Last Class

History of Jerusalem is over, and I must say I enjoyed it very much. I love learning Jewish history, and since I already have a foundation of it, learning more is just easy and fun. And learning more about Islamic rule over Jerusalem and the Crusades was also a lot of fun, and very important.

I was a little disappointed in the last class. I think the professor got off on some long tangents and we weren't able to ask him enough questions about his views and stuff. And then all the views were like 'Centrist. Pro-peace. I love everyone." Like Professor Cargill said about the news, blood makes the news. It would have been more fun to hear Cargill take one side over another just for the controversy of it, but like most people, I am pro-peace. I am pro-Israel first, but the Palestinians like every other legitimate people in the world deserve their own state if they so wish. I don't know if I have talked about my views explicitly in this blog, but here is how I like to frame it.

There are two legitimate groups of people, with legitimate claims to the same peace of land, who have shown they can't coexist with one another. OK, lets break it down.

2 legit groups of people: I don't know anyone with an education who would say the Jews aren't a legit group. They share a common history, religion, cultural traits, holidays, much more so than Muslims and Christians. No need to waste time agreeing with everyone here. Palestinians on the other hand are much more complicated. We have Arabs who are the broad ethnic group over the region of Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and other countries. The Palestinians are one type of Arab who have, over the past couple centuries, become their own distinct group of people through geography and shared experience. Arguing that the Palestinians are not a distinct group of people is fruitless and will only upset people, because they are and they are convinced of it themselves. We can't convince Palestinians that they aren't Palestinians, and we can only work towards peace if we accept that they are a legitimate group of people.

Legit claims: Jews trace their historical roots back to Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Jewish literautre, and canon tells us this, as does archaeology. Jews also as a group of people deserve their own coutnry to escape the persecution they have faced historically. Why has anti-semitism fallen since the creation of the State of Israel? Not because people are scared of another Holocaust, because there are only Jews in a few places. Israel has about 40% of the world's Jews. America, which historically has low anti-semitism, has another 40%, and then 20% dispresed in Canada, England, France, South Africa, Argentina and other countries. I believe there basically aren't enough Jews in most of the world for people to hate the Jews, and this has a lot to do with the creation of the State of Israel. Since there are few Jews in most places now compatred to 1939 and thus there is less anti-semitism. So basically the creation of Israel has cut down persecution of Jews, which is one of its goals and reasons it should exist. That point got lost somewhere in all that. Palestinian claims can be traced back over the last couple centuries. It is acknowledged in the Balfour Declaration, in the Israeli Declaration of Indenepence, in (many biased) UN declarations, by countries around the world. So Palestinian claims to the land. the problem is that these claims developed over different times and in different places. Zionism was born in Europe, Palestinian claims in Palestine. Israeli claims go back thousands of years, Palestinians only a few centuries. But who is to say who is more convinced and who is more deserving. The Israelis won the wars, many started by the Arabs, but that doesn't delegitamize the Palestinian claims. The land of Israel is still their homeland.

More often than not that they can't coexist: Let me clarify, the Israelis and Palestinians have coexisted in many places for many years. But Israeli history is marked by peace negotiations. Why? Because there is no true peace. There is cohabitation, but no real peace.

This is problem as I see it and its difficult. Its complicated. Things contradict one another. People don't get along. Not everyone on each side agrees. But such are people and such is the conflict.

I don't want to end my blog only speaking on the conflict because I don't believe the class was a giant context to the conflict. Jerusalem is much more today than a conflict. It is the center of Judaism. It is the home to hundreds of thousands of people. It is many ways a modern city, not like Tel Aviv, but still modern with universities, and companies, and McDonald's. I really don't know how to end not on a sappy note about Jerusalem being everything to everyone and we can hope for the future peace and all that and thats not how I want to end a blog.

So, the class was fun. I love history. I love Israel. I look forward to taking another class like this while at UCLA.

Joey

PS-I'm definitely happy to be mentioning UCLA as a way to close.

Modern Jerusalem

It's crazy how quickly we went from the Crusades to basically 1966 in like two classes. But Modern Jerusalem is a super exciting time from a historical perspective and obviously I'm biased so I enjoy it even more.

