Weekend again

Beautiful colours

It's the weekend and it's unusually quiet the day yesterday. The police and soldiers are less and the tension has been much reduced. Everyone has noticed that the flashpoint for violence has now shifted to Hebron - the traditional site for clashes and uprisings. In fact most of the perpetrators of this month's violence in Tel Aviv and other cities all come from Hebron. The police has decided to prohibit some 2500 hebronites from entering Israel. And now we receive news that the police is also closing off several villages known for producing perpetrators. Not good news. It will only inflame anger and provoke more violence.

Today the violence picked up again with a couple of car-rammings and one stabbing in Nahariya with is near Tel Aviv.

The cold nights and relatively hot days are causing the leaves on trees to change into a kaleidoscope of colours. It feels more autumn than winter. While beautiful on the trees, the leaves cause a lot of mess in the streets. I might collect of these colourful leaves to decorate my table. Perhaps around my Advent wreathe.

Palm Plaza during the day

Yes Advent will begin in 2 days!! Another year has passed. I'll be busy preaching some 5 retreats during this time. It'll be quite tiring. The first one begins this Sunday for the english-speaking sisters of the Judean region. I hope I can find some time to rest. I'll need to go back to hospital for follow-up on Monday and while the course of some medication will end then, other medicines must be taken for another 3 weeks. My stomach is feeling quite sick with this heavy medication.

Sahlab season

Sahlab is back on the menu

The weather continues to be cold ... actually chilly is the word. Lots of people are sick. Tourists are not prepared for this sudden cold. Too bad. I noticed many shops are starting to serve sahlab ... a sure sign that winter is kicking in. I like ti very much but I must order it without the peanuts that tops it. Sahlab is the flour made from an orchid tuber, mixed with milk or water, with drops of rose or orange water or even rose syrup. It's nice for a cold rainy day. I wonder when I'll be well enough to go out and get one.

Much less violence today. Only one near Hebron in the south. Jerusalem continues to be tense with heavy military presence but people are getting used to it and life goes on as usual.

I'm into my 6th day of treatment and the steroids - among them the dreaded Prednisone - is about to finish. My wheezing is over, fluids in the lungs are almost all out though the sinus problem continues to be a bother. No signs of improvement. Nevertheless I've started work. It's tiring as the medication is very strong and makes me tire easily. One of the most tiring is visiting the many groups of tourists/pilgrims after diner time. I have to give them talks. This week alone there are 2000 chinese tourists and not enough chinese guides. That makes my work all the more important to visit them in the night. But that's a lot of work both day and night.

Holy Doors

The temperature has dropped drastically. Last night was as low as 5 degrees. Today is no better ... the wind is bitterly cold. And many many people have fallen sick. Thank goodness I'm getting better!! Doc said I should have my flu shot as soon as possible once I'm off the steroids. I think I'll go for it tomorrow.

Heated debate at Bible Society 

There was less violence today ... one hit-and-run so far in the Territories. But there was a minor disturbance in Jaffa Street ... a small group of ultra-orthodox jews were protesting in front of the Bible Society. They were not happy that the Torah was placed with christian books. The christian workers there came out to speak with them and there was a heated debate, but no scuffles.

Meantime we received news of the opening of the Holy Doors for the Year of Mercy. Each Rite has its own Holy Door, so from Dec. 13th till Dec. 27th, half a dozen catholic cathedrals will have their Holy Doors opened: the Maronites, Greek Catholics, Armenian Catholics, Syrian catholics and of course the Latin Catholics. We latins have 3 basilicas with Holy Doors: St Catherine's in Bethlehem, Basilica of the Agony in Gethsemane and Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. That way catholics from the north and those in the Territories will have a chance to celebrate the opening of the Holy Year since those in the Territories will not be able to come to Jerusalem.

Well if you do come to visit the Holy Land next year, you'll get to walk through the Holy Doors. After all it was here in this land that God's Mercy was fully expressed by sending His Son to die on the Cross for us.

