Yom Kippur - Eid el Adha

St. Peter's in Jaffa

I'm finally back. A crazy weekend as jewish Yom Kippur coincided with muslim Eid el Adha. We expected major violence. Being sick with bronchitis and exhaustion, I decided to move to our other community at St. Peter's in Jaffa to get away from any trouble in the streets. The last thing I want is stun grenades exploding at 1am and tear gas wafting into my room. Surprise! There was no violence or scuffles at all. But I enjoyed my stay in Jaffa ... slept for most of the first day ... and the second. Would have come back to Jerusalem on Saturday night but being feastdays, there was no transport whatsoever. So I was forced to stay overnight till Sunday morning. Being a jewish feast of penitence, there were very few jews in the beaches and streets. All shops were closed. The arab muslims on the otherhand were restricted by a curfew from sunset to sunrise, so there were no family gatherings and barbecues in the parks or streets. It was a very sad weekend.

Damascus Gate all night bazaar
as jews and muslims pack into the
Old City at midnight to their
respective holy places.

Then Monday, Tuesday and today was packed full with work. The stained glass people came from Italy to install the stained glass windows of Blessed Allegra in our library, lots of books to catalogue, the new tables needed refixing, classes to teach ... and I was rushing from one end of the City to the other during the day. Then there were groups of pilgrims to visit in the evenings and counselling calls throughout the night from 2am to 5am. I was so tired and I blacked out twice during the day. Not enough sleep and food. I want so much just to sleep.

Well Kippur ended on Sunday and Adha ended today ... but simultaneously this evening begins another jewish feast ... Tabernacles or tents. Explosive. This morning there was a riot in the Al Aqsa Mosque esplanade. We're expecting more trouble tonight and tomorrow. Now I wish I were in Jaffa again ... but there're classes and other work to attend to. Or maybe I'll just close my window and sleep for the next 72 hours.