Drizzling weekend

Drizzling all day

The weather has changed from sunny to grey gloomy skies again. It even started drizzling. I spent some time planting seeds and replanting the daisies as I needed some fresh air. It drizzled but the cold 12 degree won was refreshing. It takes my mind off the swelling and nausea side-effects of prednisone. I just realised I'm taking 60mg each day ... which is a pretty high dosage as I'm usually put on 40 or 30mg. It's double dosage. That's why it's making me really sick. It messes with my head.

East Jerusalem traffic

I can't do much in my physical and psychological state, so I stay mostly at home trying to read and write. I can't really rest as I've become insomniac because of the medicine. I thought of going out for a long walk ... but it's drizzling. but maybe I will. I just need fresh air. The weekend has started and traffic is winding down so a walk through the western part of Jerusalem (jewish) will be calm and tranquil. The eastern arab part is bustling with thousands of muslim worshippers coming in to Al Aqsa Mosque from throughout the country. It's the Friday muslim day pf prayer. I shall avoid that place if I do decided to get out.

The Archbishop visited the chinese
sisters on New Year day

Being Friday in Lent, the 3pm Way of the Cross will take place even in the rain. We have a sudden influx of pilgrims and tourists. Protestant televangelists have organised mega-trips with literally hundreds of followers divided into groups of 50s under a local guide to visit the Old City. They cause major traffic jams in our streets and are very noisy. Though the shop keepers adore them for the money they spend, the rest of us find them bothersome. We prefer more peace and quiet in our streets.

Tensions are rising since yesterday. An israeli military raid to arrest terrorists in Jericho led to the death of an arab. A security video going viral shows the guy shot dead point blank by a soldier when he tried to attack the soldier with a chair or table. Then other soldiers came and beat him dead. Autopsy confirmed he died of beating. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5126057,00.html

Coupled to this was the attack of jewish settlers against an arab shepherd, killing several of his sheep. This is terrible because the sheep are the only livelihood of these bedouin arabs. I wonder if any justice will be served. You cannot generalise and say the arabs are violent terroists who do not want peace and again and again we have cases of jewish settlers attacking and destroying arab properties, unprovoked attacks on arabs causing physical harm.   https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-west-bank-shepherd-says-masked-israelis-attacked-him-killed-his-sheep-1.5843470

And the Justice Minister made a speech claiming Israel must maintain a jewish majority in the State, even if it means overriding human rights of other races. Scary. In any other country this would have caused an uproar, locally if not worldwide.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/justice-minister-israel-s-jewish-majority-trumps-than-human-rights-1.5811106

On the other hand, Israel is willing to grant 20,000 work permits to palestinians to enter Israel to work. A nice dose of sugar to quieten the rising tensions. Let's hope this will include some of our workers who till now cannot come out to work in our institutes.   http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-to-issue-20000-more-work-permits-to-Palestinians-543368

Meantime the ultra-orthodox threaten the coalition govt. if the compulsory military draft is not changed for ultra-orthodox youth.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-fresh-coalition-crisis-religious-party-places-ultimatum-over-army-exemptions/