Weekend over

Hitching a ride

So the weekend passed with quite a lot of violence again. After the lull, there have been an average of 4 stabbings or hit-and-runs throughout the country. Jerusalem has had several instances, though not in the Old City. They occur quite far away from the tourist areas. This morning there was the stabbing by 2 arab girls: 14 and 16 yrs old. A security video of the stabbings has gone viral on the Internet. One can see that the girls were waving
scissors and not frantically stabbing anyone before they were shot by security guards. The word in the street is they wanted to be shot, they wanted to die ... why? Street wisdom says they might have been forced into marriages they didn't want and they chose to die instead.  Be that as it may ... it's troubling that youths at that young age have been the main perpetrators of these few months' attacks. It's not normal.

Th weather has been very cold lately. Everyone is out with winter jackets and hoodies. If this keeps up, Christmas will be very cold. I have to keep warm though with my pneumonia and infected sinuses. The medicine makes me tired easily but after 4 days of no work, today I had to get back to the office otherwise the backlog will be too much to catch up.

The PDDM sisters in Jerusalem

Sunday was Christ the King feast but it was also St. Cecilia's feast day. I had the usual Armenian Mass at 9am but since the superior of the PDDM sisters community in charge of the Armenian Catholic Basilica is Cecilia, they had a feast day lunch and invited me over. They were very nice to specially cook food that I could eat, asking beforehand what I was allergic to. PDDM stands for Pious Disciples of the Divine Master ... one of the congregations founded by St. Alberione and forms part of the Pauline family. This Thursday is their feast of Alberione their founder and they have asked me to preside at Mass. And they'll prepare dinner as well!

Tense Friday

Self cooked lunch today

Last night I really slept well. About 5 full hours. Got up twice only to cough up phlegm. The medication is strong and I feel weak and very thirsty all the time. There was one medicine Aerovent that is not available in East Jerusalem (meaning the arab side of town) so I had to walk 1 km yesterday evening to the western side (jewish) to buy it. The evening was really cold ... it dropped to 8 degrees! I walked around the City for an hour and that always clears my lungs. The fluids are drained away, my wheezing stops and I feel much better.

Military presence was building up when I was taking my walk. An hour earlier 2 people were killed at Gush Etzion, 7 km south of Jerusalem. And an hour before that 3 people were killed in Tel Aviv. It was a very violent evening ... after a week's lull in the violence. Tensions are high as today is Friday and thousands of muslims will be entering the Old City to get into the Al Aqsa Mosque. With my recuperation, I should ideally be in bed resting ... but there is always urgent business that I must attend to: first a Polish bishop wanted to come visit the school and I had to wait for him at the entrance to welcome him and his entourage and bring them to the school. Then immediately I had to go to the Bishops' Conference Office to pick up 2 documents.

In the afternoon I decided to cook some food to strengthen my constitution: what rice, steamed minced beef with mui choy; and anchovies with bean-sprouts (kana her and towgay). It was a nice poor man's meal.

Buddy the good boy

Don't know if this afternoon there'll be the Way of the Cross. Anyway I'm too weak to go downstairs again. Will stay in bed and do some reading if I can't sleep ... and if the 2 parrots stop giving me trouble. Both are now very jealous of each other. If I let one out of the cage, the other will be screaming his/her lungs out. The other guys at home are not happy with the noise and sooner or later they'll be asking me to get rid of the birds. I think Miss Bird will have to go as she's the loudest and most destructive. She bites through all my electric and computer wires, destroyed countless books and pooped all over my bed. Any wonder why I get sick?

More tests

Amazing connecting corridor between
2 buildings at St. Joseph's Hospital

Was at the pulmonologist yesterday for more tests. My lungs are working only 64% maximum. And an X-ray showed that my sinus is infected ... my old problem that I had previous to my nose operation. Apparently the infected fluids flow into my lungs, causing the asthma especially at night and also resulting in my pneumonia. Now I'm on lots of medication: back on prednisone which I dislike ... and 7 other tablets. Then I have to use the nebuliser 4 times a day. Some medication must be  taken for one month. I don't think I have the patience.

