Salim Tamari's Video Conference

I found the articles by Salim Tamari to be interesting because he focused on more than just the war and violent history of the city, but more on the social consequences and affects.  I thought he was very humble and charming on video.  I got real laugh out of our video conference with him.  However, there are a few disagreements I had with him.  

First, I felt he was too bias on the Palestinian cause.  There is a fine line between fair criticism and pure bias.  I thought he crossed the line.  Also, I felt he neglected the political realities of the American political machine.  There will always be corruption and special interest influence on Washington.  To simply say that paying taxes is indirectly funding Israel is being ignorant.  

Regardless, I enjoyed the video conference with Mr. Tamari but I think he should take a step back and see the broader picture, if I may say that. 

Rick Herrmann's Discussion

I really enjoyed Rick Herrmann's discussion on Jerusalem and current affairs in Israel.  I genuinely thought that he portrayed both sides fairly and with minimal bias.  Honestly, I tend to be skeptical of political scientists but I felt that Mr. Herrmann really knew his facts and information. 

Final Project

For my final project, I would like to analyze various films that encompass some aspect of Jerusalem, which we have discussed in class of course. I am interested to see how Jerusalem is portrayed and the level of bias towards either or neither side.

I intend to cut out certain clips and shots from the film to reinforce my findings.

Films to analyze:
• Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
• O Jerusalem (2006)
• Paradise Now (2005)

Response to the Film

I thought the film was interesting and sometimes unintentionally funny. But it wasn't until the end that I figured out who was who and whether they were Arab or Jewish --> I don't speak Arabic or Hebrew --> whoops.

I thought some of the lyrics were pretty excellent, but I was surprised that the language of choice was either Hebrew or English--and not so much Arabic.

Honestly though, the male rapper egos were a little over the top. I mean come on--really?! And it seemed like they wanted to imitate the American rap scene too much (idols, clothes, EGOS). Where is the Arab identity? Where is the Jewish identity? Are the lyrics of the songs the only original element?

P.S. - I need to borrow this film for my final project.

Music

INDIE MUSIC!!! --> win.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1231167313892

http://www.jewishjournal.com/arts/article/missflag_shuns_politics_for_love_in_israels_indie_rock_scene_20061123/

Israeli indie rock bands:
Elephant Parade
Panic Ensemble
I Got The Hotties
Roy Rieck
Idan Rabinovici
geishNo
Yontam ben Horin
TV Buddhas
Kitzus
missFlag
The Pit That Became A Tower

Arab culture in Brazil!

This is the Middle Eastern fast food chain I mentioned in class!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habib's

BBC Article

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8023366.stm

interesting...

"Jerusalem" Chapters 16-18

CHAPTER 16

"The 19th century began badly in Jerusalem. There was poverty and tension in the city. The Ottoman system was still in disarray, and the people suffered from bad government." (Pg. 346)

- Once again, government is never the answer.

"The different Christian denominations coexisted in a state of poisonous animosity that could flare into physical violence at the smallest provocation." (Pg. 346)

- Typical.

"For centuries, Jews, Christians, and Muslims had managed to live together in Jerusalem, and thsi Zionist project would end such coexistence...Because the Jews felt at home there, all other inhabitants of the country were merely the ethnic descendants of carious conquerors." (Pg. 369)

- BOLD MOVE.

CHAPTER 17

"A new interest in the Crusades began to appear in the Arab world: Saladin, the Kurd, now became an Arab hero and the Zionists were seen as new Crusaders or at least as tools of the Crusading West." (Pg. 375)

- I didn't know Saladin was a Kurd. Also, Karen appears to like irony.

"Instead, it envisaged the creation of an independent state in Palestine ruled jointly by Arabs and Jews. It was a severe blow to the Zionists, who would never trust Britain again, even though they had no choice but to support Britain against Nazi Germany during the war. This did not apply to the Revisionists, however, who began to mount terrorist attacks against the British." (Pg. 385)

- British mandate system = fail.

- Terrorist attacks = double fail.

"Zionists were convinced that only a fully Jewish state could provide a safe haven for the Jews, even if that meant evicting the Arabs from the country...The postwar period saw an escalation of terrorism on both sides." (Pg. 385)

- Did the Zionists really believe it was 'them' vs. 'the world'? How were the Zionists any better that those who kicked out the Jews in previous historical moments?

"In early May, UN representatives had arrived in Jerusalem to set up the international administration but were ignored by the British and by both of the contending parties. On 14 may, Ben-Gurion held a ceremony in the Tel Aviv Museum to proclaim the birth of the new State of Israel." (Pg. 387)

- Oh no he didn't.

"When a truce was arranged by the UN in July 1948, the city had been divided between Israel and Jordan." (Pg. 387)

- Berlin: United States and Allies vs. Soviet Union; Jerusalem: Israel vs. Jordan

"When the Jordanian government was in trouble, there were often riots in Jerusalem, which became a center of Palestinian resistance to the Kingdom of Jordan." (Pg. 390)

- Interesting...

"Had it not been for Hitler's Nazi crusade against the Jews, the Zionist enterprise might never have succeeded." (Pg. 394)

- Meeh, I think it's too complicated of a subject to make this claim.

