2nd week

Empty streets on normal day

There are a lot less traffic and people in the streets than before the war. It's very noticeable. And it's not just on the weekends. Except for rush hour like 3.30pm and 7am, the roads are generally down by 15-20 %. It reflects the sad and fearful environment we're enveloped in. We're hoping the new year will bring a change .... hope is the only thing we have left. 

And hope happens to be the theme of this Holy Year. It resonates here in our region. Catholics are seriously celebrating the Holy Year with events, prayers and study sessions. We can make a difference. We can make a change. We may be a minority within a minority - Latin catholics are significantly less than Greek catholics - but hope inspires us to lead the way in bring in peace back to our world.

Qatayef & suganiot

Several friends flew over  to spend Christmas and the New Year here. Yes tourists and pilgrims can come freely. They had a nice time celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem. I met up with them for a couple of days, giving them talks. The rest of the week they were traveling around the country visiting churches. They leave today. Yesterday I bought some qatayef (arab pancakes with cheese or walnuts) and sufganiot (jewish donuts) for them to try. It was a nice ending to their visit ... a taste of the local cuisine both arab and jewish. That's a start for peace ... start with food ... on this 2nd week of 2025.