A Palestinian family leaves the visitors center at Rawabi. Tanya Habjouqa for NPR hide caption

Israel's light rail runs through Jewish areas in East Jerusalem, then into Palestinian neighborhoods and on to old Israeli communities in West Jerusalem. On occasion, it has been a target for violence. Tanya Habjouqa for NPR hide caption

Palestinians held rallies last November, like this one in the West Bank city of Nablus, to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat. Palestinians are increasingly frustrated with the two decades of on-and-off peace talks that have not led to an independent Palestinian state. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Stav Shaffir, 29, left, is considered a rising star in the left-leaning Labor Party. Anat Roth, 40, is a candidate for the Jewish Home Party. Daniella Cheslow for NPR hide caption

Shlomy Mizrahi, an Israeli real estate agent, stands near a sign at the entrance to a Palestinian village in the West Bank. The Israeli government bars Israelis from entering the Palestinian towns for their safety. Mizrahi lives in the nearby Israeli settlement of Ariel and sells homes there. Tanya Habjouqa for NPR hide caption

Sara Noghani (left) and Pooya Shahsiah, in their shop, Tehran Collage. Many of their designs feature words from Persian poetry that speak of a new dawn. Molly Messick/NPR hide caption

Iranian Jewish men read from the Torah scroll during morning prayers at Youssef Abad Synagogue in Tehran in 2013. Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

People ride a horse and carriage through Isfahan's central square in June 2014. With its immense mosques, picturesque bridges and ancient bazaar, the city is a virtual living museum of Iranian traditional culture and is a top tourist destination. After decades of difficult relations with the West, Iran now says it wants more foreign tourists, including Westerners. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

Iranians commemorate the 36th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution near the Azadi Tower in Tehran on Wednesday. While many Iranians would like to reorder relations with the West, there's also plenty of skepticism about whether it will actually happen. Ebrahim Noroozi/AP hide caption

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Ariel Zambelich/NPR hide caption