Wish upon a bridge ...

More controversy rocking the country ... but it's pretty small scale. The fish breeders industry in Jerusalem have been protesting all week because the govt. has marked out their land for development.  The breeders are not giving up their fight so easily.  https://www.facebook.com/israel.aquaculture/?pnref=story

The Wishing Bridge in Jaffa rebuilt

Also protesting on Friday were the Women of the Wall ... a group of jewish women who insist on equality at the Wailing Wall; meaning they get to wear prayer shawls and phylacteries and carry and read from the Torah Scrolls (something which mainstream Judaism doesn't allow). The Courts and the rabbis have been battling this out ... and the outcome has been fluctuating between left and right positions. In the end it looks like the ultra-orthodox and rabbis are winning ...  yesterday ultra-orthodox women disrupted the prayers. Watch the video at  https://www.facebook.com/neshothakotel/?pnref=story

A strike at Ben Gurion Airport was called off at the last minute on Friday afternoon ... thank goodness as tourist groups would have been stuck ... not that there are many of them anyway. But news is coming out that arab israelis including an actress have been racially profiled and singled out for extra security checks (which includes strip searching if required) at the airport. A cry of racism is sounded throughout the leftist and centrist news media but nothing will come out of it ... the country is too far right to care about anyone else.  http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/US-reiterates-concern-over-unequal-treatment-of-Arab-Americans-at-Ben-Gurion-Airport-463399

Photo ftom this year's israeli Unification day coinciding
with arab Nakba day ... 2 groups together ... a rarity

Well not everything is bad news last weekend. There is a small movement within Israel that recognizes that the 2 State solution is long dead. Instead Jews and Arabs should accept that fact that they must live together as one State ... but that means Israel having to negate its "Jewish State" status. Don't know how feasible that will be ... it'll take more than goodwill to pull this one through. http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.735494

And the Wishing Bridge in Jaffa has been rebuilt. It was torn down last year because the wood was rotting, posing a danger to its visitors. Now more solidly built, people can go across the bridge to their zodiac sign (attached along the bridge), look into the Mediterranean Sea ahead ... and make a wish. I wonder if anyone will wish for peace between the jews and arabs, peace in our region.

Transfiguration

It was Transfiguration Day yesterday ... everyone in my community (meaning only 4 because everybody else is on home leave) went to Mt. Tabor for the feast. I of course was in Herzliya for the Mass. I've been very interested in the Transfiguration story told by the 3 gospels and have been studying them for some time. I promised the Transfiguration Chapel group in Hong Kong I'd write a book on it but haven't really got round to it. I should start soon ... given my failing health.

Yesterday's headlines was about the Olympics ... not the opening ceremony but how the Lebanese contingent refused to share a bus with the Israeli contingent bringing them to the opening ceremony. It's a big deal here ... with the Israelis accusing Lebanon of going against the spirit of the Games. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.735481

Cardinal Zen sweeping
the road

And to follow up on the 2 isreali soldiers who bullied the 8 yr old arab girl in Hebron and threw her bicycle into the bushes ... they claim they were doing it to protect the girl. They wanted to prevent her from entering the Jewish side of the road. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.735220
Well my question is: is this any different from what the Lebanese did to the Israelis in Rio?

A very touching photo has been floating around Facebook ... of Hong Kong's emeritus Cardinal sweeping the road to his residence at the Salesian House of Studies. At age 90 or so ... manual labour remains part of his religious (Salesian) vocation. You can be sure you'll not see some bishops let alone cardinals doing this in their own homes.

Herzliya

St. Francis of Assisi Chapel in
Herzliya

Herzliya is a City almost 80 km away from Jerusalem. There's a catholic community there that meets on Friday evenings for Sunday Mass. Sounds strange ... but in Israel the weekend is Friday-Saturday so Sunday Masses are celebrated on these days instead ... with the permission from the Bishops' Conference. In fact all Sunday Masses for migrant workers are on Fridays or Saturdays because its the only time they have time off.

