Samaritan feast

Full moon over Damascus Gate

Yesterday's full moon marked the Smaritan Passover. This year, due to the addition of a month in the Samaritan lunar calendar, their Passover did not clash with the Jewish Passover by a month. That made it possible for the jews to go and attend the Samaritan Passover. I understand the crowds were so great the military had to come in to handle the crowds, Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders from nearby Nablus came to wish the High Priest a happy feast. The slaughter of the lambs took place as scheduled when the story of the Exodus was read in public. The Samaritans are one of the world's minorities, with no more than 500 left and all live here in Israel. Too much in-breeding does not help. I think some students went to witness it. I decided not to go because of the crowds. Perhaps next year.

Beggars at Damascus
Gate

It's Monday .. class at 4am. I was utterly exhausted and wished I could sleep another hour. After class I had to open the library. Then a rush to the other library 1km uphill to open it and arrange the work for the librarians. Then it was a rush back home because one of the students sent his very very late thesis chapter for correction. I have sacrificed so much for these students but some are just beyond help. The dateline was a week ago but I think he asked for an exemption, Still it's 3 days late from the exemption dateline. Right now I'm so exhausted from english class and correcting 10 pages for a professor ... I just can't look at this thesis. It's just so depressing.

And talk about depressing ... I've noticed a rise in beggars at Damascus Gate. Since the 2nd Intifada and the stabbing Intifada 3 years back, fewer beggars dared to sit around Damascus Gate just in case a stray bullet might hit them. But these few months, a flood of beggars have returned to the Gate ... both inside and out. Most of the women we know ... they're regulars. 3 sisters with their children whom they drug with sleeping pills in order to draw sympathy and money. Now they cover their faces with veils so no one can recognize them. But after each day's begging they gather with their families and eat picnic style at the park along the City Gates.

Well I might just join them and beg .... beg for sleep, beg for free time, beg for a vacation  ....

Of burgers and full moons

Full moon over
Jaffa Street

It's Sunday again ... 5th Sunday of Easter. I woke up at 3am ... worried about work and classes. Did a bit of this and that ... till 6.30am when I went down for Sunday community Mass. We were only a handful ... I think only 7 of us. Everyone else is on a week long excursions to Jordan and others on conferences in Italy. It's a holiday week for the school ... but not for me as doctoral students need the library to finish their theses research. And suddenly this week lots of students from the Hebrew University are showing up at our library as well. SO it's like every holiday, everyone is off to enjoy and I have to work extra because more students are free to use the library.

Well I had to tidy my room which took all morning and in the afternoon I tidied up my files. It can be very mentally tiring. Anyway at 3pm I had to go meet some of my students ... they wanted to go to have tea and learn english at the same time. So we went to a nearby cafe and got 2 pizzas and spent an hour chatting and practicing their english.

Burgos Burger Bar

An hour later, I went out with another student who wanted to have dinner. I decided to try out the new restaurant round the corner. Found out it was a Burger Bar. But the ambience was great and the prices were reasonable. And the burgers are absolutely great. It's the modern burger bar type that lets you mix and match your own burger. It was a nice distraction from the worries swirling around us.

Well that's because there're warnings of a very tense May for our region. War drums seem to beating and everyone is on the alert. It's a question of when it will happen.
https://www.janglo.net/index.php?option=com_adsmanager&page=display&catid=99&tid=443316
and
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-braces-for-iranian-retaliation-for-syria-strike-1.6032454

Well that type of news just ruins the summer mood. An absolute wet blanket. The full moon didn't seem to reflect any joy. People walked pass in a hurry ... no one wants to lift up their heads. Everyone is in the "avoid" mode ...

Sandstorm after the rain

Collapsed separation wall ... (reuters)

The consequences of the great flood continue to affect us today. News came in that 2 ten yr old arab boys drowned in a pool near Hebron. Properties have been destroyed, infrastructure have been damaged ... but everyone is trying to get back to normal as much as possible. In the West Bank, part of the separation wall collapsed. What politicians couldn't do, Mother Nature succeeded ... one big rainstorm and the wall fell. Modern version of the walls of  Jericho. And just when the hail and rainstorm is over ... deep in the southern desert, a major sandstorm has broken out. The southern most city of Eilat was covered in a blanket of yellow dust. Visibility was a minimum. If the weather is reflecting our political situation here in the Middle East (and often it does), well we're in for a nasty summer.

Yesterday Friday saw another wave of confrontations at the Gaza border. Gaza's swarmed the border fences and tried to cut it open. Israeli soldiers opened fire and 4 were killed and many wounded. Things will only get more tense as the date for America's embassy move to Jerusalem in May.   https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-uses-tear-gas-on-Gaza-protesters-amid-UN-condemnation-552903

Major sandstorm in the south

Well I must be very very stressed out because I am getting lost and confused again. This morning I spent half an hour searching for my spectacles. I was in a hurry to go out to the office and I couldn't find the specs. Finally wore an old pair (which gives me a headache) and went down to the library to final check on the workers there. Found my specs on my office table. And that's not all, I couldn't sleep all night because I'm getting worried about missing classes. I've had 2 sleepless weeks correcting theses and now I'm sleepless because I might miss classes. Like I'm in for a bigtime nervous breakdown ... either that or my brains are utterly exhausted.

I need a vacation. Have been saying that for the past 15 years. Dream on ....

