i wore hijab to al-quds, jerusalem, this last wednesday. it ended up looking more like a fashion statement than hijab. but it did provoke different social responses from people. if i assessed the experience accurately, it seemed as though the men were more respectful towards me (no cheesy pick-up lines), and people seemed to receive me more as one of them. not that they hadn't previously received as a part of the community...but i guess that makes sense.

as for jerusalem, the instance i walk into the old city, i feel a strange sense of belonging and familiarity which i cant quite describe or articulate fully. i do know that i love the old city, it feels like home, but i also know that the social aspects of life there leave much to be desired...the racism that exists towards palestinians is intolerable, and the israelis enjoy legal liberties that aren't granted to its palestinian-israeli citizens. the raw beauty of jerusalem is to be rivalled and i wish that it was not crowded with its various man-made problems from the occupation.

last week, when volunteering with the girls from the refugee camp, i brought in my i-pod and played 'somewhere over the rainbow' for them. i had typed up the lyrics leaving some of the words missing so they could fill in the blanks. they were so funny, when they first heard the song they kept shouting "we can't understand anything!! i dont know ANY of the words!" so i sang along and after a few minutes, they were singing along with me. i would truly love if these girls could go as many places as possible because opportunities for travel, even within their own land, come once in a bluemoon. i want to take them to jerusalem because many of them have never been and i know that once they reach the age of 16, they will not be allowed to go. it's a nice little law that the state of israel has imposed on the palestinian people--jerusalem is illegal territory for palestinians unless you have an israeli i.d. card which very few possess. so im crossing my fingers that something can work out-i know that it'd be a really great trip for all of us. i'm pretty sure that most of those girls will never have the chance or means to travel outside the west bank or even the refugee camp. kinda like the inner-city and poor neighborhoods in the US...