One thing I want to clear up. Professor Cargill made it sound like Zionism started with Yehuda Halevi (whose name can mean Jew of my heart which is kind of funny), and with Spaniards in the 12th century. That is not the way I have ever heard it. Those events had little effect on the greater Jewish population and their movement to Jerusalem. Not until the late 1800s do we really see Zionism taking root. I think Cargill could have done a better job explaining Zionism, what it is, how it varies, and different people involved in it. We have Herzl who wrote and "founded modern Zionism" like everyone always says. But Zionism existed long before Herzl. Zionism is really a much more Eastern European idea, created by Jewish who were bearing the real hardships of anti-semitism at the time. It was created for Russian, Polish, Lithuanian, Ukranian Jews. Herzl was a westerner by all accounts, born in Vienna, barely self identified as a Jew, journalist in Paris, didn't speak Yiddish-Western. As Chaim Weizman, the future first president of Israel, wrote about Herzl was really more of a glue, of a leader of Zionism that westernized and legitimized it, but he was by no means the founder. In many ways he moved Zionism away from it's roots, with the Uganda plan. It essentially took the 'Zion' out of Zionism. And it was greatly opposed and eventually rejected the Zionist congress. But all this was really happening in Europe and not in Israel. Israeli history sort of take places in two places during this time period-Israel and Europe. We have what is happening on the ground in Israel- Ottomans, British, settlements, Arab riots- and then we have what was happening in Europe with Zionism and anti-semitism- Herzl, Ha'am, Kishniev, etc.

The distinctions involved in the word Palestinian is also very interesting. I think it was Gold Meir who said something like 'Who are the Palestinians? We, the Jews, were the Palestinians.' The development of a Palestinian nation is very interesting. Obviously today they are a legitimate and undeniable group of people, but their origins is more complicated. Palestinians were separate from he Jordanians before 1948, and from what I know, if you happened to be from either side of The Jordan river, it would determine your nationality when in reality, those two groups of people were extremely similar. I don't know.

Excited for the last class. But I really enjoyed it and wish I could take it again. Maybe a near eastern studies minor or something....Who knows? I got lots to work on. Until next post. I'm planning on a nice large blog for my last post since I'll be done with all my papers.

Islamic Jerusalem

So last time in class, we finished early Islamic Judaism, skipped ahead and finished the Crusades and then did late Islamic Jerusalem. I love learning this stuff because I already knew a lot of the material on Jewish Jerusalem and modern Jerusalem so learning about Islamic Jerusalem is all new stuff and its very exciting.

OK, so Crusades continued until the 1200s. In 1221 the walls are dismantled leaving the city defenseless, and the population shrinks to 2,000. That was during the 5th Crusade. Then during the 6th Crusade, the Europeans retake Jerusalem and work out a 10 year treaty where they retain control. Two more crusades occur, and finally in 1291, the last Crusader outpost in Acre falls, and the all-star period of history known as the Crusades ends. Another sports analogy...Many great athletes stick around way too long past their prime. Muhammad Ali is a good example. He was the greatest in his time (no pun intended), but stuck around way too long. His last couple fights were knockouts where he really just embarrassed himself. Kinda the same with the Crusades, like we had enough. The first couple were really fun to learn about and then after Saladin, it was like "OK, lets move on. This is silly. The walls are dismantled. We're really just fighting over nothing. Can't we just make a treaty and move on?" Like, Ali should have just retired instead of keep on attaching Jerusalem. Seriously Ali...

The Mamuluks took over Jerusalem in 1250. The Mamuluks were a group of converted slaves. They were not a dynasty which is important to note. They sought out to make Jerusalem the religious center that it once once, and stressed the Ziyara or visit to Jerusalem instead of the hajj to MEcca.

Socially/politically/all that kind of stuff, Jerusalem became pretty insignificant. It had a small population. It wasn't on the main roads once again. Other cities bypassed it and it became a place for political exiles. The lack of walls made it totally indefensible. But the Mamuluks still took an interest in it, and tried to develop it. They built schools, hospitals, a hostel, developed the Haram, or Temple Mount, and built two new mosques. They also rebuilt the walls, and those walls are the walls that remain today. They also built a Qaranic school which was called the third school of Jerusalem.

In 1267 Ramban came to Jerusalem from Spain. Ramban, or Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman was a Rabbi in Spain and can be considered a Zionist. He founded the Ramban synagogue that attracted Jews from across the world, pulling them back to Jerusalem. He argued that aliyah was a commandment for all Jews, and he also helped develop kabalah, or spiritual Judaism.