Day after storm

Kittens & the
policeman

Videos are going viral on the Internet showing the torrent of flood waters and sewage sweeping everything in Ben Yehuda Mall down hill. Restaurant tables, chairs, shopping carts, garbage bins ... even a full size dumpster was swept away. It was an apocalyptic scene. Jerusalem .... and all the country ... is not ready for a rain storm. We've been living in a drought for so long we've forgotten to upgrade drainage and sewer systems ... and now just a few short hours of heavy rain and hail has resulted in a countrywide crisis. And the great tragedy is the death of 10 students at the Dead Sea because their guide and teacher ignored storm warnings. The dry desert land suddenly surged with 3 meter high gush of rain water coming from the highlands. It's sudden and ferociously quick. It's not the water that kills you but the stones and boulders it carries along that crushes you and pins you down below the water. What a dreadful tragedy. The victims were buried this afternoon.

There was one heartwarming story though in this storm. While going off to work yesterday I passed by the police kiosk at Palm Plaza. At the door of the kiosk was a little box with an opening, and 2 cups of milk for 2 small kittens. A policeman was standing there watching. It was good. Some tourists said it was very nice to give shelter to the kittens in this storm and the policeman asked if they wanted to keep the kittens .... the tourists walked off immediately. This morning I walked past again and the 2 kittens were still there, playing in the sun. They were very cute.

Well we're facing a bigger crisis than the hailstorm. Reports are coming in that Iran has 80,000 troops  near Damascus. It's very worrying for us.  http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/world-news/the-israeli-connection/danon-iran-has-80000-militants-near-damascus-35573

And reports also say there's a rise in hate crimes against arabs this past 4 months compared to the entire last year. This is scary when you realize there has been very little arrests, charges and more dismissals.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-cars-burned-graffiti-sprayed-in-fifth-hate-crime-this-week-1.6029098?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

Well despite the storm ... we're hoping against hope that things will be better ... not worse.

Hailstorm

Storm and huge hail fell yesterday

There was a hailstorm late yesterday afternoon. Thunder, lightening and a horrendous noise ... I thought a truck was rumbling through out tiny cobbled street. It was during class. After class I went out to find hailstones on our terrace. In Tel Aviv the streets were flooded and there's a video of garbage bins floating down the street. In Rehovot, another city near Tel Aviv, the roof of a supermarket gave way and there was a waterfall washing everything from the shelves unto the floor. In the desert city of Dimona, the hail were so big many cars were damaged. Other cities had a carpet of smaller hail ... like snow in winter.
 https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5241033,00.html

Sewage in the
street

Today in the late afternoon another enormous storm broke. The sewage system near Damascus Gate gave way and manholes exploded with gushing raw sewage flowing all down the streets. It was terrible ... and I had to wade through it in order to get home. There was thunder and lightening to add to the drama. Back home I saw news that the sewage system in the New City also crumbled under the fierce rain and hail storm. Nowhere is safe ... except my room. Then again ... the electricity has gone off twice so we're never sure if and when we have electricity.

Well it's better to stay at home in the dark than out in the hail and rain with sewage swirling round your feet.

Rain again

Rain at 5am

It rained all night like forecast. There were several moments of lightening as well. Everyone thinks it's so strange ... we're at the end of April and it's still raining? The temp. has dropped and everyone is feeling the cold. This morning I saw people in scarves and down-jackets. Winter is back. I had to bout in the streets at 4.45am as a group informed me they were coming to make the Way of the Cross and they wanted some books from me. Well I was out in the rain waiting till 5.30am. Luckily the shop opposite was already open and the owner boiled a cup of turkish coffee for me and I stood under the awning. By 5.30am there were 5 groups numbering 200 people making the Way of the Cross in the rain. Unbelievable but many groups prefer the early morning devotion because they can avoid the crowds, shop-keepers ... and the Holy Sepulchre (it has the last 4 Stations) will be open and with only a few tourists.

Thyme flowering in the park

There wasn't much time to catch up with sleep as I had an appointment with the Archbishop at 9am ... then another meeting with the Custos at 11am. Then I had to meet a group from China at 12.15pm, headed by 2 of my former students now priests. Then it was a mad rush back home because I must prepare for class at 2pm. The meetings with the archbishop and Custos required me to have information in hand that was prepared for several days. It was cordial but we had to discuss important business so facts were very important. That is stressful. But meeting my former students was a great joy. I have not seen them for over 10 years.

Meantime just a few hours ago we've received news that Russian was sending a shipment of weapons to Syria to be used against Israel. We're worried.  https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/US-intel-Arms-shipments-from-Iran-into-Syria-may-be-used-against-Israel-552686

And in an about-face, the govt. has finally abandoned the lw to repatriate African asylum seekers. Almost everyone from religious rabbis to the police refuse to endorse or carry out the orders. So now the asylum seekers can feel less fearful of being arrested and harassed as the law is rescinded.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5239864,00.html

Some plants are enjoying the rain ... I noticed the thyme planted along the City Wall all blooming with soft pink flowers. The nearby rosemary have their deep purple flowers. Walking along the City Walls is quite a nice experience ... with stunning colours and perfume of spices.

Druze feast

Empty main street
at 10 degrees C

The weather is constantly strange ... and we all agree. The nights are cold and I've got the heater on for the 2nd night. Even during the day when it gets up to 20 degrees or so, locals are in sweaters and hoodies. We know the weather can change quickly. And you can identify the foreigners immediately. They're in shorts and T-shirts. And the worse are the "ladies" who wear like they're at the beach .... here in the holiest place on earth for muslims, jews and christians. Sometimes I think these people are ignorant but that's not an excuse. There's a dress code and any idiot walking in the streets would notice local women covered up. They're not allowed into any muslim or jewish site but they think they can enter christian sites dressed like that. No wonder jews and muslims despise christians. I don't blame them.

