Eve of All Saints

Our chapel this
evening

After 4 months of having our boxes of books sent back to the publishers by Customs office, today ... we finally received our first pack of 3 books. It took over 10 days meeting our lawyers and workers in  our technical and legal offices, negotiations with the Post Office etc... to get this pack arrive in our library. Well let's hope things will get better these next few months otherwise our library will have no new books.

This morning I had to go buy flowers for our sisters to prepare our chapel for All Saints Say tomorrow. Bought over 300 shekels of flowers. But I had no time to help the sisters arrange the flowers as I had class from 2pm to 4pm. Just saw the arrangements during Vespers ... could be better. But I can't demand too much as our sisters were not trained for this.

Palm Plaza at 6pm

This evening at 5.30pm there was a small exhibition on Pope St. Paul VI and his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1964. All the vestments he wore, the chalices he used and lots of photos are exhibited in our Curia Hall. Just gesture in recognition of the 1st Pope after Peter to walk in the Holy Land. Next week our library will be exhibiting our oldest Bibles in conjunction with the Inaugural Speech at the opening of our academic year.

Well winter is certainly started. The sun sets early ... at about 5.45pm. People are asking where is the sun ... a good joke that summer had passed too quickly. Temps continue to fall ... and soon it will be Advent. We look forward to that.

Tomorrow I must go back to hospital to check on my transplant. Will have to leave at 5am so I'll have to wake up at 3am to prepare. I guess I should sleep early then.

Election Day

Birds feeding at Damascus Gate park

Yesterday I was feeling really unwell ... with the pain in my head and dizziness. There was still some documentation work that I had to complete with the lawyers for the arrival of 3 books. It is tedious ... the postal service is now a nightmare. Then for the rest of the day I tried to rest. On Thursday I'll be going back to the hospital for a checkup ... to make sure I don't have an infection or whatever.

Bedouin women
prepare to sell their
veggies

Today is Jerusalem Election Day ... local citizens get to vote for their mayor. It's a day off for municipality offices and schools but restaurants and other places of entertainment are opened ... because whole families will be out enjoying themselves after they have voted. The streets are quite crowded with people. We're hoping the new mayor will not be anti-christian and give us alot of trouble. But most probably the pro-ultra-orthodox candidate will win as the ultra-orthodox voters hold the balance of power in any election.

The arab residents in East Jerusalem on the other hand will continue life as usual today. Not many are Israeli citizens and have not right to vote. The markets continue to open, work is as usual ... only the Israeli banks on this side of the City are closed.

Tonight is Halloween night. It's not a popular celebration as it's frown upon by judaism. For us it's a preparation for All Saints Day ... which will be a big feast in all our houses.

The killing at the Pittsburg synagogue was atrocious. But response to it from the Chief Rabbi in Israel has stirred up more division when he refused to mention the tragic place as a synagogue because he does not recognize it ... it being a conservative synagogue and not ultra-orthodox. The ultra-orthodox do not consider the conservatives as true jews and their marriages are not valid according to ultra-orthodox law. This morning the PM affirmed that it is a legitimate synagogue, thus clashing with the religious power in Jerusalem. Like I've said many times, this implosion will be the greatest disaster to befall Israel.   https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Slamming-Ashkenazi-Chief-Rabbi-Netanyahu-says-all-Jews-are-one-570619?fbclid=IwAR3XbwBut3ceSk7_yP80AZgCUUsExOqdpLZIxCj3sEk_K-cNiT2bG2ocZeE

And it's just been revealed that Israel had sold millions of dollars of sophisticated spyware to the Saudis ... which is ruffling some feathers in the wake of the killing of the saudi journalist. Most likely this news will be quickly swept under the carpet as Israeli-Saudi ties have never been so close as before.  https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Report-Israel-sold-250m-of-sophisticated-spy-systems-to-Saudi-Arabia-570539?fbclid=IwAR3nAlNVRO7-B5UjJ9r-nGgp0Q8vvzvk9EjQXjRWyvP2P-LrYb2EJX1sBb4

Cold Sunday

Palm Plaza on a cold Sunday

Another cold day with cold gusty winds. I stayed most of the morning cleaning my room. Then after lunch I went out to do the weekly shopping. Not that I bought anything much ... but I did get a small heater for our new Indian seminarian Leo because it gets very cold at night and he's not used to it. New students from equatorial countries are never prepared for winter.

Tonight the community is having a barbecue dinner in our courtyard. I didn't go. I can't eat the meat which requires chewing.  Luckily I bought a tub of vanilla ice cream so I can eat that in my room.

Old City at 7am

There's a flash news saying 2 gazans killed in clashes at the border. Looks like the ceasefire didn't work out. There's a report that children who experienced the bombing blitz the evening before are now suffering panic attacks and trauma.

Then there is the surprising news that our PM made a secret visit to Oman where he was warmly welcomed... a country that Israel has no diplomatic ties. The arab States are having better relations with Israel and this will consolidate peace in the region and solve the Palestine problem.

Then there's constant news of the dreadful famine in Yemen that's killing off thousands of children. The war is terrible. A proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia ... where innocent tennis die for nothing.  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45964795?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook&ocid=socialflow_facebook

Cold Sabbath

Empty street on
Sabbath

The temp. dropped to 12 degrees this morning. Wow it was cold and the rain has stopped ... and I had a nice walk out to the New City at 6.30am to meet a family of friends. It was such a lovely walk on Sabbath because hardly anyone was on the streets. And I've not seen them for a very long time. The kids have grown so much. It was good to them all ... and for the first time the entire family together.