Entrance to the Emergency Ward

St. Joseph's Hospital, where I had gone for Emergency service and tests, was a rundown building; cracks, cockroaches, dark corridors stacked with abandoned equipment ... it's like entering the Walled City of Kowloon. The saying in Jerusalem is: you go in alive, you come out dead. Now the hospital has got a multi-million dollar renovation. Unbelievable. In structure and setup, it's comparable now to any metropolitan hospital. Clean, bright, quiet, no one smoking indoors. The reception service is also very good now: polite and informative. Finance department was also very prompt and professional. Now it leaves to see if the medical service is on par with world standards. Letting my blood sample coagulate before it got to the lab was not very promising. But X-ray department was prompt. The doc who saw me at Emergency was polite and kept apologising for the pain caused by the injections. Let's hope the hospitals reputation changes for the better.

Emergency Ward again

I have pneumonia ... added to a severe break of asthma. Landed up in Emergency Ward again. The French Hospital has been renovated beyond recognition .... from a rundown medical centre that nobody dared to enter (because you usually come out dead), to a very modern high-tech, bright and clean place comparable with any hospital in a metropolitan city. I got lost in other words. Couldn't find my way to the registry counter, or exit or x-ray dept. 

8th visit to EW

Anyway I could hardly breathe anymore. It became worse when I the right side of my head began to have a throbbing pain and my right arm was numb. Thought it might be a stroke. And I blacked out twice. So I went to Emergency as soon as I felt strong enough to walk out to Damascus Gate which is half a km away. 

When the nurse in charge saw he, he moaned "Oh no ... always coming at the last minute" ... They know me well I guess ... I never go to the hospital unless I absolutely need to ... which could be a week later. Anyway they know what I needed so I got 5 types of medicine injected into me, then a nebuliser. After one hour the doc decided I needed another dosage, this time plus oxygen. And they took blood "from the heart" ... which scared me. It hurt like hell when the needle was poked into the artery. And after 5 long minutes, the sent the phial of blood to the lab. 5 mins later the nurse came back and said "Sorry the blood clotted. We can't use it. We'll need to take another sample". I absolutely refused. It hurts worse than the enormous antihistamine injection which burns.

Anyway I'm supposed to stay in hospital for 3 days. I can't possibly survive that. But I need the rest ... the quiet away from the Old City. 

War

Facebook profiles are all changed with the french flag as a background. I have nothing against that ... but I strongly feel that standing by France at this moment may be the gut-reaction of many, but I feel it's too little too late. You can't bring back the dead. Prevention is definitely better than the cure. Standing-by a victim is NOT enough ... you must STAND AGAINST the perpetrator!!!!  Solidarity with Paris is good ... solidarity against terrorists is better!!!! I wish Facebook profiles would change to become symbols against terrorists/fanatics. We in the Middle East have suffered enough persecutions this decade ... we have grown used to the fact that the world has forgotten us ... consoling the victim is easier than stopping the terrorist.

By the way, newspapers carry articles saying no one has made the same waves as Paris when Beirut was bombed the day before, or the Kenyan university students were slaughtered by Boko Haram also the day before. Why?

Making Waraq Dawali

I'm tired ... physically from countless work, but emotionally from the war within and outside the country. True we're no longer tormented by stabbings and car rammings, but reading the news of violence all around us, and political parties exploiting these tragedies for their own political credit ... it's just too much ... it's nauseating. Everyone has their own stand, their own argument, their own justification for this side or that. It is tiring to have to constantly explain yourself. I feel stuck in the middle - between jewish and arab friends, between rightists and leftists, between seculars and religious. Life is so complicated here.

For a little distraction from this headache ... I made the weekly Sunday walk with Prof. Buscemi around the New City. We came across a hawker who wraps vine leaves with rice, meat and veggies - they're called waraq dawali in arabic or dolmades in greek. It's a rare sight to see it done outside the closed doors of a kitchen. And done by a man instead of a woman! Now that's a revolution! Perhaps that's what we need right now in this worldwide tragedy of terrorism ... a revolution. A revolution within our minds and hearts, to overthrow the present culture of political correctness and trying to please everyone ... the perfect breeding conditions for fanaticism to grow. The bottom line must be drawn, dialogue must end, the war must be fought.

