Back to school

Back to school

 It's the first day of school today and the streets were full of students and parents ... quite unlike the empty streets of the past months. I'm sure the students were all excited to be with their friends again instead of being locked inside the house ... theoretically. What everyone is saying under their breath is "Expect a spike in corona infections". Some neighbourhoods have been declared "red zone" meaning epicentres of infections and have been locked down .... mostly ultra-orthodox jewish areas. And they are furious and have opened schools despite the ruling not to. People in the streets are all saying why it it be like in Asia where residents comply with govt health instructions? Why this constant rebellion which ultimately puts at risk children, elderly, sick? It's a totally different mentality here. Civic consciousness comes after personal wants. Yesterday saw 2159 new infections.

The heatwave is still lingering on ... 38 degrees or so. A wind is blowing but it's hot and dry ... straight from the desert. Few could sleep for the past several nights because of the heat. And the country recorded its highest peak of electric usage during these days when acridness and fans are turned on in every building.I pity the poor people in Gaza who have no electricity and must put up not only with the heat but also the humidity ... being next to the sea.

Crowds lining up for corona aid

A ceasefire has been agreed between Gaza and Israel this morning so hopefully we don't have to hear fighter jets flying over our heads again. On the northern front though, Israel is said to have hit Syrian targets ... and that's a cause for continued tensions.

The annual Shakespeare performance in the park is cancelled. It was one of my summer plans ... the troupe was to perform Henry IV. From August it was postponed to September and now it's cancelled definitively. I had registered to see it ... since performances are restricted by corona law to 50 in open spaces. What a pity. I'm terribly disappointed. The troupe is planning an autumn performance ... but everything is tentative as long as the pandemic lingers on. Fingers crossed.