HERZLIYA CONFERENCE MESSAGE – TIME TO TRANSITION

Failures leading to October 7 followed by poor policies since, necessitate a switch in direction and a ditch of leadership.

By David E. Kaplan

Addressing the 2026 Herzliya Conference at Reichman University, an exuberant and entertaining US Ambassador, Mike Huckabee said that when President Trump

 “….. was looking who to appoint as the new ambassador for Israel, he said “Find me a ‘Maccabee”. Maybe, his folks didn’t hear him right so here I am instead –  a Huckabee.”

All familiar with the biblical history, everyone laughed; it was witty but it was the proverbial ‘last laugh’ of the two-day intense conference such are the distressing existential issues confronting Israel today.

Two-Way Street. Following US VP JD Vance saying much of Israel’s defense was American-made and taxpayer-funded, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee says Israel provides technology, agriculture and intelligence that ‘saves, protects and takes care of Americans all over the world’.

PRESERVING DEMOCRACY

The tone of the Conference was set  in a riveting interview of  retired Supreme Court President Aharon Barak by Maj. Gen. (Res.) Prof. Amos Gilead. The warm applause that greeted this retired jurist and judge was telling of a man who survived the Kovno Ghetto by being smuggled out in a sack before his family immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and who would serve as President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1995 to 2006.

Saving the State. Maj. Gen. (Res.) Prof. Amos Gilead (right) interviews retired Supreme Court President Aharon Barak at the 22nd Herzliya Conference, who delivers a stark warning about the state of Israeli democracy, cautioning that the country lacks critical checks and balances and is “moving away from being democratic.” The Hon. Prof. Aharon Barak | Herzliya Conference 2026

Known for his monumental impact on Israeli law, he warned Israeli democracy was unraveling. Undoing much of the safeguards he had contributed in securing, Barak warned that Israel was losing  – under the current government – the necessary checks and balances, “placing the ultimate responsibility to protect the country’s democracy on the public.”  

And why was he then still optimistic, Barak answered:

 “There is an upcoming election; the people can change direction.”

The esteemed former Supreme Court justice was saying Israel’s salvation lay not with those today in office but with those tomorrow who will vote!

That “tomorrow” is October 27, 2026.

A DEFINING DIFFERENCE

There was something very different about 2026’s Herzliya Conference. Firstly, it was scheduled for weeks earlier but because there was the fear that the war with Iran would again flare up – which it now has – it was postponed,  finally  settling June 30 to July 1. Such uncertainty is the norm these days in Israel. As I write, the Maccabi Games or “Jewish Olympics” is being held, having being postponed from the previous year for the same reason – fear of war!  

In these turbulent times, missiles raining down on Israel’s civilian population is less a surprise and more a question of:

 “Are they from Iran, Hezbollah  or the Houthis?” That covers north, east and south, and would also be from the west if Gaza had not been considerably neutralized.

One of the first questions the residents in my apartment complex collectively ask whenever we hurriedly assemble in the bomb shelter following a siren:

“Who is firing at us? Is the missile coming from  Iran, Lebanon or Yemen?”

This bizarre scenario is a metaphor for life today in Israel. Our attackers could be coming at us from multiple directions and it could be separate or in concert. How frequently in our bomb shelter I would be on WhatsApp with my brother living in the north of Israel who was under attack from Hezbollah while we, in the center of the country, were under ballistic missile attack from Iran. Israel is surrounded by enemies who actively campaign for its demise hence the theme of this year’s Herzliya Conference was:

 “Between National Security and National Resilience”.  

A high-level strategic forum for evaluating Israel’s geopolitical standing and domestic resilience, the Herzliya Conference brings informed individuals from the Israel’s political, military, security, intelligence, academic and business communities together to exchange ideas, share knowledge, and build professional relationships. 

All this in defense of Israel, but this conference in 2026 there was a difference because  speaker after speaker conveyed the fear – Where lies the danger, in Tehran or Jerusalem? Between the crazy Ayatollahs and Bibi’s cobbled – and no less crazy – coalition, one had to try make sense of it all and plot a viable path forward.

As many of the speakers expressed that while Israel relies on “military power”, “economic stability” and “technical innovation”, it relies as much on “social cohesion” and “public trust”, both of which  are currently being eroded. The lack of public trust in Netanyahu’s government  was expressed in full throttle at the panel discussion surrounding Israel’s avoidance of a State Commission of Inquiry into the October 7 disaster.

Participating in the panel were two fathers who had lost children  in the present war. One was Eyal Eshel, father of Roni Eshel,  an IDF observation soldier, murdered at the Nahal Oz base on October 7, 2023. Eyal has become a vocal advocate for accountability, demanding a state commission of inquiry and frequently challenging government officials over the security failures that led to the tragedy. What most exposed the Prime Ministers “disconnect” was when Yoram Yehudai, the father of Ron Yehudai, who was murdered at the Nova music festival related his revulsion to the Channel 14 interview when Netanyahu was asked how he had personally changed since October 7 and jokingly replied that he had “lost a little weight“.”

Really?

“I lost a son and he jokes that he lost weight,” and added “I haven’t laughed at jokes in a thousand days.”

Discussions surrounding Israel’s avoidance of a State Commission of Inquiry into the October 7 disaster were a focal point at the 2026 Herzliya Conference with experts, including military and legal analysts, weighing in on the implications of sidestepping this statutory investigative mechanism.

Avoiding a formal State Commission of Inquiry – which is the most authoritative, independent investigative body under Israeli law, possessing the power to subpoena witnesses and issue binding, personal recommendations – shifts the inquiry to internal government reviews or politically appointed committees.

Panelists at the Conference argued that bypassing this independent probe, threatens long-term military accountability and public trust exposing the prime minister and his governing coalition to the not unfair accusation “as being more concerned over political survival” and “preserving wartime coalition stability,” rather than the national interest.

WEIGHTY ISSUES

Also not sharing Netanyahu’s joke about having “lost weight” since October 7, was  the former Chief of Staff and an aspiring future prime minister.

Interviewed at the Herzliya Conference by Channel 2’s prime time anchor,  Dana Weiss,  Gadi Eisenkot – now Leader of the Yashar Party – brought credibility to his criticism of the prime minister, having lost not “weight” but a son and two nephews in the current war. He stated that his primary goal is to defeat Netanyahu’s coalition, asserting that leaders in command on October 7 “are unfit for the future.”  He makes the case that “Twice, there was a sovereign Jewish kingdom here in the land of Israel,” referring to the Hasmonean Kingdom and the House of David, and “twice, it collapsed and fell apart in the eighth decade of its existence. Once again, we stand at a fateful point.”

To avoid a repeat dissolution, Eisenkot argued for Israelis to unify and come election, to remove the prime minister who he asserts “is out of touch,” and  “unfit” to remain in office.

Eisenkot characterizes the  cabinet as lacking independent thought, stating, “We have a weak Cabinet of submissive people,” allowing Netanyahu to lead the country in the wrong direction without challenge.

UNFIT FOR OFFICE

Being “out of touch” and “unfit” was the shared view of many of the speakers of a government that was undermining (during a war) the unity, solidarity and sustainability of Israeli society by its support of the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) exemption from military and civil service. Conference participants could have opened the front pages of any of the daily papers and seen Haredi protests across the country, blocking traffic in support of their community’s “draft doggers.” This was no ‘Ivory Tower’ academic conference – the issues discussed were playing out on Israeli streets and Israel’s borders.

Experts warned that “demographic shifts and draft exemptions are fracturing national resilience and placing an unsustainable burden on the shrinking portion of the public that serves in the military and productive economy.”

The main concerns expressed regarding the Haredi threat  was what was called the collapse of the “People’s Army” – so foundational and fundamental to Israel’s DNA. Experts highlighted that only about a third (35%) of each Israeli cohort completes significant military service. They warned that it is mathematically unsustainable for this minority to bear the security burden for the remaining 65% of the population indefinitely.

Reinforcing this concern, President Isaac Herzog used his address to warn of the “danger of social disintegration.” He stressed “the urgent need to renew the shared civic contract,” pointing to “the growing alienation between draft-exempt sectors and the broader Israeli public” that is actively bearing the costs of ongoing conflicts.

Despite the government pushing support for Hareidi draft dodgers, there is no dodging reality. Surveys presented at the Conference showed that a vast majority of the Israeli public demands equal burden-sharing, with 72% supporting the conscription of the ultra-Orthodox. The failure to integrate the Haredim into national and security service was cited as a “primary driver” of the extremely “low levels of social cohesion and trust in the government.”

President’s Warning. “Instead of being a diverse and thriving society of brothers and sisters, who quarrel and yet reconcile, we risk becoming a landmass that has broken apart into a handful of islands. Islands of exhausted, worn-out people…armed with a sense of absolute righteousness,” warned President Herzog addressing the 2026 Herzliya Conference. (Photo: GPO/Ma’ayan Toaf)

ECONOMIC STRAIN

Also flagged as existential long-term concerns were the failure of the Haredi educational system to incorporate core secular subjects (like math and science) and the community’s general lack of economic productivity.

Economists at the conference warned that as the productive tax base shrinks relative to the rapidly growing Haredi population, the burden on the working sector risks pushing skilled professionals out of the country.

