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.

What's behind the Palestinian protests in Jerusalem?