New feast day

It's so hot even the
pigeons are finding
shade on our
window sills

The weather has continued to be heatwave hot ... above 33 degrees today. The nights are around 26 degrees. It's good for the muslims because they spend most of the nights awake feasting and celebrating. Many have moved their mattresses outdoors to sleep (if they do) in the open ... enjoying the breeze (if there is one) and saving on electricity on fans and aircons. One thing good about the heat though ... nobody goes out to fight or throw stones or stab. It's simply too hot for any thing.

Therefore military presence is still high, there is no violence or clash in and around the Old City. Every evening at about 6pm, soldiers gather at Palm Plaza for their briefing before going to their stations throughout the Old City.

A walk home through Damascus Gate at sunset during Ramadan is always an adventure. Alongside the usual shops, there are many temporary hawkers on carts selling interesting food and wares. The iconic almond and carob juices are on sale ... frozen cold. I love them as it's a bog boost to the energy levels ... and it's very cool and refreshing in this heat. Then of course there are the sweet pastries ... everyone's favourite qatteyef (pancakes with walnuts or cheese), semolina biscuits, baked cheese pastries like kniffeh.

Carob and almond juice on sale

Once again the newspapers are warning us of an impending earthquake ... the long delayed one. The conclusion is Israel and Palestine are woefully unprepared for it. I have my earthquake pack prepared next to my bed ... water, medicines, a whistle, torch and documents. Hope I'll never have to use them.

Today was the first celebration of the feast of Mary Mother of the Church. We received the liturgical texts yesterday afternoon and had to change prayer books to accommodate this new feast.

Pentecost

It's Pentecost Sunday ... the last day of the Easter season. I presided at Vespers so I intone the last alleluia for Easter and the community responded for the last time. Tomorrow we revert to Ordinary Time and all our prayers will not end in alleluia till next Easter.

Muslim crowd hackling jews at
Damascus Gate

Well there was a minor confrontation at the Last Supper Room ... like every year for Pentecost when we go to pray and celebrate Mass (allowed only once a year because Israel has taken over the Last Supper Room). Orthodox jews were protesting that we were profaning "their holy site" - the so called Tomb of David - below the Last Supper Room. It's a lie that became a truth because enough people believe in it. The site below is an ancient church with an apse but now an empty box is placed there and draped with cloth and called the Tomb of David even though we know his tomb was further down the hill. But they chose to believe what they choose to believe ... even when archeology and written tradition have proven otherwise. Police dispersed the protesters and allowed christian worshippers to enter the Upper Room.

By the way, our Pentecost coincided with the jewish Shavuot ... which is the original Pentecost. Because the jews use a lunar calendar and christians use a solar calendar, the dates rarely coincide except once in a long while ... like today. And coupled with the start of the 1st week of Ramadan .... security was super tight.

Soldiers with sub-
machine guns on
the watch

And I was witnessed to that last night when I went out to Damascus Gate to see the crowds after dinner. It was packed with arab youths. And though the police had forbidden jews from passing there, still there were stubborn ultra-orthodox families who continued to walk between the muslim crowds. The arabs raised jeers and hackled the jews each time a family showed up to go out of the Gate. Things got overheated at times and police twice had to fire stun grenades to disperse the muslims. In front of me at one stage a group of youths surrounded 2 policemen and soldiers immediately ran down their watch tower and bashed up the arab youths. It was vicious. Merciless.

In the meantime up in Haifa, groups of Israeli arabs protested in solidarity with the Gazans ... and got severely and swiftly repulsed by the Israeli security forces.  https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-police-conduct-s-message-arab-protester-is-first-and-foremost-an-arab-1.6098595

Well the weather on Pentecost day was extremely hot ... a record 33 degrees at noontime. My stomach has almost stopped bleeding as occult blood is much lessened. I've eaten 2 ice creams and drank cold soup only. The heat doesn't help. So this morning while cleaning my room, I set up my portable aircon while is making my room cool and livable instead of like an oven for the past 2 days.

