Final blog post!

It's kind of scary to think that this is the final blog post! The semester has just FLOWN by!

So I guess I have to say that politically speaking, my position hasn't really changed at all. I didn't expect it to though; my family have spent the last 21, nearly 22, years ingraining pro-Palestinian politics in me, and between that and a few personal encounters with the IDF that were really awful, it would take a lot to change that. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not radical in that I think Palestine has done no wrong over the last 65+ years, and I definitely don't think Israel is evil or anything, but I'm still heavily Palestinian.

In other areas though, I have really benefited from this class. I'd never heard anything about the LGBTQ community in Palestine or Israel before we discussed and researched that area, and we got to talk to a member of the community who works with the Open House which was amazing. I'd also never heard Israeli music, which is quite beautiful. I really enjoyed the documentary about Israeli/Palestinian hip hop too! I think this class has opened me up to experience Israeli culture, and I'd never had the opportunity to before, and I really enjoyed all our Skype dates and articles and movies that we got to see from both perspectives. I think this Living Jerusalem class has to be one of the best at IU, and I'm really thankful that I got to be apart of it.

International Scarves in Solidarity Day

Ignore the year, I couldn't upload this year's picture!

 The third annual International Scarves in Solidarity will be taking place April 11th, 2013. International Scarves in Solidarity is an opportunity for individuals all over the world to show support and solidarity to Muslim women who wear the Hijab/Niqab by choice. This event hopes to spread awareness about the hijab/niqab and negate any misconceptions.
    
In order to participate in this event—anyone from any background should simply wear a scarf around their neck for the day. Any willing females (due to respect) should wear the scarf around their head.

Islamophobia—the fear and misunderstanding of Islam—is a phenomenon that is unfortunately a reality in the world today. The hijab/niqab is a visible way that many Muslim women have chosen to express their faith. As a result, many will face misunderstanding, discrimination, prejudice, and hate-crimes. International Scarves in Solidarity is an opportunity for Muslims and Non-Muslims alike to show their solidarity with hijabi/niqabi Muslim women in their struggle.
         
 International Scarves in Solidarity hopes to initiate a respectful and progressive dialogue. Due to the many misconceptions prominent in societies all over the world, the hijab/niqab has been commonly misunderstood on multiple levels. Unfortunately, many people believe that the hijab/niqab is a form of oppression. The truth is that the decision to wear the hijab/niqab is intended for Muslim women to make for their selves.

At the very core, International Scarves in Solidarity upholds the notion that all women should be granted freedom of expression and religion in society without fear of harassment. Moreover, no public or private institution should be able to regulate laws that intervene with this basic freedom.
         
 Finally, this event is NOT meant to simulate the experiences of hijabi/niqabi women. Hijab/Niqabi women face a struggle that will never be understood throughout just ONE day of wearing the hijab. Again, this day is intended for awareness, dialogue, and solidarity purposes.

***Please feel free to upload your pictures with messages of support to our fellow Hijabi/Niqabi Muslim sisters on the facebook event page/twitter/blog!***
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE FACEBOOK EVENTS PAGE

Response!

AHH late seems to my current theme! I think the biggest difficulty I have had this semester is remembering to comment on everyone's blogs. I'll read posts people make, but sometimes I don't have much to say beyond "I agree with you" and sometimes I'll walk away after reading it and forget to comment in general. (Also, being on time with my blog posts have clearly been difficult for me! AH)

Other than that, I've really enjoyed our classes this semester. I loved Skyping with everyone we interviewed, and the fact that it wasn't solely a reading/lecture based class was amazing. We met some very cool people this semester!

I liked that we talked about our papers last class too. :)

JOH, AlQaws, City of Borders

As a member of the group that's focusing on the LGBTQ community, I really loved that the organisations and community we just read about were relevant to LGBTQ rights in Israel and Palestine. I noticed that all the groups were in support of everyone regardless of ethnicity or religion, and I quite liked that it was anti-discriminatory, especially since the conflict makes it very easy to discriminate against another social group, regardless of gender or sexuality. I found Al-Qaws to be the most interesting, for me as a Palestinian/Arab, because I've never heard of any Arab groups supporting LGBTQ rights within the Middle East, and short of a shesha/hookah bar and restaurant in Amman, I haven't heard of any openly gay businesses either. It's just not something that's talked about, so I really loved looking into Al-Qaws. All the groups though seemed really open and welcoming, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the speakers tomorrow! :)

I just have a couple questions for the speakers!

For both Haneen Maikey and Elinor Sidi, is it any sort of challenge to organise events with both Palestinians and Israelis within the LGBTQ community? Do you face any difficulties in bringing queer Palestinians and Israelis together?

What have been your greatest challenges to overcome in starting al-Qaws and the Jerusalem Open House? And what was the initial reaction of the community to the starting of your organisations?

Are you working on any current projects? What do you hope to achieve in the future? Do you have any current goals that you want to see happen?

Reading Responses!

Welcome back from Spring Break, everyone!! :)

Suad Amiry writes beautifully! It was great to come back from spring break and to be able to read about her experiences. I particularly enjoyed reading her A Dog’s Life chapter: getting my own Palestinian ID was kind of a trial since I don’t live there, but at the time my father was working for Abu Mazen so it wasn’t as difficult as it could have been, I guess. Still, they wouldn’t give my brother his ID at all and now it’s too late and he can’t get one (from what I understand, they told us if you don’t live in the area you have to get one when you turn sixteen and if you wait afterwards it’s almost impossible so he doesn’t have one now that he’s turned eighteen and I doubt he’ll ever be able to get one.) My step mother has a Jerusalem ID and I wish we could get onto hers because then we could fly in, but they won’t give her son or my father one since we’re from Beit Sahour, so who knows how that will turn out. I loved Amiry’s chapters because I could totally relate to the ID part of it (not the gas masks part, thankfully – that would have been a little too Are you my mummy?-ish for me.)

I read Galit’s few pages, but I felt a little lost, like I’d come in halfway through a chapter and couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. I know she was discussing Jerusalem and comparing the city to a woman, but I wasn’t sure about the context. Did everyone else only see three pages? I might have clicked on a weird link.

Music - Journal Assignment

Let me start this off by saying I love music - I mean, who doesn't? I wake up every morning and have to listen to my iPod for roughly half an hour before I even get out of bed (it's partly to blame if I'm ever late to a morning class..) There's not really one genre I'm interested in, it's kind of just a mix of everything. I'm not sure how it would define me - I understand that if you listen to one particular style that it might be a reflection on who you are or where you came from, but I don't really have one set genre that I'm interested in, so I don't know how it would go about defining me. I love club music for dancing, acoustic for relaxing, and The Lonely Island for when I'm feeling sassy, haha. There are certain songs that I love for defining moments in my life, though.

