Architecture & Pyalara

I really didn't like our reading assignment that was about architecture, I'm not sure why but maybe because a l0t of the things that I read were of common sense, or maybe just that I all ready knew about it .... I mean it is clear that every country takes architecture seriously because its what makes the country standout in its own different way. The one thing that does bother me is that I feel Israel uses architecture to build a new identity for it's self while in the process diminishing architectural and culture that was all ready there. I think there was a part where I read that there was a Jewish architecture that was working on a project in "the Arab village "; it said something about him believing in coexistence so I really liked hearing that because i feel like if one ethnicity gets to exist architecturally than any other ethnicity should have that right as well.

3 questions :

1) What projects do you have planned for the future?

2) what is Israel's stance on the work you do?

3) ... not sure what I want to ask -- will prob get an idea during class...

The writings on the Walls.

I really enjoyed reading this article because it has always been something that I always thought about. Palestinians are prevented from so many things that we have access to here in the states or almost anywhere else in the world. I know I never lived in Palestine and I never visited it but just from my relationships with friends and my research I had always believed that the only way Palestinians could get their voices heard was through art. Not only was it a way for them to get their voices heard of coarse, it was a way of resistance, it is their agent of power.

Art which in this case is Graffiti is a tool that Palestinians, and others that have been to Palestine, use to get their message across. They use art to express their feelings and their opinions about certain idea's. I defiantly understand why graffiti a common form of art that is seen in Palestinian territories, for me I see the Palestinians as people who are unheard, dehumanized, and judged with certain stereo types so for them to use this for of art is their way of portraying their identity. In my eyes art is a way of therapy, and like we have seen before in the video that we have watched in class music (a form of art) has boughten people from two sides to a point of tolerance!

To be honest I hope to one day witness this graffiti (work of Art) in person, I'm pretty sure seeing it personally would have an even bigger impact on me

Choosing the things that represented me was a bit challenging for me because there could me so many things that I could bring that would do that.... but one of the most important items would have to be the hatta. The hatta is a symbol for being a Palestinian which is something I am proud and honored to be. another thing would be my ipod or my phone because that is where I store my music and if anyones knows me I LOVE MUSIC and I LOVE TO DANCE to having that available with me at all times is important to me... I could also bring like a small soccer ball because I have played soccer for a long time in my life, I could also bring like a small quran or a prayer book to show that I am a Muslim or that I have faith... I am not really sure on what it is I will finally bring but these are ideas of things that I could and would bring with me to class....

Now, about the video's that I watched I thought it was interesting how being homosexual and living in what is now called Israel is.... I never really had a strong opinion about this topic and I actually find it very hard to be here blogging about something that I have no positive opinion on... so I might just go a head with the questions...

1) how is the Palestinian-Israeli gay rights as of right now in Israel

2) what is the reaction on the Israeli side of the "gay" issue

3) in your point of view do the gay Palestinian and Israeli's get a long better than the straight ones ?

FINAL PROJECT !

For the final project me and brit decided that the book was going to be about two girls who learn to tolerate each others differences through a game of hopscotch and when they grew up it went on to their daughters ... and in the book we will have both the mothers that were friends from their childhood with out their parents awareness will be teaching their own girls of how it doesn't matter what side you come from because in the end we are all the same ...

All we have to do is work on the art and the look of the cover for the book ; I have an artist friend who will be helping us out so I am hoping for this to be one of the BEST projects that will be presented ! :)

I hope that some day maybe this book could have the option of being published worldwide, but who knows.....

reading response

I liked the reading that we had for this week because they were entertaining in many ways. in the galit reading I found it interesting how she had seen how Palestine was viewed as a women. I liked her ending the most where she said that she did not expect people to stop viewing Jerusalem as a mother, etc... but to realize that whether man or woman Jerusalem is we need to recognize that equality and justice needs to be spread onto all.

my three questions:

1) do you see a solution?

2) what do you think of the situation as of now?

3) why do you think it is that when dealing with pain,suffering etc... something is always viewed in a females perspective.