All these discussions occurred against a backdrop of intense societal division, with the Haredi leadership threatening to dissolve the ruling coalition if the government did not advance laws that would permanently freeze draft enforcement and elevate Torah study to a foundational constitutional value.

EPILOGUE

Now post the conference,  if ever there is an example why this government has failed to  learn its lesson since October 7 and why is needs to be replaced is in the unfolding drama following Israel’s Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir’s recent letter to PM Netanyahu and others warning against legislation that would freeze arrests of Haredi draft dodgers.

Following months of warning that the IDC is facing a critical manpower shortage and needs an influx of 12,000 soldiers, he wrote that such legislation would create “a disincentive to report for miliary service” since it grants immunity from prosecution  and would thus “rather than encourage enlistment” – which is desperately needed –  it would do the opposite.

“Such a move would, “ wrote Zamir, “cause a rapture with those who have borne the burden of fighting for the past two and a half years, and would increase the sense of inequality.”

How can one argue against this logic.

Nevertheless, this is precisely what this government is doing by attacking the country’s top military officer accusing him of indulging in politics instead of focusing on “winning the war,” as expressed by  Likud backbencher, Amit Levy in an Army Radio interview.

As all at the Conference were reminded, was it not Netanyahu who had deflected any criticism for October 7  arguing that the IDF and intelligence services failed to warm him of Hamas’ planned invasion.

 “I was not warned” has been his defense since October 8……

However, we now know this was NOT true. The head of Israeli military intelligence’s Research Division at the time had sent the prime minister a number of letters warning exactly this and the then-IDF Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, repeatedly sought to meet with him in the days leading up to October 7 to warn him about the severe security risks posed by Israel’s internal divisions, but was frequently rebuffed. So too then Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, who too gave multiple warnings to Netanyahu about Hamas and the rising risk of war in the months and days leading up to October 7.

Now we can understand how Netanyahu and those around him ignored the warnings because they are doing it again – in the open  – by publicly ignoring the warning of the head of the IDF that the “military lacks sufficient manpower” thus impairing its ability to fight.  Not only are they ignoring the message but are attacking the messenger. They are doing so  to preserve power at the expense of the people.

Is there any doubt that under a Netanyahu government the people of Israel are facing a ‘Clear and present danger’.

This was reinforced by Likud stalwart and former Speaker of the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein  who gave a sharp address at the Conference  titled “A Half-People’s Army” where he criticized the unequal burden of military service. He advocated for “equality in service,” demanding that all Israeli citizens be subject to the same security service laws at age 18, and warned that the current system places an unsustainable burden on the nation’s reservists. As possibly a sign of a changing political landscape, Edelstein announced last month that he was leaving the party and would not run in the upcoming Likud primary.

All must Serve.  Speaker of the Knesset, MK Yuli Edelstein stated that Israel’s current conscription model is unsustainable arguing that civic duty and security service must be mandatory for all citizens. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXcy3tVPmsY&t=6s)

The message of the conference:

There is an election coming up or as Gadi Eisencott expressed it in historical terms that we again “stand at a fateful point” and: “We are warned!”

Wrong Direction. Interviewed at the Herzliya  Conference by Channel 12 anchor, Dana Weiss, Gadi Eisenkot characterized Israel’s governing cabinet as “weak” with “submissive people,” allowing Netanyahu to lead the country in the wrong direction without challenge.
(https://www.runi.ac.il/en/research-institutes/government/ips/herzliya-conference/hc2026/vod)








While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

THE ISRAEL BRIEF – 13 – 16 July 2026

13 July 2026 – The UN finally admit what we have said for three years, Israel mourns a great friend and more on The Israel Brief.



14 July 2026 – “Brick by brick if necessary”. US Secretary of State launches campaign to dismantle the ICC and more on The Israel Brief.



15 July 2026 – The PM issues a warning to Iran and more on The Israel Brief.



16 July 2026 – Roro has a lot to say about JD Vance channeling his inner Groyper and more on The Israel Brief.




13 July 2026 – Rolene Marks talks to Rob Schilling about Iran, elctions and more.







While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

THE ANTISEMITIC GOSPEL ACCORDING TO REDI TLHABI

Relocated to the US, a popular South African journalist switches media platform to further outreach her antisemitism.

By Lawrence Nowosenetz

Relocated to Washington DC, South African journalist Redi Tlhabi broadcasts to a third of a billion people for the Qatari based network Al Jazeera.

For four months she has recited the oldest conspiracy theory in Europe, named it as antisemitism, and then told her audience it is true. Measured against the two screens the United States itself uses, the IHRA working definition and Natan Sharansky’s 3D test, an identifiable and fully documented body of her output stops being simply criticism of Israel.

Before leaving for overseas, Redi Tlhabi worked for many years as a broadcaster on Johannesburg based station Radio 702. She hosted her own programme called the Redi Tlhabi Show for about 10 years. Radio 702 is part of Primedia a broadcast media group founded by Issie Kirsch and his son William in 1994. Besides having Jewish management in its formative years, Radio 702 also featured well known and popular Jewish radio personalities John Berks and Stan Katz. This era also saw the new democratic South Africa formed and Radio 702 led the way as a talk radio station where openness and freedom of expression on radio flourished.

Redi was Ready. Back in 2018, Redi Tlhabi was all fired up to be anchoring a new current affairs show, named Unfiltered on SABC.

Funded in large part by the government of Qatar and chartered as an arm of the Qatari state, Tlhabi presents its popular current affairs programme UpFront. This is despite that the US Department of Justice ordered in 2020 for Al Jazeera to register as a foreign agent after concluding that it operated at the direction of the Qatari government. Viewed as the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera is banned across most of the Middle East, including Egypt, Israel, Bahrain, the Palestinian Authority controlled areas and other countries. It refused, arguing that it reaches out to more than 430 million consumers over 150 countries. To that outreach, Tlhabi adds roughly 700,000 followers on X.

There is a gospel Redi Tlhabi has preached with regularity this year that it now functions as an obvious self-evident truth. She takes the oldest conspiracy theory in European history – the belief that Jews secretly control the money, the media and the machinery of government – and calls it before anyone can object, exactly what it is – an antisemitic trope. Then, despite revealing exactly what it is by her own admission and acknowledgement, she falsely imparts to her viewers it to be true.

She comes to this conclusion following scrutiny.

Really?

Regrettably, Tlhabi neglects to also inform her audience that her present Qatari employer is far from being Jewish and that when she worked for a South African Jewish media company earlier in her career, she enjoyed success without any reproach against her apparent Jewish ‘controllers’.

Bigotry is seldom logical or fair, but always harmful and dangerous. Tlhabi has overstepped the antisemitism red line and now presents an affront to human dignity and freedom not only of Jews but to democratic society of all races and creeds where respect, truth and justice still matter.

‘Upfront’ in her Prejudice. Working for her new boss Al Jazeera, Redi Tlhabi is more than happy to propagate an antisemitic narrative evidenced by her postings like “…the Israeli lobby uses money and power to  control the US and its lawmakers.”

Like happiness, antisemitism means different thing to different people. Yet antisemitism mutates. It has shifted from being hatred of Jews to hatred of the Jewish state. This reality is strongly contested by anti-Israel and anti-Zionist voices but nevertheless the standard definition has found traction. Let’s begin with the standard, even if Tlhabi will say the standard is rigged. The United States government itself uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition. The State Department has applied it since 2010; Executive Order 13899 made it a reference point for federal civil-rights enforcement in 2019; the 2023 National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism adopted it; and more than half of the states in the USA have endorsed it. The definition carries its own brake, written into its text: criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. (My emphasis)

The IHRA definition offers, as its textbook illustration, the making of “mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective, such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.”

That is the classic canard, named by the authors of the definition.

On 4 June, Tlhabi proudly proclaimed:

  • “Control the whole world… I thought this was an antisemitic trope.”  She clearly identifies with this old timeworn lie.
  • On 11 May 2026 she asked her followers whether it is an “antisemitic trope still” to say Israel “wants to control social media.”   
  • On 21 March 2026, she dropped any vestige of a bland façade:

        “So can we say the Israeli lobby uses money and power to  control the US and its lawmakers? … I think we must.”

  • On 5 June 2026, she instructed her audience to stop caring what they are called, because words like “control, influence, money” simply describe the truth.

This is the defining moment and the turning point when the certainty of prejudice allows no questioning or doubt.   We have seen it before and we thought it was dead and buried after the Nazi era: Sheer and unadulterated anti-Jewish hatred and vilification.

Natan Sharansky’s older 3D test draws the same line and names the three markers of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel animus: demonization, double standards, and delegitimisation. A writer may despise the Israeli government, reject Zionism as a political ideology, call the conduct of the war in Gaza criminal, and still sit on the safe side of every line. The bar is set high by design. Criticism is not silenced. Obsessive discrimination is not lightly inferred. Tlhabi comfortably clears these hurdles and effortlessly enters the terrain of vicious hate filled antisemitism.

The machinery does not vary. She recites the conspiracy theory, names it as a conspiracy theory so that nobody can accuse her of ignorance, and then asserts that it is accurate.  Tlhabi has done it across dozens of posts, openly and brazenly from a desk in Washington DC. She speaks with the voice of undisputed authority.  “Those who know, know” she posted on X on 30 June 2026. No fact checking, no proof just sheer certainty. It is hard to reconcile such crude irrational dogmatism with a highly educated journalist and influential public model.

