Response- Tamari Readings

These readings were different. Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" comes to mind..."You don't know what you've got till its gone"

 I'm not saying that I'd prefer Armstrong, but I think the concise history was sometimes easier to process with relevance to my political thinking on Jerusalem, the region, and the conflict.

Nonetheless, I found  “Lepers, Lunatics and Saints" to be most interesting. I was really intrigued by Tamari's analysis of the idea of nationalism and nativism. He mentions that "Much of Palestinian nationalist revivalist writings of this period was a reaction to Zionist attempts at establishing their own putative claims to the Israelite and biblical heritage."

The idea of nationalism, Israeli or Palestinian, is very complex. If we look at Palestinian nationalism, it has long been contested by proponents of Israeli nationalism or Zionism. One could argue that Palestinian nationalist agendas have less of a base when compared to the basis of Zionism. Palestinian identity is not formed off of the need for a religious home, for there is not even a uniform religion among them, opposed to Jews, many of whom were oppressed in the diaspora, creating the need for a place for Jews to prosper and live out religious lives in freedom.

Yet if we look at recent Palestinian identity, there are more and more individuals who are passing as Palestinian and assuming such identity as a result of more recent oppression from Israel. So as time passes- is the need for nationalism and nationalist states for both peoples growing?

In another class, I am learning about racial and ethnic identification. One trend we study is the idea of self-identification. Many modern Zionists who have moved to Israel to live out a Jewish life were doing perfectly fine in diaspora countries such as the UK and the USA. Some could argue they don't need Israel for the same reasons on which it was founded. Similarly, many individuals who assume Palestinian nationality are originally of Jordanian or other Middle Eastern descent. So the question arises: what is the role of self-identification and self-recognition of a need for a nationalist state in contrast to the identification and recognition as performed by the international community?

This is all very confusing, and my analyses only lead to more questions, but I would like to hear more on the issue. I understand and relate to many forms of Zionism, but many extreme actions taken by others who identify as Zionist often deter me and make me wary of classifying myself in the same group in them. Similarly, as I have learned first hand of the Palestinian narrative, while I find it hard to see relevance to their cause based in history, I am very sympathetic for the current situation. I believe that the Palestinian nationalist agenda deserves more recognition and appreciation, even if only to protect the welfare of human beings.

Who is more legitimate? Who's nationalism is more nationalist than the other? Who knows...