middle east current events

Two Holidays: Ramadan and Rosh Hashannah

rjstreets

Sitting in the pre-holiday traffic that seem to be everywhere  in Jerusalem,

 it is hard to believe that anyone is home cooking or cleaning for the holidays.

With the long school holiday over and children now in a full day of school,

 working parents are finally a bit less stressed,

unless they were late for pick up time because their car was not moving.

Rosh Hashana, the New Year begins Wednesday at sundown,

 and preparations for the three-day holiday fill the streets.

  Meanwhile, the Ramadan holiday is nearing its end,

for some it was difficult working in the heat and  fasting until sundown.

 For Friday prayers,

 Muslim worshippers

came by way of Mamilla Mall

and from all directions outside the walls of the Old City:

 by way of the Jaffa Gate,

towards the Arab market, the old shuk

some went thru the Jewish Quarter.

Others came alone,

 in groups,

women and children,

young men

and old.

 Over the four Fridays of Ramadan,

hundreds of thousands of Muslims came to pray in Jerusalem.

 A blimp hovered overhead

and extra police were on hand.

   The month of Elul, which precedes Rosh Hashana, the New Year,

is also coming to an end, thousands of Jewish worshipers came to the Kotel,

the Western Wall for selichot, special prayers.

 Thousands and thousands of people were in the Old City for the holidays.

May this example of peaceful co-existence continue

throughout the new year and beyond.

Shana Tova,

a good  New Year

and

 Happy Holidays to all!

Still Waiting

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If you wait one nano-second after the traffic light turns green, the cars behind will honk,

but a shopkeeper will arrive two hours late to open his store.  Still waiting?

 The Knesset summer recess has begun,

 all pending legislation will wait.

The proposed new conversion law caused such an uproar that even visitors got into the fight.

 Now all sides have time to read the bill carefully and work towards a compromise.

Also, in the week leading up to Tisha B’Av, doctors picketed against the proposed budget

and civic groups again gathered to protest new pending Holyland building legislation.

For three days, Jonathan Pollard supporters protested that he has been held too long,

but he remains in a United States’  jail, so he and his supporters are still waiting.

Before Tisha B’Av, hundreds of groups

including many children on outings

passed through the streets

 of the Old City.

For Tisha B’Av,  tens of thousands of people made their way to the Kotel, the Western Wall

to quietly pray and recite Eicha, Lamentations, at night and Kinot during the day.

Restaurants and entertainment venues were closed at night for the day long fast,

and usually busy streets were quiet as many people stayed home to fast and not use any extra energy.

But there were hundreds of venues, including “Tonight we don’t learn Torah”

where Tisha B’Av was observed.

There was even a special reading of Eicha by Chief Rabbi Metzger to hundreds of people

who gathered near the Shalit family, who are still waiting for over four years to see their son.

It is five years since the Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip were forced to give up their land,

  many are still waiting to get into permanent homes

and we are all still waiting for peace.

 It took many years to finally agree on building

the magnificent Hurva Synagogue in the Old City.

So many disagreements,  so many people still waiting to come together.

As the sun set on Tisha B”Av, there were clouds on the horizon,

  at least on one issue there is agreement, in spite of the clouds and humidity,

we will still be waiting for rain for some time.

Demonstrations in the News

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Someone is always demonstrating in  Jerusalem,

 

with a banner displaying their cause by day,

or at night,

alone

 

or in a large gathering.

Some displays are colorful

and up for a day or two,

while the tent for the return of Gilad Shalit

has been up a very long time, as seen by the number of days of captivity displayed on top.

Paris Square is a favorite scene for protests

 

and for news broadcasts to around the world.

Most people walk past and try to ignore the small group of people dressed in black

in Paris Square who regularly protest  “the occupation” on Friday afternoons,

but this week there was a pro-Israel counter demonstration.

After the hour-long protest ended,

police removed the barricades and a few young people waved flags.

The helicopter and extra police left, everyone seemed relaxed,

even the ladies in black.

But then a woman got up and started shouting at the boys with flags,

and one peacenik was heard telling a young high school boy that she hoped

he would return from his future army service  in a coffin.

Cameras started rolling as the yelling got louder,

 

   “Go back to America!” she screamed,

 an Israeli “peace” demonstration.

 The media is on the spot for any conflict, confrontation or violence, no matter how small.

Late Monday night saw a demonstration of a far different type and scale,

 100,000 or more people came together

 to pay their last respects to former chief Sephardi Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu,

may he rest in peace,

 but this demonstration may not have made your local news.