Tuesday drizzle

Half dozen police at Jaffa Gate

So the American VP visited the Wailing Wall this morning. I had to pass by our bookshop at Jaffa Gate and saw the numerous military police at almost every 10 meters. Crowds of tourists were weaving between local jews and security. Many ultra-orthodox jews were not bothered by this visit and only wanted to get to the Wailing Wall through the shortcuts. Other political minded jews were carrying posters to welcome and thank the VP.

The arabs on the other hand had called for a protest strike. In reality many arab shopkeepers are against it as they will lose their income for the day. Yesterday when they received orders to shut down today, many complained. Strikes don't hurt the Israelis ... it hurts the people who are shutting down. Sometimes these leaders don't use their brains. It only makes their own people turn against them.

2 soldiers guarding
David Street entrance

Well the weather has turned very cold and cloudy. And drizzle started by late evening. The storm is coming. Everyone is dreading the cold ... though they really hope it would snow. Some of my final year students want so much to see snow for the last time in Jerusalem before they graduate and return to their own countries. And our indian sisters who have never seen snow before also want to see it. The oldest among them, Sr. Philomena, fell this morning after breakfast as it was very cold and slippery.

Meantime the internal struggle between govt. and people continue regarding the forceful deportation of african asylum seekers. Police refuse to go catch the illegal immigrants so the govt. is advertising for bounty hunters who will be paid for their job. Rabbis and academics have come out against it as against the Torah and common morality ... since the jews themselves were once persecuted. Now airplane pilots have announced they will not fly these captured immigrants out of Israel. Let's see who will win. And now Holocaust survivors have come out in support of these asylum seekers ... claiming they will hide them in their homes just like others had done for them during the Holocaust. Touching.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/holocaust-survivors-say-theyll-harbor-asylum-seekers-to-stymie-deportations/

And the ultra-orthodox vs the rest of the jews' no-work Sabbath Law drags on ...  and the city of Ashdod seems to be the Waterloo of this battle. If Ashdod falls, all the other cities will also fall to this religious coercion (to quote them) by the ultra-orthodox. Like I said ... the only ones who stand to win are the arabs who open their shops on the Sabbath. And you know what ... it might just be a good thing because jews will then get to meet arabs and mutual understanding can happen and old prejudices and hatreds might just disappear.