blog 3/20

            While living in Jerusalem last spring I was very curious about how accepting a community full of different religious groups were towards LGBTQ.  I knew that in Tel Aviv there was a large LGBTQ population, however I was unsure about Jerusalem.  I found the websites assigned in class extremely informative and I wish I had spent the time to do the research while living in Jerusalem.  It would have been really fascinating to attend one of JOH’s events.

            The first aspect of JOH that caught my attention was the explanation about Jewish Pluralism.  The 2012 annual report stated, “Since so many of our community members are in fact religious, all of our activities are essentially working to navigate the all too familiar divide between religion and LGBTQ acceptance.” This sounds like an extremely difficult task.  I imagine that it must be very frustrating because the majority of religious Jews follow what the torah says in an extremely strict manner without any room for different interpretation or lee way.  I am curious to see how successful JOH will be with achieving this sense of Pluralism in the future. 

            I was also interested in the Open counseling Service JOH has to offer.   It was stated in the 2012 annual report that “A recent UK study found that 1 in 6 therapists have used reparative techniques to change someone’s sexuality. In Jerusalem, a much more conservative city, clients report that number to be much higher. The JOH team offers a group of volunteer therapists and clinical social workers providing various types of therapy, all of whom have been chosen based on their unique competence and understanding of sexuality as a diverse phenomenon.”  I was shocked to hear that there is such a high percentage of therapy that engages in “reparative” techniques in the UK and even more in Israel. While JOH offers therapy that is “understanding of sexuality as a diverse phenomenon” I am curious whether or not it is at all supportive of  therapy that engages in “reparative techniques” or if it is completely opposed.   

         On the website that for the film “City of Borders” I was really awestruck by the quote “When I read the bible that I could be killed by being gay, I understood what it was like to be Palestinian”- Israeli Bar Owner.  In the clip about the film it was stated that the divide of religion and LGBTQ was the second largest issue behind the Israeli Palestinian conflict.  I didn’t realize that this was such a prominent issue in Israel.  I think that this quote really communicated the sophistication and I am interested to learn more by watching this film. 

reading response 3/18

            I thought that this reading assignment was very captivating and stood out from the material we have read throughout this semester.  After reading the brief section from Amiry’s book I immediately wanted to buy it and recommended it to a friend.  There were many parts of the reading that grabbed my attention.  In the chapter, “A Dog’s Life” I thought that the complexity of gaining a Jerusalem ID was discussed in a very clever way.  When the narrator was getting his dog, Nura, vaccinated he stated, “neither Nura nor Dr. Tamar realized how damn serious I was about replacing Nura’s photograph with mine.  I don’t think either of them know how difficult or impossible it is for Palestinians to acquire a Jerusalem ID, let alone a Jerusalem passport.”  I think this very intelligently touches upon one of the many difficulties Palestinians faced and how complicated this issue truly was.  When the narrator was driving through the Jerusalem checkpoint he decided to try and use the dogs document to get through.  He explained that he was unable to pass through the checkpoint because both his car and narrator himself need a permit to get through.  However the narrator told the Israeli guard “I don’t have one, but I am the driver of this Jerusalem dog….I am the dog’s driver. As you can see, she is from Jerusalem, and she cannot possibly drive the car or go to Jerusalem all by herself.” The narrator was in fact able to pass through and “thought to himself all it takes is a bit of humor.”  I think that this situation clearly depicts the absurdity of some of the laws that were established during this period of time.

