Sunday

Arabs in shock as
police escort the israelis

 Yesterday's Israeli Flag March into the Muslim Quarter to celebrate Israeli conquest of Arab East Jerusalem was shockingly violent. It started very early at 7am though the March itself was scheduled at 4pm. Groups had started marching through our streets at 2am shouting racist slogans, banging drums and waking the whole neighborhood. That's illegal but the police allowed them to do it. 

I had to celebrate Mass at Calvary at 7am and then meet some chinese students at 9.30am so I thought I'd be back before 12pm before any trouble began. However when I got home through Herod's Gate at 11am, large groups of aggressive Jews were vandalizing Arab property and beating Arabs they found on the street. I was right in the midst of them as the street is narrow and there was no turning back. Police sided with the israelis, escorting them while letting them vandalize and beat arabs. It was utterly shocking and unbelievable. Anyway they left me in peace because they could see I was a foreigner.

Then waves after waves of Jews passed through our main door, threatening the Arab shop owners and provoking a fight with our doorman's sons. One was badly beaten up ... our doorman showed me a photo of his son recuperating at home. It's illegal for the groups to enter our street as it's not part of the route agreed by the police. But the police closed both eyes.

At 5pm I heard gunshots just below my window. Things had gotten out of hand. 70,000 jews entered the Old City, attacking local Arab residents and shop keepers. Videos after videos showed the aggression and violence. Well I'm just glad no one died. And Hamas and Hezbullah had neither courage nor will to respond.

Still hot

Shade for a hot day

 Another very hot day today. Luckily my office has an aircon. I could work in relative comfort, but I pity the workers in the streets who have to endure the relentless sun beating down. Right now workers are putting up buntings and flags to prepare for the last day of May. We usually have a procession of Mary throughout the streets of the Christian Quarter to close the month of May.

Tomorrow will be a busy day because we must do everything before the Flag March begins and we're locked indoors to avoid being beaten by the extremist israelis who'll enter our Quarter with police protection. Yes we're not protected by the police but they are.

Prices have gone up so high it's almost impossible to buy anything anymore. Bread now costs twice its price. A 100% increase. The govt blames the Russo-Ukrainian war but the people say its the consequence of 2 years lockdown. Covid has slowed down imports. And the poorest people suffer. I've been buying soon to expire bread and distributing to the poor. It's not much but at least a few families will not go hungry.

Hot

Pigeons take a bath

 The weekend is setting in. Sabbath starts this evening when the sun sets. The City is getting more tense and police are increasing their presence. That's because Sunday is the Flag March where extremists jews will march by the thousands carrying flags through our Quarter. It's not only provocative but usually they vandalize our property. Sometimes they attack arab residents. I'll probably stay home as there'll be a sort of curfew. The public school opposite my house is preparing for this ... the police have taken over the highest floor and they've been working overnight with some fence of something. It's very noisy all night and the lights are shining very brightly in their workplace ... right through our windows. I couldn't sleep because of the light and noise.

Meantime the weather has risen to 32 degrees. It's hot and humid. The birds are flocking to the fountains at Palm Plaza, dipping into the cool waters. Some kids are also enjoying the waters ... while adults watched enviously. Being unable to sleep because of the heat and noise and lights shining into my room from the school, I start work at 2 or 3am ... correcting texts, reading, writing. By 7am I get very tired. But there's more work in the libraries and classes to teach. I can't wait for the exams to be over and the school closes. Then the students will leave for the summer holidays and our workload will take a short break.

I think I'll start planning my summer this weekend. For sure I'll have lots of masses to celebrate as many chaplains will also go for their holidays. I'll have to help out the konkani, eritrean and armenian Masses in several cities. And probably for a couple of filipino communities as well. It'll be a busy summer.

Turtle doves

Nesting dove in
our courtyard

 A stone was thrown at a passing car on the road to Nablus but the jewish passengers were only slightly hurt. This happens all the time ... jewish cars gets stoned by palestinians and palestinian cars get stoned by jewish settlers. It's a dangerous road ... a stretch of 40 km through the hills and valleys of Samaria with hardly any civilisation around. I had wanted to go to Nablus to see the MC sisters and their handicapped patients many times but the violence along the road is a big deterrent. I'll have to wait till things are calmer ... probably in winter before I'll try going there.

The weather continues to be hot as it's typically summer but the forecast is 35 degrees next week ... which should only occur in August. I guess if it's so hot now, August will get 40 degrees and above. One good thing about this extreme heat is it keeps everyone indoors ... so there'll be less violence in the streets. 

