Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an analytical platform for further research by recording and analyzing a series of case studies regarding conflicts in holy places that took place in one region—Palestine/Israel. It compares these conflicts to similar cases from other regions and discusses the methods of conflict resolution. The book analyzes a Jewish settler group in Jerusalem that took over a Palestinian-owned cave, declaring it a holy site associated with a medieval Jewish sage, Nachmanides. It focuses on the conspicuous dispute over the building of a Jewish-owned Museum of Tolerance (MOT) on part of the land of the historic Mamilla Cemetery. The book represents a series of conflicts over domination at shared saint tombs. It also examines an intra-Arab dispute in Nazareth related to the character of this Christian holy city, now dominated by a 70 percent Muslim population.