If the Israel Police’s February raid of the Educational Bookshop in east Jerusalem was akin to the country’s shooting itself in the foot, the cops’ second search on March 11 left once-liberal Israel without a leg to stand on. Police initially confiscated hundreds of books. In the second raid, they briefly detained co-owner Mahmoud Muna’s older brother Imad and his son Ahmad, who manages the literary landmark which the family opened in 1984.
Their alleged crime? They were accused of incitement – for selling a coloring book about Palestine where children can crayon from the river to the sea, and color-pencil all the mountains and valleys in between.
Those who want to add their voice to those protesting this Fahrenheit 451 policy should know that the Arabic-speaking downtown area east of the Old City’s Damascus Gate is flourishing, gentrification is underway, and English and Hebrew are widely spoken. Supported by EU funding, the rich cultural scene beckons those intrepid Israelis who share the view that peace is a grassroots movement rather than a top-down strategy imposed by the government.
The cultural institutions of east Jerusalem
Next door to the Educational Bookshop is the Centre Culturel Français Chateaubriand. It is named after the aristocrat who toured the Mediterranean and Levant in 1806-1807 and documented his travel impressions in his book Itinerary from Paris to Jerusalem, published in 1809.
The center, together with its branches in west Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Gaza, offers cultural events and films with a distinctly Gallic flair. Bien sûr.
Nearby at the corner of Az-Zahra Street is the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research. An oasis of peace where Israeli, Palestinian, and foreign archaeologists rub shoulders, the center offers lectures by scholars and dig leaders about their current research. The free talks are followed by a buffet meant to stimulate dialog.
Az-Zahra Street is as cool a scene as east Jerusalem gets.
The Yabous Cultural Center, founded in 1995 and located since 2011 in the formerly derelict al-Quds movie theater, features concerts, performances, and art exhibitions. Since 1996, Yabous has hosted the annual multidisciplinary Jerusalem Festival. The price? Grushim (pennies).
Nearby is the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, established in 1993. Branches are found in Ramallah and Bethlehem. The Gaza and Nablus branches are temporarily closed. More than 1,000 students are enrolled in the different branches, and another 580 are in children’s choirs. And in Shihabi House, to enjoy an oud concert in the courtyard of the renovated mansion is to appreciate the sublime magic of a Jerusalem summer night.
This cluster of cultural institutions includes al-Hoash Palestinian Art Court. Founded in 2004 as a space for Palestinian artists and scholars, the gallery features the Al Wasiti Archive, and the Yvette and Mazen Qupty Collection. Over the decades, al-Hoash has held more than 100 exhibitions.
Prior to the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, the Kudüs Yunus Emre Türk Kültür Merkezi (Turkish Cultural Center) offered Turkish language courses, primarily appealing to academics researching Israel’s 400-year Ottoman occupation. Now closed, the center used to screen Turkish and Arabic-language films. Established in 2009, the institute – named after 13th-century poet Yunus Emre – operates 56 cultural centers in 46 countries and has taught Turkish to more than 100,000 people.
To the north on Abu Obaida Street is El-Hakawati Theatre, which means “the traditional storyteller.” Also known as the Palestinian National Theatre, the El-Hakawati troupe was founded in 1977. For its first six years, the actors had no permanent home. In 1983, the troupe rented the former Nuzha Cinema, which was damaged in the 1967 Six Day War. The building had been torched by Islamic fundamentalists who believed the cinema was screening pornographic movies. Left as a burnt-out shell, the ruin became a garbage dump. After months of grueling labor by the troupe members, El-Hakawati Theatre opened in 1984 as a playhouse and performing arts center. Although not currently running, El-Hakawati’s puppet theater festival had an international reputation for decades.
Nearby is the grand-daddy of east Jerusalem’s cultural scene – the American Colony Hotel, which has been accommodating guests for more than a century. Book launches are held in the upstairs Pasha Room, often in conjunction with the Educational Bookshop – when co-owners Mahmoud and Imad Muna aren’t incarcerated in the Russian Compound.
In the hotel’s enchanting courtyard, you can enjoy a pot of mint tea; or you can belly up to the hotel’s bar for an opportunity to schmooze with foreign journalists and visiting diplomats. Please tell them that notwithstanding the current toxic political climate, some arguably naïve and ever-hopeful Jerusalemites haven’t lost faith in the dream of coexistence.■