She is certainly one of the most sensational things to happen to Iran since Netenyahu's commitment to the US's negotiations policy toward the democratic Islamic republic.
Just look at her beautiful, large glasses. That knowing smile. The way she raises her arm up saying, "You can trust me in the Green Mosque." I may sound like I am jesting, but no, I'm serious.
Zahra Rahnavard, successful in academia and public affairs, is a prominent woman figure that is sweeping the people off their feet: Iran's Michelle Obama. If you compare photographs of the two ladies, you would find that they look very dissimilar, however they both possess a finesse that delivers the message of "you can trust me, after all, does it look like my husband's allowed to screw up?" They are powerful, independent, and important.
Zahra, however, speaks openly about the limitations on women in her country and the appalling effects of such policies, in a country where many outsiders may not know that the progressive culture is suppressed in the public image presented by the leaders of that society. It was not long ago that Iran was not on the top of everyone's political agenda as an archaic human rights offender, perhaps aided by the fact that the US was slaughtering millions in the Islamic Republic's neighboring states at the time, but even so.
So what can we learn from her and her public participation in her husband's campaign? Iranians identify with a beautiful unity between husband and wife, which shows us that their politics may not be too different from ours when it comes to campaigning for the people. The returns in their vote will tell us how important it is for Iranians to know their leaders' personal lives as well as how the Supreme Leader views such attempts to evoke empathy from the people. Maybe Mousavi is not the best candidate, but I must say his campaign is certainly one of the most sensational as far as I am concerned. Maybe my opinion is just skewed as I am a Westerner who read about it on CNN and it is an attempt to fool us in the West that things are moving back from extremism in Iran's leadership. Insha'allah the democratic aspect of their system wins over the authoritarian this time around, and if that means more of the same from them, I suppose I cannot impose my imperialist opinion on a fair democratic election (assuming it is such).
Keeping an eye on Iran, but an even closer one on Lebanon. Interesting times, for better or for worse.
--Avraham
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
24
24 May days ago I left you with no intention to forget to write, but it happened.
Here I am, nearing the end of my studies--finally--and actually enjoying the experiences that I wished I was having all along. I am working hard in my internship, researching foundations for feminist groups in Arab towns. I have been traveling to cities that you only hear bad things about in the news and finding that the beautiful and warm people that make the actual character of the town are completely overlooked in such reports. I'm learning Arabic and learning even more through speaking with people who cannot speak to me in any other languages. The relationships with a few of the friends that I've made here are very close and comfortable, and I am glad to have those kinds of relationships both here and when I return home. I have beautiful plans made for June, once my program ends. And last but not least, I don't think I will be failing any of my classes, insha'allah.
I go to the beach as much as I can. I avoid doing laundry because I don't like hanging it. I read the news obsessively in preparation for the Lebanese parliamentary and the Iranian presidential elections. I'm following Obama's Middle East policy meetings and speeches like a hawk. I'm getting to the core of the issues with people that they effect, and from this I am learning that not only do these issues affect people but they also have a daily routine amidst obstacles that I can barely fathom in such regularity.
I'm not shy, and I'm not self-conscious here. I ask for more chocolate in my hot chocolate, if I wanted hot milk I would have ordered that and paid less. On the other side of the same coin, I am less patient and less collected under pressure. I am beginning to feel even stronger the stress of being stuck in a place that is not familiar or comfortable, having to rely on exhausting skills just in order to satisfy my basic needs.
But I'm here, and I'll be in the region until June 30. And boy do I have plans. All I can say for now is, I think I'll have to write a bit more of this when I get home so that I don't have to think about security people watching me at borders. It sounds silly, but I know that this is actually a potential bother that I would have to face--I'm in the system, they told me last time at the bridge.
--Avraham
Here I am, nearing the end of my studies--finally--and actually enjoying the experiences that I wished I was having all along. I am working hard in my internship, researching foundations for feminist groups in Arab towns. I have been traveling to cities that you only hear bad things about in the news and finding that the beautiful and warm people that make the actual character of the town are completely overlooked in such reports. I'm learning Arabic and learning even more through speaking with people who cannot speak to me in any other languages. The relationships with a few of the friends that I've made here are very close and comfortable, and I am glad to have those kinds of relationships both here and when I return home. I have beautiful plans made for June, once my program ends. And last but not least, I don't think I will be failing any of my classes, insha'allah.
I go to the beach as much as I can. I avoid doing laundry because I don't like hanging it. I read the news obsessively in preparation for the Lebanese parliamentary and the Iranian presidential elections. I'm following Obama's Middle East policy meetings and speeches like a hawk. I'm getting to the core of the issues with people that they effect, and from this I am learning that not only do these issues affect people but they also have a daily routine amidst obstacles that I can barely fathom in such regularity.