When I lived in South Africa, I first heard Mama Africa so I associate all her music from when I lived there. (also, kudos to Google for recently remembering her birthday!) Whenever I hear her music it takes me back to 2007.

Also, Fairuz and Um Kalthoum remind me of my childhood and family in Amman, particularly Fairuz. N'Sync and Britney Spears were pretty big then too..

I'm sure I can find so many examples, but those are probably the most striking.

I think music in general is pretty important in cultures. It's a great source of stress relief, and because music (or at least, good music) spreads so quickly, it's an easy way to communicate something to large number of people. You can express yourself through music and create a bond between people, and so something like that seems pretty important for people in conflicts like the Palestinian/Israeli one. Whether you're Israeli or Palestinian you have a message to share, and there are plenty of people willing to listen. It's also a way to reach an audience you normally wouldn't have any interaction with.

Hip-Hop & Rap Responses

So the readings that I chose to do were the Channels of Rage: Dissecting the Inner Conflict (on the Islamic Middle East blog), Israeli Hip-Hop - all flow, no edge? on Haaretz, and ‘honour killings’ and DAM article via unwomen.

It was interesting reading about the movie Channels of Rage, and the story following the two rappers. Are we watching this as a class? Because we totally should. I thought it was different that the ending wasn’t a happy one (or at least it didn’t sound like it would be considering it was how the two friends drifted apart). The whole relationship with rap and the conflict is really cool; I’m not a big rap fan in general, but I’m really into Shadia Mansour’s rap and I’m going to check out Tamer and Subliminal’s music tonight. From the sounds of the article it seemed like Tamer and Subliminal mostly rap about the conflict and the struggles of either side, so it would be really interesting to see it from a musical perspective!

The Israeli Rap – all flow, no edge? article brought up the question of whether ‘authentic’ rappers are meant to be from the ghetto or not. I don’t think that’s really necessary, as long as it talks about the difficulties they face in life. It just so happens that people who live in a ghetto tend to have it harder than people who live in suburbia. And while Israelis have it easier than Palestinians, being the Occupier and not the Occupied, they still do have to live with difficulties and so why wouldn’t that make their rap ‘authentic’? I did find the whole correlation between ‘blackness’ and rap/hip hop to be a bit funny considering the recent crackdown on African immigrants in Israel and sending them back to Sudan.

I read about the honour killings last of all, and I do have to say the whole idea makes me uncomfortable. I don’t know/haven’t heard of any families that would ever practice this in the Levant region, but it came up sometimes when I lived in Saudi and I just can’t imagine living through this and being afraid of your own family. I know culture can be strict and it does dictate parts of your life, but small things – like don’t wear tank tops or shorts in public or you’ll have creeps following you along the street and you’ll have your grandfather lecture you forever on your immodesty – small things, not ‘fear for your life’ things. I thought it was really cool that they put such a controversial topic into a music video. It won’t reach the likes of Saudi Arabia or anything – they’re quite excellent at screening what people see on the internet there – but it might reach families in the levant area and maybe (hopefully) make a difference!

Sleepless in Gaza and Jerusalem

Ok, so I've been meaning to get this up for ages now and I've finally sat down to actually do it! About a year or two ago my father created this series on YouTube about life in Gaza and Jerusalem and it switches between the two and two specific girls in both cities, and while I haven't seen all the episodes the parts that I have seen are pretty interesting. It's a documentary-style and each episode is an hour long! With the projects coming up and ideas for them settling, I figured maybe some people might be interested in looking through them to get ideas or something and since there's so many episodes I thought I'd also post a list of what's in each episode so you can just skip to find the day that you need instead of sifting through like, a hundred episodes. It's also conveniently in alphabetical order. :)

Anyway, the YouTube channel is here if you're interested.


