Tensions

Studying while walking to school

Ramadan has begun very early this year. So early that the school year is not yet over and students are sitting for their exams. Pity them as they have to fast while studying and stressing for the next 2 weeks. I think most parents would mitigate the fast for their children. The weather is rather pleasant though ... a cool breeze blowing despite the heat. That would help people pass the day with less need for drinking water ... which is forbidden during the Ramadan Fast.

Meanwhile it was a very poignant gesture that the Tel Aviv municipality lighted up the Municipality Building with the Egyptian flag to remember the Coptic Christians killed the day before. A jewish State honoring martyred christians .... so where is Paris? London? Brussels? European countries that are so quick to fly each other's or America's flags in each terror attack ... christian european countries ... who now do not publicly express solidarity when it's the Middle East and/or christian. This was the topic at lunch today ... european friars expressing disappointment over this hypocrisy.     http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4968091,00.html

Also in Tel Aviv on the same night, 15,000 Israelis marched to support a 2 State solution ... Trump wants to restart this dead-ended solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Not that I think it'll work but it's good to see Israelis with hope.  http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.792194    A very brave move when we see the sad situation as reported today that palestinian farmers  are not allowed to travel or work in their own land while israelis and tourists can do so freely.  http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-1.792096   Yesterday siarteli settlers attacked a palestinian farmer, leaving him bleeding from the head ... and the soldiers merely dispersed the settlers instead of making arrests or protecting the farmer from the attack.   http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.792260

Border Police at prep talk before
entering the Old City

And as if the racial - religious divide is not tense enough, today the Chief Rabbi advised male soldiers to take off their glasses and bury their faces in a prayer book when women are singing in their presence. The internal conflict within judaism, and the growing power of ultra-orthodoxism over other forms of judaism is causing a deep rift in Israeli society.    http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/jewish_news.php?Itemid=26177

Well the roll of bad news seems to flow in as Ramadan and the summer holidays begin. We could certainly not do with more tensions. We're tired of it. But it's the minority that lights the fuse and the rest of us have to suffer the consequences.