Coming down

Our new priests today

A reassuring sign, the viewership is dropping slowly to 1606 on Monday 26th. Today down to 822. It's terrible to be watched and stalked because of my private opinions over geo-politics.

Today 4 of our seminarians were ordained priests. It's a great day as they reached another goal inlife. We have about 80 seminarians in various stages of training. We don't have enough rooms for so many seminarians so we have 2 seminaries. Philosophy seminarians stay at Ein Kerem while the theology students stay in Jerusalem. Aspirants stay in Bethlehem. Postulants in Montefalco in the Umbrian hills of Italy. And novices in La Verna, the sacred mountain where St. Francis received the stigmata. Europe and America is dying from vocation shortages. But here we have asians and africans who are now slowly making the majority of the seminarians.

Tensions are high these past 3 days. It's the muslim feast of Eid al Adha or the sacrifice of Ishmael. 3 days running the Al Aqsa is packed with worshippers. Prayers run all night. It's difficult to sleep with all the noise outside all night.

Chinese food

Home cooked food

Still going up ...1701 views yesterday. Right now today without updating yet ... 1435. This is enough! I don't have more than 20-40 views on a normal day. Is there a problem with the automatic calibration?

Last night we had some good home cooked chinese vegetarian food. Good change from pasta and bread and chicken. The price of veggies are also up. We had pickled cucumbers, vermicelli, egg and tomatoes, long beans grown from the garden. Inflation is hitting everything hard. Growing your own veggies in any small plot of land is becoming popular.

And this is affecting the muslims who are celebrating Eid al Adha tomorrow evening. That's when they slaughter a sheep to commemorate the near-sacrifice of Ishmael (not Isaac). But now sheep prices are exorbitant. The majority of families can't afford to buy sheep. They just watch the rich perform the sacrifice.

Network woes

Damascus Gate in
the morning

Another record .... yesterday's views went up to 1212. And now even before I write there are 955 views. What's happening? This is more than being stalked! This is really scary! 

We've been having a string of Wifi blockages. The network also closes down every now and then and we don't know why. It's frustrating because when we have online classes, we're cut off again and again. There seems to be no remedy except to use another company ... but the same thing will happen again. 

Of course the network people could blame the hot weather for such outages but any company worth its salt ought to know the weather conditions of this region and work according,

Hot

very hot

Yesterday I didn't post anything ... and the views were 1179!!!!!! Oyyyyyyyy this is too much!!!! Alarm bells sounding!!!! Note the spike when I post geo-political opinions. Oh my!!

Still ... the tension in and around the City is palpable. And the heat is not helping much. In the afternoons you can feel the heat from the ground. The nights however are chilly ... I even had to use the blanket last night.

The summer solstice was 2 days back, which marked the start of summer. The muslim call to prayer was earliest that morning ... at. 2.25am (or 3.25am daylight saving). Now it gets later by 2-3 minutes each day. I always thought the summer solstice was mid-summer!!! 

I just noted I finished all my work for the week. So happy! Now I can rest today ... my swollen feet hurt very much even when seated.

Summer lights

Street lights

Yesterday saw 717 views, and right now 312. What is happening?

There was still alot of violence today. The arab village that was burnt is a reminder of how things can get out of hand. Now we read Druze in the Golan had rioted because the govt is pushing ahead to create wind-mills in their land for electricity.

Meantime the rest of the city is determined to enjoy summer. Streets are lighted up and people are out and about. police are everywhere but that's not dampening the spirits.

Enough

My lilies and margaritas

OK short and sweet didn't work. Yesterday's views shot up to 675 and today, before writing this blog, is 425. What is happening????

Well, I cannot but lament the violence yesterday and today. 4 Israelis killed by terrorist shooting near Nablus, and today jewish revenge by burning an arab town there. 60 cars burnt, 30 homes burnt, countless fruit trees and farm land burnt. It doesn't seem to end this cycle of violence. Why can't the adults just let the children enjoy their summer holidays? Stop the violence, Stop the killings. The earth is tired from being opened everyday for the burial of another person. We spend more time in summer at funerals than enjoying the season. Enough is enough.

