Conflict
‘Second chance at life’: This rehabilitation center provides mental health care to orphaned children in Iraq
Decades of war and violence have left many children orphaned in Iraq. There have been different kinds of initiatives to help them, but efforts often focus on the basics. Now, one group is trying to fill an important void by providing mental health care for traumatized children.
US National Security Council spokesman on heightened tensions between Iran and Israel: ‘We don’t want to see this conflict widen and deepen’
US officials say they hope Israel’s tensions with Iran don’t widen and deepen. At the same time, Israel’s military chief now says that his armed forces will respond to Iran’s weekend missile attack. Retired Adm. John Kirby, the spokesman for the National Security Council, talks with host Marco Werman about the role the US will play as its ally Israel decides how to retaliate.
‘Sacred refuge:’ This cultural center provides a safe space for Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem
FeelBeit is an event space and bar in Jerusalem that brings together Palestinian and Israeli artists to share the stage. Before Oct. 7, 2023, this was already a difficult thing to do. But after, it’s been almost impossible. FeelBeit closed for a while but realized that it was important to reopen their doors. The World’s Marco Werman went there to see what it’s all about.
‘I have to work to help my family’: Child laborers in Raqqa face dangerous conditions
The campaign to liberate Raqqa in northeastern Syria from ISIS in 2017 left the city in ruins. Today, children make up a significant portion of the workforce that is rebuilding the city. One family knows the dangers of this work firsthand.
Tens of thousands attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem
On April 5, the final Friday in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan this year — a special time for Muslims worldwide — more than 3,500 Israeli police were deployed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Here, an estimated 57,000 Muslims attended Friday prayers.
Sharing the national burden in Israel
In Israel, most Jewish men are drafted into three years of military service soon after they graduate from high school. Jewish women serve two-year stints. The ultra-Orthodox community has been exempt. But this is beginning to change. Israel’s Supreme Court just ruled that religious seminaries called yeshivas are being cut off from government funding because they don’t send students into the military.