Storm over

Sunrise after the rains

The rains have subsided and the air is so clear and clean. I have almost forgotten how clean air smells ... without dust, pollution ... just damp wet clean air.

Last night the winds were very strong and that made the rain appear harder than it actually is. Buddy was afraid and hid below my pillow. I had the 2 heaters on ... as they are small and don't warm up the room entirely. Temperatures were around 4 degrees to 9 degrees ... not higher. That's a lot colder than in Tel Aviv which registered 12 to 16 degrees. The streets still have puddles but most of it is dry. That's safe for walking.

Jerusalem Old City after the rain

Just received sad news that a franciscan sister in Congo was murdered. Terrible. And the tragedy in Aleppo is making headlines everyday. Thousands of refugees are fleeing east Aleppo to the west. Hundreds of children and elderly killed. No water, food, or shelter in this winter escape. God have mercy. I cannot imagine celebrating Christmas when I see the suffering of these christians.

There was also a small earthquake near the Sea of Galilee yesterday. 3.8 on the Richter scale. We usually get 4 of these earthquakes each year. Never reaches 4 but then again we're expecting a huge one for several years now ... it's quite a delay.

Have a very bad headache today. Probably stress related as the chinese convent had no electricity yesterday, with water leaking into their corridor, then the convent of european sisters upstairs quarreling with our engineer for not preventing the short-circuit; I had to intervene through countless phone calls and messages while preaching a retreat. Then there is the library .... I prefer a thunderstorm and snowstorm anytime over problems with people.

Christmas Bazaar

Parish Christmas Bazaar in the rain

Heavy rains throughout the country except Jerusalem yesterday night. The Sea of Galilee rose by several centimeters and snow fell on the Golan Heights. Floods in the coastal cities. But Jerusalem only had very strong winds and a bit of rain. Towards 10pm it rained quite hard but for less than half an hour. I guess Jerusalem is the driest part of the country last night. Temp. have dropped though and everyone is out in thick coats and hoodies. Umbrellas are utterly useless because the winds just shred them to bits.

Bazaar at St.
Francis Street

Despite the weather, the parish's Christmas Bazaar went ahead. About 20 stalls selling food and christmas stuff. It's very small scale because the locals are very poor. It lined St. Francis Street just outside the church. Very narrow street and everyone was trying to hide beneath the tents from the strong winds. Still it was a good show of support ... and the Bazaar continues till Sunday so hopefully more people will come to support. It's a nice break from the tension and routine of the Old City.

I'm scared stiff of walking in the roads today. Almost slipped twice. Still I had to go to work and I had to be extra careful on my way there and back. Forecast is dry and sunny tomorrow again. Well hopefully the rains will return in the next few weeks. Snow for Christmas would be lovely ... like last year.

My shoulder still hurts a lot and this morning I had a student help me spray analgesic medicine on it. It did relieve the pain for a few hours. But today e read on the news that Israel has invented a cannabis spray for pain-relief without the hallucination effects. It's the first medical use of cannabis on a commercial scale. It looks exactly like a Ventolin spray except that it's green in color, and you inhale it just like a ventolin spray. This does not counteract the asthma and allergy medications so it's safe for people who suffer from asthma and severe allergies.  http://virtualjerusalem.com/entertainment.php?Itemid=24294

And another wonderful news: arab israelis are joining forces to supply wood in order to reconstruct the Haifa synagogue after it was burned down by last week's fire. It's a great show of solidarity which narrows the gap of suspicion and hatred. They didn't have to do that ... but they did. I wonder if the jew will do the same to rebuild a mosque burnt in the fire.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4886966,00.html

Storm

City wall at night

It's been raining ... quite hard ... but not in Jerusalem. All the coastal cities have been drenched and soon the Golan Heights will be covered in snow. But Jerusalem remains dry. The sky is dark though and there were a few drops of drizzle. Nothing more. Still weather forecast say tonight one of the heaviest storms will whip through the country.

I brought the gas cooker to the chinese sisters last night. Now I'll have to teach them how to use it when there is no electricity. It'll never get as cold as China but when there's no heating, it can get quite bad and one of the sisters is sick. So they took out their extra blankets. On the way home the City Walls looked awesome with spotlights shining on them ... and trees were illuminated. The air was crisp and cold, thus making the view a lot more clear and detailed. It was very nice. I sat at Damascus Gate park and watched it for a few minutes. Well actually I had to rest there because my sciatica and shoulder were hurting too much and I needed to stop for a while.

