Abu Tours: Discovering Shared Society in Abu Tor
A Good Neighbors Jerusalem Tour
 

Our tours of Abu Tor offer a close look at a Jerusalem neighborhood through the people who live there. Led together by Palestinian and Israeli residents active in Good Neighbors Jerusalem, they explore the neighborhood’s history, everyday life, and the relationships and shared initiatives that residents have built over the past decade.

Abu Tor - known in Arabic as al-Turi - sits along the Green Line, with Israeli and Palestinian neighbors living on either side of the boundary between East and West Jerusalem. Walking through its streets, we discover how common needs have become the starting point for working together: improving public spaces, caring for the environment,
making streets safer, and creating opportunities to meet.

We usually begin on the rooftop of Beit Micha, overlooking Mount Zion, Silwan, and the Temple Mount. Here, a large mural designed and painted together by 25 Palestinian and 25 Israeli residents introduces the spirit of the tour. Every image was jointly planned, and the mural’s preservation over the years reflects the care residents feel for something they created together.

From there, we walk along Ein Rogel and Assael Streets, crossing the former armistice boundary and hearing what it means to live along the seam today. Along the way, we pass the Willy Brandt Center, a longstanding partner in shared language programs, and visit Sinsila to learn about green roofs, beekeeping, organic gardening, and urban sustainability.

These visits also introduce Green Assael Street, a joint initiative of Sinsila and Good Neighbors Jerusalem. Planned by Palestinian and Israeli residents, it brings greenery, seating, lighting, and solar-powered water fountains to the street they share. We see some of the installations already in place and hear about plans awaiting further funding.

At the corner of Gihon and Assael Streets, we discuss the possibility of creating a shared community center for children, young people, and cultural activities. Nearby, seemingly ordinary improvements - speed bumps and repaired garbage bins - tell their own story of neighbors identifying common problems and working together to secure a municipal response.

Throughout the walk, our guides share personal experiences of life in the neighborhood. Their stories offer hope while addressing the inequalities that shape daily life, including differences in housing conditions and the threat of demolition facing Palestinian homes built without permits. The cooperation we encounter has grown within these difficult
realities and amid the ongoing conflict.

Our tours generally last one to two hours and usually end with refreshments at the home of neighborhood residents David and Alisa Maeir-Epstein, with a short video about Good Neighbors Jerusalem and time for questions and conversation. Tours are offered in Hebrew, English, or Arabic, with translation between the three languages.
 

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