Reading Response: Week 8

I really enjoyed Peteet's article, "The Writing on the Walls: The Graffiti of the Intifada." I think the most interesting aspect of any struggle is that different forms of expression that emerge. Graffiti is a very common form of artistic expression, and I feel it is the easiest way to get a message heard. The graffiti created in response to the Intifada became the most common method of resistance. I have seen political Graffiti in other situations quite recently. This past summer I was in Egypt, only a few months after the the Egyptian Revolution that resulted in the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. I noticed many differences in Cairo's society, one of which was the emergence of political grafitti. I found this so interesting because I had been to Cairo only one year earlier and the graffiti did not exist then. Random walls in the city would be painted with pictures of the Egyptian flag, Mubarak, and political slogans. I thought that the graffiti had a major impact on people, especially tourists.  I believe it is obviously important to express yourself through peaceful methods in any conflict.

Klein offered a lot of insight on how Jerusalem is divided in "Old and new walls in Jerusalem." I realized that Jerusalem was divided, but I liked how Klein described the different kinds of division that were present; some kinds did not require a physical boundary. I agree with Klein in that Jerusalem has never been a truly open city, despite the Israeli government's claims. The city has been divided by primordial boundaries as well as physical ones.

Divisions: political, religious, linguistic, cultural, historical, residential

These divisions have only downgraded Jerusalem, especially the East side. Thanks to these boundaries, East Jerusalem has suffered economically and politically. The economy of East Jerusalem is one of the worst in Israel; Poverty and corruption now defines the city. I feel that Jerusalem is merely stuck in an awful situation, one where a solution does not seem possible. The primordial boundaries that divide the city cannot be overcome by the government's instruction. This is a much deeper, emotional issue; but of course the government's involvement only divides the city even more.