CHAPTER 18

"The phrase 'Never again!' now sprang instantly to Jewish lips in connection with the Nazi Holocaust. This tragedy had become inextricably fused with the identity of the new state. Many Jews saw the State of Israel as an attempt to create new life in the face of that darkness." (Pg 400)

- Loaded statement...

"In February and March 1969 there were more bomb attacks...On 18 August 1968 when demolition charges exploded at several points in the city center, hundreds of young Jewish men burst into Arab neighborhoods, smashing shop windows and beating up Arabs they encountered on the streets...The Israeli public was shocked by this anti-Arab pogrom." (Pg. 412)

- What the Hell --> where is the public shock now-a-days?!

August 1969: Aqsa Mosque fire: "Yet it had in face been a disturbed young Christian tourist, David Rohan of Australia, who had set fire to the mosque in the hope that it would hasten Christ's Second Coming." (Pg. 413)

- What a flaming idiot.

"For over two thousand years Jerusalem has been a focus for the apocalyptic hopes of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Prophets and visionaries have imagined violent battles in the Valley of Hinnomm when God's people will prevail and its enemies will either be wholly exterminated or enslaved. These apocalyptic fantasies have seen Jerusalem as a city of holy war, the site a conflict which will result in the kind of total victory that we have found to be impracticable in the course of the troubled 20th century." (Pg. 430)

- I think Mrs. Armstrong sums it up well here.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the 21st century.

"Jerusalem" Chapters 14-15

CHAPTER 14

"The word jihad does not mean merely 'holy war'. Its primary meaning is 'struggle', and it is in this sense that it is chiefly used in the Qur'an." (Pg. 295)

Obviously, none of the modern-day major news sources or policy-makers got this memo.

"Saladin did not intend to exclude Christians and Jews from the city entirely: the old ideal of integration and coexistence persisted." (Pg. 298)

- Will it still be effective?

"The Crusades had not only inspired a new jihad in the Muslim world. They had also given rise to a form of Zionism among the Jews of Europe and the Islamic empire." (Pg. 298)

- ...the plot thickens.

"When people become alienated from their surroundings and feel that, physically and spiritually, they have no home in the world, they feel drawn to return to their roots to find healing." (Pg. 299)

- So depressing to think about.

"In fact, the Franks who lived in the Kingdom of Acre were now anxious to keep the peace; they had learned a valuable lesson at the battle of Hittin. But the Christians of the West were more bellicose and continued to send Crusades to liberate Jerusalem." (Pg. 301)

- Most people learn the first time, others learn the second time, and some people never learn.

"Economic and political problems in Muslim Jerusalem made it harder for Christians and Muslims to live peacefully together." (Pg. 314)

- Mo' money --> mo' problems.

"But the Jews of the city had suddenly awakened to the fact that the tomb of the first Jewish king of Jerusalem was in a Christian precinct. They repeatedly asked Sultan Barsbay to hand it over to them. This was a mistake...As far as the Latin Christians were concerned, the old Muslim ideal of coexistence and integration was crumbling fast." (Pg. 316)

- The times, they are a changing...

"During the reign of Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay, the Mamluk empire entered its last phase. The armies of the Ottoman Turks of Asia Minor were beginning to encroach on their territory." (Pg. 319)

- I always wondered how the Ottoman Empire came to be. Now it all makes sense.

"In 1453, the Ottomans had conquered Constantinople and absorbed the old Christian empire of Byzantium." (Pg. 321)

- ::Istanbul...Constantinople::

"On 1 December 1516, Selim arrived outside Jerusalem. There was no opposition. The 'ulama' went out to meet the sultan and presented him with the keys of the Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock.

- This was the most anti-climatic 're-conqueroring Jerusalem' episode...ever.

CHAPTER 15

"The people of Jerusalem welcomed the Ottomans with relief. As the Mamluk empire had declined, the city had been neglected..." (Pg. 323)

- Bad move.

"The new stability brought by the Ottomans also improved the lot of the dhimmis."

- Pax Turca

"In 1535, Suleiman made a treaty with Francis I against the European emperor Charles V...Francis could appoint a French 'bailiff' or 'consul' to judge civil and criminal cases between merchants and other French subjects in Ottoman territory, without interference from the Muslim legal system." (Pg. 331)

- Outside influence...interesting.

"When the Ottoman empire was in decline, this type of arrangement gave the West a chance to intervene with impunity in its internal affairs in a way that violated Turkish sovereignty." (Pg 331)

- Bad news bears.

"The decline of the Ottoman empire was balanced by the rise of the European powers, which were now able to dictate terms to the sultans. This meant that the position of the Franciscans in Jerusalem continued to improve." (Pg. 335)

- Politics as usual.

"Jerusalem" Chapters 12-13

CHAPTER 12

"The Muslims had established a system that enabled Jews, Christians, and Muslims to live in Jerusalem together for the first time."

- Groundbreaking.

"Muslims had a more inclusive notion of the sacred, however: the coexistence of the three religions of Abraham, each occupying its own district and worshipping at its own special shrines, reflected their vision of the community and harmony of all rightly guided religion, which could only derive from the one God."

