Evaluation

The general flexibility of this course made it the most unique course I have taken in my undergraduate education. It allowed for a fluid dialogue and organic knowledge building. This was absolutely necessary in a course such as this which investigates a conflict that is continually changing. The only additions I would like to see to the overall structure of the class is the presentation, in the beginning days of the course, which states the themes and goals of the Living Jerusalem Project. Many times questions such as, “what is the project doing right now?” or “what is the goal of the project?” came up during class discussions. I feel it is important to address these questions from the beginning so that the students understand the history and complexity not only of the relations between Arab-Israeli and the three Abrahamic religions, but also of the Living Jerusalem project itself. Lastly, I believe in the beginning days the students should provide what their short and long term goals are in learning about Arab- Israeli relations and the city of Jerusalem.
Readings
The reading material provided to the students in class was informative and relevant to the topics discussed. It often gave me background information to the topic which we discussed as a class or to a video conference we had. The reading which I believe was most important in this class was Karen Armstrong’s book Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths.
Armstrong’s book gave a very detailed description of Jerusalem’s history from the very beginnings to the almost present. This book should be kept as the main text of the course, but the way in which it is used should be re-structured. This book is very dense with lots of valuable dates, names, religions, and transfers of power throughout history. It was more than overwhelming to be expected to read 50, 80, or 100 pages a night. Not solely because of the amount of pages, but mainly because there was so much valuable information on each page.
Armstrong’s book should be spread throughout the entire semester. We went through it so quickly this semester, and once we were finished, we did not revisit it as much as we should have. I think the amount of reading each night should be substantially reduced. The book should be only discussed once a week instead of both days. Dr. Horwitz said she wanted us to get through the material before we moved on to other information and video conferencing, but I believe Armstrong’s book could have been a more useful tool if read in concurrence with the entire semester and used in the video conference discussions as well.
Also, there should be more facilitation from the professor on the material in Armstrong. As said above, the material is very dense and sometimes overwhelming. Three tools would have been very helpful in unwrapping the text; a timeline, a terms list, and a theme list. These tools would be provided by the professor prior to the readings so that the student would have something to work from. This would not only help in the comprehension of the text, but also assistance the class in an academic way to facilitate class discussion.
Blogging
Blogging is a wonderful tool for this course. It encourages dialogue among the students and provides the cyber world with information we as a class are gathering. Because the blogs are such a vital part of the course it is important that this tool be tweaked to better the use of it in future classes.
First, I believe that the blog should be a reflective tool rather than a pre-discussion space. It is expected that student complete their readings prior to class discussions. I felt that the blogs where used as a ‘check’ on students completing their reading assignment more than a space for thoughts to flow. The blogs should be a space that students go and reflect on the readings and discussion after the class has closed. This will enable the students to not only reflect on the readings, but also on the class discussion and the connections between the two.
Secondly, I believe the blog should be read and added by all. By this I mean that the professor and visiting guests should be able to go on and comment on the blog. I feel that the blogs were lacking with the absences of other academic voices. Lastly, I believe there should be one main class blog where everyone posts there comments of the day. I feel the tool would be more valuable as a stream of consciousness from the entire class and not just on an individual level. I believe this would create more dialogue and discussion in the forum.
Video Conferencing
Video conferencing was the most unique and important aspect of the course. It really pushed our educational experience in the right direction. We were able to talk to people from all over the world and from all walks of life. All the people in the Living Jerusalem Project are so passionate about what they are doing (academically, socially, and politically). This energy was shared among us all and in turn created a greater cohesion of knowledgeable and inspired individuals.
I would not change much in the formatting of the video conferencing. I would like to see more student peers who could have talked about their personal experiences in Jerusalem. For example, speaking to the founder of the Heartbeat project was one of the most inspiring moments in the course for me. This was because we were able to talk to a peer who talked about his passion for music and how he turned it into something which helps others.
Final Projects
The final projects were also a favorite part of the course for me. I feel it gave students the opportunity to express their personal interests in Jerusalem and share it with others in the class. The great thing was all projects were quite different in their content and form. I would have actually liked to have seen two sets of projects. One asked of us mid-way through the semester which would be half the length and content and then another asked of us at the end identical to the guidelines we had this semester.
I believe that projects such as these give a good opportunity for students to reflect on what they actually know and how they can express it well to others. Having a project mid-semester would help the student gather their thoughts to determine where they are in their study of the topic and where they would like to go for the remainder of the semester.

