09 February 2026 – President Herzog “Down Under” and more on The Israel Brief.
10 February 2026 – Roro on her soapbox and Roedean, Mandla and the morons who call Milkek Tachat one of their own are in the line of fire on The Israel Brief.
11 February 2026 – Biggest tech buy out in Israeli history, some folks triggered by being called out for Jew hatred and more on The Israel Brief.
12 February 2026 – Roro gets extra fiery on today’s Israel Brief. Watch to find out why.
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).
Tensions between Muslims and Jews has not always defined their relationship. Can shared roots and cultural commonalities provide a favorable way forward?
Now that the body of the last hostage in Gaza has been returned to Israel, there is a deep hope that the Jewish state can move on. Jewish and Muslim communities around the world estranged because of the Middle East conflict, and especially after the 7 October 2023 terrorist attacks on Israel and ensuing war in Gaza, also need to heal.
Now 14.5 million Israelis and Palestinians must figure out how to live together in the tiny sliver of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The communities in the diaspora must also seek common ground. This is not going to be easy in the current climate of hate and we shouldn’t be naïve, but understanding the long, complex relationship between Judaism and Islam, which began in the 7th century, offers important insights.
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are dubbed “Abrahamic” religions, because of the centrality of the biblical ancestor Avraham/Abraham/Ibrahim.
While Jews believe that it was Avraham’s son, Isaac or Yitzchak, that his father was going to sacrifice, the Muslims believe it was his other son, Ishmael (Ismāʿīl). Both fathered great religions. The Tanach – the collection of Jewish texts including the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings – forms an integral part of all three faiths. Many biblical figures, including Noah (Nuh); Moses (Musa); David (Dāwūd); and Jesus (Isa) from the Christian tradition are considered prophets in Islam, superseded in importance by Mohammed, whom Muslims believe received G-d’s final revelation.
Mohammed had many encounters with Jews in his life in the 600s CE – and not always negative ones. From the teachings of the Qu’ran – Islam’s holiest text – and the Hadith, later interpretations of the Qu’ran, emerged the concept of Jews as dhimmi, literally meaning “protected people”. These are non-Muslims living in an Islamic country. They are granted some rights, legal protection, and the ability to practice their religion in exchange for paying a tax called the Jizya. While Jews underwent verbal and physical humiliations when paying the Jizya in Muslim lands, and were certainly second-class citizens, they generally fared better than under oppressive, murderous Christian rule over the centuries.
In the early Middle Ages, Arabic writings and society had marked influence on rabbinic culture, literature, and learning, especially on Jewish poetry and philosophy.
The Convicencia (“coexistence”) refers to the positive relationships between Jews, Christians, and Muslims that emerged after the latter conquered southern Spain in 711 CE from the Christian Visigoths. Life improved considerably for Jews in the area. Jewish figures like Hasdai Ibn Shaprut and Samuel Ibn Nagrela rose to become royal advisers as well as community leaders in Muslim Spain. But life got worse again for Jews when more extremist Muslims from North Africa invaded the Iberian Peninsula, as seen in the writings of the Rambam and Yehuda Halevi.
Golden Age of Spain. Hasdai Ibn Shaprut marks the beginning of the florescence of Andalusian Jewish culture and the rise of poetry and of the study of Hebrew grammar among the Spanish Jews. His illustrious carreer included his appointment as physician to the calif ‘ governed by Abd al-Raḥman III.
Jewish life again flourished under the tolerance prevalent in the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. Jews and Muslims had lived side by side for hundreds of years. They spoke the same language, dressed the same, and exhibited similar social and political values. But as European influences and colonialism accelerated, bringing new and radical ideas, this distanced Jews and Muslims in the Ottoman Empire. The rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism widened the rift between the two communities. By the 1920s, after the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the growth of Jewish emigration to the British Mandate of Palestine, Arab intellectuals increasingly characterised Zionism as a form of European imperialism. Tensions over competing claims for the Holy Land have infused Muslim-Jewish relations ever since. The communities have nevertheless lived and worked together, often by skirting issues related to politics and the Middle East. The practice of “Don’t mention the war” prevails.