1948 Land and Palestinians - Day 30, Day 51, Day 56, Day 38, Day 71, Day 83a, Day 88b, Day 89, Day 90b
Al Aqsa Mosque - Day 5, Day 58, Day 61
Al Ashekeen - Day 3, Day 4
Al Azariya - Day 48, Day 49a, Day 49b
Al Walaja village - Day 63
Anata Village - Day 46
Arab Knesset -  Day 30
Aroura Village - Day 50
Beach - Day 40, Day 75, Day 89, day 90b
Beir Sheva - Day 41
Beit Jalla - Day 13
Beit Sahour-  Day 34b
Bethlehem - Day 3, Day 6, Day 34b, Day 35, Day 56, Day 70, Day 76a
Bil’in - Day 47, Day 52,
Borders - Day 6, Day 73
Boycotting Israeli Products - Day 15
British Mandate - Day 80
Celebration - Day 34b, Day 35, Day 36, Day 38, Day 45a, Day45b, Day 59a, Day 59b, Day 73, Day 82
Check Points - Day 9, Day 31, Day 36, Day 43a, Day 43b, Day 46, Day 55a, Day 66, Day 79, Day 82, Day 90a
Children - Day 19, Day 21, Day 25, Day 27, Day 31, Day 36, Day 37, Day 40
Christianity - Day 28b, Day 29, Day 33, Day 34b, Day 34a, Day 35, Day 38, Day 90b
Clashes - Day 5, Day 16, Day 47, Day 82
Co-existence - Day 62, Day 90b
Conferences - Day 10, Day 58
Confiscated Land - Day 30,
Court against Israel Day 28a, Day 46, Day 62
Dead Sea Day 84b
Destroyed Homes Day 3, Day 7, Day 18, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 25, Day 69, Day 76b, Day 81, Day 84b, Day 86b, Day 87, Day 90a
DFLP party Day 80
Doctors Day 18, Day 24
Druze Day 69, Day 83a, Day 83
Easter Day 33, Day 34b, Day 34a, Day 35
Ein Karem Day 56
Electricity Day 42, Day 81
Emotions & Tears Day 3, Day 4, Day 48
Exhibitions Day 2, Day 8, Day 10, Day 23
Farming and farmers Day 51, Day 62, Day 65, Day 66, Day 76b, Day 82, day 83a, Day 84b
Fateh Movement Day 29, Day 38, Day 86b
Film Making / Videos Day 2, Day 3, Day 31
Folk Dance (Dabka) Day 15, Day 78
Food Day7, Day 18, Day 32, Day 39, Day 50, Day 86b
Freedom Flotilla Day 86b, Day 92
Funeral Day 49a, day 83b
Gas Bombs Day 5, Day 16, Day 47, Day 82
Gazan Guerilla Fighter Day 80
Graffiti Day 9, Day 52, Day 67, Day 88a
Graveyard Day 70, Day 81, Day 84a
Haifa Day 83b
Haifa Day 90b
Hamas Day 26, Day 39, Day 43a, Day 56, Day 76b, Day 78,Day 90a
Hand Crafts Day 1, Day 9, Day 15, Day 23, Day 54, Day 60, Day 76b, Day 86b
Hebron- old city Day 64, Day 72a, Day 72b
History Day 41, Day 35, Day 54, Day 79, Day 80
Horse Back Riding Day 30, Day 74, Day 75, Day 76b
Hospitals Day 5, Day 24, Day 31, Day 88b
Hubbly Bubbly Day 32, Day 56
Ibrahimic Mosque Day 72a
Identity Cards Day 9, Day 36, Day 43b, Day 45a, Day 45b, Day 46, Day 60, Day 73, Day 79, Day 80, Day 90a
Imwas Village Day 81
Injured people Day 5, Day 20, Day 40, Day 66, Day 72a, Day 77, Day 81
Islam Day 33, Day 49a, Day 61, day 83b
Islamic Jihad Day 27, Day 83b
Israeli Military Law Day 43b, Day 43a, Day 44, Day 73
Israeli Policies Day 27, Day 29, Day 33, Day 34a, Day 43b, Day 56, Day 60, Day 62, Day 79, Day 87
Israeli Soldiers Day 1, Day 5, Day 62, Day 76b, Day 82, Day 59a, Day59b, Day 64, Day 72a, Day 72b
Jaffa & Tel Aviv Day 89
Jails, Prisons Day 17, Day 60, Day 62, Day 68, Day 79
Jenin Day 88a
Jerusalem Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 5, Day 7, Day 9, Day 16, Day 17, Day 24, Day 25, Day 33, Day 56, Day 73, Day 84a
Jerusalem Gates Day 34a
Jews & Judaism Day 31, Day 45a, Day 45b, Day 72, Day 85, Day 89
Jordanian Valley Day 84b
Mahmoud Darwish Day 14, Day 65
March or Parade Day 27, Day 28b, Day 34B
Market Places Day 1, Day 4, Day 13, Day 50,
Marriage Day 59a, Day 77, Day 83a
Martyr Raed Abu Hammad Day 48, Day 49a, Day 49b, Day 53
Martyrs Day 21, Day 27, Day 47, Day 48, Day 49, Day 50, Day 53, Day 66, Day 83b, Day 86a
Massacre Day 18, Day 40, Day 59b, Day 72a, day 92
Mud Houses Day 22, day 84b
Murder Day 48, Day 49a, Day 49b, Day 53, Day 72a
Museum Day 41
Music Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 15, Day 28b, Day 29, Day 36, Day 39, Day 42a, Day 42b, Day 42c, Day 42d, Day 42e, Day 42, Day 55a, Day 55b, Day 76a, Day 77
Nablus Day 45a, Day 45b, Day 59a, Day 59b Day 65, Day 86a, Day 86b
Nakba- Palestinian Catastrophe Day 51, Day 56, Day 76b, Day 78, Day 80, Day88b, Day 89
Nativity Church Day 35, Day 77
Naturei Karta Day 85
Nazareth Day 38, Day 71
Non- Violent Protest Day 7, Day 14, Day 19, Day 26, Day 29, Day 30, Day 44, Day 47, Day 49b, Day 52, Day 62, Day 76b,
Old City of Jerusalem Day 1, Day 5, Day 21, Day 28a, Day 34a, Day 58, Day 61
Opposition Day 10
Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna Day 3, Day 38
Paintings Day 3, Day 8
Palestine Network Day 3, Day 4, Day 31
Palestinian Circus Day 76a
Palestinian Currency Day 80
Peace Activists Day 7, Day 13, Day 14, Day 47, Day 52, Day 76b, Day 84b
Pets Day 11
Poetry Day 14, Day 16, Day 65
Politicians Day 10, Day 29, Day 92, Day 35, Day 43b, Day 44, Day 48, Day 78, Day 92
President Mahmoud Abbas Day 85, day 92
Prisoners or detainees Day 17, Day 19, Day 20, Day 29, Day 43b, Day 43a, Day 48, Day 49, Day 50, Day 69, Day 86a
Qalqilya Day 36
Rachel Corrie Day 16, Day 16b, Day 28b, Day 28a
Rachel’s Tomb Day 70
Ramallah Day 8, Day 11, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16b, Day 32, Day 33, Day 43b, Day 55a, Day 55b, Day 92
Refugee Camps Day 9, Day 78, Day 87, Day 88a
Refugees Day 4, Day 22, Day 87, Day 88a
Sakhnin Day 30
Salfeet Day 82
Samaritans Day 45a, Day 45b, Day 59a, Day 59b
Scout Troupes Day 34b, Day 38
Security Cameras Day 5
Settlements Day 39, Day 46, Day 62, Day 64, Day 67, Day 72a, Day 72b, Day76b, Day 78, Day 82, Day 84b, day 85
Settlers Day 24, Day 62, Day 64, Day 72a, Day 72b, Day 73, Day 74, Day 76b, Day 92
Shiekh Raed Salah Day 51, Day 92
Shopping Day 8, Day 13
Siege on Gaza Day 4, Day 7, Day 12, Day 42
Smuggling Day 31
Social Life Day 10, Day 11, Day 32, Day 42, Day 55a, Day 55b, Day 75
Sports Day 42, Day 75
Surgery Day 31
Tent of Nations & Nahalin Day 76b
Tents Day 3
The Bedouin Day 63, Day 74
The Golan Heights Day 69, Day 83a
The Wall Day 9, Day 36, Day 43b, Day 57, Day 60, Day 63, Day 66, Day 67, Day 78, Day 82, Day 87, Day 90a
Tiberias, Majdal Shams Day 83a
Tombs Day 4, Day 14
Traditional Clothing Day 71, Day 80
Tulkram Day 66, Day 80, Day 88b, Day 90a
Tunnels Day 4, Day 7, Day 25, Day 58, Day 59a
Water Day 22, Day 58, Day 82, Day 84b, Day 90a
Women Day 5, Day 9, Day 21, Day 32, Day 83b
Workers Day 63, Day 66, Day 90a
Worship Day 28b, Day 29, Day 34b, Day 34a, Day 35, Day 45a, Day 45b, Day 59a, Day 59b, Day 61, Day 70, Day 72a
Yasser Arafat Mausoleum Day 4
Zoo Day 11

Reading Responses :)

The articles this week were pretty great! I love graffiti as a form of artwork, and the Wall has some of the best graffiti I’ve seen in person! I like that the focus of the ‘Writing on the Wall’ article was that graffiti was a form of expression, and also highlighted some of the dangers that graffiti-ing the Wall has that wouldn’t be present if you were to tag a wall or a street sign in other parts of the world (for instance, the soldiers marching up the young boys at gun point to blacken it out.) There’s a lot of great artwork and messages on the Wall today, and I feel like maybe the soldiers have given up on trying to blacken them all out because some of the more famous ones have been up there for years (like Banksy’s work!) Back in the days when I was fifteen and thought I was cool, my brother and I found a relatively deserted corner of the Wall and had a field day drawing all over it. I forget what we put up there exactly, just that one of them was something ridiculous like, “Make tea, not war.” (I didn’t choose the thug life, guys – the thug life chose me.) Anyway, if you walk or drive past the Wall you’ll see a lot of really cool graffiti, and it almost always has a message. I think more and more they’re being done in English too, and I think maybe it’s because more and more people are seeing the graffiti on an international level so the message is getting passed around to more people.

