters in the book focuses on a particular topic and combines research findings with an assessment of the current state of the field. These topics encompass Haredi ideology, politics, military service, education, geography, the media, and healthcare – together, they paint a complex picture of Haredi society as one of contradictory layers, dimensions, and aspects. Making sense of contemporary Haredi society is critical for anyone interested in understanding Israeli society as a whole, but the book will also appeal to historians of religion, scholars of contemporary conservative enclave religious societies and cultures, and those who focus on Jewish studies in the modern era.

Praised as a major political thinker of the twentieth century and vilified as the putative godfather of contemporary neoconservatism, Leo Strauss (1899–1973) has been the object of heated controversy both in the United States and abroad. This book offers a more balanced appraisal by focusing on Strauss's early writings. By means of a close and comprehensive study of these texts, David Janssens reconstructs the genesis of Strauss's thought from its earliest beginnings until his emigration to the United States in 1937. He discusses the first stages in Strauss's grappling with the "theological-political problem," from his doctoral dissertation on Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi to his contributions to Zionist periodicals, from his groundbreaking study of Spinoza's critique of religion to his research on Moses Mendelssohn, and from his rediscovery of medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy to his research on Hobbes. Throughout, Janssens traces Strauss's rediscovery of the Socratic way of life as a viable alternative to both modern philosophy and revealed religion.

The author writes from the experience of thirty years working in the Jerusalem municipality, including 21 years as a public official and ten years as an elected councilor representing the left-wing Meretz party. This book is born from an urgent need to understand the mechanisms articulating the city in which I live, which I love and for which I suffer. I am from Jerusalem, I could not live in another city and the barbarities my government is perpetrating on the Palestinian parts of the city do not allow me to remain quiet. Through this book I engage with the prevailing model of power and repression and the neo-colonial system that expresses its perverse functioning. This book is centered on the political and economic mechanisms practiced by Israel in East Jerusalem over the last decade. These mechanisms reinforce the occupation and keep Jerusalems Palestinians subjugated through co-optation into the Israeli system. Analysis is centered on the changes wrought during the mayoralty of Nir Barkat (20082018), who came into politics from the business world and introduced management concepts to the workings of municipal government. While Barkat succeeded in creating the illusion of a new era in eastern Jerusalem, the result is heartbreaking displacement and vulnerability toward East Jerusalems residents, and the application of urban planning that impacts negatively on residents legal status. The City of Jerusalem: The Israeli Occupation and Municipal Subjugation of Palestinian Jerusalemites is a profound sociological and economic analysis of a city under a normalised occupation which has destroyed the very essence of what Jerusalem stands for: a reflection of diverse religious belief within a multicultural setting, where citizens rights are upheld and not discriminated against for political purpose.

Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic Worship treats of the holy sites of the Muslims in Jerusalem and the ceremonies and pilgrimage to these places during the early Muslim period. It is based primarily on primary Arabic sources, some of which have been used for the first time. Emphasis is given to the works of “Literature in Praise of Jerusalem”, an important and unique source for the history and topography of the city. Many of the topics in this book have never been dealt with before, e.g. the detailed description of the first known guide for the Muslim pilgrim to Jerusalem, that dates from the 11th century, and the supplementary discussion of the 16th-century guide. Both guides are still in manuscript and have never been published.