The turtle-doves are breeding well this year. They build very flimsy nests that get blown off when there's a strong wind. But many have now built nexts on window ledges and even on the statue of Mary in our courtyard. I feed them every morning and there're over 30 doves with sparrows that fly down for food. That gives them energy to have more fledglings. We need to repopulate the local birds because invasive crows and mynahs from Jordan have come and decimated their population by eating their eggs.

I know I've ben talking about my failing health but I've not be able to do anything about it. Going to a hospital checkup means a one day event, driving up to Nazareth which is 2 hrs away. I dislike the journey as I suffer from IBS. Yesterday the MC sisters cooked a little pansit for me but I had diarrhea after eating it. My stomach gets upset for any food that I eat now ... not just pansit. Even a sandwich. It's getting bad and there's no cure for IBS.

Jubilee

Sr. M. Divina 25th jubilee

 A rather busy morning today. I had to go to Bethlehem to bring food, clothes and other donations to the MC convent ... and celebrate Mass for the sisters. But they didn't tell me it was the 25th anniversary of Sr. Maria Divina and the sisters form the other 3 communities had all come for the celebration. What I thought to be a normal weekday half hour Mass became an hour long solemn Mass. However the car that picked me brought me to Bethlehem could not wait that long. After Mass I couldn't find the car and thought he left. That's a terrible prospect because I have to walk 2 km to the bus stop and then wait one and a half hours for the next bus to come and bring me back to Jerusalem. I can't walk that far and I can't wait that long at the bus stop. I suffer from IBS and that is very inconvenient for travelling.

Food donations to
Bethlehem

Luckily he did wait for me and we managed to return to Jerusalem by 12.30pm. And Sr. Kolbe the cook in Bethlehem made my favourite samosa and filipino pansit to bring home. I don't have to go hungry today.

My fingers and feet are still swollen ... from I think side-effects of the heavy medication I'm taking. I've yet to meet the doc to see what I can do about it ... I hope not taking more medicines to counter those side-effects. Too much chemicals in my body ... it's making me even worse than ever.

Sandstorm over

News crew on live

 Yesterday I stayed as much as possible at home because even though the sandstorm has officially blown away, there's still lots of particles in the air. Just going out to the terrace will get your eyes scratched by the fine desert sand. Still later in the evening I had to go to my office 1km away because I forgot to bring my bible home and I had class at 4am. Luckily another priest accompanied me along. I was afraid with my breathing and walking problems, plus the sandstorm and wearing the mask, I might faint along the way.

The recent string of shootings and deaths in Palestine by Israeli police is making everyone jumpy. You can feel the tension in the air but it's being suppressed by fear. But next week is Israel's Jerusalem Day when aggressive nationalists will march through the Muslim Quarter in the thousands. It's usually met with clashes with arabs, vandalism on muslim and christian property and several hours of curfew for us who live in the Quarter. It's very troublesome at least, scary and dangerous at worst. News crew continue to station themselves at Damascus Gate waiting for any breaking news or clashes.

I must start to reduce the amount of medication I'm taking. It's making my fingers and feet swollen. And I've lost a lot of appetite though I'm bloated. But with the Delta variant still active, I mustn't let my guard down. And now we have our first case of monkey pox in the country ... 

Another sandstorm

Sandstorm now

Another sandstorm today. Te sky is all yellow and dusty from sand blown in from Saudi Arabia. People are wearing masks to prevent breathing in the very fine dust. And the air is hot and dry. It's a very uncomfortable feeling and one get's tired very easily. We've been having sandstorms almost every week now. Climate change is affective us big time.

These days the streets are very quiet and empty of people. Even today which is the muslim and jewish weekend, Damascus Gate should be very crowded and shops would be open and bustling with business. But I noticed on my way home that almost all the shops are closed by 5pm and very few people are in the streets. Maybe it's the violent clashes of the past weeks. Maybe it's the heavy police presence everywhere. Maybe it's the sandstorm. 

And talking about violent clashes, this morning a 17 yr old arab was shot dead in Jenin during a police raid, the same refugee camp where our catholic journalist was killed last week. For sure tonight there'll be demonstrations and riots again in our street after the night prayer in the mosque. The fighting is raising tensions in our Quarter and it's no longer safe to walk alone in the alleys there.

Walking home used to easy for me but these past few months I realise I am alot weaker. I can't walk the 1km downhill home now. When I reach Damascus Gate which is 500m away, my legs turn to jelly. I get dizzy and need to sit. Then my legs can't carry me. When I reach Herod's Gate with difficulty, I begin to feel faint. I need to sit before I fall over and hurt myself ... and get robbed by the people there. Walking home is a challenge now and I struggle very much. My students here are preparing for my death ... to do all the practical stuff. 

