Festival of Lights 2

Inside Zedekiah's Cave

And the political circus gets darker ... the extreme right-winger was sworn in as Defense Minister. The bill will be passed for the death penalty for arabs (only ... and not for jews who commit the same crime). The fear is now that any arab can be deemed a terrorist and can be killed legally. See
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.722390

Right wing groups are rejoicing. Now they have their leader in the govt. Now in social websites, the right-wingers are throwing out the left-wingers .... no more house rents to leftists, no more sales for leftists ... it's an all out attack on the left.  See http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.722103  The country is becoming a terrifying place for non rightists and non jews.

The amazing caves and tunnels

The jewish Pentecost or Shavuot will soon be celebrated on June 11 and 12. The days between Passover and Pentecost is the Lag BaOmer when the jews light bonfires ... probably to burn away the sheaves after the wheat harvest. Well the other day the ultra-orthodox community burned an israeli flag as part of the bonfire. Shocking ... but the ultra-orthodox do not recognize the State of Israel and consider it an abomination against God's Will.

The tiny unassuming entrance
to the Cave

Anyway I managed to see the rest of the Green route display of the Light Festival. This is the Muslim Quarter but outside the Walls. The last display is inside Zadekiah's Cave. I've never been inside it ... but last night I went (it was free). The cave is amazing! It is so huge ... over 200 meters long, 10 meters below street level and at places 100 meters wide. Above that immense space are hundreds of houses .... I couldn't stop thinking if it cave would collapse. The cave ends 100 meters away from the Al Aqsa Mosque and very close to the Struthion Pool (Ecco Homo) and my house. I was very tired but it was worth the walk. Simply amazing. And it's all underground ... below our houses. At the largest space in the Cave there was a light display synchronized with music.

Festival of Lights

Christian Information Center becomes
a screen for light display

I finally went to see the Festival of Lights. But not before having a good rest in the late afternoon. I find myself easily exhausted nowadays ... the asthma is not helping me much in getting more oxygen and energy ... and I'm getting old. But the night walk was pleasant.

The routes of the Festival have changed a little : the Christian and Jewish Quarter exhibits have been reduced and more have been placed along the City Walls. Perhaps it's for security reasons, as the roads inside the 2 Quarters are very narrow and filled with many small and dark alleys. Hence more displays were organized along the Armenian Quarter and additional sites outside the City Walls even across into the Artists' Quarter in the Hinnom Valley and all the way up Jaffa Street into Ben Yehudi Mall.

Outside the City Walls along
Jaffa Gate

And the crowds were huge ... quite like several years back. Only difference is this year there is a noticeable increase in ultra-orthodox jews. Secular jews were markedly few this year. And security was not as heavy as I expected.

Among the many jewish orthodox visitors were a scattering of arabs and tourists. Again they were much fewer than previous years. Nevertheless it was a pleasant change of climate. People were enjoying themselves. The displays were not as spectacular as the previous years. The economic crisis must be biting. Exhibits as usual came from various countries besides local ones.

And I must be getting old ... or very sick as I could not walk the entire festival routes. I only went through the white route (main route from Jaffa Gate to the jewish quarter) down to the red route which passed through Mt. Zion (Dormition Abbey and Last Supper Room) and outside the City Walls back to Jaffa Gate. I didn't see the Blue route in the Christian Quarter nor the Pink route in Jaffa Street and Ben Yehudi Mall. On my way home I had to pass by part of the green route (toward Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter but outside the City Walls). It was almost midnight by then. Almost 2 and a half hours of walking seeing only half the festival lights. Must definitely be getting old.

Another week begins

Palm Plaza decorated
with lights

Another work filled weekend for me. I had to go to Netanya to celebrate Corpus Christi Mass for the community there. It's well over 100 km away and I had to stop by at our house in Jaffa to rest. Almost all our churches throughout the country celebrated the feast with First Communion for the children. As such there were not enough priests to go to all the Mass centres and chapels in the outlying cities and towns. Anyway by the time I ended Mass it was past 9pm. It takes an hour's ride to get back from Netanya to Jaffa. And the taxi-drivers scalped me ... the onward trip cost me 300 shekels and the return journey ought to have been 220 shekels as agreed but demanded 250 when we reached Jaffa. Crooks. Add that to the US$200 cost for going and returning from Jaffa to Jerusalem ... it becomes a very costly journey. Nothing is cheap in Isreal.

The festival of Lights will continue for the next 5 days. I hope to visit it one of these nights. They look exciting enough during the day even when the lights are not on.

On the political scene, things continue to churn. 2 ministers have now resigned in protest over the PM's choice of the extreme right-winger to be Defense Minister. It was a move done out of spite, above all cutting his own nose to spite his own face (the PM's) because this right-winger is the PM's most aggressive and dreaded enemy. Yesterday there was a huge demonstration in Tel Aviv against this extremist politician - jews and arabs alike came out in force. They fear he will lead the country into another series of wars which he did when he was previously in govt. They are accusing the govt of becoming fascist. See http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.721996
and http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-tel-aviv-thousands-protest-israels-fascist-new-defense-minister/

Anyway it's exam time for all the schools throughout the country. And soon after that it will be summer holidays.

Weekend

Dr. Ewa studying
some ancient
Geez manuscripts

For the past month we have been hosting a team of polish art restorers at our library. They are part of a project sponsored by Arcadia and the British Library to safe endangered manuscripts by digitalizing them and putting them online. Given our precarious situation here in the Middle-East and how the national treasures of nearby countries have been destroyed by islamists, it was a good move to undertake this project now.

