Reading Response 5- New Developments

After reading chapters 8-10, I begin to wonder a few new things and some that keep coming up.  There is still part of me that is not pro-Armstrong.  Some of the context isn't connecting for me...the only thing I can think of is because of my lack of knowledge of the situation and history at hand.  There have been so many different years, people, and places that have come along in this book already and it is very difficult to keep up with.  However, with that being said, Chapter 10 was probably the best yet for me due to the pictures and allowing me to see what is really going on here with the geography.

One of the main points in these chapters is how the "New Jerusalem" came to be.  Jesus had not been around and many churches were being built.  However, my real question is why was it called New Jerusalem? There are so many religions that are tied to Jerusalem so why would they want to make a New Jerusalem to cause even more problems.  It is odd to me that they made this decision and did not try to build into the already based Old Jerusalem.  Things are starting to seem odd...

But then again, Armstrong talks about how the Christians and Jews interact with each other.  Now a days, things have changed dramatically.  In the old times, Christians would interact among themselves and Jews would do the same.  Today things are the same to some standard, but I am a Jew and have never had a problem with an Christian due to their religion and I believe that most Christians would say the same thing.  By comparing them to today's issues, it would be amazing if the religions would be able to do their own thing while getting along and making peace.  But we all know it isn't that easy. And this mind blowing history continues...

Weblog Journal 2- The Conflict

When you think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or whichever way you want to call it, you don't even know where to start.  It is such an abysmal situation that nobody knows (or in my opinion, will ever know) how to solve the issue for both parties.  Yes, Israel is holding their own right now, but ever since I can remember, there has multiple conflicts consistently going along between the two.  Now, the issues are about land, Jerusalem itself, and even religious controversies.  There is no way that anyone is going to be happy about one outcome or the other because it just not seem feasible. 

While reading Pressman's article, I did like how it was straight to the point where I could follow along and put the facts together. It is simple to follow what has been going on because it has been witnessed and there is no way around it.  The last 50+ years since Israel became a state has been documented by fact, and not opinion by any means.  However, there are so many opinions on each side of the conflict that believe their way is the right way.

From a personal view, I have acknowledged that I do not believe there will be any kind of settlement anytime soon.  I am a Jew and would not want anything to happen to Israel.  That might sound like bias, but I am not against a plan if it favors everyone.  Sacrifices would have to be made on both sides and that is where I believe the problems will occur.  Neither side wants to give anything up, but only wants to gain for power.  Who even knows where to start how this can be resolved.  I like to be optimistic, but this could be awhile...

Reading Response 4- The Jews Didn't Back Down

While reading the next few chapters of Armstrong's book, a reoccurring theme was that the Jews never seemed to back down from anyone taking over Jerusalem.  Between others trying to take over and the destruction of the temples, the Jews stuck together because they believed this was the holiest place on earth.  While thinking about it...how could you not believe them? Everyone wanted Jerusalem and it has been in crazy conflict as far as history can go back.  There was a connection of some sort like no other place and many religions wanted to settle there.  Although some people wanted to create a better economy, the Jews didn't care.  They could be kicked out of their homes or lose their jobs but they were not going to lose the spiritual land that comes with Jerusalem.

The more I read, the more similarities that I find with the past.  Although these might not be exactly the same, history continues to show that things can happen more than once, twice, or seven times.  Jerusalem keeps on being shifted between different religions, ethnicities, and others.  It is an everlasting swing of who "believes" they have control at a certain time.

As we talked about in class, I still cannot read without thinking about where all of the historic information is coming from.  I understand that most of her sources are from the Bible, but unfortunately, we will never know who's opinions or observations are right or wrong.  Armstrong was only a British nun for a short time, but some times it seems like she can sway one way or the other.  Is this good if there is a good balance? Does anyone else feel that little itch that it could be biased in the slightest bit? There is no way of knowing but things seem to get more interesting as we continue.

Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths- Reading Response 3

As Professor Horwitz said in the previous class, I decided to look up some information on Karen Armstrong before I started to read the book.  I have learned that she is a British Christian who has some previous unbiased writing history on the Middle East.  It helped me get a better point of view from her because I know that she isn't leaning her opinions toward one side or the other.

We have started looking into Jerusalem from a historical perspective and Karen Armstrong imposed such a rich history within the first few chapters of this book.  Although there is importance behind all of the history, how can all of this research be determined to be true? Yes, there are certain sources and the Bible that could be considered the truth, but nobody really knows.  As I continued to read, it is so hard to understand if this really is the truth because someone's opinion from a certain side had to give their version of the history at some point or another.  It could be that all of this history is twisting all together and causing overthinking, but I always have an extra thought in the back of my head.

Although the facts are shown about the history in the book, one of the points that stuck out to me was about all of the religions being able to shy away from the spiritual aspects of Jerusalem and finding G-d from anywhere.  Jerusalem is considered one of, if not the, holiest place in the world.  Millions of people go there to pray because they feel that special connection when there.  As a reform Jew, I will say that I do not go to synagogue other than high holy days and special occasions.  However, when I went to the Western Wall five years ago, I felt something unique. Something special.  A feeling that you don't get when you are in the last row of synagogue talking to your friend while listening to your rabbi speak.

Experience is one of the greatest things in the world.  Once you experience something, you know how it feels and more things seem to open up for you.  Karen Armstrong has given us a background that will allow us to experience a broader view of Jerusalem and shape up how we have gotten to present day Jerusalem.  But there are still questions to be asked...do we know who's Jerusalem it really is? Who is the next set of people to take over? We know the history is such a roller coaster and I think that is what makes Jerusalem such an interesting place in the world.

