by Ilene Prusher

I didn’t carry a gun in Jerusalem; do I need one in Boca Raton?

American politicians suggest I come to campus armed, but I never did in Kabul or Baghdad – so why start doing so in Florida?

By Ilene Prusher | Oct 12, 2015 | 04:51 PM | 4

Mass, random shooting sprees are as American as baseball and apple pie
By Chemi Shalev | 10
Gunman kills 9 at Oregon college, dies in shootout with police
By Reuters
Why the United States won't control guns
By Alan M. Dershowitz | 5

Sukkot in Florida: Hurricanes, heat and Home Depot

Why build a sukkah when there's no time, it's too hot, and you might get a threatening summons from the Homeowners' Association?

By Ilene Prusher | Sep 27, 2015 | 01:44 PM | 4

A Deutsche Lufthansa AG airplane takes off at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 1

When I said I was leaving Israel, I got these 5 reactions

'How could you? Take me with you. It’s a good time to get the hell out of here.' Just a few of the reactions this writer has received as she packed her bags for a trip to America with no defined return date.

By Ilene Prusher | Sep 7, 2015 | 10:06 PM | 17

Mohammed Nawajeh in his home in Khirbet Susya with his wife and a niece.

Susya, the next outrage in the Israeli-Palestinian dance of build-and-destroy

How did this tiny Palestinian village facing demolition become a household name in European capitals and in Washington?

By Ilene Prusher | Aug 4, 2015 | 11:34 AM | 10

From robust and intrusive to 24/7: Obama’s changing lexicon of Iran inspections

There's a marked difference between April's Obama and July's Obama, and it's no coincidence that two key words disappeared from the latter's vocabulary.

By Ilene Prusher | Jul 14, 2015 | 11:26 PM | 2

An impossible watch heist, now on display at Jerusalem museum

The Islamic Museum shows off wide variety of unique timepieces. However, watches stolen during a daring raid 32 years ago may steal the show.

By Ilene Prusher | Jul 1, 2015 | 05:25 PM

A ball of fire rises from an explosion on al-Zafer apartment tower following an Israeli air strike

UN report finds: Israel's 'roof-knock' warning no way to prevent civilian casualties

For many Gazans, there's no way to tell an Israeli warning from the real thing, not to mention the little time left to flee before airstrike comes.

By Ilene Prusher | Jun 23, 2015 | 11:52 AM | 20

Ultra-orthodox Jewish man passes by Palestinians in Jerusalem.

The high cost of not making peace: RAND study calculates dividends for Israelis, Palestinians

Director of RAND’s Israeli-Palestinian initiative tells Haaretz that the study is an attempt to show Israeli and Palestinian leaders the consequences of their decisions: 'We hope it will be a tool from the policymaking perspective.'

By Ilene Prusher | Jun 8, 2015 | 10:27 PM | 3

Photo © Ricki Rosen, from the film 'Anne Frank Comes Out of Africa'

Since when is oppressing the stranger a Jewish value?

A new campaign aims to make Israelis care about the plight of African asylum seekers.

By Ilene Prusher | Jun 5, 2015 | 03:20 PM | 5

Israeli youths hold their national flag as they take part in the 'flag march' through Damascus Gate.

On Jerusalem Day, is there anything to celebrate?

Those nationalists who want to rub their sovereignty in the faces of disempowered East Jerusalemites only succeed in engendering more hatred in a city for whose peace they profess to pray.

By Ilene Prusher | May 17, 2015 | 06:43 PM | 3

Ethiopian Israelis clash with police officers in a protest in Tel Aviv, May 4, 2015.

Beyond Baltimore: The ugly truth about racism and police brutality in Israel

Israel is perhaps no better and no worse when it comes to racism than America. But here it's even easier for people in power to justify their behavior.

By Ilene Prusher | May 4, 2015 | 04:15 PM | 8

An official carries the U.S. flag after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke in Lausanne April 2

In the land of the inevitable critics: Shaky Iran deal is better than a war

Israel’s nuclear experts side with Netanyahu in opposing Obama on the framework deal with Iran: But is it a worse option than the risk of another Middle East war?

By Ilene Prusher | Apr 5, 2015 | 03:10 PM | 20

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu campaigns in the southern city of Ashkelon March 17, 2015

Netanyahu resorts to race-baiting to win elections

Benjamin Netanyahu brought Israel so many great things from America. This time, he would have done well to have remembered a few tenets of American political culture.

By Ilene Prusher | Mar 17, 2015 | 08:10 PM | 36

About this blog

Ilene Prusher is a journalist and novelist who recently published her first book, Baghdad Fixer. Born and raised in New York, she spent many years as a foreign correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She has also lived in Istanbul, Tokyo, and Philadelphia – but has come to call Jerusalem home. The Jerusalem Vivendi blog takes its name from the Latin term “modus vivendi,” which refers to (1) a way of living or (2) the status which results when two parties in an unresolved conflict agree to disagree. For more information, see Ilene’s website, or follow her on Twitter @IlenePrusher.