Weblog Journal

I think my position in regards to Jerusalem has definitely changed. Coming into this course I was extremely uninformed about events in Jerusalem. I knew very little about the Israeli-Palestine conflict. When I did my first blog post at the beginning of the course, I talked about the conflict and said that I didn't think any action was being taken to try and fix the conflict (granted, I didn't know very much at this time). However, as the course went along I realized that there are many individuals, and groups of individuals, who are working diligently to help reduce the level of animosity between the two groups. A fantastic example of this was the Divan Orchestra. Both Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim were/are courageous individuals who have found a way to reduce hostility through music. Even though it's not a permanent cure to the conflict, it still acts as a mediator.

In addition, the Jerusalem Open House was made for both Israelis and Palestinians. Although we discussed in class that the JOH may have been biased towards the Israeli side, they are still welcoming of both groups.

Also, I think my classmates have helped change my views. Our class has many people who are very well informed about Jerusalem, the conflict, as well as Israeli and Arab cultures, beliefs, etc. Our in-class discussions have helped foster an understanding of Jerusalem as a whole. In addition, reading others' blogs has undoubtedly helped me learn and see things from various perspectives. Even though not everything in our blogs can be taken as fact, it gives me a great understanding of how different individuals see the same side of the coin.

I really enjoyed the course and would recommend it to anyone regardless of their background.