I was really intrigued by the readings and conversations we had today with Salim Tamari. The topic of Arab nationalism that arose in the 1920s and 1930s was fascinating. I had no idea that this nationalism was not directly connected with religion- and now days so often we examine the conflict in terms of either Muslim or Jewish; at one point, it was not defined by those labels. People wanted to be free of Ottoman rule and the Arabs could be Christian, Jewish, Muslim; it didn't make a difference. They were defined by their ethnic culture. Furthermore, I was really interested to learn that there are people who believe/believed that Jews, Christians and Muslims did indeed spring from the same people, some just 'changed their label' as Tamari mentioned today, and it was the Jewish people in the Zionist movement who decided to separate themselves from the Arabs as an ethnic group.
In addition, it was interesting to hear that Tamari thinks that a two state solutions is unlikely. Do most people believe in a two state solution? I would like to learn more about how he and other members of the Living Jerusalem project arrived at this conclusion. Speaking on current opinions on the topic, someone I'm friends with on facebook posted this to his wall:
Something to think about as we continue to discuss the conflict. I enjoy hearing and listening to everyone's take on the topic.
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