Soon Hocks in Israel

Tensions are rising as both the Jewish Feast of Yom Kippur and the muslim feast of Eid al Adha will crossover on the same day Thursday. Police are heightening their presence ... 4 times more than previous Yom Kippurs. Other cities with mixed jewish - muslim communities are also on the alert. The problem is for the jews, Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and solemnity, a day of repentance. But the muslim feast of Al Adha is a festive celebration of song and dining of roasted lambs. If both communities cross paths ... a clash is inevitable.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.618262  Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque and the adjacent Wailing Wall and the road leading to them from Damascus gate is the flashpoint. I'm sure the Way of the Cross on Friday will be cancelled as the 3rd, 4th and 5th Stations are along this same road. Unfortunately that's where I  stay ... right at the angle where believers of 3 religions share the same road. I certainly hope I can move out for the weekend.

A baby Soon Hock

Weatherwise it's very cool now and evenings require a jacket or pullover. The new bronchitis medicine is kinder to me ... no more fatigue, asthma and hallucinations. Let's see if it'll cure the bronchitis in these few days. The other day when I was at Yossi's petshop, I found a little surprise. Huddled in a corner of a tank was a very familiar fish .... a marble goby or Soon Hock as Singaporeans know them. Never expected to see them here but they're becoming popular pets because they require little attention. What will be demanding is keeping the water warm during the winter. That reminds me ... I'll have to keep Mr. Bird indoors too.

Bronchitis 2

Dragon chasing the legendary pearl

It seems ironical ... and I'm not trifling the fact ... that this week instead of me reporting about riots and tear gas in Israel, it's Hong Kong that's the center of riots, demonstrations and tear gas. Our side here is very peaceful and calm. The weather has been kind and nighttime temp. drops to 14 degrees. So to see Hong Kong embroiled in social unrest while we're experiencing a lull comes as a surprise, to say the least. All respect is due to the people who are standing up for their rights ... but speaking as one who's lived in Hong Kong and now many more years in the Middle East, a realistic and practical evaluation comes to my mind: Beijing will never back down. it can't. Think of the consequence for Tibet, Inner Mongolia, XinJiang and other minority regions. The Hong Kong people has made a point ... very loudly. And Beijing has noted. Now it's time to step back while you're ahead and think of the next phase while you still hold the upperhand which inevitably must include negotiations and compromise. Otherwise when the Dragon stirs, the Pearl will inevitably be swallowed.

My bronchitis is still at its peak. The medicine "Broncholatte" is too strong for me. Within 2 minutes of drinking 15 ml, my head goes dizzy, I lose all orientation and fall asleep for 4 hours. And it contains ephedrin which provokes asthma. Awful. It tires me out easily and I have not much energy to work. Today my pharmacist recommended another medicine. Let's hope it works. And the pharmacist insisted that if in 2 days the bronchitis and asthma persist, I must go back to hospital.

Peaceful Rosh haShana

New chic supermarket on
the jewish side of Jerusalem

Rosh haShana on Friday and Saturday passed without any incident. Military presence was heavy but no rioting or scuffles were recorded. So it was peaceful for us ... a rare event during these High Holy Days. We'll have to see how Yom Kippur will pass. It'll start on sunset Oct. 3rd and end on sunset Oct. 4th. It's a day of solemn reflection, fasting and prayer. Unfortunately it falls on the feast of St. Francis (Oct 4th) so we can't go out and enjoy. All our celebrations will be held indoors so as not to injure the religious sensitivities of the Jews. But the muslims start their Eid el Adha on sunset of Oct 4th and ends on Oct 5th sunset. It's the feast of Abraham willing to sacrifice Ishmael (not Isaac).

I'm totally wrecked by bronchitis. It's at its peak now, and it also triggers asthma. So I'm having a very dreadful time. Hardly sleeping at all due to the coughing and suffocation. But the medicine I'm taking is very very strong. Knocks me out for 4 hours ... so that's the time I actually sleep. I can't take it during the day as I need to work. Yes there's no sick leave here. You have to work even if you're sick. And my feet hurt so much I can only hobble. But its sporadic. Sometimes I can walk perfectly well. And diarrhea is less these 2 days.

I understand Hong Kong is going through some upheaval. I can understand the fear and consternation when there are massive demonstrating crowds confronting tear gas and military offensives. It's very common here in our country though ... so I can empathise. Let's hope cool heads and reason take over from emotions.

