Tense Friday

Crowded Suq

What a tense and chaotic Friday. Israeli Police were expecting tens of thousands of muslims to enter the Old City and pray at the Al Aqsa mosque ... and eventually demonstrate. Though claiming not to raise the number of police, I've certainly seen troops marching through our streets before the noonday prayer. And the muslims coming into the Old City was certainly in the tens of thousands. I decided not to stay at home and went off to my other office 1km away in the jewish side of the City. Coupled with the jewish takeover of 2 houses behind ours, and the ban on 140 muslims (including mosque administrators) from entering the Old City, tensions are very high. Muslim leaders called for calm and no violence ... and luckily they were heeded, though demonstrations did take place at Lions' Gate and along our street. Anyway streets along the Suq (covered market) were packed with locals and tourists who tried to avoid Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-forces-gird-for-fresh-violence-as-tensions-mount-in-jerusalem-gaza/?fbclid=IwAR0mL7FwxwJEdEjTdlsrDnAtNQLe9_2tFhZaW3JE4myMefL3xGWEjPNeN-s

Well the jewish side was equally in chaos. Hundreds of ultra-orthodox jews protested in the streets of the New City and scuffles ensued as they protested the arrest of one of their followers for not reporting for compulsory military service. Then at the Wailing Wall, orthodox jews fought with liberal jews and women who wanted equal rights to pray there. Police had to come in and separate the groups. The jewish implosion could not get worse today.   https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-ultra-orthodox-jewish-feminist-international-women-s-day-western-wall-wailing-wall-jerusalem-1.7001785?fbclid=IwAR2qTUsdfoOM2QwQiTt9R4v7HfyBYSG4CmETJZingtCoBFGdyrjQo7ejqcY
and
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5475304,00.html?fbclid=IwAR0iYGRy6HCr0ke1Pz7qkPv6GSDhKeM4XKE_J0wnRW_0ryWX_3vcaCXQoY0

Side street restaurants

My day out of the Muslim Quarter was a good break. After work, I went to the Last Supper Room for lunch as the superior there invited me. It's a small community and most were my students. After that I decided to take a long walk home through the jewish and armenian quarters, through the alleys and side streets. It was a nice change from walking through the dirty crowded streets of the muslim quarter. So a tense Friday turned out to be a nice break for me.