Week Five

This week’s readings are focused all on music and the love and passionate to the art. Many important names were mentioned, who years ago practiced and taught others about the love of music. And today, in Palestine, these people are still remembered especially Khalil Al-Sakakini’s Institute/ Center in Ramallah that still hosts musical festivals and artistic plays.

While reading this week’s articles, I found the most interesting part about “Sultana and Khalil” and their romantic love. Although I have been many time to Khalil Sakakini’s institute in Ramallah, but I never knew about the love story between Khalil and Sultana. Another interesting fact is that he was displaced from the Katamon, a Palestinian neighborhood that was taken by the Israelis in the 1948 war, and the interesting thing, is that my own grandfather’s house was also in the Katamon, where he bought it in 1945.

Another part of the article I found really interesting is Chapter 9, “Ishaq Shami and the Predicament of the Arab Jew in Palestine”, as it goes in describing the difference between the Jews who were at the “middle East location” at that time, including, Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. The article talks about how everyone was living peacefully with the ‘other’, up to a point where the idea of Zionism was moving inwards toward the Palestinian community at that time, and to the Ashkenazim Jews who were living in Palestine, under the British Mandate.

The other part of this week’s assignment is writing few questions to address to Dr. Tamari. Dr. Tamari has a PhD in sociology and for that I thought of a question about the sociological changes that happened and is taking place within the Palestinian society.

Q1- How do you view the sociological the main social changes in the Palestinian society in the last decade?

Q2- Do you think that the two state solution is still reliable with the presence of more than 400 thousand settler in the West Bank? Is the idea of two state solution is acceptable after the Israeli government decides to isolate the Palestinian villages who are mostly the holders of the Jerusalem IDs outside of the Jerusalem area?

Q3- How do you view as a sociologist the development in the Palestinian society, especially in the rural areas taking into consideration the settlements and area C?