Natural splash of colours in the open
 market on arab side of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is undergoing lots of changes ... new buildings and shops everywhere. My usual Sunday 5 km walk was leisurely because of my bronchitis and feet problems. One thing I noticed was how markets are organised on the Jewish and Arab sides of the City. A new supermarket was opened in Shotar Square in front of Mandarin Restaurant. Upscale place, very chic ... and hence costly. Everything wrapped, well advertised in colourful packages and lighting, and organized on the shelves. Then in the arab side, things are still being sold in the streets in a splash of natural colours, haphazard, prices are negotiated. Both are appealing ... reflective of their cultures.

Bronchitis

Morning in Jaffa

Today was very quiet. No clashes, no riots. Police presence was still heavy but life went on as usual. The Mosque remained closed to muslims while many jews converged to the Wailing Wall to pray on the 1st Day of the New Year - Rosh haShana. Tomorrow however is Friday and if the Mosque continues to be closed, I think there might be more than scuffles. Let's see.

I was hoping to spend the New Year at my other community in Jaffa ... by the sea. But I have class tomorrow and the internet line is not strong in Jaffa. So I'm stuck in Jerusalem. And on a Friday ... with potential clashes between muslims and jews. Can't say I look forward to it.

Sunset on the same site

I'm down with severe bronchitis. Lost my voice. So I don't know how I can teach tomorrow. The chest pain and coughing is dreadful. I can't sleep. And there's a fever as well. Am taking medicine for this but it makes me very drowsy. Still work is work so I have to trudge on.

Students are coming back from the summer vacation. Most schools have started. While all israeli schools are closed - in fact everything is closed - the arab side of Jerusalem continues as usual. School, markets, transportation ... are all running on routine. It's such a strange country when 2 systems are running parallel. It takes quite some time to get to used to it.

Clashes

Muslim women outside
Ecce Homo protesting the
closure of the Mosque

Rioting in our Quarter this morning for some 3 hours. Apparently some jews entered the Al Aqsa esplanade but since it was the eve of Rosh haShana, muslims fear the jew will try (again) to tear down their mosque and rebuild the Temple, so stones were thrown, israeli soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas ... and  full blown clash enveloped our Quarter. Running battles along our street. We had to close our library windows as grenades were fired directly below.

The Mosque was closed to everyone and muslims were protesting in the streets. As Rosh haShana lasts till Friday evening, I think the Mosque will be closed throughout this time. There's going to be some heated encounters in the streets these few days.

That will make life difficult for me as I need to go out to work. If our street becomes a battle ground, then I'll be locked in. And tear gas will be blowing in. And I'm allergic to it ... and my window faces directly the street. Not good news.

Rosh haShana food

Not going to work doesn't mean that I'll be lazing around at home. Today I managed to correct a 40 page article. Very tiring to the eyes. But it was just as well I stayed home in the afternoon (I went to work in the morning despite the clashes), because I'm suffering from severe diarrhea again. Dreadful cramps that make me double up in pain. And my feet continue to hurt so bad I've been hobbling for 2 days now. Perhaps a little Rosh haShana food will cheer me up. it's customary to eat honey cakes and apples dipped in honey ... a sweet start to the New Year. Pomegranates are also traditional ... they symbolise abundance. Ironically we're experiencing clashes on the New Year ... perhaps things might calm down and everyone's lives get sweeten up this year. Our New Year wish? No more wars.

Break

Soldiers at Bab Hutta in
our quiet street

Managed to squeeze a short break last weekend to rest in my other community in Jaffa. It's always nice to get away from Jerusalem - away from the racial and religious tensions which seem to be growing this week. That's probably because the Jewish New Year is this Friday, followed by Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) a week later, and then the 8 day Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles / Tents) the following week. Police and soldiers have stepped up their presence since yesterday. They're expecting trouble ... as they do every year this time. And rightly so. Usually jews will try to enter the Al Aqsa Mosque area and symbolically try to pull down the mosque in order to rebuild the Temple. This inevitably will lead to muslims throwing stones and israeli soldiers firing back in retaliation. Then the riots will spill out of the mosque esplanade into our streets. Happens every year.

Fresh sea breeze in the morning

Anyway a couple of days by the sea is good. No air pollution so I can breathe better. And I get an appetite ... so I do eat 2 meals a day ... hot meals at that. And talking about hot food ... the doctors think they know why I'm suffering from diarrhea most of the time. I probably caught an infection after the operation but because I eat cold leftovers, it caused the bacteria to continue spreading in the tummy thus the diarrhea. The docs fear this may lead to stomach cancer. I really don't know ... just that it's too troublesome to warm up cold leftovers at midnight when I have some time to eat. Maybe I should stop eating all together. And my feet still hurt and the docs continue to tell me to go to a podiatrist.

