A Divided Jerusalem
Second Person Singular is a book written by Sayed Kashua, an Arab Israeli. Part one of this book showed how divided Jerusalem is. The conflict between Arab-Israelis and Jewish-Israelis is over who gets control of a certain piece of land and how it is controlled. Arab Israelis are treated like second class citizens. In the minds of the locals, “the Arab citizens of Israel were half-Jewish” (Kashua 11). In the book, the main character, who’s a lawyer, works in West Jerusalem. West Jerusalem is a wealthy part of Jerusalem where most Jewish Israelis live. Working in this area of Jerusalem makes him look more successful due to the fact he is where wealthy Jewish Israelis live. Even Palestinian people believe he is a better lawyer because of where his workplace is located even though they do not like the area around it.
The lawyer constantly feels that he has to prove himself to others because of the fact that he is Arab Israeli. The lawyer has to buy a new luxury car every time his competition does, which is almost every year, to prove he belongs in his place of work. The Israeli Jewish lawyers do not have to do this because they don’t have to prove their success and wealth to their co-workers, competition, and clients. When dropping off his kids at school the author says the lawyer can obviously tell the difference between Jewish and Arab people's cars. The author describes the Jew’s cars as “modest, affordable, generally products of Japan and Korea” and the Arab’s cars as “expensive and German, with massive engines under the gleaming hoods and dashboards full of accessories” (Kashua 13).
Arabs also have to think a lot more about where they attend school and where their children attend school. Arabs send their children to schools with both Jewish and Palestinian children because those are the schools who have the best education. The author also points out that “A higher education from somewhere in the West Bank or from another part of the Arab world does not suffice in Israel” (Kashua 11)
This reminded me of the 60 Minute video we watched in class. When Leslie was interviewing the Jewish-Israeli man, he was very adamant that what he and other Jewish-Israelis was not wrong. Yet, they were digging tunnels underneath Palestinian homes and selling their homes to Jewish Israeli's so one day Arab land would be mostly populated by Jewish Israeli's. The mayor of Jerusalem also wanted to destroy Palestinian homes so he could build a site for tourists.
The lawyer constantly feels that he has to prove himself to others because of the fact that he is Arab Israeli. The lawyer has to buy a new luxury car every time his competition does, which is almost every year, to prove he belongs in his place of work. The Israeli Jewish lawyers do not have to do this because they don’t have to prove their success and wealth to their co-workers, competition, and clients. When dropping off his kids at school the author says the lawyer can obviously tell the difference between Jewish and Arab people's cars. The author describes the Jew’s cars as “modest, affordable, generally products of Japan and Korea” and the Arab’s cars as “expensive and German, with massive engines under the gleaming hoods and dashboards full of accessories” (Kashua 13).
Arabs also have to think a lot more about where they attend school and where their children attend school. Arabs send their children to schools with both Jewish and Palestinian children because those are the schools who have the best education. The author also points out that “A higher education from somewhere in the West Bank or from another part of the Arab world does not suffice in Israel” (Kashua 11)
This reminded me of the 60 Minute video we watched in class. When Leslie was interviewing the Jewish-Israeli man, he was very adamant that what he and other Jewish-Israelis was not wrong. Yet, they were digging tunnels underneath Palestinian homes and selling their homes to Jewish Israeli's so one day Arab land would be mostly populated by Jewish Israeli's. The mayor of Jerusalem also wanted to destroy Palestinian homes so he could build a site for tourists.
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