Now imagine if your next door neighbor is a Palestinian and you are Jew...I mean it really isn't that big of a deal. It's like you being a Christian and your neighbor being a Jew or in simpler terms you being a Republican and you neighbor being a democrat. But unfortunately, due to past generations, if you are living in the city of Jerusalem as a Jew and your neighbor is a Palestinian, there is bound to be conflict or at the least some dislike.
In Guzelimian's piece, both Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim (a Palestinian and a Jew) claimed that home was actually not a place but rather a feeling. I was just baffled (AGAIN) by the idea that two groups of people involved in such a long conflict, with so much hate, have so much respect for their home, Jerusalem.
In a strange way it is almost like the "Goody Two Shoes" little girl who immediately turns into a horrible person when the teacher turns their back. Palestinians and Jews have so many disagreements which have created conflict, however when in Jerusalem they respect their home.
The conflict is like no other as it is so frustrating and amazing with the word complicated acting as the icing on the cake. It is also amazing how music can create so much pride and make one...make that two parties (Palestinians and Jews alike) bring that euphoric feeling that we call home.
For some reason when reading this piece as it was about a friendship between a Palestinian and a Jew, all I could think about was this one episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Maybe shedding some humor on such a complicated issue will wake people up to realize that we can be friends.
Your neighbor analogy reminds me of my neighborhood growing up. I grew up down the street from an Arab family and I became best friends with the oldest son. We were both open with our religions and I talked about going to Hebrew school and he talked about going to his school to learn Arabic. I learned about Ramadan when it took place and I watched them prepare their slaughtered lamb in their garage as they carried out their religious rituals. I never thought about the fact that we were different and that there was a conflict between our two religions in Israel. In a way I felt closer to him than other people in my town because we were both minorities at our school. I wish those living in Jerusalem could feel the way that we did growing up and just see each other as ordinary people who are also a minority, struggling to find a place in society.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that Palestinians and Jews have such strong feelings towards Jerusalem but view it so differently. They respect Jerusalem in their own ways, but in each other's eyes each has its own claim over it. The idea of home changes when someone or something threatens or actually manages to take away that idea of safety. I could not imagine what it would feel like if someone threatened the safety of my immediate home, especially by a neighbor or someone that lives within your community.
ReplyDeleteIn theory, all Jerusalemites have commonalities in how they feel about their home. Adding the elements of jurisdiction and control over the city complicate everything.