Introduction Unit Assessment - Self-Reflection
The MAKOM Matrix was made to emphasize the importance of having both a personal connection with Israel as well as proper knowledge about the state. In the article, “Mature Zionism,” Hanan Alexander introduces: “the tendency to relate to Israel naively in the institutions of American and Israeli Jewish life and to teach about Israel uncritically in American and Israeli Jewish schools.” I view my personal experience to be unique since I experienced both sides of the spectrum. I have attended Jewish day schools in America as well as in Israel. If I would have gone to Jewish day school in America for my whole life I would say my understanding of Israel reflects Alexander’s definition of mature Zionism. However, living and studying in Israel has enabled me to study the flaws in addition to the strengths of Israel. I fully support this idea of wrestling. This means that I
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would fall under the upper right quadrant in the MAKOM Matrix. In my opinion it is important to always hear both sides of a story which would include learning about the failures in Israel’s history. This allows people to build a genuine connection with Israel rather than one forced upon them by propaganda. Having the experience of learning both from teachers who have never been to Israel and teachers who have never left Israel, I would say that I have profound thoughts and conversations about Israel.
Not only because of my Jewish identity, but having lived there and it being a second home for me, Israel is very important to me. That being said, I will of course always support Israel, but there is some discourse which is not always worth my time and energy. Firstly, it all depends on what setting I am in. For example, I will not get into an argument if I am the only Jew in a room surrounded by a bunch of patriotic Palestinians. I would never engage in discourse that may risk my physical security. However, I would get into a political discussion to defend Israel in a classroom setting and attend local rallies. Additionally, I will never get into a debate on social media. I sometimes look at these political comments online for fun because they make me laugh, but I do not participate as I know that I can not change someone’s opinion via a Facebook
comment. Although I feel like I already know a fair amount about Israel, there is still a lot more for me to learn. In this class, I hope to learn more about Israel’s “flaws.” I was already taught about all of its beauties and a few flaws, but I want to see the real “behind the scenes” like when we looked at the numbers of when Jews started moving to Israel. I will hopefully still love Israel after this class, but I at least want to understand why some people have so much hate against the country. I know that I will be involved in some type of Israel discussions in my life and especially in college so I want know how I can properly rebut to arguments that the Palestinians were in Israel first and that we kicked them out.
...or both? Anti-Semites like to claim that Jews are foreigners who "don't belong here." Claiming that the Jewish homeland is somewhere else and the Jewish state is somewhere else will only complicate that problem. The Jew’s sense of cultural pride would be his downfall as opposed to most Europeans who are proud of their nationality, culture, and heritage.
Late into the 19th century, Zionism (a biblical name for Jerusalem) started to rise when Theodor Herzl published an article that concluded Jewish assimilation and emancipation could not work in Europe. It was this that started plans for the creation of a Jewish statehood. During this time, the population of Jews were spread out across different countries, and in each of these countries, they had represented a minority. Throughout this period, they had longed for a state in which they called Eretz Israel, the land of Israel. Herzl’s proposed solution was for the revival of a Jewish homeland where they could set up a state belonging to themselves. Following his publishings, the First Zionist Congress was held in Switzerland. The program state that “The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a homeland in Palestine secure by public law”. Much of the Jewish community at this point held mixed views about this movement but it was this time period of the late 19th ce...
The position on Zionism and Israel shows one of the major changes that the Reform Judaism has undergone. In the Pittsburgh Platform written in 1885, it displays the first look into what the goals were for the Reform movement. The Pittsburgh Platform states that the movement does not support the idea of a Jewish homeland. The Reform movement has given up on the idea of going back to Israel, and having a Jewish homeland. “ We consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community, and therefore expect neither a return to Palestine…” (Roiter, Urowitz, Zeliger 131). This passage conveys the idea that a Jewish state is no longer needed because they consider themselves no l...
The essay How You See Yourself by Nicholas Mirzoeff discusses the evolution of art. The author discusses the use of art to represent changing identities over the years including cultural practices and societal expectations. The selfie, according to Nicholas Mirzoeff’s essay, is the equivalent of a self-portrait in the previous centuries preceding the technological development required for the present day selfie. The essay explores the different periods and the significance of art, particularly self-portraits, the selfies of the time, and their development over time. The author focuses on different themes including heroism, gender definition, and the focus of an image. Mirzoeff effectively provides examples illustrating and reinforcing the themes he highlights in his essay.
course of his hegira, most of whom spent only a few days in his company, a week
Gordon Willard Allport was the first psychologist to study on personality. Gordon was keen on identity, and at the time, identity was not a formal of brain science and it surely was not as elegant as social brain research. It is likely that Gordon completed his sibling school trying to get himself. He reported feeling not the same as others, including his more established sibling. This inclination, on the other hand, may have offered him some assistance with succeeding in his picked calling.
On the streets of Jerusalem, in the rubble of Ramallah, in synagogues, in mosques, in the hearts and minds of millions in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the remainder of Israel, Israelis and Palestinians are locked in a clash of civilizations. In his masterful work, The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel L. Huntington outlines a theory which approaches international politics on the scale of civilizations. However, he circumvents discussion about Israel. Huntington cautiously describes Israel as a “non-Western” (Huntington 90) country, but identifies the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as one along a fault line between civilizations (267). Though he chooses to avoid the issue, Huntington’s theory provides a groundwork for analyzing the conflict in Israel in terms of a clash of civilizations between Judaism and Islam. This is a dangerous and provocative idea. But if we dare examine its implications and explore its insights, we risk a more complete understanding of the conflict which has plagued relations between Palestinians and Israelis in particular, Muslim countries and Israel in general, for over fifty years.
