Sunny, in the 70's, and Condie Rice

You cannot ask for a more beautiful day here in Jerusalem…weather wise that is. It’s sunny with just a few white puffy clouds floating by. It’s in the low 70’s and it feels glorious. Sorry for all you snow birds in Connecticut. Really. On campus people were lounging on the grass and the cats are back out begging for their lunch. There are so many flowers and trees in bloom that you forget, almost, about the political situation here.

Whenever a dignitary passes on Ramban Street to the Knesset they are accompanied by at least three or four police cars, and three or four big black sedan type cars. Even when Ehud Olmert goes to work, which is every day, he is driven down Ramban Street with a big fleet accompanying him. Usually traffic isn’t stopped. Which is very good because Israeli drivers are impatient. How do I know he goes to work every day…and goes home at varying times of the night???? Because I hear sirens, ones that are different from the regular Magen David Adom ambulance sirens. The President’s Residence is just about three blocks from away from my humble abode.

After I returned from class, lugged five bags of groceries home with a loaded backpack, I took Trotsky for a walk. Today is really not a day to be inside. I noticed that a policeman on motorcycle had blocked off the corner of Ussishkin and Ramban. I looked down n the street and the next corner was blocked off. Except for bus 19, and backed up cars on Ussishkin, the street was quiet. No cars, no horns, no nothing.

Then I heard the familiar President’s sirens and realized that Condeleezza Rice was in one of the cars. Some might say big whup…well most might say big whup. Not sure if she has much influence on Olmert and Abbas. Funny how living in Jerusalem has changed me. It seems odd that someone, from so far away, who doesn’t understand the true complexities of the conflict, who doesn’t live with the threat of rockets and suicide bombers each day, who doesn’t get text messages from university telling you to keep a head’s up thinks that they can broker peace.

Today, Wednesday, news sources gave three messages. Abbas will not resume peace talks. Israel will begin incursion into Gaza again. And, Condie thinks that she and Bush can end the decades old conflict by the end of his administration which is less than a year away.

She has a nice smile doesn’t she?