The Druze today are celebrating their feast of their founder, Jethro the father-in-law of Moses. They have been persecuted since their founding and have been living all around the Middle Eastern mountains in order to be safe. Read this and learn more about them.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-druze-honor-the-prophet-jethro-in-annual-pilgrimage-to-ancient-tomb/

The Health Ministry is warning of a measles outbreak here. I'm staying away from the crowds. With my constant illness, I'm afraid of adding to my list.  https://www.janglo.net/index.php?option=com_adsmanager&page=display&catid=99&tid=442843

Locals in hoodies
and sweaters

Tensions continue as Russia warns Israel against any further bombing of syrian military bases, with talk of bombing Israel. Israel's reply is they'll bomb the russian positions in Syria before they can strike. Things are heating up ... at least on the rhetorical level.

And as the date draws nearer for the American Embassy to move to Jerusalem, countries around the world are aligning themselves on one side or the other. Guatemala is definitely going to follow and move its capital while Romania is ruminating. Germany on the other hand came out explicitly that Jerusalem can not be named capital.

And internally the govt. appears to lean to the ultra-orthodox rabbis by proposing a bill to accept its authority on conversions. That means jewish conversions done by conservative and liberal or reformed rabbis will be invalid and everyone who had had it done must redo their conversion under the ultra-orthodox. I don't think the diaspora jews will be happy. What an implosion. And there was a notice on facebook about a famous chain of restaurants who do not have kosher certificates from the ultra-ortthodox rabbinate. There's a campaign now to boycott these restaurants and run them out of business. Such a pity as they're honest people who work hard and offer such excellent quality of food. Many many people enjoy the restaurants.

All I can say is this implosion only works into the hands of Russia and Iran. Wake up Israel.

Rockets

Dead City as temp. plunges

News just coming in ... a missile from Syria has smashed into northern Israel. Israeli air defense is responding. It's thought that the rocket accidentally fell into Israel ... since the syrian civil war is very close to the border. But Israel is not taking any chances. It's been said again and again that both sides do not want a war ... but it's these little skirmishes that will break the camel's back. 

Meantime we've been getting contradictory news from inside Syria regarding the use of chemical weapons in Douma. The US, UK and France used it as a reason to bomb Syria but our priests and nuns living in Damascus are saying they have heard of no such chemical weapons, or that the chemical weapons were used by the rebels. Last night even the BBC reported that there are many on-ground reports contradicting its report about the chemical attack. In fact one sister has appealed to the pope to listen to those living in Syria and not to western reports. So right now we don't know who to believe.   https://www.interris.it/esteri/siria--l-appello-al-papa-di-suor-yola

Quiche and salad dinner

Temp. has dropped drastically yesterday. It was down to 10 degrees yesterday evening and suddenly winter coats and hoodies are out again. And drizzle occasionally fell as well. Hardly anyone was out int eh streets. It was very deserted. I tough went out to have dinner with an old friend whom I have not seen for a year now. Well I hardly ate anything as it was too cold and I was very tired ... but it was good to chat up with him again. He's been studying animation and has worked on a Disney production. I'm hoping to see his name on the credit role. Very proud of him for doing what he likes ... it doesn't really pay very well and the hours are very long. But he loves his job and that's what matters. Well we shared a quiche and salad ... actually I ate only a mouthful of quiche and he ate the rest. I wasn't hungry.  

Well the weather has been messy up with my lungs and I've been wheezy a lot today. Thanks to the Sydney group of pilgrims who brought over Telfast. I really needed that ... as they're very expensive here. Thanks also for all the other stuff, food, clothes from Sydney and Singapore. Appreciate it.

First Communion

Sisters' courtyard in the rain

It's the 4th Sunday of Easter, and our parish was celebrating the First Communion of the students. I was at the library this morning at 10am and found the door blocked by a car. The whole courtyard was filled with cars. It's one of those days when catholics come for Mass .... to see and be seen. Everyone was dressed to kill .... even the poorest ones. And then after Mass ... you don't see them again until Christmas.

It rained this morning ... really rain. Hard shower. The sound of the rain on the stones and metal roofs made such a noise ... it has been a very very long time since we heard of such a thing. At 6am it rained quite heavily then tapered off at about 8am, but when I started the Armenian Mass at 9am, it started again ... so loud even the congregation could not hear me despite the microphone. That was how loud the rain was.

Buddy is green, Chilli is
yellow

Anyway I managed to sleep several hours yesterday ... the exhaustion was bad after 10 days of non-stop correcting theses. That was in the afternoon. Last night I slept well again ... probably because of the rain. It was so cold I had to turn on my heater. I had several coughing fits last night because the heater made the air very dry. When I started coughing badly, Buddy my conure parakeet who sleeps in the bathroom, flew up to me and started squawking and biting my ears to wake me up. I don't know where he learned to do that but I realised in these 2 years, he always does that when he thinks I'm in trouble breathing. Buddy is quite sensitive to my health and knows how to react. Chilli the baby pineapple conure is still in the biting stage .... all my books destroyed, the keys on my keyboard gone, wooden doorframe gone ... now he's trying to bite electrical wires. That's the redline. Everytime I go out, they're both inside the cage. It's for their own good.

Roses

Rose in the convent garden

It's drizzling now ... the sky is yellow from the dust storm yet cloudy from the rain. I won't want to go out now as it'll be raining yellow-brown rain. Well actually I was out early at 7am to preach a retreat so I guess I'll not go home till the rain stops. That's a pity because the superior told me we're leg of lamb today ... my favorite. Well I'll have to miss it.

Roses are having a great time blooming. The cold nights and hot afternoons are making them grow superbly. At the little garden of the M.C. sisters, there are huge blooms though the plants themselves are small. Well I gave them the roses ... to begin with. But the sisters are taking good care of them. They are really tremendous blooms and the sisters cut them for their chapel.