City in tension

Beggars seated in
a row

 The past few days had been tense because there was another funeral occurred and it led to clashes again. It passed below my window as thousands carried the bier to the cemetery outside the City. We could not sleep because of the chanting and shouting. Then the police arrived and the clashes started. That was about 500 meters long in the narrow alley leading to Herod's Gate. Stun grenades were fired. Drones were flying overhead to identify people whom police will arrest in the coming days.

Everyone here is saying how dangerous it is walk in the streets nowadays because of the rising violence. Innocent bystanders get hurt. That's why I make it a point to tell someone when I'm going to work and when I'm returning. A sister in India kept reminding me 2 days ago not to walk alone in the alleys; should I faint or be attacked no one would know. That's true.

After that, police presence were high at certain times of the day. Lots of people, even a small boy of maybe 7 yrs old I saw this morning, was stopped and searched. Soon it'll be Jerusalem Day and the police has allowed the flag march by extremist jews to parade through the Muslim Quarter. It will again be very tense in our area because we'll be told to stay indoors. 

But with the crowds milling about, beggars take advantage to come out and ask for alms. I've never seen so many beggars in one street before. With the 2 yr lockdown many have been reduced to begging. It's a sad situation that hopefully will turn around now that tourists have returned.

My breathing has very much improved with all the medication though I still cannot walk beyond 200m without resting. Now I'm told this Sunday another sandstorm from Saudi will hit us. I'll have to lock myself in my room and block the door and windows with wet towels to stop the sand from entering.

Reporters at work

 The weather continues to warm up. Forecasts say it may hit 34 degrees. That's the weather for August, not May!! Well, better the heat than cold. I prefer summer to winter.

Tensions are still high in the wake of the tense funeral of the murdered journalist last Saturday. There have been scuffles, clashes and confrontations throughout the country between arabs and jews yesterday and today. Reporters were on hand at Damascus Gate to gather live news .... that's the usual place where clashes ignite. It has been quite quiet at the Gate yesterday and the clashes that took place all occurred outside of the Old City. 

Sandstorm ... again

Sandstorm this morning

 What a terrible sandstorm! Yesterday and this morning very strong winds blew desert sand into the country. I was choking even in my room. The night sky was yellowish-red and the air was warm and stifling. Nobody could sleep well last night. Tomorrow I'll have to wash the terrace with water to flush away the sand collecting there.

Yesterday night was very quiet, like Friday night. Usually the streets are bustling with muslims coming out of prayers and shops are busy selling goods, and restaurants packed with people. But after the disturbing burial of the murdered journalist on Friday, everyone stayed at home. Afraid of riots and attacks. And saddened by the death of a popular journalist who brought the plight of the palestinians for 24 years. The people have lost a voice.

Today is Nakba Day when palestinians commemorate the Israeli takeover of their land. Well commemorate is only what they can do. They're too disunited and lack any resources to reclaim the land. After 74 years, they haven't learned the lesson that unity is power. 

I've been terribly sleepy and tired in the afternoons because of the hot, sleepless nights. Am very distracted as well. That's difficult when I need to concentrate on teaching a class or correcting papers. And my feet swell badly when I get home in the night. And I continue to take a whole load of medicines in the morning and evenings. It tastes terrible and makes me lose my appetite. Maybe just eating the sand from the sandstorm is enough to keep me full.

Sad day

crowds at funeral procession

 Yesterday saw the largest funeral procession for a Christian in living memory. Over 10,000 people showed up. I think even more. Shereen was a famous christian journalist for the past 24 years since the Intifada. Her killing by unknown shooter(s) while reporting the news has shocked the region. Muslims and christians gathered at the Greek Catholic Church in Jerusalem for the prayers and blessing. People packed the 1km route from the church to the cemetery in Mt. Zion. It was a very sad day for us. The clashes at the morgue appalled everyone when police attacked the pallbearers, causing one end of the coffin to drop on the ground. The sacredness and dignity of the dead was not respected. It's unforgivable.

A sandstorm has blown in today. It was 34 degrees and the sky was yellow. I have great  difficulty breathing ... and wearing the mask doesn't help. I had to sit at Damascus Gate for 10 minutes to catch my breathe. It's exhausting to walk the 1km home from work. I need to rest now. My feet are swollen. I've lost my appetite for 4 days now. 

