News stories by Jerrold Kessel, page 2

Thousands of Israelis have protested in a central park here demanding that their government revoke its decision to deport 400 children of migrant workers.

On the eve of the start of Ramadan last week, Israeli police demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev desert. It was the third time within two weeks that the village had been razed.

For Muhammad el-Baradiyeh, 38, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is always a blessing.

It was an idea that became an institution, and that became the moving spirit behind the creation of the State of Israel. These were people who wanted to change the world. Now, they're content to live a life of carefree irrelevance. That's the Kibbutz today.

Jerusalem is a city blessed but also cursed by its own holiness. No more so than here at 'Ground Zero', the religious epicentre within the walled Old City, beneath the most disputed holy site -- the Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary as known to Muslims, Har Habayit or the Temple Mount for Jews.

'It was consensual, I owe an apology to no one other than my wife and two children. They're the ones who've suffered from this. And myself.'

Once upon a time, Israel for all its shortcomings, was regarded by much of the world as a true and vibrant democracy. Israelis themselves were never shy of parading their country as 'the only democracy in the Middle East.'

Nasser Abdulhadi is a mild-mannered man who runs a restaurant. He was always known as the jovial sort. One day, his friends say, he stopped being jovial. He chose instead to fight for a world title for one of his country's national dishes, and through that to gain worldwide recognition for Palestine.

A traffic light, yet no traffic at all. In fact, a traffic light...for pedestrians only. And even they move little. There are restrictions on walking out of this village (pop. 3,000).

A new desalination facility has come up here on Israel's Mediterranean seashore, to soothe Israel's chronic fresh water shortage. An elaborate network of pipes beneath the beach reaches westward far into the sea. Eastward, it links up with the national water system.