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Empathizing with Jesus

Today while gardening(?) it up in Armon Ha-Natsiv, a neighborhood in S. Jerusalem, I spoke to a professor from Ben Gurion University. He teaches anthropology and sociology, but he also has degrees in religion, philosophy, and mathematics.

This man lives in Armon Ha-Natsiv, but is originally from Harlem. He made aliyah in his 20s after […]

My Kibbutz readings

To Read:

“Lessons from the Kibbutz on the Equality-Incentives Trade-offs,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 25.1 (2011): 185-208.

Looking for:

The role of kibutz movement in state building Stats on the number of kibbutz and the share of kibbutznik in the overall population over the years

Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu

On Friday we went to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. A kibbutz is a community designed to live on collectivism: shared income, shared properties, communal living. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” The number of kibbutz tripled from 82 in 1940 to 214 in 1950. Some notable military generals and state […]

How Does Your Religion Grow?

In Israel, there seems to be an ideological bubble that only includes Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Jerusalem, especially, focuses on these three religions so fervently that you might as well just deny the existence of non-Abrahamic religions. It was refreshing to meet with the Drouze woman last week and hear about her “offshoot” religion. Even […]

Booze and Druze

After our extravagant wine tasting, we went for lunch in a Druze village at the local women’s co-operative. The food was of course delicious but what I most enjoyed was listening to one of the women who hosted us speak about her perception of religion. It was incredibly refreshing to hear someone say, of their […]

Bananas, a haiku.

We buy bananas One time we made a smoothie From our bananas

-Shaina

Well, at least she’s not reformed

One of the most striking aspects of living in Jerusalem is the constant influence of religion and politics on what we might deem secular or neutral social interactions. In particular I want to share one conversation in which I was surprised by the, arguably unnecessary, insertion of religious opinion. At my internship, I have been […]

Druze, not Jews

Today we stopped for lunch in a small town in northern Israel, after arduous morning activities in the Zichron Ya’akov area. This small town is home to a house/restaurant run by a Druze, or Muwahideen woman. We were welcomed into a room with a cozy floor space with pillows and a rug. We sat there […]

Jerusalem Uniforms

Appearances matter in Jerusalem. It can identify you, so people can categorize you and treat you accordingly. Nothing shockingly new.

Or so I thought.

During my visits to the Garden Tomb, to research for a paper, initially I dressed in a way that didn’t strongly identify me with a group, in a way […]

And also this

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/security-guard-shoots-jewish-israeli-man-dead-at-jerusalems-western-wall-8667855.html

Shaina