In "Not the Mother of All Cities," Galit Hasan-Rokem writes, "Nothing in me wishes my kind of relationship to the city to be the only possible emotional option. There is room here for many loves." This is a nice way to describe Jerusalem. As we've seen time and time again in this course, the city evokes an infinite amount of emotions. Like snowflakes, no two people can describe their Jerusalem experience with perfect replication.
I am intrigued by Suad Amiry's story, and have been since we were first introduced to her through the Jerusalem Project. The Riwaq Center for Architectural Conservation, which she founded and directed at one point, is profoundly important for the preservation of Palestinian and Arab history and culture. How appropriate her marriage to Salim Tamari, the wonderfully intuitive man of culture we spoke with earlier in the semester.
In Amiry's gas mask story, I could not help but be awed at the degree of humor she and her neighbors were able to pick and scrape from this event. It reminded me of an article I came across a while ago on intifada humor. But we all do this. In difficult times, we use laughter and humor to cope. It is comforting to realize that Palestinians can use this is a defense mechanism.
"I don't know what it is with Israeli soldiers. They all have a fetish for making Palestinians stand in an orderly line. They complicate our lives with all sorts of permits, make them unbearably chaotic, then insist we stand in straight lines." This is the paradox of control.
Worth seeing is TedxRamallah. Amiry was one of the speakers in the series.
I like that you brought to light how we all turn to humor and laughter in tough times. I think that is true across the globe, and it's a nice thing that people can still seek out laughter in rough times. I also liked how you brought out the quote, "There is room here for many loves." What a lovely sentence that is, and very true. If only everyone could see and accept that fact, that there is room for different peoples and religions. I don't know that it necessarily describes Jerusalem though. It is more of an ideal notion for the city. Some people are willing to let in different loves, but not everyone. So, at this point, although there is theoretically room for differing opinions and views, this isn't an accurate description of the city as it is now. We can, however, hope that someday everyone there will think this way.
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