Reading Response 12

There are two strong and distinct voices in “Sharon and My Mother-in-Law” by Suad Amiry and “Not the Mother of All Cities” by Galit Hasam-Rokem. I was laughing out loud while reading Amiry’s narrative of her experiences living in Ramallah. Even through the humor I could sense the seriousness of the situations she encountered. Humor is a way of coping with the frivolousness of certain circumstances. For instance, in the chapter about receiving the gas masks, the process of the Palestinians getting the masks was slow and unorganized. The way the Israelis had them constantly waiting in line seemed absurd and pointless, especially because they never got masks! The soldiers seemed to treat the Palestinians like children. I loved (because I felt I could hear her voice, not because of what the Israelis were doing) when Amiry said, “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” (89).   What a juxtaposition that creates. 

And again in the chapter “A Dog’s Life,” Amiry was able to create humor in an irritating situation. On page 112 she describes all of the different books on owning a dog that she bought- the titles are hilarious: “Admit Sleeping with you dog, Loving your Dog More than Your Husband, Can my Dog Become my Heir? Cheating on your Dog….My latest book was Growing up with a Lesbian Master” It makes me laugh especially hard because she is not a lesbian? After taking her new dog Nura to the Israeli vet to avoid the ‘sexist and racist’ Dr. Hisham, she again makes light of her nervous situation: “Looking up at the sign, I was relieved that Arabs were not considered animals” (113). It was incredible to learn about the way her dog was able to get a passport when most Palestinians are not. The ridiculousness of that situation was astounding. 

On a more serious note, I appreciated Rokem’s essay on Jerusalem. It is interesting to think of that city as a human being; we would never (or hopefully not) try to possess someone and own someone in that way that people try to do with Jerusalem. Because Jerusalem is so much to many people, Rokem discuss the “need to be her master” (53). Her powerful language not only speaks for the city but for women in general. I appreciate her statement, “Women of flesh and blood also deserve to be loved with less possessiveness and more equality” (54).