- Separate, but equal?

"Since each faith assumes that it--and it alone--is right, the proximity of others making the same claim becomes an implicit challenge that is hard to bear."

- Ha! --> duhhhh

"A plague also wiped out large numbers of the population, and the Bedouin began to invade the countryside, pillaging the towns and villages and fighting their own tribal wars on Palestinian territory.  In Umayyad times, the Bedouin had fought for the caliphate; now, increasingly, they became the scourge of the country.  The unrest led to the first signs of overt tension between the local Muslims and the Christians in Jerusalem."

- The suspense is killing me.

"...the dome of Anastasis, which was now nearly as big as the Dome of the Rock.  The Muslim residents of the city complained bitterly to the imperial commander that the Christians had contravened Islamic law, which clearly stated that none of the dhimmis' places of worship should be higher than or as large as a mosque or other sacred building of the ummah...Construction had long been an ideological weapon in the city...Now buildings were becoming a way for the communities of Jerusalem to express their hostility toward one another."

- Interesting...Does some form of this Islamic law still present itself in the 21st century city & regional planning?

"Muslims accepted the fact that Christians were there to stay.  But when the Greeks began their holy war and there was bellicose talk about the liberation of Jerusalem, the tension became unbearable.  In 938, Christians were attacked during their Palm Sunday procession and the Muslims set fire to the gates of the Martyrium."

- WWMD (What Would Muhammad Do?)

"...al-Adudi told the caliph, was the ceremony of the Holy Fire, a trick 'that made a great impression on [Muslim] spirits and introduces confusion in their hearts'...In September 1009, the caliph gave orders that both the Anastasis and the Martyrium of Constanstine be razed to the ground."

- So now we have religious warfare, territorial warfare, architectural warfare, AND psychological warfare...Just how far down does this rabbit hole go?

"It was an entirely uncharacteristic act by an Islamic ruler and filled even the caliph's Muslim subjects with unease.  Next new legislation introduced measures designed to separate the dhimmis from the ummah and force them to convert to Islam."

- Will forced converts really consolidate a religion? (Answer: No.) What is this seriously accomplishing?

"The 1030 was the first peaceful year that Palestine had enjoyed for almost a century."

- We're gonna party like it's 1030!

"As the century drew to a close, it was time for another of these Western expeditions, but the pilgrims who arrived in the Holy City in 1099 would come with a sword, prepared not only to defend themselves but to fight and kill."

- That is so Christian* of them!

* Christianity: the religion of love and forgiveness.

CHAPTER 13

"There would be the Peace of God in Europe and the War of God in the Near East."

- Apparently, God has many faces.

"It is unlikely that [Pope] Urban would have got the same response if he had made no mention of the tomb of Christ."

- Prove it.

"The lure of Christian Jerusalem thus helped to make anti-Semitism an incurable disease in Europe."

- At the moment, I can't wrap words around my feelings of this sentence.  I am not pleased to say the least.

"For three days the Crusaders systematically slaughtered about 30,000 of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 'They killed all the Saracens and the Turks they found'...10,000 Muslims who had sought sanctuary on the roof of the Aqsa were brutally massacred, and Jews were rounded up into their synagogue and put to the sword.  There were scarcely any survivors."

- Muslims massacred: 10,000...Non-Christians slaughtered: 30,000...Claiming Jerusalem for Christianity: Priceless.

"The streets literally ran with blood...The massacre was a sign of the triumph of Christianity..."

- Jesus would be so proud!

"Once Jerusalem had been won, most of their soldiers went home, leaving only a skeleton army behind.  Jerusalem was particularly desolate.  It had recently housed about 100,000 people, but now only a few hundred lived in the empty, ghostly city."

- Chills run down my spine thinking of this.

"Crusading had been seen as an act of love: the pope had urged the knights of Europe to go to the help of their Christian brethren in the Islamic world; thousands of Crusaders had died out of love for Christ in the attempt to liberate his patrimony from the infidel."

- I have never seen the words "love", "help", "brethren", "died", "liberate", and "infidel" being used in the same thought before this.

"The Qur'an condemns all war as abhorrent but teaches that, regrettably, it is sometimes necessary to fight oppression and persecution in order to preserve decent values."

- It's funny how there are always exceptions to the rules.

"'Christians everywhere will remember the kindness we have done them.'  Christians in the West were uneasily aware that this Muslim ruler had behaved in a far more 'Christian' manner than had their own Crusaders when they conquered Jerusalem."

- Imagine.

"Jerusalem" Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

"Yet those Jews and Christians with whom they came in contact often taunted the Arabs because God had sent them no revelation or prophet of their own."

- What are we--five years old?

"Thus Muhammad did not see his revelation as new; what was revealed through him was simply the old religion of the one God worshipped by the Jews and the Christians."

- So the same God, three different names?

"In the Qur'an, God gives very clear and concrete commands.  It is wrong to build a private fortune and good to share your wealth equally; the first religious duty is to create a society where the poor and vulnerable are treated with respect.  Like the Hebrew prophets, Muhammad stressed the prime duty of practical compassion: care for the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the oppressed was a Muslim's first responsibility."