The walk back was equally pleasant ... the cold fresh winter wind and bright morning sun. Feels like Christmas. Which is another thing that got me all excited yesterday ... I remembered Advent was coming and that means I get to put up the Advent wreath and decorate my altar for Christmas. It's exciting ... because it's a break from routine. Our new seminarian from India Bro. Leo was also excited. It's his first Christmas here and it'll quite an experience for him. Well we decided to go Christmas shopping together ... a small christian shop in East Jerusalem.

Chinese pilgrims venerating the
relic of the True Cross

Tourists are coming like a plague ... the streets are so packed it's almost impossible to walk. I dread going out but there's work to do. I try to time myself so I can come home without any injury from pushing and elbowing. The last thing I need after my op. is someone push into my wound.

Despite the ceasefire worked out by Israel and Gaza, yesterday saw some of the worst violence yet. Gaza fired a barrage of rockets into Israel and Israel's army bombarded Gaza in 87 targets. 4 gazans were killed. Israel is blaming Syria and Iran for arming Gaza ... and they're probably right. They use Gaza as a proxy. Utterly dreadful.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5381004,00.html

Meantime jews have been on the rampage on revenge attacks on arabs. Already our catholic cemetery had tombstones broken last week.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5380507,00.html

Storm

Storm over the Mt. of Olives

What a storm we had last night ... winds over 100 km per hour, strong cold rain all night. It was something we all wanted ... but still people were not prepared or did not heed warnings. 20 students died in flash floods when they went to the desert for an excursion in Jordan. Israeli and Jordanian armies jointly searched for bodies in the Dead Sea. In Israel in the Negev Desert a bedouin toddler was drowned by flash floods. Let's hope no more tragedies will take place as people lear to be more cautious during this raining season.

Storm over the city

I stayed mainly at home because of the weather. My face is less swollen but the pain is bad. I think too much anesthesia has gone into my head ... 3 weeks with a total of 15 injections. My brain is messed up. And twice I was very dizzy and almost fainted .... it's the balance problem in the ear. For brunch I ate some rice and boiled veggies ... the doc joked that I shouldn't eat for 2 weeks so I can lose a few kgs. I guess I should ... but already these 3 weeks after the 1st operation even students have noted that I lost weight.

Some good news ... the Gaza govt. and Israel have reached an agreement brokered by Egypt to halt the violence at the border. Let's hope this ceasefire will hold so people can get their lives together.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5380207,00.html?fbclid=IwAR1ndbBbdpOxKOjzdIr_GZMJcaGQG-_g4mTRVPiwNHSgWnovGr7IAIPtpw0

Well for sure the storm will take the energy out of this violence. You can't burn tires and fly incendiary balloons in this rain. Mother Nature has a way to deal with us when we can't handle ourselves.

Our Lady of the Holy Land

Full moon over St. Peter's Church

The rains have come ... all almost. The sky in Jerusalem is very overcast with dark rain clouds and the suburb of Givat Shaul was drizzling. A thunderstorm would be great .... but it looks unlikely now as the sun has suddenly broken through the clouds. But we're all still hoping. I was told that the next few days should be rain in Jerusalem. But weather-forecasters are seldom accurate in our region ... except for the drought forecast.

Vanilla ice cream today

This morning I had to leave very early for Tel Aviv. I had an appointment with the doctor to check on the operation, but before that I went to our church in Jaffa to concelebrate solemn Mass with my community at St. Peter's Church. The hospital visit instead turned out to be a 2 hour surgery. The bone graft is growing quite well, as the x ray showed. But I think they had to reposition the bone and also to deal with the surround teeth so that I don't catch an infection. Today I was alone and I had to take the bus home ... and walked 1km from the central bus station to my home. Good thing about this was I could buy a tub of vanilla ice cream to cool the wound. Half my face is drooping from the 4 injections ... and by the way they took out another 2 stitches. Anyway I'm half numb. Awful and tiring experience so I guess I'll rest for the afternoon and cancel my appointments.  

Today is the Solemnity of Our Lady of the Holy Land. Previously it was called Our Lady of Palestine ... but due to political developments, it was changed to Holy Land. I think the bishops had gone to the parish of Our Lady of the Holy Land in Deir Rafat in the central plains. It's an annual pilgrimage for local catholics during this feast.

Fight

Sunset today

Another busy day with routine library work in the morning. Then in the afternoon I accompanied some friends to visit the churches in the Old City. The tourist crowds are unbelievable .... the streets are so packed it is difficult even to walk along the side of the street. After that I had to help 1st year students to find their course textbooks. Then by 6pm I was hungry. I hadn't eaten breakfast nor lunch ... so I walked down to Mian restaurant and got some eggs fried with tomatoes. Linda and Billy of the restaurant gave me rice as well. Very nice of them. Will eat them when I get home and go to sleep immediately because tomorrow early morning I must go back to the hospital to check if the bone implant has been rejected or if there is an infection. I hate to have to travel all that way to Tel Aviv and wait for a couple of hours to see the doc.

