Jerusalem

People watch the Purim parade in Jerusalem, Monday, March 25, 2024. For the first time after 42 years and amid the Israel-Hamas war, Jerusalem holds a Purim parade on Monday. 

‘Our joy is limited’: A subdued Purim in Israel during wartime 

Jews around the world just celebrated the holiday of Purim, which is said to mark the survival of Jews in ancient Persia. In Israel, it is known for being a raucous holiday with parties, costumes, sweets and drinking. But for many Israelis, the war meant this year’s holiday felt different.

‘Our joy is limited’: A subdued Purim in Israel during wartime 
Structures built by the Nabateans more than two millennia ago, like this remnant at Mada’in Salih, Saudi Arabia, rival those of ancient Rome and Greece.

Out of Eden Walk: Walking to the Holy Land

Out of Eden Walk: Walking to the Holy Land
A main street on the edge of Mea She'arim, a Haredi (religious) neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Neturei Karta: an Orthodox Jewish sect that doesn’t believe in the concept of a Jewish state of Israel

Neturei Karta: an Orthodox Jewish sect that doesn’t believe in the concept of a Jewish state of Israel
Noam Tsuriely is a 28-year-old Jewish Israeli hip-hop artist from Jerusalem, whose debut album will drop later this summer.

This Israeli rapper brings people together through multilingual lyrics

This Israeli rapper brings people together through multilingual lyrics
man tattooing woman

This Jerusalem tattoo studio is part of a centuries-old Christian tradition 

This Jerusalem tattoo studio is part of a centuries-old Christian tradition 
mosque

‘Back to normal’ at Jerusalem’s holiest site 

Authorities managed to avoid a worst-case scenario at the holiest site in Jerusalem during the overlapping religious holidays of Easter, Passover and Ramadan that ended a few weeks ago. Now, things are returning to normal at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

‘Back to normal’ at Jerusalem’s holiest site 
portrait of nun reading a musical score

The astonishing life and music of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the Ethiopian nun who has died at 99

Her exquisite piano compositions drew fans to the Jerusalem monastery where she lived after fleeing Ethiopia, in a stunning fourth act to her life.

The astonishing life and music of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the Ethiopian nun who has died at 99
A worker walks alongside the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant's array of digester eggs in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York

Why has polio emerged in the US, UK and Israel? A polio eradication expert weighs in.

New cases of polio have emerged in the US and Israel, and the disease has been detected in wastewater in the UK. Oliver Rosenbauer, the spokesperson for polio eradication at the World Health Organization, explains how some of them could be linked to the oral vaccine that's long been used to prevent the disease.

Why has polio emerged in the US, UK and Israel? A polio eradication expert weighs in.
US President Joe Biden and Israel's Prime Minister Yair Lapid, sign a security pledge at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem

US and Israel sign joint declaration on Iran's nuclear program during Biden's visit

During President Joe Biden's trip to the Middle East, he's signed a joint declaration with Israel to counter Iran's nuclear program. The World's host Marco Werman speaks with Sina Azodi, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council in Washington, about what the move means.

US and Israel sign joint declaration on Iran's nuclear program during Biden's visit
Biden in a crowd

President Biden’s visit to Israel focuses on regional security 

​​​​​​​The top agenda item for Biden is regional security. Scheduled meetings with Israeli officials focus on strengthening the regional relationships that Israel has forged with some of its Muslim neighbors. 

President Biden’s visit to Israel focuses on regional security 
Palestinian protesters fly Palestinian flags and flags of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, DFLP, during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the entrance the Jewish settlement of Beit El, background near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The politics of Ireland’s enduring support for Palestinians

Ireland is the first EU country to declare that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories amount to de facto annexation.

The politics of Ireland’s enduring support for Palestinians
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stand together at the Capitol

US and Afghan presidents to meet in Washington amid troop withdrawal

President Joe Biden will meet with Afghan counterpart, President Ashraf Ghani, at the White House, as the two countries prepare for US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. And, Australia's largest city goes into partial lockdown over a spike in the COVID-19 delta variant in Sydney. Also, Palestinians are protesting the death of popular activist Nizar Banat while in Palestinian Authority custody.

US and Afghan presidents to meet in Washington amid troop withdrawal
Several Muslims pray facing Mecca before a rough-stone niche in the wall

Why the Al-Aqsa Mosque has often been a site of conflict

The Masjid Al-Aqsa of Jerusalem is linked in the Quran to the story of the night journey of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and has deep religious meaning for Muslims across the world.

Why the Al-Aqsa Mosque has often been a site of conflict
A person is shown in shadow in a blown out window in the collapsed section of a building.

Israel launches deadly airstrikes on Gaza following rocket attacks by Hamas

Top of The World: At least 24 Palestinians, including nine children, were killed overnight and 122 others were wounded in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in a new round of escalating tensions. And, the COVID-19 variant first identified in India has been designated a global concern by the World Health Organization. Also, the FDA has expanded the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 jab to children as young as 12.

Israel launches deadly airstrikes on Gaza following rocket attacks by Hamas
A large crowd of people are shown scattered in the Al-Aqsa Mosque as tear gas is shown surround the area.

Hundreds of Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem

Top of The World: Weeks of mounting tensions between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem’s Old City culminated in another violent clash on Monday. And, more than 1,000 migrants landed on Italy’s southern island of Lampedusa on Sunday in a span of a few hours. Also, a series of bombings at a girls’ school over the weekend in Afghanistan has left 85 people dead — many under the age of 15 — and more than 125 wounded.

Hundreds of Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem