No Jenin students today - no surprise. It has already been a long school year, and it's only October.
Read MoreMarthame took a break from his duties at the school to film an historical event: the re-introduction of electricity to Zababdeh's Melkite Church.
Read MoreAll the kids came to school today.
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The afternoon was filled with the constant churning sounds of airplanes overhead - no matter how much it might happen, it's difficult - if not impossible - to get used to it.
Read MoreToday is the feast of the Rosary Sisters' order, and the church turned out in full to celebrate.
Read MoreAmbulance is the only way to travel on a day like today.
Read MoreEverywhere are the signs of battle - one is the burned-out hull of the City Center, a fifteen-story mall at the center of town.
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The streets were empty, except for the presence of Israeli tanks and jeeps and those who had been detained by them for breaking curfew. The place is a wreck - trash is piling up, the basic civil infrastructure - streets, sidewalks, curbs, signs - have been crushed and damaged by tanks. Buildings are riddled with bulletholes.
Read MoreThe number of new and expanding settlements is not encouraging, though.
Read MoreHe, along with another 200 young men, were detained for questioning and background checks, accompanied by verbal and physical harassment. Finally, at 11:00 p.m., he was released and sent home to Zababdeh - on foot.
Read MoreSurely a threat on an airplane, the box cutter didn't seem like much to worry about in a schoolgirl's bag. Marthame took it, assuming the Israeli soldiers would be less likely to bother an American than a Palestinian for possession of a box cutter.
Read MoreWe're looking forward to seeing a positive impact on the lives of ordinary people - for that, it seems we'll wait a long time for White House intervention.
Read MoreWatching people die is hideous - watching people die slowly is gut-wrenching. It would be too easy to say that those who favor war have never seen it, but it's certainly true to say that those who embrace it without nuance have never lived through it.
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It's easy enough to point to Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. from a safe distance, when it isn't your own life or that of your kids which may be lost.
Read MoreNews of the new UN Resolution is welcome, but the stance that the US has taken (abstaining) merely underscores more Palestinian frustration with American policy in the Middle East.
Read MoreThe kids are clearly unnerved by this new arrangement, but are persisting.
Read MoreIt was a Jenin weekend in a nutshell - a dynamiting of the neighbor's house, a little prayer, a few tanks, and some birthday cake.
Read MoreIn the cool of the evening, we enjoyed chatting with them in their courtyard.
Read MoreAnother Friday, another sabbath. A greatly needed one at that.
Read MoreAnother suicide bombing today, this one in Tel Aviv - not good news.
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