Week 2 Reading Response

Mick Dumper's "Jerusalem: Then and Now," brought many concepts to my attention. One idea that I found unique is that he opened the article by discussing Jerusalem's disadvantages. He explained that in the beginning, Jerusalem was in an unfavorable geographic location that had limited water supply and was isolated from other civilzations. Unfortunately, Jerusalem was far the popular trade routes, but it did not have any exportable resources to put forth anyways. And if nothing else, Jerusalem had an insignificant military, one that was not even considered by Napoleon as a possible annexation. As a new student to the study of Jerusalem, I do not know much about the history of this region in general, nor the history of Jerusalem specifically. I found this information regarding Jerusalem's past both interesting and relevant. I find it ironic that this city is the center of so much political and religious controversy, but from a third perspective, this area offers no significance. Its importance lie in its religious history and ties between Judaism, Islam and Christianity. I also found that this reading gave an excellent introductory summary to all the issues revolving Jerusalem that will be tackled in this class.
I also found "The History of Jersusalem: An Arab Perspective" to be an informative piece that gave a thorough summary of Jerusalem's religious history, specifically its significance to Muslims. I was impressed with the introduction of this article, because it brought previous biases about this subject to attention. It was also useful that it highlighted what specificallly about Jerusalem was significant to each faith. For example, Christians find the Passion and the Crucifixion of Jesus important, while Muslims refer to the Isra and Mi'raj of the Prophet, the journey to al-misjid al-aqsa, and the Dome of the Rock in their faith.
And lastly, I really enjoyed reading the "Arab-Isreali Conflict" by Jeremy Pressman. I thought it gave only relevant details of the conflict. This was good to read at the beginning of this class before we discuss the conflict in detail. Because this conflict has been going on for so long, it is easy to mix up all the dates, people, and events that are involved. I though this paper by Pressman laid out the basics of the conflict, so you get a general understanding. I also liked how it specifically explained the history of the names regarding this conflict. There are so many names given to that area, especially over the years when they change. I am glad that he distinguished between Palestine, Palestinian Arabs, Israel, West Bank, Old city, and the Gaza Strip for me so I wont get those confused anymore.