Another rose

Yesterday saw demonstrations at the borders again. I think 5 died at the Gaza border. But everyone noted the smaller size of demonstrators. While we're hoping the violence would likewise slowly faze out ... we're receiving news that May will see fiercer demonstrations when the US embassy moves to Jerusalem and "Unification Day' is celebrated. We're really praying hard it won't come true.

Early this morning some of our students and professors left for Jordan. Its the annual excursion fo 1st year students but some professors also like to tag along. From a message I just received they have entered Amman by lunch time and now are visiting Pella, the ancient city where persecuted christians gathered to become a centre of Christianity outside of Jerusalem. Anyway for us who remain at home, it means a semi-vacation. The house is half empty and our work is cut by half. School is on break. Only the library is running full time as we're having a lot of external students coming in to use our tables. We actually have no more tables left in the library. I'll have to figure out how to fit more students in the existing space. That means more work while everyone else is getting a break.

Long weekend

Our sisters with a giant amaryllis

Independence Day is over but the celebrations continue. It's Friday and the beginning of the weekend so given the last 2 days' celebrations, it's 4 days off. A really long weekend. Real work begins on Sunday. This morning I read about the parade in Tel Aviv and what I missed. Still feeling very sore that I had to give it up. There's also a video clip on the flypass.    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5233723,00.html

There were minor clashes in some parts of the Palestinian Territories during the national celebrations.  A terrorist attempt to blow up some people was thwarted at a checkpoint.  https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-20-000-march-to-mark-catastrophe-of-israeli-independence-1.6012681   and
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5233904,00.html

Being Friday, the police and soldiers are ready for another round of violent clashes at the borders. Many have already died ... let's hope today will see less casualties.  http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/IDF-prepares-for-another-round-of-violent-protests-on-Gaza-border-551309

Beefball noodles

As I had corrected the last chapters of various theses, I am for the moment free from that work. I've thought about sleeping through the day, as many of my students tell me, because the past week I've been doing so much corrections I had only 3 hours to sleep each day. Today I'm totally worn out ... but the strange thing is when you've passed the threshold of fatigue, you don't feel sleepy. The brain just goes numb. I may need another walk to clear the mind and the body clock is ready for sleep.

Yesterday I finally could treat myself to a beefball noodle meal. After 10 days of handwork correcting texts, I thought a good hot meal was what I needed to replenish. It was expensive, and there weren't much noodles but there were a dozen beefballs though ... from Vancouver I was told.

Tomorrow I have to preach a retreat  and I have the strange feeling there's still one late paper that I'll be asked to correct. I'll have to be mentally prepared for that. A old retired professor I met this morning said "condolences" when he saw me correcting the theses. He knows what it's like ... he had many years of experience correcting theses.

Independence Day

Picnics in the parks today

Today is Yom HaAtzmaut ... or Independence Day ... 70 years to be exact. I was utterly utterly devastated as this is the first time I could not go to Jaffa for independence Day. I was stuck at home correcting theses of students. I slept 3 hours last night finishing one thesis when at 1.30am I received another chapter for correction. I was despairing. I only managed to finish this other chapter at 12pm. I was hoping I could see the flypass since the major event takes place in Tel Aviv beach but makes a detour over Jerusalem. I went out to the southern park since the open space offers a better view of the fighter planes.

When I reached the parks, it was filled with smoke from countless barbecues. Throughout the City, any patch of grass was home to a family lying out to sunbathe and a portable barbecue pit smoking with meat. Well park after park was packed so it was unlikely I could see the flypass as the smoke was intense. I decided the to walk to the German Colony neighbourhood to get some lunch ... only to realise when I arrived that on Independence Day, every shop shuts. Tired and hungry, I walked back 3 kms. Just then I could hear the planes flying overhead ... but the street was too narrow to offer a good view ... so that's how it was for me ... I only heard the flypass. Utterly disappointed.

My friend Naor celebrated his birthday yesterday and he managed to get a day off from security work. I told him to go to Tel Aviv and parties as Jerusalem are very conservative and Independence Day street parties are not as fun. So he went with 2 other friends. This afternoon he messaged me to say all 3 of them had their cellphones stolen at the party. Poor chaps.

Jaffa Street packed with people

Well last night Jerusalem's Municipality Square had patriotic concerts and the streets were utterly packed with people. Nothing much happened as in parties. People just carried flags and walked ... it's making a statement that "we're here to stay". A small fireworks display was fired from Independence Park opposite the Salesian seminary. Nothing to wow about if you've seen asian displays ... but for the locals, it's a big deal.

Mind you, it was nothing to celebrate for the arabs. East Jerusalem was deadly quiet. The arabs see Israel's Independence Day as their loss of their land and properties and citizenship.

Last night was so hot ... about 21 degrees ... I needed to turn on the fan in order to sleep. Soon I'll have to bring out the portable aircon because my room is one of the hottest in the house ... directly under morning, afternoon and evening sun with a bell tower in front of my window blocking out any wind. Today was 28 degrees. A good indication what mid-summer will be heat wise.

Remembrance Day

Geraniums around the courtyard

It's Memorial Day today. Most public places of entertainment, shops and restaurants are closed to remember the 23000 fallen soldiers and 3000 terrorist victims. It's sombre ... a reminder of a country fighting for its existence. The sirens sounded at 8pm last night and again at 11am this morning.

The Left had organised an alternative Memorial Day where palestinians were also invited to remember their dead. It was not well received by the Israeli Right and there were demonstrations against it. Nevertheless over 8000 people attended and the High Court actually granted permits to 90 palestinians to enter Israel for this event. The Minister of Defense is outraged by this ruling.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/court-overturns-decision-to-bar-palestinians-from-memorial-day-service/

By the way, the Knesset is set to limit the powers of the High Court ... that the Knesset (parliament) can overturn a High Court ruling by a majority vote. Makes everyone wonder the rule of law and the independence of the Court.

