This morning there was a loud explosion nearby and I thought it was due to the violence in the Al Aqsa mosque. Later I learnt it was a domestic explosion in a neighbour's house ... possibly a gas leak. All 3 of his children were dead ... 1 yr, 2 yrs and 7 yrs old. Horrible. His wife was badly injured. The funeral was due this evening but as everyone waited in the street in front of our house, we got news that they'd bring the body to Palestine where most of the family were living. Everyone was feeling terrible.
A barrage of rockets from Gaza prior to the 72 hour truce was fired toward Israel this morning ... one hit a house in Bethlehem. Luckily no one was hurt. There were also scuffles in the AlAqsa Mosque. And when I got home from work, our road was blocked by many border police armed with stun grenades and guns. Apparently arabs had been throwing stones at jews walking to the Wailing Wall.
It's Tisha B'Av today ... a day of mourning for most jews. It commemorates the destruction of the Jewish Temple twice on the same day ... the Solomonic temple in 587 BC by the Babylonians and the Herodian temple in 70 AD by the Romans. Most jews fast on this day. And the rabbinic explanation of this destruction? "Baseless hatred of jews for each other". A nation torn apart. An imploded society.
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| Good home food for lunch |
I've been very sick since last night. Nausea and diarrhea. Very bad diarrhea. But I still had to work. The good sisters were very kind and cooked white rice, okra (ladies fingers) and fried string beans. It was good to eat some hot food for lunch ... but I couldn't hold it in. Am still feeling very ill.
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