This week has gone really fast. Part of this was because things actually happened: after three elections in a year a government has finally been formed. A really terrible government, which according to the coalition agreement will allow Netanyahu to basically do as he pleases, despite being accused of corruption, fraud and breach of trust, with a date already set for his trial to start (postponed due to Corona, but probably will begin on the new time). This was announced just before the beginning of Israel's Holocaust Memorial Day, where Bibi had the colossal nerve to compare the Shoah to the Covid-19 pandemic and say "this time we spotted the danger in time." As if no one had seen the danger of Nazism even before the Final Solution was put into motion, as if had he been around then, history would have been different. This cheapening of the memory of the six million disgusts me.
To say nothing of having a lot of my vote in the last elections stolen - 2 of the 3 parties that ran together on the Meretz ticket have broken away and joined the coalition. I have nothing really to say about Orly Levy-Abekasis, the daughter of a former very senior Likud MK and minister, who was never really happy to be forced into running with Meretz (nor was I very happy to vote for her), but I am hugely disappointed in Amir Peretz and Itzik Shmoli, who represent the tattered remnants of the historical Labour party that established the state. It's very depressing, especially given that today's paper said that the latter two have agreed to accept annexation of the Occupied Territories (the so-called "deal of the century") within the framework of the coalition agreement. What a disaster awaits us, to say nothing of the economic crisis that will be exacerbated by 36 ministers, each with their own staff and bureaux. My parents are probably wondering if they should not have just stayed in South Africa.
On to happier things: on Wednesday, I apparently walked over 7 km going to my annual gynaecologist check-up. The doctor's office is in an office tower at the Jerusalem mall, and I decided, rather than driving there and being turned around by the changes caused by the continuing roadworks (about the only thing still going on, at least they took advantage of most people being at home), to take the bus. Wednesday was the first day of new relaxations in the restrictions, and almost all bus lines were back running. Not many people took the bus, and it was one of the few places where everyone was wearing masks properly - except for the driver, but he's not facing the passengers and no one can come near him, anyway. I got lost in the mall parking lot both coming and going, but managed to get to the doctor on time. The secretary is getting a lot of exercise getting up and calling people in - there are several doctors with rooms in that complex, and now everyone has to sit 2 m apart (and sign a declaration saying they've not been ill for the past 14 days), so she can't just call to a name, she has to get up and stand in the middle of the room. Everything went smoothly otherwise, although stopping at the neighbourhood grocery store on the way home was quite scary: so many people with a mask just slung under their chin, not covering their mouth and nose, even when actually talking to other people. I among convinced that in a fortnight we will all be back inside, with severe restrictions once again, because there will be a second wave.
Work has been going really well this week. Lots of advances in the Mamilla project, and I've just received what is hopefully the final version of the Alexandria book to go through. AND a couple of articles I edited have been paid for on the spot. On Friday afternoon, there was an international Zoominar for scholars of the Mongol Empire and Mamluk Sultanate, and it was really great seeing lots of friends I haven't seen in so long. I was very impressed by the Americans, who got up at 6 and 7 a.m. to attend, as well as the Chinese and Mongolian scholars, who mostly didn't have video on because of infrastructure issues, but were still there anyway. It was also a lot of fun hearing a medieval lecture, which I haven't heard for even longer than I've not seen people. The research group I'm part of are all very nice, but the 19th and 20th century are just less interesting to me than the 12th-15th.
We watched a LOT of movies this week and the last. No wonder I made great progress on G's birthday present - leggings with dragon spikes, also with yarn from my late MIL's stash. It is true that knit 2, purl 2, is very mindless, but 2 25cm tubes in just over a week is good going ... This week our movie-watching had a kind of theme of misfits: Ida, about a Polish novice who discovers she is the daughter of a Jewish family killed by the family that his them; The Shape of Water, about a mute woman who falls in love with an amphibian man; and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - self-explanatory, I should think. I must say that I finished watching the movie probably even more confused that I was five minutes in. I think it's easier to follow the plot line in books, because there at least you're told whose speaking, and you don't need to remember what the characters look like! Last weekend we saw Amadeus (I hated Tom Hulce, ADC was fascinated by Salieri's pâttiserie), Born on the 4th of July and Interview with the Vampire (even though I don't really like Tom Cruise). These were all S's choices, but this weekend we watched movies without him, as he has a paper to write for school (instead a history test), and spent all day Saturday doing research. On Thursday his class ended the week by making lasagne together - his homeroom teacher is clearly determined that if nothing else, the children come out of lockdown knowing their way around a kitchen.
Stay safe, healthy and serene, everyone!
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