Axis Mundi: Recent Episodes
Terrestrial Jerusalem
Each month, Terrestrial Jerusalem's team goes beyond the headlines to break down the latest developments out of Jerusalem, examining their impact on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of the contested city in a future two-state solution.
With the specter of a wider Israel-Iran war looming over the Middle East, Evan Gottesman catches up with TJ's Danny Seidemann and Palestinian affairs expert Jumana Jaouni about the latest out of Jerusalem. Despite recent provocations at the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif—and shameless obfuscations by Israeli politicians—might the contested holy city actually be the perfect, imperfect example for the region to follow?
Evan Gottesman checks in with TJ's Danny Seidemann and Jerusalem expert Jumana Jaouni about developments in Kufr Aqab—a Palestinian neighborhood and oft-ignored governing void located within Jerusalem's official borders—but on the east side of the Israel-West Bank barrier.
At the end of May, Spain, Ireland, and Norway recognized the State of Palestine alongside Israel. The right-wing Israeli government's response raises questions about the future Spain's consulate in Jerusalem—and other diplomatic offices in the contested city. Evan Gottesman joins TJ's Danny Seidemann and Jumana Jaouni to break down the state of international representation in Jerusalem.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif for the first time since the Hamas attacks of October 7 and the war in Gaza. Was this a message from Ben Gvir's handlers on Balfour Street to the international community? Evan Gottesman, Danny Seidemann, and Jumana Jaouni unpack the firebrand minister's contentious visit. Plus, a look at the latest in Sheikh Jarrah.
The Axis Mundi team welcomes Palestinian affairs expert Jumana Jaouni to the show. Evan Gottesman, TJ's Danny Seidemann, and Jumana discuss Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's corrosive influence on the situation at the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif and the chilling of public discourse in Jerusalem since Hamas' October 7 attacks and the start of the war in Gaza.
Listen to "The Goat"—a previous installment of TJ's Axis Mundi podcast referenced in this episode.
Ahead of Ramadan, Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann break down the dangerous rumors about Al Aqsa that help fuel tensions between Israelis and Palestinians—and the dangerous realities that persist in the city.
Read Danny's article in Al Majalla: "Fears Mount Over Rising Al Aqsa Tensions As Ramadan Nears" (Arabic version available here)
Read Danny's article in Foreign Policy: "The Perils of Polling in East Jerusalem"
Evan Gottesman speaks with Danny Seidemann about the role of UNRWA in East Jerusalem in the wake of reports that members of the Palestinian refugee agency's staff participated in Hamas's October 7 terrorist attacks. Plus, Evan and Danny take a look at the International Court of Justice's decision on the case brought against Israel by South Africa over the war in Gaza.
In the final episode of 2023, Evan Gottesman speaks with TJ's Danny Seidemann about a crisis affecting one quarter of the land in the Armenian Quarter—the smallest of the four communities in Jerusalem's Old City. Plus, the "Israeli lawyer who has David Cameron's ear" speaks out.
Listen to our August 2023 episode, which also covered events in the Armenian Quarter.
The Gaza war comes to Jerusalem: Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann discuss a Hamas terrorist attack in the western part of the city, while Israeli security forces tighten restrictions in the east.
Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann examine how the fallout from Hamas's brutal October 7 terrorist attack in southern Israel and the ongoing IDF campaign in Gaza is being felt on the streets of Jerusalem.
Read Danny Seidemann in Foreign Policy: "This War Is Wrought With Historical Trauma"
Jerusalemites head to the polls at the end of October. TJ's Danny Seidemann and podcast host Evan Gottesman discuss the upcoming municipal elections, the city's politics, and whether demographics are destiny in Jerusalem.
Read two perspectives on the future of Jerusalem, referenced in this episode:
"Ignore the Doom Merchants: Jerusalem Is Not a Lost Cause – and Neither Is Israel" by Nir Hasson
"Jerusalem’s Crumbling Present Is Israel’s Likely Future" by Chaim Levinson
Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann discuss a new Israeli government plan for East Jerusalem that seems to contradict the public aims of Prime Minister Netanyahu's far-right coalition and explore what's behind the paradoxical policy. In the second half of the program, Franciscan Action Network Executive Director Michele Dunne gives a deep-dive on one of Jerusalem's most overlooked communities: the city's Christians.
Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann break down the latest news on E1 and settlement expansion around Jerusalem, plus developments in the case of the killing of Eyad al Hallaq. In the second half of the episode, the Economic Cooperation Foundation's Celine Touboul joins the show to share her analysis on the state of Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization and how events in Jerusalem could impact that process.
Click here to read Terrestrial Jerusalem's June 2023 settlements update.
Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann discuss the origins of the ultra-nationalist Flags March and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day). On the second half of the episode, former Egyptian diplomat Ambassador Hesham Youssef shares his take on Cairo's position on Jerusalem and Egypt's role in mediating between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.
Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann discuss the aftermath of the spring holiday triple feature in Jerusalem. In the second half of the episode, Farah Bdour, an expert on Jordan and Jerusalem from the Amman Center for Peace and Development, joins the program to provide insights into the Hashemite Kingdom's role in the holy city.
Click here to read the Aqaba Joint Communique (mentioned in the episode).
Host Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann discuss the confluence of Ramadan, Pesach, and Easter and what it means for Jerusalem, plus a look at the pro-democracy protests in Israel and how the spring holiday season will impact them.
Evan Gottesman speaks with TJ's Danny Seidemann about the fallout from a recent string of terror attacks against Israelis and the settler-led pogrom in the Palestinian town of Huwara. Then, in the second part of the episode, Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt, shares his analysis on the American response to the Huwara rampage and Israeli officials' roles in provoking it.
January 2023 proved to be a difficult month for Jerusalem. Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann look back at the weeks since the new year began, covering two terror attacks, disturbances in Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem, Itamar Ben Gvir's visit to the Temple Mount, the crisis of the Israeli judiciary, and where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fits into all of this.
In Axis Mundi's last episode of 2022, Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann discuss the state of Jerusalem's Christian community, the knowns and unknowns of the incoming far-right Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, and what two terrorist bombings on the western end of Jerusalem mean for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann talk about the ramifications of Israeli security forces' closure of a part of East Jerusalem centered on Shuafat Refugee Camp following a deadly terror attack in early October, plus some final thoughts on Israel's November 1 election.
Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann follow-up on developments in E1, discuss the interplay between Israeli electoral politics and the situation on the Temple Mount, and dive into the ties that bind East Jerusalem and the West Bank (or is it East Jerusalem, West Bank?).
Host Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann examine why a relative calm held in Jerusalem amid the most intense fighting between Israel and a Gaza-based terror group since last May's conflict in the Strip coincided with Jewish-Palestinian violence in the contested city. Plus, a look at why the "doomsday settlement" of E1 isn't generating much buzz less than two weeks before a hearing is scheduled that could see the development proceed.
Evan Gottesman speaks with TJ's Danny Seidemann about E1, Silwan, and July in Jerusalem, when the most important event was one that didn't happen.
It's all about E1 on this episode of Axis Mundi—the contentious settlement proposal is back in the headlines ahead of a July Israeli Civil Administration planning meeting. Evan Gottesman speaks with TJ's Danny Seidemann about E1, its geopolitical relationship with Jerusalem, and its impact on a future two-state outcome—plus, what all this means for U.S. President Joe Biden's upcoming visits to Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann discuss Israeli police actions at two recent Jerusalem funerals—those of Shireen Abu Akleh and Walid al Sharif—and the role of flags in recent tensions in the city—both the police's seizure of Palestinian flags at the Abu Akleh funeral, and the upcoming Yom Yerushalayim flags march.
Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann look back at a tense spring holiday season, including confrontations between Israeli Police and Palestinians at al Aqsa Mosque, why things could have gone worse—and why to stay vigilant; plus, what a goat says about the politics of religion in Jerusalem.
In the wake of four deadly terror attacks in Israel, Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann examine why Jerusalem has so far been spared major bloodshed, whether turmoil there is a foregone conclusion amid a crowded holiday week, and how Israelis, Palestinians, and other concerned parties can keep the peace in the holy city. Plus, a look at the historic Negev Summit and an important update on Sheikh Jarrah.
Host Evan Gottesman and TJ's Danny Seidemann discuss two pending plans for new Israeli national parks in Jerusalem and why sometimes, a park isn't just a park.
Additional resources:
- Church leaders' letter to Israeli Environment Minister Tamar Zandberg
- Insiders' Jerusalem: Expansion of the National Park in the Visual Basin of the Holy City
Last month, Israeli Police squared off against activists and members of the Salhiya family of Sheikh Jarrah as the Jerusalem municipality carried out its first demolition in the East Jerusalem neighborhood since 2017. TJ's Danny Seidemann and Evan Gottesman discuss what is different about the Salhiya's plight compared with the Sheikh Jarrah cases that captured global attention late last spring—and the similarities connecting the two .
TJ's Danny Seidemann and Evan Gottesman discuss the issues and trends that could shape the geopolitics of Jerusalem in 2022, from U.S. foreign policy toward the city to "two-state agnosticism."
TJ's Danny Seidemann and Evan Gottesman discuss how a contentious plan for a Jewish settlement in Atarot—due north of the Green Line outside West Jerusalem—was seemingly pulled from the Israeli government's agenda under pressure from the Biden administration, only to reappear on the ledger a few days later.
On the debut episode of Terrestrial Jerusalem's new Axis Mundi podcast, TJ founder Danny Seidemann joins Evan Gottesman to discuss a proposed compromise in the Sheikh Jarrah case, a major step toward construction of an Israeli settlement in the E1 area, and the developing dispute between the Biden administration and the Israeli government over the reopening of the American consulate in Jerusalem.