Reactions to Readings: 10

"The concept of Jerusalem as an open city negates the existence of any deep division in Jerusalem."

I definitely do not consider Jerusalem an open city. Maybe my opinion will change once I go, but that's doubtful. The western wall is proof enough how deep seated the roots of separation in Jerusalem are. And the wall that is under construction? I don't characterize those attributes as "open".

PYALARA seems like a wonderful program. I am not familiar with the human service organizations in Israel, however, it is nice to see that Palestinians see the importance of youth. In my opinion, the youth in this country tends to slip through the cracks and there aren't many people who are willing to do anything about it. This is one of the main reasons I am a Family Studies major. It's very sad to see youth not realize their full potential and fall into crime, drugs, violence, etc. Specifically for Palestinian youth, the idea of leadership is so important. I bet this organization is making a big impact on youth and helping them figure out their voice is important and meant to be heard.

It's important for me to understand how much of a ripple effect this conflict has. It effects everyone. The last article, the overview of the political context and developments, really made that clear. The rate of unemployment really struck me. Sometimes unemployment can affect the psyche of young people. Again, the PYALARA program helps offset these negative effects.

Reactions to Readings: 9

The first article was pretty cool. As some of you may know, I'm a family studies major. Not only is this class a total 180* for me, it's very refreshing. I never really think how architecture attributes to a city's culture, history, etc. But this article showed me just how much of an impact it has. The evolution of Jerusalem (in every way) is fascinating!

"In Jerusalem, I have found that deep mysterious sense of contentment produced by the feeling of belonging."

I love this quote. Here's a story: I started my collegiate career off at Shawnee State University (BOO!). I didn't feel I belonged there. Then I went to Bowling Green State University. I didn't belong there either. When I came to Ohio State, that sense of contentment was overwhelming. Maybe because all my best friends were here, or because I feel in love with the city. Regardless, I know that feeling, and it's wonderful. So I really relate to the author that way.

I loved our meeting with Richard Herrmann. It felt much more informal than some of our previous guest speakers. I tend to get uncomfortable with formal, so I felt more at ease. He held my attention for the entire class period, a feat not easily accomplished. I liked how he just kept it real, and didn't seem to mind sharing his opinions. Very informative.

Before I forget...

I really enjoyed the video conference on Tuesday. I wish more students could have participated! But I was happy with the two women who showed up...very insightful. It's so true: it is very different to learn about Jerusalem than to actually live in Jerusalem. Again, I feel grateful to be able to take this trip and experience Jerusalem for myself. I also liked the idea of video conferencing with the students who were unable to attend the trip. That would be so neat!

Reactions to Readings: 8

I really enjoyed the first two excerpts from "Sharon and My Mother in Law". I just might pick up that book for the plane ride! I really dig her writing style...and her humor. I can picture it more like a movie, in contrast to reading the denser articles. Upon reading "The Promised Gas Masks", I gained a more intimate sense of life as a Palestinian in the early 90's. That could not have been easy. A curfew that lasted 42 days?? I would go crazy. Something that really struck me is her humor when reflecting on this experiences. I mean, she's humorous but there are still some anger undertones, too. A good example of that is in the next chapter, "A Dog's Life", when she writes,

"You know what, Nura? This document will get you through the checkpoint into Jerusalem while I and my car need two different permits to get through."

Of course, she is referring to the fact that it was easier for a dog to get to Jerusalem than a human. While this is funny, it also demonstrates the difficulties she, and all Palestinians, must have been going through at the time.

"There is no room here for coveting, dispossessing and hatred."

The quote above is from the second reading, "Jerusalem: Not the Mother of All Cities". The author really takes Jerusalem and tries to make it personal. For a lot of people, Jerusalem is personal though. I see the above quote as like, a rule that your mother imposed and you have grown up with. A "Not in this house" type of thing. The fact that she is talking about Jerusalem, makes it all that much more personal.


For my multimedia project I hope to interview local Christians, Muslims, Jews, and maybe a Palestinian or two. I want to know what their attachments are to Jerusalem (this is probably coming from the human ecology aspect of my major). Whether it's minor or major, I want to hear about it. I also want to know what their opinions and perspectives are about peace in Israel. I am more interested in the personal side of their reactions rather than the political. Most likely because I am not a political person.