Presentations

Lila and Allsion
You both did a great job in the amount of time you took in your research. It was an important question to ask. I wonder though, if you knew the answer before you began. I thank you for your project, for it gave me the inspiration to create mine as a educational tool.

Kete
I think it is important to show the similarities among cultures. The things people love about culture (food, music) are so similar, yet people tend to ignore the brotherly connections.

Ben
Props to you for having the ability to gather all this information and present it in a approachable way!

Megan
I believe your research was very important for American students to see. Even as academics we are exposed to how the media frames issues. It is important to step back and critiqually analyze what it continously flashed before us.

Jenna
I thank you for finding this organization on campus. I hope that if this class is here again, the two groups can collaborate.

Michael
Your art work was good in expressing two compeating images we have been dealing with this semseter, the romantized Jerusalem and the reality of Jerusalem.

Addy
I appricate that you researched a different form of social attivism in boycotting.

Abby
I thank you for having the ability to research a disheartening sunject such as this. It was hard to take in, but it is important to be informed.

Lindsey
You did a great job of showing conflict without images of violence. I hope Dr. Horwitz uses your presentation in future classes!

evaluation

Things I will discuss...

The need to have a tool for the student to use in the readings. I would create a few 'thought questions' which will give the students an idea of what ideas, issues, facts the professor sees as the most important aspect of the reading. I feel this will not only help the students get more out of the readings, but also encourage discussion of the texts.

The blogging should be done after each class, not before. I think it will be a more useful tool if students are commenting on (A) the readings of that class session (B) the discussions from that class session or video conference and (C) their own personal reflection from the session.

I also like the idea of commenting blog 'buddies', but I think you should have the students draw names of two students to follow throughout the semester so they can follow to different perspectives.

i dont know how to feel...

These two links to the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement website informed me of what is currently going on in Jerusalem. I am saddened and discouraged by the news. I wonder how the people fighting for peace are still willingly to go out and protest this Friday. I believe it is very brave of them. It is very hard for me to fully conceptualize this situation fully. I am hoping that meeting Eitan Grossman tomorrow will give me a better understanding of how the people involved are feeling at this point and what they hope the outcome of Friday will be.

http://www.en.justjlm.org/617

http://www.en.justjlm.org/631

from a few weeks ago, will post more tonight

I posted this information a few weeks ago on the class blog. I will not be able to post more current things until later tonight.

The following article, "Genuine solidarity vs. stale promises" was written by Eitan Grossman in July of this year. Grossman is the Isreali Sheikh Solidarity Movement organizer. The follwing statement by Grossman contains an important criteral of the negotations for peace and futher explanations is given in the following article. Enjoy!

"Solidarity is not making a theoretical argument for a two-state solution or for a unilateral declaration of independence. Rather, the struggle is for the recognition and support of the basic right of Palestinians to national self-determination, out of recognition that political independence is not the goal of negotiations, but rather a prerequisite for it. As Nelson Mandela put it, only a free man can negotiate: only when Palestinians and Israelis are free from the occupation will they be able to begin negotiating for peace."
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=229265

music

Music has a very important role in my life. I am an avid music lover. In the past I have been apart of choirs, though I have never been able to play a musical instrument.

The way I feel I most contribute to music is being a listener and lover of what is being created. At least once a week, if not three times a week, I am watching music being played live. Most of my friends are artists and I support them as much as possible. I love being involved in every part of the music process. From being in my friends basement, listening to the practice a new song they just wrote, to being in the studio while they lay one down, to being at their shows and dancing along with every beat.

Music is the one thing that can always give me a sense of hope. Anytime I am down, I put on music or go to a show, and I feel a spark of encouragement. I feel that music is the easiest way for people to communicate. Everyone can feel a beat, hear a melody. Music is a medium that all people can understand, it may have different arrangements and tempos, but the core is the same. I believe because music is such a universal language it has an important role in conflict resolution. Music naturally brings people together. Countless amounts of times, I have seen someone strumming a guitar and throughout the night people are drawn to the sweet sound. If we can use music as a tool to gather different types of people together, we can take it one step further, and begin having dialogue among the conflicted.