For suad's reading I really liked how she used humor to talk about just emotional and sensitive real life situations. There was a part where she was taking her dog to Jerusalem and when the soldier asks her why she is going or here her passport was she said that she was just the driver and that the dog had the passport-- the soldier laughed, so did she. ... I thought that was interesting because I had never heard of someone claiming that a soldier and especially and Israeli soldier would ever laugh and actually let her through!

very nice, I have also watched her perform these stories on stage so it was great getting to read them!

The power of music...

So for this week from all of the links that we were given the one that stood out to me the most was the Heartbeat project!

from the video that I saw it seems that having the two sides coming together and working on something or just working in the same are is a step closer to tolerance.

I was listening to how one of the Jew girls was saying how whenever she saw an Arab on the street she would be scared of them but since she had had the opportunity to work with Arabs she doesn't feel like that anymore....

I also remember one of the girls saying that she just wanted to get to know the other people to know about their everyday lives basically just to know them on a more personal level and that's exactly what needs to HAPPEN !

The Arabs and the Jews need to be able to get to know one another ! not be separated !

there was a time in the video where you saw 2 guys one a Jew and one an Arab disagreeing on something ... that might be seen badly by others but for me I thought it was NORMAL ! I mean the reason you come to respect others and their opinions is when you are able to disagree on something!

From their website it seems that they have an excellent overview of what is happening and what needs to be happening in Jerusalem.... an important thing mentioned in their info is that most Palestinians and Israeli's have only encountered each other through televised reports of extremist violence or calculating politicians! It couldn't have been said better !

Their website was very convincing! out of all of the websites that I checked this is the one that stood out to me!

Seems that music (so far) is a tool that the Jews and the Arabs can use to finding a way of accepting/relating to one another...

not to mention that it helps the youth in expressing their feelings about sensitive topics like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Dr. Tamari's Articles

I found these article interesting... the topic of Arab Jews living in the mid-east was something I had always known.... and now I have read it more than once, that once upon a time Jews did and still do live in Arab and Muslim countries.... also, I was never really sure but he said that not all the Jews that are living in Palestine/ Jerusalem are supporters of Zionism... I guess I had always told my self that there is no way that no one is against it... but how come we never see any of them speaking out about it ?? is it that they fear there government, and if so how does that make that government a democracy ??

I also read, about how culture changed after the ottoman empires fall... It never fails to amaze me how cultural change can have such a powerful effect! Of coarse someones cultural background is going to have an effect on the society he/she lives in this also includes military... As a Palestinian I feel like our culture has been ignored, not destroyed but ignored. The reason I say ignored is because I still have hope in Justice, regardless of the fact that there are some who are working on destroying the Palestinians and their culture; let us not forget that that is also called ETHNIC CLEANSING. this type of "ignoring of the culture" has lead the world and mostly the West to dehumanize the Palestinians... when you don't see someones culture you don't see them as a human ....

Reading these articles has allowed me to see things from a different angle as well as reassure some of the feelings/thoughts I had....

questions:

1) do you ever see peace between the two? is there a solution in your eyes?

2) what do you think is the most important thing that we as youth can focus on to bridging the gaps between the two?

3)how do you think this open air prison that the Palestinians are forced to live in affecting their culture and their psychological abilities.

4) I would have to say that I can recognize how the Jews view Israel as their homeland, Just as the Palestinians view it to be our homeland as well but why do you think that the recognition for the Jews results in the denial of the Palestinians... ??

Final Project :)

Well for the final project Britany and I have decided to work together!

Our main focus is going to be on children because clearly politics has done no good in bringing peace to the people. We are thinking of making a book of some sort that portrays children(kids) working hand in hand or sharing something (not exactly sure what the topic is about but we have a hypothesis about the plot) ...

I like this idea (actually I LOVE it) because it reminds me of a book that Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan has published that is called " The sandwich swap" ..... its the story of 2 girls that learn a lesson in tolerance b swapping their sandwiches; one having a PB&J and the other having a Hummus sandwich...

I think that it is the children of our generation that will be making the decisions of our future so, what a brilliant idea of creating a book that can teach and quilt the idea's of equality and tolerance of other faiths and ethnicities in their subconscious mind for an outcome of a more peaceful world.... It is also a very good way of promoting diversity...