This special issue of "Politika: The Israeli Journal of Political Science and International Relations" presents a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted dynamics of Jerusalem. The articles in this collection examine Jerusalem's historical significance, cultural heritage, and the interplay between its diverse communities. They delve into the spatial dynamics of the city, including urban planning challenges, territorial contestations, and the impacts of demographic shifts. Additionally, the political dimensions of Jerusalem are analyzed, including the role of international actors, negotiations, and the implications of competing national aspirations. Through interdisciplinary lenses, these articles provide fresh insights into Jerusalem's intricate tapestry, challenging prevailing assumptions and offering new perspectives on the city's past and present. By examining Jerusalem's historical evolution and contemporary challenges, this special issue aims to enrich the understanding of this unique city and contribute to ongoing scholarly debates.

Violently contested cities are at the heart of ongoing ethnonational conflicts, and their final status is often a central issue for peace negotiations, without which no final resolution can be reached. These negotiations, typically led by national politicians and diplo- mats, include little, if any, representation of local actors and voices. These voices are often fundamentally different from those of state- centric actors, and they may bring to the table different ideas, values, and perspectives concerning the future of contested cities. This article integrates the seeing like a city theoretical approach with the growing literature on urban peacebuilding and asks: How is seeing peace like a city different from seeing peace like a state? and whether the visions of local pro-peace grassroots leaders are com- plementary or contradictory to the models that national decision- makers propose for cities. We analyse the case study of Jerusalem using historical analysis, public opinion surveys, and in-depth inter- views to illustrate the tension between state-centric and city-centric logics. Our findings show the distinction between the focus of state-centric processes on ‘rigid’ issues (e.g. security and sover- eignty) and the focus of city-centric processes on ‘soft’ issues (e.g. tolerance and daily life). We conclude the paper with an explication of the implications of our framework, seeing peace like a city for research and practice in other violently contested societies.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of East Jerusalem Palestinian students studying at Israeli higher education institutions in Israel and in pre- academic preparatory programs. This study examines how spontaneousencounters with Jewish students while attending an Israeli academic institution are associated with young East Jerusalem Palestinian students’ attitudes toward the integration of East Jerusalem Palestinians into the city of Jerusalem and cooperation with Israeli Jews. We analyze the responses to an online survey of 106 East Jerusalem Palestinian students attending a one-year preparatory program at an Israeli academic institute. We find that Palestinian students who report spontaneous contact with Jewish students on campus during the year express more favorable attitudes toward the integration of East Jerusalem Palestinians into the city of Jerusalem and more positive attitudes toward Jewish Israelis in general.

Group leaders play a vital role in divided cities, particularly in local problem-solving and in everyday contestations. Their role as negotiators makes them perfectly positioned to promote urban processes for the group to which they belong but also raises questions regarding their loyalty. Seeking to understand these individuals’ thinking, this study asks how leaders from different groups in a divided city explain their development as leaders. Utilizing a life-story approach, we present a narrative analysis of 40 life-stories, as told by local leaders representing the main social groups in Jerusalem. Our findings suggest that leaders from different groups use distinctive narratives to ensure their relevancy: “The Homecomer,” used by Israeli-Jews; “The Middleman,” used by Palestinian-Arabs; and “The Pathfinder,” used by Israeli Ultraorthodox-Jews. More importantly, we found that all these leaders share a similar mind-set, what we call leadership development as discovery. Indeed, their development includes formative events that differentiate them from their community, helping them to see the divided city from a different perspective and positioning them as leaders. Understanding and acknowledging this spatial aspect in their narratives can be a first step in facilitating group collaborations, empowering local leaders, and even leading to the emergence of new ones. Our implications go beyond divided cities and can be further studied in ordinary cities.