An ethiopic bride striking
a pose for me

Back to seaside ... a morning walk down to the bakery is pleasant. Warm salty sea breeze, several people jogging or riding bikes or swimming. In the afternoon, lots of couples taking wedding photos in the garden opposite our church. Jews, muslims and christians come to this scenic spot when Pharoah Ramses II built a triumphant gateway some 3000 years ago.

Then on Sunday it's back to work as usual. All through to today. Despite the short break, I'm already feeling tired again. Some fo the shopkeepers opposite our house tell me to slow down ... it appears that I'm burning out ... again. Well let's hope I can spend Rosh haShana this Friday back by the sea again.

Mr. Bird

Mr. Bird loves the news

Mr. Bird was in my room again after a long time. I haven't had the time to play with him and left him with the cockatiel in the large cage out in the courtyard for several months now. He's become quite aggressive so I thought a little TLC was in place. He was very happy to be in my room ... especially when he gets to watch the news from the Internet. He's fascinated by colours and moving objects.

Kohinoor

Kohinoor entrance

All I can say is I'm so happy to have my Israeli security friends. They bring alot of normalcy to an otherwise crazy world. And they say the same about me. The feeling is mutual. Yesterday several of the old guys were back and we had a good time chatting. Today Yogi was back ... haven't seen him in a month as he was off in Eilat for holidays. It was very good to chat with them. The usual banter and crazy jokes. Actually they are the ones who call me down to be with them.

Biryani and okra masala

Dor and Guy love indian food ... they spent a month in India before joining the security team. So I went to Kohinoor's new outlet last night to try out the food and let them know. I ordered vegetable biryani with okra (ladies' fingers) masala. The portions were large. And the food was good ... given that there is no other indian restaurant around town to compete. Prices were similar to other restaurants ... like Mandarin's. But the portions are the selling point. Well I'm no longer tolerant of spicy food so it's unlikely I'll be a regular here. But it was good to eat some Asian food again besides chinese. Sakura the japanese restaurant and the korean restaurant have all closed so there's little choice for asian cuisine.

Alot of work and hence stress again. Hardly been sleeping. I have some 400 pages to edit. And thousands of books to catalogue. And my feet still hurt .... it's going to be a heavy week ....

Mahane Yehuda wet market

All kinds of Halva at the
Mahane Yehuda wet market

Mondays are always nightmare days. it's not only the first day of the week, it's also when I have to get up at 3am (solar time) for classes. Immediately after that is work. I finished my morning routine of jobs by 2pm and walked home. I thought I had an hour or so to rest but I realised I had classes tomorrow ... that meant preparing handouts. Then the security friends called me down to chat ... some had had a bad time with the boss after yesterday's evaluation of their performance. So I went down to chat and chill ... so that some of the upset guys could feel less bad. Popped by the neighbourhood doc to check on my pressure and sugar level as well. Still high.

All kinds of olives

Yesterday I decided to take a long slow stroll at the Mahane Yehuda wet market. It was very interesting  as always. And much more enjoyable as there was no rush or hassle. So much interesting food on sale ... Mahane Yehuda wet market is primarily jewish kosher but being local, there're also arabic food on sale. It's not cheap but not any more expensive than supermarkets or shops. I wanted to buy some papayas but none were available. Apparently they're sold only in Tel Aviv. I'll need to go there to buy some. Will be quite an expensive papaya ... with a 75 km journey included. Not worth the while.

Here are some photos of the wet market.

Sacks of spices

The covered wet market

Fresh fish

Quiet Saturday

Dark clouds overcast
the afternoon sky

I think it was an uneventful day today ... I didn't have time to check the news. Was at work very early in the morning and didn't know what was happening till 2pm when I completed what I set myself up to do. Been a very tiring day.

The weather continues to cool and it's been very cloudy and windy. Just right for the high Holy Days which begin 2 weeks. It's a series of jewish holidays beginning with Yom Kippur, then Rosh haShana and 8 days of Sukkot ending with Simchat Torah. The whole month is practically a holiday as no work is allowed on the Holy Days. Universities here only start after these feasts. Primary and secondary schools that have already started will go on holiday mode again.

