Chapters 8-10

Chapter 8: Aelia Capitolina

"The rabbis had not given up hope that one day their Temple would be rebuilt: the last time the temple had been destroyed, there had been a restoration against all odds. But they believed that it was wiser and safer to leave this rebuilding to G-d" (157). - This quote really stuck out to me because of the fact that the Jewish people put all their faith and confidence in G-d. A temple is one of the holiest places and the fact that they would wait until G-d would help restore it illustrates their commitment and trust in him. I also thought it was interesting that after the destruction of the Temple many Jews sought religious security in their homes, which is where a lot of traditions such as Passover started.

Chapter 9: The New Jerusalem

A part of this chapter also related to the change in the importance of the temple as being the only holy place. "The fate of the temple was clear proof that G-d no longer wanted that showy type of sacrificial ritual. He wanted them to follow the spiritual religion  preached by Jesus, which did not depend on temples or holy places" (175).  This is a clear shift in the ideology that you have to come somewhere sacred or holy to connect with G-d because now you can anywhere in the world.

Chapter 10: Christian Holy City

After reading this chapter I realized how little I knew about the connection between christianity and Jerusalem/Israel.

I have a couple of questions that I hope we can discuss either in class or

1) Do christians still refer to bethlehem as bethlehem?
2) Where did the Messiah come back to according to Christianity? The Jews believe that the Messiah still has not come. When I was in Israel I saw the ally that the Messiah was supposed to come to:

2nd Journal Assignment

To Blame. To blame is the number one verb that seems to stand in the way of peace between the Arabs and the Israelis. Which side is right? Which side is wrong? Which group started the tension? Which group should just give in first? In order to overcome this conflict, both sides and even outsiders must stop placing the blame on each other and work together to figure out a compromise that works for both sides. Due to history, this probably seems very unrealistic, and to be honest I think that it is without a change in perspective from everyone in the world.

I strongly believe that the Arab-Israeli tension cannot be solved without educating the younger generations in Israel/Palestine first how to grow up in a peaceful environment without established hatred towards one group. But this education needs to happen all over the world too. If kids grow up with the notion that because they are jewish that they should hate Palestinian Arabs and vice versa then there will never even be a chance of coexistence. 

The above picture is an example of anti-israel propaganda. It is in the form of a cartoon which makes it more appealing to both children and adults. 

This image especially pertains to today's youth because it is arguing that Israeli children will grow up to be doctors, lawyer etc.- respectful jobs- where as the Palestinian boy will grow up to be a terrorist using guns and violence. 

Overall I think that it is of great necessity to start with the youth- preaching and talking about coexistence, tolerance and peace because otherwise it will be instilled in their brains that the opposite side will always be the enemy and that leaves no hope for resolving Arab-Israeli tensions 

Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths Chapter 5-7

In chapter 5-7 I really learned a lot about why the Jewish Religion performs certain practices or has specific rituals. After our class discussion on tuesday, I have been thinking about religion and what religion means to me and what it means to other people. After reading chapter 5, I realized that religion has drastically changed over the billions of years.

In chapter 5 Armstrong illustrates how this change occurred: "When the exiles asked: 'How can we sing one of Yahweh's songs in an alien land?' they were not simply giving voice to their homesickness but facing a theological dilemma. Today religious people believe that they can make contact with their G-d wherever they are in the world." I thought that this aspect was extremely interesting because I never knew that location used to be an important part of religious contact and spirituality. I know people that pray to G-d at home or at school etc. and they are still reaching out to G-d. However, one of my friends is Pentecostal and he believes that Jesus will come back to  Jerusalem and that is the only place that you can come in contact with him. However this will not happen until there is peace in the area. The Jews also view Jerusalem as such a holy place because they believe that Jerusalem is a symbol of final salvation and a place for G-d/Yahweh to return.

A couple years ago someone asked me if I knew who Yahweh was and this was before I had taken any religion class. I said I didn't know and they asked me why not because that is the name of the Jewish G-d. In Chapter 6, Armstrong tells why Jews do not refer to G-d as Yahweh. I never really knew why, I always knew to refer to G-d as "Adonai" which means "Lord." The reason for this is that "Yahweh had become so transcendent in the minds of people that it was dangerous to utter his name....only high Priests could pronounce the divine name, and then only once a year on Yom Kippur. Still I don't remember once referring to G-d in temple as Yahweh.