On 13 March, she ran the charge as sarcasm, reciting “it is antisemitic to say Israel controls US politicians” in the voice of someone tired of pretending it is false.  The conduct matches the IHRA definition’s own example of the world-conspiracy myth, and it matches Sharansky’s demonization criterion.  Absurd too and equally insulting of the sovereignty and power of the USA to suggest that its politicians are unduly influenced by a foreign government or individuals.   

Tlhabi’s response to a blog in the Times of Israel (ToI) by a private identified contributor is illustrative of her conspiracy theorising.  The article titled “Africa Must Fragment, South Africa First” argued that South Africa should be broken into ethnic successor states. A Tlhabi social media user posted this blog on Tlhabi’s comment section adding that (undefined) “they”, were “behind this nyaka nyaka (a colloquial African term for chaos) and “will stop at NOTHING.” Tlhabi quote-tweeted that post with a resounding affirmation:

 “Nnete,” she wrote in Sesotho, her mother tongue (meaning true) and: “Mossad is GOOD. I hope our investigative journalists are working. I’m happy to give them leads”.   

A Tlhabi social media user’s comment had become, in Tlhabi’s hands, proof of an Israeli intelligence operation to fragment a continent, and she was volunteering her services to help reporters investigate and expose this evil plan. The IHRA definition speaks of the myth of a world Jewish conspiracy. Here is that myth, transposed to Africa, named as Mossad and offered to journalists as a tip.

Tlhabi’s second category of demonization shifts from the Jewish State, Israel to individual Jews in South Africa. Her most sustained personal campaign of the year is against a respected rabbi. She has called South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein, “a divisive, hateful man.” She has charged that he “whips up fear and uses hyperbole to create the impression that Jews are in danger, from the rest of us.” She fails to acknowledge the real and existential dangers Jewish communities have faced worldwide since the 7 October 2023 atrocities and the incitement – including actual physical attacks – on Jewish civilians in Western cities.  Instead, she attributes to the head of Orthodox Jewry in South Africa his concern for his congregation as paranoia and a fraudulent accusation against ordinary society.

Redi and the Rabbi. Redi Tlhabi posts about South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein, “You want Jews to feel hated and afraid. That’s your currency.”

This malicious instinct extends to private Jewish South African citizens. Mark Saltzman, a member of the prominent family behind the South African pharmacy chain Dis-Chem criticised her over Israel. She recast his family’s philanthropy as proof of a hidden design, writing that he:

 “…inadvertently confirms that money is donated as a [form] of control.”

The old trope about Jewish money, applied this time to a Jewish businessman rather than to a lobby in the abstract, surfaced the moment the quarrel spotlighted her personal animus against Israel.  

In the USA, when a New York turbulent primary between two Jewish Democrats, Brad Lander and sitting Rep. Dan Goldman, produced a result that some Jewish New Yorkers found alarming, Tlhabi reposted a message that mocked that anxiety:

“Praying for your safety tonight, after one Jewish man was defeated by another Jewish man.”

Mocking Message. Responding to Rep. Dan Goldman, who shortly following been banned from a Brooklyn coffee shop over posture on Israel and was then unseated by a Mamdani-backed Brad Lander, Redi Tlhabi posted a message mocking “… one Jewish man was defeated by another Jewish man.” (Photo: Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

She reposted an item declaring that “Jews are many things, but stupid is not one of them.” She is perfectly right in that observation evidenced in achievements across academic, scientific and economic spheres, but her framing of their undoubted accomplishments was meant in a disparaging and dehumanising sense by referring to cryptic and unnamed “many things” that Jews are good at. Were any other religious, ethnic or national group to be characterized in this manner, it would rightly be regarded as racist. 

In her coverage of a shooting at an Islamic centre in San Diego and the Jewish community’s caring response proving “the urgent, universal need for security protections at all faith-based sites,” Tlhabi inferred that Jewish fear of violence was a ruse. In her view, the World Jewish Congress recasts Jewish anxiety about antisemitism as a cynical tactic “at best conspiratorial.” For Tlhabi, Jewish conspiracy is a constant recurring theme in her reportage

The third category of her antisemitism is the easiest to evidence and the least contested supported by Sharansky’s unfailing 3D test.  Tlhabi has posted the bare utterance “Israel is a terrorist state” on at least seven separate occasions in four months, the way a congregation recites a creed.

She has luridly described Israeli soldiers as:

– “savages”

– “murderers”

– in “the grip of some psychosis”,

– a “genocidal state led by psychopaths” and

– “filth”.

Such is the gospel of Tlhabi.

A reader may believe that the Israeli military has committed grave crimes in Gaza and still recognise that “savages”, “psychopaths” and “filth” is the vocabulary of degradation and dehumanisation – the precise character assassination the antisemitism definitions exist to flag.

Her reply is on the record, and it deserves to be put plainly. She holds that opposition to Zionism concerns a political ideology and a state, with no bearing on Jews as a people, and that the charge of antisemitism is a cudgel used to silence her. Writing in News24, she observed that when she criticises Israel, she is called an antisemite, and added that she can “live with this title.”

The frameworks marshalled against her are, moreover, contested. The American Civil Liberties Union and others have warned that the IHRA examples can be stretched to chill legitimate speech, and many reasonable people read the Israel-related clauses in good faith and reject them.  This tired response overlooks:

– the crucial delineation between criticism and defamation

– between informed comment and character assassination

– between established facts and baseless dogmatic falsehoods.  Anyone who resists rational debate and factual challenge is not part of the enterprise called civilizational enquiry and progress.

The safe harbour Tlhabi relies on to protect criticism of Israel is “similar to that levelled against any other country.” No – it is completely different:  A double standard and hypocrisy as wide as the Grand Canyon. At present there is a genocide case against Myanmar pending in the ICJ. One does not see the leaders and supporters of Myanmar being described by Tlhabi or the media as psychopaths or the like. Similarly, those responsible for the huge human suffering, sexual abuse, starvation and death in Sudan are not singled out for dehumanisation or demonization. The deposed President of Syria, responsible for suffering, death and displacement of millions of Syrians also has not been subjected to close scrutiny or denunciation by Tlhabi – certainly not with such extreme language.

Measured against the definition the United States government itself applies and against the test a former Soviet prisoner devised to separate criticism from hatred, an identifiable body of what Redi Tlhabi broadcasts meets the egregious markers of antisemitism: world conspiracy theories, demonization delegitimation and double standards.

She flagrantly rejects the official antisemitism policy of the USA, her gracious host. 

Tlhabi enjoys the freedoms in the USA including freedom of speech which she does not accord others who challenges her views. She benefits from a platform which is a Qatari state backed broadcaster with a reach of more than 430 million people and a personal following of three quarters of a million.  She is a foreign national in Washington DC who has satisfied herself that the world conspiracy is real and that her task is to help the rest of us see it. She spotted the trope, identified and named it, and then told a third of a billion people that it was true. She is unwilling to allow her bigoted views to stand scrutiny. She should be held accountable for her contribution to the incitement and violence which has manifested in the US and across major Western countries against individuals, although unfortunately she is not alone. 

Redi Tlhabi is abusing her freedoms to deprive Jews of their right to safety and dignity.



About the writer:

Born in Pretoria Lawrence Nowosenetz obtained his BA at University of the Witwatersrand and LLB at the University of South Africa. He has been admitted as an Attorney in South Africa and as an advocate in South Africa. He practiced at the Pretoria and Johannesburg Bar and worked as a human rights and labour lawyer at the Legal Resources Centre a public interest law firm. Lawrence was Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and completed professional internship in the USA. He was a a labour arbitrator and mediator, part time Senior Commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) as well as a panelist at Tokiso Dispute Settlement. He was a member of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and Pretoria Chairman. He has also served as an Acting Judge of the High Court, South Africa. He now lives in Tel Aviv.





*Feature picture: Redi Tlhabi (Illustrative image: Daily Maverick | Gemini)







While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

Lay of the Land Weekly Newsletter – 12 July 2026

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THE ISRAEL BRIEF – 06 – 09 July 2026
(Click on the blue title)



Lay of the Land’s Image ‘Pick of the Week‘

“CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE”

US vs Iran – Round 3 at the heavyweight bout in the Gulf

Wheelers and Dealers. “I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum,” a bruised Trump told reporters earlier
this week – until the next round!  Meanwhile Israelis are waiting for the siren and the mad dash for shelter.
(Photo: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, REUTERS/Stringer)




ARTICLES

Please note there is a facility to comment beneath each article should you wish to express an opinion on the subject addressed.

(1)

50 YEARS SINCE ENTEBBE AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONNECTION

Recalling the Entebbe rescue brought back memories of the heroism of two South Africans in Israel’s ‘The Great Escape’.
By David E. Kaplan

Out of the Blue. From personal interviews with South African participants, the writer weaves an insider’s take of the monumental events of a daring 1976 rescue mission that mesmerized the world and defined the Jewish nation.