            I also thought that Hasan-Rokem’s article depicted the situation of Jerusalem in a distinct and creative way.  Throughout the semester we have spent a lot of time exploring the strong connection many different groups of people feel to Jerusalem and the reasons why they feel this way.  However, this article’s portrayal of the connection through the feminist perspective is something that I never was exposed to previously.  I found the following quote very interesting “it is only natural that each one in his turn was filled with passion to fondle the roundness of the bulging hills and to adorn them with pearls of stone and brick, to seal his one and only covenant with the bride; or to enter the cleavage of winding wadis, to leave there the signs of their vitality and virility.” Here it is emphasized that people have a bond with Jerusalem that resembles a bond one has with a women.  The author brings it to attention that women deserve to be loved in a less possessive and more equal way, “however Jerusalem is not a women, it is a city with a long, long history, in which many peoples have lived and many cultures have teemed”.  After reading this article I agree with the authors perspective, that there should be “a higher order of open-mindedness, less blinded by ones frustrated emotional needs,” however I am interested to see how the author feels it is possible to implement this change. How does she expect peoples emotional “need” for Jerusalem to disappear?     

music n me

Throughout my life music has always served as my own personal “get away”.  Looking back, I would say that my life has been and continues to be very goal-oriented and focused.  Starting in the fifth grade I decided to pursue being a tennis player.  I took lessons multiple times a week and joined the United States Tennis Association at a very young age and played competitively in tournaments.  I also took school very seriously and challenged myself with honors classes.  Working hard just became a part of who I was.  However the one aspect of life I have always taken far less seriously is music.

I joined the school orchestra as a fourth grader and to say the least, learning to play the violin was very unnatural.  I was well aware that what came easy to other students just wasn’t clicking for me.  It didn’t take long until I decided that the orchestra wasn’t for me.  In fifth grade I joined the band and started to play the trumpet.  Once again- it didn’t come naturally to me, however band was a blast.  I realized that the 45 minutes I spent every day in the band room was a time for me to simply have fun. 

I have kept this same mentality ever since fifth grade band class.  I stayed in band through the 12^th grade and also learned some guitar, however it remains in a separate category from school, tennis, and all other aspects of my life.  Music is my escape; allowing me to feel light, free, capture where I am at a given moment and take me somewhere else. 

When I listen to a song I often relate it to a specific feeling.  Either a past feeling that I experienced when I listened to the song before or sometimes the lyrics can make me feel a certain way or remind me of something that happened.  For an example, my boyfriend in high school wrote the lyrics of Pink Floyd’s “Wish you were Here” on a card he made me when I was gone for the summer.  When I came home he played me that song on the guitar.  I predict that for the rest of my life I will think of the 2 of us when I hear that song, even though I haven’t seen him for years and no longer feel the way I did about him at the time. 

Another example is the song “Walking in Memphis” by Marc Cohn.  When I was young, my parents used to turn this song on really loud and my family would all dance together in the family room.  Whenever I hear this song I immediately feel a sense of warmth and happiness.  Music also provokes less personal feelings.  For an example, when I hear the song “Tiny Dancer” I think of the scene from the movie “Almost Famous” and how the characters were feeling and going through during this time.  They were feeling the stress of strain of being on tour as musicians. 

In conflict, I think that music is used as an outlet.  It allows each side or team to express themselves and what they are after.  It allows them to share their hopes and desires with the rest of the world, reflect on what has gone on in the past, and where the hope to see themselves in the future. 

Blog 3/4

“Channel’s of Rage” focused on depicting how the political situation can have an impact on only the music and arts, but people’s lives. It was stated “rap will have the power to bring about a much needed peace and coexistence in the Middle East.”  When I first came across this quote I was very curious how this was possible.   In my mind, at least in America, rap has the ability to reflect on a situation (such as a political situation), however I don’t see it as being a means for change.  I was also curious if there were any American films that used music to discuss the impact of the political situation in the United Sates.  As I continued to read this article I came across another quote “The real difference between rappers-differences that were not created by violence or society, but reinforced by them.  Perhaps the struggle between 2 deeply divided people is the best way to encapsulate the conflict after all.” I thought that this perspective was very interesting- if the difference between the 2 rappers was not created by the political situation- what was it created by?  Or was it just saying that each individual is different and that the political situation strengthens these differences? 

