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.