- Society is only as wealthy as its poorest members.

"Over and over again the Qur'an insists that the revelation to Muhammad did not cancel out the teaching of previous prophets: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Job, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus.  The Qur'an was simply a restatement and a reminder of the single message that God had sent down to all peoples."

- iiiiiinteresting.

"The holiness of the Ka'bah was protected by a sacred area with a twenty-mile radius.  It became a sanctuary where all violence was forbidden and thus a refuge from the ceaseless tribal warfare.  This had been responsible for Mecca's commercial success.  Arabs could meet there in relaxed circumstances, trading with one another without fear of enemy attack."

-  Brilliant idea.  But did it actually work in reality?

"One of the most holy of these other places was Jerusalem" --> WHY?

• "The great prophets David and Solomon had prayed and ruled there: Solomon had built a sacred mosque."
• "The city was associated with some of the holiest prophets, including Jesus, whom the Muslims held in high esteem, even though they did not believe he was God."
• Later Muslims could claim that the Prophet Muhammad had also visited Jerusalem..."

"After his death, Muhammad was revered as the Perfect Man by Muslims: he was not divine--Muhammad had tirelessly warned Muslims not to deify him as the Christians had deified Jesus--but his faith, virtue, and surrender to God had been so wholehearted that he had forged in his own person a living link between heaven and earth."

- So modest.

"Muhammad and his wives lived in little apartments...around the periphery of this courtyard.  The poor of the city could congregate there to receive alms, food, and care.  Public meetings to discuss social, political, and military as well as religious matters were also held in the courtyard."

Wow.  Very interesting.  Excellent architectural use. 

"The Prophet is reported to have said: 'Revile not the world for the world is God,' and the Qur'an constantly urges Muslims to regard the beauty and order of the earth as ayat.  Thus trees, which were prohibited on the Temple Mount, are encouraged in a Muslim sanctuary; there will be fountains in the courtyard, and the mosques will be full of light; birds can fly around during the Friday prayers.  The world is to be invited into the mosque, not left outside."

- Love it.

"Whatever the case, in 633 Muslim armies began a new series of campaigns in Persia, Syria, and the Iraq...These wars almost certainly not inspired by religious motives: nothing in the Qur'an encouraged Muslims to believe that they had a duty to conquer the world for Islam."

- Whoaaa....if everything is sacred then how is war not desecrating the holy? So they weren't inspired by religious motives even though to be muslim literally means to surrender yourself to God?  We're they being 'un-muslim'?

"They were not inclined to support the Byzantines, and the Jews in particular welcomed Muslim armies into Palestine."

- OMG!!! gvlwfbowhwFBLBwnbejfkvSB!!!

"Umar...presided over the most peaceful and bloodless conquest that the city had yet seen in its long and often tragic history.  Once the Christians had surrendered, there was no killing, no destruction of property, no burning of rival religious symbols, no expulsions or expropriations, and no attempt to force the inhabitants to embrace Islam.  If a respect for the previous occupants of the city is a sign of the integrity of a monotheistic power, Islam began its long tenure in Jerusalem very well indeed."

- So there is a God.

"Christianity, the religion of love, had often expressed itself in Jerusalem in hatred and contempt.  Now Islam, the faith of unity and integration, seemed to fall prey to disintegration and sectarianism."

- Oh, Jerusalem.

"The Jews were not the only children of Abraham and should remember that he had been neither a Jew nor a Christian but a muslim."

- Errrghh I kind of have an issue with this statement.  It's my understanding that Islam didn't crystalize until the coming of Muhammad.  But she means muslim in the sense of surrendering one's self to God.  That's like calling the Founding Fathers greek because they believed in democracy.

"To die in Jerusalem was a special blessing: 'He who chose to die in Jerusalem, had died as if in heaven'."

- Oh God, this statement could be interpreted so many different ways...

"Jerusalem" Chapter 10

We have a pretty heavy load of readings to do by Monday. So I am going to divide up the readings. Also, after reading chapter 11, I have a lot of thoughts a remarks and feelings that I must convey before proceeding with the rest of the readings.

CHAPTER 10

"Julian, as pontifex maximus of Rome, had appointed pagan priests to oppose the Christian bishops; towns which had never adopted Christianity were given special privileges, and Christians were being gradually removed from public office. Although the emperor also disapproved of some aspects of Judaism, he admired the Jews' fidelity to their ancient faith."

- So the enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine?

"...promising to make Jerusalem a Jewish city once more: 'I will rebuild the holy city in Jerusalem at my expense and will populate it, as you have wished to see it for these many years'."

- I guess making outrageous personal promises to a select minority of people was en vogue back then.

"The old paganism still flourished, and over the years a great deal of pent-up hostility had accumulated against the church. In Paneas and Sebaste the pagans had actually rioted against Christianity when Julian's edicts were published."

- I think this is the pagan uprising that we were looking for in class today.