Nasturtiums and daisies

I am still in voluntary lockdown so I can finish correcting the theses. I really hope the last few students hand in their chapters by today otherwise they'll not make the dateline on Friday. It's super pressurised ... I more than the students. I need a break but tomorrow's Independence Day holiday is burnt because I must be around the students for last minute advice.

Meantime the flowers that I've been caring for are flowering wonderfully. The courtyard of the sisters' convent has never looked so beautiful, with geraniums on 2 sides and other flowers on the other sides. That's something positive in an otherwise anxious week.

Work work work

Municipality Square's new look

Remembrance Day has begun. State officials have gathered at Mt. Herzl military ceetary to commemorate the 6000+ soldiers and civilians who died for the country. It's a sombre moment. Sirens will soon sound and there will be a minute's silence. Same tomorrow morning.

Municipality Square has got a new look after the cathedral of palm trees were chopped down due to disease. There are plant boxes with flowers and trees with seats all around. Just in time for Remembrance Day events in the Square as well as for Independence Day.

Tomorrow evening Independence Day will begin. It's Israel's 70th year of foundation. And there's going to be a big bash in celebrations. The streets throughout the city have been draped with flags and lights. Yet despite the festive atmosphere, a tense anxiety has enveloped the country. All the newspapers are reporting that the army is ready for a revenge attack from Syria or Iran especially since this morning an Iranian base was destroyed by Israeli bombers inside Syria.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israel-planning-for-direct-attack-from-Iran-in-Syria-550073    and
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5232465,00.html

Lutheran church
bell tower

My Independence Day holiday will be burned .... like my Easter holidays. I have to stay home and correct all the theses of the students. Its driving me mad ... all the grammatical mistakes. I've been wondering why I make all these sacrifices even when I'm sick and am on doctor's orders to rest from work. Then I think of the seminarians who cannot be ordained priests this June if they do not hand in their theses ... well I can't abandon my students. It's a few days of my time but it'll be a lifetime for them. So I just shut up and shut myself in my room and continue correcting.

This morning I got up to water the flowers early at 5am in order to have more time to correct the theses. Out on the roof I had a surprise ... the Lutheran Church's bell tower was all lit up. It was very beautiful and was never like that before.

Meantime medical marijuana oil will soon be sold in pharmacies in 5 days time. That's good news. That will stop my dreadful cramps from IBS and pain from arthritis. It really helps.  http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/RX-420-on-its-way-in-Israel-550028

I hate Mondays

Shaqshuka breakfast

Yesterday I was totally taken up by correcting the students' theses. Correcting the grammar and syntax is the easy part ... trying to correct the logical flow of the papers is another. It drains my mental energies as half the time I have to guess what the students are trying to say. Some just go off the tangent and write everything they read ... irrelevant of the topic. Yesterday I did over 50 pages in 6 hours and was utterly exhausted. The day started early ... Mass at 6am in the Holy Sepulcher. Most of my students also came to attend. Then immediately we had a quick breakfast ... quite substantial as we had a lot to cover that morning: we had shaqshuka ... the quintessential moroccan-israeli breakfast of stewed tomatoes, herbs and eggs (without the sausages) with a huge loaf of bread. And then it was to the library where I went through with them their papers, making corrections and suggesting changes.

A funny cat at
the Thai fast-food 

In the evening I had to visit 3 pilgrim groups in their hotels: the 1st was outside the City in the western part of Jerusalem, then a quick dash to the east of Jerusalem for the 2nd group and then up the Mt. of Olives for the 3rd group. By 9pm I was utterly exhausted and needed to sleep. There was class at 4am to wake up to. I hate Mondays. I've slept only 3 hours in the last 36 hours.

The western airstrikes in Damascus has upset us all and we're all tense ... waiting for some revenge attack from Syria or south in Gaza. Though we're told that no one wants to escalate the tensions in the region ... still we're worried. Yesterday morning fighter jets were circling overhead all morning, and fighter helicopters as well. The roars scared many people and normal life was just rattled by their presence. As I was going home from correcting the students' work, I saw the fighter jets and helicopters above the Old City .... then I realized it was just a practice run for Independence Day fly pass. What a relief. I sent a message out to everyone I know here in Jerusalem and everyone felt a lot better.

Well one very good news though ... our very good friends and collaborators at the University of Milan, Emilian and Alessandro, were married on Saturday. They met during their volunteer year at my library 5 years ago ... and now they're finally married. We were so happy for them.

Well anyway I still have 3 more theses to finish correcting so I'm back to work.

Air assault begins ....

And it happened .... the US, UK and France bombarded the chemical weapons centers in Syria. I was awake at 3.30am planning my work for the day when just before 4am a news flash on BBC announced that the bombings had started and Trump came on the air to announce the attack. It sounds strange because though we were expecting it ... yet it was shocking to hear it announced. It was short of a declaration of war. The bombings are restricted and precise ... in order to limit the repercussions of a wider war ... but it all depends on iran and Russia now to see  how they will react. Iran yesterday had threatened to destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa if Syria were bombed. Well obviously Israel was informed by the US before the strikes so the Israeli army could be prepared for any retaliation from Syria. We're on high alert right now. It's very tense in the streets. Right now, we'll just have to wait this one out and see how Syria will react. 100 missiles were fired into Syria but Russia claims 71 were intercepted.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-says-us-strikes-on-syria-are-appropriate-issues-further-warnings/   and
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5229944,00.html

My birthday cake

Well despite the tension, I had to go up to the Holy Sepulcher for Mass. It was booked a month ago for the foreign community in Jaffa who came to pray in Jerusalem. After the Mass the group brought me to Notre Dame Center for breakfast. And they surprised me with a birthday cake ... homemade in the shape of a franciscan habit with cord and hood. Very very cute!!!! My birthday happens to fall also on the same day as Nadia's birthday. She's the daughter of Gloria. the head of the group and baker of the cake. Nadia is doing her military service now. Her mum and friends surprised her on her birthday by showing up in her camp in Beer Sheva in the middle of the desert. Gloria her mum had her birthday on the 8th. Since they all had celebrated their birthdays already, they decided to come to Jerusalem (they're all living in Tel Aviv) to celebrate it with me as I didn't have a celebration. It was so nice of them. And they gave me gifts of polo-shorts and shoes ... they must have noticed my broken sneakers.

