Busy days

Graffiti pro-life

The past 2 days have been hectic work. Running several kms between institutes to teach and work. My strength is still at an all time low. Don't know how I will have to run from Ratisbon to my house in an hour from one class to another. I hate Mondays and Wednesdays ... teaching is no longer fun. It's draining my energy and sapping my life. Not sure I agree with a graffiti I saw at a road corner. I'm looking forward to eternal rest.

Luckily a couple of retired volunteers came from Italy to help me move 250 boxes of 18th century books. I couldn't have done it alone. I've got a pinched nerve on my left arm. Hurts like hell ... can't even sleep. My allergic reaction is still bad ... swellings and fever. Rani at the pharmacy gave me some cortesone cream. I  hope it helps.

Dinner at Legacy

And things couldn't have gone worse - my office computer - 3rd hand - was a total disaster. And worse ... no one knew how to reinstall a MAC computer. Waited for 3 weeks till I heard an Italian volunteer at our Technical Office knew something. Thank goodness he solved the major problem ... threw out everything, and reinstalled the entire system from scratch. I treated Domenico to dinner later in the evening. He deserved it. We had seafood Madras and entrecote steak. I was of course sick after that. But Domenico had a good meal and that was important.

Papayas in Israel!

For once in a very long while, I have a Saturday off. No school, no library, no classes. First thing I did after my daily chores was to grab the shurut for my other community in Jaffa. The sea breeze and calm is good for my fever and allergic reaction of the past few days. I managed to sleep for several hours. It was good.

Papayas for sale!

And being a Saturday, the bazaar in front of St. Peter's Church was bustling with business. Tel Aviv municipality has waivered the Sabbath Law of no-work so many hawkers and shops open. I caught up with Jenny and Meier who sell souvenirs to tourists. And finally met with Shlomi after a very long time. He sells honeyed-nuts and fresh juice. Spent some time chatting with them. It was good to catch up with old friends. And surprise! I found papayas on sale in Tel Aviv! I miss the fruit very much. It's been 2 decades since I tasted a fresh papaya. Now apparently Israel is growing them in Ashkelon near Gaza where the humidity and climate are suitable for papaya plantations. In fact the government has hired a filipino franciscan friar to help in the development of this plantation.

Anyway Meier recounted what happened to the guy in the opposite stall last week. His name is Rudy and he sells trinkets and wallets. Last week he lost his wallet containing the whole week's earnings, driving licence, ID card, credit card etc... He was panicking and spent 2 hours searching the entire area. Rudy is known for his right-wing anti-arab sentiments. Then came an arab muslim family. They saw him searching distraughtly but they could not communicate with him as they spoke no hebrew, and he no arabic. They pointed to the wallets he was selling and Rudy said it cost 40 shekels each. They shook their heads and kept pointing and he kept saying the same thing, getting angrier each time. Finally he realised they were asking if he was looking for his wallet. He gestured that he lost his wallet and the family produced the wallet they found down the road. Every cent was intact. Rudy was very touched and cried. He could not believe his arab enemies could be so honest. He offered them a reward but they refused. He offered them a gift but they again refused. Rudy had changed his mind about arabs and muslims. A little act of honesty and kindness changed one man's concept of the Israeli-arab conflict.

Coincidence?

Today Friday passed off without incident. Even though it's the Easter Octave, and our official Way of the Cross is never done ... lots of groups still come to make the Way of the Cross. Pretty weird. But then again they're tourists, and Holyland tourists have their own strange ways.

Wild carrots among the weeds

Have been having a severe allergic reaction to something. Swollen eyes, mouth and bad asthma. And several other people are getting it as well. They say it's something in the air. Hope it's not some chemical or biological warfare tests .... Anyway I trid to get some fresh air - ironically - by doing some gardening. Among the weeds growing in the tubs of jasmine and bougainvillea, I found wild carrots growing. Now how did they get there? There was lots of wild parsley as well.