"In 381, Theodosius put an end to the long Arian controversy by declaring Nicene-Christianity to be the official creed of the Roman empire. Ten years later, he banned all pagan sacrifice and closed down the old shrines and temples. Some of the women in the court, such as Empress Aelia Flacilla, had already distinguished themselves in Rome by attacking pagan shrines and building splendid churches in honor of the martyrs. Now they brought this militant Christianity to the East."

- All I can say is: WWJD?

"One of the earliest of these monastic pioneers was the Armenian monk Euthymius (d. 478), who founded about fifteen monasteries in spectacular locations between Masada and Bethlehem. He was regarded by his contemporaries as a second Adam: his career was thought to have launched a new era for humanity. In their monasteries, the monks planted gardens and fruit trees, making the desert bloom and reclaiming this demonic realm for God. Each settlement was thus a new Eden, a new beginning. There monks could live a paradisal life of intimacy with God, like the first Adam."

- Really? So now-a-days, only 'art, sex, and drugs' can deliver paradisal harmony. But being a monk with a garden in the dessert and having an intimate a-sexual relationship with God would give the same results? The second Adam...a new era for humanity? WHAT?!

PAGE 206 RECAP
- The second paragraph on page 206 from the readings was the most "interesting" segment to read. Actually it made me the most angry and perturbed.  After reading the previous excerpt, how does violence, coercion, and oppression fit into the monastic lifestyle (which of course is the paradisal harmony)?  I thought the monks had an intimate relationship with God--politics and religious persecution do not exist in such a monastic relationship.

"The oppressive measures taken by the Christian emperors was beginning to alienate increasing numbers of their subjects, and this ultimately damaged the empire."

- I never really thought religion could play such a drastic role in crippling a state. Are there other solid examples that I am just over-looking?

"Yet the power of the holy city could not hold its earthly enemies at bay. The Byzantine empire was weak and internally divided, and its subjects were alienated from Constantinople. In 610, King Khosrow II of Persia judged the time right to invade Byzantine territory and began to dismember the empire....The Jews of Palestine, who had happier memories of Persian than of Roman rule, came to their aid."

- God, to pick who would be the better "conqueror"...that is pretty low. So much politic-ing. I'm sure the Poles welcomed the Soviets during World War II as the better "occupier".

"At the end of May, Jerusalem fell amid scenes of horrific slaughter...the Persians rushed into the city like wild boars, roaring, hissing, and killing everyone in sight: not even women and babies were spared. [It is] estimated that 66,555 Christians died..."

- This is sick. How could you believe in a God when He would allow such slaughter (of innocence moreso than anything else).

"...if they were to pacify the country, they had to make some concessions to the Christian majority. Withdrawal of Persian support spelled the end of any realistic hope for the restoration of Jerusalem to the Jewish nation."

- There is just no winning.

"The experience of living in Jerusalem had impelled the Christians to develop a full-blown sacred geography, based on the kind of mythology they had once despised. They now saw Jerusalem as the center of the world, the source of life, fertility, salvation, and enlightenment. Now that they had died in such great numbers for their city, it was dearer to them then ever."

- I think this a fancy way of saying Crusade!

"Jerusalem" Chapters 8-9

CHAPTER 8

"The emperors Vespasian 970-79), Titus (79-81), Domitian (81-96). and Trajan (98-177) all ordered the Tenth Legion to hunt out and execute any Jew who claimed to be a descendant of King David."

- Was it fear or pride that compelled this?

"Jews and Christians were experiencing their God in remarkably similar ways.  They respectively saw Jerusalem and Jesus as symbols of the sacred."

- I have always wondered why Judaism and Christianity seemed to be lumped together so easily at times, i.e. "The United States was founded upon Judeo-Christian values".   Is this when the concept starts to take root?

"But like Matthew, John was extremely hostile to the Jews and shows them repeatedly rejecting Christ.  Both evangelists laid the ground for the antagonism to the Jewish people that would lead to some of the most shameful incidents of Christian history."

- Does the phrase "different strokes for different folks" have any archaic translation during these times? Maybe I will never understand the evangelical conviction of "spreading the good word".    

"In 118, the Roman general Publius Aelius Hadrianus became emperor, one of the ablest men who ever held this office.  His ambition was not to extend the empire but to consolidate it.  Hadrian wanted to build a strong and united polity, a brotherhood in which all citizens, regardless of their race and nationality, could feel at home."

- This actually sounds promising and progressive.

"When Hadrian arrived in Jerusalem in 130, he decided that his gift to the people of Judea would be a new city.  The generous emperor would replace the unsightly ruin and desolate army base of Jerusalem with a modern metropolis called Aelia Capitolina...Hadrian's plan filled the Jewish people with horror."

- Okay, I retract my former statement.  I totally feel the other side now.  

"...fit in with everybody else in the Greco-Roman world.  Circumcision, ... the teaching of Torah, and public Jewish meetings were all out-lawed.  This was another blow to Jewish survival.  Once these edicts had been passed, even the most moderate rabbis realized that another war with Rome was unavoidable."

- I just rolled my eyes after reading this passage.  I think I am up to 105,269 eye rolls in this book.  Am I right or am I right?

