Interviews in Seattle

The next stop in my trip was Seattle Washington. Here I interviewed Jeremy Gordon, the son of Larry and Susan Gordon. Jeremy has a much more anti-religious stance than his parents. He considers himself an agnostic and doesn't consider himself Jewish despite his Jewish parents and Jewish upbringing. Unlike most other people I've interviewed, he thinks of Judaism as purely a religion, and does not really consider it to be a culture. All that said, he doesn't really have any resentment towards religious people, but believes that youths should not be pressured to be religious.

While in Seattle I was able to explore the beautiful and intriguing Gas Works Park. Gas Works Park was a gasoline processing plant, apparently creating a product known as "synthetic natural gas". The plant was decommissioned, but the structures were never torn down, resulting in the eerie but pleasant landscape now open to the public, dubbed "Gas Works Park".

Interviews in Denver

So while I was in Denver I was able to interview my relatives Susan and Larry Gordon. Since they were both conservative Jews, their answers were fairly different from my aunt's. I also got to spend Passover dinner with them and they invited some friends and family, some of which I knew, and some I had not met before. Susan Larry let me ask some questions at the dinner and I was able to get some good B-roll footage. I would like to thank Susan and Larry for their incredible Hospitality and Kindness. Something interesting brought up at the dinner table was the idea that "You are either an American Jew or a Jewish American" and how Jewish life is different when in a largely Christian Society.

While in Denver I also saw this while driving to and from the airport

Because you're not allowed to park on the shoulder of the road leading to the airport, I wasn't able to get very good shots of this, thing. So I claim no credit for the next pictures below. Credit goes to google images.

This Nightmare steed was created and designed by the artist Luis Jimenez. However, during construction, a piece fell off and landed on Jimenez, sadly killing him, and the project was finished by his son. So in short, this horse is a murderer.

"I know when you're sleeping!"

Also, it's eyes glow red. I was unfortunately unable to go out into the city to collect pictures and footage for my documentary, so this monster will have to fill in the gaps.

Off to travel!

I've finished my hours and I'm off to Denver first. My aunt visited and I was able to interview her. I would like to upload some clips but editing is harder than I thought. First of all I would like to give an enormous thank you to Julie Lauterbach-Colby and Barry Friedman of the Jewish History Museum who have given me a huge amount of support and made this project possible. I would also like to thank Davya, Evie, Sidney, Heidi, Audrey, and all the other docents for their friendliness and support. I leave for Denver early tomorrow morning, wish me luck!

Pictures!

Week 5

Nothing much has changed with my internship. I'm still working hard on my research project. I've started writing my questions to ask my relatives when I interview them, and  I plan on sending them ahead of time when I finish so that they can prepare for the interview. "Jews, God, and History" has been interesting. It is certainly a very atypical look at history and is worded in a way uncommon to most other History books. "Jews, God and History" focuses mainly on ancient history so I'm more than halfway through the book and I've just reached the middle ages. Interestingly enough, it seems the first ghettos, sequestered villages in which Jews were forced to live, appeared then. The Museum is currently showing a wedding Gown and Ketubah (a marriage document exclusive to Jewish marriages) exhibit and I took lots of pictures. I find it interesting that to get married, Jews had to have both a regular marriage license, and a Ketubah. I will upload the pictures very soon!

Week 4

I've just begun reading "Jews, God and History" by Max I. Dimont. This book is quite different from "Semites and Anti-Semites". "Jews, God and History" Focuses mainly on the ancient history of the Jewish people. However, it is still ver interesting and relevant. "Jews, God and History" also covers many theological and religious topics, so it is not a purely historical book. It often presents different interpretations and theories about biblical stories and verses, such as a Theory presented by Sigmund Freud that Moses was an actual descendant pf the Pharaoh who thought himself a spiritual leader and whose belief happened to coincide with those of the Jewish slaves. While that particular theory is not overtly relevant to my project, the book has still provided an excellent overview of Jewish history and beliefs.
In other news I have bought my tickets and made my travel plans. I will be flying to Denver first, then to Seattle, then I will fly to Philadelphia and take a train to Baltimore. I'm excited to travel the Nation and visit my relatives.
My internship has been the same as usual. I am still doing research on Holocaust Survivors in Tucson. The further I work, the harder the work becomes, there a certain names that I have been unable to find any information on, still, I'm glad to be working on this project.

Week 3

I've just finished reading "Semites and Anti-Semites" by Bernard Lewis. It was very interesting, perhaps the most interesting aspect featured in the book was the transition of Anti-Semitism from a religious hatred to a racial hatred, and how, in general, certain groups of people began to perceive Jews as a race rather than a religion. My internship is still going smoothly, and I'm still working on my Holocaust History project. I've been reading and listening to many oral histories, and I find that such a personal view of history brings a whole new interpretation to past events, even if they were well documented.