Weekend soon

More almond blooms

The weather continued to be warm but it rained last night. That washed away the dust from the air and I felt much better as I didn't have a coughing fit. I could breathe freely and walk a distance without wheezing. Let's hope this holds up for the rest of the week. I'm not taking extra medication for my wheezing.

Work continues and today it was drama ... the library fire alarm sounded 3 times. I was out and the fire alarm automatically sends a message to my phone. I had to call the workers to go check. It turned out it was the elevator workers fixing the elevator doors and welding the frames. That set off the fire alarm. Thank goodness it wasn't a fire.

The Palestinian govt. and the President had resigned in order to prepare for a general election ... It's a frightening thought when there's no govt .... Palestine is already quite lawless with a govt. Imagine without one ..... Let's just hope tomorrow will not find our borders reeling in violence now that there's no govt, to control the situation.

Also the tension on the northern border is brewing. Honestly we don't want a war but israel has a right to defend its borders if Syria tries anything funny.

Internally Tel Aviv was blocked by massive demonstration by ethiopic jews. They have been discriminated by white jews and racially profiled by police. Enough is enough and they took to the streets in the thousands. Scuffles broke out and the police arrested 11 ethiopians. That's classic implosion.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5455682,00.html

Almond blossoms

Sunny morning

The weather has turned bright and shiny again ... but still very cold. I saw almond trees flowering ... which is a good sign. It means Spring is round the corner. And it is!!! The Chinese New Year is next week ... the first day of Spring. Always trust the almond blossoms. In hebrew they're called shaked meaning "wakeful/watchful" because it awaits Spring. It's the first plant to flower even before Spring comes .... usually on the last week of winter when snow is still around.

Almond blossoms

Yesterday and today have been extremely busy. One good news ... I think. I don't have to change my medication. To lessen my wheezing when I go out, I must wear a face mask. Then I must be careful about what I eat. I need to monitor my food to see if I have developed new allergies.

The day before 2 synagogues were vandalised. One in Jerusalem had it's Torah scrolls destroyed. Within 24 hours 3 arabs were arrested. Police say it wasn't a hate crime but an attempted robbery. Now when jews burnt our churches, no one has been arrested and it's past 7 years now. Double standards. Up in the north, a 2nd synagogue had water filled into it. The rabbi and community say it's an attack by ultra-orthodox jews. Another case of jewish implosion. The ultra-orthodox hate all non ultra-orthodox jews, deeming them heretics and even justified to be killed. So they attack conservative, reform and progressive synagogues. Hate for one's neighbour is a big thing around here.   https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Break-in-at-Jerusalem-synagogue-579025?fbclid=IwAR3-VZI1tpgPNKJLkciUr6ISgRwQ84BFLJJmocS9Mdmx_lh5e90ppz0QP8M
and
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Second-synagogue-vandalized-in-Netanya-579087?fbclid=IwAR19BGutBacv1Q_S2gOFw84WhDohq2-OR5UxbAAqct1K04XZoWY5Byk3D30

Winter is back

Hail in the Suq

It was sunny but very cold this morning .... then cloudy, and it drizzled .... then it showered heavily and started to hail. Unbelievable .... all in 3 hours. People in the open were running for cover as ice balls came hurling down, striking everyone and everything. The noise of the hail striking the zinc roofs and glass panes was very loud. Many had the secret wish that the hail would continue for another few hours ... so snow would form. Fat hopes. There was snow up in the Golan Heights though and the ski resorts are packed.

I was caught in the cold and hailstorm. Wasn't prepared for this sudden change in weather. Now I'm staying in my room with heaters on and dry clothes and hot water to drink. I don't want to be ill again. As it is, I have great difficult even in climbing a flight of steps. I wheeze and suffocate as air fails to enter my lungs. My chest and heart hurt very much. It's moments like that that I feel like giving up and just die.

Armenian church

I managed this morning to visit the Armenian Orthodox cathedral and join in morning prayers. It was a nice change from my routine. Then it was a visit to the doctor but because of the crowd, I couldn't wait so I guess I'll go back tomorrow. Too many people are getting sick.

Yesterday was Robert Burns day ... I don't really find him interesting but a colleague of mine who studied english lit. in Uni. enjoys his poetry very much. There's been lots of fb posts on Burns ... but still I don't resonate with his works.

