Thu, February 3, 2011 9:58:59 PMshabbat shalom 04.02.11 ...
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| Linda Olsvig-Whittaker |
| Hi everyone, Well the rains have come, and contrary to the usual pattern, the Middle East is blowing up in bad weather. (We usually wait for spring.) There are two rainy seasons (with different biblical words in Hebrew for the "early" and the "late" rains). The early rains are monsoonal, sweeping up from the south as sudden violent storms. Then we have a lull in January with deceptively warm temperatures and sunny skies. Then February hits with long frontal rains mostly coming from the north and lasting for days, sometimes turning to snow in high elevations like Jerusalem. We are now in the last third of winter and this week has seen a lot of rain. Thank God for that since we are always in water deficit, but it is cold and miserable indoors and out .     I went down to Beersheva on a working trip at the university and was astonished to see the Negev Desert also getting heavy rain. We shivered in our meeting and I shivered all the way home, quite drenched from waiting at the train platform. Even on the train I felt a cold coming and called in to say I would not join our division on its trip to inspect the Mt. Carmel fire area the next day. Glad I laid low, too - the report when I saw the folks yesterday was of cold and high winds. I'd have pneumonia if I had gone. Instead I huddled at home with both the air conditioner heating and a woodstove going, and slept 9 hours each for two nights running. That fended off what could have been nasty. Speaking of nasty, we are watching the situation in Egypt with some anxiety. The protesters have a case, of course. Mubarrak has to go; he's been president for 30 years already, for pete's sake. And it's the usual corrupt, oppressive Middle Eastern government, not unlike Syria or Iraq or Lebanon. That's the way things are run in this part of the world. Israelis don't lose a whole lot of sleep over the oppression of Arabs in their home countries ("let them poison each other" could be a national motto here) but we do worry what the consequences will be for us. (That's a variant on "Is it good for the Jews?" which is the other national motto.) Egypt is Sunni and moderate; the protesters have a strong element of the outlawed Shiite Moslem Brotherhood, and if they come to power, oy va voy. Another Iran. So we are hoping for a controlled meltdown rather than a nuclear explosion. Alas, historically in the Middle East the pattern is for an explosive rebellion against an oppresive dictatorship, followed by another oppressive dictatorship. Seems like authoritarian government is the only kind that enables these Middle Eastern countries to function. Democracy? Forget it; they couldn't handle it if it was handed to them on a platter. To much tribal rivalry, for one thing. And a basic disrespect of civil order, for another. And an inability to control emotion by reason for a third. That all leads to chaos, and only a strong hand keeps that under control. Heck, the Romans knew that, and Israel's been as guilty as everyone else in the area, if you look at our history. A democratic Israel is an anomaly in space and time, which may not last very long. Maybe we should invite back the British Empire. Or the Ottomans. Not much more to mention. I'm laying low and trying to stay warm, while getting some writing done. I'm having a good exchange with colleagues. Even the chief scientist, who has given me so much trouble in the past, is treating me with respect now. (Maybe because I am bailing him out with some of my grant money when he miscalculated a subcontract and went seriously over his own budget. Mony tak, as the Norwegians say. So, my readers who are suffering from snow up to the eyes probably are not too sympathetic about winter rain, but consider living in a stone house with no central heating, guys. I was never this cold indoors in Minnesota. This is the month to hunker down, make warm soups and stews, light the wood-stove, and wish the Egyptians luck. shabbat shalom, Linda If I am not for myself, for whom shall I be? |
Note: Used Email time above, upper right, when posted. ~Peter
http://shabbat-shalom-jerusalem.blogspot.com/
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