I put this off long enough.
I promised in late August that I would continue to write entries as I studied at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Illinois. I guess I didn’t realize how easily it is to get caught up in everyday life at campus and how busy I would become. If this first entry from college gets a good response, then I’ll try to write more regularly.
A lot has happened since I got back from Israel in August. The "war" as we called it this summer between Israel and Hizbullah ended, but for how long, no one knows. There was a fatal shooting at Dawson College CEGEP in Montreal, my former school. It was a surreal week moving to Evanston and starting a new school, while hearing about what many of my friends and former teachers were going through back in Montreal. Especially, walking by a USA Today newspaper dispenser and seeing DeMaissoneuve full of fleeing students on the front page.
On my hiking trip to Northern Pennsylvania in early September to meet new students, I was within a few miles of Ralph "Bucky" Phillips, the fugitive cop killer who was on the run since last April. Our hiking trail was rerouted to accommodate the manhunt and thankfully he was caught while I was in the area.
Then there that bad spinach scare which seemed to be gripping the US for a while as well as the story of the Rep. Mark Foley’s indecent behaviour with congressional pages.
November 7th’s congressional election has also had an impact on campus life. Students are "volunteering" to canvass for Tammy Duckworth, the Democrat Iraq war vet who is running for congress in one of the Chicago districts. For ten dollars an hour, some of my friends have been knocking on doors to try to get her votes.
My roommate at NU is interning for Dan Seals, another congressional democratic challenger in another Chicago district. "I’m a Dan Fan" placards litter my room here. I’m interested in the election even if I can’t vote or work in the States and jokingly answer when people call me "Canada."
The focus of my journalism has changed from the Middle East to less worldly issues. I have been covering men’s golf for the Daily Northwestern, a beat that I am excited about. Today’s latest article can be found at
I’m in contact with The Media Line and will look at different options for the summer. In late September, they published an article I wrote over the summer about the current conflict in Somalia between Islamist and moderate factions. It’s still the top story in the Facts in Context section (
While my freshman journalism class at Northwestern is still theoretical and not hands on, I’m learning a lot just being exposed to the resources at Medill. My academic advisor is David Protess, the journalism professor whose work with journalism students has helped place a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois and freed eight men wrongfully convicted of murder on death row. I got pretty lucky with that one and I’ll definitely keep up to date on what I have to do to try to get into his class when I’m a senior.
I’ll be attending a journalism conference in Los Angeles next month which will feature a lot of media from the Middle East. I’ll report on that in mid-November.
That’s about it for now. If anyone has any questions or anything they want me to write about, feel free to comment.
Back home in Montreal, parts of my summer seem a little surreal. Was that really me taking buses in Jerusalem, calling up pundits, writing articles about the war between Hizbullah and Israel?
A quick look at my blog entries confirms that it was me the whole time.
Adjusting to "normal" life in Montreal came pretty easy. I felt the stress of being in Israel the whole summer dissipate as I caught up on movies, with friends, read local newspapers and slept. People suddenly wanted to talk to me about my summer. I was recruited to talk in front of my grandmother’s senior citizens’ group. While some octogenarians snored, I recounted my experiences. They seemed interested in the nitty-gritty of daily life in Jerusalem. While many of the older people in the audience had visited Israel, many wanted to know what life was like outside the elder-hostel tour bus.
My summer in Israel seemed to follow me back to Montreal as local politicians took flack for participating in pro-Hizbullah rallies. I started to notice the Lebanese flags sprouting up around different parts of the city. I found myself conflicted when people would ask my opinion about the war. As a journalist for the summer, I merely reported events. It wasn’t in my internship duties to take sides. My summer in Israel helped me see the fuller picture, making it harder to choose one viewpoint over another. Sometimes being exposed to many different ideas makes it more difficult to choose just one.
I have become more perceptive of the news. The local papers seem to rule here. Most people I talk to will ask me if I read so-and-so article in the (Montreal) Gazette today and what I think about a certain issue. Now I’m aware of so many different news sources on the internet from around the world that I find it limiting to get my information from one article picked up from a newswire in the newspaper.
My time in Montreal is pretty brief though. This Sunday I will be leaving for Northwestern University just outside Chicago. I’ll be starting journalism school in a few weeks. I’m not packed at all and I’m somewhat disenchanted with journalism after being exposed to all its workings all summer. I read the commencement speech for the graduating class of this year (http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/medill/inside/medill_voices/medill_commencement_speech_2006.html) and it got me a little concerned about the future of journalism and whether or not it will have a place for me when I graduate.
I’ve been in touch with my former bosses at The Media Line and I was happy to find out that they organized a major event in Jerusalem on Monday where the who’s who in the coverage of the war debated the shortcomings of the coverage of the war. The Jerusalem Post carried an article about the successful event which saw such names as Steven Erlanger, the Jerusalem Bureau Chief of the New York Times answer blunt questions about his newspaper’s coverage. The link is: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525968905&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
I don’t have much to report on the current Mideast situation because I’m no longer in a newsroom. If anyone is interested, I can still occasionally report on my experiences in journalism at Northwestern University’s journalism school and offer an insider’s report on what one of the top journalism schools in the states is teaching its students. I’m also thinking about heading back to The Media Line next summer in Jerusalem so this won’t be the last time you’ve heard from this intern.