I'm not shy, and I'm not self-conscious here. I ask for more chocolate in my hot chocolate, if I wanted hot milk I would have ordered that and paid less. On the other side of the same coin, I am less patient and less collected under pressure. I am beginning to feel even stronger the stress of being stuck in a place that is not familiar or comfortable, having to rely on exhausting skills just in order to satisfy my basic needs.
But I'm here, and I'll be in the region until June 30. And boy do I have plans. All I can say for now is, I think I'll have to write a bit more of this when I get home so that I don't have to think about security people watching me at borders. It sounds silly, but I know that this is actually a potential bother that I would have to face--I'm in the system, they told me last time at the bridge.
--Avraham
Friday, May 1, 2009
back in town
After my longest absence from this here blog thing, I return with photographs from my parents' epic visit to Israel, if you dare to click the link!
--
I was riding the bus for quite some time, standing in fact due to the high number of passengers. I kept ducking to look outside, hoping to see a sign or even an intersecting road, in order to check my location. Would I ever see another sign of humanity in this never-ending sea of sand dunes and rocky hills? To my right was yellow sand and stone, to my left were the tall peaks of Jordan, and there we were, on route 90, going south.
I finally see the sign, I press the red button to alert the driver of my descent from the bus, I grab my stuff, and I approach the big blue gate. After dusk, Kibbutz Ketura did not look like very much from its entrance, but as Alana brought me deeper and deeper into the campus, I saw that they had turned a piece of desert land into an oasis with flowers of every color and very mature and healthy looking trees. Now, if you've ever seen a kibbutz in the Negev before, you may not be too surprised; surely it's beautiful, but this story is not unique just yet.
Alana studies at the Arava Institute, an academic center in the middle of the desert that provides courses, a masters program, and conducts some very interesting environmental and desert studies research. The research and the commitment to educating an international audience about environmental threats and solutions is beautiful, but even more beautiful was the makeup of the student body at the institute.
I had Shabbat dinner with a girl from Ramallah last weekend.
I'm guessing that few people can say that sentence and mean what it says, but I am very honored to e one of the people who can. Students at the Arava institute come from the US, Latin America, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Europe, down the road at some other kibbutzim, and I think we get the point. Living in a small housing complex, Israeli Jews, American Jews, Palestinians, and Jordanians hang out and learn together, discuss all kinds of different perspectives and insights, and find so much common ground on their dedication to the environment that the political issues seem to disappear in this tiny bubble in the middle of nowhere.
It was a really fun weekend, and I met plenty of cool people studying at the institute and living on the kibbutz. I left my jacket, so I'll have to go back, even though I was planning on it anyway. It felt really great to see peace and cooperation breathe so much life in the Negev.
--Avraham
--
I was riding the bus for quite some time, standing in fact due to the high number of passengers. I kept ducking to look outside, hoping to see a sign or even an intersecting road, in order to check my location. Would I ever see another sign of humanity in this never-ending sea of sand dunes and rocky hills? To my right was yellow sand and stone, to my left were the tall peaks of Jordan, and there we were, on route 90, going south.
I finally see the sign, I press the red button to alert the driver of my descent from the bus, I grab my stuff, and I approach the big blue gate. After dusk, Kibbutz Ketura did not look like very much from its entrance, but as Alana brought me deeper and deeper into the campus, I saw that they had turned a piece of desert land into an oasis with flowers of every color and very mature and healthy looking trees. Now, if you've ever seen a kibbutz in the Negev before, you may not be too surprised; surely it's beautiful, but this story is not unique just yet.
Alana studies at the Arava Institute, an academic center in the middle of the desert that provides courses, a masters program, and conducts some very interesting environmental and desert studies research. The research and the commitment to educating an international audience about environmental threats and solutions is beautiful, but even more beautiful was the makeup of the student body at the institute.
I had Shabbat dinner with a girl from Ramallah last weekend.
I'm guessing that few people can say that sentence and mean what it says, but I am very honored to e one of the people who can. Students at the Arava institute come from the US, Latin America, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Europe, down the road at some other kibbutzim, and I think we get the point. Living in a small housing complex, Israeli Jews, American Jews, Palestinians, and Jordanians hang out and learn together, discuss all kinds of different perspectives and insights, and find so much common ground on their dedication to the environment that the political issues seem to disappear in this tiny bubble in the middle of nowhere.
It was a really fun weekend, and I met plenty of cool people studying at the institute and living on the kibbutz. I left my jacket, so I'll have to go back, even though I was planning on it anyway. It felt really great to see peace and cooperation breathe so much life in the Negev.
--Avraham
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