A dog-walker and his
charges in Tel Aviv

Because of my severe allergic reaction, yesterday I went off to see the doc in Tel Aviv. After the checkup and buying medicine from the pharmacy, I decided to meet up two of our church helpers near Thai House - the great thai restaurant. We actually went to a cafe opposite the restaurant when the strangest thing happened: walking pass the restaurant was a french lady I once knew back in Hong Kong 15 years ago. Unbelievable coincidence?  To be in Tel Aviv, at that road corner, at that time ... it sounds so incredible ... like one in a million chance. Back 15 years she was facing a tragic time as her daughter took her own life. I helped out identifying and collecting the body and funeral arrangements. Then after that tragic incident, she said she might migrate to Israel as her family was jewish. Since then I never had any contact with her. Then 15 years later in Israel, I meet her. She had come to Israel 6 months ago to seek citizenship but was granted only residency as she is not a practicing jewess. Not being able to speak hebrew, not knowing anyone and not having a job, she was about to go and pawn her jewelry to pay her rent when I saw her. I gave her what I could to help her out. But what a coincidence .. or did God planned it all out?

Of food, Pesach and riots

Spinach and eggs/tomatoes

The past few days have seen good fare at Mandarin's restaurant. Xiao Yang the new cook did up fried eggs with tomatoes, white rice and garlic spinach on Tuesday evening. Then Wednesday evening Ah Ling boiled herbal soup with pork ribs, mushrooms and mu er. It was all very yummy.

After the Pesach ended, all restaurants were packed with Jews who could finally eat normal food after 8 days of unleavened bread and boiled food. Tuesday saw restaurants working overtime to serve all the customers. Practically every place had a queue lining up outside the door.

Herbal soup on Wednesday

An upset was caused during the 8 day Pesach holidays. As leavened bread is forbidden, there was an unprecedented raid on arab hawkers selling bread at Jaffa Gate. It has never happened before as non-Jews were always allowed to continue their business. This time police raided their wares, carts and making the hawkers pay fines. Then it was leaked in a social media that orthodox jewish sector was behind this move to "judaize" Jerusalem. Now that's a frightening thought ... a precedent that bodes badly for us non-Jews in future Jewish holidays. No more freedom to express religion.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.586432

Riot police storming Herod's Gate

Yesterday evening saw another riot ... one of a series this week. The Al Aqsa Mosque compound had been closed several times and tensions have been rising. Yesterday's altercation however did not take place inside the Old City. It happened outside the City at the plaza in front of Herod's Gate. I was coming home from Mandarin's after the herbal soup dinner and took a rest at Damascus Gate's Palm Plaza when several police vans and ambulance sped down to Herod's Gate. Sensing something was wrong, i walked down and there at the Gate was a huge crowd of arabs confronting a squad of riot police. Stun grenades were fired, arbas ran inside the City, police chased. Lots of grenades fired inside the City. I sat outside taking photos with a group of arab spectators. But the riot police came to chase us away. We moved up a few metres under the trees, just in case we were fired upon, but continued to watch. After half an hour, it was all over and life was back to normal.

Easter Monday

Khalil working on dough
to bake buns

It's Emmaus Monday ... when we remember the road to Emmaus. Celebrations took place in two Emmauses: the Custos presided at the Franciscan one which is the village of Qubeibeh, and the Patriarch at the ruins of Nicopolis in Latrun. Blessed bread is usually distributed to the congregation after the Mass. And at home, Khalil our cook has been baking bread for Easter Week. It's also time for mamoul ... the dates/walnut filled cookies shaped into the Crown of Thorns, the Sponge (of Vinegar) and the Nails (nailheads) eaten during this Easter time by local christians.

Home-baked Mamoul cookies

Today is also the last day of the Jewish Pesach. No work is allowed. But that did not stop a group of Jewish protesters near the Knesset (Parliament) who blocked the roads. They were demonstrating for the right to legalise marijuana in Israel and had organised a "Big Bong Night" at the nearby park. Police made sure it never happened! The muslim riots on our side of the City has ceased. There was no trouble this morning and life went on as usual.

