tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9841843803467963552024-03-13T05:21:52.485-07:00Sojourn in JerusalemA record of Brian Barber's residencies in East Jerusalem in 2011 and 2012. The purpose of the stays is to manage research projects in Palestine and Egypt, and to increase Arabic language skills.
Both trips have coincided with major developments in the Middle East, and in the Palestine/Israel relationship in particular.
The blog will likely be an odd mix of posts on the political situation, life/culture in the Old City and broader East Jerusalem, what it's like to be back in school, etc.BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-43754111681270782392012-12-09T09:52:00.002-08:002012-12-09T09:52:27.127-08:00FINALLY (without exclamation mark) the State<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I awoke with anticipation on the humid May morning of 1996 in the home of my host family in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Election results would have been tallied by then and I was hoping that Shimon Peres, who had taken over as Prime Minister of Israel upon Itzhak Rabin's assasination by a right-wing Jewish settler a few months earlier, had won the election for Prime Minister of Israel. My disappointment at discovering that morning that he had lost - to Benjamin Netanyahu of all people - was overshadowed even by the startling reaction to the election result that Fuad, my host father, expressed. How could he possibly be pleased that Netanyahu had won?? My befuddlement betrayed a premature confidence that I was coming to understand the plight of these people that I had committed to come to know, and with whom I was living. </div>
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</a><em>"Why, Fuad, would you be pleased that Netanyahu would now lead Israel?"</em> I was excercized and truly confused<em>."With Netanyahu, we know exactly what we will get",</em> said Fuad matter of factly<em>, "Labor is full of words and fancy promises, but then they hit us just as badly."</em> <br />
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That was a watershed moment for me, teaching me solidly that what may seem utterly logical to an outsider, may in fact be fully discordant with the perspectives of those on the ground. </div>
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That I had learned that lesson well was evidenced recently as I greeted a Palestinian friend the morning after the UN General Assembly vote to upgrade the status of Palestine to include the word "state." Rather than expectant of any jubilation, my question was tinged with cynicism. As she wondered for a half second what I was referring to, she said "Oh, yes, finally." As expected, hers was not an exuberant endorsement, but rather a muted acknowledgement; as if her unquestionable embrace was buried, stifled under layers of weight. </div>
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From the outside, many expected that of all things this achievement would have infused Palestinians with excitement. In fact, only some 2,000 people gathered in Ramallah to celebrate - a relatively small number, but large enough to fill the scope of most camera lenses, thus providing the illusion of masses. </div>
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In Jerusalem, there was no blip in the daily current of activity that I could notice. No parades, no demonstrations, no flags being foisted. At dinner that night, it was only midway through the lively social conversation that the host said, "Oh, we should celebrate that we are a State now." Cynical chuckles followed, and soon enough the conversation was back to the mundane. After resorting to the parlor for tea and fruit, the host put on the TV and panned over the numerous stations that were discussing the state event. None were captivated by it, but shifted attention now and then from unrelated conversations to the pundits' non-stop barrage of commentary. </div>
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Do Palestinians welcome this "pivotal" moment? Certainly yes. But the lived experience is such that the acknowledgment of what in other times would have been welcomed as a grand event competes automatically with a host of other experiences that discount its glamour. One can imagine any one of several sentiments that qualify the exuberance, but the most salient would be: "This will change nothing on the ground."</div>
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In short, decades of experience have taught that the vice of the occupation doesn't expand to release its grip, but only contracts, and that won't change "state" or no state. Indeed, it seems worst of all in Jerusalem (and Hebron) where our fresh research results are showing that it is there where Palestinians feel the worst of the demeaning crunch of the occupation. </div>
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All that said . . . as I was making my way down from Mt. Scopus through the valley of Sheikh Jarrah the next day, I looked up for some reason at the bent and rusting sign that in a different day had advertised the grand hotel that would be built there (only to have the land rezoned, leaving it as an empty lot between the main Nablus road and the Jewish settlement ensconced just lower in the valley). </div>
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At first I thought the yellow placard affixed to the crumbling sign was original, until I read it. Zeal or not, the political machinery was already in the works.</div>
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BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-5506753082037964822012-12-08T23:42:00.000-08:002012-12-09T08:46:17.460-08:00Ever the Bibi . . . . No Truce for MeSome features of the recent Israeli assasination of Hamas official Ahmed Al-Jabiri - which, if not the real spark of the bombardment of Gaza it was certainly the most provocative turn in the cycle of escalting violence - are not all that explosive afterall. That is, political assasinations have been common fare here for decades, espcially of Gazans. Also, the method - a missile fired remotely from a buzzing person-less drone - is now becoming an ubiqitous tactic for obliterating opponent leaders (by Israel and now the United States). <br />
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But the timing . . . <br />
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Al-Jabiri was a former Fatah loyalist who turned to Hamas during his pre-First Intifada imprisonment by Israel; after his release he rose eventually to chief of staff of Hamas' military wing. <br />
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According to persistent reports here from insiders, Al-Jabiri was actually in active negotiation with Israel for a long-term truce when he was terminated. <br />
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Sound familiar? <br />
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See this excerpt from Paul McGeough's gripping account of the botched Mossad assasination in 1997 in Amman of Khalid Mishal (who thereafter rose to lead Hamas political bureau) <em>(Kill Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assasination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas</em>, 2009, The New Press; It would be better billed as a compelling, detailed history of Middle East politics from the 1980s to 2007). <br />
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The Israeli Prime Minister giving the orders? . . . Benjamin Netanyahu, in his first iteration. <br />
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<em>". . . just three days before, King Hussein had personally conveyed a message to Prime Minister Netanyahu saying that Hamas was prepared to discuss a halt to the attacks on Israel in the context of a thirty-year truce. Now Israel, the American ally that had urged Washington to lock Hamas out in the cold because of its reliance on terror as a weapon, was admitting it had engaged in its own state-sanctioned terrorism against Hamas - but on the home turf of another loyal U.S. ally, Jordan. It was inconceivable."</em> (p. 146)<br />
