Kippur

Dinner with my volunteers

Yom Kippur has begun. But everyone's minds remain on the stabbing yesterday. Local arabs in the Old City are lamenting why it should happen at all. Nobody wants trouble ... but these people from outside Jerusalem come here and commit terrorist acts. The result is all of us living in the Old City are made to pay for it.

Today is streets and roads are quite quiet .... not totally because the arabs continue to drive and life is business as usual. And contrary to what some travel agencies say ... the pilgrims and tourists continue to come. The Old City was never empty except for the Jewish Quarter. Tourists living in the New City wandered into East Jerusalem to look for food. So we're in fact quite crowded in our side of the City. The local arabs are very happy of course as they finally can earn a little more than usual.

Pilgrims making Way of Cross

Meantime the ultra-orthodox jews are tightening their control over Jerusalem. Another restaurant was forced to close for the Sabbath ... and the police are complicit. When secular jews counter-protested and lawyers were called in, the Municipality backed down and apologized saying it was a mistake. Despite that, we all know their ultra-orthodox grip is tightening and spreading and soon the whole of West Jerusalem will be affected.    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5352817,00.html

I brought the MC sisters up the Mt of Olives. It was quite a walk uphill and then downhill to go home. We went to the Bethesda Pool, the Tomb of the BVM, the Grotto of the Betrayal, the Garden of Gethsemani and the Church of Dominus Flevit. It was quite fun as we discussed alot of the scriptural passages. My ankle continues to hurt but I'll continue the journey with them.