Tragic accident at Furama chinese restaurant

Night market at
Nablus Road

Friday passed without incident despite the thousands of muslims coming into the Al Aqsa Mosque from the Palestinian Territories. There were some scuffles in the villages but nothing serious. Saturday and today Sunday also saw busloads of muslims coming into Jerusalem from the Territories. Entry to the Al Aqsa Mosque is inside the Old City so these people need to enter usually from Damascus Gate or Herod's Gate to get to one of the entrances to the Mosque compound. Our house is right between these 2 City gates, so you can imagine the traffic in front of our house. Simply put: we couldn't go out of our house because of the human wave.

In the evenings after the canon has been fired (actually its not longer a canon but a missile launcher that sent up a massive firework that explodes in the sky), everyone goes home to eat and the streets become empty. After an hour the crowds come back out into the streets and start festivities. In Nablus Road the Ramadan night market is in full swing, as well as all the muslim shops in the City. Lots of food and toy stalls but hardly anyone is buying anything. Only shops selling women's clothes, shoes and handbags are doing well.

Night market

Yesterday an awful accident happened at the chinese Furama restaurant at Ben Yehudi street in Tel Aviv. The restaurant is run by several Hong Kongers who make their own dumplings, wonton and pao. Really good food. And a regular haunt for Singaporeans working in Tel Aviv. Last night a driver suffered a heart attack and his car went out of control, smashing into the restaurant, killing 3 patrons and injuring many others. Other patrons thought it was a terrorist attack and they started beating the driver who was already unconscious. Public lynching. That's the level of fear and hatred in Israeli society today. Remember last year an innocent ethiopic asylum seeking was lynched and killed because he was mistaken as a terrorist? Life is now dangerous in Israel if you're not Israeli. You can get beaten up or killed for nothing other than a suspicion.