50 YEARS SINCE ENTEBBE AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONNECTION
(Click on the blue title)



(2)

CALL THE MIDWIFE

When they are needed the most, Israeli nurses and midwives are always by your side, providing innovative solutions.
By Rolene Marks

‘Labor’ of Love. Imagine the mixed emotions of bringing a child into the world having lost your husband in war. Enter Lilly and Meirav and the Israeli Midwives Organization providing special support for IDF widows and women suffering stress throughout pregnancy and childbirth.

CALL THE MIDWIFE
(Click on the blue title)




(3)

A PESSIMISTIC PRESCIENCE

Willing to take, but not to give – have the ultra-Orthodox in a post October 7 world overplayed their hand?
By Stephen Schulman

A Bridge too Far. Storming the Chords Bridge in the entrance to Jerusalem, ultra-orthodox men have drawn
battle lines that are dividing the nation. “Learned in the ways of the Torah and Talmud but blind to the
realities of living in a hostile Middle East” have the ultra-orthodox rabbis gone too far?

A PESSIMISTIC PRESCIENCE
(Click on the blue title)



(4)

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, MILITANT ISLAM AND QATAR

The power of money to influence, corrupt and ultimately erode the liberal western way of life.
By Neville Berman

Nefarious Network. A disturbing inside look, inter alia, at Qatar’s “holy” world and its “‘All in the
Family” syndicate waging global Jihad and state-sponsored terrorism upon a vulnerable
and gullible world dependent on oil and gas.

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, MILITANT ISLAM AND QATAR
(Click on the blue title)



LOTL Cofounders David E. Kaplan (Editor), Rolene Marks and Yair Chelouche

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While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).


THE ISRAEL BRIEF – 06 – 09 July 2026

06 July 2026 – A special update about former hostages, your top stories and more on The Israel Brief.



07 July 2026 – We are talking Turkey (and F35’s) and more on The Israel Brief.



08 July 2026 – Ceasefire between US and Iran over? Your news updates on The Israel Brief.



09 July 2026 – Israel braces as the US and Iran increase mutual strikes, who made both the mensch and moron list and more on The Israel Brief. 





While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

50 YEARS SINCE ENTEBBE AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONNECTION

Recalling the Entebbe rescue brought back memories of the heroism of two South Africans in Israel’s ‘The Great Escape’.

By David E. Kaplan

One of the bravest and most successful rescue operations in human history, many who were around at the time will recall where they were when the story broke. I was a law student in South Africa travelling by car between Durban and Cape Town and was sitting in a Wimpy Bar in Grahamstown when the restaurant’s TV broke to Breaking News to announce the unfolding drama. Little did I know at the time that years later I would be interviewing two South African heroes who participated in the rescue Dr. Jossy Faktor and Ricky Davis. Both had been members of South African Jewish youth movements before immigrating to Israel.

Honouring Heroism. Formally of Pretoria, South Africa, Dr. Jossy Faktor (right) of ‘The Entebbe Raid’ medical team, receives a Lieutenant Colonel rank from Chief of Staff, Ehud Barak (left), duly assisted by Faktor’s wife Barbara and their granddaughter.

The crisis that led to the Entebbe Raid began on the 27th June, when four terrorists seized an Air France plane, flying from Israel to Paris with 248 passengers on board. The hijackers – two from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two from Germany’s Baader-Meinhof gang – diverted the aircraft, ‘flight 139’ to Entebbe. There, the hijackers were joined by three more colleagues who then demanded the release of fifty-three of their associates held in jails in Israel and four other countries. The clock was ticking. If the detainees were not released, they would begin killing hostages.

SHADES OF THE SHOAH 

The plot of the unfolding saga drew in a global audience mesmerized by the twists and turns of a modern-day Homeric epic. Abduction and rescue – the stage was set for a cataclysmic clash of wills. On the one side, an anguished Israel, while on the other, German and Palestinian terrorists aided and abetted by one of Africa’s most notorious dictators, President Idi Amin. Stories abounded by this man’s evil proclivities, notable that he had a certain taste for eating his enemies.

It was said that his palace fridge had been a real ‘who’s who’ in Ugandan politics – leftovers to go with the salad. Some 3,400 kilometres away, a nervous Israeli government was agonizing which way to move. No options were risk free.

The terrorists then played a card that simplified the decision.

They separated the passengers – Jews from non-Jews – releasing the latter. Shades of the Shoah colored the unfolding drama and Israel now stood alone.

The Jewish state also knew what it had to do.

It was a proud cast of characters who participated in the mission dubbed by the Israeli military – “Operation Thunderbolt”. Amongst the medical team on board one of the four C-130 Hercules aircraft, was a former South African from Pretoria, Dr. Jossy Faktor. A gynecologist and obstetrician, Jossy at the time was serving in the permanent force of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and would later rise to become its Surgeon General.

Dreaming About Tomorrow.  Planning for life in Israel, Jossy Faktor (sitting far right) in the late 1950s together with the national leadership of South Africa’s Jewish youth movement ‘Habonim’ in Johannesburg. (Credit: Habonim Dror)

When the call came summoning the 36-year-old doctor to report for duty, Jossy and his wife Barbara were clicking champagne glasses celebrating the tenth wedding anniversary of their old Habonim friends, the Kessels in Ra’anana. Little did they all know when Jossy hurriedly stepped out of Terry and Carol’s front door, that he was about to enter the history books.

At roughly the same time, 21-year-old Ricky Davis was with his paratrooper unit at Wingate when the call came through. Only two years earlier, Ricky, a member of Betar in Port Elizabeth, made Aliyah and within three months joined the IDF. “We immediately packed up and assembled at a base near Petach Tikva. Although we were aware of the hijack drama playing out at Entebbe, we had no idea that we would be connected. We went on so many hair-raising missions into Lebanon and Jordan in those days that we assumed it was another of the ‘usual ops.”

Ready To Rescue. Originally from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Ricky Davis at the time of ‘The Entebbe Raid’, whose unit was tasked with neutralizing the Ugandan Russian Migs on the airport tarmac.

Once assembled at the base:

 “Everything became top secret. We began training, still not knowing our destination. Only at the last stage, were we brought into the picture. My unit was to secure the escape by destroying, in advance, anything that could jeopardize our escape.”

“NO GOING BACK”

The next day saw Jossy being briefed by the Surgeon General, the late Dan Michaeli. “I was instructed to quickly put together an aero-medical team.” Although Jossy’s specialization was gynecology, he had been trained in aviation medicine that included ensuring the health of aircrews and aero-medical evacuations. While there had been missions and escapades in the past, nothing would come close to what he was to experience in the next few days. “The success of the operation was secrecy, and because the public at the time was well aware of the hostage crisis, we had to come up with something to deflect attention. Also, we needed to obtain a large supply of blood from Magen David Adom (Israel’s Red Cross), and that necessitated a credible cover story. We did not want anyone – least of all the media – questioning why we suddenly needed so much blood. Because nothing quite like this had ever been attempted, we had no idea of what casualties to expect. Anyway, the word went out that a crisis was developing on the northern border with Lebanon, and we would need medical teams and blood. The story held, and we took off with only those involved in the operation in the know.”

The final briefings were divided according to the different roles to be performed by the various participants. “We were briefed by Dr. Ephraim Sneh, who was the overall commander of the medical teams.”

Jossy describes the flight as long and uneventful.

“We left Friday morning and landed at Sharem el Sheik, stopping for essentially two reasons.  Firstly, for refueling. We had enough to get us to Entebbe, but no more. And as we did not expect the ground staff at Entebbe to accommodate us by refueling our planes, we needed sufficient fuel to take off after the rescue and make it to Nairobi.” The other reason for the stopover was no less intriguing. “When we took off in Israel, the Cabinet had still not decided to go through with the mission. The risks obviously weighed enormously with them and so wanted to keep the option to abort open until the last moment. On the runway at Sharem El Sheik, we received the final green light. Now there was no going back.”

Fake News. Rather than report that Israel recues its hostages, a Ugandan newspaper reports that “Israelis invade Entebbe”.

CHATTING IN THE COCKPIT

The last stretch of the flight to Entebbe “we flew at a very low altitude to avoid radar detection. The turbulence was heavy, but it did not bother me,” says Jossy. “I recall there was very little chatting; everyone was so wrapped up with their own thoughts. I spent much of my time in the cockpit as the captain, Amnon Halivni, was a good friend of mine.”

Jossy traveled with the medical teams in the fourth Hercules. “Our plane was virtually empty ready to accommodate the hostages and expected wounded.”

The other three planes carried ground forces, with the black Mercedes Benz and Land Rovers on board the first aircraft. The word out on the street was that the Mercedes was owned by an Israeli civilian and was apparently sprayed black so it would appear as the Ugandan’s president’s car when approaching the terminal building. However, the intelligence was dated. The two Ugandan sentries on duty that morning were well aware that their President had recently purchased a white Mercedes replacing his black one. They ordered the motorcade to stop. Had they had the opportunity for a closer look they would have also noticed that the steering wheel was on the wrong side of the car, but by that time, they were both dead.

Planed To Perfection. The Black Mercedes used to fool Uganda soldiers in the Israeli raid on Entebbe parked aboard an Israeli transport plane with commandos from Sayeret Matkal. (Photo: IDF Spokesman)

In fear of prematurely alerting the terrorists inside the terminal, the subterfuge motorcade sped up and the assault teams quickly went into action.