Crowds and police confront

 Yesterday on my way home, I saw a crowd gathering at Damascus Gate. Crowds were jeering and whistling. Inside the Gate there was a tussle between arabs and israeli police. After 15 minutes or so, the police charged and dispersed the crowds. And the dragged out a man who was detained. From the newspapers I read that the arab man had attacked the police without a weapon. But at the same moment, another attacker inside the City near the Wailing Wall attempted to stab police. Two attacks at the same moment. I was hoping to walk home slowly and calmly to enjoy the cool breeze and clear my head ... but instead there were two attacks just as I was walking by. It's not my week.

I'm resigned to the fact that I cannot walk long distances anymore. My legs and my lungs give up on me. I can only walk slowly and need to sit and rest. There're so many things I want to do but the body is not able to do it. And my memory is not going as well. I just got a message and went straight to our finance office ... and forgot why I went. Sat there for a minute and then remembered I was asked to help pay 2 phone bills for the indian sisters. That's becoming more often ... forgetting.

Shock

St George Cathedral

 We woke up to the shocking news that a Christian arab journalist was shot dead while reporting in Jenin. She was a veteran, reporting since the 2nd Intifada and every arab household knows her from the daily news. She was an icon of the Palestine voice. The whole West Bank is shocked. I fear what will happen in the next weeks. Let's pray calm will prevail. 

I've been correcting and proofreading lots of academic articles. It's mentally very exhausting. By the end of the day like now, my brains stop working. It's 10 hours of solid editing in my office. I really would like to take a long quiet walk ... the weather is great with a cool breeze blowing. The area around the anglican St. George cathedral is quite lovely and serene. But the political events turning tense, it'll not be safe to walk in the neighbourhood of both east and west Jerusalem. So I guess I'll go home to sleep. Not much of a choice.

Yesterday I had nothing to eat so on my way home I bought a lahfa, which is awrap with chicken or beef. It cost 27 shekels for as long as I know, but yesterday it went up to 33 shekels. The food of the poor is not becoming the food of the rich. Now I'm bringing an apple with me to work. If I'm hungry I'll eat that.

Tuesday

 The Old City is back to normal after the terrorist attack. I'm still a little shaken and am wary whenever I pass by Damascus Gate. It's unnerving. Now any popping sounds startle me. It'll take some time to get back to normal ... if there's such a thing.

Celebrating a new
convent

Last Sunday our Indian sisters officially received the decree from Rome recognizing the establishment of their convent in our house. All their sisters from Nazareth and Bethlehem came to join in the celebration, as well as the provincial from India. It was a solemn mass and the decree was read by their provincial. Then there was a big breakfast in our house.

The weather for the past 3 days has been cold ... down to 11 degrees in the night. And daytime is no more than 25 degrees. But today it's up to 30 degrees I think. Still many people in the streets are wearing jackets because you never know when it'll swing back to cold again.

My lung infection is getting better though I still have difficulties breathing. Every 2 days I test myself for Covid. I'm negative. So my lung infection is not Covid. But it's weaken my breathing very much and I can't walk far without feeling exhausted due to lack of oxygen. I guess I'll have to go back to hospital for a better checkup. Meantime our foreman from the technical office had recovered from his cancer operation. I spoke with him yesterday. I'm glad it turned out fine. There are several workers around my office who are recovering from cancer too. Something's wrong here ... maybe radioactive underground?

Attack

Plainclothes security rush in

Last night I walked home at 7pm hoping to get home and eat my only meal of the day. I was very tired and hungry. As I reached 500 meters from the police post at the top of Damascus Gate, I heard a series of quick popping shots. I recognized it to be gunshots and quickly ducked. People were running away, others were stunned and stood there not knowing what to do.

Within a minute plainclothes security fully armed rushed through the crowd, barely half a meter from me. Other security started to push the crowds back. I went further down to Palm Plaza and sat down as I had an attack of asthma form all the adrenalin rush. For 2 hours I was out there in the cold and feeling very hungry as security scoured the place with dogs, ambulances came to take away the injured policeman who was stabbed. Soldiers pushed the crowds further back from Palm Plaza but they let me stay as I was under an asthma attack still.

Police cars block the road

Within an hour of this attack, another terrorist attack took place 10km south of Jerusalem. If this continues, summer will be a very unpleasant and violent.

I got home only at 10pm and I went to sleep immediately as I was simply too tired from all the excitement and danger. I want to go home safely tonight with no incidents. It won't be nice getting shot by a stray bullet.

 The past weekend was filled with last minute work, meetings and a small exhibition for a group of visiting Israeli tourists led by a good friend Hanna. It was a 5 book exhibition but told the story of the Franciscans in the Middle East for 800 years. The group enjoyed it very much and had many questions. Another group will come this Friday ... all violence barred.

