Tensions between ultra-Orthodox Haredim and more secular Israelis have been growing over the past year. With strict codes in regards to clothing, observance of the Sabbath, and male-female interactions, this 1 million-strong segment of the population has become increasingly vocal about its displeasure with what it perceives as an insufficiently observant state. Specifically, the majority of this animosity has been focused on women.

At least twenty people lay dead at the Israeli border at Golan Heights after Israeli troops opened fire on more than one thousand Syrian protesters who stormed the border. Officially the demonstrations were being held to mark the anniversary of the 1967 Arab defeat in the Mideast war. It was the second outbreak of deadly violence in the border region in the past month. But both Israeli officials and anti-regime activists in Syria are calling the border protests a sham and media stunt, instigated to draw attention away from the hard-handed government shutdown of protests within Syria.

As President Obama wraps up his trip in Asia, news out of the Middle East is threatening to distract from whatever progress he might have made this past week on the international stage. Israel has announced plans to expand a Jewish district of Jerusalem captured in the 1967 war. The Palestinians have said this district belongs to their future state.

Isabel Kershner is a reporter for our partner The New York Times. She reported on the story, and she joins us from Jerusalem.

Washington has confirmed it will boycott a United Nations forum on racism in Geneva because of differences over Israel and the likening of Zionism to racism. The boycott was prompted by concerns that the conference would be a flashback to the initial world summit meeting against racism in 2001 in Durban, South Africa, which critics said served as a platform to bash Israel. Those fears were confirmed when Iran's President just called Israel a 'racist government' at the start of the meeting, prompting Western delegates to walk out. For more we turn to the New York Times' Isabel Kershner, who is in Jerusalem and watching this conference closely.

For more, read Isabel Kershner's article, As U.N. Racism Conference Opens, Israel Recalls Envoy, in today's New York Times.

Hours before a cease-fire proposal was ratcheted together by Egypt and France, Israel launched its single deadliest attack in Gaza. The mortar fire hit a school run by the United Nations. At least 30 Palestinians, who were seeking refuge in the school, were killed. Israel claims the targeting was in response to rocket fire from within the school. Needless to say, the U.N. is ticked off. Joining us with details is the New York Times' Isabel Kershner on her way to Gaza.

For more, read Isabel Kershner's article Israel Halts Attack Briefly to Allow Aid Into Gaza in today's New York Times.