Beirut blast

Our damaged church

Yesterday's chemical explosion in Beirut shocked us all. Careless negligence ... leaving tonnes of fertilizer for decades in a highly populated area. Our port in Haifa also stores tonnes of chemicals, and yesterday's explosion was a wakeup call. I hope the authorities do something about it. But what was the most shocking for us was the destruction of our monastery and church in Beirut. Roofs collapsed, glass shattered ... it was a miracle no one was hurt.I think the monastery is 1 km across the bay where the port is. Now it's recovering bodies and injured. It'll be a horrific task .... and not at all easy because of the corona pandemic and the economic crash and the political instability of Lebanon. There's simply no words. I'd go there right now to help .... but it'll only be a burden of finding lodging and food for another person in an already devastated area. We can only pray.

Yesterday the PM openly acknowledged that Israel has one of the highest rates of infection. However there were no followup actions or solutions. A top health expert warned that schools and economy can't reopen in the near future at the rate the virus is spreading. But of course, he'll be ignored. A newspaper in Ireland published an article on what not to do ... learning a lesson from Israel. Definitely not the headlines to be envious about.   https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BkuFHf411v?fbclid=IwAR1_hgbpCbnGqmN-U6LHAETtqXouektZa3jSDLNYy-AR9SU57KxaeVoN8QE

Olives on a branch

And Israel is allowing 17,000 foreign students to enter the country for the new school year. By "foreign student" is meant jewish students from outside Israel. Experts have warned it will import a new wave of infections ... but the ultra-orthodox ministers have bulldozed the opposition down. However for an upcoming jewish memorial of a famous rabbi in Ukraine when many ultra-orthodox jews go to pray, it's reported that the govt is stopping this pilgrimage from going ahead .... as returning devotees could import the virus. Well the ultra-orthodox will not take this lightly and will fight tooth and claw.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-said-preparing-to-block-rosh-hashanah-travel-to-ukraine-pilgrimage-site/

Though the heatwave is gone and the nights are very cool with a strong breeze, daytime is still very hot with temp as high as 30 degrees. I've tried going to work in the late evenings and found it easier to climb the hill in cool weather. My ankle is still swollen and I try as much as possible to stay home. I've still to accomplish my summer plans of reading and other stuff.