Question to Class
What part of our grade should be on your presenting your paper/project to the class versus the actual content?
-Please share your thoughts-
So I definitely enjoyed the Klein reading. It was very interesting to see such a in-depth study of the walls of Jerusalem and their effects on the politics, the everyday life of the civilians. In the abstract Klein mentioned the multiplicity of walls, this really caught my attention. I talked with Anisa, after class this week how people that visited Jerusalem have such an advantage over those who had not (myself). I always have trouble visualizing what Jerusalem looks like on the ground. However, I do think the Klein’s Old and new walls in Jerusalem helped visualize the “on-ground feel” shall i say.
Here are some excerpts from the paper that I would like to point out:
“July 1949 cease-fire agreement”
what’s this?
“Basic Law”
Have we learned about this in class before? I may have to look this one up.
“Marcuse defines five types of walls….”
Is Marcuse’s models commonly accepted, have other papers cited his work?
“According to Kotek, “three elements" characterize any frontier-city: sovereignty quarrel, double legitimacy and conflict”.
It was great to learn about Teddy Kotek.
“The religious Islamic (Sharia’) courts of East Jerusalem are not under the jurisdiction of Israel’s Ministry of Religious Affairs under which the Sharia’ court in Israel operate.”
I have a friend, whose uncle is retired from the Department of State. I may email him and ask him to explain this further.
“Israel is now attempting to achieve by means of destructive walls which will envelop the Palestinian neighborhoods…”
I was talking with somebody from class yesterday after the Klein videoconference. It really seems like Klein is writing from the Palestinian perspective in much of writing. As opposed to his very pro-Israel stance in the videoconference, a very interesting viewpoint for a professor at Hebrew University.
Dr. Klein
1) On the second page of your piece, “Old and new walls in Jerusalem” you mentioned Basic Law. Can you please expand on what this is?
2) On page 3 you mentioned, “There the Israeli representatives proposed a “soft” border system that would physically divide the city.” Can you please elaborate on this soft border system?
3) For our final paper for Dr. Horowitz’s class I am researching the following questions:
Would the state of Israel be created in 1948 if the Holocaust had not occurred? If the answer is no, then when would have been created if ever? I will specifically focus on the time period between the end of the Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel (1945-1948).
What is your take on this?
I saw a great interview on BBC World News America this evening with Tony Blair. It is regarding his work as an envoy to the Middle East. You can find the transcript at the link below:
Wow, that was one of the most interesting two-hours that I have spent in class all year. I have seen Dr. Hermann introduce speakers at Mershon Center events that I have attended. However, this was my first time hearing him give a talk. I would love for him to come in class again. Is he available by email? I believe that I could not only learn from about the political part of the conflict for class, but also my Final Project, and my special interest in gaining interest on the OSU campus for the Darfur genocide. I took about five pages notes so I can only touch on a few of his comments. I enjoyed his description of the differentiating between the West Bank and the East Bank. Also, the two different maps (Israeli/Arab perspectives) explained a lot. His map of the Muslim world (Sunni/Shia) was informative. “Hezbollah is not very sympathetic towards Palestinians,” said Dr. Hermann. This is was something that I did not know. I would like to ask him to elaborate on his work under Secretary of State James Baker. The Muamar Quaddafi (Libyan Leader) op-ed that he mentioned is below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/opinion/22qaddafi.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
1) Can you please further explain the special character of the city that you wrote about?
2) Can you please expand on what you think Jerusalem’s “real, concrete, needs” are?
3) Do you see peace in your hometown during your lifetime?
Chapter 7
“Have they lifted the curfew.”
I couldn’t imagine this.
“We must go and get our gas masks.”
It so hard for me to conceive this living in peaceful Columbus, Ohio.
“If you can’t beat them join them.” (87)
This quote stuck out to me as extremely powerful. I like that we are talking about everyday people living in this land, not just the history.
“his misfortune is that he looks exactly like the Israeli West Bank general commander Amram Mitzna.”
This made me laugh, in the middle of a sad story. Amazing, to say that both chapters have a lot of irony or a warm hearted moral feeling at the end of each chapter.
Chapter 9
“I had explained to him ‘Antar’s need for anti-rabies vaccine.” (109)
This little line is the problem that sets the scene for the entire chapter.
“I did not know which more difficult to end my of the sexist Dr. Hisham, or to start dealing with an Israeli vet.” (112)
Another little problem, so you think.
“Suan, we seem to have a little problem here,” “ Did you say Nura lives in Ramallah.”
I like to discuss these kinds of rules in class.
“Haifa, had spent sixteen years waiting for her Jerusalem ID.”
Wow, and I had thought that obtaining US citizenship was too long of process for an immigrant.
“I pressed m foot on the accelerator…..” (117)
So I guess the moral of the story is never give up, always think of ways to better the situation. What a direct, concise, and clever chapter!
Wow a great short essay by Gailit Hasan-Rokem! I found the tone ironic being it Mother’s Day today. There are a few points I’d like to share my opinion on:
“the blood relationship between mothers and daughters…”
very interesting, what does everyone else thinking she is trying to say here?
“However Jerusalem is not a woman. It is a city with a long, lost history.”
I agree with this statement
“The special character of the city.”
Jerusalem is unique, there is nothing comparable in the rest of the world!
“Jerusalem is my home. I love it…”
Cleveland is my home, I love it. Everyone has that attachment to their hometown. It is where you grew up, its where your friends and family are.
“Jerusalem has real, concrete needs.”
Yes it does, but the conflict hinders this.
