ISRAEL ~ Today I read in the newspaper that Ghada Sabatien, a widowed Palestinian mother of six in her forties, has been killed by Israeli forces. Shot because she apparently ignored soldiers’ calls and warning fire to stop approaching them and died from a torn artery and massive blood loss. No weapon was found on her body.

Ramadan began on the 2nd of April, the weeklong Passover will start on April 15, the Catholic and Protestant Easter will be celebrated on April 17 and the Orthodox Easter on April 24. This makes the Old City in Jerusalem a melting pot flooded with worshippers of three different religions. When we entered the city by car on Friday the the 8th of April and told the Palestinian hotel owner we had great difficulties driving towards his hotel, he asked us with a smile if we realized that it was 'first Friday of Ramadan', the busiest time of year, and more than 80,000 worshipers had prayed and were now entering the streets in happy ecstasy.

With Easter, Passover and Ramadan coinciding, tensions tend to rise in a country that is already tense for ages. Did the soldiers overreact when Ghada crossed the street on her way to visit one of her relative’s houses in the village of Husan? A mother who reportedly had lost one of her eyes several years ago and was blighted with poor vision? Did she really pose a danger to the soldiers? And why couldn't the Palestinians take her to the hospital as the soldiers barred them from getting close to her body? As a result, she bled to death.

We met so many nice Israeli, Palestinians and Bedouins these past days. We focussed on 'bread'. A non-political neutral staple food, one would think. But when we posted about Jewish bread, we received several hate-messages, private or public, from Palestinians, and when we posted about Palestinian bread, there were Israeli who did the same. Also posts about Bedouins provoked negative reactions. From the same people who during Ramadan believe fasting helps them purify their hearts, renew their faith, seek forgiveness, and increase self-discipline? The same people who, during the festival of Passover, celebrate the 'passing over of the forces of destruction'?

No matter how hard I try, I fail to understand.

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