On the subject of Jerusalem, it’s worth saying something more specific about the city’s history and geography. Ayelet Rubin describes the birth of the city’s police department, and the physical traces it left on its landscape:

With the departure of the Ottomans and the arrival of the British empire, the new authorities—true to form—believed proper policing required proper training. And so, one of the earliest institutions they established was the Police Training School in Jerusalem.

The school first opened in 1921, closed in 1923, and reopened in 1926. Its cadets included both Jewish and Arab recruits. . . . Police officers were stationed across the city—assigned to various stations and lookout points. To better monitor key roads and maintain control, the British built a series of fortified posts. These were known as “pillboxes,” because of their circular, pillbox-like shape.

We tracked down five known “pillboxes” that once stood in Jerusalem. Of those: two have been destroyed, two remain at their original locations, and one has been relocated slightly from its original site.

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.