Violence Shakes A Divided Jerusalem

A wave of stabbings in Jerusalem has sparked fears of a new Palestinian uprising. We’ll look at the roots of the violence, and the Israeli response.

Nobody should have to live this way. Not Israelis, facing murderous attacks, random knife attacks and more, in Jerusalem and now well beyond. Not Palestinians, up against years of frustration, failed negotiation, roadblocks, crackdowns. What started in Palestinian attacks out of East Jerusalem – knives flashing suddenly in the streets, Israeli Jews dying, assailants, suspects, shot down – now threatens to rage wider. Secretary of State John Kerry, now heading to meet with Mideast leaders. This hour On Point, the bloodshed this time. Palestinian stabbings, Israeli response, and what now.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Gerald Steinberg, professor of political science at Bar Illan University, where he founded the Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation. Founder and President of NGO Monitor. (@geraldngom)

Sayed Kashua, novelist, columnist and television writer. Professor of Hebrew and writing at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Author of the forthcoming book, "Native: Dispatches From an Israeli-Palestinian Life." Also author of "Second Person Singular," "Let It Be Morning" and "Dancing Arabs." A native Israeli-Arab, he left the country in 2014.

Etgar Keret, Israeli writer and filmmaker. Author of the new book, "The Seven Good Years." Also author of "Suddenly, a Knock on the Door" and "The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God."

Producer's Note: Due to an unforeseen scheduling error for our guest, Etgar Keret, parts of this broadcast were less than clear, as Mr. Keret was forced to join us via a cellphone instead of via a studio direct line, as was originally planned. We apologize to Mr. Keret, our two other guests and our listeners for the fuzzy quality of parts of this conversation.

New York Times: Palestinians Set Fire to Joseph’s Tomb in West Bank — "Dozens of Palestinians set fire at dawn on Friday to a holy site known as Joseph’s Tomb, in the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Nablus in the West Bank, damaging the tiny stone compound that many Jews believe to be the final burial place of the son of the biblical patriarch Jacob. The fire punctuated another day of anti-Israel protests by Palestinians in parts of the occupied West Bank and in Gaza that left at least four dead and dozens injured."

Haaretz: Either Kill Sayed Kashua or Make Him Equal — "Woe to us if anyone sees the wave of stabbings in Jerusalem as an achievement. Woe to those who, in the name of the struggle, display joy in the face of murder on the one side and the suicide of children on the other side. Woe to a generation that has brought its children to these deeds. A generation that has left nothing to its sons and daughters but depression and an instinct for revenge."

New Yorker: An Exile in the Corn Belt — "Coexistence of the kind that Kashua represents seems increasingly out of reach these days, when more than a third of Jewish Israelis openly say that Arab citizens shouldn’t be entitled to equal rights. Of 1.7 million Arabs in Israel, perhaps forty thousand lead middle-class lives in mixed cities."