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.
Nice post Yasmine. I am with you in the fact that I started out very pro-Palestine. Yet, I gained a sort of appreciation you can say to Israel and Israelis. I was inspired by the two speakers who were both refused to serve in the IDF. That gives me hope.
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