And the storm over the recent fires is still no over. While politicians were quick to accuse arabs as arsonists, the police today are saying the contrary and fire-fighters are saying it's impossible to determine the source of most fires. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.756012

But not everything is all that bad. Today we read a piece of news regarding the Israeli Parliament trying to pass a law to stop muslim calls for prayer over loudspeakers. The muslims of the village Beat Tsafafa (south of Jerusalem) came to an agreement with their jewish neighbors in Gilo to solve this problem without govt. interference. The muslims agreed to use smaller loudspeakers and have them turned away from the jewish town. Now if only every other place could deal with problems this way. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Jerusalem-neighborhoods-reach-Muezzin-agreement-without-politicians-474091

While Christmas is in the air for most countries, the christians in Iraq and Syria are still suffering immensely. The Custos of the Holy Land and the Minister General of the Franciscans issued a letter calling all children to pray for peace in those countries, not to forget that this Christmas many other children will die and others without food or shelter. Hope you can encourage your parish to organize a children's prayer day for this.

Let it rain!!

Rain clouds vs
sunny clouds this
morning

The skies have finally darken and drizzle is beginning to fall right now. The govt has warned that there will be electrical outtages because the dry weather with dust would cause short-circuits on the power lines when it rains. http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Power-cuts-may-occur-in-Israel-after-rains-this-week-474038

Nevertheless it will be an inconvenience we will gladly bear because we need the rains very badly. Prices of food and fruit will certainly go up. I guess today people will be stocking up. It might rain for several days.

The fires are still causing a lot of political and social upheaval. On Beer Sheva, jewish and arab relations have soured and the jewish community has demanded that arabic not be used on the public bus announcements. The Mayor and the Bus Company complied immediately. If it were the other way round, it would have been condemned as anti-semitic. But it's ok to do it on other races. http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-bus-company-bows-to-pressure-drops-announcements-in-arabic/

Compensaiton for the fire destruction to property now seems to be the next raging issue. While a member of parliament promised that all who lost property will be compensated, insurance companies are holding back ... saying that only fires caused by natural circumstances will be compensated. However it will take ages to determine which fire was deliberately started and which not, plus the govt remains divided over state compensation for the fires .... so newspapers are saying it will be a very long time before anyone actually gets compensation. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4886011,00.html
and
http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/in-israel/local/disputes-regarding-cause-of-gilon-talmon-haifa-fires-25051

And there was a nasty bit of news for jews yesterday. A reknown rabbi and circumciser was recorded on film as saying apprentice circumcisers could practice on sudanese and eritrean jews because they are "cannon fodder". In any other country it would be racism; if said by a non-jew it would be anti-semitism .... but here a rabbi said it ... and he'll get away with it.  http://www.timesofisrael.com/mohel-urges-apprentices-to-practice-on-babies-from-low-income-homes/

And to stretch the unhappiness, the ultra-orthodox community has managed to outlaw all other forms and expressions of Judaism at the Wailing Wall from praying. It must only be done in the ultra-orthodox way or you get arrested and go to jail. There have been death threats made to reform and other non-ultra-orthodox jewish leaders this week. These groups groups are angered but there is little they can do even if the High Court supports them. The govt has no will to change the status quo and the rabbis are very influential politically. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Reform-movements-express-outrage-with-Shas-law-criminalizing-pluralist-prayer-at-Western-Wall-474008  and  http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/in-israel/local/raanana-graffiti-scrawled-on-reform-synagogue-24969

Anyway enough of all these news which seem to fall faster than the rains. Last night I woke up at 11.30pm and have been awake till now ... exactly 12 hours ... because of the extreme pain in my shoulder. I did have one asthma attack early in the morning but it was the shoulder pain that is a major problem. Today I have lessons and work ... so I'll be exhausted when I finish work by 10pm which is 23 hours awake without sleep. I don't know how long I can last like this.

Probably rain

Signs of rain this morning

The sky is rosy and hazy this morning. The sun is mostly hidden. There were some drops of rain. Let's hope a heavy shower will fall on us these few days. We really need it. That will certainly stop whatever fires are still burning in the forests.

The fires have left a trail of political and religious problems more devastating than burnt property. Haifa's mixed community of jews and arabs are now suspicious of each other. Jewish politicians are calling for punishment on arabs by taking over more arab lands and building jewish settlements. Arab politicians are saying there were only a few arab arsonists involved and collective punishment is not legal. Now the latest is: rabbis are questioning if it is legal for spouses to live together if their marriage certificate is burnt. Obviously for them, marriage is a piece of paper. Other rabbis are trying to counter this but they're having difficulties to get around this rabbinic law. Poor couples ... their marriages annulled because their certificates are burnt.