I also liked Noura’s article as a sort of recap of the information about the conflict. She writes really well, so it was great to go through it! I never really considered the idea of a homeland and a political country being two separate states – everything in the Middle East ends up circling back to politics (try having dinner with my family and their friends and count how many times politics is brought up!) so I think that was my favourite part of her article.

Students for Justice in Palestine

In case anyone is interested, I thought I'd post this! There is a callout meeting for the group Students for Justice in Palestine is at 7 tonight in Woodburn 104. I'm sorry for the late notice, but if anyone is interested in going it should be great. I know my friend Jenna will be there, and she grew up in Ramallah and is quite the fantastic human being and always down to talk and make new friends! If you can't make it but still want to join, I think contacting the Facebook group is a good way to get in touch. In all honesty, I'm not exactly sure what they'll talk about tonight, nor can I guarantee any free food (a staple in uni life, I know) but it should be fun and there's definitely a few interesting people showing up!

Week 7 Readings and Orchestra and SAID!

Hello, everyone! Sorry I’ve been a bit MIA this past week, it’s been incredibly crazy at casa de Khoury (see how I’m switching things up with a little Spanish? All the Spanish I know, even?).

Also I think I'll go to the Thursday movie showing. I'm going to caffeinate myself like no other in preparation!

In other news, I absolutely loved this week’s work. I loved looking into the Orchestra and listening to them. Music tends to bring people together, and it’s amazing that the West-Eastern Divan has been doing it for nearly thirteen years now. I’ll admit, I creeped on them a little because I thought it was the Orchestra that one of my friends was in, but it turns out there’s another that’s similar to it (the Palestinian Youth Orchestra) so my creeping was in vain. I especially thought it was really cool that this orchestra is international, though I was kind of sad that they haven’t played in the Middle East as often as I initially thought they had.

I also didn’t realise that Edward Said was involved in the Orchestra! I love Edward Said to a probably ridiculous level (Leah and Kyle can attest to my little excitement attack last week when I read the syllabus and found out we were talking to Miriam this week).  I initially read Orientalism a long time ago, but I keep meaning to re-read it and this is probably the kick I needed to make a little pit stop at Wells. I loved reading Barenboim’s in memoriam about his life and personality and his genius and the fact that he got to meet him, and then of course we got to read their conversation. When Said talked about Palestine not really feeling like home anymore because he hadn’t returned in so long and it wasn’t the same as it had been when he left it, it was really sad. There’s kind of this expectation of home and your hometown being this constant thing in your life, where it doesn’t change and the memories of your childhood are still a reality, and it’s disappointing to go back and find everything has changed. Said and Barenboim both are excellent writers (and since part of it was a conversation I’m guessing orators as well?) and so the reading was so easy to read through and it really resonates with you.

And I can’t even begin to tell you guys how excited I am to hear Miriam Said speak tomorrow!! :) 

Weblog assignment: Identity

I'm so sorry this is so late, everyone! You wouldn't believe how insane this week has been.

So finding identity symbols for me were kind of difficult ! I mean, how do you find pictures or things that really symbolise who you are? Not so hard, but not so easy either! Especially since what I currently have around me are vaguely impersonal in my shared space! I can show people the things I like, but how do I show people things that define me or separate me from every other 21 year old uni student who loves cats and doctor who and pizza? You could probably find a million people on the internet who fit the same description!

But in the interest of attempting to complete the assignment, this is what I felt best described me!

This is my mother's side of the family, with the majority of my boys. Micah (5), Kais (17), and my parents, Rebecca and Tony.

This my Baba and my little Zaytoon (Zeid) at the beach (the rest of my boys!). Not pictured is Samar, Baba's wife and my step-mother!

Neither my cat nor my dog were willing to pose for pictures, but they complete my family. Family is super important to me, and definitely what I'd consider as part of my identity because ultimately they shape who I am and have done so over the course of my life. (bear with me on the size of the photos, I'm having difficulty with technology!)

I don't want any judgement on these two cool guys! I've had them my entire life, and they are Bert the Hippo and Mouse. They travel with me whenever I move, so they've been to their fair share of countries.

This is my soulmate Maija eating at my favourite restaurant in downtown Amman (Hashim)

This is the oldest (and dearest) friend I have, Michelle. I've known her for eight years now, which is kind of a record for me. She lives in Germany right now so I don't get to see her :( we haven't lived in the same country for about six years now(?) but she's a big deal to me.

Things that shape me that I can't show you, mostly because I don't have photos of them, are my favourite foods: Mansaf (a yoghurt soup that sounds weird when you describe it but tastes like heaven), Ma2loobeh (rice, lamb, cauliflower, and potatoes!), and any and all types of pizza. I could also show you a picture of each of my friends individually, but then you'd be looking at a bunch of strangers, so just know that there are a group of people out there that I value over any material object I own. I'm also fond of Mahmoud Darwish's poem, "The Raven's Ink" (it's actually my favourite poem!) but there's a line in particular that I absolutely love. In Arabic the line reads, "لا ليلَ يكفينا لنحلُمَ مرّتين and it translates to, "There is no night long enough for us to dream twice" I'm considering getting it tattooed, I absolutely love it.


Aside from family and friends, I don't particularly know what to show you guys. They're the most important part of my life and they're the reason I am who I am. My house in Amman and my grandparents' house in Illinois are also two major markers that have never changed in my life, but I don't have pictures of either.

This weblog journal assignment was hugely difficult and I'm not really sure why! I guess I'll just leave you guys with a video of one of my family gatherings at our house in Amman. Warning: Prepare yourself for some really loud Arabic music and potentially my giggling. I can't promise you the latter won't happen! (Edit: we're singing El Bosta by Fairuz, if anyone is interested.)

Tamari Readings

Reading through Tamari’s articles makes me really excited to hear him speak tomorrow! I like his writing style, it’s very easy to read and articulate, and I liked reading about Wasif’s life. It was also great to see a more modern perspective after reading Karen for so long, as well as to see a cultural/musical side of Jerusalem. Side note: I absolutely love listening to the Oud and I recommend it to anyone interested in string instruments! I took guitar this semester solely to get ready to learn how to play the Oud when I go back to Amman this summer. Baba can laugh at me all he likes, I’ll be a master at it.