I couldn’t be in Israel this whole summer without at least seeing the other side. Yesterday, the Bureau Chief here at The Media Line was nice enough to take me on a drive around the parts of Jerusalem I never get to see.
Our first stop was East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is the Arab center of Jerusalem and is on the other side of the “green line.” (“The term Green Line is often used to refer to the 1949 Armistice established between Israel and its opponents [Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt] at the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.” www.answers.com).
From there we drove to the Mount of Olives to get a stunning view of Old City. From that vantage point, I was able to see the entire Northern wall of the Old City and probably the best view I have had this summer of the Temple Mount. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Gethesemane were also in the distance.
Then we drove to Abu Dis, an Arab village still within the municipality of Jerusalem. In Abu Dis, I got a good look at the security fence which from where I stood, was a 30 foot wall covered in the most colourful anti-Bush graffiti I have ever seen. The security fence is supposed to be stopping terrorists from infiltrating Israel but it not yet fully sealed. At one crossing, we tried to get across by car but the border police said we could only cross over by foot at our own risk. So, instead of driving 20 feet, we had to make a huge circle which took 40 minutes. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to do that every day.
Now fully in the West Bank, we drove into an Arab village called ‘Azariyya. We weren’t within the municipality of Jerusalem anymore more—‘Azariyya is fully run by the Palestinian authority. Palestinian areas are visibly different from Israel. The architecture changes, everything looks more rundown and signs become prominently Arabic.
In a residential area of ‘Azariyya we noticed Lebanese flags flying from a storefront. We stopped the car and I was asked if I felt comfortable getting out. With a deep breath, I got out of the car and crossed the street to the store. The Bureau Chief wanted to take pictures of the Lebanese flag flying for the website (it was featured briefly today on The Media Line) and also perhaps purchase some flags to use as props for pictures. We already have a green Hamas flag at the studio, so why not add more flags to the collection? Not only did we find a hand-painted Lebanese flag (clearly produced quickly and cheaply to meet the current demand) and a Palestinian one, but we found the jackpot—a bright yellow flag of Hizbullah. We had to be careful getting this one back into Israel so we hit it in the glove compartment. Perhaps due to the yellow foreign press sticker on the car, we were able to drive through the crossing at the security fence/wall which saved a lot of time.
When I was safely back within the confines of my office, I looked back on my West Bank journey worrying how I was going to explain this one to my parents. I’m starting to realize how necessary it is to get a view of both sides before forming opinions about the Middle East.
Back to the news. The temporary ceasefire is more than over. An Israeli civilian died today in Northern Israel and Hizbullah launched an Iranian made rocket that hit Beit Shean. Beit Shean is 70 km south of the Lebanese border and is the farthest town to have been reached so far.
I’m supposed to have an article up on the site today about sectarian strife in Lebanon. The technical team is working right now to find a suitable picture to accompany the article. Most of the articles I have written have been short, around 600 words. This one is double the length and is a thorough look at who exactly are these “Lebanese” people that headlines keep talking about. I managed to get a cell phone number for the academic I mentioned in my last post. He was very knowledgeable and provided me with the information. In my last recorded interview, I did not feel 100 percent comfortable as my knowledge of the subject was limited. This time, I researched the subject of sectarianism in Lebanon for days and went over my questions with another reporter to make sure I sounded somewhat informed. In the end, I was really happy with how the interview went and I wasn’t even as embarrassed as I usually am to hear my voice on tape. It helps in an interview to be genuinely interested in the subject. I have never had a recorded conversation flow so easily.
My trip is really winding down. Tomorrow is my last day at the office but I will try and post a final update of news. Tomorrow is a Jewish fast day called “Tisha Ba’av” or the Ninth of Av. The fast commemorates the destruction of the two Jewish temples. The site of the second temple is in the Old City and I heard it is quite the site when it gets packed on this fast day. I want to head there tonight or tomorrow to get some pictures of the crowds before I leave
I posted some pictures from 'Azariyya as attachments.
I have put it off long enough. It’s finally time for a news round up.
The big story today was the Israeli army’s bombing of Qana in southern Lebanon. 60 civilians were said to have died. The Israeli army bombed a large building which it claims Hizbullah was using to fire hundreds of rockets into the Israeli towns of Kiryat Shmona and Afula. Hizbullah probably based itself in the town for symbolic reasons. In 1996, Israel had to abort an operation against Hizbullah after 100 Lebanese refugees were killed by artillery shells. Maybe Hizbullah thought Israel would not strike a village it had already received enough flack for hitting a decade ago. In response to the bombing of Qana (you’ve probably already seen the footage), Lebanese protestors attacked a UN building in Beirut this morning. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in town trying to help the Israeli government come to solution and media outlets keep reporting over and over that she has cancelled her trip to Beirut because of the Qana bombings. Don’t worry, I’ll let everyone know of any Condi sightings in Jerusalem.
Ceasefire is the big buzzword lately. Rice was “deeply saddened” by today’s bombings and civilian losses, but she did not call for an immediate ceasefire. Instead she called for one “as soon as possible.” With this war, the trouble is that a ceasefire does not really mean the end of anything. A ceasefire would only accomplish a temporary stoppage of deadly bombings and rocket launchings until the next big flare up. Of course, for humanitarian reasons, a ceasefire is necessary. But then again, the last thing Israel wants is for Hizbullah to have a break so they can regroup. Israel wants to take as much time as it can to destroy Hizbullah so it won’t have to this start this all over again in the near future.
A columnist in an Israeli newspaper said something that seemed to make a lot of sense to me. He complained of all the photo-ops that politicians and reporters take in the bombed out streets of Beirut. From their perspective, there are no weapons, rocket launchers or Hizbullah in site—just senseless destruction. What the people should be looking at, the columnist wrote, is the “concrete slabs with air holes below their feet that protect the Hizbullah command centers.” Being part of the working media for this brief period has made me realize that there will always be something to criticize the media about, and usually for good reason. It’s so hard to be able to show every angle, left and right, up and down, but I am happy to have been part of an organization that tries to elevate coverage of the Middle East.
I spent most of this Sunday working on a background article about the different religious groups in Lebanon. All the international headlines are so concerned with the “Lebanese.” But who are these Lebanese? There’s Sunnis, Shi’ites, Christians, Druze and tons of other smaller groups. Lebanon is a very splintered society and has almost always experienced sectarian strife throughout its history. I had prepared a list of questions for an academic and a few minutes ago I was all pumped and ready to make the big phone call. Then I realized that it’s still Sunday. No one’s going to want to talk to this Media Line intern on a Sunday in America or Europe (even if I am a great conversationalist).
In less Media Line related news, when I was trying to hail a cab today on a Jerusalem street corner, a man walked up to me and asked me in Hebrew if I was waiting for a cab. When I answered the affirmative, he told me to be careful and make sure I don’t get an Arab taxi driver. Everyday, I see how Israel is a splintered place. Two distinct societies living under one roof can be a battleground sometimes. And I thought Francophones and Anglophones in Quebec had their troubles.
Last night though, I thought I had an Arab taxi driver because he was speaking a dialect of Hebrew with (what I thought was) an Arabic accent. I found out later he was probably a Jewish Israeli from a Middle Eastern country. This young guy, dressed in a form fitting t-shirt that said “surfing Malibu” was telling me about how when he was in the army, he was in Lebanon and he knows what “bad things” are going on there. Only a few years out of the army, he’s now on call, ready to be called up whenever the army wants him. He has his bag packed, he says, and he’s worried about what lies ahead.
Prior to getting into this guy’s cab, I was in another taxi briefly. I had to get out because the taxi driver informed me he had just driven down from Haifa (fleeing the rockets) and did not know Jerusalem that well. Unless I could direct him to exactly where I was going, he would be useless he said. I felt bad for him but the truth is, even my sense of direction at home is pretty poor, so it was either get out, or get lost.
In Hebrew, the word for a suicide bomb attack or a shooting is a “piguah.” The shooting in Seattle sounds like something that is supposed to take place in Israel and not in North America and I’m alarmed to hear that this kind of despicable activity is getting closer to home.
By the way, this time next week, I’m supposed to be home already. I have failed to mention in previous posts that my internship is coming to an end, probably because I was in denial. My last day of work is on Thursday. I will try to report to you until then. This intern, unfortunately, won’t be reporting from the Middle East for much longer.
I have nothing new to report on the fighting between Hizbullah and Israel. The humanitarian situation in Lebanon sounds appalling and northern Israel is still extremely dangerous.
The past two days I have been working on a background article on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559. Resolution 1559 has been mentioned in the news a lot lately because of its relevance to the current conflict in Lebanon. The resolution, passed by the Security Council in 2004, calls for the disarmament and disbanding of all militias in Lebanon and for the territorial sovereignty of Lebanon. As long as Hizbullah remains an armed terrorist organization in control southern Lebanon, resolution 1559 can obviously never be fulfilled.
Researching the background information was the easy part. Contacting an expert who could provide some analysis was the hard part. Because of the time difference, I was told to contact academics in Europe. The bad news was that most academics, particularly the ones in Britain, were on summer vacation.. British think tanks were the next suggestion. I might have succeeded had I not become trapped in voice mail hell. Many of the think tanks which I called had friendly receptionists who were more than happy to transfer me to voicemail after voicemail of very smart sounding people who were “unavailable” at the moment. Quite frustrating since the people who I was trying to reach all seemed to have the right credentials to provide good answers. Time started to tick away and my article still had no expert’s opinion.