Though not really ancient, our manuscripts are nevertheless interesting in terms of curious forms of book-binding, covers and sometimes content. The team did a great work by restoring a couple of really damaged books and taught us how to conserve these manuscripts in a proper way to prevent or delay further corrosion.

Rain on Monday

Anyway Phase 1 of this project is over and I'm back to doing other daily works that have been backlogged. I'm really longing for a summer break ... the sun is back up but it's not as hot as the previous days. Nights get chilly though. The unusual rains last Monday and Tuesday are over but it drizzled this morning. Weird.

I still haven't had time to visit the Festival of Lights. When I reach home in the evenings, I go straight to sleep ... without dinner.

The political turmoil in the country continues to unravel as one minister resigned in protest over the PM's choice of the extremist right-winger to be Defense Minister. Everyone else is nervous ... we're expecting wars now that this guy is in charge. He's too belligerent. Next week will be the test - when Jerusalem Day falls on the same day as the start of Ramadan.

New beginnings

The Eiffel Tower alight as
part of the Festival

The Festival of Lights has begun in Jerusalem. It appears to cover quite a big area including the traditional 3 routes through the Armenian, Jewish and Christian Quarters; this year including a section of the Muslim Quarter (outside the City Gates though) and a new route in the New City running through Jaffa Street (from New Gate) up to Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall.

I didn't go to see it last night as I was utterly exhausted. Despite my dreadful asthma that makes me blackout several times a day, and the scorching heat (forecast describes it as "hot as hell" today - 34 degrees), I have already ran 4 km up and done the hill twice because people wanted this and that but they don't consider my health.

The new Custos will soon make his official entry into Jerusalem and the principle churches under his custody. It's a medieval (Crusader) tradition which is still kept today ... when the crusader patriarch/bishop arrives to claim his juridical See and the churches under his care. Since 1342 the Franciscan Custos held the title of Patriarch of Jerusalem ex officio until 1847. Hence the prestige and honor are still maintained and the new Custos must make a solemn entry into the Old City from Jaffa Gate with the heads of all the christian denominations, religions and govt. ministries in attendance there. He will then be led into St. Savior's Monastery where he will officially claim his residence (should be the Last Supper Room but since the Ottoman's kicked us out in the 16th century, our residence is now St. Savior Monastery in New Gate). This will take place on Monday June 6th.

On June 7th he will make a solemn entry into the Holy Sepulcher to claim his authority over the latin rite areas and times. On June 8th he enters the Last Supper Room solemnly as its guardian. On June 9th he enters the Nativity Basilica in Bethlehem, then June 11th he enters Jaffa - once the crusader and christian port that led to Jerusalem. Finally on June 18th the Custos will enter the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

All the friars should be accompanying the Custos to all the sites ... but some of us have heavy workloads that demand our presence.

Police lynch arab citizen in Tel Aviv

The horrific lynching by police on an arab citizen is still in the news. It's more than horrific ... especially no govt. leader has yet to make a statement about it. More horrific because it's this xenophobic, fear and hatred based attitude that the govt. is inculcating on its jewish citizens that has led to this type of attacks and violence on innocent non-jews. If it were the other way round, it would be anti-Semitism and a worldwide outcry would be heard. More horrific now because not only are non-jews not protected by the law but now the law will apply the death penalty only to non-jews. Where is this country going? Where are the Torah values? Why are the rabbis silent? Can YHWH be pleased with this?  http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.721155

More horrific because it took place in Tel Aviv, the most open and liberal and tolerant city in the country. More horrific because the attackers were off-duty police who did not identify themselves when they approached the arab citizen. This is all so tragic.

Ex. 22:21 "Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt."
Deut. 10:19  "And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt."
Lev. 19:34  "The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God."

Full moon over Damascus Gate
Empty streets

And as if to show nature's displeasure ... strange changes have been taking place in the weather. Temperatures dropped drastically last night and it began drizzling all night. This morning it rained and the skies continue to be overcast. A very cold wind is blowing and noon temperature is barely 15 degrees.

The moon is once again full .... very eerie as it sits above the City Walls in this cold wet night. The streets are deadly quite and empty as local arabs in my Muslim Quarter fear attacks from the police. Everyone stays home. At 3am, police raid houses without warrants in the arab quarter and gather information from arabs above other arabs.  http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.720994

Franciscan Monastery in Aleppo bombed

Bombed sitting-room

On Saturday evening at about 6pm, our franciscan monastery and Terra Santa School in Aleppo was bombed. An elderly lady was killed and two seriously wounded. Others suffered various levels of injury.

The monastery and school has been sheltering elderly and homeless christians during the past 5 years of war. It was a safe haven for many. Now it was targeted by a missile and it is not known if it was a govt. missile or russian or rebel muslim.

One elderly lady dies

Please don't forget to pray for the christians in Syria who are being persecuted in a war that does not involve them. Pray for the franciscans who are risking their lives to remain in the abandoned city to serve the christians to the end. Pray for Mother Teresa's sisters who are serving these elderly and sick sheltering in our monastery; for the St. Vincent de Paul sisters who remain to run their hospital (Sr. Munira the former cook of the Bethfage convent is now in this hospital working) to help the injured.

You cannot remain indifferent yet call yourself a catholic.