Saturday of more discontent

Another day of demonstrations ... and again not what you think. This time it's thousands of Israelis against their own government over economic changes. From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to Beer Sheva, Jews gathered to protest the rise in taxes over everything.   http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Across-Israel-hundreds-protest-against-new-budget-313568

I've been working non-stop since 5am this morning. Got home at 5.30pm, took a shower and fell asleep by 6pm. Woke up now at 11.30pm because my phone was ringing. I've been having attacks of asthma these few days now that I'm off Pred. It's a terrible steroid to use to control my asthma but it's the most effective. As I just had finished a course, I can't retake it again immediately.

Tea-seller in the streets

While things in and around seem out of control, a sense of normalcy is assured when the itinerant tea-seller shows up in the streets. A common sight since the Ottoman era, these tea-sellers offer tamarind or carob drinks popularly drunk in summer. But as time changes, I think even the itinerant tea-seller will also soon disappear just like many other aspects of local life ... a sad transition into a rootless future. The next generation will only see photos of it ... but never experience the smell and taste of drinking carob tea from a copper dispenser on a hot, stiffling summer day. But will the future generations protest and demonstrate in the streets for a past they lost? Unlikely. Money talks louder.

Surprise riot

Ultra-orthodox jews riot against
mandatory military draft
(courtesy of JPost)

Yesterday saw more riots ... but not what you think! This time the rioting was done by ultra-orthodox Jews against the Israeli government for drafting them into military service.  Goaded by rabbis, young ultra-orthodox Jews threw stones and bottles at the police and soldiers. Several injuries reported on both sides.   http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Thousands-of-haredim-protest-IDF-enlistment-legislation-313416    

So this is Israel ... things swing from one end of the pendulum to the other in 12 hours. You would have expected the ultra-orthodox Jews to protest against the arabs for the attacks the day before ... but suddenly thousands showed up to fight against the Israeli govt. instead. Welcome to the Holyland ... anything can happen and it usually does!

Riots

Tense confrontation between arabs
and riot police at Damascus Gate
roundabout

Yesterday saw demonstrations and riots throughout the Occupied Territories. It was Nakba Day whereby palestinians recall the lost of their land back in 1948 when Israel was created. My friend called me out to Damascus Gate to speak to me but he warned that there was violence out there. I wanted to see what was happening so I went out. It was huge. Arab crowds jeering and chanting slogans, riot police charging several times. Water canons fired, stun grenades and tear gas used to disperse the crowds. Several arrests were made. Some Jews who were exiting Damascus Gate were jeered and attacked. I was fired twice by water canons. At the shot, the crowd of youths around fled, pushing me to the ground. Got trampled, wet but no major damage. Had to wash my clothes, take a bath (they say it's chemical water which smelled foul) and dress some wounds. I managed to urge my friend to go home before things got rough ... which he did. Smart move. Met several other friends out there as well and all decided to go home before the shootings began. I stayed for 2 hours, taking photos.

Medics remove a wounded guy
who was arrested

It was not the first time I got caught in a riot. But it was certainly the first time I got shot by a water canon and trampled by a crowd. And as usual, tourists continue to walk on totally unaware of the rioting around them. Until some got shot by the water canon ... hahahaha. It was all very surreal. Tourists live in their own world, and see what they want to see and understand what they want to know ... oblivious to reality.

Mounted police charging at us

Anyway the weather has gone all crazy again. Dark gloomy skies, temp staying around 16 degrees. If it were hotter, less people would have come out into the streets to cause trouble. Anyway today is back to normal. Shops reopen, streets cleaned up .... and police begin arresting people from films and photos they took yesterday. As for me, I need to rest a little as I'm not feeling well, not from yesterday's excitement but from recovering from the meds I'm taking. Daily nausea.

Shavuot

Shavuot lunch ... not kosher but
I'm still enjoying it

Today is the Jewish Feast of Shavuot of Pentecost. It's the wheat harvest festival and the beginning of summer. Israelis celebrate by having family outings in the fields and of course, with barbecue. Flowers and wheat ears are woven into crowns and worn by girls. Thousands of ultra-orthodox Jews make their way to the Wailing Wall for prayers. However the sky is dark and wind is cold. It rained several times ... scattered showers that come and go ... but surprising nonetheless as it has not rained in May for well over a decade. Traditionally Israelis eat cheesecake on this feast ... which I'd really like. But I'd better eat any ... afraid of new allergies. So it's har gao and siu mai instead.

Arab arrested by soldiers
last evening at Damascus
Gate

But it is also Nakba Day .. the day when palestinians commemorate the lost of their land when they were displaced as refugees because Israel became a Jewish state in 1948. There were minor scuffles in various parts of East Jerusalem. Last evening I witnessed an attack at Damascus Gate. The arab was quickly arrested by soldiers. This morning there were more violent scuffles in front of my house. Groups of jews tried to enter the mosque and muslims came to block the way. Ended up in a fight. Soldiers had to step in. Roads around teh City are closed off. City Gates are closed to arabs below 40 yrs old. Streets inside the City are also blocked off with security checkpoints. But the rest of us continue life as usual.

Two surprise but happy encounters to balance the tense situation. The previous day my former student from 15 years back came on pilgrimage with his family. They're from Beijing. He found out I was here when their guide mentioned me. So we met for lunch and had a alot of catch up. This morning on my way home form the Holy Sepulchre, I met Sr Maria Ko and her group of Salesian sisters on ongoing formation course here. She was my professor some 20 years ago. We managed to chat for a while.

