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<\/a>\n\t\tMarcus James sports a Big Lebowski T-shirt in front of the HaTaklit pub in Jerusalem, May 2025 (Sarah Tuttle-Singer)<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point, Jerusalem stopped being abstract to me,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was like Jerusalem grabbed me by the collar and said, \u2018You\u2019re mine.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, James lives within walking distance of the Old City walls and makes a living cleaning windows. He says he enters through different gates depending on his mood and has developed an intimate familiarity with the rhythms of the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could blindfold me and walk me around the city,\u201d he says, \u201cand I could tell you where we are from the sounds and the smells.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friends jokingly refer to him as the \u201cspiritual mayor\u201d of Jerusalem, a reflection of both his enthusiasm for the city and the wide network of people he has come to know in it.<\/p>\n
Following the October 7, 2023, onslaught and the collapse of tourism in the Old City, James began spending more time at Caf\u00e9 Al Mufti in the Muslim Quarter, where he befriended the owner, Abu Omar.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first I was just trying to support local businesses,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then the conversations became important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most meaningful things in life are passed on through story,\u201d he continues. \u201cStorytelling and story-listening. That\u2019s where humanity lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t He laughs while recounting one interaction that changed his perspective on the city\u2019s merchants.<\/p>\n Like many Jerusalem residents, he had grown frustrated by shopkeepers calling out to tourists. One day, irritated after hearing the familiar invitations to enter a store, he snapped at a merchant.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you know I live here?\u201d he remembers saying.<\/p>\n The shopkeeper calmly replied, \u201cRelax. I just asked if you wanted to see my shop.\u201d<\/p>\n Now the two men are friends.<\/p>\n These days, he stops by regularly, carrying small bags of candied pecans from a nearby herb shop called Sea of Herbs. They sit together drinking tea. Sometimes the shopkeeper plays an old Bedouin string instrument made from camel hair and goatskin while telling stories about desert life, memory, and tradition.<\/p>\n For James, those daily interactions have become as important as the city\u2019s famous religious and historical sites.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople think Jerusalem is only about monuments or conflict,\u201d he says. \u201cBut a lot of Jerusalem is just human connection.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the greatest stories ever told originated inside these walls,\u201d he continues. \u201cAnd somehow they\u2019re still unfolding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform \u2014 from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.<\/p>\n This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.<\/p>\n \u2014 Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tMarcus James prepares to enter Jaffa Gate by the Old City of Jerusalem, February 2026 (Sarah Tuttle-Singer)<\/p>\n
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