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Christians hold a candlelight procession in Jerusalem outside the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of Gethsemane, on March 28. This year, Easter, Purim and Ramadan overlapped for the first time in three decades. Ayman Oghanna for NPR hide caption

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Ayman Oghanna for NPR

Although matzo sold in supermarkets is typically square, the round matzo is believed to be the earliest form of this unleavened bread that is eaten during the Passover holiday as a symbol of both suffering and freedom. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

A Palestinian youth mourns his relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at the morgue of the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, early Saturday, April 20, 2024. Ismael Abu Dayyah/AP hide caption

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Ismael Abu Dayyah/AP

Students carrying signs on April 18, 2024 on the campus of USC protest a canceled commencement speech by its 2024 valedictorian who has publicly supported Palestinians. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

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Damian Dovarganes/AP

Surviving children of the Auschwitz concentration camp, one of the camps the Nazis had set up to exterminate Jews and kill millions of others. Research into the appropriate way to "re-feed" those who've experienced starvation was prompted by the deaths of camp survivors after liberation. ullstein bild/Getty Images hide caption

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ullstein bild/Getty Images

What World War II taught us about how to help starving people today

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Iranian worshippers walk past a mural showing the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, right, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, and Basij paramilitary force, in an anti-Israeli gathering after their Friday prayer in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption

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Vahid Salemi/AP

Demonstrators wave a huge Iranian flag in an anti-Israeli gathering in front of an anti-Israeli banner on the wall of a building at the Felestin (Palestine) Square in Tehran, Iran, on Monday. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption

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Vahid Salemi/AP

The United Nations Security Council met Thursday to debate whether the U.N. should admit the State of Palestine as a full voting member. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Audience members listen to public comment at a special session of the Oakland City Council about a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza on Nov. 27, 2023, in Oakland, Calif. D. Ross Cameron/AP hide caption

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D. Ross Cameron/AP

Gaza cease-fire resolutions roil U.S. local communities

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The grass pea — Lathyrus sativus — is hardy and drought resistant. It tastes like a sugar snap pea, although if that's all you were to eat its natural toxin could make you sick. But breeders might be able to address that issue. Sadasiba Behera/Getty Images hide caption

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Sadasiba Behera/Getty Images

What are 'orphan crops'? And why is there a new campaign to get them adopted?

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Atypically heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday caused flooding, flight cancellations and school closures. Vehicles were abandoned on highways like this one in Dubai. Francois Nel/Getty Images hide caption

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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men pray at a yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Israel, on March 21. The war in Gaza has prompted calls for Israel to end military exemptions for full-time religious students. Tamir Kalifa for NPR hide caption

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Tamir Kalifa for NPR

A billboard in central Tehran, Iran, depicts named Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and text in Persian reading "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," on April 15. Iran attacked Israel over the weekend with missiles, which it said was a response to a deadly strike on its consulate building in Damascus, Syria. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

مقداد مع الآلة الموسيقية التي اخترعها وأطلق عليها اسم «أدد». أمين مقداد hide caption

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أمين مقداد

صنع الموسيقى من الخراب: موسيقي عراقي يصنع آلته من أنقاض الحرب

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Speaker Mike Johnson announced plans Monday evening to put forward four separate bills to address foreign aid funding, including to Israel and Ukraine. Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system launches to intercept missiles fired from Iran, in central Israel this past weekend. Tomer Neuberg/AP hide caption

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Tomer Neuberg/AP

Iran's attack on Israel is a major escalation. What comes next for the region?

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Israeli Iron Dome air defense system launches to intercept missiles fired from Iran, in central Israel, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Tomer Neuberg/AP hide caption

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Tomer Neuberg/AP