All greek to me

Yesterday and today is dark and rainy. Temperatures have fallen by 5 degrees. Suddenly it's cold again after last week's heatwave.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/thunderstorms-and-lightning-herald-a-wet-shavuot-holiday.premium-1.523894 

So the Chinese govt is blaming "moral regression" for the teen who hired hitmen to kill his father and sister because they "pressured him to study". Well if it's "moral regression", it's only because there's no religion in the country. That's the fruit of atheistic communism. Remove God, and you remove "human" from "humanity".  http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1236765/teen-held-after-hiring-hitmen-kill-father-and-sister-who-pressured-him

So yesterday I went back to see my doc in Tel Aviv side. It was as usual a long tiring ride. From Tel Aviv I needed to switch to a taxi to get to my destination. The taxi driver was a large middle-aged man who was cursing the govt., cursing America, cursing the migrants, cursing the economy ... I thought sooner or later he'd be cursing me too. So I asked him if he was born in Israel and he answered no, he was born in Greece but made aliyah when he was a teenager. Greek? wow so I started speaking in modern greek with him and he was very very surprised and started speaking greek back. Then he started laughing, joking and stopped cursing. He hasn't spoken greek since he migrated, and said it's such a small world to find a chinese speaking greek to him in Israel. Speaking the language brought back memories of his youth and family again. So I guess I did my good deed for the day - made a homesick, grouchy old man happy again.

Mothers' Day

The neighbour's noisy
macaw who speaks
garbled arabic

So I left Mr Bird in the large canary cage for the past 2 weeks. He's not happy. He threw an awful tantrum last night. He's a people  bird and loves to stay near people. But he bites if anyone tries to touch him. Well 2 weeks was getting to him as the canaries ignore him. So last night he knocked over 2 branches in the cage and was crossly staring at me this morning when I came to clean the cage. I put him out on the lemon tree and gave him a lettuce to chew. But he wasn't happy and flew back to the large cage. Well what else to do but let him stay inside sulking. I can't put him in my room because when I'm not around, he shreds my curtains to pieces as well as my books and notes. His owner will be back only in October ... so I'll have the whole summer to babysit him. One consolation is Mr. Bird's just a small problem compared to the neighbour's noisy macaw - his bite is worse, his clamour is louder and he eats a ton more food than Mr. Bird.

Meantime the country is in social-economic unrest. Citizens are up in arms over the new Finance Minister's drastic measures to avoid an economic collapse. New taxes on everything. VAT is raised to 18% and tourists will be made to pay taxes as well on everything from hotels to food to souvenirs to entrance fees. People carried the Greek flag in protest yesterday saying "We're not going to become like Greece". Now tyhe newspapers report that there will even be a tax on burial plots .... even the dead get taxed.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-s-treasury-seeks-to-tax-residents-over-burial-plots-as-part-of-new-budget.premium-1.523572  Looks like this summer is going to be very hot and contentious.  http://www.haaretz.com/business/lapid-s-budget-israel-s-poor-stay-poor-while-its-rich-get-rich.premium-1.523483

And so it's Mother's Day. While everyone else is thanking their mothers, I'm thinking of those who have no mothers to thank ... the orphans, the children from broken families, those separated by war ... in Gaza, Syria ....

Jews divided

Another Friday, another day of rioting. But not what you think - it's not between jews and arabs. This time it's jews against jews, ultra-orthodox versus liberals. It took place at the Wailing Wall at 7am when the Women of the Wall, a group of mostly american jewish women who hold equality of worship with men, gathered to pray as they usually do every month. But by insisting on wearing the prayer shawl, phylacteries and carrying the Torah Scroll - all which conservative Judaism allows only to men - they drew the ire of the ultra-orthodox crowd. The High Court upheld the women's case and this morning eve a group of progressive jewish men came to support them. But urged by rabbis, thousands of ultra-orthodox school girls left school to gather and block the women from reaching the Wailing Wall. Ultra-orthodox men threw rocks, stones, chairs, bottles at the women. Police had to protect the women. What a scene!  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/protesters-hurl-rocks-in-clashes-over-women-of-the-wall-prayer-service-at-kotel.premium-1.523333  Now reform and conservative leaders are urging the Attorney General to investigate if the rabbis had instigated this rioting at the Wall.

On the academic side of Israel, there's alot of fuming because reknown scientist Stephen Hawking has decided to boycott the President's Conference in Jerusalem ... the highest profile boycott yet. Jewish calls of hypocrisy and other accusations against him however are having an opposite effect - it only proves how nasty the bite and bully can be if you do not do Israel's bidding ... and hence justifying the boycott. Read the article ... there were calls from academic and technology circles to end Hawking's life because of his boycott. How very very awful and sad that these intellectuals feel so threatened by a boycott; it only shows that there's truth behind it.   http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/targeting-stephen-hawking-and-dustin-hoffman-right-wing-pro-israel-advocacy-as-hate-speech.premium-1.523189

Village women selling
mint, sage, mulberries
and vine leaves

So the last worry the military had today was the arabs. It was so hot, no one was in the mood to carry out trouble. The heat just made everyone sluggish ... at least on our eastern side of the City. Being a market day, bedouin and village women came by the droves to sell the produce of the land. Vine leaves are in abundance. But also the first mulberries, peaches and apricots are out on sale. Mint and other herbs are also in abundance. I found it very delightful to walk down Damascus Gate and see the wares being hawked. I even went to Rami's animal "shop" - actually a couple of makeshift tables on his truck where he sells pet food and accessories. He sells the stuff cheap so I got canary food and nesting material. It was good chatting with him and he was very happy as well to catch up with me.