Sabbat

Ultra orthodox jews returning
home from Sabbat prayers

So it's Saturday ... how time flies. As usual I've been caught up with never-ending work. This morning we had the joint Dies Academicus with the Ecole Biblique (Dominican) but I only managed to show my face for the beginning. Had a very important document to translate in short notice so I had to return home immediately to get it done.

On the way home I was struck by the typical Sabbat scene at Damascus Gate ... families of ultra-orthodox jews returning home from the Wailing Wall after morning prayers.

The news on everyone's lips is of course the massacre in Paris. I have nothing to say except "you should have known / I told you so".  I find it amazing that the entire civilised world with the topmost technology can be held hostage by a handful of rustic fanatics. But then again the mongols on horseback managed to conquer half the world's advanced civilisations so ... it can happen again. It is not inevitable though, it's simply the lack of political will and the idiotic of being "politically correct" that has led to the unbridled rise of extremism. Now "politically correct" will be the death of Europe. And I won't be signing your condolence book ... because "you shouldIt used to be so peaceful like this have know / I told you so".

St. Leo the Great

Chinese pilgrims venerating the
relic of the True Cross before
starting the Way of the Cross

There was light rain this morning but the sun came back up and it was quite warm during the day. I was extremely busy with groups. Had to accompany one group through the Way of the Cross. The streets are packed with tourists. You have to wait in line at each station for your turn at prayers.

There were easily 2000 chinese tourists this morning at the Flagellation Chapel. The chinese market is huge and is saving the Israeli economy because groups from european and american countries have all stopped coming.

There was no violence today throughout the country. That is good. After class in the afternoon, I had to go to the Jewish Quarter to buy a printed Torah Scroll. I took the shortcut through the Wailing Wall which saves me 10 minutes of walking. After buying the Scroll, I wanted to go back through the Wailing Wall but security would not let me. No Torah scrolls allowed in the Wailing Wall. What????? I said this is not even a real scroll, just a printed pedagogical tool. Absolutely NO. I had to make a huge detour through the Cardo to get back home. Took me half an hour more.

Cheesecake and cappuccino
at Cafe Cafe

Yesterday was my feast day and part of a Singaporean group when out with me for tea. Actually they wanted to buy books and I had to bring them to the bookshops but next door was Cafe Cafe (name of the cafe chain in Israel). So I was treated to my favourite cheesecake and a cup of cappuccino. It was nice. The feast was of course St. Leo the Great.

The Jewish east of Hanukkah is round the corner and sufgoniot - the jelly filled doughnuts are already on sale in all bakeries. This will be fun because the weather is cold. Nothing like a nice warm sufgoniot with a cup of cappuccino in winter.

Friends in attempted stabbing

The peace in Jerusalem was shattered today by 2 attacks near Damascus Gate ... both within 5 minutes of each other. And what hit me hard was the 2nd attack was against 2 of my good friends A. and B. who are security guards. An arab man is seen in the video raising a knife to attack them from the back but they shot him dead. It took place in front of Maswadi mini market where I usually go to buy Shoko chocolate milk. See http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/WATCH-New-video-of-security-forces-shooting-terrorist-charging-at-them-with-knife-432596

Wet cold morning. View of
the Mt. of Olives from
Via Dolorosa

I heard gunshots as I left the house at about 4.30pm. Other security friends nearby immediately told me about the attack. I was shocked. A. is such a quiet, small guy ... I never imagined him to be so quick in reflexes and fired the first shot. I'm glad he wasn't hurt. But I was really shook up. Those guys risk their lives everyday. I treasure each time I meet them. They're really good buddies.

The skies continue to be overcast and very humid. The rained very heavily last night but daytime was only drizzly. And it's very cold. It seems to reflect the tragic, hopeless situation that we find ourselves these days.