I thought chapter 7 was especially interesting because it discussed the structure/layout of temples and sanctuaries. It also discusses one of my favorite parts of Jerusalem- the western wall. Of course I understand what the wall means to my faith in the modern sense but I guess I never realized that I didn't study the history of the creation of the wall. I also didn't know that the Muslims reconstructed the wall at some point in history and that is is part of their history/faith too. That helps me understand more the occurrence of the Wailing wall incident.

Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths 1-4

As a history minor, I love studying past events and learning about how things came to be. I never learned much about the b.c. history of the Israel territory so reading the first four chapters was very informative.

Chapter 1: Zion
"At this date all cities were regarded as holy places, an alien concept for us in the modern West, where the city is often experienced as a godforsaken realm in which religion has an increasingly marginal role"(7) - This specific quote struck me as being very interesting because looking at the world today one can see that most cities are not seen as holy places. Yes, some cities have holy cities, but the city itself is still part of the modern technological world. I think that a lot of people living in Jerusalem might not view it as a sacred or holy place because they do every day things there- it is part of their lifestyle. However, most of the world views as being one of the holiest, if not the most holy city. 

"Such sites are sacred to us because they are inextricably bound up with our conception of ourselves; they may be associated with a profound experience that transformed our lives, with memories of early childhood, or with a person who was important to us"(8). After reading this I instantly related this quote to my experience at the Western Wall. The Wall is a sacred place but it didn't mean much to me until I was actually there on Shabbat and felt the religious and emotional attachment to it. I associate the Wall to this night in May 2010 when I decided how important Judaism is to me. 

Chapter 2: Israel

Many people always debate who had the land of Israel first and which religion should "own" it. This chapter did a great job at explaining the journey behind the possession of the land by the Israelites  I thought that this chapter was pretty dry and a little confusing to follow. But it made an interesting point- "in the history of Jersalem and the Holy Land, Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all found other people in possession." No one really felt that this land was theirs. 

Chapter 3-4: City of David, City of Judah

I wear the Star of David on my neck every day. However I never really learned or studied why David was important to my religion. This chapter helped me learn some of the facts that I didn't know. I thought that it was very interesting that there were periods of time in which historians didn't know much about the city and if it even existed. It makes me think about how historians complete their stories about events, especially about B.C. history. They need to rely solely on texts and artifacts because for obvious reasons nothing else was left behind. 
The last sentence of chapter 4 - "yet even in the ruins, the city of Jerusalem would prove to be a religious symbol that could generate hope for the future" was very meaningful because I think it can be applied to what is happening in the middle east today. There is war and rockets and bombs. But there is also hope that in the future there can be peace in this religious place. 

Journal 1

I discovered Living Jerusalem randomly about a month after I scheduled my classes for spring semester. After reading the description I knew instantly that this was a class that I wanted to take. This class is about culture, conflict, communities and life. As mostly American students with all different backgrounds and beliefs, I think this class really offers a chance for everyone to learn a little bit more about a view different or new from theirs. I think that after we all take this class we will each have a better understanding of the various cultures and communities in Jerusalem. But beyond just this understanding I think we will each discover a little more about ourselves and our own beliefs on issues on not just issues in Jerusalem, but global issues that can somehow be related to what we learn in this class.

My trip to Jerusalem 

I think at first we all might have some difficulties opening up to each other. Jerusalem and Israel/Palestine is a very emotional topic for many people in the class. For this reason, some comments made might be taken in an offensive or attacking way. I know that I need to learn to keep an open mind and not prejudge an issue just because I was raised to believe a certain way. I believe that the web-based blogs will help us each open up through our writings. Sometimes saying how we feel in front of a class might be intimidating because another student’s response might not be the response that we hoped for. I will often times use writing to convey my opinions/feelings because I can really think and focus on what I want to say and the way that I want to convey an idea.

Today was our first discussion day and I was a little intimidated. I wasn’t sure if anyone in the class would agree with my beliefs. However many students felt the same way I did about the representation of Jerusalem in Washington D.C. I commented that if the Palestinians and Israelis had trouble getting along in the real Jerusalem how would they ever manage to peacefully display both sides/cultures in a fake Jerusalem?  Plus how can someone really experience and culture and atmosphere so unique in a fake setting? I kept referring back to epcot in Disney world- yes going to the different “countries” while still being in Florida seemed like the coolest thing ever to a ten year old, but actually having experienced the real Jerusalem- shopping in the markets, walking to the wall on Shabbat, eating at a local Palestinian café- that is not something you can experience in the museum district of DC.

