Response March 20: LGBTQ

These sites informing us on the LGBTQ organization in Jerusalem were neat to read about because it is easier to relate to something when the same thing is currently going on in our own country, and many other places globally.  Mostly when I think about Jerusalem I think about the Israeli Palestinian conflict.  I've never really put much thought into the other issues like the discrimination people face for being gay.  It's an issue many people face in many countries and can actually help link people across boarders.  It is also something that can help link some Palestinians and Israeli's, being that it's not based on religion or ethnicity.

Some people on the sites were talking about how this was a religious issue in Jerusalem, but it is actually a religious issue here as well.  Those opposed to things like gay marriage or gay rights will use things like the Bible to justify their opposition just as some in Jerusalem are doing with the Torah.  I found it interesting in the City of Borders documentary clip how he compared hiding their gay identity to Jews hiding their identity in Europe.  When he puts it this way I would expect that people who have been forced to hide their own identity would be more open to others sharing their true identities, but it is actually something most people around the world have trouble accepting. I also found it interesting that some thought Palestinians were more accepting of Israeli's than gays, while the opposite is true of Israelis.  I wondered why this was and couldn't seem to really find any definite answer, if there even is one. 

Reading Response for March 18

While these readings were pretty different from anything we've had in the past I think there were important lessons to be taken from each story, true or not.  The story about the gas masks seemed sort of unimportant to me at first until someone makes the comment about fear. It brought to mind that a lot of things groups of people do to those they hold power over are simply to incite fear into the masses so they won't know whats coming next and they will be afraid to rise up against.

The story about the dog and her passport definitely seemed ridiculous but brought around the point of just how hard it is for people to get passports.  Through a false story it shows how much of a hassle the boarder checks and stops all along the ways are for people just trying to do something as simple as take their dog to a decent vet.  The feminism aspect of this story also fit in with the last one about Jerusalem in general being a female.  I wasn't really sure what to make of this one and the main point I took out that was trying to be made was that Jerusalem is not owned by anyone.  She should welcome all and all visiting or living within her gates should respect all of her traditions.  They should respect those who have come and lived and ruled before them because they are a part of her past as well.

Weblog 4

For me personally I wouldn't say that music plays a significant role in my everyday life, it is more something I use as background noise when studying, driving, showering, etc.  I mostly listen to country music, old and new, and I suppose that genre carries a specific aspect of defining those who like that kind of music.  Whether its true for all fans or not country music mostly has a stigma of being particularly pro-American, small town U.S.A., and often right-winged.  For me it reminds me of home, it's what all my friends and family listen to and what I grew up around especially during summers at the lake. 

 I see music mostly used for communication through song lyrics.  Songs can help unit people behind a cause or help give them a strengthened voice to speak out against some type of injustice.  When people are in a bad situation its sometimes hard to find the right words to communicate how you feel you're being wronged, in that case its usually easy to find a song that will say it for you.  Often people will use some sort of a song as a rallying cry like "We Shall Overcome" was used during the civil rights movement.  During that time there was a whole group of "protest singers" like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, who performed at Civil Right marches.  Their songs gave people inspiration and showed in a non-violent way how people could rise up and tell their government and oppressors what they were doing was unjust.  I think that music also is used by many people as an outlet.  When feeling angry about something it can be used as a way of escape and I think this is one possible way people in conflict areas might use music as well as for protest. 

Reading Response 10

In her senior thesis, Noura Dabdoub talks about this emotional attachment Palestianians and Israelis have with their homeland and how it has created this sense of nationalism.  She talks a lot about how both sides use history to connect themselves to the land and both actually have legitimate claims to the land, but both see the others claim as threatening to their own.  After reading her sections on both sides I think the best solution would be the two-state solution.  She makes the claim, and I feel it is a very solid one, that both sides need a homeland and it should be one that both feel a historical connection with.  Everyone needs place where they can live freely and continue their familial history in connection with that of the past.  Each side here need a place to feel an emotional link to, something that will give them a sense of permanence.  Something especially important for the Jewish community after the threat of complete annihilation during and even after the holocaust.

Going along with this theme of needing a homeland Julie Peteet's article on Palestinian graffiti showed Palestinian resisitance to their homeland being occupied and controlled by Israelis.  In the same way that land binds people together in a community, the Palestinians used graffitti as a way of communication that could bind the people together and encourage them to stand up to occupying forces.  I thought the Palestinian persistance in this form of a non-violent protest was incredible.  She talks about how the drawings and murals would be blacked out everyday, how the Israeli forces would often make the very boys who did the drawings cover them up, but they always continued to redraw them at night and suffer the consequences if caught. I like how she said this gave them an "uncensored voice" because they could write anything, any type of political message or anti-Israeli drawings and once this got the attention of the international media, they suddenly had a voice on the international level through journalists and such.

Identity: Project Outline

So far our Identity group has decided we want to look at cultural identity in Jerusalem through sports, music, and children as the future generation.  As of right now I am going to be working with the topic of children as the future generation.  We mainly wanted to look at children who have been involved with group like the west-eastern divan and other projects and where they are at and what they are doing now in their lives.  We also wanted to take a look at the mixed schools we have seen in class so far and find other places that are bringing children of different cultural identities together early on in life and see how it changes the childrens outlook on the world, their culture, and the conflict.

Reading Resposne 9

I really enjoyed this reading, about Edward Saim and his conversations with Daniel and Ara.  I like how they addressed the issue of home not in a historical sense, but in a sense of where they feel the most at home.  As Daniel said anywhere he could really play and conduct music felt like home. I felt like he was describing home as anywhere he could truly express himself freely and be accepted and appreciated.   I also liked the way Edward called New York a chameleon city, because you could be anywhere there and not be 'of there'  which I felt was a really neat way to look at it.  With all that we have looked at in the conflict so far, I feel it has been mainly a conflict over homelands and I liked how they presented a different side to this argument, especially because one is an Israeli and the other a Palestinian.  The fact that both of them can look at the area and appreciate it for what it is was different in a good way.  Although I suppose their positions  on the issue may be different if they had only lived in Israel their whole lives.  I think it is this sense of travel from an earlier age that has allowed them to be more open to different cultures and through their openness allowed them to create a great project giving others, most importantly kids, a chance to grow and develop their own ideas about the world and other cultures.  I really liked how both men seemed to view identity.  The idea that it is best to belong to many different cultures or have multiple identities is something I strongly believe in as well.  I don't believe that any one person has only one identity, because we all play many roles, and no culture is truly pure in the sense of not being mixed with another at some point in time.

Questions for Mariam Said

For the Knowledge is the Beginning project, I was wonder where and what kind of places the West-Eastern divan orchastra plays?  And what kind of an effect you think this group has had on their audience and for those who have seen the film.

Being on the board for many different groups who promote Middle Eastern artists, what do you think is so important about expression art for areas of high contention like Israel and other parts of the Middle East?