Journal Response

I listen to music as a way to escape what I have to do in life or to make certain mindless activities more enjoyable. When listening to music I typically do not devote a lot of attention to lyrics. Whether or not a song is enjoyable to listen to is what matters the most. However, there are some exceptions where it is impossible not to appreciate the political or societal observations that some songs subtly unveil through creative lyrics.
Music plays a very unique role in how it influences conflicts. Music seems to generally strengthen the  emotional resolve of one side of a conflict. The counterculture movement of the 1960s is a fitting example of this idea. The hippy movement certainly structured itself around drug use, but also around the new styles of music that really came into being in the 1960s. The 60's freestyle music certainly encouraged disgruntled youths to challenge the highly controversial policies of the U.S. government en masse. The case Jazz musicians of the 1920s and 1930s is similar to that of the 1960s. Jazz's very unreformed, free, and vibrant sound certainly didn't lessen the scofflaw attitude that permeated throughout the speakeasies of prohibition America.
While it is well understood that music can incite social tensions, like that between a government and its citizenry, I am really not sure as to how music affects armed conflicts. I don't know of a conflict where one fighting entity utilized music in its call to arms.
 One famous instance where music wasn't used to lessen a conflict but to encourage the favorability of the United States and its people was during the Cold War when the U.S. sent famous jazz musicians all across the globe. The case of U.S. jazz diplomacy is important to understand because it can help one to develop their expectations regarding musical exchange. Cultural understanding isn't usually about ending conflicts, its about working to see that they are less likely to develop in the future or that they are slightly less intense than they would be without human interaction.
I suspect that in the future the spread of music around the world would more than likely play a small role in lessening political tensions. Conflicts are far too complicated to be erased simply through cultural understanding; having said that I still believe that cultural exchange in all forms is a worthwhile activity.

speaker questions

1. How do you imagine the current Palestinian protests being resolved. Will they simply die down after enough time has passed.

2. What do you see as the reason for increased political violence. What leads to attacks like the one that took place against the Palestinian Arab in Tel Aviv.

3. Why do leaders like Mahmoud Abbas state that they will only negotiate with the Israelis if the construction of settlements is halted. Wouldn't it be better to negotiate no matter what and at least make an attempt to save the future of a Palestinian state.

10th Reading response

I found the video about Jewish rapper Yitz "Y-Love" Jordan to be very unique. While rap music is more than just catchy tunes devised as a way of glorifying the street lifestyle, a black Jew hailing from Brooklyn is the last person that I would expect to be a practicing rap artist. I enjoyed watching the interview and Jordan struck me as a rather interesting person.
Jordan's music didn't strike me as anything that could be branded as political extremism. What lyrics I did hear seemed to simply recite stories from Jewish texts as a way of promoting life lessons and valuable morals. However, I would like to know what negative effects Jewish rap like Jordan's could have on impressionable youth. While I don't see his music as being very threatening from a political standpoint, I can imagine how music that allows for the easier memorization of sacred texts could lead individuals to become more interested in more conservative sects of Judaism. Another possible trend would be for ultra-orthodox who do advocate extremist ideologies to utilize this style of music in order to spread their beliefs that do negatively affect prospects for conflict resolution.

project outline

I will be working on the project with Sophia Pifer. We will make a presentation that focuses on issues associated with West Bank settlers. First, we will provide a basic background of the Gush Emunim movement. The bulk of the presentation will focus on the issue of violence perpetrated by settlers  and the problems that this has caused for the state of Israel and how this affects the future of the peace process. We will also work to explain some of what motivates settler behavior, and what can be done to combat this issue. Our presentation will utilize powerpoint and may include a video.

Sources:

• Social control theory and the connection with ideological offenders among israeli youth during the gaza disengagement period. 

• They shoot prime ministers too, don't they? religious violence in israel: premises, dynamics, and prospects. 

• The causes of vigilante political violence: the case of jewish settlers. 

• Volatile investments and unruly youth in a west bank settlement 

• The Rise of Settler Terrorism 

• I also ordered two books from the library. I don't remember the titles. 

Ninth Reading Response

There was one passage in this reading that grabbed my attention. Daniel Barenboim stated that; "I believe that in cultural matters - with literature and, even better, with music, because it doesn't have to do with explicit ideas - if we foster this kind of a contact, it can only help people feel nearer to each other, and this is all." I like the core idea that this comment presents and what it says about the capabilities of cultural exchange. It would be absurd to expect cultural exchanges to magically erase conflicts that have long existed between communities across the world; that said, I do agree with Barenboim's view that cultural exchange can sometimes lessen the intensity of conflicts. This concept reminds me of a book that I read entitled Cultural Exchange & The Cold War: Raising The Iron Curtain, where author Yale Richmond wrote about the various experiences of both U.S. and Soviet citizens who visited each other's countries throughout the cold war. After finishing the book and seeing how some Soviet leaders who had been responsible for reform in their country had in fact taken part in cultural exchanges with the United States I was convinced that these exchanges did play a small but not unimportant role in cooling U.S.-Soviet relations and the eventual end of the cold war.
I would disagree with two points that Barenboim made. The first would be the notion that only the exchange of literature and music are beneficial in developing cultural understanding. I believe that the same sort of cultural understanding can develop from an exchange of many cultural aspects, such as all art forms, students, artists, and intellectuals. Another point of critique that I have for Barenboim's comment is the idea that the exchange of literature and music doesn't have to do with the exchange of ideas. This is absolutely not true. Music can certainly be used to portray emotions, ideas and beliefs; it is just done in a very abstract way. This is also the case with Literature; a society's literature says a great deal about its values and can teach outsiders about its unique culture.