The killing of an innocent arab farmer tending his olive trees is raising tensions. Non of the jewish settler suspects have been held or questioned. They seem to go against the law with impunity.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/germany-says-palestinian-mans-killers-must-be-held-to-account/

And an arab youth was arrested at Damascus Gate for carrying a knife ...  https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/17-year-old-arrested-at-Damascus-Gate-armed-with-knife-578800

Allegra feastday

Blessed Gabriele Allegra

This morning I didn't have to concelebrate the community Mass at 7am. Instead I was asked to celebrate Sunday Mass for 2 groups of filipino pilgrims that both did not have priests with them. There were about 60 persons in all, all squeezed in our tiny chapel. They had 2 operatic singers who led in the Our Father and Communion song. It was wonderful. Today is also the feast day of Blessed Gabriele Allegra. He was the main mover of translating the Bible into Chinese. He was also a professor of Scripture here in our Jerusalem university. I hear another miracle has been confirmed so his canonisation will be soon.

The rest of the morning was spent cleaning my room. I didn't have lunch as I still feel quite ill from the wheezing and coughing. The air pollution is bad, high in desert dust. I must stay indoors with doors and windows closed. Each time I go out, even to our terrace garden, I start wheezing and having difficulty in breathing. I have never felt so weak for such a long time as these few weeks.

Walking the dog and cat

I had a wonderful surprise this morning while going to the supermarket to get some necessities this morning. The wife of the Greek Orthodox priest was walking her dog and cat. The dog was on a leash and the cat was running beside the dog. A very cute sight.

A piece of news coming in. Jewish settler terrorists have shot dead an arab tending his olive trees. More and more violence against arabs and their property are being reported. But little is done to protect the arabs. The settlers have license to carry guns.  https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-palestinian-shot-dead-while-tilling-his-olive-orchard-in-terrorized-village-1.6874514?fbclid=IwAR1l0v9Wowp5l1x36sSTdGQFxH0iO7rTA_3Ixpv-e7NcBe1jzSh4TtPg5J0

Ana other dreadful news that no one is reporting: 85 thousand children below 5 yrs have died of starvation in Yemen in 3 months. How can the world ignore this? The following article is in italian.   https://www.lastampa.it/2018/11/21/esteri/la-strage-silenziosa-della-fame-in-yemen-morti-mila-bimbi-in-anni-sotto-i-anni-AZGx4nl9eSfQbIaUCW1CGI/pagina.html?fbclid=IwAR1jRocOT0TBTY0LvYuZekAYKN7rvr9JhK_UqtrKoeOuXjXKqN7OhmsWe5I

Saturday sunshine

Sunrise today

Had a busy day today with preaching a morning retreat and then meeting a former student to instruct him on a  project, then rushing home to correct an article before confessions with the nuns. I was hoping for a less hectic day but work is work. The weather was warm ... up to 20 degrees at noon. Still the wind was chilly. Spring flowers are opening everywhere ... narcissus, anemones, ranunculus and of course the scented almond flowers. Lovely to be outdoors and stroll in the park, smelling the strong floral perfumes. Before long the hot summer months will be on us. I rather like that ... it means summer vacation is coming.

Today was not too quiet. There were the weekly clashes at the Gaza border. But today jewish settlers tried to destroy arab olive plantations and when the arabs came out to protect their property, the settlers shot and killed one arab. At least that's what the Israeli army says.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-said-killed-others-hurt-in-clashes-with-settlers-soldiers/

Anti-christian jewish protestor

Today is also the last day of the Christian Unity Prayer week. Different denominations have been hosting the ecumenical prayer meetings all week. However yesterday at the Last Supper Room where the prayer was conducted, jews gathered to protest, saying christian worship is idolatry and directly below is the Tomb of David which is defiled by such idolatry. Of course the police did nothing to stop those jewish protestors. If it were christians protesting jews, it would have been called antisemitic and everyone arrested. Contrary to what the PM is telling the rest of the world, christians are being persecuted in Israel ... not in the measure of Syria or Iraq, but nonetheless vicious and bigoted by jews themselves. And for everyone's information, the empty box dropped with cloth is NOT the tomb of David ... and any and every archeologist and historian will testify to that. It was a lie to prevent muslims from destroying the Last Supper Room because muslims also revere David. But the lie was taken as truth by the ultra-orthodox jews who today defend this room as sacred.

