Tamari

I think I would really have a good time talking to the Canaan and Palestinian ethnographers. The idea that they are looking to not only biblical text, but song and other cultural heritage as a link to their belonging in Jerusalem is so cool to me. To think about how people use music to describe their connection with a place or memory is awesome, because I think often times when you don't know how to explain something, music is the best way to try.

When Tamari makes the statement in this first article, "Jerusalem became the arena for an intellectual circle that regarded the peasantry as the soul of the nation- the salt of the earth, uncontaminated by radical intrusions of technology and a Westernizing culture," I think I had to re-read it a couple times to really grasp what he was trying to say. By referring to Jerusalem as an arena, I am first caused to assume that is because of the "battles" (or disagreements) between the Israelis and Palestinians. However while, the peasants normally stand to lose a fight for being poor and weak, they triumph and show how their intellectual capacity to understand the problem far outweighs their opponents. They are not afraid of the western support and aid to the "big guys" through technology, because they know the true answer to the battle lies somewhere else. Now, I may have taken this completely too far, or over thought it. But it really made me think.

I really enjoyed reading this first article also for the ethnographers take on the "lunacy" and how it affects people, why it's caused, and what it means. To me, I think of myself as quite the loony. However, it is because I grow passionate about things that I have a connection to. Whether it is a connection to my past, my present, or my future, when there becomes an issue that hits home to me, I am damned well pleased to express that feeling in what may seems crazy to everyone else. But similarly to the way the ethnographers describe the connection that to the divine by the Palestinians has caused them to feel this sense of madness when it comes to finding a way to get a connection back. When something really means something to you, you will do and say anything to prove yourself.

In the next article " The Predicament of the Arab Jew" this is the first time I have heard the term, which he quickly  reminds me to remember that seems almost like an oxymoron. However, the fact that it exists leaves hope for situation, for me at least. If only we can  find a way to help those embedded in the conflict that they can work together, they do have similar roots, and they both deserve equal access to their land.

I can't wait to hear this Speaker tomorrow.