Julia Kreag Reflection1

One thing that has really stuck with me and has continued to be reiterated these past few days has been the idea of legitimacy to the land and how important and crucial it is for Israel.

As we have been looking at the early history of Zionism in Professor Mendelsson’s class, we are reminded of how this ideology and movement gained power and influence. Zionists needed to legitimize the argument that the Jewish diaspora was critically defective and they needed to create a Jewish land and be a majority within it to keep power. Furthermore, and particularly interesting to me was the crucial element of land for secular Zionists. Very simplistically, they wanted to base this “new Jew” or “new Hebrew” identity on the Hebrew language and the historical land- land of Zion.

Once more this idea of legitimacy (especially legitimacy to the land) was again brought up by our tour guide Danny Herman talking about the influential role archaeology has with politics. He brought up several times the political and religious “balagan” throughout Jerusalem. One example I found particularly shocking in a historical and archaeological point of view was the inability to excavate or do any archaeological digs under or around the Dome of the Rock. Danny stressed the political implications that it had if archaeologists were able to dig around this area and find remains of  Jews- it would once again provide a claim of legitimacy for the Jewish people to this land that many Muslim neighbors may not want to acknowledge. Also, the documentary that a few of us went to watch Wednesday evening was entitled “The land speaks Arabic.” Again, we can see this legitimacy for claim and power in the region and it’s attachment to the land.

This question and importance of expressing legitimacy to the land is truly a complex and fascinating topic. When a few of us were eating dinner after the documentary, two reporters came over because they recognized us at the documentary and we were asked a question- why in this small piece of land has there been so much controversy, turmoil, and suffering, and why are we (outside nations) so interested in it? While we all may have our different reasons, it is a very important question that I will continue to ponder throughout this course. Furthermore, as much of a “balagan” this region may be, there is no doubt that this land, Jerusalem in particular, has almost a whimsical feel, bustling with different ways of life, passions, and ideologies that make it such a unique and intriguing place in the world.