Not the Mother of All Cities by Hasan-Rokem

I think my favorite line from this reading is "Whoever is in charge of it [Jerusalem] should see her/himself as small enough in the perspective of the continuum of the city's history, instead of projecting his (or rarely, her) megalomaniac dreams striving for eternity."

I think this quote represents the idea of many people who want peace. At least, if everybody started seeing themselves as only a speck in the long history of Jerusalem, people would gain more perspective. However, I don't think Jerusalem would be as loved or as contended.

I like that her article is concise while at the same time leaving many points to ponder about. Is the anthropomorphizing of Jerusalem to a different kinds of women detrimental to finding a solution? Is Hasan-Rokem making the case that men should strip Jerusalem of its traditional female qualities and stop treating it as such?

Sharon and My Mother-in-Law by Amiry

Memoirs are one of my favorite genres of literature. Maybe it's because they are like novels that have an uncanny resemblance to our everyday life. Or maybe just mine... Even though the authors have interesting lives, they still do laundry, fight with their spouses, and find schmutz in their shirt.

I really liked the description of the other characters, though sometimes I wish we could see pictures or footage of how they move and talk.

I enjoyed the metaphorical dialogue concerning the bitter coffee, and how some of the Palestinians present wanted to see the best of the situation (that they might perhaps get gas masks) and how others saw their whole lives as a bitter situation, deserving no sugar.

I was slightly confused by some of the details. It seems that Amiry lived in the United States or spoke English very well, because she had an array of English books and had subscribed to Bitch magazine (which surprisingly, they deliver to Gaza...) Nevertheless, I'm sure these memoirs were written in Arabic and then translated.