There are many similarities between Judaism and Islam. Both are monotheistic religions believing a single, indivisible G-d. They believe the divine plan was revealed to human beings. Halacha and shari’a govern religious law and practice. Both encourage daily prayer, and follow the lunar calendar. There are fasts and feasts in the annual cycle. The words and concepts of charity – tzedakah and zakat – are similar.
Jewish Vizier. Samuel ibn Naghrela, known as Samuel HaNagid, was a remarkable figure in medieval Spain, transcending the constraints of his Jewish heritage to become a prominent statesman and military leader, notably the vizier and military commander under the Berber Zirid dynasty.
And there are concrete examples that offer hope. The common ancestor, Avraham/Ibrahim, has inspired agreements between Israel and Muslim states and an enormous interfaith compound in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Abraham Accords, signed in September 2020, normalised relations between Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE. They later incorporated Morocco, but civil war in Sudan derailed the improvement of its ties with Israel. It is hoped that Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Muslim world will eventually join the Abraham Accords.
The Future is Ours to See and Ensure – The signing of the Abrahams Accords at the White House in 2020 between Israel and several Arab nations — namely the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco – aims to foster regional peace, stability, and prosperity by promoting trade, technological cooperation, and interfaith dialogue.
The Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi in the UAE incorporates a mosque, a church, and a synagogue side by side. Opened in February 2023, this magnificent complex aims to promote unity and interfaith dialogue among Muslims, Christians, and Jews. The design reflects architectural elements of each religion, making it a unique symbol of tolerance and coexistence.
Building Bridges. Inaugurated in 2023, the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates which houses a mosque, church and a synagogue seeks to represent interfaith co-existence, preserves the unique character of the religions represented and build bridges between human civilization and the Abrahamic messages.
Like human beings sharing 98.8% of their DNA with chimpanzees, there is more that ultimately unites Jews and Muslims. The communities need to recapture the coexistence and tolerance that characterised large swathes of their common history.
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).
South Africa’s expulsion of Israel’s top diplomat in the country,
Ariel Seidman, is also a prime example of the African National Congress (ANC) government’s hypocrisy and double standards whenever Israel and Jews get in its way.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) used the phrase, persona non grata, in announcing Ariel Seidman’s expulsion. The phrase has a pleasing, operatic ring to it – all Latin flourish and sovereign gravitas.
It is one of the “most serious tools in a state’s diplomatic repertoire,” says DA international relations spokesman, Ryan Smith. It is usually reserved for cases of espionage, security threats or serious breaches of international law.
Not the petty, public, political spat behind Seidman’s expulsion.
Truth be Told. While the wording of the reason furnished for the expulsion was “Inconsistent with diplomatic norms and protocol” it could have more accurately been explained as “consistent with the ANC’s policy of hatred against the Jewish state.”
If DIRCO meant the phrase to evoke images of strength and sovereign gravitas, it failed miserably.
It evokes images of ragged Eastern Cape children forced to walk kilometres for water when they should be in school; of patients of all ages, suffering unnecessarily, dying prematurely in under-resourced, badly maintained hospitals; and of fat-cat adults in Pretoria patting themselves on the back for defending a thin-skinned leader’s hurt feelings.
DIRCO has formally packaged its case for expelling Seidman in a way that is unfettered by robust evidence.
It has alleged a sustained campaign of “offensive” attacks on President Cyril Ramaphosa on social media, and “gross abuse” of diplomatic protocol and privilege affecting South Africa’s “sovereignty”.
Hardly Clean Hands! Duplicitous and devious, South Africa’s President Ramaphosa takes extreme and unwarranted action against Israel’s head diplomat in Pretoria for alleged transgressions, while the truth lies entirely elsewhere.
The most concrete “evidence” it came up with so far to buttress its claims against Seidman is two posts in November 2025 on the official Israeli Embassy X (formerly Twitter) account. Neither carries Seidman’s name.
As Chargé D’Affaires, Seidman oversees the embassy’s official X and other social media accounts. DIRCO could easily have cut him diplomatic slack by addressing the messages in the “offending” posts.
Venomous Verbiage. South Africa’s ruling party fosters a mood of antisemitism by its foreign policy towards Israel that manifests in the wording on posters like this (above) at this protest outside Israel’s embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, on October 3, 2025. (Photo: Esa Alexander/Reuters)
Instead, it chose to axe the messenger.