Heartbeat Jerusalem

Heartbeat Jerusalem is a Fullbright funded program started by a young American musician. The program seeks to, "utilize music’s power to build trust between the Israeli and Palestinian communities by amplifying Israeli and Palestinian youth voices for change and reconciliation. Heartbeat began in 2007 and brought together 12 Israeli and Palestinian teenaged musicians for a weekly musical-dialogue.

By listening, playing and writing music together, the students learned about each other’s communities, histories, political views, identities, and hopes and developed new tools for self-expression and social change. The youth members seemed more than hopeful that the people of Jerusalem will find peace one day. One student said music was the international language of the world and all can communicate with one another through the medium.

The dialogue coming from the youth involved in the program was not only convincing, but also inspirationally moving. The program brings the Jerusalemite youth community together, in a safe and neutral space, to create music. I am sure the youth involved in this program feel more of an impact from Heartbeat than most peace movements that have sprung up and fizzled out in the region.

outline of project

I will research different ways in which music is used as an alternative dialogue in Jerusalem. In the video about the Heartbeat foundation, I found it quite moving how the youth interviewed where quite optimistic about the future of peace. I believe this optimism arise from the musical outlet an organization such as Heartbeat provides to the youth of Jerusalem. One teenager said music was an international language which enabled them to see past cleavages which arise from defining identity in an ethnic and national context.

I will use a medium such as blogger or prezi to provide a learner with the ability to hear the music coming out of Jerusalem along with articles, interviews, and video clips which help to give a 360 degree view of the music emerging and its influence on the conflicted region.

http://prezi.com/



 

question for Palestinian Students from PAYLARA

When you see the wall, on an average day, what emotions do you feel? Is is the same feeling every time you look at it, or does it change from day to day, depending on how your demeanor or the environmental factors around you?

street art

"One could read the battles of the walls much the way archeologists read stratigraphy- layer by layer- each layer of paint indicating a partial or temporary victory in an ongoing battle."

Peteet, 1996, article was really wonderful. The analogy she makes of unarmed people using stones as a weapon and walls as a medium was right on point. I also think it is important how she shows how writing on a wall uses the time in the same pace and style as the technological media which influences us today. Short quick messages and images of occupation develops intellectual thoughts and discussions in the community organically, everyday. One women Peteet interviewed said that walking to work everyday, she reads the graffiti on the walls. The young women tells Peteet that the walls are as informative and relevant as reading the newspaper everyday and it continues to show the community that people are still fighting the occupation.

I also enjoyed looking through the website which continues the discussion from Petees article and shows photos and videos of graffiti. The video of Banksy's work was really interesting as well. I liked that the website tries to show both sides of the opinion on his work on the Western wall. The following text is an example of a negative opinion of his work.

However, in a much publicized encounter, Banksy reported that he was approached by an elderly Palestinian man who told him that he was making the wall beautiful. Banksy thanked the older man, presuming this to be a compliment, only to be told "We don't want this wall to be beautiful, we hate this wall. Go home." 

This statement is a hard to take in. I really believe the graffiti movement has many positive aspects, but as always, anything that has to do with Jerusalem is complicated. I understand where this man is coming from and he has a valid point as well. I believe that the best thing to do with this wall, while it is still standing, is to cover it was writings and images which exploit the issue. I believe the graffiti movement places power in the hands of the people who do not have the political tools necessary to place pressure on the governments and empower their own voices at the same time.

new challenges

The challenges for the Jerusalem Project in 2011 will be using previous knowledge gathered on the issues and applying it usefully to current events. As of the last month, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is back in the spot light of the UN with Palestine is pressing the Security Council for statehood. Israel has had the upper hand for many years with the US as an ally of their plight. Palestine is changing the rules of the game by going directly to the UN to ask for statehood, rather than having bilateral negotiations with Israel and the US as an critical mediator.

I believe the most challenging part of the Jerusalem Project will always be keeping up-to-date on all aspects of the issues surrounding Jerusalem in order to be a reliable source of information for all who use the project as a mode of information.

resolving the conflict

I believe Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abba, is taking the right steps by formally seeking membership for a state of Palestine from the United Nations Security Council. Continually sourcing the pre-1967 borders of the UN mandate is not relevant today. Palestine realizes it must present itself as a legitimate entity to the international community in order to obtain its sovereignty. I believe they are taking the right steps by seeking membership from the UN and not negotiating with Israel and the United States. The US and Israel use their strength to push the terms of negotiation in their favor. Palestine will have a much more favorable outcome if it involves the entire international community. This will allow for more transparency in negotiations and less back door deals cut between allies of either Palestine or Israel.