"Bar Koseba and his men were able to keep their rebellion going for three years.  Eventually Hadrian had to send one of his very best generals, Sextus Julius, to Judea...the Romans took fifty fortresses, devasted 985 villages, and killed 580,000 Jewish soldiers...But the Jews had also been able to inflict such heavy casualties on the Romans...The Jews were no longer regarded as a miserable, defeated race...[and] won the grudging respect of Rome."

- Vive la résistance!

"In 313, ... Constantine declared that Christianity was one of the official religions of the Roman empire."

- Whoaaaaaaaa, that's a bold move.  Constantine joined the 'dark side'.  ;-)

CHAPTER 9

"Constantine...[became] sole ruler of the Roman world.  Constantine always attributed his astonishing rise from obscurity to the God of the Christians, and though he had very little understanding of its theology and delayed his baptism until he was on his deathbed."

- 1) Oh please!

- 2) Why would God reward tyranny, war, and lust for godlike power--all of which Constantine embodies--to a man who isn't even baptized or has some grip of Christian theology?! 

- 3) See above to 2).

"Yet he would not promote Christianity at the expense of other faiths.  Constantine was a realist and knew that he could not afford to antagonize his pagan subjects."

- Such the politician.

"When they [Christians] looked at the resurrected tomb, Christians felt a shock of recognition and, for the first time, were impelled to root themselves in a physical place..."

- Christian physical connection to Jerusalem.

"Instead of looking through the human figure of Jesus to the divinity, as Eusebius had advised, they would want to see and touch the places associated with his humanity and find that Jesus the man was a powerful symbol of God's link with the world."

- New view of Jesus.

"The city [of Jerusalem] was not guilty because of the Crucifixion: the Cross was not a shame and a disgrace but the 'glory' and the 'crown' of Jerusalem....the [cross] was the physical death of Jesus as a crucial event in its own right.  The cross was the ground of salvation, the basis of our faith, the end of sin."

- All I can think about is how watered-down Sunday School described the cross.  

"Jesus had preached a religion of love and forgiveness, but now that Christians had come into power they were beginning to stigmatize Jews as the enemies of society, pushing them to the margins and making them outcasts as the Christians had once been."

- The first thought that popped in my head is one of my favorite quotes by President Lincoln: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

Bottom line: you fail early Christians, a lot. 

"Jerusalem" Chapters 5-7

CHAPTER 5

"Poets recalled with horror the memory of the Babylonian troops rushing through the Temple courts and the sickening sound of their axes hacking away at the cedar panels.  They longed for vengeance and dreamed of smashing the heads of Babylonian babies against rocks."

-This passage was sickening.  There are only a few things that represent pure innocence in this world and one of those is babies.  Also, I work at a children's hospital here in Columbus which makes me even more bothered by such an act.

"Even in their evocation of despair, however, the lamentations had gone beyond the point of blaming the Babylonians.  The authors knew that Yahweh had destroyed the city because of the sins of the people of Israel."

- This statement makes me feel uneasy.  That's like saying the 9/11 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center towers and damaged the Pentagon were caused by the sins of the people of United States.  Last time I checked, it was the fundamentalist crazies that made those claims.   

"Despite the pain of their uprooting, the deportees had an easier time.  They [the Jews] were not persecuted in Babylon."

- Thank God (no pun intended).

"Yet Ezekiel was not simply clinging to the past but shaping a new vision for the future."

- These are the golden words.  If you stay focused on the past, you can't concentrate on the future. 

"...the Temple would be rebuilt and Jerusalem restored to them.  Yet it remains true that when they finally had the chance to return to Jerusalem, most of the exiles elected to stay in Babylon.  They did not feel that their physical presence in Jerusalem was necessary, since they had learned to apprehend the values of Zion in a new way.  The religion that we know as Judaism originated not in Judea but in the diaspora..."

- That's really interesting.  I didn't know that. 

"Consequently, instead of bringing peace to the country, the new Jerusalem became a new bone of contention in the Holy Land."

- Surprise!

"In his second term of office, which began in about 432 [BCE], Nehemiah also made new legislation to prevent members of Golah from marrying the local people....Nehemiah's legislation was not designed to ensure the purity of the race in the 20th century sense but was an attempt to express the new sacred geography developed in exile..."

- I don't like this.  So it's LOVE vs. PRIDE? You can't legislate restrictions on love and marriage...Why does this sound so familiar now-a-days?

CHAPTER 6

"Some Jews instinctively recoiled from the culture of the Greeks and wanted to cling to the old dispensation; others found Hellenism congenial and saw it as profoundly sympathetic to their own traditions."

- I love identity wars. 

"Hellenistic culture was secular."

- Was it?

"The Greeks were materialistic and sometimes shocking, but many of the local people found this new culture seductive."

- Hahaha Is this how foreigners feel towards American culture?

"In the old days, the Zion cult had insisted that Jerusalem be a refugee for the poor; but now...Jerusalemites considered poverty a disgrace and the poor were pushed callously to one side in the stampede for wealth."

- Sell-outs.  

"Many of the Jews of Jerusalem were attracted by the Greek ideal of world citizenship."

- I feel that. I hope it makes a comeback. 