The first post targets South Africa’s multimillion-rand lawsuit launched against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on a genocide charge in December 2023. That was just weeks after a genuine genocidal attack by the Iran-backed terror group Hamas against mainly civilian targets in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
That attack left 1200 dead, including children and babies, more than 6000 injured and more than 250 kidnapped and taken to Gaza as hostages. Hostages included infants, toddlers, young children and the elderly.
The post reads:
“Value for money? The South African Gov’t has thrown away R100 million attacking Israel at the ICJ – with another R500 million to be wasted next year. 0% of value for South Africans, 100% political theatre.”
The second post responds to Ramaphosa’s comment that “boycott politics don’t work.” He made it after US President Donald Trump’s decision not to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg in November 2025.
The post calls the comment a “rare moment of wisdom and diplomatic clarity from President Ramaphosa,”adding: “We totally agree…”
Were those posts sarcastic? Yes. Unsubtle? Undoubtedly. Worthy of expulsion? Definitely not.
If sarcasm were a deportable offence, half of all diplomats on X would be back home by lunchtime.
The fact is that South Africa has made opposition to Israel a defining feature of its foreign-policy identity. It has downgraded relations, pursued its highly politicised ICJ case against Israel and aligned with extremists in the pro-Palestinian movement who increasingly move beyond policy critique into outright rejection of Israel’s moral standing as a state.
It remains deafeningly silent on the ongoing massacre of innocents, including many children in their teens, by its close ally, Iran.
Ramaphosa did call for “restraint on both sides” recently. That doesn’t cut much moral or diplomatic ice.
Close alignment with Tehran’s jihadist mullahs alone should have been sufficient for DIRCO to be politically circumspect when dealing with common enemies.
After all, it’s one thing to support best buddies going through tough times. It’s quite another to support them when they mass-murder their own people in the streets for the “crime” of publicly protesting against injustice and oppression.
The mullahs plaintively claim to have killed “only” 3116 citizens so far during the uprising, claiming that most were “terrorists”.
I can’t recall so many young, gorgeous, talented, cultured “terrorists” ever being slaughtered in broad daylight by a bunch of medieval-looking, Islamist extremists acting just like genocidal fanatics.
The closest I can come is the more than 300 beautiful young people attending a music festival for peace, who were among the more than 1200 civilians that Hamas tortured, slaughtered, beheaded, burnt alive and mass raped on October 7.
Hamas tried claiming that most concert-goers were its idea of “terrorists” – serving soldiers in Israel’s IDF. That proved nonsensical, as have so many of Hamas’s claims against Israel proved.
The estimated number of civilians massacred in the Iran uprising stands at more than 30,000, as cited by Time magazine in the US and The Guardian in the UK. That’s according to leaked hospital and security‑agency data, including a network of Iranian doctors whose hospital‑record tally of protest‑related deaths reached 30,304 up to January 8 to 9, 2026.
Hundreds of thousands more have been injured, many grievously, or are “missing”.
The numbers are climbing into the stratosphere.
One wonders how high they must go before the ANC finds the moral backbone to sever ties with its ally.
The trigger to Seidman’s exit most likely lies in the invitation from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to South Africa’s AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, to visit Israel in December 2025.
The king is a cousin of former president Nelson Mandela and leader of the Thembu people in the Eastern Cape. In Israel, he met Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and other officials. He learned of advances in Israel’s technology, agriculture and water management.
Ramaphosa’s Revenge. Defying the South African government’s hostility towards Israel, images of Nelson Mandela’s cousin, King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo visiting in Jerusalem in December, 2025 with Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, was too much for the vengeful and short-sighted South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
His visit did not go down well with the ANC back home.
Nor did the reciprocal visit in late January 2026, by senior Israeli officials, accompanied by embassy staff, where they met the king and more than 50 traditional leaders in Mthatha.
They openly discussed potential assistance with water infrastructure, healthcare and education. They visited hospitals and engaged universities and community leaders.
There was no fanfare. No ribbon-cutting. No ANC branding.
Israel framed the visits as building “people-to-people” ties, and a humanitarian initiative to supply potable water in an impoverished region.
The poor in the Eastern Cape saw Israel as offering longed-for relief.