Tamari Readings

"Trained as a lawyer, he was well versed in Muslim Shari'a law and spoke several languages, including Greek, Turkish, and Arabic. He worked briefly as a government tax assessor but later turned to private business as a silk farmer and cafe proprietor. He was also a skilled icon maker and amateur musician..."
-Tamari
What an interesting man!

I could relate to Wasif Jawhariyyeh years as a vagabond. Not in a personal sense, but I have a few friends who I would definitely consider vagabonds. Just a side note!

"Wasif's recollection of daily life in the alleys of the Old City shows the weakness of this concept in two respects. First, it suggests that there was no clear delineation between neighborhood and religion; instead, a substantial intermixing of religious groups existed in each quarter."

Is this statement true to this day? Or was this just an examination at the time of Wasif's memoir? All in all, this article was very insightful. It was interesting how Tamari incorporated clips of Wasif's diary to show modernism creeping into Jerusalem.

By the way, this is the Oud, it's very beautiful!

The second article was very cool! I loved the section about jinn... "a condition that is often brought about by the 'transgression of universal moral laws.'" This idea that love combined with any intense emotion as the recipe to make someone crazy...totally makes sense to me. Whether it be love and anger, love and sadness...we see examples of this in everyday examples. Anyone remember Lisa Nowak, the astronaut lady? Definition of crazy.

Reactions to Readings: 7

In class on Thursday, we talked about peace in Israel. I took a pop culture class and my professor said there will never be "world peace", but the closest thing to it would be all countries rising up against one. This is also my take on peace in Israel. I don't think there will be peace without the Muslims, Christians, and Jews all coming together against one. I can't imagine a situation where this would happen, but who knows?

As far as Karen Armstrong's book, I can now see why Palestinians and Israelis chose this book as a happy medium for the history of Jerusalem. She maintains her objectivity throughout. At times, especially in the beginning, I really struggled with the readings. Because of this I really haven't spoken in class much! I know I won't be able to remember everything, but I feel like I learned a lot!

Something that really stuck out to me in the last few chapters was the emerging secularism in Jerusalem. For some reason I had always thought secularism in Jerusalem didn't come about till recently, like the last 50 years. This is probably because I have always regarded Jerusalem as an "old city", both in age and in its ways. So I was surprised to learn that secularism started in the early 18th century. But then again, Jerusalem has such a long history, the last 200 years IS recent!


"Ultra-Orthodox children wear costumes and smoke cigarettes on the Jewish holiday of Purim in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, March 11, 2009. The festival of Purim commemorates the rescue of the Jews from genocide in ancient Persia as told in the book of Esther."
http://www.upi.com/News_Photos/view/00caf3d60b60823609bb460c7ee90cb4/Ultra-Orthodox-Israelis-celebrate-Purim-in-Jerusalem/

Reactions to Readings: 6

As many have said in class, I can't imagine having such a strong connection to something as the three religions do with Jerusalem. I mean, maybe my parents? But still, they are my blood. There is no place, object, etc that I can think of that means THAT much to me. So for the Muslims to lose Jerusalem and then gain it back...wow. What a feeling that must have been. I guess I could say that for the Jews and Christians, though, too. Jerusalem gets tossed around like a baseball. Or a hot potato...who will catch it next?

Over the course of reading this book, through the long history of Jerusalem, it seems God was showing himself everywhere. It makes me wonder, how come stories like that haven't surfaced in recent years? Besides Jesus' face on a grilled cheese, a cheet-o, or in a field, I wonder why these intense religious sightings don't happen anymore? Or do they, and I just don't pay enough attention?

I also think aliyah, the ascent of Jews to Israel, is such a cool thing! What an experience that must be. It kind of relates to the Somalian speaker, (her name escapes me at the moment) and her epic journey to Jerusalem. How incredible!

I hope we get to visit the Western Wall when we visit Jerusalem. I was doing some outside research about it, and found a really cool picture of prayers that people put in the cracks of the wall. I think this is a really neat concept, like the religious version of a wishing well.




















Oh yeah, and I also hope we can go here on the trip! :)