No tensions or scuffles today. Just checked the news. Pretty boring by our standards. By now we're so used to trouble, when things calm down we feel uneasy. Very weird.

Healthwise feet are still hurting. Maybe I should change my shoes. But am very happy I had the operation done on my nasal problem. Can breathe so easily now. Many who have done it say it didn't work for them and they still suffer from blocked noses. Mine doesn't, so I'm very lucky. I'm getting so much oxygen in my head, I get dizzy.And the removal of that thing from under and inside the eye made my left eye see much better .... except that I now caught an infection.

Friday troubles

Today saw minor skirmishes in the outskirts of the Old City. The usual stone-throwing at passing israeli cars especially the one car that took a wrong turn and entered a muslim village. Other scuffles included throwing molotov cocktails at the Wailing Wall. Nothing serious. The usual Friday scene.

Morticia Addams at the
Via Dolorosa

But things could now flare up as the Israeli autopsy has confirmed the arab autopsy that the 16 yr old boy killed last week was indeed by a bullet in the head. Shot at close range, like 10 meters away. The Isreali police continue to deny shooting him in the head ... but for sure there'll be riots in Wadi Joz (Kidron valley) and possibly spreading up to East Jerusalem.

The weather has cooled down by some 5 degrees during the day. it's still hot though but humid. The nights get quite chilly. In fact the mornings see the streets wet with dew ... strange for this time of the year. But stranger still ... yesterday a tourist came by our place ... dressed oddly like Morticia Addams: black long dress with frilly sleeves and long black hair. And in this heat! We laughed (discreetly of course) but she was pretty serious. Oh well, you get all kinds of people coming to Jerusalem ... assorted nuts.

Healthwise it's a disaster. Now that my right eye is healed, my left eye is infected. Another round of antibiotics, cream and washes. And my right foot still hurts. Haven't seen the podiatrist yet. Too busy with work to do anything else. 

Riots

Riotous cortege passing
below our house

The last 2 days have seen lots of rioting and violence on the Mt. of Olives, the Kidron Valley and eventually up into the Muslim part of the Old City. Apparently it all started when a 16 yr old boy was shot by police in the Valley for throwing stones last Thursday but died on Sunday. The cause of death is still disputed: arabs say he was shot in the head, providing photos of the autopsy as proof, while Israeli police insist they only shot the guy on the leg and he fell and injured his head. Throughout Sunday and into Monday riots flared up all over East Jerusalem. At 6pm the body was carried into the Al Aqsa Mosque for prayers and then the cortege moved out to the cemetary, passing next to our house. We had prior warning and shut our doors. So did the security guys opposite us guarding the Western Wall Tunnel. The angry cortege passed next to our house, shouting slogans, smashing security cameras and finally rioting as police fired tear gas and stun grenades. The body was finally buried though.

Grapes in abundance

The weather has cooled down alot ... which is one factor for rise of violence. The night temperature goes down quite alot so that a pullover is necessary. It also makes walking up and down to work less difficult. I've managed to do quite alot of work this weekend, correcting 93 pages of a draft and another 46 pages for another publication. I'm sort of an unofficial editor now. No extra salary though. My infected eye is alot better but not totally healed. Correcting tiny footnotes become very difficult with this eye problem. It tires me out quickly.

The walk to and from work is nice as I get to pass by the open Bedouin market and see the seasonal fruit on sale. There's lots of guava ... an introduced fruit which is locally grown. Figs are in the final season, and grapes are plentiful. Among the herbs are mint and sage which are profusely harvested now.

Quiet Friday

Today was very eventless. There was no rioting, no demonstrations ... it was like a normal day ... which can be eerie when you're used to violence in the streets on Fridays. And as usual for the month following Ramadan, muslim weddings are taking place every week especially on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Lots of fireworks ... dreadful explosions this evening from behind our house as one of the boys was married. At 5pm flocks of friends and relatives arrive, wearing their absolute best, walking up the hill under 36 degree sun. Nightmare. Women in high heels navigate carefully the uneven stone road with cracks large enough to twist your ankles.

Our empty gate

The security guys in front of our house are missing Mohammed Siam. He was the gruff, rude guy who sold postcards and Via Dolorosa pamphlets, cursing, swearing, threatening everyone especially the tourist guides. They're afraid of him. The security guys had their share of scuffles with him: throwing chairs, spitting, even fist-fights. But now that he's dead, our gate is very quiet ... so quiet that we're not used to it. We laugh about the pranks we used to pull on him, and he on us. After knowing him for 25 years, I know that despite his aggressive behaviour, he was a good man inside. He would give his little earnings to the poor, clean the little mosque he cared for down the road, prayed faithfully 5 times a day. And whenever I was sick or in hospital, he would ask after me.

