Busy morning

Crowd leaving Damascus Gate
after prayer

The weekend has started ... and it remains hot and humid. I was very reluctant to go to work but I had 2 requests for books so I had to go search them out and scan them. Then I had to prepare the stipends of our workers. Then the cleaning lady came and I could't go away to collect the insurance papers of our chinese sisters until the  cleaning lady finished her job and I could close the library. In the end I could go home only at 2.30pm. Bad timing. It's Friday and the muslim crowd was coming out from the mosques after noon prayers. Huge crowds ... so don't bother even about distancing. Most did wear the mask though. But without limiting the number of devotees in the mosques, and majority come from all over the country ... the chances of spreading the virus is unthinkable. We're into the 2nd day of 4000 new infections ... so it's beyond scary or chaos. It's the Twilight Zone.

Carmelites visit

In the midst of work this morning, 2 carmelite nuns from Nazareth came to visit me ... the former prioress and the new prioress. I have not visited the carmelite monastery in Nazareth for over a year. It was good to meet them again. I have known them for over 30 years now. The former prioress has gone quite deaf now. Nevertheless we chatted for over an hour. The son of their doorkeeper, Anand, drove the sisters to Jerusalem. I've known Anand since he was a boy. It was good to see them all. He told me his father died 3 years ago today. I didn't know that. His mum Victoria is a very kind and matronly lady ... anyone who's gone to visit the monastery will remember her smile and perfect french. If not for the pandemic and eventual lockdown, I'd have gone to Nazareth to visit her.

So news is out that the govt has decided to lockdown the country on Thursday when the jewish New Year begins. It's to stop the crowds from gathering and spreading the virus ... but we can be sure it'll not work. The ultra-orthodox crowd will not accept govt rulings on distancing and lockdowns, the police have no will to enforce the law, the govt is too afraid to make a firm stance.