Another Friday

So if you think that tensions are limited to the Gaza border, think again. Yesterday at the monthly service of the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh) at the Wailing Wall, a woman was arrested by religious police for wearing the prayer shawl. There's actually a law stating that women are not allowed to wear the shawl, or the phylacteries or read from a Torah scroll because these are men's prerogatives. With judaism so divided in itself, I wonder how things would go with their dealings with non-jews.   http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=274668

On the otherhand, the muslim authorities in the Al Aqsa mosque asked a jewish student to remove his kippa (skull cap) because he was in a muslim site. He refused and chose to go out. Rabbis are raising a hue and cry against this as anti-semitism .... but hang on .... the jews don't allow christians to wear crosses at the Wailing Wall too; the rabbi even wanted Pope Benedict to remove his cross when visiting the Wall. So how come two standards?  http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishFeatures/Article.aspx?id=274642

And in the course of the week, several mosques were vandalised and torched by Jewish extremists. But attempts to reconcile are underway.  http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=274789

Anotehr quick update: Isrealis have returned to protesting in Rothschild Boulevard this morning as part of continuing social unrest in the country.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/hundreds-amass-in-tel-aviv-s-rothschild-blvd-in-bid-to-revive-social-protests-1.440457   Now I'm getting news from everywhere that the blackout the night before at the airport was almost national level ... Jerusalem was outted for 2 hours during that time.

Stir-fry by Firas

So it's another typical Friday - marked with contention and tension ... be it on ground zero or in the newspapers. It won't feel the same if there weren't trouble on a Friday. But just for a little cheer, here's a pic of Firas' stir-fry beef and veg  ... looks good, but I haven't tried it. He only sent me the pic. He lives on the other side of the wall separating Jerusalem from Bethlehem where he lives.