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<br />BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-68945530996936022452012-11-23T03:09:00.001-08:002012-11-23T03:09:06.297-08:00Sojourn in Jerusalem: An Absent Enemy<a href="http://bkb-jerusalem.blogspot.com/2012/11/an-absent-enemy.html?spref=bl">Sojourn in Jerusalem: An Absent Enemy</a>: Yesterday, the first day of the ceasefire from 8 days of intensive fighting, I went to the Educational Bookshop (see upcoming post) to sur...BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-13334771947678021932012-11-23T02:37:00.000-08:002012-11-23T02:37:12.307-08:00An Absent Enemy<br />
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As expected the front page was packed with stories about the conflict and ceasefire, including 5 articles whose extensions occupied most of page 10 as well. Using the word "terrorist" instead of Palestinian is common in the JP during times of confrontation, and thus it was not surprising to see the repeated use of the T word, and virtually no use of the P word in the articles. What was unexpected, however, was the complete absence of any mention of casualties among the enemy in Gaza - except for noting that the army succeeded in killing 30 of Hamas' leaders. <br />
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- 1,500 targets hit in Gaza<br />
- 1,500 rockets fired at Israel from Gaza; 84% intercepted by Iron Dome<br />
- 5 Israelis killed, 240 injured<br />
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Absent from the tallies: any mention - in any article - of the 160+ deaths and hundreds of injuries among Palestinians. <br />
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BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-76306281694335945982012-11-18T11:15:00.002-08:002012-11-18T11:40:48.391-08:00LONG LIVE GAZA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was a mixed feeling yesterday to encounter the new graffiti on the sidewalk and wall near my apartment: on the one hand, nice to be able to read it (the training is paying off); on the other, deeply sad to be reminded of the trouble in Gaza. That is a place where I've spent much of my life; where I learned real lessons on life and humanity, and where I have many dear friends. </div>
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Now is not the time to go to Gaza. There is no need to take the risk. Fortunately, I've been able to reach many of my friends by phone. <br />
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I reached Mohammed on Friday; he, the patriarch of the family I live most with in those years in the late 1990s, between the two intifadas. His voice was strong and resolute as always, but he confirmed that bombs had fallen that day nearby the Maghazi Camp where his home is, in the middle portion of the Strip.<br />
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Later I reached Ahmed, his nephew, who I befriended back then when he was a teen and have become like a father to him. His fear is always more apparent, and he kept repeating how bad things were. He clarified that the bombing was much closer than I thought. I learned later from the news that 3 had been targeted and killed in that bombing. Later that night, while messaging on Facebook, more bombs were falling. <br />
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Yesterday, Mahmoud's phone was dead all morning. I finally reached him in the afternoon, just as he was approaching his home north of Gaza City to inspect the damage. Mahmoud, a NGO official, dear friend, and key advisor to our research project, proudly toured me through that home two years ago. He had saved the resources to finally move his family of 9 out of the urban cramp of Gaza City to this very nice home on the north side of the Sha'ti refugee camp that abuts Gaza City to the north. Likely in an attempt to destroy any rocket launching pads, the empty field next to his home had been bombed, pulverizing all of the windows and doors of the home. He lives now with the in-laws of his daughter. <br />
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I reached Hammam in Khan Yunis, the southern part of the Strip, and was able to talk to most of his family. They were the first family I lived with back in 1998. The call was interrupted by bomb blasts. Hani, his next youngest brother, got on the line as said he witnessed the blast just as he was coming home. None knew how long the assault would last, or if and when the IDF would bring in ground troops. <br />
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The variety of predictions of the timing or reach of any escalation reveals just how precarious and unpredictable the situation is. This is made all the more onerous, when, as Mohammed said, "We still haven't recovered from the last war." - referring to the punishing assault on Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009. <br />
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Lastly, yesterday, Khalil returned my call. He'd just finished a meeting with other human rights leaders who met to determine ways to let the outside world know of the utter gravity of their situation.<br />
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I've not been able to reach Hussam or Eyad.<br />
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BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-52839056462498010362012-11-17T11:44:00.000-08:002012-11-17T11:44:59.537-08:00Chapter 2Such a pleasure to back in Jerusalem for some weeks to headquarter to manage the two research projects and continue the Arabic training. I'll complete some drafted messages from last year and post some new ones. Grimly, the first will be of the nightmare in Gaza.BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-54488545882462545262011-11-12T09:48:00.000-08:002011-11-14T06:15:52.378-08:00The Aroma - Rich, Robust, and EnduringOne of the first sensations when entering the Old City is the assault of a delicious and complex mix of aromas - made up of dozens of fragrances. Here are some of the sources: <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a3_lWvDOPsc/Tr66Pgo8OBI/AAAAAAAAOPs/ngK2z_VJUyQ/s1600/Ramallah%2BSept%2B2010%2B%252838%2529.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a3_lWvDOPsc/Tr66Pgo8OBI/AAAAAAAAOPs/ngK2z_VJUyQ/s400/Ramallah%2BSept%2B2010%2B%252838%2529.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674177356155861010" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUx1-6C9rj4/Tr66PA8Ic1I/AAAAAAAAOPg/AB5OBydGw7g/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B084.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUx1-6C9rj4/Tr66PA8Ic1I/AAAAAAAAOPg/AB5OBydGw7g/s400/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B084.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674177347646419794" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-QDdogmV8M/Tr66OeUclLI/AAAAAAAAOPU/Mi_3mlfc0DA/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B055.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-QDdogmV8M/Tr66OeUclLI/AAAAAAAAOPU/Mi_3mlfc0DA/s400/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B055.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674177338353161394" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_iAPFLjzgQU/Tr66OMtgMHI/AAAAAAAAOPI/_tbDqJdUiZc/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B056.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_iAPFLjzgQU/Tr66OMtgMHI/AAAAAAAAOPI/_tbDqJdUiZc/s400/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B056.