What's behind the Palestinian protests in Jerusalem?

It's Yom Yerushalayim, a day to celebrate Israel's holiest city. But the holiday is being marred by the threat of ongoing violence between Palestinian protesters and ultra-nationalist Israeli extremists. The situation grew so dire that Canada's minister of foreign affairs, Marc Garneau, issued a statement over the weekend calling for "immediate de-escalation of tensions."

Meanwhile, the Israeli high court has postponed a hearing, slated for Monday, on a controversial case over evictions from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheik Jarrah. That postponement was due to fears that the hearing would further inflame the clashes.

For an on-the-ground perspective, today's guest is Igal Hecht, an Israeli-born Canadian documentary filmmaker and producer, currently shooting a new production about Israeli elections.

What we talked about:

• View the statement by Global Affairs Canada: "Canada concerned by escalation of tensions in Jerusalem"
• Watch the trailer for Igal Hecht's new movie, My Election, on YouTube
• Read about the protests in Jerusalem at CBC News

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.