As for Jerusalem being the capital of either state...I do not believe Jerusalem should be the capital of either state. I believe the city should be owned by no country and should be an international city. The residents of Jerusalem can choose either to be a Israeli or Palestinian resident for their citizenship and pay into that state. As for running and retaining the city of Jerusalem, a body will be elected democratically to run the city and the people who do live in the area of Jerusalem will not only pay into the state they live in, but will also pay a residential tax for living in the city of Jerusalem.

ideas for final project

My final project will have to do with the identity of Jerusalem. I will focus on the music which is created and celebrated in the city. I will research music from a variety of religious, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. My objective is to describe the city of Jerusalem, acoustically. Music is a mode of expression which is loved universally among people. It is one of the only outlets in the world which all people can relate to in one way or another. I believe presenting identity through this mode of expression will enable me to show an encompassing and hopeful view of Jerusalem.   

Question for Naomi...

In Armstrong's text she tells that on 31 July 1988, King Hussein made a declaration in which he relinquished Jordan's claim to the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This relinquished territory was then turned into Arab hands and became the Palestinian nation. From a political stand point, what was Jordan’s reasoning for handing over the territory?

Can we begin to think of Jerusalem in terms of her own identity?

I will focus on the concluding chapter, Zion, to share my final thoughts of “Jerusalem, One City, Three Faiths”.  In my Foundations of Modern Political Thought class we have just finished reading Plato’s “The Republic”. I find Armstrong’s comments in the chapter Zion quite relatable to Plato’s statements in “The Republic”. Plato says a city must have its pieces in a harmonious balance, in order to function; but first the individuals, who live within the society, must harmonize their souls. Without focusing on balancing the soul of the citizens, the city will fail, for the people will act unjustly, even though the institutions are set up for success.

Armstrong strongly asserts that the “deep fissure within Israeli society’ (Page 408) has deeply hurt the Jewish people individually and as a whole. She points to the Holocaust as a major reason why the Jewish people felt so torn. “The Nazi catastrophe had inflicted a wound that was too deep to be healed by more cerebral consolidations.  The old myths- an ancient form of psychology-could reach to a deeper, less rationally articulate level of the soul. The new Jewish passion for the holiness for Jerusalem… was powerful not because it was legal or reasonable but precisely because it was a myth.” (Page 406)

Although the Jews had possession of Israel, they have not found wholeness within themselves. Within a few months of the ‘unification’ of the city, there was a new ‘partition’ at the Western Wall. The southern end was now a historic, ‘secular’ zone; the old praying area was the domain of the religious; and in between was a neutral zone- a new No Man’s Land. On two occasions in the summer of 1969, the worshippers actually charged through the barbed-wire fence in order to liberate this neutral area for god. (Page 409) From the disputes between the Orthodox and Secular Jews on how to build their Zion and treat their sacred places, to how to treat the Palestinians and their sacred places, different sects of Jews where constantly disputing the future. A major a defining blow came to many Israelis when in November 1995; Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered after speaking at a peace rally in Tel Aviv. “Israelis learned that the assassin was another Jew, who declared that he had acted under God’s direction and that is was permissible to kill anybody who was prepared to give sacred land of Israel to the enemy.” (Page 425) Armstrong makes a moving comment on these travesties by saying, “as soon as the prime duty to respect the divinity enshrined in other human beings is forgotten, ‘God’ can be made to give a divine seal of absolute approval to our own prejudices and desires. (424)

Another moving comment made by Armstrong is when she says, “Sometimes when confronting a shrine Jews, Christians, and Muslims have felt that they have had a startling and moving encounter with themselves. This can make it very difficult for them to see Jerusalem and its problems objectively. Many of the difficulties arise when religion is seen primarily as a quest for identity. One of the functions of faith is to help us build up a sense of self: to explain where we have come from and why our traditions are distinctive and special. But that is not the sole purpose of religion.” (Page 423) I believe this comment parallels nicely with Naomi Chazan’s article, Owning Our Identity. Chazan says the Israeli state of today should be striving for the right of self-determination, not self-definition because introducing a loyalty oath and demanding external recognition of a ‘Jewish State’ is not sufficient way to legitimize the state of Israel.

