Personal Struggles with the Course

In looking around at others' blogs, it seems like a lot of people found the structure of the course to be challenging. Personally, this wasn't the case for me because I have taken another course at IU that required blog posts after each reading, so I didn't find this too troubling. I will admit the due dates were a bit odd: since classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I expected to complete the blog posts on those days or at the least the night before. Completing the reading responses by 5 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays was a challenge and took some adjusting, but once I got into the swing of things it was pretty easy to keep up with.

Along the same lines, I found the heavy amount of reading, especially at the beginning of the semester, to be challenging in completing, particularly by the 5 pm due date on the day before class. I felt like I was constantly struggling to catch up in the Karen Armstrong book, and not because I wasn't reading, but because reading three chapters/ 80 pages between Monday and Wednesday at 5 pm was nearly impossible with my hectic schedule. Over the weekends, I was usually able to catch up to Monday's readings, but come Wednesday I was always behind. In my opinion, the first half of the course was too heavily-based on readings, and conversely, the end of the semester was too light. I do enjoy the contrast in the literacy pieces we read towards the end, as well as exploring different websites, but I struggled with the transition between the two sections and in adapting to the assignments.

In terms of a more personal struggle, I truly had a difficult time putting myself into the Israeli mindset, especially relating to building the separation barrier and settling in Palestinian lands. I was never able to empathize with their actions or the struggles they may have been facing, especially before taking this class. However, listening to the Israeli speakers was really eye-opening because in meeting real, Israeli individuals with differing opinions of the conflict, I stopped thinking of Israel as a comprehensively violent or oppressive entity, and rather one made up of diverse individuals with different views of the conflict. I was surprised to hear that some of them sympathized with the Palestinian struggle, and most of them just wanted to live in peace. I suppose this is because when you are only hearing about the atrocities and injustices a community commits, you start to think of everyone in that community in a negative manner. I feel like this class was a wake-up call in proving to me that this is never the case, and that generalizations and stereotypes are extremely dangerous concepts to hold on to.

LGBTQ Groups in Jerusalem

I was surprised looking at the Jerusalem Open House's website because I did not expect an LGBTQ group in Jerusalem to be so cohesive and successful in many of their projects. They seem to have established a sense of security and community, that I'm guessing is a little nerve-wracking in a city with so many religious ties, and therefore (probably) very homophobic.

I was also surprised to read about their sources of funding, since normally organizations that are politically or religiously charged are not funded by government institutions. There website says that after 12 years in court, the JOH received a ruling from the High Court of Justice that the municipality had to provide the JOH with funding and treat them like any other community center. They go on to say that the municipality has provided as little as possible, but this is still a momentous achievement in my opinion. I'm not really familiar with the politics of LGBTQ institutions in the United States, but I'm assuming they never receive funding from government or state institutions. That makes this especially significant in a city so religiously charged with the beliefs of three faiths, all of which are quite homophobic (I'm not sure about Judaism on this point so correct me if I'm wrong).

"When I read in the Bible I could be killed for being gay, I understood what it was like to be Palestinian." I wonder if Israelis and Palestinians in the LGBTQ community get along better with one another than those outside of the community. It seems like the extra oppression  would bring closer together those already oppressed ethnically and/or culturally, since they have in common such a large part of their identities. I'm sure this documentary would be very revealing about LGBTQ "politics" and daily life in Jerusalem. I wonder how different it is from the community in the U.S.

Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: The Ramallah Diaries

I have actually read this novel before for a NELC class on Middle Eastern Literature, the topic of which was "Conflict through the eyes of the Author." I remember really enjoying this book because of the almost informal and light-hearted manner in which it is written. The author, Suad Amiry, uses a large amount of humor in portraying the cynical and illogical experiences of everyday Palestinians living in the West Bank. I think the contrast is effective in making more obvious to the readers the absolute absurdity of some of the things that Palestinians must deal with on an everyday basis, for example, going to get gas masks at six in the morning. I think humor is a tool used quite frequently as a means to deal with an otherwise extremely depressing situation.

The chapter about the dog needing an ID was equally as humorous / cynical. She tricks the Israeli soldier by saying the dog is from Jerusalem so he doesn't need an ID, and he is so perplexed he just lets her through. This situation is so obviously ridiculous from the point of a soldier requiring an animal to have an ID, but sadly these types of situations are so much more common for Palestinians than people realize. And moreover, they are usually unsuccessful in their endeavors.

