From Jewish Settlers to West Bank Palestinians: The Young Women Sharing Language in Jerusalem

Manar Bader, a 26-year-old Palestinian woman from East Jerusalem, and Lior Urian, 32, a Jewish Israeli from Tel Aviv, met in the hall at Hebrew University of Jerusalem nine years ago and became friends. “We lived in two separate spheres with deep ignorance and gaps in language, but we became friends quite quickly,” says Urian.

“I was an out-of-touch resident of Tel Aviv, and via Manar’s story, I understood the reality of the eastern part of the city,” she said, referring to East Jerusalem, “the people behind the facts. Years later we thought that our story was the story of the city, and we wanted to build a platform that would make it possible for other women to better understand the other side.”