Erhu busker

Chinese busker
playing the erhu

What a frustrating morning. Went to the usual bank branch (3 kms away) last week as requested by the bank. Was told that I had to go to the head office 2 kms away instead. This morning spent the whole morning lining up at the head office till 1pm ... was told I should go to another branch instead. It's like playing musical chairs .... I'm just waiting for the music to stop. I don't know if I have any more patience. It's wasting so much of my time. You don't know how lucky you are back in your country to have efficient customer service.

One nice thing about going up to the head office was passing by Ben Yehuda Mall. This morning there was a chinese busker playing the erhu. He was also selling 2 chinese paintings. Must be desperate. Anyway many locals were intrigued by the instrument and the sound it made .... sad, wailing erhu. Many spoke with him and he was happy to explain the instrument to them. Good introduction to Chinese culture.

Ultra-orthodox jews are protesting again today, blocking the airport because they reject compulsory military service. Passengers are advised to go to the airport early if they don't want to miss their flight.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4943951,00.html

And there's news about a fusion food in China ... it's called baozza ... which is a chinese bao but contains pizza filling. Yuck. I think fusion food is getting too extreme.

Beef submarine and chips at New Deli

Yesterday it rained all afternoon and evening. Well it was more like a drizzle. But it was constant. Though it was about 14 degrees, it felt lower and the sky was gloomy and the wind was cold. Luckily I didn't have to go out. I was stuck at home from 1pm to 9pm ... 9 solid hours of editing a book without even getting off my chair. By 9pm my brain was dead and I was hungry and needed to stretch. My jewish security friend called me to ask if I wanted to go grab a bite; he was working out in the park and was hungry as well. So I went up to the New City to meet him and at 10.30pm there are not many shops opened. We managed to grab a sandwich (actually a submarine) at New Deli and we chatted a lot. It was a late dinner for both of us. By the time I got home it was 11.30pm ... cold and drizzling ... and I couldn't sleep. My brain was still running overtime about editing the index page.

Lazarus Sunday

Lazarus Sunday morning - the tomb
of Lazarus lies just beyond the
tallest steeple in the middle of the
photo

Today is Lazarus Sunday ... the Gospel reading is about his revival from the death. Orthodox and Oriental christians celebrate it on Saturday before Palm Sunday but the Roman Church celebrates it one week before. The franciscans had already made the pilgrimage to Bethany where the tomb of Lazarus is. That was last Wednesday. The muslims control the tomb and make everyone pay US$2 for entry. Daylight robbery. I refuse to go there as a matter of principle.

Anyway I celebrated Mass at the Armenian Catholic cathedral and remembered you all. The armenian crowd is still small. The Salesian and White Fathers' seminarians still come to help out as acolytes and choir. I even had a deacon this morning. The Sisters of Notre Dame (Ratisbonne) came with their novices as well so the congregation was quite big.

My freesias are
blooming

The morning was cool and crisp. People are back in the streets after yesterday's lockdown. It's terrible that a 17 yr old boy from Nablus could come and attack jews with a knife yesterday. He was killed on the spot but for the rest of us living here ... it's the inconvenience of being locked down, restricted movement and City Gates closed. The attack took place a little distance from the 5th Station of the Cross ... about 150 meters from my house.

Yesterday evening thousands of arabs and leftwing jews marched in Jerusalem, calling for peace and the stop of settlements. The govt. had passed a bill to build new settlements in Palestine. They reminded the public that the stabbings are symptoms of the continued occupation and land-grabbing by Israel of Palestinian lands. The right of course argues that there is no such thing as Palestine and the whole land is Israel.    http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.780816

Israel security has warned that ISIS is now moving from northern Sinai to the southern deserts as part of its control scheme. Tourists to Mt. Sinai and St. Catherine's Monastery, as well as the Red Sea resort towns of Sharm al Sheikh are all in danger and has imposed a no-go zone.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4943273,00.html

Another stabbing 2 hours ago

Security cameras
throughout the City

Another stabbing attack just an hour ago ... near my house, about 200 meters away ... a little after the 5th Station. 3 injured and assailant shot. What a disaster. City Gates around the Muslim Quarter were closed. More police have entered our area. Now our movements will be restricted. Easter and Jewish Passover will be next week and tensions will be high. More security cameras have been installed ... there are some 260 such cameras all over the Old City and there are over 10 cameras in and around Damascus Gate - the central area where most of the stabbings take place. My jewish security friends immediately messaged me to ask if I was safe. They care for me ... really. Those guys are really great.   http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4943480,00.html

Luckily I had class so I was home. I would have gone out for a walk in this cool fresh afternoon but fortunately class kept me home.  I still have to go back to school and hand over the exam papers. I thought the school only needed the results sheet but yesterday they asked for the exam papers as well. Well there are 41 students and each exam paper is 12 pages. Do your maths. it's heavy.