From the text which has been read thus far in this course, I have become much more knowledgeable of the history of this region. Although I am more knowledgeable, this does not make the question of peace within the region a more attainable answer. On the contrary, it generates more difficultly.  At this point, I believe that re-defining, re-thinking what this territory is and what it means for the many people who call it home is of major importance. Can we begin to think of Jerusalem in terms of her own identity, not defining her by the majority population who possess at the present time?  Jerusalem has a rich religious, cultural, and ethnic heritage which should not be over burdened by manmade entities such as political power and borders.  

Armstrong ends the text with mixed image, that of violence and hope. Violence has been a re-occurring theme in this land since its birth, but if peace can be found, “Zion would indeed become a beacon of hope for the whole world-a light to the nations.” (430)

Owning Our Identity

Naomi Chazan’s article, Owning Our Identity, had a rational tone, which I appreciated when reading her argument for an Israeli state. She speaks of the Prime Minister’s demands for Palestinians and the international community to recognize a Jewish state. She responds to this by pointing out that instituting a loyalty oath and demanding external recognition of a "Jewish state" is not a sufficient way to legitimize the state of Israel. She says this strategy ignores the complexities of the conflict and such recognition is both useless and impossible.  Chazan argues using majority population, as the defining element of its political system, is a problematic concept of a state.  Chazan says, “The fact that Israel has no straightforward route to citizenship for non-Jews and no viable immigration policy mirrors the contradictions and inequities of a ‘Jewish state,’ in which the machinery of government is geared to the well-being primarily of the majority population.” The point I believe Chazan is trying to make is that the Israeli state should be striving for the right of self-determination not the self-definition and recognition.  This self-determination should be held by all citizens of the state (majority and minority) so as to remain an open, egalitarian, and just democracy.

comments on the video conference

I really enjoyed our video conference with Salim Tamari. Two things which really triggered my interest during the discussion were identity building and international involvement in the peace agreement. I have always been interested in the way that people perceive themselves and others. I found it interesting when Salim pointed out that many of the people in Jerusalem come from the same genealogies and blood lines, but categories themselves as different. The differences they see in themselves has to do with the religion they practice. This religion tells the story of different histories, although in reality, their ancestors where and are interconnected.

I also found it interesting when we spoke of what identity is built from or shifted by. The examples we came up with deal with time and space; war, travel, feeling of loss, ect.

Lastly, I enjoyed Salim's perspective on the international's community’s influence on the peace talks. I agree with Salim that mediating counties should lend a helping hand in diplomacy, rather than military resources. Also I found in interesting that Salim pointed out we must understand that Palestine and Israel do not have equal resources and leverage in the situation. I liked the image he created, of Palestine and Israel forced to stay in a room, alone, until they came up with a viable solution. The image helps us understand that it is ignorant to look at the situation in a elementary way and mediating countries must understand the complexities in order to offer a true helping hand.

how many ways can we argue a point?

The Nativist Ethnography of Tawfiq Canaan was another way to justify a group of people's claim to the disputed land of Palestine and Israel. There have been so many ways in which people of this area have claimed that the land belongs to them. Quoting religious text, pointing to blood lines, occupation history, political agreements, history of rule; the list can go on and on. What Canaan aimed to do was find another way of justifying the Palestinians' claim to the land by showing ways in which  Palestinian peasantry culture has influenced the traditions of the area. An interesting point brought up in Salim Tamari article is that the ethnographic evidence was written not for an Arabic intellectual class, but written in English and targeted to an European audience, i.e. the Mandate political elite, Western biblical scholars, archeologist, and historians. With his work, Cannan was trying to challenge a colonial policy that questioned the authenticity of Palestinian roots in the land.

In my opinion it is a waist of time to use intellectual energy to create new claims to the disputed land. In the end, there will be a counter argument, and no forward progress will be made in creating solutions to the conflict. I hope that one day people can re-evaluate what is important, and funnel their knowledge and energy appropriately. We are speaking of a piece of disputed land yes, but this in no ordinary political situation, which will have an ordinary solution. We are speaking of a disputed piece of 'sacred geography' which people have been making claims of ownership to for thousands of years.

What is it going to take? Of course I do not have the answers, but I feel that this far, no one has come up with any answer which is well thought out enough or novel enough for this sacred space.
    

paradise lost?