            I thought the article “ How an Obese Comedian and His Band of misfits revived Israeli Rap” was extremely interesting.  The second half of the article was particularly fascinating because if focused on the path to become a “rocker” in Israel.  Unlike in America, there seems to be one specific path to become an Israeli musician.  It was stated that “to become a rock star you must first serve in one of the army’s official bands and sing some rousing patriotic anthem, then record a tender album thick with poetic love lyrics to soften your militaristic image, then skip a bit to the left and position yourself as a brooding rocker.” This really clashes with American culture because it appears that every musician in America has a unique story of how they caught a break to become famous.  Shows like “American Idol” try and help musicians become known and ultimately sell records, however it is debatable if this path has proved to be successful.  I also think that it is interesting that “Israeli rockers were a homogenous group- Ashkenazi, well education, and hailing from Kibbutzim or Tel Aviv.”  To me, part of what makes music interesting is that every musician has a distinct background.  However this does not appear to be the case in Israel because “practitioners were always a step removed from their roots as singing soldiers.”  The last part of this article discussed Mizrahi Music.  It stated that these musicians were uncultured, used makeshift studies, and were not viewed in the same was as Ashkenazi singers.  I wonder if this is how it will always be in Israel or if the political situation or some other force will create change.  

Reading response 2/27

There are endless articles on this topic, however I want to focus on four that I found most interesting.

The first article “Creative Responses to Separation: Israeli and Palestinian Joint Activism in Bil’in” by Maia Carter Hallward focused on creative ways in which activists, both Palestinian and Israeli, interact with one another and the forces that separate them in their search for peace.  There are many barriers- administrative, physical and psychological that counteract joint activism.  This article examines symbols and “out of the box” strategies that challenge the occupation and resume the peace process.  A small agricultural town of Bil’in, in the Ramallah district of the Central West Bank, is discussed because it has been the site of non-violent resistance since February 2005.  In Bil’in, Palestinians and Israelis creatively use resources to confront Israeli administration and military power through non-violent activism.  This really captured my attention because this often goes unseen in the media today.  One of the strategies that I found most interesting was “Creating Alternative Stories”.  Using this strategy activists shifted from representing Palestinian resistance from “terrorism to a non-violent struggle against and oppressive occupying force” by focusing on “common places- frequently cited words, phrases, or events in their sociopolitical context while selecting slogans and demonstrating themes.”

The next article, “The Separation Wall: A symbol of Power and a Site of Resistance?” by Polly Pallister Wilkins also focuses on joint Israeli Palestinian activism.  This article explored activism in response to the separation wall.  The author claims that “tactics of resistance witnessed are informed by the networks of power bound up in and represented by the physical structure of the wall.”  The author expresses that the wall has created an opportunity for Palestinians to resist a visible aspect of the occupation because “the comprehensive bantustanistation of Palestinian socio-political space makes engagement on a national level difficult.”

The next two articles I am going to discuss were found in the Israeli news site/newspaper Haaretz.  I chose these because wanted to also focus on some more up-to-date articles in order to understand where the issue of the separation barrier stands today. 

The first article I want to discuss is written by Amos Harel on February 25^th, 2013, “Israel preventing development of Palestinian owned land near the separation barrier.”  The article stated that Israel is preventing development and building in Palestinian lands adjacent to the separation barrier despite these areas being under Palestinian civilian control according to the Oslo Accords. While the Oslo Accord Peace Process has come to a halt, Israel is still using several clauses in the accords to prevent Palestinian development.  An example of this is the Israel Defense Forces preventing building and development in 4700 dunams on the Palestinian side (Area A and B according to the Oslo accords) for security reasons.  While it is claimed that Palestinians enjoy “semi-independence of these areas under civilian control” military decrees are still issued.  The Defense Ministry of Israel has stated that these decrees are in fact legal.  It has been reported from Security sources that the bans were meant to “prevent effective us of flight weapons against the IDF patrols near the fence and make it harder to plant explosives or place observation posts”.  This article interested me because it expresses how the Israel forces view the purpose of the separation wall. 