This morning there was a scuffle with police at the Holy Sepulchre entrance. Coptic monks staged a sit-in because they do not allow the Ethiopic Church to repair its ancient chapel. Workers from the Israeli Antiquities Authority had come to do the restoration work but the Copts were against it. Soon it descended into a fracas with punches and kicks. One monk was arrested.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-forcibly-remove-coptic-priests-blocking-workers-from-holy-sepulchre/?fbclid=IwAR2Mn7Df39GnunRwPhI6tdBGUM2gRb_xtla5TLI8jQZ75gS6sCeGiyt5V6w

Busy night market inside
Damascus Gate

Because I stopped taking painkillers that cause my stomach to be upset, I've been living with pain form the operation more in the nights than in the day. This morning I was up at midnight and have been awake till now, which is 23 hrs. When I get up in the morning, I get a headache and pain in the eye as well. It's exhausting then for the rest of the day when I need to work. Grit your teeth and get with it ... that's the spirit.

Nationwide there's been no news of major tensions so I guess today went fine. Maybe the rest of winter will be just as equally quiet.

Almost winter

Light show on the City Wall

The time is coming for daylight saving to end .... on Sunday morning to be exact. Sunrise is now almost 5.40am and the sun sets by 6pm. Late autumn with 16 degree evenings  and 26 degree daytime. Cool and cloudy everyday ... and what everyone is watching for these weeks ... the falling leaves of trees. I've noticed some trees have already gone bare while others are still withstanding the change in climate. Winter we all hope will be full of rain and even snow. We need the rains so badly.

Last night, after a day of headache and pain, I decided to go for a walk. The cool breeze could ease my pain in the operated area and fever. I was surprised to find a light show at the western City wall along Jaffa Gate. Lots of tourists come to take photos and go away. It was quite crowded and lively. Restaurants and shops opened to quite late, to milk every shekel they can.

Coptic leaders and police

This morning began early as I had a meeting with a group at the Holy Sepulchre. Then by 9am it was the daily routine of meetings with lawyers and heads of departments. It may sound strange to you that we need lawyers to deposit or withdraw money from the bank, or receive parcels from the Post Office .... but here we must do that because we're being penalised by the govt. at every turn in life. The govt. wants to raise the economy by claiming taxes (and back taxes from 1948) from our institutions and properties. Not from the muslims though. They want church money to boost the economy. So every month I receive a letter from the bank "Order of seizure by the govt. of Israel" and a large amount of money is removed from our library account. Then the Post Office restricts each parcel to no more than 2kg. Each parcel that arrives, we have to pay 250 shekels of handling charge plus 17%  of VAT. Concretely it means for a book costing US$10 we have to pay US$100 in charges and taxes.

Anyway at the Holy Sepulchre this morning there was a crowd of police with the Coptic hierarchy... bishop, monks and nuns. There was quite an animated exchange but I was not near enough to find out what it was all about. Later I eland from our sacristans that the Copts are protesting that the Ethiopics are renovating their chapels, hence closing the door which allows  the Copts to go to the Holy Sepulchre. I don't think it was resolved ... but it's part of the life in the Christian Quarter.

Are the rains coming?

Cloudy skies today

The weather continues to be cold ... and will go colder as Advent approaches. Mornings are very wet as well, lots of dew and the sky is very cloudy. But the rains have avoided us so far. After 10 years of drought, we need the rains very badly. Forecast is rain next week ... but we can never be sure. Let's hope for the best.

Today was miserable for me health wise. I stopped taking painkillers and the pain on the right side of my face is terrible ... especially my eye. My headache is just as bad. And my right shoulder continues to plague me. Nevertheless I had to go to work in the morning. Managed to meet one lawyer regarding our books held at the Post Office, then another lawyer for the bank transfers required in buying the books. Then there was a visit to the Spanish Sisters school to discuss the needy students and sponsorship plans with the principal Sr. Marta. Then it was cataloguing a dozen books before going home to rest because my headache was really bad. Hope tonight the pain will not keep me awake.

Mounted police in the street yesterday

By the way, I'm repeating my request to your kind generosity. Donations are required for sponsorship of catholic students; the economic situation is not getting better and so far we already have 3 girls pulled out of school because their parents cannot pay the fees. Please do something meaningful for an anticipated Christmas .... sponsor a child to school.

Another stabbing attempt this morning ... this time near the tombs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at Hebron. The stabber was shot dead. This is the 6th attempt in 2 weeks. Definitely not a good sign.

And on the other end of the spectrum, yesterday an israeli soldier was attacked by masses of ultra-orthodox jews. He was unhurt though, but violence from the jewish community is not less than those of the arabs.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5377091,00.html

No Sunday rest

Foundation of the 7th century church

Sunday began rather noisily ... a mini-digger was stationed in front of our house, with workers taking off the paving stones with jackhammers. A whole row running along th Condemnation Chapel was removed because the Municipality wanted to install new electric wires. Unfortunately they broke our water pipe as well so we had no water all day. One good thing though ... while they removed the paving stones and dug down beside the Condemnation chapel, the workers exposed the 7th century foundation stones of the ancient church. It was a very nice dicovery.

Damascus Gate

Anyway today, though Sunday, was very stressful. There's been a tsunami of requests for help ... mainly student sponsorships because the economic situation is not getting better. This year's funds are a lot lower so I have to decide which I can help and which I can't. Been running around to consult M. Teresa's sisters twice as well as the Spanish sisters and our Custody sponsorship dept. We need always to cross-check our beneficiaries. Anyway it took all day and these matters always stress me. Not least when my right shoulder continues to be excruciating painful, and the right side of my face hurts (actually the sinus and eye socket) and I have a headache. I tried to rest but the pain kept me awake. Anyway I think I settled some 12 cases which the Spanish sisters  had recommended.