I was anxious and excited for Armstrong to begin speaking of Islam and its influences on the world. I do not know much about Islam. I found it very interesting that Islam was founded on the idea of turning back to "orginal perfection of God..." and "the whole of Islam, therefore, can be seen as a quest  for wholeness, a return to paradise that human beings had lost." (P218) I knew that Judaism, Chiristainy, and Islam where all founded on similair foundadtions and build from the Abrahamic traditions, but it seems to me, atleast in its beginings, Islam was more of a rethinking, not a new religion within itself.

Also, in comparsion with  previous talk of the sacred, orgianlly Muhammad had no interest in placing importance on a sacred place. It was important to intergrate daily life into their faith, because God created the earth and the people, which is sacred within its own. It was only after Muhammad realised that, "human beings need symbols to focus on..." that three different places where regarded as sacred to Islam.

I also found it quite interesting that the Dome of the Rock is not a mosque, but a shrine. The shrine surrounds the area in which Muslims believe Muhammad had ascended to heaven after his Night Journey. Even though the Dome was more extravagent than most Islamic sites had been in the past, the space represted. "the primal harmoney of paradise."  

Frustrations

What makes people turn to tangible objects in order to feel whole? By the end of the reading for tonight, the Christian populations in Jerusalem where claiming the land as their holy place as the Jews had done previously. It is interesting to me that human nature has not changed much throughout history. People are still fighting over a piece of land as they have in the past, yet now we have more variables which make the situation all the more complex. Today we not only have religion, tradition, and politics, which inflame the issue, but also the claim to history. Just the mere fact that Jerusalem has been a focal point of three of the main religions of the world for thousands of years is enough of a reason to make the city a complicated issue. Yet, it seems that this issue will never be resolved because I do not see that humans have learned from the past. It does not seem that the issue of Jerusalem has found any compelling answer, and worse than stagnation of answers, I just see a continuous destructive cycle. I feel that Jerusalem is one of the best real world examples (historically, traditionally, culturally, politically), which sheds light on the fact that the world will change around us, before we, who inhabit this world will budge, even slightly. 

images which shed light on me...

camping and being outside

always supporting and jamming with my best buds' band

cooking for my friends every sunday night

going to see live music!!!

playing with my our kitty, Peanut

hanging out on our porch

collecting quotes

riding bikes

reading

my room!

arts and crafts

hanging out with friends!

"If a stranger lives with you in your land, do not molest him...You must count him as one of your countrymen and love him as yourself- for you yourselves were once strangers in Egypt."

I find the evolution of Judaism very complex and interesting. I never knew that in the ancient past, people felt they had to be in their homeland, at the shrine they created for their God, in order to make contact. Today religions still have symbolic and scared places in which the few have the opportunity to visit and place of worship where people go daily, weekly, monthly, but there is no loss of hope if these places are not visited. Religious people of today can feel close to their God, in all or most circumstance. Armstrong shows the importance of the place in the past when she says, “The loss of homeland meant that the link with heaven, which alone made life supportable, had been broken. In the sixth century, the Judahite exiles expressed this by saying that their world had come to an end.”

I also found it interesting that in the time period of Ezekiel, the goal of creating a holy city was to radically separate the place and it’s people from the rest of the world, “just as God is radically separate from all other beings, so too Israel…” Not only was the city being isolated, but laws were put in place in an, “attempt to make Israel a ‘holy’ and separate people [and] marriage ‘outside’ was equivalent to leaving the sacred enclave and going out into godless wilderness…”

“A ruthless tendency to exclude other people would henceforth become a characteristic of the history of Jerusalem, even though this ran strongly counter to some of Israel’s most important traditions.” This quote, along with the ones above, shed light on the dynamic of religion and politics intertwining. The exiled were treated well and encouraged to participate in Babylonian life when there, and religion gave them hope of the return to their homeland. Yet, once the exiled returned, kindness and openness to others, in return, was stricken down by a religious- political agenda. This, as in many cases in the past, show to me, why religion and politics cannot co-exist in formal policy making and why Jerusalem has always and will always be a overwhelmingly complex case. 

idea for class blog design

After reading Armstrong's intro I have come up with an idea for the imagine representing Jerusalem. Creating a collage of symbolic images, which Jerusalemities religiously connect to, ranging from the most natural (mountains and gardens) to the most man-made and politicized (walls and infrastructure) would be wholly inclusive. We would have to find symbols which represent each religion in both ways and find a meaningful way to place them all together. Maybe find one image, to place in the middle, which all three populations feel connected to. 

stepping out of our academic comfort zone...