The time that was ticking by actually worked in my favour because soon it was five o’clock, that magic time in Israel when you can start calling the United States. Yes, I thought to myself, the United States is surely full of talkers. So I started dialing the US think tanks. Now this is what I love about the States: When an “expert” is unavailable or busy, he/she does not just tell me that he does not have time to talk to me, but feels it his duty to inform me that CNN is on the other line, he has a TV segment coming up and that the BBC will be calling back in five minutes so I should try him in three hours.
I’m starting to become acquainted with the notion that there is a celebrity circuit of pundits who make the rounds and love to brag about who is featured on more cable news networks. Finally, I managed to get in contact with Judith Kipper, who is a fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington, DC. So far, this summer, when I spoke with Mideast “experts,” they were actually based in the Middle East so I was at first thrown off by her American perspective. She basically told me that nothing will be accomplished in the Middle East without America’s intervention, including the implementation of resolution 1559.
I am learning to love recording interviews. It is so much easier listening to an interview and then taking notes instead of the usual scrounging over illegible notes as I do back home. By the time the interview was over it was about 7 pm so I finished the article up on Sunday and it appeared on the site today, in the Facts in Context section.
A lot of my day today has been spent trying to contact a Filipino woman in Lebanon. Her sister in Kuwait contacted The Media Line and was worried that she would not be able to get out of Beirut where she worked at a hotel. I was trying to call her on her cellphone to get her story for the radio. At this point, there’s probably a better chance that cellphones work better than landlines in Lebanon. I also had trouble reaching a number of people in a southern town in Lebanon called Marjeyoun.
This was a not a news heavy post but I guarantee that I will post more later this week as developments happen.
This has been quite the week to be in Israel. While it cannot be called a full out war, probably the best way describe what is going on now is as an intense, armed conflict between Israel and Hizbullah.
The fighting is continuing, people are dying and rockets are still falling in Israel. Yesterday two Arab-Israeli children were killed in Nazareth, showing that Hizbullah’s aim is not always accurate, but always deadly.
The film crew at The Media Line went out on Tuesday to northern Israel to take footage of the rockets as they fell. I did not have the option to go but considering I do not want to induce heart attacks on my parents, I think it was a good idea to stay back at the office. The film crew returned with a scrap of metal from a Katyusha rocket that had landed in a field. This sharp piece of gnarled metal is only as big as my fist but just holding it in my hand, I could feel its weight and how much destruction it could cause as just a tiny piece of a large rocket.
The piece of metal that I touched is only one way that I have been affected by this week’s events. Luckily, I’m safe and not affected directly but I can feel it through people around me. My roommate at the dorms, however, has to worry as her cousins and family in Israel are called up to North. In Israel there is mandatory conscription for all males between 18-21 (females serve 21 months). After their three-year service, they serve in the reserves and can be called up until age 42. This week three more battalions of reserves were called up, meaning a lot of families are now hoping their sons, brothers and fathers are going to be okay.
Many people in Jerusalem have also opened their homes to residents fleeing the north of the country. It is not uncommon to hear that so-and-so is hosting a 9 person family from Haifa who may or may not be related to them.
My weekend is going to be spent in the south of the country. While there are still qassam rockets being launched into the south from Gaza, unless they develop a longer range one tonight, I should be out of the heat on my trip to Beer Sheva and Yeruham. Have a good weekend and thanks to everybody for thinking of me and wanting me to be safe.
So this is what journalism is like during a time of war. Israel is still being battered with missiles and the pictures of shelled out buildings in Beirut don't look so hot either. It's been only two weeks since I wrote that I went hiking in the Golan Heights and snuck a peak at Syria from the mountaintop. Now you'd have to be crazy to do that. The entire North of Israel is under constant threat of being hit with long range rockets. This afternoon, Haifa was hit with more of these rockets. Six people were wounded. This is becoming routine but at least no one died this time. On Sunday, eight people died when a Haifa bus garage was hit. But that's all over the news. The death count is climbing in Lebanon also. I'm saddened by the news of the deaths of seven Montrealers in Southern Lebanon.
In Jerusalem, I feel relatively safe. Surrounded by mountains, Jerusalem is harder to reach. We're also pretty close to the West Bank and a large population Arab population which might deter Hizbullah from sending Katyushas our way. Plus Hizbullah has no interest in starting a holy war if they accidentally hit the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aqsa mosque. Still, this is Israel and you never know.
I still managed to have an enjoyable birthday weekend. But even on the beach yesterday in Herzliya, the presence of war was apparent as groups of helicopters flew overhead. They were flying North along the coast towards Lebanon and back again. A fleet of about five helicopters had what looked like missiles hanging down from them. I'm no military expert so I'm not sure what exactly what was hanging from under the helicopters but it had a tube-like bullet shape.
When I got back to Jerusalem from my day trip to Herzliya and Ra'nana I was informed by my program leaders that the area I had just left was now under alert. Next time I leave Jerusalem, I have to inform them whenever I leave the city. When I had left in the morning, the area was not under alert. How quickly things change.