These past 2 days I've been working 18 hours flat. It's exhausting. Each evening I visit 2 or 3 groups of chinese pilgrims in their hostel, giving them talks. This makes me cover some 5 km on foot. This evening I was at Mamilla with one Singapore group; then walked 2km to Ritz hotel to meet another group; then 3 km up in the Mt. of Olives for the 3rd. That was too far and dangerous by foot so I had to hire a car to bring me to and from the St. Vincent de Paul convent where the group is living. It's also good to meet the pilgrims and share the Good News with them. But it's really tiring too. Hope I have energy tomorrow to accompany a group for the Way of the Cross. Same thing for another group on Thursday.

Stromata

Rain at Palm Plaza last night

Yesterday was one of those days when I had so much to do there was no time for personal time. From morning till after 10pm I was rushing from one place to another, meeting people and groups, doing chores etc... I was utterly exhausted. And it was raining most of the time.

We need the rain so we shouldn't complain. But it was also cold. These few nights the temp. dropped to 11 degrees. My heater is out and have been using it for several nights now. In the mornings the rains usually stop for several hours ... and the fog is thick, so thick it enveloped the Mt. of Olives totally yesterday. In the Old City, visibility was reduced to 200 meters.

Extreme fog - Mt. of Olives
is invisible

Stabbings and car ramming continue to occur each day ... but there're out in the Palestinian Territories where Jewish settlements have occupied arab lands. Here in Jerusalem, after 2 weeks of relative peace, the police have relaxed their watch and removed many checkpoints and barriers.

2015 is almost over. Advent is hardly in and shops in the Christian Quarter are already selling christmas decorations. Time flies.

And more rain

Amazing sunset after
the sandstorm

And the rains keep coming ... and I'm not complaining!! It has washed away all the dust and sand from the air. And I can breathe a lot better. But it's getting very cold as well. Tourist groups are getting drenched and shops are making a quick buck by selling umbrellas and jackets ... something to make up for the month of closures due to the violence in the Old City.

Being Friday, military presence was stepped up. Young men continue to be stripped searched in public ... utterly humiliating. I wonder why the UN or any other country has yet to condemn this. The Intelligence Service of Israel has waned that though the violence has lessened, it will likely to re-explode in the coming months: when it gets colder and the arabs have no access to electricity, water, heating ... even food has expensive because the produce from the Palestinian Territories can no longer pass through the checkpoints into Israel.

This afternoon a 72 yr old arab lady was shot dead in her car by Israeli soldiers. They claim she tried to run them down with her car! The arab version is she was simply turning into a gas station when soldiers shot her.  If indeed she was a terrorist, she would be the oldest on record!!! And those young soldiers are nervous and jumpy, so they pull the trigger quickly at anything. Remember they have orders to shoot to kill, and shoot before asking. I'm scared when I walk pass the soldiers. I pull down my hoodie and walk slowly, hands outside pockets ... so they can see clearly I'm an unarmed foreigner. This morning in the heavy rain, I walked pass such a group under Sharon's House. One of the soldiers shouted something. I walked on, thinking it was meant for someone else. Again he shouted. This time I thought it must be me as no one else stopped. I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders to say "What?". Again he shouted at me, but slowly this time: "ni hao". I shouted back in arabic "hi" and walked off.

This morning we had an evaluation of the exhibition: me, the prof and 2 members of our sponsor institute. The consensus was it was a success. Now we have to plan for the next year's activities. Whoever said the library is a boring place?

Rain

The rains came! In fact it flooded Jerusalem in some areas ... the news showed a huge dumpster floating away in the torrent. I was caught in the rain a couple of times today as I had to run from one place to another. I think I caught a cold now.

Sinple dinner cooked by
the MC sisters

It's been a tiring day. 8am setting up the exhibition, opening the library; 10am meeting with architects; 11am meeting with a chinese professor; 12pm lunch with a good friend; 2pm class; 5pm conference, confessions and adoration with the MC sisters. Am so exhausted I had to cancel meeting a pilgrim group at 7pm. And the rain kept coming. The consolation was a warm simple but delicious meal cooked by the MC sisters (Mother Teresa) after the adoration: plain rice with curry veggies. Made my tummy feel good in this cold wet weather.

The exhibition closed today. It was a success ... but it was really tiring. We had lots of visitors: from professors and students, Israeli sand arabs, ambassadors and Consuls, UN personnel, church dignitaries from various denominations ... one of the last visitors requested the exhibition be organised at the Italian embassy in Tel Aviv.  now that is a success.

