Midweek freeze

Fresh seafood on sale in Musrara

Israel announced it bombed Damascus this morning as response of Syria bombing Israel yesterday. At least 11 are said to be killed. TV news are talking a lot about it. Last night security helicopters were hovering above us for most of the night. No idea why. But it certainly is making everyone nervous. Everyone in our neighbourhood is talking about it this morning. America's declaration of accepting settlements as legal is one flashpoint we're expecting to explode. Friday will be the watershed ... if the arabs will protest this unilateral american move. I've got classes on Friday so I'm not sure if I should cancel them ... I need to walk out for 1km to get to school.

Breaking with tradition and religious law, Tel Aviv will run buses on the Sabbath. Most Tel Avivians are secular so they will use the bus. Here in Jerusalem the scheme was scraped because there were not enough users.

And on the topic of kosher ... I saw fresh seafood sold in the open market at Musrara last weekend. People tell me they're brought in from Tel Aviv and other coastal cities every Friday. But its best to buy after 10am ... it's cheaper but less fresh. Cheaper is a keyword because seafood is very expensive. One crab is 47 shekels or about US$12.

The weather remains very cold. It was down to 7 degrees at 4am this morning. I've had 2 heaters turned on. I can imagine how much colder it will get in January and February when to rains and even snows. I must prepare myself.