Weblog Journal Assignment 1- The Beginning

Going into this class, I had no idea what to expect outside of the topic of Jerusalem.  However, after learning about the course through the first few classes, I know that there is so much to look into that could be studied for years and years.  I believe that the set up of the course is quite different than any other course that I have taken.  For me it will take awhile to get used to because I am not one of those who respond well to others' dialogue and reactions.

As we spoke about today in class, I am curious to see how the blogs turn out.  I think that they could be a success, or they could cause some trouble.  It is hard to keep up with 30 people writing blogs about similar, yet broad issues.  With all of the time and effort put into these readings and blogs, there could become a potential time problem for me in this class.  Between those and understanding what we are actually reading with the history, it could create some havoc.

After the first few sets of readings, I think that the most interesting ones were about the Festival in Washington D.C.  When reading about it and finding out that the main reason why it did not happen was because of financial issues, it really made me think whether or not to believe it due to all of the other issues that were going on at the time between the Israelis and Palestinians.  However, on the research side, residents just wanted to have their own designations of certain things such as food, art, and living quarters.  The aspects of this allowed each side to have their own parts of the Festival, but unfortunately, money was the most important thing and could not be resolved.

Through the first few classes, I can tell that we have a variety of people in our class including male and female, Jewish and non-Jewish, and people who know absolutely nothing about Jerusalem.  There is nothing wrong with this.  Actually, I think it is great because of all the different perspectives that will be brought up through the semester.  I am looking forward to hearing everyone's opinions, whether we agree or not because that is what this class is all about.

Reading Response 2- Jerusalem's Wild History

After reading the three articles, there is so much history behind Jerusalem that I wouldn't even know where to begin.  I know that Israel has only been a state for 55 years, but to realize how this all came to be is quite fascinating.  I am not the one to say history is my first, second, or even eighth favorite thing to learn about, but the fact that so many countries have had control of Jerusalem over so many years is astonishing.  Now I know most countries have similar history in that matter, but with Jerusalem being such a spiritual city, I would have figured that it would have been kept in the same hands for longer periods of time.

With that being said, the history of Jerusalem is out of control.  I had trouble getting through it all because of all of the different reigns of control.  The more I know about the major points in history, the more I can tie it to what is going on in the Middle East today.  I will be the first person to say that I really do not know a lot of details regarding what is going on in Israel right now but I know there has been uproar in the last few months.  However, I feel as though Israel has always had something major to deal with in and out of the country.  History has played its part and I think it will continue to be this way. 

Who knows what will happen in the next month, year, and decade.  History continues to amaze us and we never know what is coming next.  Will the Palestinians and Jews make peace with each other forever? Will there be war in Israel? Will Israel be attacked for no reason? How long will Israel stand on its own? In my opinion, nobody knows.  History is one thing in the world that plays itself out and is extremely difficult to determine. 

Project Thoughts

I think that I am most interested in two aspects of Jerusalem: food and sport.  Many cities, states, and countries are known for specific kinds of food and Jerusalem is one that is very cultured as well.  The one thing that stands out is that there are different cultures that make the same food but in a different way.  Everyone wants to claim it as their own, but one opinion varies from another depending on where you are and who you are talking to.

In regards to sports, it is a very large part of my life.  I have grown up playing and watching them and my interest has continued to increase as I have gotten older.  To be honest, I have not looked into the sports in Jerusalem and couldn't really tell you what they play.   My best guess would be to go off what they do in Europe but I am interested to see what the differences are with other countries.  Sports connect people and also provide an outlet to get your mind off of everyday life.  I believe this is one of the intriguing ideas that people overlook in Jerusalem.

Reading Response 1

After reading Suad’s piece about East Jerusalem, I wondered to myself how much things change in Jerusalem over a short period of time.  I have been to Israel once and it was five years ago.  When I went, I never saw any Palestinian trouble or any trouble for that matter.  Now I understand that five years ago is different from today and so is Suad’s research.  When reading through the article, I thought to myself how much of Jerusalem I didn’t see and how it would alter my thoughts.  Was I only being shown the Israeli side so I would not have any fear at the time? I saw no conflicts between anyone and since then I have wondered what it would be like to go back and explore all of the parts of Jerusalem.

The interview with Suad about the Festival was very interesting.  She said that the main issue of the Festival not happening was because of finances.  However, after reading through the entire interview, I think it was more than that.  It seems to be that the intense conflict over who’s Jerusalem it is will never end.  Some believe it is theirs and others believe otherwise.  Jerusalem is such a sacred city and the everyday conflicts between religions, governments, and people probably wont end anytime soon.   The Festival would have been a good way to get more people educated with the region but could have caused more problems.

One of the most interesting things that stick out from Galit’s article on the Festival is how the political leaders and field workers rarely met.  I wonder how everyone wants to get this done and then they couldn’t even meet in person to make progress on the Festival.    Everyone needed to be on the same path in order to get this done and it just didn’t happen.  There were so many different aspects to this project and I believe that the more people that were working together then the more progress would have taken place.

When reading through Professor Horwitz’s article and journey, it is so cool to read all of the different dimensions of the research in Jerusalem.  The hardest part of the whole Festival seemed to be the framework that had to be completed in order to make all sides happy.  From reading and knowing the history between the two sides, it had to be extremely difficult and some might have said impossible.  Both cultures would not give anything up and it turned out to hurt them for the Festival. 

Introduction

My name is Max Fine and I am a senior from Louisville, KY. majoring in marketing.  I am a huge sports fan and follow the Louisville Cardinals like it is my job.  I have been to multiple bowl games and NCAA tournament games including last year's Final Four.  I am Jewish and have been to Israel once.  I went five years ago with the Jewish Federation of Louisville with five others.  Even though I do not remember all of it as vividly as I would like to, I had an amazing time and am looking forward to going back soon.  I look forward to building my knowledge on present-day Jerusalem.