Anyone can be a hero, it is not a predetermined occupation, rather it can come out of anybody when a conflict arises. To become a hero all one has to do is step in to resolve an issue. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner the main conflict of the book is Amir's regret of past sins and desire for atonement. To atone for his sins Amir needs to recognize his wrongdoings, work to make up for them and change as a person. Throughout this story, Amir needs help to complete these steps. He gets help from Rahim Khan: the catalyst for his journey to redemption, Sohrab: Who saves Amir from Assef, and himself who by working hard to make a relationship with Sohrab is able to accept and move on from his past. To complete his journey for atonement Amir needs
When my family and I could feel the warm fine sand, the gentle cool breeze, witness the crystal clear aquamarine ocean and swaying palm trees, and smell the sweet fragrant scent of plumerias, we must have gone to heaven. The enchanting beauty of this Hawaiian island, Maui, gives us a sense of warmth, peace, and serenity. In search of paradise, we explore the infamous Road to Hana, snorkel with underwater marine life, and journey back in time to experience the true customs, traditional cuisine and the original song, music and dance of Hawaii at a luau.
Alexander the Great is hailed, by most historians, as “The Great Conqueror” of the world in the days of ancient Mesopotamia. “Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in little more than a decade. Alexander was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia in July 356 BCE. His parents were Philip II of Macedon and his wife Olympias. Philip was assassinated in 336 BCE and Alexander inherited a powerful yet volatile kingdom. He quickly dealt with his enemies at home and reasserted Macedonian power within Greece. He then set out to conquer the massive Persian Empire” (Web, BBC History). It is important to note, which will maybe explain his brutal actions, that Alexander was only twenty years old when he became the king of Macedonia. “When he was 13, Philip hired the Greek philosopher Aristotle to be Alexander’s personal tutor. During the next three years Aristotle gave Alexander training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of importance in Alexander’s later life” (Web, Project of History of Macedonia). “In, 340, when Philip assembled a large Macedonian army and invaded Thrace, he left his 16 years old son with the power to rule Macedonia in his absence as regent, but as the Macedonian army advanced deep into Thrace, the Thracian tribe of Maedi bordering north-eastern Macedonia rebelled and posed a danger to the country. Alexander assembled an army, led it against the rebels, and with swift action defeated the Maedi, captured their stronghold, and renamed it after himself to Alexandropolis. Two years later in 338 BC, Philip gave his son a commanding post among the senior gener...
At the beginning of the story Nora is very happy, and everything with her family is going great. Nora responds in joy when Torvald brings up all the extra money that he will bring to the family with his new job. But as the story goes on Nora says she is not just a “silly girl” as Torvald says she is. Torvald does not agree that she understands all the business details referring to debt that she incurred to take out a loan to preserve Torvald’s health. She thinks that if she knows all these things about business that she will think that Torvald will see her as an intelligent person that knows more than just being a wife. But the fact that she is willing to break the law just to show her courage for Torvalds health.
Since the inception of an Israeli nation-state in 1948, violence and conflict has played a major role in Israel’s brief history. In the Sixty-One year’s Israel has been a recognized nation-state, they have fought in 6 interstate wars, 2 civil wars, and over 144 dyadic militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) with some display of military force against other states (Maoz 5). Israel has been involved in constant conflict throughout the past half century. Israel’s tension against other states within the Middle East has spurred vast economic, social, and political unity that has fostered a sense of nationalism and unity in Israel not seen in most other states. Over the next several pages I will try and dissect the reasons for why the nation state of Israel has been emerged in constant conflict and how this conflict has helped foster national unity and identity among the people of Israel.
“Our limitations are those we set up in our own minds.” These are the words my family always live by due to the difficult experiences we have encountered to reach to where we are now. Being raised in a very poor family in Toluca, Mexico, it made it extremely difficult to make a living. Various factors contribute to harsh living conditions especially with the ongoing corruption many Mexican cities dealing with, we were just one of many families struggling to put food in our plate every single day. These conditions always made our community to become hard workers because that was the only way to support our love ones and help create a bond with all the other families to help each other when needed. From young ages, children
Many theories bombarded in an attempt to set a moral code by which people are ought to live by. Plenty of controversies and arguments are raised against each one. One of the controversial moral doctrines is egoism, or simply preferring one's self interest over other's interests and desires. The doctrine seems to be reasonable to a certain extent at first, yet it fails drastically when having a second thought about it. Throughout my essay, I will explain the different types of egoism, and argue for each one of them. Finally, I will provide counter arguments for each type along with my personal opinion and analysis.
What is the value of a life? Is it how long you live, what you accomplish during your lifetime, or things you acquire? The ethics and moral reasoning behind this simple question does wealth equate to happiness? This has been asked many times and the debate from both sides has great points and emphasis, but I would like to talk about those who seem to be thrown on the back burner the needy. Now if you were to hear the word needy many different categories come to mind homeless, unemployed, sick, and the underprivileged. Each sector is different in terms of the needs and what is asked to help them: however they stand together in regards to some type of assistance to help them attain and maintain simple everyday tasks in their lives.