INTO BATTLE

Jossy’s aircraft had been the last to land. Throughout the operation “we stayed on board, preparing for the arrival of our passengers. It took just under forty minutes for the first casualties to arrive. The waiting was the worst. We felt like sitting ducks as the battle ensured. In the end we needed only six stretchers, one of which was used for Yoni Netanyahu, who died on the way to the aircraft.”

Ricky’s unit, tasked with getting away safely, took care of the Russian Migs on the airport tarmac. “The real danger was that they could give chase, easily catch us, and shoot us down. We were not taking any chances and blew them up with anti-tank missiles.” Adds this warrior, “Yes, we stopped for coffee in Nairobi on the return flight home.”

The enormity of what these daring men had pulled off “only sunk in,” says Jossy “when we touched down at Tel Nof Airbase and were met by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres. It was only then, safe on Israeli soil, that people felt free to express their emotions.”

Decisive Duo. Taking enormous risks that paid off, Defense Minister Shimon Peres (right) with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (left) welcoming the released Entebbe hostages upon their return to Israel on July 4, 1976. (Defense Ministry Archives)

AND THEN THERE WAS THREE…

Another South African would emerge in the aftermath of the Entebbe Raid. His name is Maurice Rogev, a famed forensic pathologist who had settled in Israel in the 1960s after legendary activities across East Africa that fed rumors “not without foundation,” to be in the sometime-service of the Mossad. All this he revealed to me in an exclusive interview in 1997. 

Prowling Pathologist. Searching for bodies, forensic pathologist Maurice Rogev (left) in Kenya during the Mau-Mau uprising where he met Kenyata and later attracted the attention of the Mossad.

Like Faktor, Maurice, too had been a member of the South African Habonim movement. He left Cape Town hurriedly in 1948 after listening attentively on the radio that the National Party had won the election. “I’m outer here,” he told his girlfriend and left the country. He enters the Entebbe story with the exit of one of the fateful passengers of the hi-jacked Air France Flight 139,  Dora Bloch, a dual Israeli-British citizen. Dora, who had taken ill on the plane and was sent to a hospital in Kampala  was hence not rescued with the other hostages during Israel’s Operation Entebbe. She then was reported missing from the hospital, which led to Britain cutting diplomatic ties with Uganda. Her body was discovered in 1979 in a sugar plantation near the capital.

Maurice filled me in on the gaps.

State Sanctioned Murder. Dora Bloch in 1971. In February 2007, declassified British government documents confirmed that she had been murdered by Ugandan authorities on Amin’s orders.

“The day after Idi Amin was overthrown in Uganda, I was contacted by the Mossad. The next day I was on a plane to Nairobi and from there to Kampala where the new president of Uganda was keeping the remains in a bank vault, the safest place he could think of. What happened was that the day Idi Amin fell, a disheveled man presented himself at the gate of the British Embassy asking to speak to the Ambassador. They took him to the guardroom and he said, “I am the man who buried Dora Bloch.” He revealed that after he buried her, he knew he would be killed off by Amin if he did not disappear. So, he raced to his home village near the Kenyan border and stayed there until Amin was overthrown. Examining the body, Maurice identified her remains from her dentures.

“The Butcher”. A smiling President Idi Amin visits the hostages at Entebbe Airport, whereafter, following the successful Israeli rescue said “Israel should be condemned in the strongest possible terms for this aggression,” and took his revenge by murdering of one of its passengers left behind, the elderly Dora Bloch. (Photo: AP)

“I found the initials of her Tel Aviv dentist on her dentures. She was prepared for burial and transported to Israel.” Dora Bloch was given an Israeli state funeral buried in Jerusalem’s Har HaMenuchot Cemetery.

In the immediate aftermath of the rescue mission, the government of Uganda convened a session of the UN Security Council to seek official condemnation of Israel for violating Ugandan sovereignty. The Security Council ultimately declined to pass any resolution on the matter. The words of Israel’s ambassador to the UN at the time, Chaim Herzog:

“We are proud not only because we have saved the lives of over a hundred innocent people – men, women and children – but because of the significance of our act for the cause of human freedom.”

Does his address to the Security Council resonates no less today as his son Isaac Herzog the 11th president of the State of Israel has presided since October 7, 2023 over the worst atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish people since the Shoah?

In 1976, the terrorists at Entebbe – like the Nazis – separated  the Jews from the other passengers and held them as hostages.

For the most part the world was indifferent. 

Ordeal Over. Rescued passengers welcomed at Ben Gurion Airport.

In 2023, a new generation of terrorists took Jewish hostages, and the world was not only indifferent it embraced the terrorists wishing that Jews and the Jewish state would disappear as global antisemitism emerged like a wildfire out of control.

Here is the stark reality from the Israeli perspective:

The terrorists at Entebbe were all killed.

The terrorists on October 7 have for the most part  been killed or are being killed.

And as for Israel?

Am Yisrael Chai.



*Feature picture: Escape from Entebbe. In July 6, 1976, the world learns a word – Entebbe.





While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

A PESSIMISTIC PRESCIENCE

Willing to take, but not to give – have the ultra-Orthodox in a post October 7 world overplayed their hand?

By Stephen Schulman

Living in Israel in these particularly troubled and turbulent times, and after encountering a certain photograph in the newspaper, my thoughts were inexorably drawn back to the contents of an article that appeared some years ago, long before the October 7th massacre, in the weekend magazine of a Hebrew daily.

The article was penned by an Israeli journalist who had travelled to England and interviewed the chief  Hamas ideologue who was then residing there. He was most cordially received by this punctilious and affable gentleman who then set out to calmly, patiently and methodically explain his genocidal terrorist organization’s long-term master plan for the destruction of Israel. “Look,” he said, “We follow your media very closely and are aware of what is constantly transpiring within your country. We see a house divided. Many sectors exist, each pursuing their own interests, often inimical to the others and competing to attain as much as possible at the expense of the state. You are becoming a weakened country and in order to survive will have to continually make concessions to us. Eventually, when we dominate and control, you Jews will either have to leave and return from whence you came or be pushed into the sea.”

A chilling observation with an ominous ending. Nevertheless, a photograph taken during an anti-conscription protest of the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) sector, brings some hard truths home. The picture shows a Haredi protester holding a commercially printed banner about two meters in length that contains two pictures each with their own captions. The first one is of a crematorium in an extermination camp and the second one is of the identical picture with the caption:

“We will not send our children to the crematoria of the IDF.” (Israel Defense Force)

Anti-conscription demonstrations by the Haredi with their panoply of scurrilous banners and placards, take place regularly, often turning violent with chants of: “We will die rather than serve in the army,” and they, unfortunately, have become so part and parcel of our daily lives that we have grown accustomed to them. Nevertheless, I was shocked to my core for here was a poster so vicious, and so callous that it defiles and desecrates the memory of the martyrs of the Holocaust. For a Jew to equate serving in the Israeli army with burning in the ovens of the Nazi death camps, reveals the unfathomable depths of blind hatred that exist within a sector comprising a present 14% of the population – and that for all extents and purposes has become a state within a state.

A Bridge too Far. Manning the Chords Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem, ultra-orthodox men have drawn battle lines that is dividing the nation.(Photo: AP Photo/Leo Correa)

This inner state of the ultra-Orthodox Haredim with its different sectors and sects has evolved, not overnight, nor despite, but with the acquiescence, complicity, and nurturing of the liberal secular democratic state which within it exists. Since the Israeli electoral system is one of proportionate representation, it allows groups and/or sectors to form their own political parties to represent and pursue their own interests. Consequently, there have been many small parties that have carried weight far beyond their size as the major ones needed their support to cobble together a coalition in order to attain a parliamentary majority and effect legislation. The ultra-Orthodox bloc has long been a decisive factor in many successive governments in swinging the balance towards a coalition majority. Throughout the years, in return for its support, prime ministers have acquiesced to their lists of demands that have swelled exponentially and they have been given – disproportionately to their representation in the Knesset – various key ministries and posts controlling and dispensing large budgets. Consequently, their demands have grown interminably and their appetite has grown insatiably as they tenaciously hang onto and voraciously suckle on the swollen pap of the public purse. This accrual of political power, public funds, social and welfare benefits plus being sheltered from shouldering the economic and military burden has enabled the ultra-Orthodox parties to develop their own state within that of the liberal secular democratic one.

Creating Chaos. Despite the outrage to the general population and the causing of a constitutional crisis, PM Netanyahu conspires with the leaders of the Haredi parties to pass a draft exemption law. (Photos: Yair Sagi, Reuven Castro, Amit Shaavi, AFP, Alex Kolomoisky, Yoav Dudkevich, AP)

This de facto autonomous state, theocratic and authoritarian in nature, is ruled and strictly controlled, together with a fixed hierarchy, by councils of elderly learned rabbis. The Shas party representing the Jewry from Arab countries (Sephardim) has at its spiritual head a former chief rabbi, scion of a distinguished rabbinic family, whose pronouncements reflect an insularity, narrow mindedness, intolerance, arrogance and contempt for the liberal secular democratic state, with the Council of Sephardi Torah Sages sharing similar views. The pious leader of the Shas bloc in the Knesset is Aryeh Deri – a distinguished felon and former convict who in 2002 had sat in prison for two years after being convicted for breach of trust, moral turpitude, corruption and bribery while serving in a government post. But, as the saying goes: “Practice makes perfect” and on 20 November 2018, Israeli police ended a criminal investigation into Deri with a recommendation to state prosecutors that he be indicted for “committing fraud, breach of trust, obstructing court proceedings, money laundering, and tax offense.” Later, the state attorney decided to drop all charges except for the tax offense. The Ashkenazi bloc (Jews from European countries) is also ruled by a Council of Torah Sages consisting of elderly rabbis – who share roughly the same sentiments towards the secular state, seeing it solely as a means towards their common goal with Shas of having their communities devote themselves entirely to Torah studies to the exclusion of all else.