Deserted streets in
Herzliya

I had to go to Herzliya for the Mass yesterday. It was my first time. The chapel is actually a small space in an industrial building ... meant for a small factory. Simple benches and decor ... something very franciscan. I liked it. But without any windows and outside temperature being 35 degrees, it was very hot in the chapel despite 5 fans and one aircon.

The parishioners come from a diverse background: filipino and indian migrant workers, american and african embassy workers ... a very big mix. No organs or guitars .... all music was sung without accompaniment. Very franciscan. It was a very nice experience. But being so far, I could not travel back to Jerusalem after Mass so I spent the night in our Jaffa monastery. Being Friday evening which is the start of the Sabbath, the streets are deadly quiet. Waiting for the taxi to bring me to Jaffa was quite scary as I was practically alone in the City's main road. Sabbath is taken very seriously here.

Meanwhile there was panic in South Tel Aviv's famous Carmel Market ... a man was seen running down the market with a knife in his hands. People panicked thinking it was a terrorist, everyone scrambling and 2 were hurt in the melee. It turned out that the knife-wielder was a lunatic ... or another version has it that it was a gang fight.

And one piece of bothering news this morning - Singapore was targeted by ISIS for a missile attack. Terrorism knows no borders .... just watch out and be careful.

Bad news weekend

Figs are in season

And the education funding saga goes on ... the govt. is now cutting funding to jewish secular schools teaching the obligatory core subjects (just like it did to Christian schools) BUT adding 500 million more shekels to fund the religious jewish schools that do not teach the core subjects. This is totally absolutely the opposite of what the funding of schools is all about. TOTALLY OPPOSITE!!! It's senseless and utterly laughable. It makes a mockery of the parliament that legislated the law on funding. It can only happen here in Israel. And as most newspapers are criticising ... the govt. is funding a generation of jews who cannot count nor know the fundamentals of science or economics or history or geography. Israel is going to have a generation of people who are of no use to the workforce ... and who do not pay taxes or serve in the army. It is doomsday for Israel ... don't expect to win a war with that generation that cannot produce generals and military strategists and scientific innovators. The arabs will do well if they realise this and up their education programme now.  http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/politics-and-military/politics/additional-funding-for-haredi-students-cutbacks-for-secular-students-22754

And talk about bad news ... yesterday a sewage pipe broke just meters away from Tel Aviv's busiest beach. It leaked into the sea, polluting all the other beaches around it. The municipality immediately issued a health warning to everyone against entering the water. You can see sewage floating everywhere. Now do you expect a yeshiva student who never studied biology, chemistry, physics or mechanical engineering to deal with this crisis?????  http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/in-israel/health-and-environment/sewage-flowing-onto-tel-aviv-beaches-in-the-middle-of-the-summer-22716

Well let's hope the weekend won't end like this with all the bad news. Something good might just brighten it up ....

Mid-week

Taped hnnd and foot

I haven't mentioned much about my ankles and wrists after my fall last Sunday. Well the left ankle still hurts very badly whenever I walk down the stairs. And my left wrist is still swollen because a bone was dislodged. I have to constantly pull at the thumb to align it back in place ... and relief the pain.

Yesterday evening I finally got my physiotherapist to come and deal with it. After an hour's treatment, he decided to tape me up with kinesio tape. It brings instant relief ... as many sportsmen will tell you. But it is temporary. I will need more treatment in the next few weeks.

Yestersday's video of an Israeli soldier bullying a 5 yr. old arab girl in Hebron, confiscating her bicycle and another soldier throwing it into the bushes because she apparently cycled into the jewish side of the road... has gone viral. There has been an internet uproar over this and the army has suspended one soldier over the incident but not the other. A military investigation will take place .... but we all know in the end, nothing will come out of it. This is a sad fact of life here.  http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/WATCH-Border-police-filmed-throwing-Palestinian-girls-bike-in-bushes-463043

World Youth Day: iraqi and israeli
catholic youth together

By the way, the tomb of the Prophet Nahum is in danger of being destroyed. The Kurdistan govt. (where the tomb is situated) is asking Israel for help to preserve the site. http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Kurdistan-official-launches-appeal-to-save-Jewish-tomb-462958

Well it seems everyone else is running to Israel for help now. European and American police chiefs are coming to Israel to learn Israel's anti-terrorist tactics.  It's about time!!!! Any govt. would have come to Israel first .... before an ISIS attack occurred. Prevention is better than cure. But european and american societies must remain politically correct .... which is their death sentence.  http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.734899

And in turn, Israeli airforce is participating in an air drill with Pakistani and Emirate airforce. Unimaginable enemies now hand-in-hand ... makes you wonder how great a threat ISIS has become to be able to unite old enemies.