What is going on between Israel and Hizbullah is surely felt all over Israel but in Jerusalem it still does not feel immediate. What does feel immediate here is the constant threat of terrorism. This morning a 25 year old Palestinian from the West Bank was found with explosives a few blocks away from my office here. He was walking from the Old City of Jerusalem onto Jaffa street, intending to perform a suicide bombing. This summer, I've done the Old City- to- Jaffa walk countless times. I heard the sirens going off from the window here and only thought of them as an annoyance to the phone interview I was trying to conduct. Little did I know what they were for. Things have been quiet here in Jerusalem this summer so this shook me up- only 500 meters or so away and the bomber was probably going to walk to center town if he hasn't been thwarted. Suddenly the war feels real to me. And all I can do is take a cab instead of a bus today.
In happier news, my first published article on the Media Line is up on the site today! www.themedialine.org in the "facts in context section" under the headline "Southern Lebanon and Israel: New Conflict, Same Old Story." It's a background piece on the history of Lebanese-Israeli relations since the 1970's and puts into perspective what is occurring right now in the region. In a future post, I could also explain some of the history of the tension between Hizbullah and Israel.
Thanks to all the people who posted comments (and the birthday wishes, or words of encouragement). I apologize for answering some people's questions but I'll try to do a better job next time of posting some answers.
Israel is now fighting a two front war. The army is deployed in Gaza and Lebanon. Cities in Northern Israel are being hit with Katyushas (long range rockets), including Safed, a city I visited not too long ago. At least 90 people have been wounded by the Katyushes. Hizbullah, (that's how we spell it at the Media Line) the terror organization which has been ruling Southern Lebanon since the mid 1980s is continuously launching these rockets which are killing and injuring people. Two more soldiers were also kidnapped by Hizbullah,Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. Hamas still has Corporal Gilad Shalit from over two weeks ago.
Israel has been retaliating by bombing strategic points in Lebanon, including the big story this morning—the International Airport in Beirut.
It's a little hard to be optimistic right now about being in Israel. It feels too close to home with these rockets falling in the North. Hizbullah threatened to bomb Haifa if the Israeli Army goes into Beirut.
I spent the day writing a background piece on the history of the relations between the terror groups in Southern Lebanon and Israel. I know a lot more about what's going on right now but I don't have time to write about it. The point is Hizbullah is a really dangerous terror organization with weapons and funding coming from Syria. Last night there were rumours that Israel was also going to invade Syria to cut off the source and that there would be a three front war.
I've never seen such heightened security in Jerusalem. The Square across the street is now cordoned off so everyone has to walk in a small entrance and pass by two border police guards. My roommate said that this is perfectly normal during a time of heightened security but since this is my first time here for an extended period of time, it still looks weird to me.
Last night I was going to go to the film festival again but after I heard what happened I opted to go to Gerald Steinberg's political science class instead. He's an expert on the Mideast situation and constantly being interviewed by newspapers. He lectured on all of Israel's options at this point and to tell you the truth, I left the class pretty alarmed.
It's going to be an interesting birthday weekend!
At around noon Israeli time, I was about to post that the latest development in Gaza was that the Israeli Army struck a building which was a meeting place for terrorists.
This is still the latest news from Gaza but now there is more breaking news in the country. Two Israeli Soldiers have been kidnapped by Hizbullah in Lebanon. Lebanon is north of Israel and this morning, Hizbullah launched several rockets at communities and Israeli posts on the Northern border. ("Hizbullah is the radical Shia group formed in Lebanon; dedicated to creation of Iranian-style Islamic republic in Lebanon and removal of all non-Islamic influences from the area."- US State Department)
There have always been disputes over the borders between Lebanon and Israel but it is thought that this attack was a response to Israel's striking the building in Gaza and injuring Muhammad Deif, an "arch terrorist" who had been on Israel's hit list for years.
I'm going to put this post up which was written mostly yesterday and I will write a shorter one later today or tomorrow with an update on the situation. Keep in mind the tone of this post is a little lighter than usual and was written before the latest kidnappings and escalation in the north.
Back to Gaza and the strike against the building and Muhammad Deif. I asked the Bureau Chief here what the difference was between an arch-terrorist and a terrorist. He answered that unlike regular terrorists, arch-terrorists don't go shopping. Another senior Hamas member, who was said to be directly involved with the kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit, was also wounded. There is still no word on the kidnapped soldier and no word on when Israel is getting out of Gaza.
Right now I'm glued to the Indian bombings story. Bombings on public transportation sound nightmarish even to someone who's only been living in Israel for a month.