These leaders control the lives of those that live within this state, and depend upon it for employment, housing, social welfare and financial benefits. It has its own educational system with a fixed syllabus that perpetuates the status quo, denying its graduates the skills to be employable in the outer state and rendering them dependent on their own one. Their leaders also decide the voting in municipal and general elections. It regulates the public and private discourse, dress code, behaviour, morals and public taste, defining what is acceptable and forbidden. Those who deviate from these strict societal norms are punished and those who choose to leave this state are regarded as pariahs to be shunned.

Blocking Roads to Blocking Country’s Future. Ultra-Orthodox protesters, some of them wearing Holocaust-inspired yellow stars at a Haredi demonstration against military service at the Ben Shemen Interchange in central Israel, June 11, 2026 are blocking a way . (Photo: Israel Police)

Ironically, this state of the ultra-Orthodox cannot exist on its own and is an integral part of the outer liberal democratic one on which it entirely depends to build its homes, supply and maintain the vital infrastructures of water, electricity and multiple municipal and government services. The secular democratic liberal state maintains public health services, hospitals, public transport and the police. The ultra-Orthodox population, like the rest of Israel’s citizens, enjoy all the benefits of a modern welfare state. In essence, due to their large families, high level of unemployment and correspondingly high levels of poverty, they are privileged and enjoy subsidies in public transport, children’s day care, municipal rates and many other perks. While their population comprises 14% of the population, their contribution in taxes is a negligible 4% and many of their families enjoy negative taxation. All this translates into a tax burden on the rest of the population.

Tragically and deplorably, the ultra-Orthodox regard themselves as apart, superior and distinct – willing to take but not to give – and this attitude manifests itself in their abject refusal to do military service. Their elderly rabbis are learned in the ways of the Torah and Talmud but willfully blind to the realities of living in a hostile Middle East. Haunted by the spectre of hordes of their faithful defecting to the corrupting sin pits of an IDF Sodom and Gomorrah that will lead them to perdition, they expressly forbid them to don a uniform.

Raw Nerve. Referring to the Israeli state that financially supports their lifestyle as the “ENEMY STATE” has touched a raw nerve following October 7 and the ensuing wars.

Today, the State of Israel is in crisis. Almost three years of continuous existential conflict defending the country against our enemies has taken a tremendous toll on our non-ultra-Orthodox citizens. In defending the country, more than 1,150 Israeli soldiers, police personnel, and security officials have died with many thousands being wounded and permanently scarred, both physically and mentally. The circle of bereavement has widened immeasurably as too many families have had to mourn the loss of their beloved ones. Young women have been widowed, children growing up fatherless and parents denied the joy of standing together under the wedding canopy. Countless citizens’ lives have been turned upside down as army reservists have spent hundreds of days on the battlefields. Family lives have been disrupted, jobs lost and businesses closed down. Young people having just finished three years of army service, see their goal of uninterrupted tertiary studies vanish down the tubes as they once more are called up for long periods The Israel Defense Forces is facing a critical manpower shortage and urgently needs at least 12,000 more recruits to ease the load on those serving.

Where to get them?

A simple solution: the ultra-Orthodox population presently has 80,000 young men eligible for the draft, but an insoluble problem: they refuse to serve. “But,” you naively ask:

“These young men are citizens and the law obliges them to serve. In fact, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that stressed this obligation and they all got call up notifications. So why don’t they come?”

The guide for the perplexed lies within the country’s political climate. The thirty-seventh government of Israel was formed on 29 December 2022, with Netanyahu at its head. Netanyahu, a seasoned wheeler dealer, for his own personal reasons, went out of his way to form a coalition government and to meet the demands of the different factions, creating a lumbering and costly dinosaur of 38 ministers and deputy ministers. The ultra-Orthodox bloc, seasoned political extortionists aware of their power, with 17 out of a total 120 Knesset seats extracted a dream agreement: key ministries, huge budgets, sitting firmly on the gravy train and success in their quest for the cherished holy grail: Bibi’s commitment to legislation giving permanent blanket exemption for all military aged members of their community.

Pouncing on the Police. Haredi protesters stormed the home of the head of Israel’s Military Police in the south of the country in protest against the arrest of draft evaders.

Now, a few months before the coming elections, the State of Israel stands at the crossroads and must determine a path that decides the future character and possible fate of the country. The Knesset will be dissolved and enter its pre-election recess on July 17th and Bibi has not delivered the goods. The promised legislation has not been passed and to make matters worse – anathema to their leaders who told them all to destroy their call up notices – a few token Haredi draft evaders have actually been arrested and jailed. The ultra-Orthodox camp has reacted with fury: protesters blocking main junctions and a motorcade led by their Knesset representatives deliberately setting out, just before afternoon rush hour, causing paralysis and gridlock on main highways throughout the country. The protesters are not immune to violence, thuggery and vandalism; amongst others, invading the home of a Supreme Court judge, causing extensive damage and threatening his family. At a rally attended by the Shas faithful, one of the venerable rabbis present on the stage placed a curse on the head of the army chief of staff. True to form and highly adept at political weaseling, the Haredi lawmakers, with the backing of Netanyahu, hell bent on his political survival regardless of the cost to the country, are trying their utmost to rush through a bill that would enshrine Torah study as one of the country’s Basic Laws i.e. granting yeshiva students equal status and giving them equal benefits to soldiers serving on the front lines.

If the bill passes, it bodes ill for the country’s future. The ultra- Orthodox with their high average birthrate of 6.7 children per family, by 2050 will comprise 24% of the Israeli population and 40% of young men of military draft age. In practice, this quarter of the population will be contributing a miniscule 7% of the nation’s taxes placing a huge burden on the rest of the citizens. Moreover, as the ultra-Orthodox always turn out en masse to vote en bloc for their designated representatives, it is highly likely that they will be the largest political party in the Knesset with unprecedented powers. As it has been demonstrated, this can only lead to increasing allocations of public funds being swallowed by this sector notorious for its opacity and lack of financial accountability.

Assault on Judiciary. Israeli police officers use force to disperse an ultra-Orthodox Israeli demonstrating against the arrest of fellow activists who took part in a protest outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, outside the Abu Kabir detention facility in Tel Aviv, June 10, 2026. (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

In 2050, a young secular person recently graduating from high school will receive call up papers. He/she will have to serve for more than three years due to a chronic manpower shortage while 40% of his peers eligible for service will be safely studying in the yeshivot where their stipends are much larger and their conditions are immeasurably better. Upon eventually finishing service and entering the work market, he/she will be heavily taxed with a corresponding drop in the standard of living in order to support the dominant ultra – Orthodox sector. They will then weigh whether or not there is a future for them in the country and if they should remain.

Is my scenario overly bleak? Possibly, but I am far from being alone in my pessimism. In 2023 and 2024, a shocking 90,00 citizens – mainly young middle-class families in the higher education bracket: doctors, hi-tech workers and professionals, drawing their own conclusions, left the country – the equivalent of a medium sized town such as Ra’anana emptying out.  If the present state of affairs continues, Israel in too short a time, lacking the economic locomotive of an educated and skilled middle class and with a large section of the population doing menial work and mired in poverty, will have the economy of a 3rd world country. The Israel Defense Forces suffering a lack of means and a huge manpower deficit will be considerably weakened and the enemies surrounding us will have long taken note. Our beloved country, for whom so many of its citizens have paid the ultimate price, could economically and militarily implode.

I once more see that photograph in front of me, recall the words of that despicable genocidal ideologue and I worry for my children and grandchildren. Tragically, many of my friends echo the same sentiments. We see our country in a parlous position: divided, riven by internecine hatred fomented by politicians in their overarching lust for political survival, unconcernedly jettisoning all concern for the good of the state. Let us pray that the 27th October will usher in a sea change.



*Feature picture: Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men protesting on Oct. 30, 2025 the military draft, shutting down Jerusalem, halting public transport and closing major roads. (Photo: AP Photo/Leo Correa) (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg).



About the writer:

Stephen Schulman is a graduate of the South African Jewish socialist youth movement Habonim, who immigrated to Israel in 1969 and retired in 2012 after over 40 years of English teaching. He was for many years a senior examiner for the English matriculation and co-authored two English textbooks for the upper grades in high school. Now happily retired, he spends his time between his family, his hobbies and reading to try to catch up on his ignorance.








While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, MILITANT ISLAM AND QATAR

The power of money to influence, corrupt and ultimately erode the liberal western way of life.