Anyway while tensions rose yesterday with the 5th stabbing attempt in 2 weeks, and the Gaza protests ... we have some good news from the newspapers. The Gaza border is reopened again for food and medicine to enter' The demolition of the bedouin village that drew several weeks of violent protests have been postponed by the cabinet; and arrests have been made of palestinians who are provoking a kangaroo court against the muslims who sold an apartment to jewish settlers (directly behind my house). Looks like its a little tranquility at the beginning of the week.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-arrests-two-palestinians-amid-threats-after-j-lem-house-sold-to-settlers-1.6574826?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&fbclid=IwAR3KMxoeZ-LFGmsEb3s99ZPEABI1_HLEy9Rr4N2gPcKb8NVF_9--EAJy5IQ

and

 https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/PA-condemns-arrest-of-senior-Palestinian-officials-by-Israel-569906

Biryani at last

Cloudy skies today

The temperature continues to fall. Last night it was so cold I had to turn on the heater at 3am. I was coughing due to the cold. And winter blankets are out too. Daytime rises to 26 degrees which is comfortable in a T-shirt. We're all expecting the rain. The coastal and northern cities have had their rains but not here in the south and western part of the country. That's probably because we're up on the mountains and the clouds face a barrier with the mountains.

Today I'm a little lost as to what to do .... can't remember if I have any appointments. Anyway if I miss something, they'll call to remind. I know I have to start planting some tubers of Jerusalem artichokes. They're actually sunflowers and grow up to 6 feet. But they have lovely flowers and the sisters of Ivrea gave me the tubers from their garden. I managed to plant 36 tubers in 6 pots. Hope they grow and blossom in early summer next year.

Biryani dinner

Last evening Leo our Indian seminarian cooked biryani and dal and chapati. I told him that when I was well enough to eat semi-solid food, I'd like biryani. And he did cook it .... took a long time. I had to wait till 9.30pm before he finished cooking. But the food was delicious. Leo was a professional chef before entering the Order ... so his cooking is high quality. So finally I got to eat very good biryani. Loved it.

Yesterday's protest at the Gaza border numbered 10,000 people, or so it was reported/ 77 were injured. The violence generally is increasing. This afternoon the Israeli army fired back into Gaza when incendiary balloons floated into Israel. Incendiary balloons are floating balloons tied with a flaming rag ... it floats into Israel and when it lands on dry grass or bushes, it sets the place on fire.    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5375034,00.html?fbclid=IwAR0iV3ZKH_3UQ3TsHBVBMADLQP_bB167lCku6Ht-dT0Um-1A1hraJItV5Lw

Wong Lou Kat in Jerusalem

Wong Lou Kat in
Jerusalem

It's Friday ... and it's tense around our southern border with Gaza. Newspapers say Hamas, the ruling govt in Gaza, asked the gazans to go to the border and protest. But that's not what I hear from gazans themselves ... they tell me they are forced into buses by the Hamas military and driven to the border to protest ... against their will. Israel today has brought in armoured vehicles to the border. A violent clash is anticipated in a few minutes when noonday prayers are over. And innocent people will suffer while the Hamas leadership stay safe and cosy in their bunkers.

Yesterday's walk from the bus station to home was the first time in 2 months. I have not seen the road and places since the beginning of summer ... and things have changed a lot. At the asian grocery, there is tofu from Singapore on sale, and Hong Kong herbal tea "Wong Lou Kat" in a can. And the shop was full of chinese and koreans who speak hebrew. Down at the re-opened Zion Square which is now totally renovated, the best basker was performing ... a lady violinist who captures everyone's attention with her amazing musical skills. Most of the shops and restaurants are still the same ... but the coming of winter saw less people eating outdoors.

Lady violinist bask-
ing at Zion Square

I was extremely tired last night after the trip to Tel Aviv and had my stitches removed. Slept early and  cancelled an appointment with a student ... my brain was simply too tired to handle thesis writing guidance. But each postponement only means I have more work accumulated at the end of the semester. Still it would not be fair to the student if I were not mentally present for their research.

Well this morning was work as usual ... even though I didn't feel like it. Although the stitches have been removed, my right head, eye and hear are hurting very much. People are telling me to go home and rest but I must settle the visa issue of one of our volunteers, the check on the lawyers regarding the Post Office problem of not sending us our books, then buying some stuff that other people wanted. But now I'm home ... ate some leftover rice and sweet potato ... and I hope to rest for the rest of the day.

Rain

Rain in Tel Aviv

Yesterday evening just crumbled into chaos. On my way home from school yesterday I stopped by a new filipino food shop and bought some chicken curry for Leo to thank him for his kindness to me when he accompanied me to hospital for my surgery last week. I went to his monastery and gave it to him, then I walked home thinking I'll sleep early because I need to wake up at 3am to go back to hospital for a followup checkup. As I was sleeping at 8pm I received strange emails from my former student talking going out. Not the slightest idea.

Then at 9pm I got a call that "they" were at my door downstairs. I was sleeping so well ... anyway I had to rush down to see what was happening. Well a group of my former students and members of the filipino community of Jerusalem had come to see me. And they had brought a lot of food. So I invited them into our parlour and we ate and chatted till 10.45pm. Then I had to send them out as I was totally exhausted and stuffed with soft food - they made sure it was food that I could eat in view of my surgery. I was stuffed with pandit and adobo (boneless chicken).