Ottoman Jerusalem started in 1516 and lasted all the way till the end of World War I. The Ottomans were led by Selim I and defeated the Mamuluks in 1517, but Jerusalem surrendered in 1516. It was described as the new possessor of the qibla and under the Ottoman administration, it flourished in the 16th century. Sultan Sulieman the Magnificent ruled from 1520 to 1566 and was responsible for many of the public works in Jerusalem including repairs and enlargements to aqueducts. Sulieman also rebuilds the walls from 1526-1541. His work ensured that Jerusalem stayed #3 to Mecca and Medina.

During this period, the Western Wall was given to the Jews as a place of prayer by Sulieman. Thought it was important to note.

Only two classes left :(

Crusader Jerusalem

First, I enjoyed the guest speaker, and learning about the Crusades. I feel like we didn't cover it enough because there is so much to talk about, but maybe I'm just thinking about the Crusades as a whole and not just Jerusalem. I would also like to mention that there is crusader stuff everywhere in Israel. For instance, at the kibbutz where I stayed, there was an old Crusader castle called Belmont which is French means something like strong mountain or something. And when
I was hiking in the North there was just a random castle and I was like damn, that's cool.

Now to the material...

The crusader period lasted from 1099 to 1187. The crusades were inspired by Pope Urban II's speech in 1095, where he used lots of religious imagery and rhetoric against the Muslims, saying how they controlled their holy land, war, Christ, duty, responsibility, destined by God, all those cache words that inspire people. and so 1097, the peasant's crusade was launched and was ultimately squashed as they were not financed or trained compared to their Turkish rivals.

Eventually there were four principalities in the eastern Mediterranean- Odessa, Antioch, tripoli, and Jerusalem, with Jerusalem being the governing main center. By 1099, Godfry de Boullion conquered Jerusalem and in 1100, Baldwin became King. He established three quarters. The patriarchs, the Templar's, the Syrian, and The Armenian. He also set out to convert the Dome of the Rock, rebuild the Byzantine churches that had been in disrepair, and build new churches throughout Jerusalem. Today we located 42 churches that have been identified to the Crusader period.

Uhhhh, in 1197, Saladin won at the horns of Hattin. Pretty fun part of history I think. so much clash, emotion, Jerusalem, religion. Sort of like how when people make fantasy basketball teams-Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, and Oscar Robertson all one team- its kind of like that with the Crusades. Popes, Jerusalem, Christianity vs. Islam, some win some lose, changes of power, heroes, famous characters. It's like an all-star game of history. And I think that is why it has such a lasting legacy and it is so remembered today. We always hear people using Crusader imagery in speeches and poems and books. Maybe not as much now because it is so sensitive and powerful, but that is what makes the Crusades fun to learn about.

Early Islamic Jerusalem

So, the early Islmaic Period covers from when Jerusalem wass taken over by Caliph Umar of the Ummayad Dynasty in 638 all the way to the Crusader period in 1099. There were three main dynasties that ruled Jerusalem this period. The first, like Im already was the Ummayad who ruled from 638-750. Then came the Abbasids who ruled from 750-969. After the Abbasids were the Fatimids who ruled from 969-1099.

We discussed the beginnings of Islam, Mohammed, Sunni, Shiite...

During the Islamic period, Jerusalem still maintained its status as a holy city. It at first retained the term Aelia city of the Temple, and then became City of the Holy House and finally as it is today, Al-Quds which means the holy, which it got in the 10th century. In 691 the Ummayads under Abd al Malik started building the dome of the Rock. The purpose was to direct pilgrimage from Mecca to Jerusalem. First, the Ummayads ruled from Damascus, north of Jerusalem and had a rivalry with the rulers of the Arabian peninsula and Mecca. So by building a pilgrimage center in Jerusalem, and closer to their population they attracted more business. It was much easier and cheaper to travel to Jerusalem than to Mecca to from Damascus. The al Aqsa Mosque was built between 705 and 715. Ramla became the administrative center in 712 during this time period. Ramla today is still a mixed city. I've been there, yay for Israel!

Geometry, architecture of the Dome....Blah blah blah Both the Dome and the mosque were frequently damaged by earthquakes. I think it was most interesting that it was designed by Christian architects because the rulers wanted the best people to design the shrine.

