Strike

Lighting the hanukkia
last night at the Square

There was a general strike today called by women against domestic violence and many govt, municipal and private companies joined in by allowing their employees to participate. It was massive. Hopefully the legislature will sit up and pay notice and study a law to protect women now. They had ditched it before but since the murder of the 2 girls within 24 hrs in 2 different cities last week, the people will take it no longer.

The weather is constantly cold and the forecast is rain on Thursday and Friday with even colder weather .... temp. will fall to 7 degrees. But that is not dampening the Hanukkah festivities. Last night I watched the lighting of the 2nd candle on the giant hanukkia (candle-stand) in Zion Square. The rabbi prayed and the mayor lit the lights. It was very crowded and people were singing and dancing.

Giant Christmas
tree in the Old City

My classmate from college days came on a pilgrimage and after 37 years we finally caught up. I took her to see the New City and the Hanukkah festivities and we had lahfa for dinner. That's a huge flat-bread wrap of shawarma (spit-roasted meat) with all sorts of sauces and salads. The workers there were arabs and when I ordered in arabic they laughed and called me ` "Halili" meaning a resident from Hebron because my accent is from the south. That's the accent I learned because my neighbors are all from that southern area and it's characterized by a long final vowel in each word. Anyway we all had a good laugh ... but I didn't get a discount. Had extra salads and sauces though.

The giant Christmas Tree which stands every year at the La Salle College near New Gate is no longer there. It's been moved inside to the Christian Quarter. Probably the police has forced us to move the Tree because every year ultra-orthodox jews complain that christians put up an idol at the City Gate which is offensive to jews. So as usual the christians are beaten down and driven to a corner. Despite all that's said ... christians are still persecuted by the ultra-orthodox jews every single year for Christmas and Easter.

In a dreadful development of the war in the north, Israeli defense has discovered lebanese hezbollah fighters had dug tunnels into Israel. Just a few moments ago the Israeli air force destroyed the tunnels. Not a good sign that calm will remain in the north.  https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/IDF-launches-Operation-Northern-Shield-to-destroy-Hezbollah-terror-tunnels-573459?fbclid=IwAR0UWW-aJv26AVdfzP_wY0uF1BpWQpwJeos1pq2cWFcyIRienm6kkYs3Bcc