To ask if a writing on Jerusalem is a balanced account seems like a paradox within itself. I have come to feel that no matter how eagerly someone tries to be objective when writing on Jerusalem some personal belief and political attitude will seep through your well thought out words.

With this being said, I do believe that Armstrong's thesis question is a interesting way to look at the history of Jerusalem. She says in her concluding paragraph of the introduction, "this book will not attempt to lay down the law about the future of Jerusalem. That would be presumption. It is merely an attempt to find out what Jews, Christians, and Muslims have meant when they have said that the city is 'holy' to them and to point out some of the implications of Jerusalem's sanctity in each tradition." With this thesis, she sets up the reader for a history saturated with sacred, mythical, and symbolic context. If there is any other way to look at the history of Jerusalem, I would not know how.

I also like how Armstrong plainly lays out the importance of mythology when speaking of a holy city. She says, "mythology was never designed to describe historically verifiable events that actually happened." It was an attempt to express their inner significance or to draw attention to realities that were too elusive to be discussed in a logically coherent way." She then goes on to say stories of Jerusalem should not be dismissed because they are only 'myths'. The mythical attributes are vitally important to Jerusalem's history. Instead of dismissing the myths, for their not so historical backing, we should study, understand, and critique them on the basis of their relevance to Jerusalem and her people.

Jerusalem's uniqueness

When reading the Pressman article an important question arose…why in May, 1967 did the UN willing leave the Sinai Peninsula where they had been since late 1956 when it was requested of by Egypt? Immediately after the UN peacekeeping unit left the area, Nasser announced that Egypt course of action was to liberate Palestine and enter in battle with Israel. It seems irresponsible of the international community to comply with Egypt’s request in light of the continual conflict in the region. I am wondering if there were any bilateral agreements between UN countries during the time of the decision or some other explanation for this move.

Another interesting comment that was made by Dumper in his article was why Jerusalem has been disputed over throughout the years. He says that geographically and economically, the growth and importance of Jerusalem just does not make sense. He claims Jerusalem’s uniqueness is essentially political and religious. I completely agree with this statement and feel that this is why the Arab-Israeli conflict is all the more complicated. When a conflict is entrenched with religious, political, and ideological confrontation; irrationality and passion will override reasonable solutions. 

the goal is to humanize...

     Suad Amiry described the Jerusalem Project's goal as humanizing, "in a positive way, to show everyday life through people's work, craft, and artistic expression". From the readings I have come to the conclusion the ethnographers of this project were passionately determined to humanize Jerusalem. Jerusalem has been known as a disputed territory, a center of three religions, a historical landmark, a politically charged landscape, but when do we speak of the people who reside on the land?
     Another moving piece presented in the writings of the Jerusalem project was the poem by Amichai, "You see that arch from the Roman Period? It's not important! But next to it sits a man who brought fruit and vegetables to his family." Amy Horowitz definition of the redemption, "the coming of humane values and situated understandings...paying attention to the everyday acts of ordinary people" also brings to question, what is Jerusalem to us, to the world, to its own people?
     Horowitz speaks of folklore ethnography, the research basis for the Jerusalem project, as the voice of "contentious truths of daily life, rather than official policies and idealized misrepresentations of reality". The ethnographers followed, "bus lines, demonstration lines, punch lines, and headlines" to find a way to contextualize the actuality of life for Jerusalemites. The researchers found many cultural, linguistic, and enviormental intersections between the Palestinian and Israelis. From similar kitchens, to popular meals, language, and limited water supplies to their communities.
     The ethnological research introduced cultural parallels in a disputed land. These parallels are precious, ancient traditions which are close to all Jerusalemites. These identities are highly valued by the people and when we can show the cultural intersections among Israelis and Palestinians, we can bridge the gap in relations. Religion, language, tradition, and culture has been used in a negative light in the time of occupation. Culture and tradition has become politically charged and motivated to show the difference and inequalities among the people of the city. The researchers of the Jerusalem Project accomplished something original and profound. They took these traditions and showed how interconnected the communities really are, to humanize Jerusalem, and shift the perception of the wall between two peoples.