I like Suad Amiry's writing style of incorporating so much humor into relating her experiences living in the West Bank; it is a welcome relief from fact-based, and "to the point" writings. However, I wonder which style of writing is more effective in getting the message across. For me personally, I enjoy reading more poignant renditions of conflict without the use of humor, for example, White Masks by Elias Khoury. This novel relates the Lebanese Civil War and particular individuals' experiences, such as a father losing his son in the war, and a young woman constantly beat by her husband. Obviously these types of things are much more unpleasant in reading about, but I think these messages need to be conveyed realistically to others so that they do not go ignored. 

Weblog Journal #4

The role of my music in my life... This is such a huge topic to tackle and put into words, I don't really know of any other way to look at it other than how my experiences with music and my taste in music have evolved throughout my life:

Throughout my childhood I grew up listening to operas and classical music in the car. My mom grew up playing piano and often played in the house, so my first exposure to music was definitely classical. I also began playing violin when I was 7, which obviously got me even more interested in classical music and composers.

My first exposure to other genres of music (besides what was played on the radio) was through my older brother who was a huge fan of rap from a young age. So I began listened to Eminem in fourth grade, and I remember feeling exposed to a new world of music that I had no idea existed. I listened to all kinds of rap throughout middle school, which I suppose was linked with my adolescence and finding my own identity as a pre-teen/teenager.

During my freshman year of high school I was exposed to The Doors for the first time, and I became immediately obsessed. I went through a huge phase of getting really into 70's rock, like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, as well as some 90's grunge and jam bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. I suppose this also related to this typical rebellious teenage phase that most people go through.

Since high school, I've gotten into all sorts of new genres and artists, which probably has to do with meeting so many new types of people with various interests in college. My current obsessions are Tyler the Creator, OFWGKTA, and The Weeknd, as well as some electronic music like Infected Mushroom, Crystal Castles, and Big Gigantic. I always seem to be a few years behind with the new music scene; I find it rather stressful to stay on top of it all. Some of my favorite artists are in completely different genres of music, so I guess I like a little bit of everything, as long as it's music with some sort of deeper message. (Nothing annoys me more than all the overrated songs played on the radio. And furthermore, I think the best music that is produced, no matter the year, usually isn't played on the radio.)

In terms of music's role in conflict, I think ultimately music is a form of expression. It is a way to voice one's opinions, but I'm not sure if I would consider it a form of communication because an artist can record music, but he or she can't make people listen to it. I also don't think music can solve conflict in itself, perhaps other than exposing issues and problems that may otherwise go unnoticed. But I'm sure there are some counterexamples to this that I'm unaware of.

Channels of Rage: Israeli and Palestinian Rap

"Gimme a mic and you'll see how good we go together, like Lewinsky and Clinton." This lyric from one of Tamer's raps (from Channels of Rage) is obviously striking, because I think it goes without saying that Lewinsky and Clinton did not go well together. Their affair caused an arguably unprecedented amount of controversy, particularly in relation to American politics. Americans began questioning the morals of their president and their government. But this lyric is nonetheless very telling: perhaps Tamer is implying that controversy is a good thing. It gets people talking about issues that might otherwise be swept under the rug. As a Palestinian, he has often been politically ignored and left without a voice so to speak, so in "giving him a mic" and allowing him to voice his opinions, the public is forced to pay attention to these issues that often aren't told from the Palestinian standpoint.

Rap is not only a means to expose issues within one's community to others, but it also can expose issues within one's own society. In this case, Palestinian rappers are not only commenting on Israeli politics and the conflict, but they also focus upon honor killings, which is a very controversial issue within Arab society. In the Middle East, the topic of honor killings is avoided, which is why I think it's amazing that this group (DAM) rapped so bluntly about the subject and even made a music video of a fictional honor killing. The only way to stop these human rights abuses that are so complexly linked with culture is to raise awareness and educate the public of their prevalence. "We feel that when there is a crime against a woman, it is seen as the end of the story...it is just another death. A death justified merely by the fact of being a girl."

In the Global Post article, I found the comparison between Tamer and Tupac to be very striking. Not only did both use rap music as a means to convey political messages to youth, but they were/are both minorities living among majorities in their communities. And both used music as a means to "escape the realities" in which they were living. It's funny to think of how much rap has evolved: one could say, generally speaking, that today rap is more so about showing off material goods, partying, or insulting other rappers, etc. (Generally speaking. I know there are numerous exceptions.) However, I think it's safe to say that rap historically began as a form of rebellion against society, especially in the United States, and that it is very much still used in this way, but on a more "underground" level. For example, rap with political messages often isn't played on the radio. Just something to think about.