OK, I'm done. This was short but I feel like I know about the history of Dome of the Rock, and its design because I took art history, where we discussed Islamic art a lot. I think we should gone more into how Jerusalem changed during these time periods Fatamid, Ummayad, and Abbasids..i.e. demographics, economics, internal events...sweet. OK, now I'm done.

Byzantine Jerusalem

We really didn't get into Byzantine Jerusalem till the very end. I think a better name for this class would be the Beginning of christian Jerusalem. It all starts with Constatine. There were Christians before Constatine, but Constatine was the people who really catalized the growth of Christianity, in mym opinion. In 313 he allowed Christianity to be a legal religion. In 324, Constatine held the Council of Nicaea to reconcile all the different sects of Christianity. As is today, there is a lot to argue about with Christianity. How much human is Jesus? How much God? What is the role of Judaism now? And all the different positions and levels of belief existed. If Constatine was going to use christianity to unite his empire, then he needed christianity to be united. So he helf this concil, and it is from this that the Trinity emerged- a theological concept to reconcile Jesus being fully man, and fully God. You could say that the Western view of Christ won out at this council over the Eastern view. the 7th cannon was also adapted which said that Aelia (Jerusalem) should have an honored position. This council was in many ways a move away from the teachings of Jesus. It also combines Church and State, a messy affair which is still attempted by many countries.

We also talked about Helena, who is the mother of Constatine. She was given the title of Augusta by Constatine, which means she mhad an important role in the governemtn. She went to Jerusalem to inquire about Jesus, and his life in Jerusalem. Mark Twain mocks the way she went about looknig for the cross, and the site were Jesus was crucified. but it was Helena who ordered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the new axis mundi for Christians. I think by establishing a different 'most holy spot' christians helped break with Jews even more. For instance, Christians for the most part stay away from the Temple Mount and stay closer to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. By not seeing Christians in Jew's holy spots, literally seeing, going to the Wall, and not seeing Christians, it reinforces a separation between Jews and Christians.

Jerusalem in Revolt

There were two big Jewish revolts against the Romans. the first was the Great revolt which lasted from 66-70 or 73 CE depending on how you look at it. during the Roman period there were sects of Judaism, the Pharisees, Sadducees, Esseenes, and the early Christians. The Sadducees were buddies with the Romans and believed that the Temple was essential to daily life and all that. Basically there were pro-Temple and pro-Roman. The Pharisees would evolve into the rabbis. They did not stress the importance of the Temple. they were also very disatisfied with the Roman rule but knew that any revolt they would lead would get squashed and the Jews would be worse offin the long fun. There were also religious zealots who stabbed people and were named after their knives, but I forgot their names. They believed in all out revolt. Then the Esseenes were sort of on the periphery. They were out of Jerusalem and were purifying themselves in the desert trying to make the messiah come and rescue everyone.

Basically the Pharisees were right. The revolt happened and the Jews were much worse off. The Temple was destroyed. But it gets worse.....

Before I get to that though, let me mention Josephus. Josephus was a Jewish general who was captured by the Romans. He convinced Titus that he was a prophet by telling him that one day he would be Emperor of Rome. Josephus had a lucky guess and was saved by the Romans. He was comissioned to write records on the Jewish wars and the revolts which have become one of the foundational texts about Jews, Judaism, and Jerusalem from this time period. Thanks Josephus. You really helped out us history folks!

OK, back to the timeline. 70-Temple destroyed. 73-Masada falls, the last stand against the Romans. A very interesting story. Fast forward to about 132, and we are in the Bar Kochba revolt. Bar Kochba was a genreal who peple thought was the messi9ah because he A) he had a bomb-ass name (Bar Kochba means son of a star, and he had Akiba who people thought was a prophet which is prophesized somewhere. It goes something like messiah son of David, and prophet Elijah in English), B) he was leading a revolt against the Romans, and C) people were desparate. But that got squashed too, and the results were much worse. I rememeber reading that loss of life ws much worse in the second revolt and in addition to that, Jews were banned from Jerusalem, and the land was renamed Philistina just to rub it in the Jews face that they lost. Philistina is like Philistine, David's ancient enemies. The modern word Palestine comes fromt this. So ya, bad stuff.

There's more...rise of the synogauge, Pontias Pilot, Herod stuff, coins stuff. But I must write the second post for today. Sorry for any typos.