There were two names in Musician’s Lot that I absolutely loved: Hussein Effendi and (the fact that his mistress was called) Persephone. Effendi (in Jordan at least) is kind of like an honorific term, but my taita always uses it sarcastically whenever she refers to my brothers or father/uncle, so that was kind of a hilarious surprise. And then just the fact that his mistress was named Persephone and the contrast it has to Hussein!

The leprosy article was more on the serious side. Leprosy doesn’t really sound like a real disease, it just sounds like it came straight out of the Bible or something. I did like reading that the ethnographers regarded the peasantry as the soul of the nation: they do tend to be less Westernised and more in tune with the culture even today and not in the 1920s/1940s. I don’t know if you count the Bedouins as peasantry or an entity unto themselves, but they’re kind of a prime example of this in that they keep to themselves (mostly) and stick to the old traditions. Sometimes it’s looked down upon, sometimes it’s respected, but either way you have to give them credit because it’s not an easy way of life.

Fun side note: check out the Oud!

Karen Round Two! (14-18)

So we’re back with another round of history with Karen! (EDIT: you’ll have to excuse me, I’m a bit slap-happy right now and extremely caffeinated, no regrets.)

Okay, so what struck me as interesting with the initial chapters was how different Jerusalem was under Islamic leadership after the Crusades. The whole “King of Jerusalem” name was kind of funny, and I really wish that idea had stuck around (though perhaps not since it seemed to have descended into madness and become vaguely Game of Thrones-y with all of Saladin’s heirs.) It was also really interesting to hear about how the city basically became a town after the walls were torn down because the people were afraid for their safety. I mean, you can see why he did it but also you have to wonder how al-Mu’azzam thought he was going to protect the city if an invading army did come to attack. He put so much effort with the schools and other buildings, it was kind of an investment.

I remember from class that Dr. Horowitz had said that under the Ottomans Jerusalem was at its most peaceful, especially since (I think that) during that time period the Ottoman Empire was at its most powerful. The Ottomans were surprisingly liberal with regards to religions outside of Islam; they were welcoming towards Judaism and the Orthodox Churches and after the Crusades and the previous rulers it’s a nice change. I think I might have read somewhere that the church that benefited the most was the Greek Orthodox Church – I mean, don’t quote me on it or anything, but I think I read that some minority Orthodox Churches were given to the Greek Orthodox Church and placed under their jurisdiction. I don’t really know how they felt towards Syrian or Armenian Orthodoxy!

The dhimmi status though was what I found the most interesting out of anything in the entire reading. We talked about it a bit in class, and I’d never heard that word/concept before. I looked it up online a bit and apparently it sounds the same in Arabic as it does in English, so it’s really just an entirely new concept to me. Anyway what I read online was that in modern society there’s no legal distinction between a non-Muslim dhimmi and a Muslim citizen, but they are allowed to eat pork and drink alcohol. What I found the most interesting is that apparently the Hanafi scholars extended it to the land outside Mecca, but I don’t know what they’re talking about because Saudi still doesn’t allow pork or alcohol even to non-Muslims (not that you can’t find it, it’s just still illegal.) That being said, technically Saudi also just assumes that all the people living there are Muslims and probably just disregards the expats, so there’s that. (I lived there for three years; so I’m still just a little bitter about the lack of bacon, don’t mind me.) Anyway, I could make a whole separate post about Saudi and a whole separate post about the dhimmi status, but that’s another story.

Reading Armstrong: 11-13

I think I'm starting to like Karen a little more (not that I really had anything against her before) or maybe I'm just starting to be able to process the history or something but these last three chapters were great!

I loved reading about Islam through Karen’s perspective. I didn’t know that Islam meant existential surrender (it’s similar to, but not quite, the word we use in slang Arabic, so it’s obviously related but potentially it could have been related in the same way that peace sounds like it – salaam. I think she mentioned that too?) The history of Islam and Muhammad (PBUH) was a required course when I was in primary/middle school, but it’s been so long (and I was a poor student, let’s be honest) so I’d forgotten most of it until this chapter. The entire tenth chapter was just really interesting, especially when she translated words from Arabic and I was just like, “OH YES, it does mean that,” and I’d just never put two and two together because I’d never had to link the Arabic and English together before.

Another thing that I found really interesting was that Islam had unified all the tribes together that was in the region. I was wondering about that actually – when she means ‘tribes’ does she mean Bedouins or were there little towns/cities of Arabs? And if there were towns, were they secular or Jewish or Christian?

Mostly what I thought about as I read the chapters on Islam is how different the perception of Islam in the west is from the actual fundamental beliefs of the religion. I don’t really discuss religion with my friends, and Islam in general even less than that, but whenever it does come up I feel like a general first impression of Islam is the Fox News version where everyone is just yelling and sobbing over children and threatening America. Islam is a very peaceful religion with a minority of very loud and angry groups, and unfortunately the News most often shows the second group.

Reading about the Crusades felt more like up Fox News’ alley. You know going into it that it was bloody and terrible, but still, reading that they ‘slaughtered’ thirty thousand people and that ‘the streets literally ran with blood,’ and that there were piles of dismembered limbs is horrifying. And then, after all that, when she wrote that Crusader Jerusalem became more secular it’s kind of just like, really?!

Weblog Journal

Well, I prematurely posted my thoughts on the readings I guess but there are no regrets right now (just a little embarrassment - standard.) I'm just going to blame it all on the million cold medicines I'm taking while trying to get out of my sick bed.

I honestly have no idea how I would handle Arab/Israeli negotiations. It's the kind of thing where you can read as many articles as you can find, or watch a million documentaries on YouTube, and still feel as though you have no idea how to grasp the situation. It's not like you can sit the two sides down, offer them a cup of tea, and be like, "Hey guys, let's be rational here, what's happening with this whole war thing? We're still on that, right?" For a lot of people, this conflict has spanned their entire lives, and if not the entirety of their lives, at least most of it. Both sides want it to be over, sure, but how do you just end something that has taken up every day of your life for sixty years? How do you get over hurts, perceived or real, that have lasted generations? So many people have tried to analyse the conflict and come up with solutions, but I don't think anything right now is going to appease both sides and nothing is going to end while both are hurting.

I think the heart of the conflict right now is Jerusalem. The (illegal) settlements are one thing - yes, Israel needs to stop building them if any peace is going to be achieved - but ultimately even if the question of the settlements is met there is still the issue of Jerusalem. Both sides want the city as their capital and reject the idea of leaving it independent from both, so how to keep both happy? Plans have been made to split the city, but I'm not sure how that would work leaving the capital of two states who have fought for so long in such close proximity.