Demonstration at Dizengoff Center

Then with only a few hours of sleep I was up again, cleaning my room, feeding Buddy and Chilli, and left for Tel Aviv at 5am. I almost slept along the way except for the fact that there was lightening and thunder when we reached Petah Tikva area - that's the nearby city of Tel Aviv. Then it started raining as we Tel Aviv. When I reached St. Peter's Church at 6.30am it was cold and wet. Celebrated Mass with the community, then cleaned up the aquarium and then it was off to the city centre to see my doc. The doc took out the stitches ... total of 9 (nine) because of the mistake (cutting a blood vessel). It wasn't painful but I had a bad headache. I decided to take a taxi to the central bus station but there was no available taxi in all the roads I walked ... all the way down to the legendary Dizengoff Square. It used to be an overhead plaza above the main road junction but today I discovered it's now brought down to ground level, much more trees and sitting places. Beautiful. But the central fountain is a lot smaller. And there was a demonstration there ... don't know what it was about ... but a lot of balloons were released.

Anyway I found a taxi at last and reached the Central Bus Station and managed to grab the first mini-bus (called sheroot) and reached home at 1.30pm. All I can say is I want to sleep.

War drums are beating as yesterday's Cabinet meeting decided the Israeli army should come down hard on the Gazan provocations. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-october-18-2018/

Well anti-christian vandalism is still alive and active here ... yesterday for the 5th consecutive time, a catholic cemetery was desecrated, headstones and crosses toppled and smashed. If it had happened to a jewish cemetery, it would be an antisemitic crime. But here no culprit is ever caught or prosecuted. Yet Israel claims it's the only Middle-Eastern country that protects christians.   https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/headstones-smashed-in-christian-cemetery-near-jerusalem-in-suspected-hate-crime-1.6570609?fbclid=IwAR3cwq4kfGP-NqhxVFIM-W6dYJ1Ws0b_E_UB1JnTeBYg4fpwgqbijm83W8I

Tensions rising

Last night on my way to work

What a busy day today. At 8am I had to meet all the 1st year students and introduce them to how to use the library. Then in the afternoon I begin class at the Salesian University. With my face still swollen, a fever and stomach upset by painkillers, it's no easy feat. The exhaustion since I started work on Monday is weighing heavily on me ... and I feel very weak today. But grit your teeth and do it!!!

Last night after having rested a few hours, I decided to go back to my office and work. The sky was beautiful ... but things were ugly at Damascus Gate. A dozen or so arabs were videoing israeli police stop-checking arabs entering the Gate. An ID was thrown or dropped down the police tower and one police had to go down to retrieve it. The arabs were incensed and there was a scuffle with the police for several minutes before more police arrived to drive the tense crowd away.

Scuffle at Damascus Gate last night

Yesterday was the feast of St. Teresa of Avila ... who strangely died on Oct. 5th though the feast day is on the 15th. Why the discrepancy of death day and feast day? Because when the Julian Calendar was switched to the Gregorian calendar, 10 days were inserted on Oct. 5th thus pushing the feast of St. Teresa from the 5th to the 15th. The franciscans had objected fiercely to inserting the 10 days on Oct 4th because it's the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The franciscans won and the carmelites were delayed.

One very sad news in the media is the mortality rate of Gaza children. Because of polluted water - sewage as much as 42 olympic size pools swirling in the beach - children are dying daily. Very tragic.   https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium.MAGAZINE-polluted-water-a-leading-cause-of-gazan-child-mortality-says-rand-corp-study-1.6566812

Meantime there is no let-up in the Gazan protests along the Israeli border. Fires in Israel continue to be ignited by incendiary balloons from Gaza, and Israel continues to tighten the blockade of food, medicine and aid to Gaza. Yesterday the Defense Minister warned of a massive strike against Gaza which will neutralise the Strip for the next 5 years. Terrifying when you consider that this hard military strike will kill countless sick and starving people. Other military heads are cautioning against a war.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5372191,00.html

There were missiles launched from Gaza into Israel again. This time a school in Beersheba was destroyed. Terrible but the only thing it'll end is a devastating Gaza war again ... and nobody wins.

Bleak winter

My 2 best friends while I recuperate

The weather has been getting cooler and cooler. Last night was only 15 degrees. It was cold enough that I had to use a blanket. Daytime though continues to be hot ... 27 degrees. Much as I wanted to rest, I had to go to work ... more document work over the library accounts, postal service that refuse to send books to use ... it is mentally exhausting. But still I have to do it. My volunteers in the library have finished their terms and returned to their countries so I'm doing 3 people's work. I try my best given that I'm still recovering. Everyone I meet at our main monastery told me to go home and rest ... but no one is willing to do my work. So I do my job as is required, as they say in italian: grit your teeth and do it.

Russian Church spokesman announces
the schism (photo from The Moscow
Times)

Anyway the big news right now is the Russian Orthodox Church has officially cut off ties with the Patriarch of Constantinople ... spiritual head of the Orthodox churches. It's all political of course ... over the war in Ukraine. Russia's claim over part of Crimea has led to a war with Ukraine and when the Orthodox Synod voted to make Ukraine's Church independent from the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Patriarch in turn left the Orthodox federation under Constantinople (read Istanbul). Tit-for-tat. It's the greatest schism in christianity since a thousand years when the Roman Church and the Orthodox churches divided. Russia's Church will be in crisis because more than half of it's followers are Ukrainians.  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-church-russia/russian-orthodox-church-breaks-with-constantinople-in-row-over-ukraine-idUSKCN1MP24G

The long anticipated walkout of the ultra-orthodox jewish parties from the govt. coalition was an anti-climax. They backed down ... they know they have no support from both the left and right and will lose all their privileges if they are not in power. Now they're asking only to make some changes to the draft law which will require ultra-orthodox youths to register for compulsory military service.