The work here has picked up so I haven't had time to post an entry in a while. On Sunday I was sent into the "field" for the first time. Armed with a very official looking Media Line microphone (it looks like the ones reporters use on TV) and a small recorder that was surprisingly sensitive, I hit the Old City. The Old City is a short walk from the offices here. This walled city is the original Jerusalem. It contains the Jewish, Arab, Christian and Armenian quarters. The Western Wall which is located within the Old City, is as close as Jews can get to their holiest site—the Temple Mount. Currently the women's prayer area is significantly smaller than the men's prayer area. The women's area can get quite cramped on a busy day. After years of complaints, the Israeli Government has finally decided to expand the women's prayer area. They are not going to take away from the men's side but rather renovate the "Mughrabi" path. This path is the ramp that can be seen diagonally above the women's prayer area. It is used by Muslim worshippers to reach the Mughrabi Gate which leads to their holy sites. Before anyone gets angry, rebuilding this ramp is not as bad as sounds. The ramp was built in 1967 and is a pretty rickety old thing having almost crumbled last winter during an earthquake. The renovations are supposed to make everyone happy. The women's prayer area at the Wall will be increased to be equal to the men's side and the Mughrabi path or ramp will be made safer and more accessible. Any changes to the Temple Mount area have always elicited strong reactions from both Muslims and Jews. The government has to take extreme precaution when dealing with the holiest sites of both faiths and many people are already disappointed.
The outgoing mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Areas has already spoken out publicly against the renovations, saying they will create a change in the character of the area and affect Islamic archeological remains. Muslims say they fear this plan is part of an Israeli plot to take over the Temple Mount, which is home to the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
My job was to hit the streets of the Old City and take a "vox pop," short for vox populi which is Latin for "voice of the people." In short, I had to ask people what they thought of the renovations and record their answers for radio use. A vox pop. has to include a variety of opinions and people so I tried my best to speak to Jews, Christians, Muslim Arabs, Non-Orthodox Arabs—anyone who could give me a response in English for our largely American audience.
Now most people know to stay away from the Western Wall at noon in the dead of the heat. At the time, I seemed to have forgotten about the lack of shade in the area. I emerged two hours later from the Jaffa Gate (the main entrance/exit to the Old City) with some great audio and an even better sunburn featured prominently on my nose.
Some people's perspectives on the issue were surprising. I expected women to be gung-ho happy about their increased prayer space. While most women I spoke to were thrilled, the first woman I spoke to said that these renovations were totally unnecessary. Women, she said, are not supposed to pray as much as men and she found it unfortunate that so many women were uninformed about their role. I spoke to a number of men who seemed to think the changes were a good idea. I was instructed to look for "Haredi" men, meaning ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to get their opinion. I was told to be careful because chances are that they are not going to talk to me. The other day I was about to purchase some postcards in a more religious area. A friend of mine told me not to look the merchant in the eye since it might be disrespectful and I could be reproached for doing so. So I admit to not being that successful in recording the opinions of these men, but to be fair, I also didn't see any, when like I said, most people prefer to stay home than to brave the noon-day sun.
In the Old City, I recorded myself saying the introduction to the piece. I was given some tips at work (keep your voice lower than usual etc.) as I tried to emulate a "radio voice." I still have a long way to go with that, but I was told that I have potential. I definitely need a lot more practice to develop my own style. But even after listening to my first try and then my later tries, I could detect a major difference so there is hope in sight.
The value of an internship is the experience of learning in the "real world." I'm learning to be less sensitive about my own abilities. I have never really been in the situation where criticism is a positive thing. Here, the more feedback I receive, the better it is because it is the only way I'm going to learn to become a somewhat functioning skilled journalist. Before this summer, I could never imagine myself venturing out in Jerusalem alone, and surely not with a microphone, having just cold called Yemen.
I would just like to report a bizarre event that occurred yesterday. I was walking from my dorms to the bus stop when a small truck pulled up next to me. The driver rolled down a window, yelled something so I'd look up and then threw what felt like a bucket of water on me. I could not get a good look at the license plate as the truck drove off really quickly. Also I can now attest that when you get hit with water in the face, it is a natural reaction to shut your eyes. This sabotage left me in shock and without time to go back in change, I dried off by just standing in the sun at the bus stop. It was truly an inauspicious start to the day and when people asked me why I was soaking wet, no one seemed to believe me. Whoever did this got a good laugh, and I could hear it for a few seconds as the perpetrator drove off. My birthday is on Saturday so hopefully they won't crash the party.
Headlines scream: "Israel move deeper into Gaza, Israel creates Buffer Zone in Northern Gaza." What can I tell you that you haven't read already? Not much but for the lazier ones out there, I'll provide a quick recap. The latest on the kidnapped soldier is that Hamas has "relaxed" their demands and is now asking for the release of 130 prisoners. Earlier this week, there were reports that Khalid Mash’al, the head of Hamas who is based in Damascus, was trying to sneak Gilad Shalit out of Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claim that their operations in southern Gaza have thwarted this attempt. Israel did not respond to Hamas' ultimatum which I mentioned several times in my last post, "calling the kidnappers' demands 'extortion.'" It doesn't seem that there is a resolution in site.
