Tu B'Av violence

Balloons, teddy bears and flowers
for Tu B'Av

What a night ... packed with violence!!! Well it was Tu B'Av which today jews celebrate it mainly as their Valentine's Day. Historically this feast marked the beginning of the grape harvest (Yom Kippur marks the end of the harvest), when young men and women would go out to the vineyards and gather the grapes. There's alot of merriment as the old wine is drunk and new wine is made from the harvested grapes. This eventually led to young people getting engaged and married ... and hence "Day of Love" or our equivalent of Valentine's Day.

Revelers at Ben Yehuda Mall

There were many events of music and entertainment throughout the City center, but it also included the annual Gay Pride Parade ... which is a very controversial event in this ultra-conservative City. Yesterday during the parade, 6 people were stabbed by an ultra-orthodox jew ... the same guy who stabbed 3 people in the same event 10 years ago. He was released from jail last week, and he came right back to kill people. Everyone from the President, PM and Chief Rabbi down to the people in the streets condemned the attack.

Barricades at Damascus Gate

Then later we learned that jewish settlers had burned 2 arab houses near Nablus (Samaria) killing a one yr old baby and injuring its parents and 4 yr old brother. The govt has called it terrorism - for the first time - by jewish extremists. Everyone expects strong arab reactions today ... being Friday ... and police have closed off the Muslim Quarter. Barricades are up at the 3 arab City gates and only men above 55 are allowed to enter. Surveillance helicopters are flying overhead. Police and cavalry are everywhere. It's pretty tense right now and I'm not sure if I can get home this evening from work.

What a horrid way to end Tu B'Av.

Piglet cookies!!!

So the regional news is Christians are dying off in the Middle East. The Cradle of Christianity, the birthplace of the Church and monasticism ... now practically on the verge of extinction. And the worse thing is ... catholics around the world don't seem to care. Well I guess they'll start to care when ISIS enters their countries and start chopping off their heads.

Riots continued all night at the 2 settlements that were ordered by the High Court to be demolished. Politicians are all jumping into the bandwagon of appeasing the settler movement ... but each one playing the other out ... all for getting more votes in the next election. Even the Defense Minister is involved ... and the PM again reiterated that the settlements will remain despite the High Court ruling. It gives you the image of a country without law and order ... everyone takes the one into their own hands, and the High Court becomes a mockery. This morning the 24 illegal houses were demolished finally. Rightist cabinet ministers have howled for the High Court to be demolished instead!! The PM went further and authorised the building of 300 houses on the same site soon ... all on private arab land!!!

The Israeli spy Pollard, jailed in the US, is set to be freed in Novemeber. This after a very long campaign by Israel to get him released. Clearly this is the US's piece of sugar to Israel after delivering the bitter pill of the Iran nuclear deal that Israel was absolutely against. But this will have consequences ... if  a convicted spy can be absolved, then how about the Wikileak's founder?

Piglet cookie and its cage

More bad news in Israel ... the beautiful River Yarkon in Tel Aviv, that runs through the city and into a large park where family activities are concentrated, kayaking and swimming ... has been found to be hundreds of times polluted by drugs from the Teva pharmaceutical company upstream. Strong and undissolvable residue of drugs for depression, diabetes and epilepsy are in the water. I won't like to think what would happen to a child that had gone swimming in the river.

One happy note. Someone cared off a box of  mooncakes and a cookie piglet in its basket. It's been umpteen years since I've seen piglet cookies. Well if there're still such cookies in the market ... get me some. Everyone back here wants to try them!

Summer fruit

Figs galore this year

Tensions continue to be high but no incidents today ,,, at least not with arabs and jews. Today instead there were many violent clashes between jewish settlers and the Israeli police. The High Court order to demolish illegal settlement buildings in 2 places met with aggressive resistance. The High Court had ordered the demolition several years back, twice ... but the orders were ignored. Now apparently officials are getting serious ... but the PM has thrown his weight behind the settlers by assuring that these settlements will not be touched. Amazing how the govt. can override the High Court ... but it happens often here.

On the other hand, 2 suspects have been arrested for the burning of the Church of 5 Loaves and 2 Fish. But the newspapers are saying arresting them is one thing, charging them is another. Again ... nothing surprising here.

Cerberus with Adam, son
of our doorman

The weather has been scorching during the day. It drains the energy out of everyone. But the nights are cool and there's a nice breeze blowing all the time. Fruit are in abundance due to the 2 snowfalls last winter. Figs are partially plentiful. I bought 10 and they were very sweet. Peaches, apricots, pears and apples are also in season. And the local favourite - prickly pear (cactus fruit) are also sold everywhere. It's a nice experience to eat chilled fruit in this hot weather. You really thank God for this.

We had a surprise visitor yesterday ... a blind poodle called Cerberos. Its owners are a spanish family that travel round the world with Cerberos ... usually carrying him in a bag. Adam the youngest son of our doorman, had great fun playing with him.