By Neville Berman

(Warning from the writer:  There may be incidents referred to below that you may find disturbing)

This article is not about nuclear war, global warming or a strain of some unknown virus that could result in the destruction of mankind. Instead, it is aimed at highlighting the actual greatest current threat facing the liberal Western way of life. Forget about Russia, China or communism as the major threats facing the West. The cold war is over. Russia is clearly no longer the power that Vladimir Putin thought it was when he ordered the Russian army to invade Ukraine. China might be an economic competitor to American financial dominance, but China relies on the markets in the West to ensure that its export-based economy can bring prosperity to China. It would be a strategic mistake for China to believe that its exports will not suffer if it wages war against the West.  

The First World War was billed as “the war to end all wars”. It ended with a German surrender, and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire that had ruled large parts of the Middle East for nearly 400 years. The terms of the surrender agreement did not bring peace to Europe, and the Muslim community in the Middle East was plunged into turmoil.  

In 1928, Hassan al-Banna started a Sunni Muslim organization in Egypt called the Muslim Brotherhood. He stated the following:

 “The nature of Islam is to dominate and not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.”  

The Enforcer. Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential global Islamist movements, Hassan al-Banna encouraged Egyptians to abandon Western customs and argued that the state should enforce Islamic public morality.

He rejected nationalism, and regarded all Muslims as members of a single Islamic movement that needed to establish Islamic rule across the world. Its core message was to subjugate the world to Sharia law by means of Jihad. He maintained that Jihad is an obligation from Allah on every Muslim, and that a guaranteed way to heaven was to die fighting for the cause of Islam. Partly due to the social activities in helping the poor, and partly due to the support from the Imams in the Mosques, membership in the Brotherhood grew rapidly across the Arab world. The Egyptian government recognized the threat that the Brotherhood posed to its rule, and in 1949, Hassan al-Banna was assassinated by agents of the Egyptian secret police. Despite his death, the message of the Muslim Brotherhood still resonates with millions of Muslims.

There are two significant changes that have now elevated the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood. The first involves the change in the financial position of the major oil and gas exporting countries in the Middle East, and the second involves the huge increase of the number of Muslims now living in the West.

The world runs on oil and gas and Saudi Arabia is the world’s number 1 exporter of oil, and Qatar is the second largest exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas. (LNG) The profits from the sale of these commodities have transformed these previously poverty-stricken countries into modern financial powerhouses. They are now using their financial power to undermine the West, and promote the growth of Islam across the world. 

The second important factor is that the liberal West decided to promote a policy of human rights for mankind. The idea of prosperity through diversity, multiculturalism, and equal opportunity, led to the West opening its borders to immigration. Millions of immigrants from poor countries with little or no prospects, moved to the liberal Western world in the hope of finding a better life for themselves and their families. The vast majority of them lack marketable skills, and are impecunious. They do not share the same culture, religion, language or values of the countries that they have immigrated to. The result is that Europe and America now have sizable immigrant and Muslim populations. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have financed Mosques and Islamic cultural centers all across the world to serve the Muslim immigrant communities. The Imams in these institutions have radicalized tens of thousands of their followers to oppose the values of the West, and to see themselves as part of the army of Islam that aims to control the world.  

The greatest threat facing the Western world at present is militant Islam coupled with the support that it is receiving from Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries. (The role of Iran and Saudi Arabia as a threat to the West will  be presented in a follow up article.)

Qatar is a sovereign country surrounded by the Persian Gulf. It has a small land border that can be used to cross into Saudi Arabia. It has been ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. There are approximately 3 million people living in Qatar, of which about 320,000 are Qatari citizens. All the rest are expatriates and guest workers with almost no rights in the country. Qatar has donated billions of dollars to Hamas, which is an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood.

All in the Family. Qatar, a small Gulf country with enormous global influence, has been ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-19th century.

Qatar has the same aims as Al-Qaeda, but is much smarter in its strategy. Instead of blowing up buildings in the West and causing a military retaliation, Qatar is buying the buildings and using its financial resources to gain influence. The Al-Jazeera TV channel is financed by the rulers of Qatar. It broadcasts 24/7 in Arabic and English to 430 million households worldwide. It has radicalized millions of its viewers to hate and despise the West and is laying the seeds of an Islamic takeover of the West.   

Qatar has spent billions on financing the building of Middle Eastern departments on all the major American university campuses. Only professors with a track record of being anti-Israel are hired. Their aim is to train the future leaders of America to oppose the values and foundational pillars of Western civilization, and especially to oppose Israel. The end result can be seen in well financed and organized protests against Israel on American campuses and across the Western world.

Gift or Graft? Seeming oblivious to the image of Qatar buying influence at the highest level of the US administration, President Donald Trump celebrates the new Qatari-gifted ‘Air Force One’ before its initial voyage to North Dakota, saying the U.S. “should be very proud” of the new luxury jet.(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Qatar has used its enormous wealth to corrupt the world. They bought the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. They are also buying influence within the American administration. Steve Witcoff owned a hotel in New York that was sold to Qatar for $400 million. He claims it was at fair market value. According to a Netflix program called Dirty Money, Jared Kushner was bailed out of insolvency by a $400 million loan from Qatar. Witkoff and Kushner are presently the negotiators representing America in negotiating a deal with Iran. Qatar has just presented Trump with the world’s most luxurious Boeing 747 aircraft costing over $400 million. The Attorney General has determined that the gift is legally permissible, as it is gifted to the US government and not to Trump personally. Trump is now using the plane. Whichever way you look at it, there is no doubt that Qatar has bought influence within the highest levels of the US administration. President Trump sees Qatar as a friend and ally of America. Qatar is playing a double game of pretending to be a friend of America, while actively promoting the aims of the Muslim Brotherhood and the downfall of the West.

More than a decade ago, Dutch politician Gert Wilders produced a short movie of the growth of Islam in Holland. The final scene was filmed inside a mosque of an Imam waving a sword during a sermon, declaring, “Come and cut off his head! By Allah, we shall cut it off!”

To Crown it All. This Bel Air home in LA, listed on the market as the US’s most expensive residential property is owned by a Qatari billionaire and former prime minister. Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family and state funds have amassed massive real estate portfolios across Western capitals with their holdings often exceeding those of local monarchs. (Photo: Simon Berlyn/The Beverly Hills Estates)

Gert Wilders was charged with inciting hatred for making and showing the movie. No charges were ever laid against the Imam. There is no doubt that the message of that particular Imam is part of Islam.

In the early hours of October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded Israel. They rejoiced at filming themselves committing the most violent crimes of murder, rape, beheading, and hostage taking. Many people in the West believe that the Muslim concept of Jihad applies only to Jews. They are mistaken. Jihad is aimed at every single person who does not believe in Islam. This is a wakeup call to all those Westerners who are totally ignorant of what Islam and Jihad are all about. One day, when the Islamists decide that it is time to overthrow the West, tens of thousands of militant Islamists that are your fellow citizens, and could be living next door to you, will act in the same way that Hamas acted against Israel. They will take out their guns and invade your residences. They will shoot your dogs, murder your babies and children in front of you. They will gang rape the female members of your family, and then mutilate and decapitate you and your parents. Some of you will have metal rods shoved into your vaginas and others will have your breasts cut off. All of this will be filmed by the people rejoicing at what they have done. Some of you will be kidnaped and kept in cellars. You will either be killed, used as sex slaves, and finally used as bargaining chips to secure the release of other Jihadists that have been incarcerated. If you find the above shocking, then it is time to wake up to the reality of what Hamas actually planned and carried out in Israel. This is what Jihad is all about. As they say in Hollywood, Coming shortly to your neighborhood.  Groups such as “Gays for Gaza” are the epitome of the ignorance that exists about the dangers of militant Islam.  

Tuitions of Terror. The preferred host of Hamas terrorist leaders, Qatar is the largest foreign donor to American higher education, funneling billions of dollars into U.S. and Western universities. Seen here is Cornell University that received over $2.3 billion. (Credit: Cornell University stock photo)

I will end with what must be the strangest case of genocide ever recorded. Thousands of Palestinians living in the West Bank are finding illegal ways to cross into Israel to find employment. Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza would gladly come to work in Israel, if Israel would allow them to do so. It defies all logic that all these Palestinians would be trying desperately to come to Israel, if Israel was committing genocide against them. It is time for all those gullible Westerners who are protesting that Israel is committing genocide to understand that you are supporting a blood libel and false narrative. It is time to reflect on your support for those that aim to kill you. It is time to understand the disproportionate role that tiny Israel is playing in preventing militant Islam from taking over the western world.

It is time to say “Thank you Israel.”



About the writer:

Accountant Neville Berman had an illustrious sporting career in South Africa, being twice awarded the South African State Presidents Award for Sport and was a three times winner of the South African Maccabi Sportsman of the Year Award.  In 1978 he immigrated to the USA  to coach the United States men’s field hockey team, whereafter, in 1981 he immigrated to Israel where he practiced as an accountant and then for 20 years was the Admin Manager at the American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel.  He is married with two children and one granddaughter.







While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

CALL THE MIDWIFE

When they are needed the most, Israeli nurses and midwives are always by your side, providing innovative solutions.

By Rolene Marks

The miracle of childbirth is one of the happiest moments in any parent’s life. Welcoming new life into the world is joyous evidence of family, love – and continuity for a people. In the wake of the atrocities of 7 October and the wars that follow, every child born is not just love, family and continuity – it is a victory over those who seek our destruction.