"Antiochus issued an edict which left an indelible impression on the Jewish spirit and made it emotionally impossible for many Jews to accommodate the gentile world.  This decree revoked the charter of 200 and outlawed the practice of the Jewish faith in Judah.  This was the first religious persecution in history."

- why? Why?! WHY?!?!  So now the precedent has been set for future generations.  I think we should have a classroom "wall-of-shame" and make the face of Antiochus be the first on the wall. 

CHAPTER 7

"Archelaus sent his troops into the Temple courts just after the first paschal lambs had been sacrificed.  3,000 people were killed.  Yet again the shrine had been desecrated, but this time not by a pagan symbol but by Jewish troops shedding Jewish blood."

- A government turning on its own people.  Is there anything more pathetic? More corrupt?

"Any threat to the Temple, especially during the crowded and emotional festival of Passover, was likely to lead to violence, which, in turn, could result in dreadful reprisals.  Jesus was a risk that the Jewish people could not afford."

- Somehow the broader picture was omitted from Sunday school, Catholic teachings, and The Passion of Christ (haha the last one is a joke).  But serious now, it's interesting seeing the story of Jesus Christ in a broader perspective. 

"It was at Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called "Christians" because of their assertion that Jesus had been the Christos, the Anoited One, the Messiah."

- I never knew this.  I fail as a Christian. 

"Jerusalem" Chapters 1-4

CHAPTER 1

"In the ancient world of the Near East and the Mediterranean, settlement and town-planning were regarded as divine enterprises. The Ophel hill would have appealed to the first colonists because of its water supply and its strategic advantages, but the name of the city shows that the initiative cam from the god. At this date, all cities were regarded as holy places, an alien concept for us in the modern West, where the city is often experience as a godforsaken realm in which religion has an increasingly marginal role."

- Ms. Armstrong is pretty brutal with the role of religion in post-Enlightenment times. In the United States, the separation of Church and State does not mean any public area is a 'godforsaken' realm. Additionally, the Bill of Rights does state freedom from religion but also freedom of religion. I can, however, see her point about all cities being regarded as holy places. Up until the modern era, cities and villages grew around religious centers, which served as an anchor for the local society. I think that still holds true but now-a-days cities are more commonly labeled as economic engines and pillars for a pluralistic society.

"Today many people seek this paradisal harmony in art, drugs, or sex; in the ancient world, men and women sought it by living in a place where, they believed, the lost wholeness could be recovered."

- What?! This is an awkward claim to which I disagree with 100%. I think art is the deepest reflection of a society. [Illegal?] drugs are used for various reasons to which you can brainstorm on your own. And sex is a primal instinct ingrained in all humans...

"Jerusalem, which emerges in the 14th century [BCE] as one of the city-states of Canaan."

- I didn't know this...

"Civilization, order, and creativity could be achieved only against great odds. People told stories about the mighty battles fought by gods at the dawn of time which brought light out of darkness and order out of chaos and kept lawless elements of the cosmos within due and manageable bounds."

- Rock n Roll

CHAPTER 2

"In the history of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all found other people in possession. They have all had to cope with the fact that the city and the land have been sacred to the other people before them and the integrity of their tenure will depend in large part upon the way they treat their predecessors."

- I think this falls in line with my statement that Jerusalem is 'everyone's city, and no one's city'.  Any takers?

"Instead of slaying the demonic hordes, like Marduk, Yahweh drowned the Egyptians. As always the new creation depended upon the destruction of others--a motif that would frequently recur in the future history of Jerusalem."

- It's funny how this archaic idea of rising up at the cost of others still resonates in the 21st century.  Is there no hope for mutual gain on both sides?  (I'm taking this out of context of the story I know.)

"David is one of the most complex characters in the Bible. Poet, musician, warrior, rebel, traitor, adulterer, terrorist, he was certainly no paragon, even though--later--he would be revered as Israel's ideal king."

- I had no idea.  I think it's interesting because all of these portray different qualities of humans that differ from 'God-like' perfection.  Even so, David is still revered as an iconic figure.  Maybe this could be seen as hope for humanity to achieve great things even with  regards to the disposition of human imperfection. 

CHAPTER 3

"One of David's first acts was to move the Ark of the Covenant, which was still lodged in Kireath-Jearim on the western border of his kingdom, into Jerusalem."

- Jerusalem gains star status as thee Holy City?

CHAPTER 4

"From their capital, the kings of Assyria, in what is now Iraq, were building an empire of unprecedented power and strength. Their chief ambition was to expand westward towards the Mediterranean coast and, in an attempt to prevent this Assyrian advance, Israel and Damascus stopped fighting each other and united in a coalition with other small states of Anatolia and the steppes."

- I seriously hope it will not take a common enemy to end hostilities.  It reminds me of the film "Watchmen".  Yes, I just made a pop-culture reference.  

"Yahweh wanted no more chanting and strumming on harps; instead, he wished justice to flow like water and integrity to pour forth in an unending stream."

- Great line.

"In the ancient world, the destruction of a royal temple was tantamount to the destruction of the state, which could not survive without a "center" linking it to heaven."

- Very interesting concept to consider. 

Journal Assignment 1 (Part Deux)

Here we go...