Right now at the Notre Dame Centre, there is a solemn Mass. The Nuncio is celebrating his 50th ordination anniversary. Lots of religious are in attendance. From the short live video clip I saw 5 bishops also concelebrating with many priests. It looks like the celebration is really  solemn.

Selling green
almonds

Well my turn as hebdomedarius is over. I am a little more free ... otherwise as hebdomerius I am restricted from other work because I must lead in all daily prayers and Mass. Now I must catch up with the workload. The only time I can actually rest ... as I have found out ... is Saturday afternoon. A couple of hours to just close my eyes, rest my brains and painful back. My shoulder has healed, the ligament is no longer inflamed. So one less pain to endure.

In the markets and hawker stalls, a lot of green/immature fruit are on sale. It's a local delicacy .... but it's an acquired taste. Not everyone likes it. Almonds and cherries are eaten while they are small and unripe. It's sour and tart ... and locals like it. For those not used to it, it upsets the stomach. Don't try it.

Friday

Bedouin women
hawking veggies
at El Wad street

Friday passed with no violence but the atmosphere was very tense in the Muslim Quarter and all over East Jerusalem. Military presence was heavy. Even 2 police were despatched to guard our Way of the Cross at 4pm today. In the morning there was a marked drop in tourists and locals walking down the street. But in the afternoon crowds of muslims came to pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque, Catholics made the Way of the Cross and Jews began to gather towards the Wailing Wall. For 3 hours El Wad street, shared by all 3 religions, was packed and police were at every angle ... then it was all over and the street was silent again. Only the soldiers remained.

Bedouin women continue to sell veggies along El Wad street although occasionally soldiers chase them away. They sit on both sides and the middle of the street and thus impede the soldiers from running when chasing suspects. And in case of a riot or stampede, these women will be trampled. However its their livelihood to sell the few shekels of veggies each day otherwise their families will have no food. Most of their menfolk work in the fields to plant the veggies and their wives bring them into the city for sale.

Wild chamomile

My heart is still very weak and I tire easily. Today I had to work in our university library and then i had to walk to school to return the exam results. It's 2 kms away uphill and I was very tired when I reached it. I had to make 2 stops along the way in the park. At the Park there were huge masses of wild chamomille. Imagine having to pay US$3 for a pack of chamomile to boil tea when here you can pick the flowers, dry them and make tea ... all free of charge. On the way home I stopped at the Salesian chapel and joined the Ethiopic Catholics make the Way of the Cross. They sing very well. It was beautiful.

Tomorrow I have class but also work in the library. I'll have to juggle the hours ... this is one of the main causes of my ill health: I have some many things happening at the same time and need run from one to another and back. It's physically and psychologically exhausting. Unfortunately there are people who think I have nothing to do everyday ... just waiting by the computer, drinking coffee and chitchatting. Get real people. You won't want to share one hour of my life.

Violence at Damascus Gate

Sunny day for picnic in the park

Yesterday at about 4pm an arab woman about 50 yrs old was shot dead at Damascus Gate for apparently trying to stab police. Her son was wrongly shot and killed by police a year before ... being mistaken for a terrorist. And we guess the mother's grief was too much to bear so she went toward the police with a pair of scissors. People in the streets are saying it was a suicide attempt. It's not the first time. 2 years back when the stabbings began, many young girls were shot dead for carrying knives and threatening police and soldiers though never actually stabbing them. They were trying to escape from forced marriages or abusive husbands and so decided to end their lives this way.

Well because of this, our Quarter was locked down. City Gates were closed. No one could go in or out for over an hour. It's a price we who live in this area have to pay for the acts of individuals. We in the Old City want to live in peace, to live normal lives. But everytime someone from outside comes in to cause trouble, we are the ones who pay the price.

Arabs confront Israeli police

The weather is warm and sunny and many people were picnicking at Damascus Gate Park ... and you won't know that just 50 meters down there was violence. Today police tried to clear Damascus Gate of hawkers and a confrontation ensued with the local arabs. I was walking to M. Teresa's convent for adoration and confessions when I saw it. I decided to quickly get away as I don't want to be caught up in the middle of a fight.

