Tag Archives: Haram al Sharif

Who precisely is “the conflict”? Who taught them?

27 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in Fulbright project

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The pamphlet

The pamphlet

Two weeks ago Israeli police found pamphlets that read, “Members of the Likud Caucus [the right-wing party currently in power], along with its thousands of members, headed by Moshe Feiglin [a political activist] are hereby invited to arrive at Temple Mount and praise God, and declare that healthy leadership begins with total control over Temple Mount. (Let us) purify this place from the enemies of Israel, who rob lands, and build the Temple on the ruins of mosques. We need not be afraid!” Police banned Feiglin from going onto the Haram al Sharif, which he tried to do. This news spread through the Palestinian community, and some began protesting. A week later, a rumor spread through some Palestinian circles that Feiglin and his supporters were going to try again, and young men again protested and threw stones at the army. This past Friday, Talat Ramia was among young men throwing rocks at a checkpoint, when he was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier. An Israeli army spokesperson said that Ramia had thrown firecrackers at the soldiers.

Since I am interviewing both Israeli and Palestinian teachers, this news made me wonder: where did Moshe Feiglin go to school? Where did Talat Ramia go? What I would have hoped from each would have been different – from Feiglin, a broader and more welcoming view of humanity, and from Ramia, better self-control and understanding of what will actually further his hopes and dreams. Did Feiglin have teachers who introduced him to an understanding of and respect for people of different faiths? Did Ramia have teachers who sought to inculcate in him emotional self-regulation and an insight into what actions actually effect political and social change?

For Feiglin a quick web search in English turns up masses of information, including where he went to high school, facts about his family, his two books, his regular writings and his many speeches. For Ramia, 15 minutes of searching in English yielded me only his hometown and a picture of his relatives mourning. In any case, Feiglin is a 50 year-old highly influential Israeli nationalist political activist, and Ramia was a 25 year-old Palestinian angered by the latest rumor. Of course, both were influenced by many people before and after high school, most powerfully by their families. Nonetheless, were there teaching opportunities to turn them, even if ever so slightly, off the path that led to this tragedy?

Angry at America

27 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Family

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A beautiful spot for some ugly words

Mid-morning, December 26th, touring the Haram al-Sharif with visiting relatives: An older woman emerges from the Dome of the Rock and asks us where we are from. When we reply the United States, she shouts at us angrily, “All buildings in America burn! And Obama too!”

Mid-afternoon, December 26th, just outside the Old City: a man with an Israeli flag t-shirt and a clipboard approaches us, explaining that Jerusalem should be the eternal and undivided capital of the “indigenous” Jewish people. As part of his argument he claims, “Obama is pro-Islamist.”

Two angry people, both willing to express intense emotion to strangers. Both believe that the United States, to put it mildly, is pursuing the incorrect foreign policy in Israel/Palestine. Both personalized the argument, speaking about President Barak Obama.

Of course, there were also many differences. One spoke fluent English, having been born as he described it  “in exile in New York.” The other spoke halting English and was probably born within minutes’ walk of where we were speaking. One explicitly advocated violence (unless she was using metaphor). The other did not describe the methods he would use to remove the c. 200,000 residents of East Jerusalem that were not the “indigenous” Jewish population. One was part of some form of fundraising and advocacy movement; the other seemed to have no immediate goal other than expressing her opinion. One spoke in language calculated to be most appealing to his audience, the other could not have chosen a more worrying and hostile statement.

Haram al sharif, Western Wall, and Via Dolorosa on 9/11

13 Tuesday Sep 2011

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Hannah has very much wanted to see the Dome of the Rock, and though she has been in the Old City several times, we have not yet had a chance to go. So today we climbed the ramp by the Western Wall (a great place to view the prayers from), and then walked around the Haram al-Sharif. To visit the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock on the 10th anniversary of September 11th was not our intention, but as Hilary said, appreciating the beauty and power of at least two religions on that day was an appropriate way to spend our time. Hilary wanted to go to church at St. George’s, the Anglican cathedral, but time and kid logistics prevented it. But Hannah and I had some good conversations about whether she wanted to wear a cross – there were many for sale on the Via Dolorosa on our way back. So perhaps we got in some Christian reflection as well.