It's not like it's an issue of understanding each other either - it's not like Palestinians or Israelis  have never interacted, it's not uncommon to find people who speak both Hebrew and Arabic there fluently, or at least understand SOME of the other language. You'll also find people from both sides standing up for rights or protesting the conflict and calling for an end. I feel like half the battle lies with either government, not the people themselves, but how do you get two governments to stop bickering? There's also the problem of extremists on either side to deal with and satisfy. There's just no feasible way to meet everyone's needs here, so somebody in charge is going to have to suck it up and compromise.

I know it's been said before, but I think the first step to peace will be removing the Wall and any illegal settlements. Israel should not be above UN laws - I mean, until recently, Israel and the US pretty much controlled it and everyone else had to follow the law. I understand that Israel feels that removing the Wall is a security risk, but considering that as long as it's up no lasting peace is going to be achieved, isn't that just perpetuating the risk? It doesn't have to all come down in one day, and at least stop adding on to it! The IDF is one of the best armies(?) in the world; I'm sure they can come up with a plan to keep Israel safe AND get rid of the wall.

Another thing that could help end the conflict are the groups that condone Israeli and Palestinian cooperation. There's a summer camp that my friend told me about that takes school children from both sides (and I think from the US as well?) and they all spend the summer swimming and making crafts and getting along, and I know it sounds all rainbow-y and utopian, but if that camp can be successful, who's to say that an adult version wouldn't work out? I mean, sure, camping and crafting doesn't sound very adult, but I think it sounds like a great time. Realistically though, I like the idea of having groups and maybe charities that would promote Palestinians and Israelis interacting outside the sphere of politics.

There's so many ideas that have been put forward though, and I feel like this topic can be debated endlessly and you can find the flaws or the benefits to any one of them. It's so difficult to say what could work and what won't.. I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone says in class tomorrow.

Reading Responses! Armstrong, Pressman, and Slater.

Is it really week four, you guys? How did we get to almost a month in so quickly?

Reading through the Armstrong chapters for this week there were a couple things that instantly stuck out to me, the first and foremost being that she seems against Christianity in some way. She says things like, “The Christians of Aelia did not seem to have got off to a good start here: it did not seem as though the experience of living in the city where Christ had died and risen again had inspired them to live up to their noblest ideals,” (p 47), and “Yet Christians had thought that they were above this type of piety. They had proudly proclaimed that theirs was a purely spiritual faith that was not dependent upon shrines and holy places,” (p189/16). I mean, I’m not an expert in this field or this time period or anything, nor am I particularly religious, but it seemed as though she was putting down Christianity (at least during this period) more than commenting on the history. Oddly enough though she also seemed to have something against the word synagogue too, referring to it only once (that I found) and mentioning it as “synagogue” – quotation marks and all (p189/16 for those interested), or calling it “their church.” I mean, I don’t see a connection here but I just thought it was interesting that she seemed a little biased against Christianity but still preferred to call synagogues ‘churches.’

There were so many interesting new facts in these chapters though – I kind of loved it. I had no idea that earlier Jews practiced praying in the direction of Jerusalem if they were travelling (like Islam and Mecca!) – does anyone know if that’s still in practice? Let’s be honest, I know next to nothing about Judaism but I thought that was a really cool link between Judaism and Islam, even if the cities in question are/were different.

Another fun new fact was that she repeatedly said that Christians were not interested in the physical city of Jerusalem, but more in the heavenly Jerusalem, and that not many Christians came to the city as tourists. Eusebius could only name four pilgrims, and one of them, Melito, only came for scholarly reasons. “Thus Jerusalem had no special status on the Christian map.” P46 She also showed how that evolved over the chapters, and how it became an important city. And then there was the whole “Jesus was Logos in the flesh” / Paganism combining with Christianity concept fascinating. I’ve never given much thought about how the religions clashed during that time period – I mean, I knew in theory that Christianity had Pagan elements in it, and I knew that they had to mix them to make it better accepted, but I’ve never sat down and actually thought about the people during the time period who were experiencing it and who believed it or anything.

I’m going to have to admit though, the whole “great balls of fire erupting from the earth and a giant cross appearing in the sky” thing was weird. As was the practice of licking the holy places - Kissing religious places and stones in Jerusalem is a common thing, but I cringed when I read that people licked the stones! I’ve kissed the star in the Church of Nativity and the tomb in the Resurrection Church, but licking them?! No, no, no. Nope.

In regards to the Pressman article, I have a lot to say.

I like that he mentions that the slogan “a land without a people for a people without a land” was false as Arabs lived there, and that he mentioned the rising Arab nationalism as a response to Zionism. He also mentions that Arab literacy was comparatively low and as a result the spreading nationalist ideologies were limited, but he doesn’t mention the oral component of Arab culture at all. Arab traditions were spread orally through songs and plays and coffee shops – socialising is an important part – it would have been interesting if he found some sources that mentioned how nationalism was affected by that (though obviously understandable that he couldn’t find sources).

I did find it interesting that he did not mention that a country in South America (I forget which one) was also a possible location for a Zionist/Jewish state when they were looking for one. Palestine/Israel was chosen for political reasons, though some people pushed for it because of religious reasons (Herzl being one of them). I thought he skimmed over a lot of the initial conflicts. He doesn’t mention that initially, Arabs and Jews got along fairly well and were not in direct opposition to each other. It was the British officers and the Jewish settlers who initially began to disagree, and that around the time the British military left the area that the Arabs and Jews were in conflict. He also doesn’t mention the reasoning behind the rejection of the resolution – I used to know why it was, but it was something about being perceived as unfair and Jerusalem itself. I’ll have to look it up properly. I wish he would have mentioned it more specifically because I feel like that was a very important point in the conflict that could have impacted everything following it!

I liked that Jeremy outlined the history so we have a timeline, but I didn’t like that he skimmed over a lot of important points and didn’t mention others. “Arabs and Israelis did not fight again until 1967” implies that there was little or no conflict at the time, and that’s not true. Sure, no major fighting/wars broke out, but there were daily struggles and miniature fights as would appear between any two people trying to occupy the same land. I like that he tries to remain unbiased, but I think he could have improved upon his article by elaborating on why the conflict started and going into the history of each people more. I mean, sure, it would have been a lot longer, but skimming over their history and saying things like “Arabs and Israelis did not fight again until 1967” seems to me like it was a bit oversimplifying a very complicated period/conflict.

I really liked Slater’s article compared to Pressman’s. Yes, it condemned Israel’s methodology, but only in the way that it was against the war crimes. It was shocking to read that the then chief of staff of the IDF Gur actually believed that civilians deserved to be bombarded. I’d heard about people saying that Israel had militants who believed that (and obviously there are Palestinians/Arabs who believe the same of Israeli civilians) but to actually see it written out is kind of shocking.

Slater’s article was an easy read, and I liked that he elaborates on war moral philosophy – something that I would never seek out or know anything about. There was a lot of history in his article and sometimes it got a bit dense, but for the most part it was an interesting read.