Well right now we're just waiting for more news from Syria. Perhaps the sisters in Damascus will call me and tell me news. Let's hope no one gets killed there.

Muslim feast

Lots of police cars at Damascus Gate

It's Friday and it's the muslim feast of Laylat al Miraj. That's when Mohammad fly on a flying horse from Mecca to Jerusalem and from the Dome of the Rock, rose to heaven. The Old City was packed with muslim pilgrims especially from Turkey and Indonesia. Security is high as you never know among the crowds of foreigners there might be a local hiding among them, planning to cause trouble. Our Muslim Quarter was patrolled by lots of military police. It can get quite scary.

In the Gaza-Israeli border, more violence were reported. The worst scenario is when extremists in the south join Syria and attack on both the northern and southern fronts ... then that will be a big problem. But the Israeli Defense Force is ready for anything. We don't doubt it's capabilities. It will deal a deadly blow both to the south that Egypt could do nothing about, and the north which has been a constant threat. It's about time all these are resolved once and for all.

Prata & curry

I had to rest yesterday after a whole morning's work in the library and correcting term papers. My body just couldn't go any further. So for 2 hours I slept ... no lunch. I needed it so much. It was like my body just collapsed. At 4pm I woke up to rushed for confession and adoration at the MC sisters. Then it was going 5 kms away to a hotel to meet a group from Shanxi at 7pm. Finished my talk with them and got back to my library at 9.30pm. Time for my first meal of the day. The MC sisters had cooked some part and potato curry ... nice and simple. My tummy had been upset the past 2 days and I had eaten only one meal a day. It was a nice meal ... I like it very much.

Then it was walking back home in the strange cold weather .... 9 degrees at night. Everything in the weather is so strange ... nothing constant or normal ... almost like a cosmic premonition that something bad will happen. A cosmic warning.

Holocaust Day

Beautiful garden of the benedictines

It's Holocaust Day today .. or Yom haShoah. The sirens sounded at 10am and almost the whole country stopped for a minute's silence. 6 million jews were killed by the Nazis ... but also many gypsies, christians, africans ... anyone who was different form the Nazi race were killed. The call today is "Never again" but seeing the chemical attack in Syria yesterday ... it looks like we've never learnt any lessons from the past.

It was a nice day off for me today ... only because I was out of the Old City. It was work all the same. I had to accompany the community of M. Teresa's sisters to visit some churches along the ancient Roman rod between Jaffa and Jerusalem. We could not visit the Biblical Zoo as they wanted because it is Holocaust Day and all public places and restaurants are closed. Only alternative is to visit churches.

We first went to the church closest to Jerusalem along the Roman road ... Abu Gosh. It's an arab village today but many jewish artistes have moved in to this tranquil valley. The inhabitants used to guard this entrance to jerusalem .... and taxed christians going there on pilgrimage. The crusaders built a church there over a spring of water and thought it was biblical Emma's. They were wrong.  But the church is very well preserved because the muslims did not destroy it. A monastery of benedictine monks and nuns now live there and care of this crusader structure. The gardens are beautiful. The whole place is serene and prayerful.

Then we went up the hill of Abu Gosh to the sanctuary of Kiryat Yearim ... the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept before David removed it to Jerusalem. Today a convent of Soster of St. Joseph of the Apparition stands there with a reconstructed church over the ruins of the Byzantine church. It has a magnificent view of the hills and valleys toward Jerusalem ... which is marked by high-rise buildings 26 kms away.

The church at Ramle

Then we went to Ramle ... again. I was there last week accompanying our Fr. General and his friends to visit the church. Ramble is biblical Arimathea and the church is dedicated to Sts. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Fr. Abdel Masih the parish priest is always generous and offered food and drinks to us. We celebrated Mass there and thenFr. Abdel Masih bought sandwiches for our lunch. From there we went on to Jaffa to visit St. Peter's church.

Gaza had fired rockets into Israel again and Israel will respond by bombing Gaza. It's terribly tense right now at our borders. Worse, we're all expecting Syria and Russia to attack Israel after Israel bombed Damascus several days ago. The whole country is on red alert. Iran the supporter of Syria said last night that Tek Aviv and Haifa will be laid waste if America bombs Syria. Trump who promised to bomb Syria soon, this morning changed his tune ... probably because his allies warned him of the consequence for Israel. All the arab nations are laughing at him ... always shooting his mouth and then having to withdraw his words after a day.

Tonight begins the Muslim Feats of Laylat el Miraj .... the night journey of Mohammed to Jerusalem on a flying horse. Police presence has beens stepped since afternoon in and around the Old City after noon.

Eve of Holocaust Day

Rainy skies all morning

And it rained this morning as well! What strange weather. With the drought for the past 10 years, we've not had April showers for a long long time. Children below 10 years definitely found it surprising. Most have never seen snow or rain. The temp. continued to hover around 10 degrees. By afternoon the sun came up but the temp. remained very low. Let's hope tomorrow will be better.