Saturday

Traffic jam due to crane putting up
of buntings

Apparently my stomach is not simply suffering form the effects of strong painkillers. I think something has gone wrong either in the stomach or intestines as I have been passing occult blood ... black and solid. I must be losing quite a lot of blood because I'm feeling very weak. I should go back to hospital.

Yesterday was relatively quiet. In and around the Old City there were no disturbances tough the Isreali security was ready with thousands of police all around the City. At the borders, there were clashes but not as fierce as in previous weeks. After all it's the 1st Friday of Ramadan and people want to celebrate ... not mourn.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/tens-of-thousands-from-west-bank-attend-ramadan-prayers-in-jerusalem/

Municipality workers are still putting up Ramadan buntings and lights in the streets ... but they do it during peak hours thus causing massive traffic jams. Utterly unbelievable. It was like the other day when a garbage truck started emptying huge dumpsters from the main road at 6pm peak hour ... causing traffic jams in 3 roads for up to half an hour. Only in Jerusalem do these things happen ...

Friday

Tel Aviv is 38 degrees today. The heatwave has begun. Jerusalem is 29 degrees today but for us it is already very hot. Many people were in T-shirts and bermudas. Last night was so hot I had the fan turned on all night. However I could not sleep due to the severe pain and cramps in my stomach. The painkiller is very string and is ruining my stomach. I've been awake for 20 hours now. Feeling so exhausted but still unable to sleep because of the stomach pain. I hope I don't develop an ulcer.

Qattayef and fresh honey today

Knowing that I have to protect my stomach, I ate some yoghurt, mushroom soup, qattayef pancakes and honey. The qattayef pancakes are made and sold only during Ramadan. I think honey would help my wounds in healing so I took it with the pancakes. The pancakes cost 14 shekels for 1 kg. The honey was a gift from the MC sisters in Nablus. It filled my stomach but it didn't stop the pain.

Today is Friday and the Imam of Al Aqsa mosque gave a fiery sermon. Streets were packed with tens of thousands of muslims from all around the country as well as muslim pilgrims from Turkey, Indonesia and Europe. It's the first Friday of Ramadan. The Israeli military had extra presence in and around the Old City. Because this 1st Friday clashes with the Jewish Sabbat and feast of Shavuot/Pentecost, fears of mass disruptions and attacks between jews and muslims would break out. The police finally decided muslims are to enter the Old City through Damascus Gate and jews through Jaffa Gate. This would minimalist contact between the 2 religions and hence lessen the chance for clashes. As for christians, we keep a low profile. Way of the Cross was cancelled today.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-girds-for-first-friday-of-ramadan-amid-heightened-tensions/

Well I'm feeling very weak and giddy. I'll try to sleep now.

Thursday

Damascus Gate all lighted up

A rather quiet day today ... the 1st day of Ramadan. No muslim wants to start Ramadan with deaths or arrests. So it's very quiet. Since they have to fast from sunrise to sunset, most go to sleep. Work is cut to a minimum. But the nights of eating and revelry will start from sunset to 3am. One important factor also in calm in the Gaza border is because Egypt has warned Hamas to stop it's violence and provocation.

Anyway Israeli intelligence is warning of more jewish attacks on arabs and christians now that the embassy has moved. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5261329,00.html

I'm recovering from yesterday's minor operation. It doesn't hurt as much today but that's probably because I'm taking a very strong painkiller "Rokacet". I've had only yoghurt yesterday and today ... in fact bit too much ... so now I have diarrhoea. I don't know what else I can eat as everything else is solid and I can't eat those for the next 3 days. And it has to be cold. My face is not so swollen because I've been putting an icepack over it. And most of the time I'm sleeping as the medication makes me drowsy.

Mind you that doesn't mean I'm off work. The chinese sister has been bugging me to contact her school secretary to explain her exam schedule (don't know why she can't do it herself); another wants a fax number which I must search (don't know why she can't do it herself); a couple of students want books in the library they cannot find; a researcher in Cairo wants 400 ages of a manuscript photographed or scanned; a group wants to buy guide books .... there is not one moment, no matter how sick I am, that people will leave me in peace. It's all about them and their needs first. They have the cheek to tell me to rest but with the same breath they want me to do this and that for them.