Palestinian rap: Shadia Mansour

This has nothing to do with the class, but I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in this.

I don't know how many of you guys would be interested in this because it's in Arabic, but Shadia Mansour is fantastic (I'm slightly biased - though usually not into rap so maybe not that biased?). She's known as the "first lady of hip-hop" and she's kind of controversial because she sings about politics and the war/conflict and she's a woman, but what's rap if not typically controversial and in your face, right? She's from Haifa, but grew up in the UK and spent her summers in Palestine and she does feature in a few English bands (though she herself typically sings/raps in Arabic). Anyway, I had a bit of a tough time deciding which one to show you because she sings to/about Israel/is a lot, but a lot of them are controversial and I guess this one is the least so? I don't know, but the music video is pretty cool because she wears a traditional Palestinian dress throughout and it was all shot in Palestine/Jerusalem so the background is pretty great. I tried to find one that was subtitled but that didn't go very well, so I'll just post the lyrics to go with it so you'll know what she's all about. The song is called "The Arabic Scarf" (the koffeyah is that black and white/red and white chequered scarf that people wear.)

Fair warning: it's all Palestinian nationalism and pro-Arabs from here on out.

Also, I couldn't be bothered/didn't quite have the time to translate her myself so I stole the translation from online and read through it. It's fairly accurate, though it sounds really weird reading it out in English. As an English song I don't like it, but in Arabic I do, if that makes sense? I don't really know how to explain it, but at least the lyrics will give you an idea about the song.

Good morning, cousins; welcome, come in.
What would you like us to serve you, Arab blood or tears from our eyes?
I think that's how they expected us to receive them.
That's why they got embarrassed when they realized their mistake.

That's why we rocked the kuffiyeh, the white and black.
Now these dogs are startin' to wear it as a trend.
No matter how they design it, no matter how they change its color,
The kuffiyeh is Arabic, and it will stay Arabic.

The gear we rock, they want it; our culture, they want it;
Our dignity, they want it; everything that's ours, they want it;
Half your country, half your home; why, why? No, I tell 'em.
Stealin' something that ain't theirs, I can't allow it.
They imitatin' us in what we wear, wear; this land is not enough for them. What else do you want?
They're greedy for Jerusalem. Learn how to say "human beings".
Before y'all ever rocked a kuffiyeh, we here to remind 'em who we are.
And whether they like it or not, this is our clothing style.

[Chorus:]
That's why we rock the kuffiyeh, cuz it's patriotic.
The kuffiyeh, the kuffiyeh is Arabic.
That's why we rock the kuffiyeh, our essential identity.
The kuffiyeh, the kuffiyeh is Arabic.
Come on, throw up the kuffiyeh (throw that kuffiyeh up for me).
The kuffiyeh, the kuffiyeh is Arabic.
Throw it up! Come on, Greater Syria!.
The kuffiyeh is Arabic, and it will stay Arabic.

[Verse 2:]
There's none yet like the Arab people.
Show me which other nation in the world was more influential.
The picture is clear: we are the cradle of civilization.
Our history and cultural heritage testify to our existence.
That's why I rocked the Palestinian gear,
From Haifa, Jenin, Jabal al Nar to Ramallah.
Let me see the kuffiyeh, the white and red.
Let me throw it up in the sky; I'm
Arab, and my tongue creates earthquakes.
I shake the words of war.
Listen, I'm Shadia Mansour, and the gear I'm rockin' is my identity.
Since the day I was born raisin' people's awareness been my responsibility.
But I was raised between fear and evil; between two areas,
Between the grudging and the poor, I seen life from both sides.
God bless the kuffiyeh; however you rock me, wherever you see me,
I stay true to my origins: Palestinian.

Reading Response 3: Armstrong 1-4

When I was reading Armstrong’s introduction, I definitely had to agree with her about the idea that “history is a dimension of the present.” You just walk through the streets of Jerusalem, and suddenly it doesn’t feel like you’re in 2012 or 2013 any more, everything is just so old and beautiful, and sure, there are modern things there like cars and technology, and people aren’t dressed like they belong in the 1800s or anything, but the city itself – the walls, the streets, everything just feels so old, and by extension you just feel like you’re part of it all.  I also like that she addressed the idea of religious pluralism, and people seeing the city in different ways, because it’s so true: it means different things to different people, and you can know it going in to the city, but actually feeling it and seeing it makes it feel more real than a romanticised description told to you by someone else.

She also brought up a good point that, for me at least, seems to reflect on the conflict at large: the whole concept of being FIRST. We were here first, we built the city first, it was important to us first. My five year old brother does that too: he saw that candy first, so it’s his. I didn’t include that last part to belittle the conflict or the people fighting every day, but just to point out the childishness of it all. So what if you were here first? It doesn’t change the fact that others have been there for a long time, that they’re still there, and that they’re probably going to continue to be there for a very long time. I understand that this part of it is small, that there are greater issues to deal with before the conflict can be resolved, but people do bring this argument up thinking it’s a valid point (my own family included) and I think that as long as anyone using it believes it, then progress can’t be made beyond this point.

Alright, that last paragraph was a huge rant and slightly off-tangent, but I think I’m going to leave it in as I genuinely do believe it.

I also really liked the part where she was talking about the similarity between art and religion, and the importance of practicing charity and compassion in every day life in order for the city to be considered ‘holy’ within religious circles. I’d never really considered that comparison before, and then she went on to say how some of the most uncharitable and atrocious acts had been committed to people within Jerusalem, and it just made me reconsider my own definition of ‘holy.’ She talked about how every major religion required its practitioners to practice charity and compassion outside the place of worship, but if Jerusalem is such a religious city, then why are there people living in fear of rockets or suicide bombers or being forcibly removed from their house?

Ultimately though, I liked the reading this week. It was a bit difficult for me to get into it once I passed the introduction and started in on the first chapter, but once I was in the zone it wasn’t that hard to keep reading. Sometimes all the information was a bit dense and I felt like it was going in one ear and out the other, but it was great to see a mix of the historical and religious history that Jerusalem had, especially its history from the ancient days. I also liked that so far Armstrong seems pretty impartial and hasn’t been “pro” anything and is more informative than editorialising. (Is that even a word? Did I use it properly? I’m not sure.)

Journal Entry #1

Aah, I can't believe it's already Wednesday night in our second week. Where does all our time go?! I feel like I only just got lost trying to find the radio building (we had a radio building?!) and it's already the start of term proper! I'm pretty excited about the class, everyone seems really friendly and open to discussion, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone has to say. I'm kind of nervous about talking in any group over four or five people, but I think this would be an easy class to speak up in because everyone seems pretty open. I'm also pretty excited about the people in my group! Not to have favourites or anything.. ;)

I'm really horrible about this whole five pm deadline though, so I need to be more on the ball. My only excuse is that as an Arab, I feel obligated to be late to everything but I don't think it'll fly this time! If I'm ever late to anything, anyone reading this (if anyone is) can feel free to just tell me, "Yalla, Yasmine!" which is basically just, "Hurry yourself up!" I can't promise anything, but it could work! Other than that, I think I like the idea of this blog. It's kind of weird thinking people are/may/could be reading things I post on here, especially since the internet isn't exactly a friendly place to put your ideas and opinions out on, but it's so different from my other classes that it hardly feels like classwork and feels more like fun. Let's just see if it stills feel fun once we get into the controversial stuff!