Another stabbing attempt near the jewish settlement in Palestine. Arab attacker shot dead. This is the 3rd stabbing attack in one week. Not a good sign. And with the tensions at the demolition of the bedouin village, and the border violence with Gaza ... this winter looks bleak.   https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/palestinian-shot-and-killed-in-suspected-west-bank-stabbing-attempt-1.6555322

Of crooked signposts

Crooked signpost

Yesterday I missed meeting with our Minister General who is here visiting with his entire council. I think it's part of the 800th anniversary of the friars' arrival to the Holy Land. Anyway with a fever and pain in my face, I won't be able to sit there for the meeting with 100 other guys. Everyone will be asking the same question "What happened to you?" and I"ll have to explain 100 times over.

I did however go out in the morning while it was cooler. I need to avoid the sun as I already have a fever and the heat would cause my wound to bleed. I went to my other office to water the plants ... one died after no one watered them for 3 days. Miserable .... it was a peace lily. On the way out I saw workmen drilling along the walkway to New Gate. On the way back I saw signposts for tourists had been put up on those spots. Very nice ... Israel is now opening up to tourists who do not join tour groups and therefore need directions. However the signposts were crooked. Here if you don't tell the workers to do specific things, they will not be done. The workers were told to put up signposts ... they were not told to put up the signposts straight. Something you might take for granted in your own country ... but definitely not here.

Now this can also happen here ... the Culture Minister has proposed to ban and cut funding for any artistic enterprise and artiste who is not loyal to Israel. The State Prosecutor has come up against it. Isn't the Arts an expression of freedom - even expressions that not all may understand or accept?   https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5370446,00.html  and   https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-lawmakers-expected-to-approve-bill-to-defund-offensive-cultural-institutions-1.6551544

And the demolition of the bedouin settlement in Khan Ahmar is again heating up as police arrest demonstrators ... with arab and jewish who try to prevent the demolition. There are also some international activists among them. This will compound with the other tensions around the country and when it all gels, there'll be big trouble nationwide.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/4-activists-arrested-for-obstructing-police-prep-for-khan-al-ahmar-demolition/

4th day after

An opened fig flower

It's the 4th day after the op. I've finished one bottle of painkillers. Time to buy more. I have this dreadful headache which I think is the result of the graft which is near my right ear. That would account also for my balance in walking which I'm having some difficulty. Because of this I stay mostly in bed. Don't want to risk falling down the stairs and making things worse. Our sisters in the kitchen have been very kind to me. They boil apples and pears so I can eat something when I'm hungry. And they make soup or other soft food like eggs and keep them in the fridge so I can eat them when I want. Last night the superior Sr. Clara brought ice cream to my room as well ... I was already asleep but I woke up and ate it. After all, it's ice cream.

The rains have come ... but only in the north. There are videos showing flooded streets and stalled cars ... as usual our drought-stricken country is never ready for rain. It's such a rarity I think people now actually enjoy flooded streets and stalled cars.  https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Northern-Israel-faces-welcome-winter-weather-569275

But the coming of the rains also mark the end of the fruit season. Figs that have not been harvested now burst open revealing the tiny florets. Wild parakeets love to eat them because of the sweet nectar. The figs that we eat are actually buds, not the fruit.

Since Friday's escalation of tit-for-tat attacks between jews and arabs, now some rabbis have stepped up to warn that tensions have reached a point where there's no turning back. Well even we here can feel that. For one thing, if arabs were the terrorists, their homes would be demolished. If jews were the perpetrators, no such thing will happen.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-said-killed-in-west-bank-crash-caused-by-settler-stone-throwing/

Anyway my 20 to 1800 viewers of this blog can now be explained by Facebook announcing that 29 million accounts and private info have been stolen. I've been hacked!!!!! Again and again!!!!!  https://www.timesofisrael.com/facebook-says-hackers-accessed-29m-peoples-accounts/

100 years since the miracle of the sun

Sunrise over the Mt. of Olives

Another sleepless night as the painkillers are killing me ... my stomach was burning all night. I think I'll get ulcers again. Liquid diet is not helping my stomach one bit. I'll need to switch to semi-solids. Anyway I forgot to mention one funny fact ... right after the operation, the doc took a bottle of coca-cola from the fridge and asked me if I wanted some. Me and Leo looked in disbelief and asked if it was ok to drink coke immediately after an op. in my mouth? She laughed and said yes of course ... it'll disinfect all the germs and cool the wound so it would stop bleeding. Well, I had a glass of it immediately!!

Yesterday afternoon Leo came and brought me an ice cream. That was nice ... I needed it to calm my stomach. The sisters at the 3rd Station boiled chicken soup so I had something to fill my stomach with. Anyway today I'll stay in bed like yesterday. My face is still swollen though the pain from the wound is under control from the painkillers. I went out to the terrace to see the sunrise this morning ... and remembered today is Oct. 13th ... exactly 100 years ago when the miracle of the sun took place in Fatima. Not expecting much for us today ... though the miracle took place in the midst of Church crisis ... like we are today. Just maybe we might get a miracle.

Sunrise over the City

A very dramatic day yesterday at our southern border. Gaza's exploded a fence and about 20 gazans entered Israel. 3 were shot dead. Then incendiary balloons which gazans use to set Israel on fire were found in a suburb of Jerusalem .... now that's a good 90 kms away from the border!! And in retaliation for the killing of 2 jewish workers, yesterday jewish settlers attacked arabs and stoned arab cars, killing an arab woman. Arabs were stopped from harvesting their olives. So the cycle of violence begins.

