Acclaimed scholar and Jerusalemite Hillel Cohen shared with us the stories of his childhood in Jerusalem, how he became interested in the history of the city and particular in establishing a personal relation with the Palestinians of Jerusalem after 1967. This is the moment Hillel became also interested in Jewish-Arab relations, how they developed and have been shaped by history. As we discussed his very famous work Year Zero of the Arab-Israeli Conflict 1929, Cohen clarified that 1929 was not really the beginning of the conflict and that we should understand that the violence that took place in the city while shaped views of each other, it did not certainly halted Arab-Jewish relations. We then discussed the question of redemption as a founding ideology of Zionism. Lastly we discussed the Rise and Fall of Arab Jerusalem, a fascinating work, a short but powerful narrative about the last 60 years of history of Jerusalem. After 1967, despite the occupation of East Jerusalem, the city became the hub of Palestinian politics and culture. The aftermath of the Oslo process pushed the Palestinians away emptying East Jerusalem of Palestinian political and cultural leadership. Once again we discussed the question of the Blue ID for Palestinians, something the largest majority of Israeli and audiences abroad are not aware of. While we did not talk about the future, we discussed his views about Jerusalem in 2021.

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