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?!