Day of Rage

Cofix in East Jerusalem

For the 3rd night there were riots and clashes in our street. Arabs throw stones and fired fireworks at police who shot stun grenades and charged at them. Clashes also occurred further down in Gethsemane and the southern villages of Silwan and Ras el Amud. Things were worse than the previous 2 nights. There were many injured. And we couldn't sleep because of the chaos. It has been dreadful. And all over nothing ... it's irrational and purely emotional, all manipulated by a small group of extremists.

Today the ruling Palestinian party called for a "Day of Rage" ... meaning lots of demonstrations  and clashes. Many shops are closed in protest and only pharmacies and food shops are open. All mosques in Jerusalem are closed and every muslim is expected to come to surround the Al Aqsa Mosque to protest. Police are everywhere to prevent any violence. There were scuffles at the usual hotspot of Lions Gate ... but the major violence will occur this evening. On Friday the police will allow prayers only at the Al Aqsa and many restrictions will be in place. That will probably lead to more clashes.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4991474,00.html  and  http://www.timesofisrael.com/temple-mount-tensions-spark-fourth-day-of-clashes/   and   http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4991187,00.html

Meantime the Druze are taking revenge on the death of their 2 policemen. In the town of Magyar where one of the policemen lived, a mosque was attacked with gun shots and a stun grenade exploded. This feud will not end. The Druze, historically, have been persecuted by the muslims ... and now the killing of 2 Druze policemen by muslims has only inflamed the enmity between the 2 communities.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4990299,00.html

Local lychees

Just to detract from these worrisome events ... this morning while on my round of chores in East Jerusalem, I noticed a Cofix shop opened on Salahadin Street. It's a jewish franchise of cheap / affordable food for the lower budget people ... which means most of us. Everything in there costs 6 shekels. What is surprising is that it's jewish and it's established in an arab area. And passing some fruit stalls, I noticed that local lychees are back in season. They're quite tasteless ... unless they have improved on the hybrid.