Meantime up on our northern border, we got news that US troops braved a sandstorm to fight ISIS militants. The fighting must be in the americans' favour as it was announced last night that the Syrian-Israeli border at Quneitra would be re-opened. ISIS had conquered that border town and kidnapped the UN Peace soldiers but they were driven away by the Syrian army. Quneitra is where St. Paul was struck by light when he encountered the Risen Lord ... and converted. It's just 1km away from the Israeli Golan border.

Recovering

Nostalgia for the Ivrea convent chapel

I slept relatively well last night. The pain got quite bad at midnight ... and I realised the effects of the painkillers wear off after 8 hours so I'm timing myself every 7 hours to take them so there will be no window for the effects to wear off.

Drinking cold soup for breakfast is not a nice thing. My stomach hurts from hunger ... and the cold soup makes the stomach even worse. Then there's yoghurt ... which makes me have diarrhoea. But there's nothing else I can eat so that's the only choice I have. I am hungry and feeling very faint. Anyway I am nauseous all the time so eating makes me feel sick ... though I'm so hungry all the time. What a dreadful struggle ...hungry to eat but nauseous when eating.

... And in the national news, the Palestinian Authorities have reiterated  the ban for arabs to sell property to jewish Israelis. This is the ongoing But it won't work ... money is more attractive and I believe in the next 20 yrs one quarter of area properties in East Jerusalem will be sold to jews.  https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/herods-family

Meantime Syrian president Assad's assault on a refugee camp will kill thousands of innocent people. It's a dreadful prospect that has occurred in many other towns and villages.  https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/syrian-refugees-face-starvation-as-russia-and-assad-try-to-force-u-s-out-1.6550517

Op over

Operation done. One hour 45 minutes of surgery ... a little more complicated than anticipated, but the 2 surgeons kept telling me it's successful. Well I knew something didn't go quite right when there was blood all over my protective apron which the nurse was wiping with hydroxide, and my hands and face and neck ... when I got out of sedation. One of the docs admitted that there was an accident but they managed to save the situation. Leo our seminarian who accompanied me later told me there was panic for over 5 mins as the surgeons and nurses were running about to get instruments etc... I'd rather not know the details. Anyway the bone was transplanted and anchored by 2 pieces of metal. In all it took 9 injections, 5 x-rays to complete the procedure. Now I need to sleep ... no solid foods for 3 days ... and lots of rest. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and well wishes.

Winter is almost here

** Talking about hacking ... the day before there were 20 views of my blog, yesterday 118. How to explain the big difference?

Stromata

Palm Plaza at night

Today is all rush ... last minute attempt to finish all my work, meetings, signing documents ... before my operation tomorrow morning. But the more I seem to complete, the more work arrive ... till I finally decided enough is enough, I was going home. Then once home, another series of work started ... fax lines that don't function, orders and payments ... I walked out of the office and into my room. The work will never end, people's demands will never stop ... no one will die if work is not finished. I need time for myself and to prepare for tomorrow.

Night police

I hope to take a week off to rest after the operation ... and then almost immediately I'll have lectures at the university. Good thing I prepared the reading materials and have sent them out to the students to prepare.

The uproar over the sale of an arab house to rightwing jewish settlers have blown out into headlines in all arab newspapers, local and regional. Apparently things are more serious than I first thought ... it wasn't simply a small pharmacy with upstairs rooms that were bought by the settlers ... it was the property of the Joudeh family ... an illustrious arab dynasty from the Crusader period who hold the keys of the Holy Sepulchre. Arabs are shocked that such an ancient and esteemed family would sell their property to israelis. Well things are not as simple as that. They sought the help of a middleman who sold it to some Caribbean company which ... surprise ... was owned by rightwing jewish settlers. Anyway the storm is still brewing and we'll see what'll happen next.   https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-news-of-jews-taking-over-e-jlm-house-spur-palestinian-media-uproar-1.6535139

Meantime Gaza is getting some respite when Israel allowed fuel to enter Gaza ... which the Palestinian Authority is against. Part of the Israeli blockade is actually Palestinian blockade since they sanctioned the Israelis to stop fuel, medicine, food and other essentials into Gaza in order to force the ruling Hamas party to vanquish power. Like I once said, the arabs worse enemies are themselves.  https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/defying-abbas-israel-allows-qatari-funded-fuel-into-gaza-strip-1.6545230

2 days to D-day

Another grey cloudy day

2 more days and it'll be my operation. I'm a little nervous this time. They found a bone donor that matches my blood type so the hospital called to say I must have it done as early as 8am on Thursday. We'll see what happens from there. I'll be on antibiotics a day ahead of the operation to pre-empt an infection and rejection of the donor bone. Then the next few days will be a nightmare of pain and fever.

Well today I tried to finish all I possibly could, settle all the problems and meetings before the operation. Looks like an impossible task. So whatever will be, will be. I can't solve all the problems. Others must learn to do their part in problem solving as well.

Cold cat on a crate

Winter is definitely approaching. Last night was 18 degrees and it felt really chilly. The sky was still cloudy and grey today ... with a cold wind blowing. I hope it won't rain on the day of my operation. I don't want to have to walk in the rain looking for transport home. Anyway at 5am the ground must be cold because I noticed a lot of cats are staying as high as possible from the ground.