The day after ...

So it's been disclosed in the papers why the clashes between muslims and jews on Tisha B'Av started. Apparently a few days earlier a group of settler jews entered the Al Aqsa compound (where the Temple once stood) and were heckled muslim worshippers. Some took to filming the jewish group with their handphones. One settler woman looked into the camera and said that the muslim Prophet was a pig. This video went viral and muslims were up in arms since Saturday evening - the beginning of Tisha B'Av.  http://www.timesofisrael.com/muhammad-insult-prompts-police-tisha-bav-alert-on-temple-mount/

Anyway scuffles continued throughout the morning yesterday in the streets of the Old City's Muslim Quarter.

Tisha B'Av

West Jerusalem closes down for
Tisha B'Av

Today is Tisha B'Av ... the commemoration of the destruction of the jewish Temples twice on the same day 600 years apart. It's a day of mourning and fasting. Jews cannot wear shoes or anything made of pelt; absolutely no food for 24 hours; they sit on the floor and study the Book of Lamentation. All offices, shops and transport stop functioning.

West Jerusalem began closing down by sunset. I was in Jaffa to work and thought I could have dinner at Peking Duck House. Luckily the staff informed me that it's Tisha B'Av and the restaurant will close before sunset. That reminded me that there would be no public transport as well. Panic. I just had one hour to grab the last bus before sunset as the entire country stops functioning. It was a mad rush. First I had to grab a taxi from Jaffa to the Central Bus Station ... luckily the driver was an orthodox christian and made sure I got to the Station the shortest way - there was great traffic jams all round as everyone wanted to get home before the fasting started. Then luckily again there was a minibus with just one seat left. We sped down Highway 1 back to Jerusalem but already orthodox neighbourhoods had already closed down. Metal barriers are stretched across the roads to stop cars from entering these areas.

I had to enter the Old City through Herod's Gate as Damascus Gate was restricted to jews going to the Wailing Wall... and they came in the thousands. All night they flooded into the Wall plaza. This morning I think they tried to enter the Al Aqsa Mosque esplanade where the Temples used to stand. Arab youths rioted by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. Israeli police fired back stun grenades. Other arab students were chanting slogans along our street. It was quite a big riot.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Clashes-grip-Temple-Mount-as-rioters-hurl-petrol-bombs-stones-and-fireworks-at-police-410178

I'll stay at home and clean my room. It's safer.

Fire!!!

The weather has been so scorching hot these 2 days, there's now a  raging forest fire in Beit Shemesh which is about 25 km northwest of Jerusalem. A housing estate has been evacuated while 22 fire-engines are being deployed to fight the fire. Let's hope it'll be extinguished by tonight. Horrific.

Way of the Cross: new twist

Tourists have trickled ... with the usual asian groups. Europeans and Americans are no longer coming.  It's either out of fear or due to economic troubles. The attack in Syria by Turkey yesterday is ruffling a lot of feathers locally. No one knows the consequence.

Anyway Asians of course have none of these troubles ... and they're big spenders ... so locals love them. Via Dolorosa .. where the Way of the Cross begins, is pretty quiet. Fewer groups are carrying the crosses down the lane. In a way it's good for us locals ... at last we can walk freely without being blocked by gawking tourists.

It'll be Tisha B'Av soon ... the day the jewish Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC, and after being rebuilt was again destroyed in 70 AD by the Roman armies ... all on the same day: the 9th day of Av.

Back again

Had to spend the last 3 days working with a group. They needed a guide ... I needed the money. Things have become so expensive now and with my constant traveling to see the doctor, buying food that I can eat without getting sick and lots of medication ... I am running desperate. So doing 3 days guiding was ok ... but its so very tiring. I hardly have the energy anymore to do this job. Looks like I must find alternative jobs more suited to my health from now.

Mercantile Bank - the 1st in the
Muslim Quarter

What a surprise! In El Wad street (= "The Valley" meaning the ancient Tyropoen Valley that runs north - south in the Old City) which is the life-line of the Muslim Quarter, a bank has just been established. It's the Mercantile Bank and they bought over 2 large but useless souvenir shops and converted them to a bank and safe-deposit box room. Now that's a fantastic risk ... what with the unpredictable temper of the arabs, the constant tension between jews and arabs (the bank is jewish) and of course the high rate of robberies in that part of town.

Coca Cola in summer

Summer is well on its way and it's very very hot. The news says that it'll be the hottest summer in over 50 years. I'll believe that! The heat just withers everything in its path. Luckily the nights are not too hot ... and there's a lovely breeze once in a while. Coca Cola has come up with a new slogan for their cans - "I love Summer". Well I would too if I get a holiday. Perhaps later in August .... but then again it's all wishful thinking. I'll never get a holiday this year. I never got one for the past 13 years.