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674177333626417266" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lr-h8q4CLAI/TsEhljrsXkI/AAAAAAAAOQE/9bc2Nl8SNI4/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B094.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lr-h8q4CLAI/TsEhljrsXkI/AAAAAAAAOQE/9bc2Nl8SNI4/s400/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B094.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674853934580915778" /></a>BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-63908342038184490222011-11-11T08:41:00.000-08:002011-11-14T06:46:08.097-08:00Back in the Classroom<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Otmzx4V7eUc/TsEnuIVYyJI/AAAAAAAAORA/0tufNKwGLSk/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B096.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Otmzx4V7eUc/TsEnuIVYyJI/AAAAAAAAORA/0tufNKwGLSk/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B096.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674860678928189586" /></a><br />The Center for Jerusalem Studies partners with Al Quds University for the Arabic language training and a Masters degree in Jerusalem Studies. Since I placed between Level 1 and Level 2 for spoken Arabic (local dialect), I'm taking both classes. Ameera is the instructor of both. Then I take introductory Modern Standard Arabic (reading/writing) with Ayman.<br /><br />Entrance to the school is from the Old Cotton Market, now used as a bazarre.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--MAnqUdv7Ug/Tr1TS9A53LI/AAAAAAAAOK4/aDQyzR7vqQE/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B023.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--MAnqUdv7Ug/Tr1TS9A53LI/AAAAAAAAOK4/aDQyzR7vqQE/s320/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B023.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673782690637798578" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a9AtUvJdLJk/Tr1R7cVuYOI/AAAAAAAAOJs/LCd1ljEr2tU/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B007.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a9AtUvJdLJk/Tr1R7cVuYOI/AAAAAAAAOJs/LCd1ljEr2tU/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B007.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673781187218137314" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l5XqNpnQB4s/Tr1VfbPWdyI/AAAAAAAAOLc/VTH_x8XWAN8/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B018.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l5XqNpnQB4s/Tr1VfbPWdyI/AAAAAAAAOLc/VTH_x8XWAN8/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B018.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673785103933142818" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FkY_1V1GAJ8/Tr1VgqiC7qI/AAAAAAAAOL0/NciRQu4tbBY/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B005.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FkY_1V1GAJ8/Tr1VgqiC7qI/AAAAAAAAOL0/NciRQu4tbBY/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673785125217955490" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MHLcYGmcMWw/Tr1VgM6nWEI/AAAAAAAAOLo/AVLZ-E5KCP0/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B028.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MHLcYGmcMWw/Tr1VgM6nWEI/AAAAAAAAOLo/AVLZ-E5KCP0/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B028.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673785117267941442" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sln1-owAZo0/Tr1VfKIywqI/AAAAAAAAOLQ/ZhDr2l-grgI/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B016.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sln1-owAZo0/Tr1VfKIywqI/AAAAAAAAOLQ/ZhDr2l-grgI/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B016.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673785099342234274" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EfXb8YDf8PI/Tr1VejUCmXI/AAAAAAAAOLE/p_0NE9o6gBw/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B021.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EfXb8YDf8PI/Tr1VejUCmXI/AAAAAAAAOLE/p_0NE9o6gBw/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B021.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673785088920426866" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXeC8056eis/Tr1R6vhP6mI/AAAAAAAAOJk/EkFUYFAAdeU/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B004.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXeC8056eis/Tr1R6vhP6mI/AAAAAAAAOJk/EkFUYFAAdeU/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B004.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673781175186877026" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N5C8GAn-w9Y/Tr1R56TmLjI/AAAAAAAAOJU/8hpHBzfcgjo/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B006.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N5C8GAn-w9Y/Tr1R56TmLjI/AAAAAAAAOJU/8hpHBzfcgjo/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B006.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673781160902536754" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EP-x2Onollo/Tr1R5kp5JDI/AAAAAAAAOJI/lgqsIiqn01k/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B001.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EP-x2Onollo/Tr1R5kp5JDI/AAAAAAAAOJI/lgqsIiqn01k/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673781155090474034" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CsZaSKwtZgM/Tr1S30sJLWI/AAAAAAAAOKU/0-hnI8IwRsY/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B022.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CsZaSKwtZgM/Tr1S30sJLWI/AAAAAAAAOKU/0-hnI8IwRsY/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B022.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673782224546770274" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7E2T9Z1vkbI/Tr1S3XvZfTI/AAAAAAAAOKI/NKzXTQgWC6Q/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B002.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7E2T9Z1vkbI/Tr1S3XvZfTI/AAAAAAAAOKI/NKzXTQgWC6Q/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673782216775793970" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cyjz3X7Sd-s/Tr1R7vuts2I/AAAAAAAAOJ0/cES0OrZ-Fyo/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B020.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cyjz3X7Sd-s/Tr1R7vuts2I/AAAAAAAAOJ0/cES0OrZ-Fyo/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B020.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673781192423224162" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-mJA6HuEHo/TsEjicKkVKI/AAAAAAAAOQ0/Qwe9x8ctnB4/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B100.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-mJA6HuEHo/TsEjicKkVKI/AAAAAAAAOQ0/Qwe9x8ctnB4/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B100.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674856080046576802" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dTcnylh1B10/TsEjhbc63LI/AAAAAAAAOQs/OOf807x0G0I/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B098.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dTcnylh1B10/TsEjhbc63LI/AAAAAAAAOQs/OOf807x0G0I/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B098.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674856062675246258" /></a>BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-5848551616164531612011-11-11T07:32:00.000-08:002011-11-12T09:38:17.134-08:00Al A'elat RestaurantOn one of the first nights here I went in search of food and Abed, the owner/manager of Al A'elat Restaurant ("Family Restaurant") was particularly friendly and immediately agreed to speak only Arabic to me to help my learning, even though he speaks perfect English (and French). Seeing how slow business typically is in the Old City I privately committed to frequent this one restaurant as a means of making a contribution, at least to one family. Grilled chicken and rice, with a varying coupling of salads has become the staple. Most often I am the only client there, but it was pleasing to see the restaurant full once during this holiday week. <br /><br />(As you enter Damascus Gate and come to the fork, take the right leg (Khan Elzait Str) and you'll find the restaurant up on the left just before getting to the Via Dolorosa. Number 77)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8zrDZp9-MM8/Tr1EEKgszKI/AAAAAAAAOGo/sWwjkDB5dKU/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B039.