The kidnapping story broke on the first day of my internship. For the past two weeks since then, I've been following media outlets everywhere who have not given up on this story. There is no question that the kidnapping is still gripping Israel but here at the Media Line, it was time to move on to some other stories. The website (www.themedialine.org) still features the latest developments on Gaza but is also covering some other news from all over the Middle East (which here includes all the members of the Arab League. The Arab League includes all the usual suspects like Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar…ect. But get this, it also includes Mauritania, the Comoros Islands and everyone's favourite Djibouti ) So there's a lot of countries under the wide umbrella of coverage here at the Media Line. This is what brought me to Yemen and Somalia. No, I didn't actually get to physically go there but someone I spoke to in Yemen mistakenly thought I was there. And now I definitely have a better handle of what’s going on in Somalia, a country I'm embarrassed to say I first discovered after 2001's gruesome war flick Black Hawk Down.
Last week, Yemen expelled 8,000 of their foreign doctors. Yemen does not have so many doctors in the first place so this is a big deal for the country which the CIA factbook describes as being "slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming." What a truly odd description. Yemen is located directly under Saudi Arabia and is east to Oman. For the trivia buffs out there, the capital of Yemen in Sana'a.
The doctors who were expelled were mostly from Russia and Uzbekistan. They were expelled because many of them were not doctors at all and were just posing as doctors to make money while harming unsuspecting Yemenites. My job yesterday was to locate someone in Yemen who could comment on the healthcare situation after this new development. First I contacted Dr. Hashim Ali El-Zein El-Mousaad who is the World Health Organization's representative inYemen. Coincidently it was his last day on the job. He was relocating to Jordan tomorrow but told me to drop by his office next week and someone will be glad to talk to me. I thanked him, told him I wasn't in the country at the moment and wished him a good trip. Next I called the Yemenite Newspaper who broke the story. If anyone wants the best quality English news from Yemen, check out the Yemen Observer. I scheduled an interview and at 5 o'clock in Israel and Yemen (I found out we're in the same timezone) Felice Friedson, the CEO here, interviewed the publisher of the newspaper. It was shocking to hear how fraudulent the doctors are in Yemen. He told the Media Line that sometimes people with just a headache do not make it out of the hospital alive after illegal doctors perform unnecessary surgery on them. Listening to interviews in the radio studio here at The Media Line is helping me learn how to pose questions properly. Soon I'll get a stab at speaking on the radio, which I guarantee will either be exciting or embarrassing.
If you cross the sea of Aden from Yemen, you end up in Somalia. Today, I finished an article today about the situation in Somalia which will hopefully appear at some point in the "facts in context" section of The Media Line. Somalia has been in the news lately because of the rise of the Islamic Courts. The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) are a group of courts who rule by Shari'a law. They have been restoring order to lawless parts of Somalia. In June, the ICU defeated warlords and seized the capital city of Mogadishu. Then the ICU pushed north and took over a city called Jowhar. The ICU are providing some stability to Somalis who have been living amid anarchy since 1991. There is a weak, transitional government that rules a small part of the country but it has not been effective in restoring order. After all, in 2004, when Abdallah Yousuf Ahmad was elected president of the transitional government, he swiftly appointed several leading warlords to his cabinet. The Islamic Courts rule by Shari'a law, meaning they give out strict punishments (amputations, stonings) for crimes such as robbery and rape. They also have set up clinics and schools and have organized local militias for protection.
Now why is this a hot topic? Well, the International community, especially the United States, is concerned that Somalia will become the next Taliban-like state and a haven for terrorists. There have already been reports of supposed terrorist training camps in Somalia. To counter this emerging Islamic state, the US is reportedly funding local warlords who oppose the Islamic Courts. That's right, the US has been giving money to warlords. There is reason for the US to be alarmed by the ICU. One of the leaders of the Islamic Courts is Sheikh Hasan Dahir 'Aweis. This guy is on the post-9/11 US list of suspected terrorists. He earned this spot by leading the Islamist militant group Al-Ittihad Al-Islami during the 1990's— a group with serious ties to Al-Qa'ida.
That's enough serious stuff for now. This is an extra long post since the Israeli Friday-Saturday weekend is almost upon us and I won't be in the office.
MJELACA posted that she wanted to hear what Israelis and Arabs have to say about what's going on in Gaza right now. I'll try to find out when I have a chance. BrandonM— I'm not sure if "Hothouse" is garnering a lot of attention here but it is up for the big award at the film festival. Plus I nabbed one of the last tickets to the show. Best part of interning—freebies. I'm going to the movie next week so I'll get back to you on that.
I made my first visit to the famous food market or "Shuk." I was never a huge fan of dried fruit but it looked very appealing at the time and now I have enough to open a small fruit stand. I'm writing this as I chew dried mango. Incidentally, I also took my first inner city bus this week. Not as scary as I thought. Have a good weekend. Italy or France? Any bets?