Short & sweet

Sunrise today

 Wow ... yesterday's views rose to 448 and today, while not even writing this blog yet, is up to 315. Alarm bells ringing. Something very unusual is happening in my blog. I'm being watched. OK no more geo-political commentary.

The weather is fine. My health is not fine. Have a great day. Bye

Stromata

Damascus Gate at night

... So yesterday I had 120 views on this blog. Today 222. Something fishy is happening here ... I usually don't get more than 25 views a day. I'm being stalked.

This morning was very violent in the Jenin refugee camp. Raids to capture terrorists let to road bombs going off and apche helicopters firing onto the streets. 7 israeli soldiers injured, 5 Jeninese killed and 90+ wounded. It's not been so violent since the 2nd Intifada 20 yrs back. We're just praying that this violence will cease and innocent people don't get killed or injured. The tension is so palpable that Damascus Gate which is swarming with people on summer nights is now very quiet and empty.

Healthwise my hands and feet are still swollen .... I'll get my appointment to see the specialist soon to get my kidneys checked. 

Summer

Summer sun

It's summer time ... the days are getting longer. In fact I've been tracking the muezzin's call to pray before sunrise. Today it was 3.45am, which in solar time is 2.45am. It'll get earlier still until next week when the summer solstice marks the longest day of the year. Then sunrise will gradually become later and we prepare for autumn.

Yesterday was another day of violence ... from local triad societies. In Nazareth, usually quiet and calm, a series of killings the past weeks has been perpetrated. Yesterday one was shot dead and another wounded. In the southern city of Ashkelon, another was shot dead. This culture of violence has to stop ... or the younger generation will have no future.

I'm still in contact with the Sisters of Charity to organize a summer camp for the poorest children in our parish. It's also a break for the mothers who spend the entire day at home cooking and cleaning all through the school year. They too come to the summer camp and enjoy the fun. The camp may be short, but for these poor it's an event to look forward to; a break from routine and the pressures of living in poverty.

Hateful spitters

Villagers selling fruit

The weather has settled this week .... hot summer days but chilly nights. The streets are filled with village vendors selling fruit and vegetables. Very colourful and tasty ... and expensive. Lots of apricots. The figs are also making an appearance but we all know the first figs are tasteless. You need to wait for August for the best figs. Grapes are best in September. Right now it's apricots, peaches, cherries and some exotic tropical fruit like pineapples. I rather like this season for the variety of fruit that we can eat in this heat ... if we can afford it.

Tensions continue in and around the City. Anti-Christian jews are more defiant at spitting at us now that they have been videoed and condemned by many jewish sectors. Even the Chief Rabbi issued a statement condemning it. These jews come en masse and spit at our churches every Friday morning after their prayers at the Wailing Wall. Jewish professors from various universities organized a conference on this anti0Christian issue but the venue organizers were pressured by the spitting jews to abandon the conference or face the consequences. Ultimately it's the rabbis who're pulling the strings and making their lackeys do their dirty work. The conference was moved to the Armenian Monastery. This anti-Christian attitude is becoming more aggressive ... it has already led to vandalism, burnings and destruction of Churches, Christian property and attacks on Christians. But the world is very quiet about this. Imagine if one jew was spat at in Europe or America.

Thunderstorm

Cherries galore

The weather is back to normal summer. No heatwaves ... but the ground is still thick with the desert sands during the sandstorm. Friday we had a very strange thunderstorm that should not have been. This is June. There was thunder and lightening ... it was like in winter. It was all very strange. Some religious jews are saying God is angry. This is the harvest of the wheat and rains will destroy the crops. Still it was quite spectacular to watch the lightening cutting the skies all night.

Well the cherry harvest seems to be good ... red, orange, green ... all colours. But I thought they're very expensive. 40 shekels per kilo. Other fruit are also in season: lychees, pineapples, peaches and apricots. They're all quite expensive. But then everything else is also expensive after Covid.