Meantime it's another day of clashes when some 5000 gazans protested near the border with Israel while a flotilla of gazan boats tried to enter Israeli waters. It was a land and sea attack to break the Israeli blockade because Gaza is not getting food, medicine, water and other daily necessities. The people are dying in there ... and their govt under Hamas is making things worse than is.   https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5366713,00.html

Grey skies

Cloudy grey skies today

The weather has gone all cloudy and cold today. It feels like autumn again. In fact we're expecting lots of rain as forecast ... but the clouds don't seem to be giving us any. It's keeping us in suspense.

Tourists have suddenly returned this week and our streets are again blocked by hundreds of groups walking down the ay of the Cross. I guess hotels are cheaper now that the jewish holidays are over. But muslim pilgrims have also increased a lot. The ban on Indonesian groups by Israel must have been lifted because christian and muslim Indonesian groups are everywhere in the Old City. However a collateral war is being waged by Israeli tour guides against christian pilgrim guides. They have gone to court to stop the latter from guiding because it undercuts their income and religious guides are ill-educated and lower the quality of tourism. Yes I agree there are some religious guides who know nothing and talk a lot of nonsense ... but so are some Israeli guides. They mock our religion, spread lies and make tons of money through shopping commissions. They don't like christians ... they like christian money.

Jaffa Gate crowded with tourists

And like I said previously, something fishy is happening in my blog. My stats report one day 18 views and another day 1600 views. Sure smells fishy ... like it's being hacked. My FB, and emails have all been hacked several times so I'm not surprised. But why me?

Tensions are rising in the Palestinian Territories as Israeli soldiers arrest the family of the murderer in yesterday's attack. Arabs are protesting and fighting back. This tit-for-tat game will not end. More jewish settlers now will burn arab olive groves during this harvest season. And the cycle of violence rolls on. What a miserable winter it will be.

Sunday surprises

Sunrise over Damascus Gate

It's Sunday and though theoretically I could wake up late, I went to the other library at 5am because I needed an Armenian bible. I have 2  armenian seminarians helping me this morning for the Mass and they can do the readings in armenian. It was a nice quiet walk up the hill. Muslims were gathering to enter the Old City for their morning prayers ... israeli soldiers have taken up their posts at the City Gates and vital street corners ... but still it remained very quiet, The sunrise over Damascus Gate is surreal ... the colors look as if they were photoshopped. Anyway the Mass went very well despite the lack of practice. The seminarians are identical twins and they drew alot of amazed reactions from the congregation. They managed to respond and recite and sing parts of the Mass in armenian while I prayed the silent prayers. I hope they'll be able to come more often to help. The armenian congregation were very happy to see armenian clergy again and chatted with them long after Mass ended. The twins were also very pleased to come into contact with armenian catholics again.

Mini-car inside Damascus Gate

And just at the top of the stairs inside Damascus Gate I saw a very very small car ... for one person. It was so small it could navigate the narrow ramps and parked near the pharmacy. I thought that was very nifty ... wish I could get one. It would save me from the walks to and from work twice a day.  

This morning started with a terrorist attack in a West Bank industrial compound. 2 israelis killed and the murderer is still at large.I doubt this is part of a larger terrorist movement ... it sounds more like a disgruntled employee. Anyway tonight will definitely see israeli soldiers raiding the arab village and arresting the perpetrator's family and relatives.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-suspect-in-shooting-still-armed-at-large-special-forces-searching-area/

Then yesterday at the northern border, druze from israel gathered to show support for Assad. The rebels and ISIS have persecuted and killed many druze in Syria and their relatives in Israel are ready to enter Syria and fight. Things are getting tense.  https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Golan-Druze-gather-at-border-chanting-loyalty-to-Syrias-Assad-568781

And still up at the north, an arsonist set fire and killed hundreds of chickens at a farm. Dreadful. A million dollars worth of livestock was lost.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/50000-chickens-burned-alive-in-suspected-arson-attack/

End of mission

Ancient olive trees at the park

Today was my last day to say Mass at the Ivrea convent. A total of 104 days flat I've walked 1km at 5.30am to the convent ... for the whole of summer. It was fun in a way ... the 3 old nuns singing out of tune, the large breakfast of fruit, yoghurt, coffee and milk, 3 types of cheese and bread rolls, the 2 bakeries nearby churning out pitta for sale, the 3 dogs that roam the park ... I will miss all that.

Fat cat in the Park

The walks to the convent is really amazing at 5.30am. From July at the height of summer to now autumn in October, I've seen the sun rising later, the streets get quieter and the hot dry weather turning cold. I stop at Rockefeller Park for a breather every morning because my asthma and coughing spasms prevent me from walking all the way. In the Park, there are a dozen ancient olive trees ... and in the early morning cold, the strong thick smell of olives are incredibly beautiful. The warm damp air reminds me of all the summers I have spent here. Then there is the troop of cats that scavenge the trash left by the arabs the night before ... all over the park. The sprinklers suddenly shoot up and spray torrents of water at the dying grass and the cats scatter. It gets funny every morning watching them ... and the cats don't seem to learn.  

Well ... I don't have to go back to Ivrea convent till 3 months later. So for now, I get to rest ... theoretically. School begins on Monday so I have to prepare the library staff for the new academic semester. I have the armenian Mass tomorrow morning but I have little time to practice with the organist and our 2 new armenian seminarians.  We'll have to play by ear tomorrow.

Meantime at our southern border, 20,000 gazans protested at the Israeli border yesterday. 126 wounded and one 12 yr old was killed, so say report. The Old City is tense with police stopping many passing arabs for identification.   https://www.ynetnews.com/articlesnc/0,7340,L-5364482,00.html