Shabbat Shalom

Sunrise over the Mt. of Olives

The Sabbath is over ... the sun is setting over the Mediterranean Sea. And it's still very very hot during the day but the nights are very cool.  Another week gone. This morning's sunrise however was beautiful. It was so crisp you could see every silhouette on the Mt. of Olives. The muezzin makes the first call to prayer at 2.30am (3.30am daylight saving) and the second at about 3am (4am daylight saving). The sun is usually up by 3.45am (4.45am daylight saving) and the streets are already filled with people going to or from the mosques.

The Tel Aviv "White Night" celebrations went ahead on Thursday night to Friday morning. It's an annual event where the city stays awake the whole night with parties, cultural events and food. It's named "white" because of the white Bauhaus's built along Rothschild Boulevard where the event mainly takes place. It's usually lots of fun and there's something for everyone. But from news reports we hear that a protest "Black Night" was organised to highlight police brutality on social activists last week.  http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=275788

Lots of my friends and classmates have already returned home for the summer. Some have graduated like Matthew, while others are transferring to other houses. 2nd and 3rd year students will be doing their language courses around Europe. Sabbath is going to be alot quieter now. Shalom all the same.

Ss. Peter and Paul

Yummy homemade fig jam

Anyone for fig jam? All organic fruit, no preservatives .... fresh from the fig season. Ready for sale soon! What a nice way to start the solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul. Both jewish guys, one a fisherman, the other a scholar. Both travelled extensively. And definitely one thing for sure ... they ate figs from the Holyland!

The weather is not letting up one bit. The summer solstice was last week and the heat is accumulating in the atmosphere. Last night was barely sleepable without a breeze. Everyone is moaning that if August is worse than this, then we'll all move out. Well it'll definitely be Ramadan so the muslims will be fasting in the heat, with longer fasting hours (daylight hours are longer). Too bad.

And tensions between Syria and Turkey are heating up, with both sides lining their military along their borders. The last thing we need is a war on our northern frontier. Don't they know it's too hot to fight in summer?  http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=275723

Friday today ... another week gone. Before you know it, even summer will be gone.

Bus ride alone

Again with the heat ... it's unbearable. And the forecast is for hotter weather this weekend. I think I'll just stay in my room and not move an inch. But easier said than done.

My first public bus ride to
Bethlehem; surrounded by
noisy german tourists.

This morning I made my first trip alone to Bethlehem by public bus!!! Horrors! After living through 2 Intifidas and watching buses being blown up - I never sat on a bus all these years. But this time I had to save money and time - so it was the public bus; an arab one of course as Israeli buses cannot enter Bethlehem. Quite an experience especially when the bus got all full with a gaggle of german women (15 - 20 of them) led by one man. And the two noisiest, loudest, incessantly talking women had to sit behind me. Can you imagine 40 minutes of shrill, guttural chatter non-stop? I nearly went crazy ... the thought of suicide bombers crossed my mind ..... hahahahahahaha

Home-cooked lunch

Arrived in Beit Jallah, the village next to Bethlehem where my friend Firas picked me up and brought me to his house. He cooked lunch and we ate it with his sister who's at home studying for the exam finals. The lunch was nice - baked chicken with veggies on saffron rice. Loved it. And of course we did up the bottles of mishmish and fig jams; packed them into 3 boxes. Very heavy. I worried about how to get it out to Jerusalem alone. And of course at the checkpoint I'd have trouble because food is forbidden to cross the borders. But everything worked out fine and I crossed the checkpoint despite the soldiers opening the boxes and knowing it's food. They let me off this time.

So it was a hot day but it was very nice when spent with friends. Somehow problems seem alot smaller when there's someone around to share it with. That goes for the weather too.

Fire

Massive fires around the outskirts of Jerusalem today. And also along Highway 1 that links Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. The weather is terribly hot and dry ... and the forest brush is perfect kindle for a forest fire.  http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=275297  Fires were sparked as far as Ein Kerem (home of John the Baptist) and Yad Vashem (Holocaust Museum).

Red hue hanging over the
skyline of Jerusalem in the evening

In the evening, the skyline of Jerusalem shone a hue typical of a heatwave and fire : glowing red. Luckily the heat died out and a very cool breeze kept blowing.

I managed to escape the fire on Highway 1 because I left very early in the morning for Tel Aviv ... 6am to be exact. Had to go to my other community to help them do a major cleanup because the nunzio (papal ambassador) will be celebrating his last Mass with the diplomatic corp before his retirement from the diplomatic service. Security will be tight but they'll only sweep the church and monastery for security purposes after we clean the place up. Hugo and Mario - 2 mexican friars - also came along and we all helped out.