Holiday

Doves on the wall

 It's Independence Day today. A public holiday. I usually would go to Jaffa and watch the military flypast. Covid had cancelled the last 2 years' parade. But today I have class ... so I cannot go to Jaffa. Disappointed. But the planes will fly paJerusalem at 11.38am .... so I might get to hear it.

Jews are again allowed to enter the Al Aqsa Mosque compound today after a 5 day freeze fo the end of Ramadan celebrations. Just now we could here stun grenades being fired ... which means Jews have entered the compound and Arabs are rioting against it. I hope it won't spill into our streets. It could get very nasty.

The weather has suddenly turned cold again. 13 degrees now. It was almost 30 degrees yesterday afternoon but in the evening it started to drizzle and the wind was very strong. Temperatures dropped and this morning, it was cold enough for people to be out wearing jackets and sweaters.  I won't be surprised if many people fall sick this week. The turtledoves were all lined up on our wall this morning waiting for food. I feed them every morning and when it's cold like today, they huddle and wait to be fed. Otherwise when it's warm they will fly off and look for food outside. Many have built nests around our courtyard. It's good to know their numbers are growing.

An elderly guest priest in our community is dangerously ill with Covid due to the outbreak in my house. Still there are stubborn selfish people here who continue to go about even though they show symptoms and refuse to be tested. I heard another nun in our neighbourhood is also very ill with Covid. The fact is that over 2000 new infections are being recorded everyday but many people think it's over. That's recipe for another major outbreak. 

Holidays

 

Clowns and families

Tonight Remembrance Day begins. I hope there'll be no violence. It'll not be to anyone's interest. The muslims are still celebrating the 3 days of Eid el Fitri. Damascus Gate is full of families enjoying the warm evenings. Clowns entertain children in the park. Young villagers bring their horses for people to ride. It's a beautiful early summer for all these activities. It just seems right for summer. So we don't want violence and clashes. On Thursday is Independence Day and my community in Jaffa reminded to go and watch the fly-past of military jets. They fly directly over our church as a landmark and then turn from where we are to the east towards Jerusalem.

Lovely lunch

Yesterday a family of Armenian catholics invited me to their house for lunch. It was very nice and simple. Lovely baked bass fillet and potatoes and rice and salad. The bass was juicy and well-baked ... which is a rarity since fish here are mostly frozen and dry because of kosher laws. The wife is a very good cook and pastry chef. And there was karkadeh ... a hibiscus-infusion drink which is great for the hot summer days. It's tart and tangy with a little sweet from adding sugar. I liked it very much. I wonder where I can buy some. It's still the Eid el Fitri so all shops are closed.

My health has deteriorated rapidly. I can no longer walk beyond 100 meters without going breathless and dizzy. I am reducing my activities alot and sadly see myself being limited to my room soon if I find a solution to better my health.

Long weekend

Jews going to the Wall

 Last night at 7.20pm the Ottoman canon fired 7 shots to proclaim the end of Ramadan. Some elderly muslims that I know sighed in relief and said "finally." Not because fasting was difficult ... but the violence in the Mosque will end. Those young trouble-makers from outside the City will no longer be around to provoke clashes with the police. Tomorrow is Remembrance Day and the next day is Independence Day for Israelis. It's a long weekend. Usually it's tense but we think it'll not be violent. We're tired of this lawlessness caused by a handful, which the rest of us suffer the consequences. Enough!

To the Wailing Wall

The weather is warmer up quite a lot. Daytime can go up to 30 degrees and the nights are hot enough that I cannot sleep. Summer is promising. Dreaming of walking by the beach, eating Thai food , reading a book in the shade of the boardwalk .... but it's exactly that ... dreams. Haven't done that in years.

It's May and most students are preparing for exams. The library is getting crowded again as a result. I hope this semester will pass quickly as it's the first in-person classes after after 2 years of Covid lockdowns. Some students are slowly getting back to the routine of library research again.

Last Saturday a new auxiliary bishop was ordained as vicar for Nazareth. It was a very crowded affair held at the Basilica of the Annunciation. Next week another bishop will be ordained in Amman to be vicar there. The old guard has retired and the Patriarch is alone without help. And by the way we heard that the pope is considering uniting with the Orthodox to celebrate Easter on a common date. We're already doing this here in our region. The people accept it. It's no problem for us. But it'll definitely kick up a fuss in the Europe and America ... though their numbers in church worship is falling, and  nwith lack of vocations.