Reading Response #8

The readings for Tuesday were about both the troubles faced by the Arab Jews in Palestine and an ethnographic study of Tawfiq Canaan (and his circle). I found this readings a little difficult to follow and to keep everything in organized. Unfortunately, I did not exactly find them "interesting" but there were a few points that I thought were worth discussing.

First, the idea of language. Language is one of the primary ways of organizing and defining a culture or a people. It is a way of identifying with a certain group because of the ability to communicate with them. This may seem very obvious. but when there have been conflicts throughout history, where national boundaries or geographic lines had to be drawn, it always come to a question of "who is who." Deciding where certain people belong, what "nationality" or identity they will have, and what group they will be a member of had to be based on something. Perhaps it was religion, race, or cultural practices and rituals. But quite often, language was used as a tool to either exclude or include people from a group. I thought it was interesting to think about the difference in experiences between the Arab Jews in Palestine versus other places in the Middle East. I also thought that it was interesting to think about the distinctions or labels we put on people. "Palestinian Arab Jew." Are labels and distinctions part of the problem with this conflict? Do we place to much emphasis on "what" a person is rather than "who" a person is. It should be one's choice what they are defined by, but I think that in an effort to belong to something, we often forget to look past the label or the membership card that a person holds and judge them based on their character. Yes, this sounds idealistic and maybe even ignorant. But thats okay with me. Being proud of where you come from is a beautiful thing. You should be. But in that pride it is important to remember that everyone else has that same right to pride.

Secondly, I find it very confusing to try and distinguish between all of the different sects and groups of Jewish people. I not only do not understand them any better after this reading, but I actually am more confused than I was before. And, I'm not sure where to fit all of these groups within the context of the conflict or exactly why it matters that I understand those distinctions to understand the conflict. I have accepted that I am probably never going to understand this conflict and all of its many, many complexities. But I would like to continue to try!