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8zrDZp9-MM8/Tr1EEKgszKI/AAAAAAAAOGo/sWwjkDB5dKU/s320/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B039.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673765943888366754" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ip7qOWfzt_Y/Tr1DoT27W0I/AAAAAAAAOGc/7oSrvlxaYDQ/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B052.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ip7qOWfzt_Y/Tr1DoT27W0I/AAAAAAAAOGc/7oSrvlxaYDQ/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B052.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673765465361177410" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4YEs_L21hDc/Tr1Cm1KttKI/AAAAAAAAOFU/gYuVYt2QdNA/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B040.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4YEs_L21hDc/Tr1Cm1KttKI/AAAAAAAAOFU/gYuVYt2QdNA/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B040.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673764340431172770" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6B8vHBx0fjI/Tr1CnyAWFuI/AAAAAAAAOFs/CcM9-Na8cOc/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B042.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6B8vHBx0fjI/Tr1CnyAWFuI/AAAAAAAAOFs/CcM9-Na8cOc/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B042.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673764356762244834" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A_2Vws36ZGw/Tr1CnVCUc7I/AAAAAAAAOFg/qQbhcbZhoT4/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B041.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A_2Vws36ZGw/Tr1CnVCUc7I/AAAAAAAAOFg/qQbhcbZhoT4/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B041.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673764348985897906" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-El5KV4y6kVk/Tr1DoEjAoGI/AAAAAAAAOGQ/rT_RjYrM5Ng/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B050.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-El5KV4y6kVk/Tr1DoEjAoGI/AAAAAAAAOGQ/rT_RjYrM5Ng/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B050.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673765461251104866" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5KbwBewqzSM/Tr1DnD3SFKI/AAAAAAAAOGE/IdW0cLGChfg/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B038.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5KbwBewqzSM/Tr1DnD3SFKI/AAAAAAAAOGE/IdW0cLGChfg/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B038.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673765443887830178" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--ag1fQbK1pg/Tr1Dm8J4KHI/AAAAAAAAOF4/hXMcdqIBbiE/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B051.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--ag1fQbK1pg/Tr1Dm8J4KHI/AAAAAAAAOF4/hXMcdqIBbiE/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B051.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673765441818339442" /></a>BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-47825800798428185812011-11-11T00:51:00.000-08:002011-11-12T09:33:05.867-08:00Breads/SweetsAnd there are the breads - all kinds and shapes, sweet and savory - made multiple times per day in any number of basement bakeries.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Esn7uJe07MQ/Tr1KAiAhwgI/AAAAAAAAOIc/NC7WF6-jQ80/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B064.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Esn7uJe07MQ/Tr1KAiAhwgI/AAAAAAAAOIc/NC7WF6-jQ80/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B064.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673772478546166274" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9zrbtomdrsY/Tr1KAbxlwYI/AAAAAAAAOII/SlDC-mFc_2Q/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B059.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9zrbtomdrsY/Tr1KAbxlwYI/AAAAAAAAOII/SlDC-mFc_2Q/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B059.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673772476872900994" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9HTMvszeX0M/Tr1J-_Ac-TI/AAAAAAAAOIA/uo6JrcsWIE4/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B058.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9HTMvszeX0M/Tr1J-_Ac-TI/AAAAAAAAOIA/uo6JrcsWIE4/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B058.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673772451970742578" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iGWySJjiRDY/TrzjOig1qcI/AAAAAAAAOFA/23t9q2kIDtY/s1600/Picture%2B077.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iGWySJjiRDY/TrzjOig1qcI/AAAAAAAAOFA/23t9q2kIDtY/s200/Picture%2B077.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673659469502196162" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kddy87CNtMA/TrzjOCcAbnI/AAAAAAAAOEw/ei7bhmOt0io/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BWall%2BSept%2B30%2B2011%2B070.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kddy87CNtMA/TrzjOCcAbnI/AAAAAAAAOEw/ei7bhmOt0io/s200/Old%2BCity%2BWall%2BSept%2B30%2B2011%2B070.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673659460891995762" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yDANPTYRRzQ/TrzjNl9Y_DI/AAAAAAAAOEk/agI8P-TD_LQ/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B029.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yDANPTYRRzQ/TrzjNl9Y_DI/AAAAAAAAOEk/agI8P-TD_LQ/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B029.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673659453247388722" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YtUMqvtkioU/Tr1KB3-NJVI/AAAAAAAAOIs/OgBFnZ60-GI/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B054.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YtUMqvtkioU/Tr1KB3-NJVI/AAAAAAAAOIs/OgBFnZ60-GI/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B054.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673772501621876050" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0XJSw7goaF0/Tr1KBrNoPOI/AAAAAAAAOIk/390i6KiMrTw/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B053.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0XJSw7goaF0/Tr1KBrNoPOI/AAAAAAAAOIk/390i6KiMrTw/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B053.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673772498196905186" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wADnWpWkeLY/Tr6tkClV-dI/AAAAAAAAONc/6lzlbxaFjNw/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B075.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wADnWpWkeLY/Tr6tkClV-dI/AAAAAAAAONc/6lzlbxaFjNw/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B075.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674163415213799890" /></a>BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-65538921278233564192011-11-11T00:07:00.000-08:002011-11-12T09:25:16.745-08:00FreshOne of the great pleasures of living in E. Jerusalem - especially the Old City - is the abundance of fresh foods that is everywhere available as one walks the main streets or alleys. I walk by all of the stands below on a daily basis.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7o3qI4X7yLI/Tr1HyHHlW6I/AAAAAAAAOHk/ysx7ITGWFd0/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B066.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7o3qI4X7yLI/Tr1HyHHlW6I/AAAAAAAAOHk/ysx7ITGWFd0/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B066.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673770031786580898" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xoA3mceOS24/Tr1HxpIlGcI/AAAAAAAAOHY/NyF_UiE4HYw/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B065.