And the saga continues in the world of Judaism: this time over 100 orthodox rabbis protested because the State is recognising Conservative and Reformed rabbis. The orthodox rabbis have so far held absolute power over the running of Judaism but now with this recognition, the conservative and reformed rabbis can perform matrimonies, circumcisions, bar mitzvahs which till now orthodox rabbis refuse to recognise as valid. This Judaism implodes.

And so the fire rages ...... in the land and in the minds and hearts of those who occupy the land

New week ....

Another new protest movement - this time by thousands of ultra-orthodox Jews in Jerusalem against the proposed law to draft their young adults into the army. Many wore sackcloth and smeared ash on their heads - true to biblical tradition. It's a compulsory draft in Israel but the ultra-orthodox managed to evade that for 60 years. Now they can't escape and they're fighting to have the law stopped. Of course they'll win - the rabbis will threaten to excommunicate the ministers and military and send them all to hell if the law goes through ... believe me, eternal damnation is more powerful than any war on earth.  http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=275104

Jerusalem Light Rail
The only thing that's running smoothly
in the City ... until protesters block it

Meanwhile the social protest movement that ended in violence and lots of arrests in Tel Aviv, made a debut here in Jerusalem. Protesters marched to the PM's house but got arrested because the march was not legally approved. http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?ID=275081&R=R1

I have never been more keenly aware of local Israelis who today, before they introduce themselves, make friends or chat .... ask themselves the question "Is he/she left or right? secular or orthodox?" Everyone seems to be aligning themselves on one side or the other. Battle lines seem to be drawn across the social network of Jews. It's a psychological war, a mind game .... and it can get so very tiring. I just wish all these people would just chill out, go tot the beach and enjoy the sun and sea ... allow nature to teach them what is harmony. But of course in Israel, going to the beach is another point of contention: should men be separated from women? Are bikinis allowed? Is the sunblock kosher?

It may be a new week but lots of old problems are carried forward.

John the Baptist

The weekend saw lots of violence in Tel Aviv between police and social protesters. And this is just the beginning.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-police-may-have-been-ill-prepared-ahead-of-violent-protest-officials-say-1.443540  Rockets continue to be fired from Gaza into Israel. Iran continues to warn Israel of an imminent war. Turkey and Syria are at loggerheads over the shooting of Turkish jet in Syria. And over 70 buddhist monks were attacked by swarms of bees from their apiary. Apocalyptic scenario!  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18568448

Charred remains of shop

This morning the remains of a shop burnt down in the Old City were collected and dumped outside the City gate. Horrific. Don't know the details of this fire but it sure didn't look good.

I wonder if this had to do with the police presence in the Old City yesterday and the propaganda they were spreading to everyone. Makes me think of the fire and brimstone promised by John the Baptist. It's the solemnity of his birth today and solemn masses are being celebrated in Ein Kerem, the place of his birth.

Well this is just a taste of summer ... I hope it'll not be as bad as predicted. I'll be studying and working in the library as usual ... no holidays this year like as in past years. Fingers still swollen with arthritis and asthma every night. It's going to be one long summer.

Arthritic attack

Agapanthus in my garden

Just when we thought the weather was cooling off, it got flaming hot again today. The lovely flowers in bloom like the agapanthus in my garden belie the dreadful tension beneath the fabric of both arab and Israeli societies. The war in Gaza - I think that's the proper name now that there's so much dead - is not getting better and Israeli security is afraid arabs here in Jerusalem might start violence in support of Gaza. Lots of police in the streets fighting a propaganda war ... distributing leaflets and talking to arabs throughout the muslim quarter and East Jerusalem. This is serious stuff.

And the summer protesters in Tel Aviv are also facing very tough action from the police.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-police-deploys-large-forces-in-central-tel-aviv-as-protesters-gather-for-mass-rally-1.443379    and another african migrant is attacked by locals   http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=274796

My poor arthritic fingers

On the personal front, my asthma is not getting better. And for the past 2 days my fingers on the left hand are all swollen from arthritis. They're painful and stiff. Moran (my physiotherapist) said he can do nothing except to massage it to soothe the pain. I had to go to Tel Aviv to see Moran because my neck problem was getting worse - the pain coupled with the asthma have made sleep practically impossible.

And Turkey and Syria appears to be heading for war because Syria shot down a turkish plane.

So much bad news ... maybe St. John the Baptist will come back to call for repentance and penance. It's his solemnity tomorrow.