Jerusalem Vivendi- Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

by Ilene Prusher

Using Nazi settings and DNA tests, Jewish photographer quashes 'the fiction of German blood'

Frankfurt-born New York photographer Marc Erwin Babej pictures contemporary Germans against Nazi backdrops to create 'hyper-heroic, quasi-fascist aura' images.

By Ilene Prusher | Dec 29, 2014 | 01:15 AM | 6

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margaret lay wreaths at a makeshift memorial.

2014 was the year of the 'lone wolf' terrorist

Counter-terror experts compare the phenomenon to school shootings – so hard to predict that the emphasis has to be on stopping them quickly, not preventing them altogether.

By Ilene Prusher | Dec 18, 2014 | 03:08 PM

A burnt classroom at Max Rayne Yad be Yad School in Jerusalem. November 30, 2014.

In Israel, a 'zero tolerance' policy on hate crimes just isn't enough

How has it come to pass that attacks on institutions that work towards Arab-Jewish coexistence are considered a matter of course?

By Ilene Prusher | Dec 1, 2014 | 11:33 PM

A burned classroom at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand Jerusalem School, Nov. 29, 2014.

Someone would rather burn my son's school than let Jews and Arabs coexist

The graffiti on the Jerusalem school will be washed away, and classes will go on; the students' own message will live on: We refuse to be enemies.

By Ilene Prusher | Nov 30, 2014 | 03:43 PM | 21

A boy examines a bullet hole a day after the attack on the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue in Jerusalem

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a bloody image speaks volumes

Israeli and Palestinian media offer the public gruesome images of violence – but only when the victims are from their own side.

By Ilene Prusher | Nov 20, 2014 | 08:09 AM

David Broza with Palestinian artist Issa Freij.

This is Jerusalem: How to hold onto hope in the face of a terror attack

The same night a 3-month old baby was killed in a suspected terror attack in Jerusalem, David Broza helps launch “East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem,” a documentary about how to overcome conflict.

By Ilene Prusher | Oct 23, 2014 | 04:32 PM

Too little, too late, too many: More than 12,000 Iraqis killed in first nine months of 2014

The problem is bigger than the Islamic State: Many minority communities are now in danger of extinction, says a group which tracks minorities worldwide.

By Ilene Prusher | Oct 16, 2014 | 12:00 PM

Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian refugees gather at the border in Suruc, Turkey

Should Israel get involved in the war in Syria?

Syrian opposition figure gambles on a peace mission that includes an unusual trip to Israel.

By Ilene Prusher | Sep 21, 2014 | 03:34 PM | 6

The unsettling links between September 11 and Islamic State

Two wars and 13 years after the 9/11 attacks, we find ourselves with the Islamic State. Did the U.S. invasion of Iraq lay the groundwork for the rise of the Islamic State?

By Ilene Prusher | Sep 11, 2014 | 01:00 PM

Being Steven Sotloff's editor

Not long before his kidnapping, the journalist beheaded by IS sent a note that seems hauntingly prescient: 'It's easy to feel invincible, even with death all around. It's like ... I'm not gonna die.'

By Ilene Prusher | Sep 3, 2014 | 03:39 PM

Riddle of the Sphinx: How does Egypt do it?

With each new round of Israeli-Palestinian confrontation, Egypt emerges strong and indispensable. But its years-long role in the embargo of Gaza is underestimated.

By Ilene Prusher | Aug 31, 2014 | 03:19 PM

Should historic Gaza mosques be spared even if hotbed of terror activity?

Palestinians believe IDF couldn’t care less if it destroys cultural or historic buildings in Gaza; Israelis believe Hamas has turned Gaza’s mosques into legitimate targets.

By Ilene Prusher | Aug 26, 2014 | 12:28 PM | 2

Journalists like James Foley gave their lives to give people a voice

Seeing the image of Foley forced to kneel in his orange jumpsuit threw me back a decade in time, to a period when I was a reporter intermittently covering Iraq.

By Ilene Prusher | Aug 20, 2014 | 09:18 PM

About this blog

Ilene Prusher is a journalist and novelist who recently published her first book, Baghdad Fixer. Born and raised in New York, she spent many years as a foreign correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She has also lived in Istanbul, Tokyo, and Philadelphia – but has come to call Jerusalem home. The Jerusalem Vivendi blog takes its name from the Latin term “modus vivendi,” which refers to (1) a way of living or (2) the status which results when two parties in an unresolved conflict agree to disagree. For more information, see Ilene’s website, or follow her on Twitter @IlenePrusher.