The last article I will discuss is “On the path to blood, sweat, and tears” written by Salmon Mashalha on February 26, 2013.  The article started by showing a picture of Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli Security forces at the Jalama checkpoint on February 24^th.  It stated that the “short sighted” leadership of the 2 nations are at blame for the current situation.  The fact that neither recognizes the other has “left to coals of the national conflict smoldering beneath the surface suffused with vapors of bloody memories.” The article also mentioned that Israel is striving to strengthen Hamas in Gaza and the PLO in the West bank in order to separate the 2 regions even further and “deepen the rift” so that Palestine will not appear as 1 body.  Lastly, it summed up by stating that the “Israeli right and Palestinian right need each other as much as they need air to breathe.”  Because the land is not fairly divided they are forced to think out of the box to establish other ways to share the land.  Without a fair solution to divide the land it results in “blood, sweat, and tears.”  I found this article really captivating because it discusses the consequences of the separation.  I was able to find many articles about how Israelis and Palestinians deal with the separation, but this article was unique because it expressed the result of the seperation.  

Elissa and Robyn Project

Robyn Silver, Elissa Schooler

We are going to make a video/documentary using imovie. We will interview people from all religious Jewish backgrounds who practice different sects of Judaism. For example we will interview two different rabbis, orthodox students and reform students, and individuals who are connected to Judaism culturally instead of religiously.

Possible Questions:

How would you feel if Jerusalem was no longer part of the Jewish homeland?

Why is it part of who you are?

What does Jerusalem mean to Judaism?

How did you feel different about your religion after you visited Jerusalem?

Jerusalem has a lot of meaning to other religions too, how do you feel about sharing the city with this other religions?  

What if the Western Wall was part of Palestinian territory?

·      Depending on the person we will ask different questions or just let them elaborate on one or two questions. This way it will be more meaningful to the speaker and the video will showcase different peoples stories instead of the same question for each person.

·     

The interviews will be conducted in a way that  allows interviewees to go in their own direction- while we have some questions already written we will create more questions during the interview

·    

  Each person will have about 3-5 minutes of talking time for the video.

·      

We will use our imovie on the mac to create the video.

·      In between each person’s interview we will showcase some pictures of important aspects of Jerusalem that were talked about in the video and some pictures that relate to the individuals personally

1)   Rabbi Ben Burger or Rabbi Zalman

2)   Karen Cohen (Israeli living in the U.S.)

3)   Ilana Nurko

4)   Avi Hannano

5)   Nathan Meese

6)   Regan Siegal (someone that has changed their lifestyle and now is an orthodox Jew) 

Blog 2-25

As an American Jew I heard a lot about the First and Second Intifada, however I was unaware of the role graffiti played in allowing Palestinians to express their opinion. It was stated that the “Palestinian community thought out loud in graffiti.  Issues of gender, religion, and politics were charted and debated.”  I thought it was really interesting that the situation made Palestinians inclined to break the law in order to express themselves.  The article stated numerous times that in the morning the graffiti would be covered up, however I am curious whether or not Israelis often responded to the graffiti with their own graffiti. 

I also found it interesting that “on occasion graffiti proclaimed the unity in resistance of a spatially and experimentally fragmented community.”   I understand that using graffiti as an outlet helped unite Palestinians, however it was erased in the morning and didn’t create any permanent change.  I am curious what particular aspect of expressing themselves through graffiti created the sense of unity.  Was it simply having an outlet? Or was it that it created a sense of optimism and hope that the occupation would end?

It also fascinated me when the article mentioned that “a writer and scholar explained that he paid particular attention to the graffiti as he rode in the shared taxi in the morning. He found it useful in getting a reading of the street.” I was surprised to come across the fact that the graffiti itself was able to depict the situation and communicate it so effectively.  It is also very impressive that this art was done in a way that caused people to respond.  It was mentioned that “for one elderly lady I used to visit in Jerusalem graffiti was often a point of departure for political discussions with her children.”

Lastly I found it interesting that Israelis reacted to the graffiti in different ways.  “Some soldiers read them as defiance to be met with a violent response.  For others their presence and content reaffirmed the sense that it was time to withdraw from the territories- to heed the writing on the walls.” To me this shows that the graffiti did in fact have the strong influence that it was after.