Weblog #5

    So far, for me at least, the Jerusalem Project has done a tremendous amount on educating me on Jerusalem/ the region's problems. For someone like me in the class who does not have an academic background concerning middle eastern languages/culture or the Jewish/Palestinian diasporas, I came into the class with little knowledge. The project has allowed me to learn about these topics and be able to take part in a dialogue in which I wouldn't have considered being a part of in the past. The hardest part for me has been coming into this with hardly any prior knowledge.
    The challenges for the Jerusalem Project are few. Mainly, I think the project needs to do more outside of the classroom. Yes we have blogs and have to do a few other things, but I feel there is more we could do in the community in promoting the project. Teaming up with other university groups and increasing local numbers would help spread the project's message. Another challenge the project should take on is spreading the class to more schools, doing so will further promote the project's message. The classes can't become too numbered, that would make its intimate interactions impossible. Maybe introducing the problem to students at younger ages could make transitioning into a academic dialogue easier as well