“Myself, I pray….”
What a strong ending!!
Jeffrey Rehmar
International Studies 501
Dr. A. Horowitz
May 8, 2009
Final Project Outline
Primary Question: Would the state of Israel be created today if the Holocaust had not occurred?
Secondary Questions: What is the role of Catastrophes play?
What is the real ramification/consequence that we sense when something huge happens?
Readings: The Post American World, Fareed Zakaria; Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler;
Scholars: Richard Engel, Rabbis, Priests and Islamic Leaders (As Needed)
Professors: Brikena Ribaj, Professor Kevin Herzner, Dr. Amy Horowitz, Dr. Young-Bae Hwang, Michael Reese, Karen Armstrong, Richard Herrmann (As Needed)
Time Period of Focus: 1945-1948 (End of Holocaust to Creation of the State of Israel)
Format: Research Paper, Approximately 10 Pages
I. Introduction
II. Catastrophes
a. Before and After
b. Behaviors Change
c. Pre and Post Holocaust
d. Pre and Post 9/11
III. Pre-Holocaust Anti-Semitism
IV. Why was the U.S. involved with WW2?
a. Pearl Harbor
b. Other Reasons
V. Ramifications/Consequences
VI. Intense Study of the Middle east and its International Relations with the world 1945-1948
a. Brief Timeline
b. De-nazificiation 1945-1950
i. Still happening today
c. Newspapers Articles
d. Fareed Zakaria
e. Richard Engel
f. Mein Kampf
VII. Personal Narratives
a. Consistency of Account=Credible
b. 1940c
c. 2009c
VIII. Review of Research
IX. Opinion
X. Conclusion
Topic: An Investigation of the question: Is the Holocaust a cause of the creation of the State of Israel?
How: Through readings on the topics and interviews with scholars on the region here at Ohio State
Format: Mostly like in the form of a 10-Minute Documentary on film. However I am not ruling out writing a paper.
Potential Interviewees: Professor Brikena Ribaj, Professor Kevin Herzner, Dr. Amy Horowitz, Dr. Young-Bae Hwang, Professor Michael Reese, Karen Armstrong, Richard Herrmann, Rabbis, Priests, and Islamic Leaders
Initial Meeting: I am meeting with Professor Brikena Ribaj on Thursday 5/7/09
1) How do you feel the recent election of Benjamin Netanyahu changes the hopes of a 2-state solution?
2) On Tuesday, May 5th 2009 The New York Times published an article “Addressing U.S., Hamas says It Has Grounded Its Rockets to Israel” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/world/middleeast/05meshal.html?ref=world.
The article was based on an interview of Khaled Meshal, Hamas’s leader. How do you feel Meshal-Obama relations will unravel?
Wasif Jawahriyyeh, Popular Music, and Early Modernity in Jerusalem
I enjoyed learning about more in depth Jerusalem. Mr.. Tamari’s article talked on popular music in Jerusalem. I liked how Wasif Jawhariyyeh, a very famous musician whom I had no previous knowledge of. From the time Wasif is born to the peak of his career, all bases are covered. I would have enjoyed more explanation of the frequent Arabic words included in the essay. I feel like I could have gotten more out of the paper if I had more knowledge of Arabic language and culture. I don’t think Professor Tamari catered to all audiences.
I would like to have had a better explanation of the instrument ‘ud. I am still confused what this instrument is. Is there a name in English for it? What I will take from this piece is that there is more in Jerusalem then just war and peace. There is music, there is culture, Jerusalem is a city of great diversity of people! Just like the movie we saw in class yesterday, I think music has great potential to bond all people of Jerusalem despite their background!
Lepers, Lunatics and Saints
I was just simply bored with this piece from Professor Tamari. I just couldn’t find what the main idea was, and what point Tamari was trying to get across. In the piece Tamari chronicles the lives and times of Tawfiq Canaan. However, the reading didn’t interest me. In my opinion the author did not enough to make me interested, and regard Canaan's life with great importance. I liked that Tamari talked about a time in the region that was after the time in his first article.
It is increasingly interesting for me to see the conflicting opinions. The thoughts of Palestinian Nationalism and Jewish Zionism. Both have a very legitimate claim. I think Canaan really saw the Jews as a negative effect on his region. He as well as other Arabs have a legitimate claim for viewing the Jews as “occupiers”. I think it would be very interesting if Professor Tamari brought in Canaan’s diaries to class tomorrow!
The film starts off with a kind of mad at the world feeling. At first though, I was like Jewish rappers? I thought there was only 1, that Matisyahu guy. I thought the mocking of the other group (Palestinian or Israel) was interesting. Hatred is definitely present, this is definitely not a coming together as one film. Everyone in the film seems close to my age (20), so it is easy to relate. After reading Armstrong’s book this is good to see other young adults in Jerusalem v. Columbus. Later on at a concert, the line, “People only hip-hop will bring peace.” So now i am a bit confused on their true feelings. I like how the one rapper has done music in Hebrew, English, and now Arabic. I think it’s great that he wants to reach a broader audience. Subliminal’s performance in Tel Aviv was great to see! He went from a crowd of about 20 (at the cafe) to 2000 now!
Jewish Music In Columbus
I have a friend who is in the a capella group, the MeshugaNotes. I’ve gone to see them at HIllel and they are great! I encourage to check out the links below:
http://osuhillel.blogspot.com/2009/01/meet-meshuganotes.html
http://www.osuhillel.org/students.php
http://www.myspace.com/meshuganotes
I found this website. It is about the local music scene in Jerusalem:
