As the sun sets,
reflection on the walls of the Old City
turn to a golden hue.
Summer time
and Teddy Park below is filled with families.
שבת שלום
Shabbat shalom.
The Old City
19 Photos of Jerusalem on Tisha B’Av
The Nine Days leading up to Tisha B’Av
are always hot, unless you live in Southern Hemisphere.
This year was no exception,
unless you count hotter than usual temperatures.
Jerusalem, Israel, is known for its cooler evenings,
but the night of Tisha B’Av stayed warm and humid.
In spite of the uncomfortable weather, thousands ventured out
to sit on the stones and streets to hear a reading of
Eichah, the Book of Lamentations.
At Gan Ha’atzmaut, Independence Park,
this woman sat on a bollard to listen,
while this policeman sat on the ground.
I have joined the Walk around the Walls since 2011,
security threats seem to be an annual feature of this event.
With the recent murders and riots on Temple Mount,
the walk only got permission to proceed at the last minute.
It was hard to get the long line of participants into one photo.
As we approached the Damascus Gate,
the location of many recent troubles,
the Arab media was waiting to record the marchers.
Police on horses were ready
as the crowd proceed along with Israeli flags.
A few stopped to rest near Damascus Gate,
just before the steps came into view.
This year Tisha B’Av fell after Ramadan
and the Damascus Gate was quiet.
This is the only time all year
that I walk by this gate
and around it to capture the dramatic night views on this side of wall,
on the way to the Lion’s Gate.
This was the scene of Muslims worshipers
filling the streets and rioting and being controlled by the police.
However, hundreds of Jews filled the same streets
and sat late into the night on the stones peacefully listening
to the Women in Green’s list of speakers.
Continuing around the walls and entering through Dung Gate,
one sees the huge stones that have remained over the centuries
at the base of the wall,
reminders of the ancient destruction of Jerusalem.
On to the Kotel, the Western Wall,
where thousands gathered, to sit, to mourn,
even to spend the night on the ground.
People were arriving throughout the night.
The gilded of Dome of the Rock,
built over the foundation stone, glimmered above the Kotel lights.
Jerusalem, city of peace, has seen many rulers
and thousands of years of conflict.
This year passed quietly,
the only words one heard on the walk around the walls were
“תודה – Thank you!” over and over,
to the police and security personnel guarding along the route.
The lights on the Old City streets were dimmed
for Tisha B’av night,
but the large Temple Menorah glowed brightly.
From Maalot to Halamish: Jews and Druze Bound Together in Mourning
On Friday, July 14, 2017, two Israeli policemen
were shot and killed while on duty at the Lions Gate entrance
to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel.
The international media already seems to have forgotten.
International headlines are blasting
about the fact that Israel installed metal detectors
while ignoring the reason for them.
The guns to shoot the policeman in the back
were hidden in their supposedly holy sanctuary.
On Wednesday, July 19, I joined a group
organized by OneFamily to visit the grieving families.
We left the hills of Jerusalem,
went past green fields,
many filled with bales of hay,
and row after row of banana trees.
Driving to northern Israel
we passed a Texas supermarket and traveled
on roads that reminded me of the hills of West Virginia.
Along the way, we passed the town of Maalot-Tarshiha
and this sign, which made me think of the
Maalot Massacre and terrorists killing Jews in their homes,
then murdering 22 more children on a school trip.
Finally,
we arrived at the entrance of Horfeish, with its large Israeli and Druze flags.
Next to them were posters with black memorial ribbons
around the faces of the two murdered policemen.
On the wall over the male mourners was a photo of Kamil Shnaan,
while his mother in the women’s section
clutched her murdered son’s photo.
The Druze women were dressed in black with white scarves,
and received hundreds who came to pay their condolences.
Among the visitors was a group
of senior bikers, the Zion Riders.
Not sure what the young boys were thinking,
when one of them revved up his Harley-Davidson to leave.
Little was spoken, for what is there to say
to a woman who has just lost her youngest son?
Then back in the bus,
as we drove down the winding road,
there was a majestic view of the Kinneret.
Israel has so many beautiful spots,
but we were on our way to the next grieving family.
The father of the murdered policeman, Haiel Sitawe,
was upstairs with the men and stood to receive his visitors.
The women downstairs did not want any photos taken.
Large wedding portraits of Haiel were placed
along the wall behind the row of grieving women.
His widow was as beautiful as any model, though so pale and sad.
Haiel will not get to see his baby son grow up,
who will only know his father’s smile from photos.
The world may have a short memory,
but Jewish people have a long memory and will not forget.
Before I could get this blog posted,
we have moved on to a new tragedy.
Friday night in Halamish,
a terrorist knocked on the door of the Salomon family
who were expecting guests for their Shalom Zachor,
a special party to celebrate the birth of a new baby boy.
Instead, the door was opened to a knife-wielding murderer.
No, it has nothing to do with metal detectors.
There were none for Muslims (or most of the rest of us)
back in 1974, for the Maalot Massacre,
or for the Fogel Family Massacre six years ago.
These are not clashes, but cold-blooded murderers,
mostly young men incited by the hateful, lying Arab media
and egged on in their echo-chamber of hate
to strike and kill innocents.
I hope to share “nice days” from now on,
but do not count on it,
Hamas and Abbas are counting on terror in order to
to distract from their problems,
and so far it is working for them.
The Jerusalem streets are quieter than usual,
it is summer and people are away,
hoping it stays that way. Quiet. but not too quiet.