Sad day

Police below our
house stand in 1 min
silence

Last night at 8pm the sirens sounded throughout the country and all Israelis stopped in silence for a minute. This morning at 11am another siren ... 2 minutes this time ... sounded and again the country came to a standstill. A sombre as Israelis remember their soldiers and victims of terrorism on this date. But sadder still because of the pandemic, no one could go to the cemeteries. The President was with a small entourage at the Wailing Wall last night to deliver a speech ... and today again at the cemetery of the fallen. It's been hard for many families.

Some instead went to Ikea and protested there ... because while cemeteries are closed, Ikea was allowed to open. There's general discontent with the megastore but there is little the people can do except protest and boycott to register their disapproval.

Mt. of Olives under night curfew

I was out on our terrace for the evening siren. The street below was empty ... because of the night curfew on muslims during Ramadan. Only 2 police were at the street corner. They stood in silence ... and it was really very sad. But I also thought of the palestinians who were innocently killed these 70 yrs ... and they have no memorial day, no sirens, no public mourning. It's a sad world ... and the pandemia is reminding us all of our common fate ... death. What with all the fighting on earth when in the end we'll all lie buried in the same earth?

One redeeming article in a newspaper ... israelis saluting arab medical workers who are leading the frontline in fighting this pandemia. If jews can trust an arab doctor or nurse to care for them ... why can't they trust outside of the hospital?