Wednesday

Many TV reporters at Damascus Gate
expecting hot news

Yesterday saw more clashes in the Territories although it was not reported. Then came the diplomatic consequences. Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador and Israel responded likewise. Other countries condemned the US embassy moved the killings of Gazans ... up to over 55 now. Then today to add oil to the fire, Guatemala moved it's embassy to Jerusalem as well. A latin american friend told me that these central america countries (Panama, Honduras ...) are all moving their embassies because America told them to ... they received massive aid from the US so they have to do the US's bidding.

This evening we expect Ramadan to begin. No one wants death and injury during the start of this 30 day feast so there were very few clashes today. Energy is channeled to putting up lights in the streets and preparing a feast for tonight ... extra food is always cooked in Ramadan so that it can be given to the poor. There was a stabbing just near New Gate though ... but police are not sure if it was terrorism. There was a demonstration against the Gaza killings by Israelis and arabs.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-hundreds-protest-in-tel-aviv-over-bloodshed-in-gaza-1.6093572

i had to go to Tel Aviv and see a maxilla-facial surgeon because of the pain in the jaw. After 3 x-rays, the doc confirmed I have about 1.5 cm of bone missing ... the area was all infected. It was operated on, cleaned and a temporary solution made before sewing up the hole ... the adjoining jaw bones were also drilled and cleaned. All I can say is pain pain pain. I got over from anaesthesia at 12pm but my head was spinning and the pain was extreme because I didn't have painkillers and anti-biotics. The doc had given me a prescription but I couldn't remember if I was allergic to that medicine .... so despite a giddy head, I found a taxi to take me back to Jerusalem to my pharmacist who knows what I can take. It was at 3.30pm that I reached Jerusalem and my pharmacist gave me my medicine and I took the painkillers immediately. Now I'm going to sleep. Not the least bothered with the Ramadan cannon will fire tonight or the crowds celebrating in the streets. My wound hurts like crazy and the medicine is making me sleepy.

Tuesday

Empty streets and
shops on strike

Yesterday saw 58 killed and over 2000 injured at the Gaza-Israel border. Horrible tragedy ... and it is wrong to send people to the border fence and endanger their lives when Israel already warned that they will be shot. It is irresponsible because the crowds were used as a blanket to cover terrorists with arms and bombs. It's no better than a human shield. On the other hand, Israel could have used other means of deterrence before using live fire. And all these took place while Jerusalem was celebrating the American embassy move ... a "day to remember" says the PM.  The leftwing Haaretz newspaper put it cynically "Jerusalem celebrates, Tel Aviv parties and Gaza bleeds".   https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/MAGAZINE-jerusalem-celebrates-tel-aviv-parties-and-gaza-bleeds-1.6092448

Today it's Nakba Day ... when Palestinians lament the lost of their land to the israelis. Some 750,000 were forced to leave their homes and land to become refugees around the region while Israelis built homes in those lands. There were clashes throughout the Territories and border checkpoints. Even around Jerusalem ... but not in the Old City itself. Here there was an eerie silence because of a general strike in East Jerusalem and throughout the Palestinian Territories. The streets are deserted and it eerily reminded me of the Intifada days when war was intensely fought and strikes were a daily occurrence. Just saw the news of clashes in Bethlehem.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5261314,00.html

TV reporter at deserted Damascus
Gate

But there is another march today ... the march of the Nations where Holocausts survivors march with their supporters. More roads will be closed in West Jerusalem and traffic will be diverted. Local residents are tired of these constant disturbances ... there are road closures almost once a week. As someone said, this week nobody is happy for some reason or other. One thing though, news reporters have a lot of work.

I'll try and stay out of troublesome spots but it's difficult when you have work outside. What we want to know is will Ramadan begin tonight? The firing of the canon will let us know.