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xoA3mceOS24/Tr1HxpIlGcI/AAAAAAAAOHY/NyF_UiE4HYw/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B065.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673770023737694658" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wmXtgyyVF8A/Tr1HwTXGEbI/AAAAAAAAOHM/92h16D5_ZUI/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B062.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wmXtgyyVF8A/Tr1HwTXGEbI/AAAAAAAAOHM/92h16D5_ZUI/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B062.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673770000713126322" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-40bD1rzruqY/Tr1Hv8CxK0I/AAAAAAAAOHA/-GQjoKHz2TI/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B061.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-40bD1rzruqY/Tr1Hv8CxK0I/AAAAAAAAOHA/-GQjoKHz2TI/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B061.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673769994453855042" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KMwHQ_Jqd4E/Tr1HvvBSnlI/AAAAAAAAOG0/9eaBwed6PRc/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B060.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KMwHQ_Jqd4E/Tr1HvvBSnlI/AAAAAAAAOG0/9eaBwed6PRc/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B060.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673769990957997650" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HBpXkhbAo-8/Trzhif0s13I/AAAAAAAAOEA/eTc9x1k3_s8/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BWall%2BSept%2B30%2B2011%2B055.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HBpXkhbAo-8/Trzhif0s13I/AAAAAAAAOEA/eTc9x1k3_s8/s200/Old%2BCity%2BWall%2BSept%2B30%2B2011%2B055.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673657613354325874" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hJbZJk45Y1o/Tr1IOslMw_I/AAAAAAAAOH0/PsVJ_oM7RZM/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B063.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hJbZJk45Y1o/Tr1IOslMw_I/AAAAAAAAOH0/PsVJ_oM7RZM/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B063.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673770522879247346" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VzamO8W8pYE/Tr6rs_QuwNI/AAAAAAAAOM8/1eraiE-Msz4/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B074.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VzamO8W8pYE/Tr6rs_QuwNI/AAAAAAAAOM8/1eraiE-Msz4/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B074.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674161369917604050" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SyJnhtYxP64/Tr6rsVm6j3I/AAAAAAAAOMs/9QFL5tlU81U/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B073.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SyJnhtYxP64/Tr6rsVm6j3I/AAAAAAAAOMs/9QFL5tlU81U/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B073.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674161358736363378" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wNh0l1BgSKw/Tr6rrR3uAKI/AAAAAAAAOMk/rhyrpNjqsHI/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B072.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wNh0l1BgSKw/Tr6rrR3uAKI/AAAAAAAAOMk/rhyrpNjqsHI/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B072.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674161340553232546" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uxpk67V_0gI/Tr6rrLVHA1I/AAAAAAAAOMU/P68lzU32dgs/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B070.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uxpk67V_0gI/Tr6rrLVHA1I/AAAAAAAAOMU/P68lzU32dgs/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B070.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674161338797458258" /></a>BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-88559973667174203012011-10-23T22:49:00.000-07:002011-11-12T09:12:05.958-08:00Ain't No Mice in the Old City<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1M23MpkxPoI/Tr6ovg2SG3I/AAAAAAAAOMI/9QiSwmIOz2o/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B069.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1M23MpkxPoI/Tr6ovg2SG3I/AAAAAAAAOMI/9QiSwmIOz2o/s200/Old%2BCity%2BNov%2B2011%2B069.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674158114758335346" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AnynFf6hqIA/TqT-_SUT_DI/AAAAAAAAN-Q/rIANaTaQ1e0/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B003.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AnynFf6hqIA/TqT-_SUT_DI/AAAAAAAAN-Q/rIANaTaQ1e0/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B003.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666934594341174322" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8tEcywjtg5A/TqT_uw-awaI/AAAAAAAAN-o/1pQgYoJbk9c/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B051.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8tEcywjtg5A/TqT_uw-awaI/AAAAAAAAN-o/1pQgYoJbk9c/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B051.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666935410024694178" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1-oe5Z3PLWA/TqT_TBme8GI/AAAAAAAAN-c/45GZlRxek2Q/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B001.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1-oe5Z3PLWA/TqT_TBme8GI/AAAAAAAAN-c/45GZlRxek2Q/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666934933451370594" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUJF9-k3hq4/TqT-p8cz2KI/AAAAAAAAN-E/vICGz8bJF8o/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B047.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUJF9-k3hq4/TqT-p8cz2KI/AAAAAAAAN-E/vICGz8bJF8o/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B047.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666934227693983906" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QcPLSAtaek/TqT9-u9A2BI/AAAAAAAAN94/cf_7fUuit7g/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B002.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QcPLSAtaek/TqT9-u9A2BI/AAAAAAAAN94/cf_7fUuit7g/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666933485336582162" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AViCO7gEhIY/TqT9k0ij4HI/AAAAAAAAN9s/lwXMpyy0zr4/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B046.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AViCO7gEhIY/TqT9k0ij4HI/AAAAAAAAN9s/lwXMpyy0zr4/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B046.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666933040159645810" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MtM0rqv6Pio/TqT9HechbiI/AAAAAAAAN9g/ypxnW6NucPM/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B041.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MtM0rqv6Pio/TqT9HechbiI/AAAAAAAAN9g/ypxnW6NucPM/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B041.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666932536012533282" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RQ-lAt4DL6Q/TqUAHRD3qVI/AAAAAAAAN-0/1R_P7roMRkQ/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B057.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RQ-lAt4DL6Q/TqUAHRD3qVI/AAAAAAAAN-0/1R_P7roMRkQ/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B057.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666935830954355026" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YC2z41BOvSM/TqUDFTZqOfI/AAAAAAAAN_M/XuRYteI7nQY/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B056.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YC2z41BOvSM/TqUDFTZqOfI/AAAAAAAAN_M/XuRYteI7nQY/s200/Old%2BCity%2BOct%2B21%2B2011%2B056.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666939095757765106" /></a>BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-48473098078779423512011-10-09T11:26:00.001-07:002012-12-09T08:55:31.909-08:00The Other SideThere are more drastic dysjunctures between Palestinan experience and Israeli/Jewish experience, but tonight's was a view I haven't witnessed before so directly. <br />