Also, is anyone else a little nervous that our classes are recorded? Haha, now all my silly comments and lame jokes can be caught on camera. I don't know if I want people in Jerusalem knowing I'm as lame as I am! (Granted, we've got some pretty intelligent people in our class, so hopefully everyone's listening to them. Crossing my fingers.)

I guess I'll see everyone tomorrow, bright and early!

Reading Response # 2:

The reading due for this week consisted of three articles: “Jerusalem: Then and Now” by Mick Dumper, “The History of Jerusalem: An Arab Perspective” by Rashid Khalidi, and “The Holy City Through the Ages.” Each of the readings was an analysis of Jerusalem’s history and its ties to religion, and how quickly the city expanded and was built upon.

After reading Dumper’s article, it’s crazy to think how rapidly the city expanded during the 20^th century compared to expansion prior to that, and especially around the 1980s and 90s. I kind of wonder exactly what was expanded, and what changed in the city. Whenever I visited Jerusalem, I usually stayed within the Old City and it doesn’t have a modern feel to it. Ramallah felt more modern than the Old City did, and Beit Sahour had areas that were kind of an in-between. I wish I’d had time to explore Jerusalem more to see how different it is in other neighbourhoods. From Dumper’s article, I think I really liked his line; “As a holy city it [Jerusalem] serves as a symbol, vehicle and embodiment of spiritual beliefs and aspirations, and so was given an elevated status which overcame its unpromising environment and location.” I mean, it’s true: despite not having any natural resources to export, Jerusalem is an incredibly important city, both culturally and politically, so you have to assume that it’s from its ties to religion. When I think of Jerusalem, I can’t really separate it from religion.

Considering this and what Khalidi wrote about how a lot of Jerusalem’s “history” can’t be proven empirically, and that a lot of it is based on lore (which could be based on actual events), you have to wonder how much of its history relating to religion actually happened, and how much of it was exaggerated by the victorious party after it was conquered, and how different the conflict would be today if invading armies during that time had been more secular than religious.

Rubin’s article only cemented the tie between the historical political and religious aspect of Jerusalem. When going over its military history, it seemed the new developments and expansions or conquering armies all had a tie to one of the three major monotheistic religions. It’s still the same way today. The sentence she wrote that I found particularly striking was, “Nevertheless, by the end of the century, Jerusalem was impressed upon the Muslim consciousness as Islam’s third holy city, the place where the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven on his Night Journey.” Jerusalem is so important in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that it has to be accepting in order to accommodate the diverse religions that are essentially the foundation of the city.

Reading Response #1

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Our first reading assignments for this class are all centred on a research project that took place in 1993. There were two ‘sides’ to the project; one ‘team’ was to analyse and represent East Jerusalem, and the other West Jerusalem, and the final project would be hosted by the Smithsonian at the Washington Mall in an attempt to show an audience the diversity Jerusalem presents. I really liked reading the articles about the project, and I really wish that something like this would be something I could go to.

Reading El-Amiry’s article and seeing the difficulties the researchers faced when trying to balance the different ethnic groups was very interesting. I haven’t been to Jerusalem in a very long time, and I was mostly limited to East Jerusalem, but I remember visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and I couldn’t imagine trying to accurately represent two religions, let alone three, as well as all the diverse ethnic groups and cultures within Jerusalem alone. There are similarities, but the differences as well as the sensitivity of the topic would be so difficult, you have to respect everyone who worked on this project, especially everyone who tried to find the funding necessary.

The article written by Galit Hasan was another perspective about the research project, and the first thing I remember sticking out to me about the project was finding out that it was part of three projects as a whole, and that the other two were about Cajun culture and North American social dancing. I thought it was a little strange at the time, especially since the idea of the Jerusalem research project is not only different, but also is so diverse that there’s so much information to cover. It is interesting that neither the El-Amiry article nor the interview mentioned that the Oslo agreement affected the project; though it was mentioned in both Hasan's and Dr. Horowitz's articles. Looking back on it, I feel like that should have been an obvious mention but if I hadn’t read Hasan’s article then I would never have linked the two together despite the fact that I knew the project took place in 1993.

Additionally, while reading Hasan’s perspective on El-Amiry, it was interesting to see that fieldworkers from both sides of the project didn’t meet. While I understand that they were each working on different angles of Jerusalem – one regarding Arab Jerusalem and one regarding Jewish Jerusalem – I don’t understand how they couldn’t have met, if at least a few times, once they were done collecting research as they were completing their parts. Wouldn’t the final step of the project be to at least understand the research from the other side? I really liked reading Hasan’s report because it also gave me the Israeli side of the project, and especially the information that she was giving about the ethnic holidays and different ethnic groups within the Jewish side of Jerusalem.  Hasan’s analysis was different than Amiry’s in that it also gave us more information about the Jewish culture, and not just the difficulties the project faced.

I think my favourite part of all the articles though was in Dr. Horowitz’s article, where she talked about how they went about ordering ice cream to suit the Palestinian or Israeli colours, or had designs laid out with those colours to look vaguely like the flags, and the jokes the Palestinian and Israeli researchers were making about the white tents at the Smithsonian. It was hilarious, and it shows that there is the potential to make cooperation work between the two parties, despite cultural and political differences.

Introduction

Hello! My name is Yasmine Khoury, and I am a senior this year majoring in NELC and History, with a minor in Psychology. I am half Palestinian, half American, and spent my childhood in Amman. I came to the States for my senior year of High School, and aside from a year abroad in the UK, have been here ever since. My father's side of the family is from Beit Sahour, and I go back every summer to visit my Taita and Sedo. Generally speaking, my family and I do not discuss politics very often so what I know of the region is limited to the culture and language, so I am hoping that this class will allow me to learn things from different angles and to hopefully allow me an Israeli perspective of the conflict.

I have only been to Jerusalem a couple times, mainly because I have my Palestinian hawiya (ID) from Beit Sahour so it's very difficult for me to get into the city without special permission. That being said, I absolutely love the city and would love to go back if it were possible. My stepmother is from Jerusalem, so she brings back goodies like cakes and breads that are a little different from what we usually get. I named my blog for my half brother, Zeid, who is nearly two and absolutely loves to eat zayt o za3tar, which is a thyme and olive oil dish.