Veil or no veil

Ramadan lights at Herod's Gate

Thus the controversy begins. Newspapers both local and international are commenting with photos of Melanie Trump wearing a black veil in the audience with the Pope. In fact she and her daughter and senior aide Hope Hicks all wore traditional protocol black with veils ... and they didn't do it in Saudi Arabia where it is mandatory ... and also at the Wailing Wall (Ivanka Trump did wear a hat at the Wall because she's a jewish convert). Many newspapers of course noted that Melania was a Catholic so it's not surprising she opted for the traditional protocol as all former First Ladies have done.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4536884/Melania-Ivanka-wear-black-veils-meet-Pope.html

Today newspapers are having a good laugh at Trump and his gaffs in Israel. Besides many others, he said "lasting peach" instead of "lasting peace", and "Great Wall" instead of "Western Wall". Both left wing and rightwing newspapers are roasting him because because he said nothing about the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem (as he had promised).   http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.791455

Lights at Palm
Plaza

Here in Jerusalem, tensions are very very high as Israelis celebrate Jerusalem Day or Unification Day. By noon the main roads leading to the Old City were barricaded. Hundreds of young jewish men have already congregated in pockets near the City Gates with their rabbis. Now at 6pm security helicopters are flying overhead while thousands of israelis are marching into the Old City ad especially the Muslim Quarter ... to show that they have conquered it from the arabs (or liberated it as the israelis see it). They wave huge flags, sing nationalistic songs and chant slogans, vandalise non-jewish property with graffiti ... and no one stops them because it is their land. I just hope they don't destroy the Ramadan lights that were put up last night.

Tomorrow is Ascension Day. Tonight there will be vigils at the chapel of the Ascension on the Mt. of Olives and then there will be Mass every half hour till 5.30am when the Archbishop comes to preside at the solemn Mass. Let's hope this will not be disrupted by extremist nationalist israelis who might be marching around tonight. Already the sisters of M. Teresa have been spat upon by jews yesterday inside Damascus Gate.