The King’s spokesperson agreed. She called Seidman’s expulsion:
“an attack on his people and an attempt to prevent assistance that the government has struggled and failed to provide.
“Our relationship with the Israeli Embassy is one we hold very close to our heart, as they have managed to help our people in a way that the South African government has not been able to do.”
That sentence alone should have prompted national introspection. Predictably, ANC leaders were outwardly wrathful.
DIRCO and the provincial leadership called the king’s support for Israeli assistance “sinister”. ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula called it a “betrayal” and “surprising departure” from South Africa’s solidarity with Palestinians.
Mbalula invoked the exile and liberation legacy of the king’s father, the late King Sabata Dalindyebo, to rebuke the son – as though inherited struggle credentials, not present-day responsibility, should determine who may bring water to the Eastern Cape
Support for Seidman’s expulsion has come from other elevated sources, including civil society “royalty”, among them Gift of the Givers founder and CEO Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.
Sooliman is not merely a humanitarian actor on the world philanthropy stage. He is among the most politically connected figures in South Africa’s NGO landscape. He boasts long-standing access to senior government leaders, as photos on his charity’s website and Facebook page routinely show.
Presidents praise him. Ministers consult him. His voice carries influence well beyond global disaster zones.
In June 2025, Ramaphosa appointed Sooliman a member of the loftily titled Eminent Persons Group to guide and champion South Africa’s National Dialogue initiative.
Sooliman operates in a fertile, political environment at the highest levels. His ecosystem includes former DIRCO head Naledi Pandor, now head of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, current DIRCO director-general Zayne Dangor and former South African ambassador to the US Ibrahim Rasool.
Cyril’s Choice. Expelling the Israeli diplomat was applauded by the much influential Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, closely associated with South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa who identifies “We are all Hamas” and has said that Zionists – which most South African Jews identify as – are “ too clever….. arrogant….They run the world with fear,” and “They control the world with money.”
It is premised on broad-based, pre-existing hostility to Israel. It pervades the ANC, as Mbalula himself has openly acknowledged.
Sooliman publicly endorsed DIRCO’s decision with a post on his charity’s Facebook page. It reads:
“We commend DIRCO and the South African Government for taking a decisive, principled stand. As South Africans, we reject injustice, occupation, and the killing of civilians, and we oppose policies that result in the suffering and starvation of innocent people. Accountability, human rights, and international law must prevail.”
That’s a striking statement, not least because Gift of the Givers has for years been directly involved in disaster response and water and drought relief in South Africa and globally, often stepping in where states failed.
His record gives him unusual credibility to separate humanitarian necessity from geopolitical hostility.
Instead of being a moderating influence, Sooliman added fuel to fire of anti-Israel sentiment. He helped to collapse a discussion about water, healthcare and poverty into heated ideological confrontation.
That collapse quickly spawned public sloganeering by extremist anti-Israel lobbyists, riling up their base to reject “Israel’s bloody aid” and “bloody water”. Their ire aimed predictably at “Zionists” – the anti-Israel lobby’s code word for Jews.
It raises questions about the extent to which such framing has contributed to the broader political climate of over-reaction that caused Seidman’s expulsion.
DIRCO’s decision did not emerge in a vacuum. It unfolded within an environment primed to treat Israel not merely as uniquely illegitimate but also “evil” and, therefore, undeserving of diplomatic latitude.
Context gives meaning to actions. Expelling a diplomat for sarcasm, humanitarian engagement and inconvenient assistance looks less like principled diplomacy and more like ideological enforcement. Especially when set against a selective moral compass.
In a country where foreign policy, NGO advocacy and ruling-party ideology increasingly merge, it is reasonable to examine how moral narratives gain traction and shape outcomes.
Undeserved criticism risks shading into delegitimisation and, at its edges, something darker.
It makes South Africa a more dangerous place for Jews!
It leaves a question hanging in the ether:
When expert help is available to relieve the suffering of millions of South Africans in impoverished rural areas, why would anyone want to deny access to it?
About the writer:
Marika Sboros is a South African freelance investigative journalist with decades of experience writing fulltime for the country’s top media titles on a wide range of topics. She started her career as a hard-news reporter in the newsroom of the now defunct Rand Daily Mail, a campaigning anti-government newspaper during the worst excesses of the apartheid era. She commutes between South Africa and the UK.