In this line, leftwing newspapers are calling out the jewish public for keeping silence when jewish terrorists kill or destroy non-Jewish lives and property. But if an arab committed the same things to jews, there would be uproar and outrage ... collective punishments, destruction of arab homes, withdrawal of citizenship and expulsion to the West Bank. This is the case of the jewish minors arrested for killing an arab woman. Rabbis and ministers rushed to protect and exonerate these suspects, one rabbi going as far as to call for more killings of arabs.   https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Where-is-the-National-Religious-outrage-about-Jewish-terror-578600?fbclid=IwAR2nH_Rqp5MVm5Bjk0_EEkuEML4jTtb6WL-ZwYM0UtCDwhcfnDhmoewRMhY

Tense Friday

Pigeons at Musrara this morning

It's Friday and it was tense. There were riots and protests at the Gaza border in the south. I guess security was afraid it might have spilled into the City so there were more police patrols and stop checks.I had gone to Tel Aviv for a checkup to see if I needed to change my medicine as my asthma was weakening me. It appears that there's a virus going around affecting the respiratory system in many people and also there is much desert dust in the air ... so my asthma attacks are caused by exterior causes which can be controlled if I wear a mask or just stay indoors. I did realise these few weeks that if I stayed indoors I stopped coughing and gasping for air. And I'm trying my best to avoid large crowds. I don't want to catch any ailments.

Healthy sea breeze at Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv was warm but people still dressed in pullovers. In the shadows, it can get quite cold but under the sun, a T-shirt would have sufficed. The air is much better there, no desert dust or city pollution. The sea breeze is constantly blowing the pollution away. And the waves were quite high and strong. I felt better going there and only had one coughing spasm. I needed the fresh air so much to clear my lungs. If only I had more free time to come here and rest and recuperate. Last summer I barely had a vacation ... with the 2 operations and weekly checkups.

Northern Israel suffered an earthquake yesterday. People were rattled and scared. The govt has warned again of a coming massive earthquake which is long overdue. That reminds me I have to repack my earthquake kit and replenish my medicines, water and emergency stuff.  https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Residents-of-Israel-reported-tremors-and-explosions-possible-earthquake-578586?fbclid=IwAR23isHPTua03_4rdmj9CgGQioTVc-3_sg0DdbCDm2sGsgYkJXevwwsx7EM

A polish Benedictine nun on the Mt. of Olives has died. Nothing remarkable except she was born a jew and as a child was on the run from Nazi killers till she came to Israel and became a nun. Polish and local newspapers carry articles about her amazing life.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-the-holocaust-survivor-who-chose-jesus-1.6872407?fbclid=IwAR2cDGN9Gxi7QZOqk6Gg9Fh2VRkSoZ4vuDAeGEgsWjIGQBvcDHgAYNIcKzM

Jewish settlers have again chopped dow arab olive trees .... it's a crime as olive trees take decades to grow and is the basis of life for the arabs ... providing oil, fruit and wood. Yet as the newspaper reports, the perpetrators will be protected by the rabbis who control political and public opinion.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-the-sadists-who-destroyed-a-decades-old-palestinian-olive-grove-can-rest-easy-1.6870077?fbclid=IwAR0GLsow3Uducs0XJIxWRqaSEJhwBMnEhfBMmo4bQIFJ6hZII6NTkZgWV_Y

Stromata

Sun behind Damascus Gate

The weather continues to be sunny but cold ... but not as cold as last week. Last night was 7 degrees and daytime was 14 degrees. Quite bearable. I wear a T-shirt and a warmer and a thick hoodie. It's quite enough.

This evening I met with one of my former students ... an ethiopic seminarian who left last year. Still faithful, he serves as acolyte in the ethiopic rite and helps translate the sermons if the priest is not able to speak amharic (like me). But he is not paid and is working part-time. This evening I saw how few clothes he had ... not enough for this winter. He was very cold. And he had only one pair of shoes. And he hadn't eaten. He has become so thin. I brought him to Arab Fried Chicken and gave him dinner. Then brought him home and gave him 3 of my thickest winter coats. And 2 pairs of very good shoes to withstand the wet and cold. Now I'll see if I can find him a job. He's a bright fellow. And what struck me was how christian and kind he was ... he never spoke one negative word against the church or community. Instead he thanked them for the 4 years of education he had from the seminary.

Busloads of muslim pilgrims

Our northern border is gearing up for a Syrian attack. Threats were made by the syrian rep. at the UN and Russia has warned Israel from any more bombings in Damascus. Israel has been covertly bombing Syria's military depots the last year ... mostly Iranian weapons and personnel. Last week several iranian technicians were killed by the bombing. They vow retaliation. And we're taking these threats seriously. War is no fun.

Sadly Trump's cutting of UNHCR aid to Palestinian refugees in Israel means many will have no food, medicine and even school and jobs. It holds hostage the Palestinians till they agree to accept his peace plan. It will be a two State plan but Israel will hold the upper hand.   https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/with-the-loss-of-u-s-aid-palestinian-dreams-of-peace-move-even-farther-away-1.6866397?fbclid=IwAR11wFvvmaxRZsYq50pJicgzpDeptUaD8DFSG1VZ8VyBi0D2iOuEZIsN74Q