Jewish news is working on the emotions and fears of Jews by publishing an article insinuating a conspiracy by the Vatican to "take control" of King David's Tomb. A masterpiece of misinformation and opportunistic propaganda because it never mentioned that the Franciscans own that property for some 750 years, with proper title deeds that were never challenged by the muslim conquerors nor the State of Israel; that archaeology has proven it is not the Tomb of David but an early church with it's apse oriented toward the Holy Sepulchre and not the Temple (today Al Aqsa mosque) as a jewish tomb should; that the anti-semitic photo attached to the article has nothing to do with the subject of the article ... the list goes on. It's provocative and likely to fire protests and violence against christians. And the editors and author of that article will be responsible for the damage. And I'm posting this as a warning first before it happens so when it does, everyone will know the misinformed and twisted facts and who is responsible. http://virtualjerusalem.com/news.php?Itemid=12653

Easter Sunday

Easter dawn over the Mt. of Olives
The Son rises

The Easter celebrations should have been joyous here in the very City that it all happened .... but for us in the Muslim Quarter, it was riots and disorder in the streets. Yesterday evening saw tensions as the police closed off the Al Aqsa esplanade to everyone. Protests grew in Bab Hutta area. During the Blessing of Fire at 9pm, street battles were being fought between muslims and Israeli soldiers 5 metres away. This morning more running battles ... we had to close our gates otherwise rioters might have entered to seek refuge and soldiers would have followed with tear gas and stun grenades. Many protesters were suffering from effects of tear gas. I went down to bab Hutta to take photos but the soldiers would not let me go too near.

French Students
Bible study

Later when we opened the gates, a hundred or so french students came in and occupied out courtyard because their original meeting place - St. Anne's Church/Sheeps' Pool - was closed due to the riots. They spent an hour divided in groups, studying the Bible and sharing faith experiences. A touching sight when you consider what other youths are doing on Easter Sunday.

Riots ended just before noon. Soldiers were still everywhere but the tensions died out. Probably because it got too hot for people to be in the streets. It went up to 18 degrees and the sun is relentless today.

In Haaretz online newspaper, there's an article that smacks of typical disdain and ridicule at Christianity. Purports that Christianity is a mixture of eclectic Jewish beliefs with pagan superstitions: ultimately its an invention
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/.premium-1.586391

The Holy Fire being shared around
the Empty Tomb

Yesterday at about 2.30pm the Holy Fire "appeared" in the Holy Sepulchre and the Orthodox Christians were elated. It's supposed to come from heaven, appearing inside the Empty Tomb each Holy Saturday for the past 1000 years. For the orthodox, it's a confirmation of the Resurrection.

Tomorrow everyone will go to Emmaus to celebrate the apparition of the Risen Lord there. Problem is there are several rival "Emmaus" and each one has organised its own liturgy. Pretty confusing. But it's not a scientific test ... faith is not dictated by science. So long as you believe, and it makes you a better person ... then go to Emmaus ... whichever one you choose.

Triduum

Thousands stuck at the 2nd Station
of the Cross due to police block

Holy Thursday and Good Friday saw utter chaos in the Old City. The police decided to close off the City Gates and all streets leading to the Holy Sepulchre. Entry by tickets only. You can imagine the thousands of orthodox "pilgrims" fuming and getting testing as they cannot enter the Church. The police also closed off our house entrance. Groups could not proceed from the 2nd Station to the 3rd Station of the Cross because of the road block. Tempers were high. I was caught there for half an hour, unable to move forward or back. Finally after yelling for help, my security friends came to my rescue ... plus our doorman Majed. It was hell just trying to move 5 feet back into our courtyard without getting crushed by the human wave.

Veneration of the Cross
at St. Anthony's

I went to my other community in Jaffa for the liturgy. Mass of the Lord's Supper was with the Indian community - celebrated in Konkani which I don't understand. A good 600 people showed up. It ended around 9pm and I had to rush back to Jerusalem because in the morning I have chores to do - water the plants, feed the birds, clean the courtyard. Then on Good Friday, after surviving the great crush at our door (see above),  I was at St. Anthony's parish for the Veneration of the Cross. A small crowd there though. But it was good to be with a congregation.

Being the jewish Passover holidays, there was a special bazaar at the piazza in front of St. Peter's Church, and open-air tango classes. Didn't quite fit the solemn Good Friday mood ... but they're not christians, so they won't know.

We still have the Easter Vigil to celebrate ... then the Triduum is complete. We'll see whether there'll be road blocks tonight.

