The reason was a synagogue illegally built by Orthodox Jews and subsequently demolished by the police. The Jerusalem Municipality and the local courts are often accused of being too harsh with the Arab residents of the city, while handling its Jewish population with kid gloves. When an Arab house constructed without the proper permits is demolished, it makes international headlines, which often paint the Israeli authorities as racist.

But when a synagogue is demolished for the same reason, the foreign media seems to be uninterested. The fact of the...

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