Week 5 Reading Response: Arab Jews

As we close Karen Armstrong's book, I'm sure we all have a better idea about the importance of Jerusalem in a modern and historical context. I am continuously blown away by Armstrong's knowledge of the city and the faiths that have impacted its formation. But with all of that knowledge, even Armstrong cannot come up with a solution to the question of Jerusalem. I'm looking forward to the speaker on Thursday for more insight into the question of a united or divided Jerusalem, especially with the historical context that we now have.

Dr. Tamari's piece was incredibly thought-provoking. It is not often that one thinks about an "Arab-Jew." As Tamari says, that seems to be an oxymoron to many, despite Judaism being an ethno-religious group, not an ethnic group. The most interesting part of Tamari's piece that struck me was the following quote:
"Sociologist Yehouda Shenhav argues that the return to Zion meant little to them, either culturally or ideologically, since they were already in Zion. And for those Jews who lived in Iraq and Syria, the move to Palestine (before 1948) was seen not as a move to Zion, but as a move from one area of the Arab world to another, and thus was not considered to have any ramifications in terms of sacred geography."
Today, this idea is somewhat inconceivable. Seeing a move from Syria to modern political Israel is such a radical difference. Clearly this was not the case prior to 1948, especially for Arab Jews. As far as they were concerned, they were moving from one place to another that didn't vary greatly. They were already in the Levant, and a move did not mean much to them. They already viewed themselves as in Zion. Today "Zion" seems to have such a specific connotation. If it isn't inside of Jerusalem, it isn't viewed as the Holy Land. Sacred geography today comes into play very strongly. It was interesting to me that this viewpoint was brought forward in the reading, as it was something I had never considered or had known to be reality. It makes one wonder how, in such a relatively short period of times, things had changed so radically. Of course the move toward Zionism created a huge rift between Jews and Arabs, but where does that leave the identity group of Arab Jews? While Tamari says that many writers of that time period, like Shami, were not totally comfortable with either their Jewish nor their Arab identities, where does that leave Arab Jews today? I do not know much about that identity group at all. I am glad we did this reading, as it has sparked something new for me to research that I had never considered before this essay.

Discussion Questions:
1. With all of the changes we have seen throughout Jerusalem's history by reading Armstrong's book, how do you think the idea of sacred geography became so much more important between pre-1948 Palestine and the 1948 mandate, which is such a relatively short period of time?
2. As we close Karen Armstrong's book, do you think the idea of a divided (under two separate governments) or united (under one united government, either Israel or the PLO) Jerusalem is more plausible for a long-term peace?
3. How likely do you think it is that both sides will agree to either a united or divided Jerusalem?