Sandstorm in Tsahal Square

One very shocking news today was the Supreme Court, after having ruled to demolish an illegal synagogue built by settlers in Palestinian land, backed out of its ruling after settlers vandalised the Supreme Court walls with graffiti. It's surprising how justice can be threatened and stopped by settler threats. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.684119

And the rains must have flooded a crocodile farm near the Jordan River ... because farmers found crocodiles in their fields today!

The sandstorm ended with the rains but it was bad when it lasted. My asthma was really bad: choking and suffocating every minute.

Exhibition

The reception table of the exhibition

All Saints Day and All Souls Day passed and I had hardly anytime to reflect on these feast days. I was in the midst of preparing for a 3 day exhibition on the history of the book as a means of preserving the text. Arranged in chronological order, it starts with the presentation of the Samaritan Torah scroll (replica: the original was stolen 2 decades ago) and the beginnings of the codex.

The Custos (2nd from R) gets a private
tour with Prof. Barbieri (R), and the
superior of St. Saviour Monastery (2nd
from L) and Dr. Bignami (L)

Then there were the types of bindings and covers which developed through the centuries, from basic to elegant to luxurious. Then there were exhibits of special coverings: those made from bronze and iron, others gold-gilded, others reused parchment, others engraved animal skins. I must say it is a very interesting collection.

The exhibition ends with the modern forms of the book: digitalised and electronic. Prof. Gino Roncaglia, an expert in the history of the book, provided these examples. He will give a talk on the history and future of the book tomorrow evening.

At the inaugural speech

The exhibition actually started with some 8 months of preparation. I'm utterly exhausted from the past months of intense work, selection, studies and research, printing of the catalogue; now that the exhibition is opened, I hope it's a success. There was a large crowd for the inauguration and we even had many professors and doctoral students from various Israeli universities who came to visit. In the next days we expect visits from professors and students from Palestinian universities. As we had aimed, books can be a unifying force and we hope the exhibition opens dialogue and mutual understanding between Israeli and Palestinian intellectuals.

And I say this while jewish lynchings of arabs continue to escalate. The govt this afternoon has fixed the penalty for arab stone-throwers to a min of 3 yrs in jail and 15 yrs maximum. But if an Israeli throws stones, this law does not apply.

A normal day

IDF soldier helps aran woman
with olive harvest
(photo from StandWithUs fb)

The weekend passed with some more violence in the terrorists. Today the newspapers counted 75 deaths in all: 22 in Jerusalem, 43 in the Palestinian Territories and 10 in the Green Line  (Palestine - Israel boundary set in 1948). Yet despite the violence there has been good instances of goodwill which never get printed in the press. For example a restaurant in Tel Aviv that offers 50% for any table seated by a jew and an arab. Or the instance when an Israeli IDF soldier helped an arab woman carry her bag of olives during the harvest.

Instead we get drawn by the dreary daily news of killings, illegal expropriation of lands, church burnings, killings, revenge attacks ...
Like this morning we got news again that extreme rigtwingers are being helped by the government take over property of the ancient village of Silwan (Siloam and its famous pool) now populated by arabs. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.683416?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook

The other headlines is the rainstorm we experienced a few days back. The coastal and central plains were hardest hit, with floods and electric outages for 3 days. A dispute with the Union of Electric Workers meant that nothing was repaired and 5000 families had to go without electricity during that time. Thank goodness today the sun is back.

Market day at the Musrara
open market where 3
stabbing attacks took place

My asthma is still killing me even tough the sisters of St. Vincent de Paul got me a nebuliser. I hardly sleep 2 hours a night due to the suffocation. During the day I'm totally exhausted but still I have to work. That's as normal a day for me as it can get. As for other people, they try to push the violence as far as possible from the mind. Markets try to open as usual ... but with the closure of the Territories, fruit and vegetables are not coming in, so whatever's available is very expensive. I couldn't find a shop that sold eggs. There's an egg shortage! And that's a constant reminder to the locals that things are not as normal as they would like.