Meantime our concern is Syria/Iran/Russia's revenge on Israel's bombin of Syrian airbase. America the protector of Israel has threatened to bomb and today the syrians have cleared out all airports and air bases ... prepared for a bombing by America. Russia has threatened to retaliate. Things are now extremely tense and we're not sure what the next step will be. Trump is famous for last minute back-tracking ... a lot of barking but no bite.

By the way, the chemical attack in Douma is where we have 2 churches and several convents of sisters. Let's hope they're not hurt.

Tonight begins Holocaust Day ... Israel remembers the 6 million jews killed in Europe. The sirens will sound at sunset and again tomorrow morning at 10am. Last year I was on the highway and we stopped by the road, like all other Israelis, for one minute's silence. All places of entertainment will be closed. But in the ultra-orthodox jewish neighbourhoods, there will be celebrations. They think it was God's punishment on unfaithful jews ... divine justice, so they celebrate. This upsets the rest of Israel but no one, least of all the govt., will dare to criticise them.

I am stressed with all the corrections of theses and term papers. It's not the major mistakes that upset me but the small recurring mistakes like missing articles, wrong prepositions and long tedious phrases with lots of subordinate clauses. I understand the students are not native english speakers but after over a 100 pages of the same mistakes, I go crazy.

Rain?!

Wet day

The morning was utterly unbelievable .... It rained. Not drizzle but actually rained hard. The sky was terribly dark and it was 9 degrees. Suddenly everyone was back in winter clothing ... down jackets, beanies and hoodies. Even heaters were turned on in many places. I had to wait for a break in the rain to rush up to the other library to get some paper work done ... then wait for another break to rush home 3 hours later.

It's surprising it rained ... though not surprising. The 50 days between Passover and Pentecost is a time of weather extremes, strong desert winds called hamsin alternating with mild weather, stormy weather mixed with hot sunny days. The crops that are flowering or fruiting during this time are always at the mercy of the weather. Too much rain and all the pollen will be washed away. No wind and the flowers cannot be pollinated. Too much sun and the young fruit wither. No sun and the wheat cannot ripen. It's this delicate yet uncontrollable power of the weather that caused ancient peoples in our region to pray to the weather god Baal.

It was just as well that it rained all day. Other than the 3 hour rush to finish paper work in the other library, I locked myself in the room to finish at least correcting one chapter of the many theses and articles assigned to me. It is extremely tiring not just for the eyes but also for the mind. I usually would need a long walk to cool the brains but yesterday with the rain I had no choice but stay in my room. Looks like the weather is forcing me to finish correcting the scripts.

Annunciation Feast

Birthday tea time

Saturday we were locked in our house because of the road closures due to the Jewish Passover and the Christian Orthodox Holy Fire ceremony. The roads were opened only after 3pm when the fire descended. At 6pm I went out to meet some of my students who wanted to celebrate my birthday. There were not many places to go to .... all jewish restaurants and cafes were closed due to the jewish feast and all the christian ones were also closed due to the Holy Fire ceremony. Only the muslim side was only but they don't have cafes ... so we ended up in the cafe of the Legacy hotel. Not all the students could come as some had apostolates. We had coffee and tea and 2 pizzas. We couldn't afford much but the company was precious. The students prepared a surprise banner and secretly ordered a waffle with a sparkler. The girl in the next table also had a birthday ... so the waiters came out with both waffles and sparklers with a taped arab birthday song blaring in the sound system. It was corny but everyone enjoyed it. I'm thankful for this lot of students.

Dusk at the Legacy

On Sunday I voluntarily locked myself in my room ... no breakfast or lunch. I had to finish correcting a whole load of term papers, articles and theses. It was painstaking and very mentally tiring. I managed most of it but I still have a thesis and a half to go. I went to look for dinner at 8.30pm. The shops had reopened after the 8 day Jewish Passover. I really wanted some warm rice so I went to Mian restaurant and got a takeaway.

Yesterday there was a demonstration in the Al Aqsa mosque during lunch. From my room I could hear the chanting from inside the esplanade and then it flowed out into our street. But it fizzled out. I guess the heavy police presence was enough to put an end to that. But tensions continue and it'll flare up again.

There's deep worries in Israel today as we receive news that Israel had bombarded Damascus. Russia outed this secret and we're expecting retaliation. Mind you this strike was a retaliation over the downing of an Israeli jet in February. This summer is going to be eventful.

But meantime today we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation because March 25th was Palm Sunday. Nazareth's basilica of the Annunciation had the solemn liturgy and I guess it was very crowded. Today  I had to go back to work so I'm not joining any liturgy.

Holy Fire

The Holy Fire around the
Empty Tomb

The Old City and some roads surrounding it were closed off yesterday for the annual Holy Fire ceremony. Tens of thousands of orthodox christians gathered or at least tried to gather into the Holy Sepulchre church for this miracle but police closed off the entrance after the crowds got too large and there was danger of a crush or fire. SO what is this Holy Fire all about? It's the Easter proclamation in the eastern rites. They believe a holy fire from heaven comes down into the Empty Tomb and the Patriarchs of the Greek, Armenian and Coptic churches receive it and pass it to others outside the Tomb. The franciscans who care for the Holy Sepulchre used to participate in this ceremony until recently ... and though it is not central to our Easter celebration, we still retain this miracle in a low-key moment during the Easter Vigil when our franciscan sacristan enters the Empty Tomb when the Gloria is sung and comes out with a lighted candle with which he lights all the candles on the altar.

