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/