For many new mothers, the miracle is also a devastating reminder of loss. Many war widows whose husbands have fallen in defense of our home, have to endure this alone, aware that their hopes and dreams for their future family have been drastically changed.

For the midwives and nurses who help expectant mothers who have lost their spouses or partners requires the utmost sensitivity and trust. Midwives or labor and delivery nurses are tasked with becoming the guardians of life during this very complex and emotional time – especially when the father is deceased.

Lily Yehezkel and Meirav Gold are two veteran labor and delivery nurses with Clalit-Carmel Medical Center, who chose to extend their professional compassion far beyond the boundaries of the delivery room. Clalit is the largest of the four Israeli health services providers, and runs its own network of hospitals in Israel, operating 14 hospitals and 1600 community clinics across Israel.

Yehezkel and Gold are a part of “Le Tzidech” (By your side), a very special initiative by the Israeli Midwives Organization that provides close emotional and professional support for IDF widows and women suffering from post-traumatic stress throughout pregnancy and childbirth. They are present for their patients as they bring new life into the world at a time of profound heartbreak for the mother. Balancing so many delicate and complex emotions require patience, empathy and gentle, loving hands.

Meirav is also the mother of a combat soldier and understands the fear and rollercoaster of emotions that anyone who has  a loved one on the frontline experiences acutely.

Lily and Meirav understand that the emotional support work during the intensity of the delivery is delicate, and requires their own sense of sensitivity and balance.

“As a midwife, you learn to stand beside families even during unimaginable moments of pain, such as stillbirths,” she says. “Those experiences sharpened for me the importance of human presence. Through ‘LeTzidech’, we meet the real pain of those left alone with trauma while facing something as positive and life changing as childbirth,” says Lily.

One of the expectant mothers who was navigating grief while expecting was Adi. Lily and Meirav created a safe and supportive environment as they gently shepherded her first born son, Ivri, into the world. It was an exceptionally emotional moment.

Lilly and Meirav together with Adi, an IDF widow, and her son Ivri. (Photo: Clalit Health Services – Carmel Medical Center)

“During the delivery itself, the presence of familiar and loving hands and eyes surrounded me,” Adi recalls. “It allowed me to break down, stay connected to the moment, and even experience joy and laughter within everything that was happening. Without their support, the birth could have been far more painful. They created a feeling of home and the reassurance that I had someone to lean on.”

It was emotional for Lily and Meirav as well, “To accompany a woman who lost her husband during the first weeks of pregnancy and then have the privilege of receiving her son into my hands during such a powerful birth, it’s a full circle moment beyond words,” Lily says emotionally. “Amid all the loss, there was also a moment of hope and a new beginning.”

Lily and Meirav

Many would ask do nurses Lily and Meirav ever get to the point when “compassion fatigue” starts to set in, after all they are balancing so many emotions during a time when the country is in profound trauma and they surely carry their own?  Meirav explains that meaning itself is what fuels them, “What gives us strength is seeing processes of healing and empowerment. A moment when a patient, on her own initiative, shares a small feeling of self-confidence for the first time, that’s our victory.”

Meirav and Lily have seen how important “Le Tzidech” is and hope to see the project become a nationwide model.

“We hope every woman coping with loss surrounding childbirth will know she has an anchor to hold onto,” they say.

“Le Tzidech” is not the only innovative project that ensures the emotional wellbeing of patients through trauma. Nurses are on the forefront of thinking of innovative ways to add that extra layer of protection and care for their patients and are finding new ways to ensure that their patients are protected as much as possible from trauma in its various forms. This includes protecting their modesty during medical procedures which more often than not feel invasive and compound their sense of vulnerability.

Nurse Manager, Orly Rosenblat has repeatedly encountered patients who have felt uncomfortable with the level of exposure required in the operating room – even when such exposure had no medical necessity. Women feel increasingly vulnerable when their bodies are exposed during medical treatment. Rosenblat realized she had to create a solution. The result was “Top Secret” – a single use surgical bra made from soft, opaque medical grade paper in a blue color. The bra is provided to patients before surgery and remains in place throughout the procedure whenever medically appropriate.

Nurse Orly Rosenblat with a patient demonstrating the “Top Secret” innovation. (Photo: Clalit-Beilinson Hospital)

The catalyst for Rosenblat was a patient preparing for surgery who was visibly distressed and repeatedly tried to cover herself. She explained that due to a previous medical procedure, she had only one breast and felt deeply embarrassed by having it exposed in front of medical staff. The experience highlighted a broader issue. In many procedures, including abdominal, orthopedic, gynecological, and cesarean surgeries, exposure of the breasts is often unnecessary, yet patients are routinely left uncovered while preparing for surgery.

In a country like Israel where religious sensitivities are paramount, this attention to detail, dignity and modesty is appreciated. In the wake of the atrocities of 7 October, where the visuals of sexual violence and reports of widespread abuse, the project became part of a broader effort to deliver trauma informed and patient centered care during a period of national crisis.

“Since October 7, intimacy and privacy have become even more significant for women. The horrific images we were exposed to and the public discussion surrounding sexual violence and trauma increased the need for Top Secret,” says Rosenblat.

Since its introduction, more than 6,000 Top Secret units have been used at Beilinson Hospital and additional Clalit hospitals.

The question Orly Rosenblat hears the most is why someone hasn’t thought of it before. The importance of privacy has been highlighted by patient advocacy organisations and professional surveying women’s health. Research conducted by the Israeli women’s health organization “Briya Foundation” found that many women experience significant discomfort when required to remove their gowns before surgery.

Some participants reported feelings of humiliation and vulnerability. Others described the experience as emotionally distressing, particularly survivors of sexual trauma, for whom unnecessary exposure can act as a trigger and lead to re traumatization.

Sometimes the most innovative solutions are the simplest. Nurses are at the forefront of the healthcare frontline. “Nurses spend countless hours with patients. We hear their concerns, understand their fears, and notice the small things that can make a significant difference in their experience. Innovation does not always come from technology. Sometimes it comes from listening carefully and understanding what patients truly need,” says Rosenblat.

Le Tzidech and Top Secret are proving more and more that when it comes to patient care, Clalit’s nurses are prioritizing dignity, humanity, and compassion to everyday healthcare, one patient at a time.



*Feature picture: Lily and Meirav





While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

Lay of the Land Weekly Newsletter – 05 July 2026

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What’s happening in Israel today? See from every Monday – Thursday LOTL’s The Israel Brief broadcasts and on our Facebook page and YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA, broadcasting out of Virginia, USA.

THE ISRAEL BRIEF – 29 June – 02 July 2026
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Lay of the Land’s Image Pick of the Week

MACCABI GAMES 2026

Carrying the weight of 7 October and war, a smaller, scarred Maccabiah Games opened in Israel sending a message of Jewish solidarity and resilience.

For over a year, the catchphrase , “Let the games begin”  seemed to remain simply idiomatic, unfulfilled, as the quadrennial “Jewish Olympics” was plagued by war and uncertainty. Finally, on July 1, 2026,  in a spectacular opening ceremony in Jerusalem, it did “begin” featuring the traditional parade of thousands of Jewish athletes from across the globe. It was a visual reminder of the “Centrality of Israel” in the Jewish world.




ARTICLES

Please note there is a facility to comment beneath each article should you wish to express an opinion on the subject addressed.

(1)

MOVING ON

Tribute to  Israeli mobility artist Yaacov Agam globally celebrated as the father of the Kinetic Art movement.
By David E. Kaplan

Portrait of an Artist. “I met all the great artists at the time – Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso and Jean Arp – but they were all stuck in the past. I prefer to be in the state of becoming, like the true meaning of Shabbat – resting to prepare
for the coming week.” Insights on one of Israel’s most inspirational artists who passed away at 98.

MOVING ON
(Click on the blue title)



(2)

THE ODYSSEY OF THE OCHBERG ORPHANS

How one South African businessman in 1921 set out by himself, risking life and limb to save Jewish orphans in worn-torn Eastern Europe.
By Michel Levine

Ochberg’s Odyssey. Today, across the world, there is an ever-growing community of descendants of the Jewish orphans
Isaac Ochberg rescued from war-ravaged Eastern Europe. Spared from death through war, pogroms, famine or disease,
what inspired their savior and what legacy does “Daddy Ochberg” leave for future generations?

THE ODYSSEY OF THE OCHBERG ORPHANS
(Click on the blue title)



(3)

CAN LEBANON FINALLY ESCAPE HEZBOLLAH?

Rubio has delivered a diplomatic breakthrough. Now comes the difficult task of turning a framework into lasting security.
By  Andrew Fox

‘Sign’ of the Times. Can you imagine catching a train from Jerusalem to Beirut for a Lebanese shawarma! Could this historic
signing of the Israel-Lebanon-U.S. “Trilateral Framework Agreement” intended to totally disarm Hezbollah
eventually lead to the eventual normalization of relations between the Israel and Lebanon?

CAN LEBANON FINALLY ESCAPE HEZBOLLAH?

(Click on the blue title)



LOTL Cofounders David E. Kaplan (Editor), Rolene Marks and Yair Chelouche

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While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).