Rain

Rain!!!!

It rained this morning!! The skies were quite dark like yesterday but today it actually started to drizzle and then rain. In Jerusalem it rained for only a couple of hours ... not very heavy ... a regular shower in your part of the world. But in the central plains and up north, there was heavy rain with thunder and lightening. It causes flooding in many cities and electrical outages. It is so good!!! Strange today it but we had a long decade of drought and this rain is so welcome. Children 7 or 8 years old can't remember what rain is. The school opposite our house was chaos as children ran out into the quadrangle and shouted and played in the rain. Most people - jew and arab alike - walked bare-headed in the rain ... it's a blessing. Only tourists carried umbrellas and cursed the rain. They have no idea what a drought is.

Via Dolorosa in
the rain

I was out doing a chore at Salahaddin Street when it started to drizzle. Pedestrians were all looking up into the dark sky and many were saying it will rain. No one hurried, no one rushed into the covered walkways. Everyone walked out in the street and let the drizzle fall on their faces. When I reach home it started to rain. It was good to hear the flattering of rain on the rooftops and stone pavements. It's something we haven't heard for years. We all hope it will continue to rain for the next weeks and months. What a cool relief. The parched earth was soaking up every drop of rain.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5026325,00.html

Yesterday tens of thousands of arab and jewish women marched through the streets of Jerusalem after 2 weeks of walking from the north. They mostly suffered personal lost in the arab-israeli conflict, and they included orthodox religious women from both religions. They demand a peace deal that so far has eluded us for the past 10 years. They as mothers, don't want their children to die in mindless racial and religious violence anymore. https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-of-israeli-palestinian-women-march-for-peace/

Today was a major disappointment for many Israelis because the ultra-orthodox jews have succeeded in blocking the Space Week festival in Jerusalem, citing participants and/or venues as impure. There were supposed to be talks and exhibitions in various sites around the City. But the extremist minority has flexed its power and the majority just cowered in silence. Religion trumped science this time.  http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Space-Week-events-in-Jerusalem-cancelled-due-to-haredi-pressure-506872