<br />
Just outside the Jaffa Gate of the Old City, a broad, beautiful set of stone steps leads down to the dazzling new Mamilla Street mall in West Jerusalem. From the top of the steps one peers directly down into the beginning of the long corridor that is flanked by swanky, brilliant, elegant shops and restaurants and cafes of all kinds. The mall runs a good 200 yards or more, taking just a slight curve to the left. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4a46FoeSZBo/UMTB6SIjhiI/AAAAAAAAPYs/Yg0W19_Pwe8/s1600/new+pics+013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4a46FoeSZBo/UMTB6SIjhiI/AAAAAAAAPYs/Yg0W19_Pwe8/s320/new+pics+013.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I had gone once before to use the ATM at the end of the mall. As I stepped down to do the same tonight I thought I recognized off to the left a waiter from the hotel I often stay at here. He was sitting on the top rim of the staircase, smoking a cigarette. When I returned some 15 minutes later, he was still there, so I approached to confirm it was him and to use the chance to practice Arabic. He was friendly as usual, but downcast. I asked what he was doing, thinking he'd say he's waiting for a friend. "I'm just looking at the other side," he said, meaning how the other side lives. He was peering into a world that was as far as could be from the poor village of Ram he lives in, near the vexing Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah. <br />
<br />
There was nothing physically stopping him from going into the mall, but I'd really only seen a couple of Palestinians in the busy corridor amongs the crowd of Israelis of all ages and dress enjoying a supremely comfortable, warm evening. It was clear, however, that there was in fact a border there, at least for Adnan. <br />
<br />
Given where he lives - north of the city - it's noteworthy that he would have come here; it was certainly not on his way home. Perhaps he came, just as the others had, to enjoy the late summer evening. But, he sat as if looking across a forbidding border and the pleasantness of his evening seemed stained with loneliness, sadness and bitterness. <br />
<br />
In front of us on the steps sat a group of young people with matching t-shirts with Hebrew lettering on the back. I asked Adnan who they were. "Settlers", he said cynically.BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-54757699366945458872011-10-01T23:28:00.000-07:002011-10-02T11:10:14.912-07:00SSM: Jerusalem is the WorldThe back of the dust jacket of Simon Sebag Montefiore's volume reads: "The Story of Jerusalem is the Story of the World", and his preface tries to explicate Jerusalem's centrality in the minds and histories of peoples - and, importantly, how fungible its facts are. <br /><br />Here are some key excerpts from the preface to illustrate his basic orientations that shape the approach and content of the volume to follow. <br /><em>(All typos are mine, and you'll see which words I had to look up!)</em>: <br /><br />- The history of Jerusalem is the history of the world, but it is also the chronicle of an often penurious <em>[BKB: destitute, inadequately supplied]</em> provincial town . . . once regarded as the centre of the world and today that is more true than ever: the city is the focus of the struggle between the Abrahamic religions, the shrine for increasingly popular Christian, Jewish and Islamic fundamentalism, the strategic battlefield of clashing civilizations, the front line between atheism and faith, the cynosure <em>[BKB: attracts attention by its brilliance; serving as guidance, direction]</em> of secualr fascination, the object of giddy conspiracism and internet myth-making, and the illuminated stage for the cameras of the world in the age of twenty-four hour news." (xvii) <br /><br />- Jerusalem is the Holy City, yet it has always been a den of superstition, charlatanism and bigotry; the desire and prize of empires, yet of no strategic value . . . This is a place of such delicacy that it is described in Jewish scared literature in the feminine - always a sensual woman, always a beauty, but sometimes a shameless harlot, sometimes a wounded princess whose lovers have forsaken her . . . she is the only city to live twice - in heaven and on earth. (xvii)<br /><br />- The Abrahamic religions were born there and the world will also end there on the Day of Judgement . . . Jerusalem, sacred to the Peoples of the Book, <em>is</em> the city of the Book: the Bible is, in many ways, Jerusalem's own chronicle and its readers, from the Jews and early Christians via the Muslim conquerors and the Crusaders to today's American evangelists, have repeatedly altered her history to fulfill biblical prophecy. (xvii-xviii)<br /><br />- . . . the city that belongs to no one and exists for everyone in their imagination. And this is the city's tragedy as well as her magic: every dreamer of Jerusalem, every visitor in all ages from Jesus' Apostles to Saladin's soldiers, from Victorian pilgrims to today's tourists and journalists, arrives with a vision of the authentic Jerusalem and then is bitterly disappointed by what they find, an ever-changing city that has thrived and shrunk, been rebuilt and destroyed many times. (xviii)<br /><br />- We must also answer the question: of all the places in the world, why Jerusalem? The site was remote from the trade routes of the Meidterranean coasts; it was short of water, baked in the summer sun, chilled by winter winds; its jagged rocks blistered and inhospitable . . . the sanctity became ever more intense because she had been holy for so long . . . Nothing makes a place holier than the competition of another religion. (xviii-xix).<br /><br />- There was surely scant prospect that David's little citadel, capital of a small kingdom, would become the world's cyonosure. Ironically it was Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of Jerusalem that created the template for holiness because that catastrophe led the Jews to record and acclaim the glories of Zion. (xx)<br /><br />- The sanctity of the city grew out of the exceptionalism of the Jews as the Chosen People. Jerusalem became the Chosen City, Palestine the Chosen Land, and this exceptionalism was inherited and embraced by the Christians and the Muslims . . . Since then, the tragic narrative of the Palestinians, with Jerusalem as their lost Holy City, has altered the perception of Israel. (xx)<br /><br />- There are not just two sides in Jerusalem but many interlinked, overlapping cultures and layered loyalties - a multi-faceted, mutating kaleidoscope of Arab Orthodox, Arab Muslims, Sephardic Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, Haredi Jews of legion courts, secular Jews, Armenian Orthodox, Georgians, Serbs, Russians, Copts, Protestants, Ethiopians, Latins and so on. (xx)<br /><br />- Whenever Jerusalem has seemed most forgotten and irrelevant, it was often the bibliolatry, the devoted study of biblical truth by people in faraway lands - whether in Mecca, Moscow, Massachusetts - who projected their faith back on to Jerusalem. (xxi)<br /><br />- Jerusalem has a way of disappointing and tormenting both conquerors and visitors. The contrast between the real and heavenly cities is so excruciating that a hundred patients a year are committed to the city's asylum, suffering from Jerusalem Syndrome, a madness of anticipation, disappointment and delusion. But Jerusalem Syndrome is political too: Jerusalem defies sense, practical politics and strategy, existing in the realm of ravenous passions and invincible emotions, impermeable to reason. (xxi)<br /><br />- The city's past is often imaginary. Virtually every stone once stood in the long-forgotten temple of another faith, the victory arch of another empire. Most, but not all, conquests have been accompanied by the instinct to expunge the taint of other faiths while commandeering their traditions, stories, sites. There has been much destruction, but more often the conquerors have not destroyed what came before but reused and added to it. (xxi)<br /><br />- 'In Jerusalem, don't ask me the history of facts,' says the eminent Palestinian historian Dr Nazmi al-Jubeh. 