So things are changing this summer ... politically. The map is being redrawn. It will be interesting to see what it will be like in winter ... especially after the American elections. If the walking joke Trump gets elected ... then America deserves everything he brings to them. That country has been reduced to one big hollywood sitcom.

United in Christ

kids playing with the park sprinklers

The weather continues to be hot ... typical August weather. Daytime temperature reaches 35 degrees and nighttime can fluctuate between 26 to 32 degrees. And it has been unusually humid as well. That makes it all quite unbearable. Yesterday evening I met 2 of my israeli security friends while they were at work .... both sweating buckets of perspiration ... I mean literally sweat pouring down their heads. Their T-shirts were all soaking wet.

I think electricity will be rationed this year like last year because with this heat and humidity, many people will turn on their aircons. The irony of aircons is it generates more heat in their motors outside the house .... hence making the outdoors even hotter than normal.

Lebanese and Israeli catholic youths

Remember several blogs back about the govt. cutting funds for schools that do not teach core subjects (maths, science etc.. secular subjects)? It was the excuse to cut funding from all christian schools (though they teach these core subjects but not Torah) .... but today the govt. has approved jewish religious schools from teaching these same subjects yet give them funding!!!! Now is that double standards or what????

One heartwarming series of pictures appearing in social media )and I have some private pics from the groups themselves)  is World Youth Day ... not the event in general, but the pictures of Catholic youths from enemy countries standing side-by-side, praying, singing and studying their faith. What politics has divided, religion has united. And to see the 2 million youths gathered for the event ... it is a good sign that the Church is still alive and relevant. And the youth, united in Christ, do not see each other as enemies. They are one family.

Work and rest weekend

The beautiful night lights of Jaffa
with the monumental St. Peter Church
at the promontory on the right

The weekend was both busy yet there was a chance for rest. I had to celebrate Mass in the coastal cities again but I managed to pass several hours at our Jaffa house sleeping. I think that was the only thing I needed. To rest. Away from all the stress and demands. The cool sea breeze is very calming ... and so is the silence. I find myself having a bigger appetite there. Back in Jerusalem they are renovating the museum and the debris from knocked-down walls are thrown below my window waiting for the tractors to pick them up and throw them away. In the sweltering heat of the Old City, and cul-de-sac which my room/window is situated ... each gust of wind blows the dust into my room. I've been having 24 hr asthma attacks all week. And the noise of demolition downstairs in the museum and the shouting of workers are unbearable when it reaches a certain extent. So the short (less than 36 hours) of work and rest in Jaffa was very good.

Buddy and the beach

I had to bring Buddy along as no one would feed him if I had left him at home. And he likes company. I bring him in a small traveling cage which I hang on the window facing the sea. He enjoys it very much and eats a lot there as well. Sea-breeze is good for the appetite. In the evening after the spanish Mass, I went to have dinner at Peking Duck with my confrere who happened to be resting in Jaffa for 4 days. It was good to catch up with him. Strange thing is we work in the same monastery for years but hardly have any chance to meet each other or chat. We had to leave Jerusalem in order to find time for fraternity. I guess that's our lot ... we are working so much we have no time for ourselves. But most people will never understand our situation.

The weekend also saw several disturbances around the country. One was the demolition of a bedouin town ... the arabs there clashed with the police as the demolition was meant to pave the way for the building of a jewish town in its place. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.734465

Then there is the disturbing news of the continuing saga of racism against ethiopic jews by mainstream judaism in Israel. Read the article http://www.timesofisrael.com/dark-skinned-dolls-and-history-lessons-how-israel-plans-to-tackle-prejudice/