Anyway there is no Easter Mass or Blessing of Fire and Water like us ... the Orthodox have this fire which they share with each other. This miraculous fire is supposed to be the guarantee that the Resurrection actually took place but now so much superstition has taken over, this rite has overtaken the Gospel message and people only think of bringing the fire home ... nothing remembered about the resurrection. Pity.

Police on horses, patrol cars and foot
patrol at Damascus Gate

The Jewish Passover also ended yesterday ... so the Old City streets were also packed with jews going to the Wailing Wall to pray. Security was super tight. Tensions at the Gaza border where over 10,000 Gazan burnt tires to block the view of Israeli soldiers have led to over 10 deaths when Israeli soldiers fired through the smoke. Among the dead was one journalist. There was fear that violence would erupt throughout the country and other borders but luckily nothing happened. Anyway now that all the feasts are over, we can expect a little normality in our lives ... till Independence Day and the American Embassy move to Jerusalem in a month's time. We're expecting riots.

This morning I suggested to some of our guys that we should go to the New City for some ice cream as the weather has heated up to 26 degrees. Last week because of the Feast of Unleaven Bread, no ice cream shop was opened. Then we realised if we went today, they'd have only old stock left as there's no time yet to make a new batch of ice cream .... so I guess we'll have to wait for a couple more days.

Orthodox Good Friday

Our church in biblical Arimathea

It's the Orthodox Good Friday today. Copts and Ethiopics were already up at 5.30am making their version of the Way of the Cross. The crowds got bigger and bigger and by 8am it got so large and out of control, police stepped in to close our street and those along the Way of the Cross. Every few meters there were barricades and groups moved barricade by barricade till they reached their destination. I was petrified because I still had one more day of guiding to do ... and so I left at 8am only to find I was locked in my own house. It took lots of explanations to have the police allow me to get out ... through 4 barricades. I was sure I didn't want to return till late evening so as not to be locked out of the City. Utter stress.

The tomb of St.
George in Lod

This morning we visited the tomb of St. George in the city of Lod: that's the George who killed the dragon. Old is the modern name of the biblical Lydda where Peter worked a miracle. The place of the tomb is today a Greek Orthodox Church ... and there was a lot of hustle and bustle because the Greeks were preparing for Holy Saturday tomorrow. They had decorated a table to represent the tomb of Christ but covered with a frame of flowers to symbolise the resurrection.

Then we had Mass at our ancient church in Arimathea ... today it's called Ramla. The parish priest and community of sisters and workers were super kind to us ... even cooking up a lunch which was unplanned. They were so generous and kind. It was amazing. Then we went on to St. Peter's church in Jaffa to greet the community there. It was a short visit as we had spent over 5 hours in Ramla. Anyway everyone was happy. That's important. I think today is my last day and tomorrow I get to rest.

Now things are getting scary up in the Syrian border. Govt. forces and placing heavy artillery in the buffer zone with Israel ... which apparently is against the 6 Day War agreement. We don't know how Israel will respond but believe me if it's going to be military .... then Syria better watch out.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/assad-regime-places-tanks-artillery-in-buffer-zone-with-israel-report/

And even scarier yet ... ultra-orthodox jews rioted and beat up ambulance attendants and removed the body of a jewish baby from the ambulance because they felt the medical service was impure ... or not jewish enough. Imagine the trauma of the relatives.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/haredi-radicals-grab-body-of-drowned-baby-from-ambulance-during-funeral/

And the ultra-orthodox rabbis continue their war with other jews by declaring that artichokes from italian .... which are usually eaten by italian jews during the Passover season ... as impure / non-kosher and hence banned their eating and import into Israel. It's caused an uproar among italian jews overseas and in Israel.   https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-rome-s-jews-fume-after-israeli-rabbinate-bans-staple-dish-1.5976677

Birthday

Sr. Clara and
my flowers

Yesterday Holy Wednesday I took a day off. I didn't have normal work in the library. In fact this week I have been given a special job to do ... guiding some VIPs. That's why I didn't have time to update my blog. But yesterday I asked for a day off ... I didn't feel secure enough to go to Galilee, with my IBS. And thank goodness too. The friar who substituted me had such an intense day, and with the jewish holiday traffic, the group came home at past 10pm ... and they started off at 5.15am. Really I'm glad I didn't do it. They were stuck in a 10km traffic jam on the way home.

Yes .. it was also my birthday yesterday. Without the group, I was less stressed and was able to have a quiet day. I corrected one term paper and then went to the other library to settle some work log. Then I took a slow walk around the New City looking for a nice lunch. I wanted rice or noodles but because no leaven is allowed during the Jewish Passover, all those restaurants were closed. It was disappointing. Finally I found IWO's opened ... non-kosher and hence serving bread and bacon. I ordered a crispy bacon burger and a coke. The guys working there recognised me and we chatted a lot. That made my day.

Church of the Good
Shepherd in Jericho

I managed also to do a little gardening. All the summer flowers are blooming. Magnificent pinks and purples. Sr. Clara liked them very much and made many photos while I tidied up the courtyard.

Today I had to bring the group to Masada and Jericho. Thankfully it was a copy day so it wasn't very hot. We visited the north and western palaces and then I had to rush them back to Jericho for lunch, stopping by the Baptismal site in Qasr el Yehudi. Then it was lunch at the Mt. of Temptation restaurant where I met up with some old friends I haven't seen in 5 years ... they work in there and I haven't been to Jericho for a long time. Then it was Mass at our parish of the Good Shepherd. I was so surprised to find the broken down church totally renovated, and the dark damp friary is not bright and airy. It was so beautiful. The poor christians in the muslim majority of Jericho must feel so happy this Easter to be able to worship in a decent church.

Mind you I've had several wheeling attacks ... not full blown asthma.. and my left ankle is hurting like crazy. But it was a good day out. That's a perfect birthday present.