'Take away the fiction and there's nothing left.' Hisotry is so pungently powerful here that it is repeatedly distorted: archaeology is itself a historical force and archaeologists have at times wielded as much power as soldiers, recruited to appropriate the past for the present . . . But there are facts and this book aims to tell them, however unpalatable to one side or the other. (xxii)<br /><br />- There are centuries of Jerusalem's history when little is known and everything is controversial. Being Jerusalem, the academic and archaeological debates are always venomous and sometimes violent, even leading to riots and fighting. Events in the last half-century are so controversial that there are many versions of them. In the early perod, historians, archaeologists and cranks alike have squeezed, moulded and manhandled the very few sources available to fit every possible theory which they have then advocated with all the confidence of absolute certainty. (xxiii-xxiv)<br /><br />- Much later . . . [Edward] Said, a Palestinian Christian born in Jerusalem who became a literary professor at Columbia Univeristy in New York and an original political voice in the world of Palestinian nationalism, argued that the 'subtle and persistent Eurocentric prejudice against Arabo-Islamic peoples and their culture', particularly among nineteenth-centruy travellers such as Chateaubriand, Melville and Twain, had diminshed Arab culture and justified imperialism. However, Said's own work inspired some of his acolyties to try to airbrush these Western intruders out of the history: this is absurd. It is true, however, that these visitors saw and understood little of the real life of Arab and Jewish Jerusalem . . . the historian of Jerusalem must show the dominating influence of Western romantic-imperial culture towards the city because it explains why the Middle East so mattered to the Great Powers. (xxiv-xxv)<br /><br />- To return to where we started, there have always beeen two Jerusalems, the temporal and the celestial, both ruled more by faith and emotion than by reason and facts. And Jerusalem remains the centre of the world. (xxv-xxxvi)BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-74915148411398720632011-09-28T10:46:00.000-07:002011-10-03T05:15:15.988-07:00The Pad"Just go to the brown door," instructed Naim, my landlord, when I phoned him last week telling of my readiness to move into the main floor apartment in his home in the Christian Quarter of the Old City. I had been before, a few months ago, and, eventually, I did find the brown door.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lHELR5b77mM/ToNe8aEoPdI/AAAAAAAAN4Q/jrZ9otuaPHI/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B001.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lHELR5b77mM/ToNe8aEoPdI/AAAAAAAAN4Q/jrZ9otuaPHI/s200/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657469948791373266" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-knfTqyBFs_k/ToNfV_AWrJI/AAAAAAAAN4Y/mIcs8trPzQQ/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B002.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-knfTqyBFs_k/ToNfV_AWrJI/AAAAAAAAN4Y/mIcs8trPzQQ/s200/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657470388202286226" /></a>Naim remembers coming to this now-150-year old home of his grandmother with his seven siblings and parents in 1948 - needing to vacate their own home a few miles away in what had become, by virtue of the war, territory that the new State of Israel controlled. The Old City, despite repeated attempts of Jewish forces to take it prior to and during the war, remained under Jordanian control. Now, it's status is as vague as Jerusalem is complicated. (More to come on that complexity)<br /><br />There are three apartments in the home - the one I'm renting on the entry level, and two upstairs - Naim's, and another one waiting to be rented. All open on to a central, interior courtyard - small, but a lovely enclosure that is cool, relatively quiet, and beautiful, thanks to Naim's restorations down to the original stone. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JY4VA1Cb8C8/Tob2IMZzikI/AAAAAAAAN4k/nkBx_WAzWKI/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B002.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JY4VA1Cb8C8/Tob2IMZzikI/AAAAAAAAN4k/nkBx_WAzWKI/s200/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658480602466454082" /></a><br /><br />This is the bench that I do my morning reading on (see Montefiore book on the bench). It's especially quiet in the early hours of the morning and til now the weather is perfect. The fountain has a couple of goldfish in it, but Naim says he's going to take them out - too much work caring for them. Windows to my apartment are behind the bench. <br /><br /><br /><br />Then looking straight across from the bench is the narrow kitchen and bathroom on the right and the entry door (the "brown" one from the outside)and the entry hall.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0Trx4oaYYI/TomlBNRxAyI/AAAAAAAAN7c/TpUIFVPunGg/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BWall%2BSept%2B30%2B2011.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0Trx4oaYYI/TomlBNRxAyI/AAAAAAAAN7c/TpUIFVPunGg/s200/Old%2BCity%2BWall%2BSept%2B30%2B2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659235846930367266" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qxhl9kRrtPE/Tob2n4Un-7I/AAAAAAAAN4s/Cl3UsdtySQM/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qxhl9kRrtPE/Tob2n4Un-7I/AAAAAAAAN4s/Cl3UsdtySQM/s200/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B004.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658481146831829938" /></a>Steps leading up to the upper floor (actually there is a roof top that could serve as a third floor - "just $35,000 to finish", says Naim with resignation. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YHKLcLU7bqE/Tob3BBc4xcI/AAAAAAAAN40/zxXdsklmrIM/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B003.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YHKLcLU7bqE/Tob3BBc4xcI/AAAAAAAAN40/zxXdsklmrIM/s200/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B003.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658481578779133378" /></a><br />Here another angle from the bench, to the upstairs apartment for rent and the corrugated "roof" sheets that protect from the rain but let the lovely light through. Not a bad spot to read from, eh?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So, here's the pad - yep, that dark without lights.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nYhP8w3-F9g/TocAPtY8SRI/AAAAAAAAN5M/onJh9M4iP-Y/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B006.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nYhP8w3-F9g/TocAPtY8SRI/AAAAAAAAN5M/onJh9M4iP-Y/s200/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B006.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658491726696565010" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lp-xMZ_Q8OU/TocAsIBfUCI/AAAAAAAAN5U/OB7zSyArzkI/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B005.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lp-xMZ_Q8OU/TocAsIBfUCI/AAAAAAAAN5U/OB7zSyArzkI/s200/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658492214882291746" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />But, presto! Advantages are how temperate it stays beneath the stones, quieter than upstairs. Natural light is a problem, but it also encourages me to get out and explore.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_fg7yWa37w/TocB2m84CQI/AAAAAAAAN5c/_2v_dexHpqU/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B008.