Looking at Jerusalem's chronology and the multiple empires that at one time or another controlled it, it is extremely overwhelming to comprehend a city with such a vast amount of historical significance. Not only does it hold extreme importance for Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, it has also passed through the hands of many great empires (the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Ottomans). No wonder Jerusalem is such a fought over city. I wonder if there are any other major cities in the world that are important to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and if so, why aren't they so severely fought over like Jerusalem?
I thought Dumper did a good job of not coming across as biased in his article. For example, he describes the importance of Jerusalem to each monotheistic religion instead of focusing solely on one. However, I do not think he provided enough detail when it came to certain historical events, which made it difficult to understand the full extent of change (and destruction from war) that the city has experienced over the centuries. But over all, for a relatively short article, Dumper balanced the cultural complexities of Jerusalem well, without obvious biases, and he covered a vast amount of history in a way that was interesting to read.
I found it interesting that Dumper described Jerusalem as becoming "a place for tourists rather than daily living." I never thought about Jerusalem as being a "touristy" city, yet I suppose this makes sense since there are so many important buildings and historical sites to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. This also made me think of Egypt because there are numerous cities throughout the country that are solely functioning as tourist attractions, so if Egyptians are not in the tourism industry, there would be no point for them to live in that particular city. It is important to be aware that there are a good amount of cities like this all over the world, whose economy relies mostly on wealthy foreigners and whose conditions are not necessarily suitable for people to live in.
I like that Khalidi's article was more historically-oriented because, although a little boring at times, it provides a significant amount of context to understand why Jerusalem has been so contested over throughout the centuries. I was also interested to read his explanation of the significance of the Dome of the Rock because I heard mention of it several times throughout my stay in Egypt, but I was unsure of why it is so important. Does it hold special significance to Jews and Christians, as well?
In contrast, I did not really care for Rubin's article. Even though his writing was primarily historical like that of Khalidi, I found his rhetoric to be very dry and boring, and it was especially hard to follow towards the beginning. Personally, I find it hard to comprehend historical events when numerous years and names are listed without much explanation; therefore, I did not really learn too much from this article.
I thought Dumper did a good job of not coming across as biased in his article. For example, he describes the importance of Jerusalem to each monotheistic religion instead of focusing solely on one. However, I do not think he provided enough detail when it came to certain historical events, which made it difficult to understand the full extent of change (and destruction from war) that the city has experienced over the centuries. But over all, for a relatively short article, Dumper balanced the cultural complexities of Jerusalem well, without obvious biases, and he covered a vast amount of history in a way that was interesting to read.
I found it interesting that Dumper described Jerusalem as becoming "a place for tourists rather than daily living." I never thought about Jerusalem as being a "touristy" city, yet I suppose this makes sense since there are so many important buildings and historical sites to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. This also made me think of Egypt because there are numerous cities throughout the country that are solely functioning as tourist attractions, so if Egyptians are not in the tourism industry, there would be no point for them to live in that particular city. It is important to be aware that there are a good amount of cities like this all over the world, whose economy relies mostly on wealthy foreigners and whose conditions are not necessarily suitable for people to live in.
I like that Khalidi's article was more historically-oriented because, although a little boring at times, it provides a significant amount of context to understand why Jerusalem has been so contested over throughout the centuries. I was also interested to read his explanation of the significance of the Dome of the Rock because I heard mention of it several times throughout my stay in Egypt, but I was unsure of why it is so important. Does it hold special significance to Jews and Christians, as well?
In contrast, I did not really care for Rubin's article. Even though his writing was primarily historical like that of Khalidi, I found his rhetoric to be very dry and boring, and it was especially hard to follow towards the beginning. Personally, I find it hard to comprehend historical events when numerous years and names are listed without much explanation; therefore, I did not really learn too much from this article.
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