Journal

As I think about what defines who I am, I come to the realization that we are defined by nearly every aspect of our lives. That said, I do believe that there are some items and concepts that make for more symbolic representations of who I am.

1. Religulous: This movie is an absolute riot. But what makes Religulous such an awesome film is that it is poignant comedy. There is something to be said for jokes that are funny but also raise sincere questions about the human tendency to wholeheartedly accept the validity of religious stories and how these beliefs affect our world. I myself am an atheist; Religulous helps to define who I am in that it touches upon concepts that are similar to those that have led me to not believe in any sort of religious ideology.







2. Pets: My family has always considered having animals to be an important part of life. I've always viewed my dogs as being members of my family. This also applies for many of my relatives as well. I was taught from a young age to respect animals and to value how they can make life more enjoyable.

3. Traveling: There are some who seldom set aside time to travel and enjoy all that the world has to offer. I can gladly say that I was raised in a family that avoided this mistake. As I was growing up my family and I would take a vacation every year. I appreciate that I was given the opportunity to experience the different regions of the United States and become more familiar with each one's distinct geography, food, and culture.                                  
                                                                                   (Yellowstone National Park Donkey)

       















4. The News: As a security and intelligence major I have always been fascinated by world's history and conflicts. News sources and analysis are representative of my desire to better understand our world which is so incredibly dark and beautiful all at the same time.

Eighth Reading Response

It was very interesting learning about the linguistic and cultural divides that existed between the different Jewish communities located in both the Middle East and Europe. Previously, I was under the impression that Jewish people would have spoken the most common language from where they resided and Hebrew (with a few exceptions where Yiddish was preferred). I had never heard of some of the languages that were mentioned in the reading. I am still confused by what exactly is the defined separation between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. I thought that Sephardic Jews were those who hailed from the Iberian peninsula, but apparently Sephardic Jews are also Jewish people whose ancestors lived in North Africa? I would appreciate some clarification regarding this definition. 

Learning more about how Arab Jews dealt with defining their identity would make for an interesting topic to continue researching. I would like to see statistics (if they even exist) showing the breakdown of how may Arab Jews supported the creation of Israel and how many were either opposed or found it to be unnecessary. I could easily see how opinions could develop in both directions. Those who practiced Judaism were certainly in the minority in the Middle East and couldn't possibly be blamed for wanting to have a state of their own in order to achieve a sense of security.On the other hand, I could also understand the opposite opinion. If an individual found his or her Arab identity to be the most important then the creation of a Jewish state wouldn't have been seen as a necessary political development. 

Project Proposal

I would like for my project to be an evaluation of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories. This is a broad topic so there will be a focus on some specific issues. I would like to discuss the increasingly conservative attitudes of the settlers themselves and the reasons behind this development. I would also explain how these settlers affect prospects for peace, how Israel should respond to this issue, and the likelihood that they actually do so.

Seventh Reading Response

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the final chapters of Armstrong's book. While her rundown of Israeli history following its creation was highly abbreviated I thought that it fairly explained the actions and grievances of both sides. Her writing effectively culminated with an explanation of the uptick in violence that occurred in 1995 and how this greatly diminished chances for conflict resolution. The way in which Armstrong's lack of confidence that peace could come about in 1995 closely mirrors the reasons that many experts give today in explaining why even today a peace deal is unlikely to be adopted is particularly telling. This case of history ominously repeating itself allows one to truly understand what a monumental task it is to bring lasting peace to Israel/Palestine. However, I do not believe that a peace deal of some form should not yet be branded an impossibility.
On a much lighter note, I was fascinated by Armstrong's passages about Theodore Herzl. I had never heard that he initially proposed establishing a Jewish state in Uganda of all places. I would be interested to know more about his initial desire, as I cannot think of any advantage to settling in Uganda. His contempt for Jerusalem itself was also surprising. Herzl diverted his attention away from the historical significance of Jerusalem and instead focused on its dilapidated physical state during his visit to the city.
Looking at it as a whole, I can confidently say that I benefited from reading Armstrong's book. I gathered a wealth of knowledge regarding Jerusalem. Like I've said before, I have a pretty solid understanding of the Middle East's conflicts, but I would like to know more about Jerusalem itself. This book was a good starting point.

sixth reading response

It was interesting reading these chapters and looking at how differently the Christian crusaders of 1099 acted as opposed to the army of Saladin when he conquered Jerusalem in 1187. It seems in my mind at least, that when the Christians first conquered Jerusalem, the type of violence that the city had seen before reached a whole new level, as this was the first time that Armstrong made an effort to describe the exploits of a conquering force. The following quote by Raymond of Aguiles is particularly telling:
"It I tell the truth it will exceed your powers of belief. So let it suffice to say this much, at least, that in the Temple and the Porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and the bridle reins. Indeed, it was a just and splendid judgment of God that this place should be filled with the blood of unbelievers since it had suffered so long from their blasphemies."
While this passage is certainly guilty of being hyperbole to some extent, I feel that it is not as much of an exaggeration as one would like to image.
Saladin's willingness to spare the lives of many of Jerusalem's inhabitants is an interesting decision from the tales of military history. While I don't believe that he made this decision out of any real remorse for his adversaries, I do believe that knowing about his decision is valuable in that it breaks free from the traditional narrative of Jerusalem's history. The city hasn't known nothing but savage bloodshed; there have been brief occasions where political cooperation and controlled attitudes have prevailed.