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_fg7yWa37w/TocB2m84CQI/AAAAAAAAN5c/_2v_dexHpqU/s200/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658493494494759170" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEXnoL99uUo/TocCZiArX_I/AAAAAAAAN5k/9S9RMwvhdMM/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B007.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEXnoL99uUo/TocCZiArX_I/AAAAAAAAN5k/9S9RMwvhdMM/s200/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B28%2B2011%2B007.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658494094463950834" /></a>BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-63777629411065720252011-09-27T09:09:00.001-07:002011-09-27T10:31:02.183-07:00The CurriculumWanting to maximize the extended experience here (beyond the study of Arabic), I've set myself some reading tasks. For <strong>HISTORY</strong>, I brought with me the recently released tome "Jerusalem, the Biography" by Simon Sebag Montefiore (SSM). I've not read him before, but apparently he is a prized biographer (e.g, of Stalin and Catherine the Great). The hardback version came out when I was in London recently, so I picked it up hoping that it would be a worthy source to study. Fortunately, by now some reviews are out, giving it high praise for its scope, detail, impartiality, and method (portraying life stories of key individuals and families that have dwelt here).<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yeJL4Y1S08Q/ToH2K1yL_bI/AAAAAAAAN34/TB2kB1y2haE/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B031.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yeJL4Y1S08Q/ToH2K1yL_bI/AAAAAAAAN34/TB2kB1y2haE/s320/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B031.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657073273050758578" /></a><br /><br />For <strong>CONTEMPORARY POLITICS</strong>, at the Educational Bookshop on Salah El Din Street - the popular commercial street in East Jerusalem leading to the Old City - I noticed and bought a recent double issue of the <em></em><em>Palestine-Israel Journal</em><em></em> (Vol. 17 No. 1 & 2, 2011) titled "JERUSALEM: In the Eye of the Storm". It is an anthology of contemporary essays by Israeli, Palestinian, and other authors highlighting why Jerusalem is at the forefront of, and will be the hinge of, any peace negotiation and agreement.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9EYn_ApYHz0/ToH6izbVHRI/AAAAAAAAN4A/YKMRweGNRl8/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B030.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9EYn_ApYHz0/ToH6izbVHRI/AAAAAAAAN4A/YKMRweGNRl8/s320/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B030.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657078082781388050" /></a><br /><br />For <strong></strong><strong>DOMESTIC ISSUES</strong><strong></strong>, I've decided to read the <em></em>Jerusalem Post<em></em> daily. Reasons are several. The JP, widely viewed as a right-wing newspaper, will be a good guide on pro-Israeli (i.e., Zionist) orientations and perspectives. This will help balance the more liberal Israeli (i.e., non-Zionist) perspectives I read via the NYTimes, and its affiliate the International Herald Tribune - which, locally, includes an insert from Haaretz, a more left-leaning Israeli newspaper. As well, the JP will orient me to the issues of concern in Jerusalem that are apart from the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. This is critical because the complexity and severity of social, ethnic and domestic political issues and problems here are rarely given treatment outside given the preoccupation with the conflict-related issues. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O2QbN87lB40/ToH_OnbjDlI/AAAAAAAAN4I/k2HRJUWKWyo/s1600/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B033.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O2QbN87lB40/ToH_OnbjDlI/AAAAAAAAN4I/k2HRJUWKWyo/s320/Old%2BCity%2BSept%2B27%2B2011%2B033.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657083233521831506" /></a><br /><br />I will share insights from these sources as I progress through them.BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984184380346796355.post-77180480421299587942011-09-23T06:38:00.000-07:002011-09-24T07:47:15.445-07:00A Once Proud Flag, Drooping and Lonely<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lEwIxD1mgww/Tn3ZI9D_wHI/AAAAAAAAN3E/DdB5xHdH3Kg/s1600/DamGate%2BSept%2B23%2B2011%2B17.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lEwIxD1mgww/Tn3ZI9D_wHI/AAAAAAAAN3E/DdB5xHdH3Kg/s320/DamGate%2BSept%2B23%2B2011%2B17.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655915454900715634" /></a><br />Feeble is the word that has come to mind repeatedly today - the day after; the day after the UN speeches by Abbas (and Netanyahu), and the formal submission of the request to be recognized as a State. At least in E Jerusalem, the energy is very low. There were times - not too distant - that the child above waving a symbol of Palestine would have energized a large crowd expressing the passion of decades of struggle. But here, he drew more photographers than supporters. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8GvJzTuPdQ0/Tn3ho9qEwRI/AAAAAAAAN3c/NoleAH11XOo/s1600/DamGate%2BSept%2B23%2B2011%2B%2B1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8GvJzTuPdQ0/Tn3ho9qEwRI/AAAAAAAAN3c/NoleAH11XOo/s320/DamGate%2BSept%2B23%2B2011%2B%2B1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655924800909263122" /></a><br /><br />The pic was taken just after Friday prayers had been completed on this street corner just opposite Damascus Gate by those men younger than 50 who aren't permitted by Israeli security to pray at Al Aqsa mosque inside the city walls. The scraps of cardboard on the pavers were used just minutes before to cushion the kneeling pray-ers. The 200 of them had already left the area, however, defying expectations that there would be confrontations - particularly because of the disappointment (disgust?) so many felt in Obama's UN speech the night before. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_9P_BKpcDhI/Tn3gWecebLI/AAAAAAAAN3U/3kBirMdN5gI/s1600/DamGate%2BSept%2B23%2B2011%2B26.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_9P_BKpcDhI/Tn3gWecebLI/AAAAAAAAN3U/3kBirMdN5gI/s320/DamGate%2BSept%2B23%2B2011%2B26.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655923383781452978" /></a><br /><br />The intersection was stocked with all forms of IDF and police, including cavalry. I stayed the whole time watching, but was never able to feel that the forecast for troubles would eventuate. As R. Fisk - who apparently was doing just what I was doing, but inside the city walls - noted in the <em>Independent</em>, there is just a pervasive depressive feeling here, as if life is too heavy to spare any energy for hope. <br /><br />News reports from Ramallah seemed different: boisterous demonstrations, placards of Abbas. Indeed, following Abbas' speech last night, there were rounds of fireworks I could easily hear from the apartment in the Old City - and today walking through E Jerusalem, it was easy to hear pride expressed about his address. His surprising determination and conviction do appear to have broken through the malaise here - but it still feels fleeting and feeble. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hS8XGD0A2Uk/Tn3ivJJdUcI/AAAAAAAAN3k/fbapM6ThuZg/s1600/DamGate%2BSept%2B23%2B2011%2B22.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hS8XGD0A2Uk/Tn3ivJJdUcI/AAAAAAAAN3k/fbapM6ThuZg/s320/DamGate%2BSept%2B23%2B2011%2B22.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655926006584529346" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-prayers-taunts-and-weary-resignation-in-jerusalem-2360131.html"></a>BKBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13259417740840548080noreply@blogger.com1