"We give the Zionist enemy until 6:00 tomorrow morning, Tuesday, July 4." This was the message faxed out to news agencies today and posted on the Hamas website. Unless the Israeli government gives into the captors' demands, which include releasing Palestinian prisoners, Israel will "pay the full future consequences." These "future consequences" were not defined but it is clear that the fate of the kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit, is on the line.
Ah, just another typical day in Jerusalem at The Media Line. It's hard not to bite my nails when this ultimatum and the invasion into Gaza dominate every headline in site. But at least no one in Israel has the Monday blues. This is probably because the work week starts on Sundays here with the Israeli "weekend" on Friday-Saturday instead of North America's Saturday-Sunday.
In my last post I mentioned that women voted and ran for the first time in Kuwaiti elections. The results of Thursday's election have been disappointing. None of the 28 women won any seats. With women representing 57 percent of the electorate, there was a chance that a woman would sit in the 50 seat parliament. Analysts have said that women probably voted the same way as their husbands which the Media Line reports, "may not have been their personal choice." Well, it's still a victory in my books.
Now I'm working on my own story ideas which I have to say is not easy. The Jerusalem International Film Festival is coming to town next week. Roman Polanski, Kim Cattrall and Geoff Goldblum are attending. I doubt I will see them but you never know…I'm probably going to catch a film called Hothouse about Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, which is relevant to what is going on right now, with that ultimatum I just mentioned. I'm hoping to write a piece based on this film, the festival or related issues. At our weekly news meeting, I was given new subjects to research but I've been told that reporters don't leak ideas before they are published.
I really appreciate the comments that were posted. In response to mjelaca's comment, I agree that Israel is not as dangerous as it is presented in the media and it can be a lot of fun also. I spent Canada Day hiking up north in the Golan Heights and took a nice peak at Syria from a mountain top. And just to clarify for Brian, I wrote that 2/3 of 1.3 million Gazans lost power and not all 1.3 million residents.
In my last post, I wrote that if the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit was not returned safely, an Israeli armed force would enter Gaza for the first time since last August's withdrawal. Well, as everyone is probably aware, Shalit has yet to be returned and Israeli troops have entered Gaza. The situation has only worsened. Ha'aretz reported that "roughtly two-thirds of Gaza's 1.3 million residents were left without electricity" after the Israeli army targeted the main power station. And now it appears that Eliyahu Pinchas Asheri, 18, the West Bank teenager who was kidnapped earlier this week by the Palestinian Resistance Committees has been found dead in Ramallah with a shot gun wound through his head. His funeral is going to be today in Jerusalem. For the sake of both sides, Israeli and Palestinian, we can only hope that Shalit's fate will be different.
In response to the raid and kidnappings, Israel has arrested most of Hamas' cabinet ministers. About 60 senior Hamas members are now in Israeli jails under the suspicion of being involved in terrorist activity.
That is a brief overview of what is going on. Nothing you can't read on an updated news website. What I can tell you though is that the streets of Jerusalem are still bustling and as busy as ever. Sure, everyone knows what's going on, but it hasn't had an effect on day to day life in Jerusalem. My boss was telling me yesterday how it was a ghost town between 2000 and 2004. Restaurants and stores that had been there "forever" had to close because there just wasn't anyone coming in. If anything, the Western Wall or Kotel, is now more crowded than ever with people praying for the safe return of Shalit. Things might even be somewhat normal in the more conflicted areas. Yesterday at the youth hostel, I was talking to a girl who had just visited Hebron that afternoon. While she had not been there before and apparently had not heard how dangerous it is supposed to be during the day, she still returned safely. Besides the occasional gunshots she heard in the background, she didn't report anything out of the ordinary.
Back at the office I got to see (or hear) the results of my first assistance with a story. I mentioned in my last post that I was researching the new, mostly unknown group "the Army of Islam" which was involved in Sunday's raid. One of my tasks was to locate some academics who could provide some background information on this group. An audio interview with one of the contacts I found, Dr. Munther Dajani, a political scientist at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, is now up on the site (www.themedialine.org). The interview was conducted by The Media Line's Arab Affairs correspondent Rachelle Kliger. After you get past the first minute where instead of answering the questions, he talks about how Israeli aggression results in these kind of extremist groups, the interview does provide some useful insight. Dr. Dajani says that it is unlikely that Al-Qaida and Hamas could ever cooperate because it like comparing "apples and oranges." Their ideologies are too different. Even if they share a common enemy in Israel, Hamas is a nationalist group who wants to liberate Palestine while Al-Qaida is a universal group who wants "to liberate the whole world." Al-Qaida might even view Hamas as being too moderate. All this new information is eye-opening for me. I never thought I'd learn the difference between one extremist group and another.
Other stories being covered here of note: Thursday's elections in Kuwait are the first time that women will be allowed to vote and run in parliamentary elections. There are 28 female candidates out of 250, which is amazing considering the women receive daily threats and they were only given the right to vote last May.
And as for me? I'm on the move. I'm finally leaving the youth hostel today and moving into the dorms. This means a longer commute, more privacy, more sleep and perhaps more concise posts.