Mick Dumper delves into Jerusalem's history at remarkable speed. The articles we read for week one seemed to ignore the political involvements within Jerusalem's history. Dumper claims that the Palestinians and Israelis do not have relationships with one another within Jerusalem. He believes that Jerusalem is an Israeli city with some Palestinians mixed into the area. I do not think he specified East Jerusalem or West Jerusalem, which would have been an important distinction to make. I did not realize that Muslims originally faced Jerusalem when praying until Muhammad changed it to Mecca. This is just one example of the deeply rooted history Christians, Muslims, and Jews have to Jerusalem. It is this religious connection and the religious history that often overshadows the historical evidence. Each side naturally has biases but they seem to overwhelm these interpretations of history. As the Palestinians and Israelis are divided it makes sense that their knowledge or information about a certain topic, especially their origins, would differ. In Rashid Khalidi's article he mentions that some Palestinians believe they are descendants of the Amorites, Canaanites, Jebusites, and Philistines. In the Hebrew Bible, these peoples were sworn enemies of the Jewish people. The issue suddenly switches from a political one to a religious one.
The Israeli perspective on Jerusalem's history is just as tangled and tumultuous as the Palestinian perspective about Jerusalem's history. There was also a surprising amount of overlap between the two, but as these are scholarly articles I would expect these articles would have an agenda, but would have to have the fact to back up such claims. Reba Rubin captures the sentiment that Jerusalem is a holy city to Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. There are countless rebellions and power shifted hands numerous times, but the religious sentiments have remained the same throughout time. Political and religious beliefs have become intertwined, making it impossible to separate the two at times. The claim to land on both sides makes it a heated issue and turns discussions into arguments. This relates to the issues surrounding the Smithsonian Folklife festival. For people with different interpretations of a city's history it seems improbable that the two could share the same space. I realize the intention of the festival was to focus on the everyday occurrences but these issues lie at the heart of the matter and should have been addressed in some way.
The Israeli perspective on Jerusalem's history is just as tangled and tumultuous as the Palestinian perspective about Jerusalem's history. There was also a surprising amount of overlap between the two, but as these are scholarly articles I would expect these articles would have an agenda, but would have to have the fact to back up such claims. Reba Rubin captures the sentiment that Jerusalem is a holy city to Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. There are countless rebellions and power shifted hands numerous times, but the religious sentiments have remained the same throughout time. Political and religious beliefs have become intertwined, making it impossible to separate the two at times. The claim to land on both sides makes it a heated issue and turns discussions into arguments. This relates to the issues surrounding the Smithsonian Folklife festival. For people with different interpretations of a city's history it seems improbable that the two could share the same space. I realize the intention of the festival was to focus on the everyday occurrences but these issues lie at the heart of the matter and should have been addressed in some way.
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