ITALY

  

 

Italian horn - "il malocchio" or "the evil eye"; It is a protector from evil and from anyone who wishes harm upon you. 

Yessss :-)

 Blood oranges = symbol of Sicily

"Rice balls" - Every Christmas, we make rice balls as a family.  It's an all-day event that involves everyone in the family.  We make about 400 and ship about 1/3 of them to family in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida.  Sooo good.  

M.I.A.

• The artist known as M.I.A. is my personal hero and idol.  She is the daughter of a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and political activist.  Because of the conflict, the first years of her life were marked by displacement.  As the civil war in Sri Lanka escalated, her family fled to Chennai, India.   Eventually her family moved to London as refugees of the conflict.  She learned English and graduated from Central Saint Martins School of Art & Design.  She now lives in Brooklyn. 
  
• Her music screams for the empowerment of the developing world, human rights, and combatting poverty.
• She came to OSU last spring and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

 

1968

• My favorite year ever is 1968: The Year the World Rocked
• There was war abroad, riots at home, fallen leaders, and the lunar landing.
• In the year of riots and rebellion, even the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games became a tumultuous arena of dissent, violence, and discord with the massacre of students by the then dictatorship just days before the Games.
• The Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia in retaliation to liberalism.
• The French government was brought to its knees and nearly collapsed.
• North Korea captured the USS Pueblo.
• The Tet Offensive in Vietnam.
• Martin Luther King was assassinated --> race riots.
• Andy Warhol was shot.
• Police crackdown on anti-war demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
• And the list goes on...

Democratic National Convention, Chicago, 1968

 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1968

Paris, France 1968

Vietnam 1968

Mexico City Olympic Games, Mexico 1968

FILMS

• La Meglio Gioventú
• Life Aquatic
• Batman: The Dark Knight
• Tropa de Elite
• James Bond: Casino Royale

SONGS

• The Animals - House of Rising Sun
• Cat Stevens - Where do the Children Play?
• Rod Stewart - Maggie May
• The Cure - Just Like Heaven
• The Doors - Light My Fire

WORDS I LIVE BY

"Pride goeth before destruction."

"Everything is impossible until somebody does it."

"Be a Realist, demand the impossible." - 1968 Slogan

"People shouldn't fear their governments, governments should fear their people."

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - President Lincoln

"We declare our right on this earth...to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary." - Malcolm X

"The ignorance, contempt, or neglect of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments." - The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789

"The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious of the rose." - Khalil Gibran

"There is madness in love, but there is reason in madness."

THE BOTTOM LINE

Journal Assignment #1 (Part 1)

Readings!

The readings for week one illustrated a completely different perspective of Jerusalem.  I always assumed Jerusalem was a sensitive issue, but the readings added so much more complexity and headache.  The first reading, "Researching East Jerusalem", made my head spin when they were debating how to represent the festival.  I understand the urge to not offend either party (Israelis or Palestinians), but seriously.  I always have viewed Jerusalem as everyone's city and no one's city.  Shouldn't that be how the city is represented? 

Expectations!

I think this course is pretty unorthodox and tests the boundaries of academia = AWESOME.  Also, I've never been a fan of conformity, so I am pretty optimistic for this course.  I sincerely hope that we as a class can maintain some sort of humor and informality during class discussions and lectures.  I intend to bring this aspect to the class whenever possible. 

Baggage!

The moment I know you all have been waiting for...

I'm just going to write a few lines that will try to illustrate my own personal bias.  My reasoning behind this madness is that everyone has a bias.  Therefore, if we are going to have scholarly fun with one of the most controversial topics (Jerusalem!), then I think we should be transparent with our own biases in order to maximize mutual understandings and to minimize cross-cultural conflict whose origins are in miscommunication.

Media sources, for example, are charged with presenting a story accurately to the public.  They gain journalistic integrity and credibility on the basis of being "fair and balanced" (Fox) or "the most reliable name in news" (CNN).  But we all know it's a bad joke.  And in this class, some of us might be Foxes and others CNNs.  So I for these reasons I think to be upfront and transparent with our baggage will help us to capitalize on the enthusiasm for cross-cultural exchange by deliberately bringing together clashing perspectives on Jerusalem for the purpose of developing an all-encompassing perspective and identity which exists alongside everyone's "rooted" perspectives and identity (of culture, nationality, ethnicity, religion, etc.).

With that said, you should know the following about me:

• I was raised as an Italian/Sicilian Roman Catholic.  Meaning my brand of Catholicism is blended with pagan beliefs rooted in Sicily since before the Pre-Christian times. 
• I use to be very devout, but my involvement with the Church has fallen off the cliff in recent years. 
• I was born and lived in Miami, Florida for 15 years.  There, my best friends were Jewish, Muslim, and Catholic (I met my first Protestant when I moved to Columbus 7 years ago).
• I think the British mandate system (and Winston Churchill) is responsible for the modern-day political hardships in the Middle East.
• I have some pretty strong criticisms of the Israeli government and the Palestinian factions who choose violence over peace.
• I'm just an American university student who studies Portuguese and International Studies.