Riots in the streets

Students confront police
under the arch

A morning full of riots. As early as 6am I heard stun grenades shot in the Al Aqsa esplanade. The area was closed off and students of the 5 schools in that esplanade were left stranded in the streets. Slowly a chanting angry mob grew and police had to rush into the streets to break up the crowds. It was a running battle up and down the street in front of our house. We had to close the gates and wait out till the violence died out by noon. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.585794
We hear tomorrow morning will be the same. Apparently this was all caused by a group of jews who entered the esplanade to pray. Whatever it is, the violence might affect the Holy Thursday and Good Friday celebrations. As it is, the police will be closing off all roads leading to the Holy Sepulchre and entry is only by tickets. Now with this violence, more parts of the City will be closed off.

Full moon over Jaffa Gate

The moon is full for the Pesach. It's magnificent especially when it hovers just above the City Walls. The weather has also warmed up. It's pleasant and forecast is it'll keep up for the rest of the week. We hear that the Coptic Pope has upheld the ban for Coptic Christians to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem. But no one is listening to him. This year a record number of Copts are here for Holy Week. They have outnumbered the Russians who traditionally form the largest pilgrim group for Easter each year.  http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Egypts-Coptic-Church-says-holiday-travelers-to-Israel-will-be-punished-348458

Well tomorrow is Maundy Thursday and Chrism Mass will be celebrated in the Holy Sepulchre early in the morning. I will be joining the parish for the Mass of the Lord's Supper later in the evening. Will be praying for you all.

Passover

This evening as the sun sets, the Jewish Passover begins. The first 2 days forbid any form of work, as also the last day on April 22. Limited work may be done on the 17th, 18th and 19th April. So the City is practically shut down. Countless Jews are flocking to the Wailing Wall to pray.

Palm Sunday procession

Likewise the Christian Passover is celebrated by countless people flocking into the City. The largest group is the Copts from Egypt ... simply thousands are ascending Jerusalem. The Via Dolorosa is packed with people. Hardly any space to move. Yesterday's Palm Sunday procession saw lots of people walking the 2 km from Bethpage to St Anne's Church in the Old City. It was as usual festive but noticeably less reperesented by arab christians from Palestine. Many have not received permission from Israel to enter jerusalem and join in the celebrations. Too bad. Hopefully they get permission when the pope comes to visit next month.

Soldiers and muslims
standoff this morning

This morning Mass was celebrated at the 5th Station ... which takes place only once a year. But I was at the other end of the street ... taking pictures of the muslims demonstrating at Bab Hutta because the Al Aqsa Mosque is still out of bounds to all ... including muslim worshippers after yesterday's violence. Soldiers blocked the northern entrnces and crowds stood their ground, blocking all traffic. They chanted and several times it appeared dangerous ... but luckily not one shot was fired. By noon the crowds dispersed.

Well let's hope the next few days will be calm and each religion can celebrate its feast in safety and dignity ... all rights respected.

Palm Sunday

New Gate decorations
for Palm Sunday

It's Palm Sunday and at 8am there was a riot at the Al Aqsa Mosque esplanade. Countless shots of stun grenades were fired at muslim rioters. Word is some jews entered the area to celebrate the Passover but muslim worshippers began pelting stones and Molotov cocktails. Another rumour says the riot was organised to provoke the police to close St. Stephen's Gate hence canceling the Palm Sunday Procession. Whatever it is, the shooting and rioting lasted for almost half an hour. Now the Mosque area is closed off to everyone till further notice. Palm Sunday procession from Bethpage will continue under heavy military protection. New Gate - which is the gate leading into the Christian Quarter - is decorated with palm branches. Very nice and simple ... with a huge (anticipated) welcome to the pope.

Leaven bread and cookies
sold in the strets

The Jewish Passover is also starting soon. Shops selling leaven have started cleaning up and any stock leftover of bread and cookies are sold in the streets. This is to avoid contaminating the shops with leaven which is against the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The streets in and out of the Old City are simply packed with people. I've decided not to join the Palm Sunday procession. I don't need any more stress than I already have. I'm staying home.