My eye is recovering well though I have not yet 100% vision. Still applying medicine whenever I remember or have the time. My feet still hurt. Will have to see the podiatrist soon otherwise walking will become too painful.

Stromata

Passing time playing games

Early morning scuffles yesterday when soldiers forcibly moved a group of chanting muslim women from Bab Ghawarmina (in front of Ecce Homo) down to Bab Hutta. But things returned to normal soon after. Some of the muslim women hackled my israeli security friends ... but the guys just laughed it off. Later in the afternoon when it was cooler and no one in the streets ... hence boring ... they got into a game of paper-scissors-stone but local version. Losers get slapped in the hands ... and that hurts very much because these guys are all ex-soldiers and they have large hard hands. I just watched and laughed.

Now that the ceasefire enters its 3 week, we see how people react when they have no enemy to fight. First we saw arabs attacking arabs. These few days its jews attacking jews - ultra orthodox against the rest of jewry. They actually raised a separation wall in the middle of a school yard to isolated their children from other non ultra orthodox children. Now the separation no longer divides Jews from arabs but jews from jews. Like I always said: Israel is imploding on itself.

Separation wall in school yard

Healthwise my eye is much better though it hurt alot when I had to walk home from work in the hot sun. Never had enough time to apply the medicine regularly. And with the workers returning to work installing electrical and internet cables .... it's a miracle I'm not back in hospital.

Hospital again

At the Eye Hospital

Yesterday was awful. I was rushed to St. John's Eye Hospital in the morning after developing a severe allergic reaction. Was cleaning out the bird cages when bird mites got into my eyes. Rubbed them with my unclean hands and voila! the right eye was so swollen it looked as if it popped out of my head. Everyone panicked, including my israeli security friends who insisted I go to hospital immediately. So someone accompanied me to the Eye Hospital in Sheikh Jarrah. The nurses washed the eye, disinfected it, then the doc came to diagnose, made more tests, more cleansing, anesthesia, medicine. Took a whole 2 hours.

But I must say I was very impressed by the hospital. The staff are very professional, efficient, speak in a normal calm tone (the usual is shouting at the top of your lungs) and give information to all questions, even directing patients to places they need to go. It's so very unlike all the other hospitals I've been and seen. Anyway my eye is alot better now, still a little swollen and not 100% vision yet. To clean the bird cages, I must wear goggles and face mask now. It's like encountering Ebola.

And I couldn't rest ... much as I wanted to. The workers who promised to come and didn't (3 times already) finally showed up. Had to watch them so they don't bungle up on the job. As expected, they didn't finish the job today as they had promised. Tomorrow will be another tough supervision again ... and ensuring that they finish everything.

Gaza update

The weather has suddenly changed. It's gone all cloudy and humid ... very. It's like it'll rain anytime ... but doesn't. And the nights get down to 18 degrees and very windy.

Yesterday saw skirmishes between arabs and israeli military in several villages around Jerusalem. Nothing serious but it disturbed the opening of the school year. Ultra-orthodox jews were also demonstrating against the govt. for arresting several of their kind for not reporting when called up for military service. But since the High Holy Days (Yom Kippur, Rosh haShana and Sukkot) are round the corner, most ultra-orthodox avoid causing trouble.

Sisters from Gaza come to visit

The sisters of Mother Teresa from Gaza managed to come out to Jerusalem yesterday and immediately came to visit me. They recounted the horror of moving 28 handicap children in pitch darkness at midnight while neighbours were running for their lives after receiving warnings that their neighbourhood would be bombed by Israeli planes. As their convent is quite far from the parish church, the sisters did not think they could carry all the children out in time so they carried the children, one in each arm, and left them under a tree near the church while they ran back to save more children. There were only 4 sisters at that time. The parish priest also came out to help the sisters. Everyone sheltered inside the church compound for several days. The sisters also care for bedridden elderly in another house situated across the road. They also had to carry these elderly to safety. This run to safety took place 3 times during the 50 day war. Fortunately Israeli authorities telephoned them to assure them that their convent and church will not be bombed. Now that the ceasefire is holding up. three of the sisters have come to Jerusalem to rest from the stressful situation. Your kind offering of US$20,000 was donated to the sisters so they can buy medicines and food for their people under their care.