A valuable lesson

Ceasefire. But that is no promise that fighting has stopped. Gaza is still firing rockets out to Israel. Now it's time to get as many wounded to the hospitals as soon as possible. Everyone is still watching nervously if this ceasefire will hold.

Yesterday I went to the hospital in Nazareth. I thought Jadallah would take the Highway 6 which in 45 minutes we would have arrived in Nazareth. Instead he took the Jericho road, ie down to Jericho and then follow the Jordan River up north to Nazareth. That's because our car hasn't the autopay card that Highway 6 requires. So it took 2 hours to go there and 2 hours back. It was tiring. The hospital as usual was very prompt (that's why I prefer to go there) - all tests done and results available within one hour. My cholesterol has reached the maximum on the scale. The lab. asst. gave me the results, smiled and said "You ready for a heart attack or stroke?" Anyway I'll give the results to my doc here in Jerusalem tomorrow. He's been saying he should put me on medication for the cholesterol.

While waiting for the lab. results, Jadallah and I drove down to the Basilica of the Annunciation. There have been some renovations in the garden and exit - fabulous! Because I was fasting for 12 hours, I was famished so we went to the best shwarma shop in Nazareth. It's a small shop, very clean, and the owner takes great pride in his food. The shwarma may be put in pitta bread or here, in a baguette freshly baked by the owner - you actually get the baguette straight out of the oven piping hot. You get a choice of 10 sauces that you put on your own. And the lamb meat is cut straight off the rotating spit, fresh, hot and juicy. It was really the best. Abit expensive though - 22 shekels but here it includes a soft-drink of your choice. So all in all, it was worth it.

We learned a powerful lesson while eating shwarma at the store. Two boys walked in to buy shwarma. One was about 14 yrs old and the other probably 10 yrs old. The younger boy was very well-dressed, clean - as if going to school graduation. The older boy was wearing thin, torn pullovers to keep warm. They were very soft-spoken and the shop owner while preparing the shwarma, began talking to them. "Are you brothers?" The older boy said "Yes. He's my younger brother". The older boy strokes the younger boy's hair and pinches his cheeks. The younger boy smiles and hugs his brother. The older boy then gets the huge baguette off the high counter, draws a chair for the younger boy to sit, gives the baguette to the younger brother, gets a soft-drink from the fridge for him. When the boy is settled, then the older boy goes to get his own baguette and drink and sits next to his brother. But he doesn't eat yet. He helps the younger boy pull up the long sleeves, lifts the long baguette up on the table and opens the can drink for the younger boy. Only when the little brother begins eating, then the older brother begins to eat his own. It was very touching. The shop keeper closed his eyes and nodded.

Jadallah and I could say nothing. When we left the shop, I asked Jadallah if he saw that. He said it was very touching - that is how brothers should behave; the older should care for the younger. And I said that's exactly what Israelis and Palestinians should be doing - both races come from the two brothers Jacob and Esau - instead of killing each other. I wish I had filmed the whole thing and put it up on the Internet. It would have taught us all a valuable lesson.