The tension between the 2 peoples have been running undercurrent for some time and perhaps now it's erupting. An israeli talk show host spelled out the reasons for this tension. I'm not sure if a majority of israelis would share this view ... but you watch it and make up your mind.  http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.774663

Solemnity of the Flagellation / Crowning of Thorms

Today is the commemoration of the Flagellation and Crowning of Thorns; the friars will make a pilgrimage to our Chapel of the Flagellation/Crowing of Thorns to sing solemn Vespers and celebrate solemn Mass. This is part of an ancient tradition here in the Holyland where every Wednesday of Lent the friars make a pilgrimage to a sanctuary that commemorates the Passion of Christ. First Wednesday is at Dominus Flevit chapel, 2nd at Getsemani, 3rd at the Flagellation and 4th at the Condemnation chapel. We don't expect a large crowd because the Chapel is really small and most people will have to sit in the courtyard.

Chapel of the Capuchin Monastery

The previous evening I was invited for dinner at the Capuchin Monastery. I've never been there before and had some trouble finding the place. Luckily I met a Notre Dame sister along the road and she pointed the direction to me. It's not really very far ... as I had thought ... about 3 kms from my house. The new superior is a Tamil and we had known each other last year when he first arrived and we worked together for the Indian chaplaincy. The "monastery" is actually a complex of 5 buildings with several patches of gardens. It was acquired over 100 years ago by a Lebanese capuchin friar but the British converted it into a prison during the 1st World War. When the State of Israel was founded, the Israeli govt. converted it into a lunatic asylum. It was only 10 years ago that it was restituted to the Capuchins. They renovated the main building and it's gorgeous ... a pilgrim hostel. The chapel is also very modern in style.

There was quite a crowd for dinner because several other religious were also invited for dinner. It was a farewell to Jose Angel, a capuchin who is being transferred to Puerto Rico. We had a nice time  meal, chatted and then I walked home thereafter at 10pm.

Yesterday there was a country wide demonstration by ultra-orthodox jews against compulsory military draft. It was massive ... and in some cities it got very violent. The ultra-orthodox consider zionists, the State of Israel and the army as its enemies.     http://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-of-ultra-orthodox-take-to-streets-in-mass-anti-draft-protest/
and   http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4941933,00.html

Then this morning a soldier made a wrong turn and drove into an arab village. He was stoned and was saved by some other arab villagers. It only shows how tense the atmosphere is between the 2 peoples. No one should take for granted the peaceful atmosphere we seem to experience in the cities. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4942104,00.html

Sinai is on red alert

The report on the renovation of the Holy Sepulchre (actually the Empty Tomb) has finally be published and an abbreviated version with lots of pictures was given to our library. In the section presenting the history of the Empty Tomb, there is a very interesting illustrated chart which I've posted below. For the first time it's been clearly explained and we can now understand the different layers of stone better. It's fantastic.

Blocking highways seem to be the trend these days: ultra-orthodox blocked Highway ! because of the arrest of one of their kind for evading military service, workers blocking the same highway because their contracts are not secure, now we have workers from the Haifa chemical plant blocking the highway because the company is threatened by environmentalists and residents with closure.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4941663,00.html

Israel this morning issued the highest alert possible on the Sinai Peninsular. Absolute no go for anyone during this Easter and Pesach season. However the Salesian Seminary College will go ahead with an excursion there despite Israeli warnings. I think it's too risky and so does every religious here in Jerusalem and Cairo. I just hope it's not a mistake they'll live to regret.  http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israelis-warned-of-increased-ISIS-threat-abroad-ahead-of-Passover-holiday-485312

Roly Keating CEO
of the British
Library at our
library

Yesterday the CEO of the British Library came to pay us a visit ... with an entourage from the Library as well as directors of the Israeli National Library and the Museum. It was an honor. The British Library is very prestigious and has helped us in the digitalization of our ancient archives. I hope the collaboration will continue further.

Meantime my back is less painful as I managed to sleep 4 hours last night. It was a rest that my aching back needed. The asthma so far is under control. The weather as well is getting warmer. I still do get dizzy spells and nausea but not as often or strong as last week. Perhaps the retreat I made last Saturday was what I needed ... retreat from Jerusalem and work and lots of nasty people who give me problems.