Been to the doc who checked and said my shoulder is not subluxed but the rotator-cuff has inflamed ligaments/tendons, which hurt and if continues would weaken the joint and lead to subluxation. My sciatic nerve is inflamed because of the falls and a few ligaments on my hip joint are inflamed. That makes walking and sitting painful. I still have to get my diabetes and blood pressure checked. Not sure if I have time tomorrow as the doc works only for a few hours in the afternoon, and there's always a long queue. Now I'm totally scared of walking on slippery surfaces. I guess that's what most old people fear. After falling twice in a day, I have this dreadful fear of falling again. Remember a month back I fell down Damascus Gate? It's scary. People laugh when I walk slowly, holding on the railings (whenever they are) and call me old man. But better safe than sorry. I can't take anti-inflammatory meds and pain-killers because it counteracts my asthma/allergic medicines. So I'll have to live with the pain. Last night at 2am I woke up suffocating. Had to use my asthma medication immediately ... but panic set in and I couldn't find my medication as a result. I think I should put it next to my bed every night so it's within reach. Last week I had an allergic attack after eating an apple ... the sisters did not wash the apple properly and there were traces of chemicals. That was the 2nd time it happened. I'm not eating apples anymore.

Rain?

Lovely fruit in the cold weather

The fires have mostly been extinguished despite the dry strong winds. There was fear that it might re-ignite the fires but nothing happened. There were smaller fires in isolated pockets but they were taken care off by local fire-fighters. Countries that have sent aid through specialised equipment have now pulled out of the country as well. Seems like mission accomplished. Hopefully Wednesday will see rain for 2 days and this should cool the soil and allow new growth of plants and animal life. The weather has warmed up a little but according to the forecast, when it starts to rain the temp will fall again ... back to 4 degrees. Fortunately the forest fires have not destroyed agricultural land ... so prices of fruit and veggies are still under control.

Almost every other person I meet is sick. Cold, flu, sinuses ... all associated with the weather. My problem is the sciatica and hamstring. It still hurts. Yesterday on my way home from work, I ran into one of our nurses of our infirmary. He asked how I was and I told him of the recent week's sickness and confusion ... he said it's the blood pressure and I should get it checked in the infirmary this morning. I did plan to go but couldn't as the morning was filled with work. I'll have to wait till Wednesday I think. The doc doesn't work there daily but only 3 hours for 3 days a week.

There is lots of work to do still ... so I've got to get back to it ....

1st Sunday of Advent

My Christmas wreath

Good news : the fires in the north especially Haifa region are extinguished. People are allowed to return home but almost 600 families have lost everything as their property have been totally gutted. There are other fires still burning around the cities north of Jerusalem such as Modiin and Maale Adumim. The Palestinian firefighters have returned to Palestine and the Israeli PM rang to thank the Palestinian president for his help. America's water-bomber ... the largest in the world ... was plying along Highway 1 extinguishing the fires on this artery that links Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. News is coming out that some of the arab suspected arsonists were actually torching their own arab towns and villages.  No one knows why ... yet. Police are investigating and are keeping silent regarding everything. We know at least that there is one arab in Nazareth who tried to set his own city on fire. Other newspapers are now saying that the "Fire Intifada" is just a ploy to divert attention from the govt.'s mistake in slow reaction to stopping the fire.

For the 1st time, ISIS in Syria shot into Israel and a battle broke out. Several ISIS soldiers were killed while Israel suffered no lost. This is the first sign that an open war might just be beginning on our northern frontier with ISIS trying to attack Israel. All I can say is, ISIS doesn't stand a chance. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.755499

I recovered from last night's illness. Still don't know what it was due to. I'm still a little dizzy but I have done some work already this morning. For starters I walked 2 km to the head office bank to deposit money. When it was done I asked if they could give me a statement for the past 6 months. They said no ... I must go back to the branch office for that!!! The same branch office which won't serve me because I'm a foreigner. All I can say is ... the banking system here is a mystery ... which is a euphemism. Well I didn't go there because it was another 1km and my hamstring/sciatica injury was too much to bear. Went home instead.

Yesterday afternoon I went to a nearby Christian shop to buy some Christmas decorations. I got myself a very small wreath with a glass vase for a candle. Actually I was there to buy stuff for the chinese sisters. It's their first Christmas outside China. I couldn't afford much so I got them a larger wreath with glass and candle ... and a poinsettia plant. Hope they like it.