Clashes in the Old City

Tear gas fired in Bab Hutta
Quarter just 40m from
my house

Friday and Saturday passed off without incident but right now there's a clash inside the Al Aqsa compound and is spilling into the street in front of our house. Tonight begins the Jewish feast of Rosh HaShana (New Year) and I think this morning Jews had entered the mosque compound to pray (which is not allowed by civil and jewish religious law) - remember the Al Aqsa mosque compound was once where the Jewish Temple and Holy of Holies once stood. As usual the muslims must have protested, the israeli soldiers entered and conflict must have started in there. At 6.30am stun grenades were already fired inside the compound.

Feast of Monthi in Jaffa

By 7.15am the protestors had spilled into the street in front of our house and the Bab Hutta quarter. Tear gas and stun grenades were fired many times to disperse them. I realised the protestors were all students. Apparently the Israeli soldiers closed the 5 schools inside the Al Aqsa compound so these students could not attend classes. I guess the next few days things will get only more heated up .... in 10 days it's Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and the week after Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles/Tents).

Bishop Shomali blsses
the statues

Yesterday I was in Jaffa to help the Indian Catholic community in their celebration of Monti, the Goan feast of the Nativity of Mary and also the autumn harvest. Almost 2000 indian catholics, mostly konkani speakers but also a few other language groups like Sri Lanka and Malayalam attended. The Auxiliary bishop Msgr. Shomali and 6 other indian priests in the Holyland were in attendance ... plus me. I don't speak konkani but I've been helping out by celebrating the Mass in english for their community whenever their chaplain was out of town for the past 5 years, so I know them well and vice versa.

Monti Fest started with a procession of the statues of Mary (one as a baby - her Nativity; the other of Lourdes) brought in from India. The procession started from St Peter's Church in Jaffa to the parish church of St. Anthony 600 metres away. But with the large crowd, it took one hour to complete it. Then there was a Mass which lasted 2 hours. After Mass the community prepared a lovely dinner for the priests ... and we could eat in private, away from the 2000 people. I loved the lamb curry very much and ate 2 servings. By the time I got back to Jerusalem it was 11.30pm. Exhausted.