Friday Night at the Western Wall 

Every single student in the class comes from a different background so I am sure that we as a class will have plenty to debate and discuss. Obviously the Palestinian students might have a different view than the Jewish students and other students might have views different from both. I just really hope that this class teaches me different perspectives so that I can view Jerusalem not just as a city in Israel, but a city that is comprised of many faiths. Even though I am very opinionated and believe strongly in my views, I have never judged someone based on their ethnicity, faith/religion, race, political association etc. I am not going on the trip but the class is very small which makes it easier for all of us to get to know each other. I am looking forward to more debates/discussions/dialogues like the one we had today. 

Week 2

“As a holy city it serves as symbol, vehicle and embodiment of spiritual beliefs and aspirations..”

            

     I have studied the formation of the State of Israel countless times in many different classes. I learned about the mandate, the struggle, and the wars. However, I never looked specifically at Jerusalem and the rich history that it possesses just as a city itself.  After reading Dumper’s article Jerusalem Then and Now, I learned a lot about why this holy city is seen as holy and sacred to three different religions. I found it interesting that originally Jerusalem was seen as the city that Muslims would make their holy pilgrimage to, until Muhammad changed it to Mecca. I bet Jerusalem would be in a very different place both socially and politically if the change to Mecca never occurred. I also did not realize that a lot of the religious influence came to Jerusalem due to western support during the mandate and formation of Israel. I thought that the religious atmosphere/ cultures were always due to the religions that historically existed, not based on modern, outside influence.

            As I read the second article I learned the importance of the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock to the Islamic faith. The movie we watched in class talked about these spiritual places but never having studied the importance of Islam in Jerusalem I was clueless about what they were. I am starting to realize that it is important to learn about all faiths, not just mine when studying a place that is so spiritually rich.

            When studying Jerusalem most people focus on faith and religion. However, the third article mentioned that not every building has a religious significance; some have political significance as well. I never viewed Jerusalem as being a center of political power, only its’ religious significance.  

Week 1

After reading the article “Researching East Jerusalem,” I asked myself the same question that was asked to the author- what do I remember most about Jerusalem? The first memory that came into my head was visiting the Western Wall on Shabbat Friday.  Seeing all the Jewish people worshiping and praying as the sun was setting was the most impactful religious/cultural experience that has ever occurred to me. This is what I remember most. However, as I was reading the article I realized that on my trip to Israel I only experienced the Jewish part of Jerusalem. The first thing I think about is the part of Jerusalem opposite of the author. Amiry's perspective and memory is completely different from mine.

When Amiry claimed in her interview that Jerusalem is a city that belongs to other people not just Israeli’s, I quickly thought about how I viewed Jerusalem. I know that Jerusalem is a city that contains many religions, however I guess I have always viewed Jerusalem as being a big part of Israel and Israel’s national identity, I never associated the city as belonging to others.

I related a lot to Amiry’s point about how others view Jerusalem as just being a center of religion. Most people that I talk to about Jerusalem only see it for its rich history and religious locations- as a tourist center. This is exactly how I used to see it too. However, once I visited I was able to actually experience what life would have been like if I was a teenager living in Jerusalem. There is definitely a life outside of religion, such as Ben Yehuda Street.

With regards to the representation of Jerusalem at the Smithsonian festival, I believe that considering the conflict, it would be very difficult to display the city in a way that is accurate to everyone. Also, I could only imagine the struggle that must have occurred between both the Israeli’s and Palestinians- they struggle to represent Jerusalem in Jerusalem so why would it be easier anywhere else?  In Galit Hasan’s Dialogueas, he mentioned the difficulty of being on the Israeli team if he had not experienced the peace movement. 

The idea of having two separate research teams reinforces that two major ethnic groups/religious groups see Jerusalem as two different cities. Even though technically Jerusalem can be seen as a united city, in actuality it is not. It has different identities, different boundaries and different meanings to everyone but it does not have a common meaning. The United States of America has different identities and ideologies and meanings but the people are also united- they are American and are drawn together by the belief of freedom, for example. Jerusalem is lacking a commonality. 

Short Bio

Hi! My name is Elissa and I am currently a junior studying Political Science and History. I have been to Israel one time before on Birthright and hope to go back this summer. I am very involved in Israeli politics and pro-Israel rights through Buckeyes for Israel.