Summer

The weather continues to be hot though not as much as the heatwave last week that went up to 40 degrees. There's a cool breeze blowing so that's good.

Police stop-and-search

Tensions continue to rise as clashes in the palestinian towns are provoked by israeli raids. Stone throwers along the highway to Nablus are also reported to injure motorists. Police are stopping youths and checking their permits in many places in the Old City and around. And the summer heat is not helping to cool tempers.

Exams in the schools are also making university and secondary school students nervous and edgy. Skirmishes are more frequent in the streets between students as a result. Primary school students on the other have started their summer vacation. Busloads are going to Jericho each day to swim in public pools. It's good for the children to go out of the City during summer. The claustrophobic ambiance within the City Walls, and the constant menacing presence of police are very disturbing for growing children. It's not normal. Luckily schools organise such trips but the cost may be too much for poor families to afford. Instead the poorer children will be working as vendors or in shops and restaurants to earn a little something. I really wish I could sponsor them for football classes or something in the Arab Sports Club here in the Old City. I used to do that with the extra reserves of donations but now Covid has depleted all our resources. It's these poorer kids who need a break, to be able to run and laugh and kick ball without police chasing them away.

Off to Jericho swimming pools!

Full moon

Full moon between
the palms

The sandstorm has abated but not the heatwave. Daytime temp still soar above 35 degrees and the nights are 20 degrees. Only the full moon makes the nights something to look forward to. Its brilliant ... rising above the City walls, in between the palm trees. Unfortunately the tense atmosphere meant nobody was looking up at the moon. Everyone was just hurrying by ... hoping the police don't stop them to ask for IDs and permits.

There's been violence around the country. A 2 yr old boy was shot and consequently died today ... a casualty of gunfights between the police and palestinian gunmen. The toddler and his father were mistaken and shot. The Egyptian border incursion has also led to a lot of internal investigation as to how this could have happened.

All I can say is that with this heatwave and tense situation ... summer is not quite fun. One has to always be careful going out, avoiding crowded places.

Heatwave

For 3 days now a sandstorm and heatwave is hitting us hard. The Electric Company could not match up with demand and thousands of homes had no electricity in this sweltering heat. It's been 40 degrees and the dust is making the sky yellow. The sun is blotted out. It's really bad weather for asthmatics. I've been indoors for 2 days now with this sandstorm blowing. People are coughing alot.

There's been cross-border violence and injuries ... today from Egypt. It won't escalate but it does sound unsettling. Left and right wing israelis are still holding counter protests against each other. Raids are still being conducted against palestinian cities and towns. Yesterday a father and child were seriously wounded ... innocent bystanders. That makes you think twice each time you want to go out ... will it be safe? Will I come home alive?

Sandstorm in the
night sky

End of May

So I've been so exhausted working I finally fainted ... yesterday. Luckily I was with a group of volunteers in our rare and ancient book collection so they caught me on time before I hit the floor. 

Marian altar yesterday

So why was I so exhausted? I had to single-handedly organise a meeting of Asian delegates on short notice (2 weeks). Had to deal with flight tickets, health insurance, train tickets, visas, pickup at airport, daily schedules that had to be coordinated with many offices for speeches, talks, visits. Then when everyone is resting, I have to compile minutes, photocopy documents for their reading and discussion ... Yesterday on the last day, I just collapsed. I spent the rest of the day in bed.

Today my legs are still wobbly and my head is giddy. I stayed home as much as possible, going down to the kitchen only to get food. I have no appetite probably because the docs have put me on Metformin. So I'm getting thinner as well. I only eat because the medicines require some previous food intake. The medicines make me drowsy and lose focus.

Yesterday was the end of May. Typical to our local tradition, we have a huge procession with the statue of Mary carried from our parish church to the Patriarchate and back, with a Mass celebrated before that and rosary after. It was very grand. And the flowers on the makeshift altar were abundant. I guess it helps to keep the people happy and hopeful despite the terrible economic crisis and social persecution.