The Forgotten Cemetery: Mamilla and the Struggle for Jerusalem

​A few years ago, controversy erupted when Jerusalem's Museum of Tolerance was partially built over the remains of the Mamilla Cemetery — one of the most important Muslim cemeteries in the country, in continuous use from the eleventh century until 1927. The scandal brought Mamilla briefly into public consciousness. But few appreciate its wider history and importance.

​Over those thousand years, and especially since the nineteenth century, the cemetery has been a key site in the city's struggle between history and modernization. We'll tell the story of the Museum of Tolerance controversy, explore ancient graves including one belonging to a former Mamluk governor, and examine the role played by the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini. We'll also encounter an abandoned ancient reservoir and a possible mass burial site with a contested history of its own.

​Throughout, we’ll examine the cemetery’s place in the long struggle between memory and modernity that has shaped Jerusalem to this day.

​About your guide: Alex Stein is a tour guide, educator, and writer based in Jerusalem. He is the author of the bestselling Substack newsletter, Love of the Land.

​Tickets & registration

​There are three ways to register:

• ​Online (this page): $25 via card payment — your spot is confirmed automatically on payment.

• ​Bit: Pay ₪75 to +972-545-216-237, including your name in the note. Please also send me a Whatsapp message so I can confirm your place by return.

• ​On the day: Walk-ins welcome at the meeting point — ₪100 or $35, cash or Bit.
  

​Full refunds are available up to 12 hours before the event (by 10:00 PM on Thursday 7 May). In the event of cancellation due to circumstances beyond our control — including the security situation — all tickets will be fully refunded.