Baby dog gets a helping hand

baby Boxer gets a helping
hand in drinking water

Another tiring morning. Got all my work done by noon and decided to go for a walk by the beach ... 70km away. Just needed to get away. The weather has changed ... cludy and cold even in Tel Aviv. But being Sabbat, people still go out to take walks, eat in restaurants (in Tel Aviv, the Municipality allows the eateries to open on Sabbat), fly kites and play beach volleyball. The crashing waves, the smell of the salty air was a good change from the narrow, dusty, noisy and reeking streets of Jerusalem. I really needed to get away.

Along the beach I saw the cutest baby Boxer running around its owner. No more than 4 months old. It was too short to reach the water so its owner carried him up to lap the running tap. It was a beautiful pic. That made my day. I wish I could have a dog like that. I miss my old Rex ... he should be 15 years old now.

Hot rice and beef at
Mandarin's

Thai House was full ... overflowing its clients into the street. I couldn't get my Char Kway Teow because of the crowd. After a 3 hour walk from Allenby/Rothschild junction down to the beach and onto Jaffa (9 km in all), I took the minibus home. Was pretty hungry by then as I last had a meal yesterday ... I think. Went to Mandarin's and Ah Ling prepared some food for me: white rice, beef and fried tomato with eggs. It felt good to have hot food in the stomach. The weather had become freezing cold.  I've been having severe diarrhea the entire week ... and dreadful cramps. Am waiting for the docs to call me up for a checkup.

Anyway tomorrow is Palm Sunday. I won't be doing the procession from Bethpage to the Old City. But I'll be praying for you all here at the 2nd Station.

Calm Friday

Morning scene ... women
carrying goods for the
Friday market

A tense Friday at first as thousands of christians flock to the Old City to make the Way of the Cross on this last Friday of Lent. Thousands of Copts from Egupt are here, and palestinian christians from the Territories are also permitted to enter Jerusalem for the celebrations. Topping that, thousands of Jews are also flocking into Jerusalem for the Pesach that falls on Maundy Thursday. And not to be outdone, the muslims are sending busloads of their faithful into the Al Aqsa for prayers. Military presence was massive but nothing happened. In fact for once our Way of the Cross did not have police guards to escort.

Weatherwise the daytime is very pleasant ... sunny and hot. But the nights are awfully cold, like back in winter. I think Pesach and Easter will have great weather. There's an article in the local papers about chinese Jews who are regaining their cultural identity and will celebrate the Pesach for the first time. But here in Israel, Pesach is a little dampened by the news that the giant bookshop chain "Steinmatzky" may be closing or sold due to failing sales. It's quite an institution in the country and everyone seems to have been brought up with a diet of Steinmatzky books till the onset of the Internet.

Our summer snowman Dan

Yesterday I had to call off my visit to the doctor because I promised Paul, our indian student to go out for lunch. He successfully defended his MA thesis last week. A very nice guy, soft-spoken and humble. His classmate Biju also from India came along. Thought I could sleep early that evening but Daniel our museum volunteer wanted to go out for dinner. So we went to Habibi's for a snack and walked around Ben Yehuda (pedestrian mall) where he had never been. Felt a little embarrassed as he had 2 winter coats on, gloves, scarf around his head topped with a woolen cap. And It's a freaky 26 degrees ... though the wind was cold. And being 6 feet tall (I looked like a dwarf next to him), everyone couldn't not notice him. Lots of giggles in the streets.

What a joke

The Pakistani Judicial System is a joke - arresting, fingerprinting and booking a 9 month old baby for attempted murder charges while the grandfather says "He doesn't even know how to pick up his milk bottle". Any wonder why the people are turning to Taliban instead?

Banner of Christ resurrected
in the streets

The jewish Passover will fall on Holy Thursday so the City is packed with Jewish and Christian pilgrims. I expect chaos in the narrow streets of the Old City. In the Christian Quarter, banners have already been up since last week celebrating Holy Week. I think I'll stay home and celebrate it lowkey at our own chapel. Too risky to be out in the streets.

The ramming routine of work has not stopped but yesterday's one hour respite was so refreshing. Had a very crazy time with my Israeli security friends. They were really crazy ... especially Dani who's known as the joker of the group. But this time I outdid him ... hahahaha. He had to admit I was the king! We were sending crazy voice messages and cellphone videos to the other guys out on patrol to make them laugh. I made a video of trying to make a phone call to Yogev through a pack a cigarettes ... the rest of the guys cracked up. Dani came up with new nicknames - "pizza face" for Rotem (lots of pimples) and "Mr Potato-head" for Rafi. What a joke! But of course the Pakistani police take the cake - arresting a 9 month old baby for murder. Nothing can beat that.

Hot day

So several days have passed since the last update. Suffice to say that they were very very busy and tiring days packed with work. Extremely tired and hardly any sleep ... which is back to the harsh routine prior to my so-called "break" last week. Mondays and Wednesdays are the worst days ... I have classes the whole day, running back and forth from one school to another.

5 baby finches with black
bills sitting on the ledge

Weatherwise it's becoming very hot again. It's nice to know summer is back. I prefer the heat to the cold. And it's perfect weather for the baby finches to come out of their nests and learn to fly. In one nest, there are 5 babies ... quite a lot! I think there are more babies in another nest but I can't see them.

Anti-christian graffiti have been sprayed over the walls of a convent in Central Israel. And Jewish settlers who occupy illegally Palestinian land attacked Israeli soldiers who tried to remove them last night. Too much anger and aggression overpowering the land .... not a good sign for a hot summer.

And excitement is hanging over the Christian Quarter as Holy Week approaches. This year the Orthodox churches celebrate Holy Week with the Latin Church ... due to a coincidence in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars. I don't even want to imagine how 5 separate liturgies can take place simultaneously at the holy Sepulchre for Holy Week.

Thanks to the youths of the Singapore Group (or Fr Val's group) for their card and wellwishes, to Peter Goh's family, and everyone else from Singapore that sent things up with Angela Lee's group. Also to the Hong Kong Fr. M. Yeung group. Praying for you all this Holy Week.

Summertime and music fest

Apple crumble and
chocolate fudge

So 2 days by the beach passed quickly. The warm sea breeze was good ... I didn't have an attack of asthma at all. And I managed to get alot of sleep ... though not enough. Another 5 days would have been ideal. But its back to work. And summer is really in ... the sun was bright an the beaches were packed with people.

It was also a chance to meet our parish acolytes Hidri and Lupu again. Lupu's father died earlier this week. And also Moran whose brother died a year ago, on my birthday. It was an occasion to recall with them their faith and relationships they lost. So my vacation wasn't all sun and sleep. Moran had hired a car to transport his belongings from his rented apartment to his mother's house. He offered to drive me back to Jerusalem ... which was great because I could avoid the hassle of waiting for the minibus and the 1 km walk home. We also had a nice snack - I had an apple crumble and he had chocolate fudge. Now my diabetes should be super high. Later that evening Prof Buscemi brought me out to Mandarin's for a chinese dinner.

Music Fest at Jaffa Gate

The annual "Sounds of the City" festival ended last night. As usual it started in Jaffa Gate outside the City and the trail wound along the streets of the Jewish and Armenia Quarters. Musicians performed at various corners of this trail. This year there were plenty of arabic performers ... which was a nice change. And it was very crowded. People practically blocked the plaza at Jaffa Gate to listen, sing and dance to the music which ranged from contemporary to classical Middle-Eastern. It was a good celebration for the start of summer.

Home sweet home

The weather is really going crazy. Temperatures are plunging in Jerusalem. Even with the sun shining, it is very cold. I think it was 19 degrees today.

View from my room

Luckily all schools around are closed due to excursions planned for their students. For once in 9 years I can actually have a few days off without work. And I need to rest so much. So I got to go to my other home ... by the beach. It was so very good. It's practically 2 years since I last actually stayed there. The moment I reached my room, I fell asleep till lunch time. And after that I went back to sleep for another 3 hours. It felt so good.

But just in case you think I'm having a real holiday ... think again. I have to go back to Jerusalem every night to work. So it's only a daytime holiday. After 9 years ... I get 3 half-days of holiday. Well I hope it's a good lead-up to my birthday. Really hope to spend it with some good friends ... but I don't think they have the time. So I'll spend it by myself. Am not going to get depressed over that.