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).
In the final chapter of a national tragedy, some 700 personnel participated – including roughly 400 combat soldiers – in ‘Operation Brave Heart’ – bringing home the last hostage from Gaza.
By Jonathan Feldstein
Ran Gvili embodied heroism until his last moments. Despite awaiting shoulder surgery which had him on disability from his job as a police officer in Israel, immediately following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, he rushed to defend and protect others during the assault, saving numerous lives. He was killed in action, and his body was kidnapped along with 250 others into Gaza. Earlier this month, he became the last hostage to be brought out of Gaza after 843 excruciating days for his family, friends and the people of Israel. That he rushed into action immediately, he has been described as “the first in and the last out.” Yet his return, something that many in Israel thought might be an impossibility, underscored Israel’s unwavering commitment to the principle of leaving no one behind — whether living or fallen.
His repatriation, codenamed “Operation Brave Heart”, marked a symbolic closing of one of the darkest chapters in modern Israel that began on that brutal day. It was the end of a mission accepted by hundreds of thousands of Israeli soldiers, to free all the hostages: Israelis, foreign nationals from over two dozen countries, Jews and non-Jews alike.
The operation itself was a masterpiece of military precision and moral resolve. Colonel Golan Vach, commander of the IDF’s elite Pladot unit, led the effort. He is a seasoned combat veteran and search-and-rescue expert inside Israel, and leading Israel’s rescue operations following many international disasters ranging from Florida to Haiti, Nepal, the Philippines, Turkey, and more. Col. Vach was severely injured in a 2024 Gaza tunnel collapse. In a recent conversation, he describes his near-death experience as a personal miracle: buried under tons of earth, an excavator (operated by one of his own men) struck his helmet, but created an air pocket that saved him. He shared how while at the moment he thought he was going to die, but after being saved, he initially planned to retire. Then he returned to active duty and was called upon lead this mission.
Military Masterpiece. A seasoned combat veteran and search-and-rescue expert, Colonel Golan Vach, commander of the IDF’s elite Pladot unit, led the recovery mission.
Vach described the intelligence which eventually pinpointed Gvili’s body in an old cemetery in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City — an area with deep historical resonance. Locals there trace ancestry to the Mamluks, who defeated Christian forces centuries ago. Vach described how, for them, October 7 represented a twisted continuation of that triumph over both Jews and Christians, and an element of ongoing persecution of Christians in Gaza. Ironically, the cemetery had become a mass burial site for over 1,000 Hamas operatives and others since the war began, making the location seem improbable to find an Israeli hostage. He explains that it was likely chosen by terrorists deliberately, to ensure Gvili’s body would never be found.
Planning the operation spanned months. Earlier IDF combat operations had unknowingly operated atop the very site, destroying nearby terrorist infrastructure without realizing Gvili lay beneath. When fresh intelligence from a captured Islamic Jihad terrorist elevated the cemetery from lowest-probability to the sole viable lead, preparations intensified. The challenge was immense: locate one specific body among hundreds in layered graves, under hostile conditions. The general to whom Vach reported, referred to the operation as being a single bullet in the chamber: no other viable leads to find Gvili’s body, so it had to be a success.
Approximately 700 personnel participated, including roughly 400 combat soldiers providing multi-layered security for Vach’s team. During this time, four terrorists attempting an RPG attack were neutralized, underscoring that they were operating in a war zone where extra precautions needed to be taken. The Pladot unit —composed of highly experienced reservists skilled in “gentle” heavy machinery operations — excavated precisely mapped strips of the cemetery. Operators, trained to handle delicate urban demolitions and body recoveries without unnecessary destruction, worked methodically. After two days of careful digging amid Gaza’s punishing sun, Gvili’s remains were located early in the process —something many attributed to divine intervention, sparing the team prolonged exposure to decomposing bodies.
Sacred Salvation. Surrounding the body of Ran Gvilli, Israel fulfills a core tenet of its military doctrine and national ethos of “No one left behind” – a binding commitment to never abandon soldiers or citizens, whether alive or deceased, in enemy territory.
Identification occurred promptly via dental X-rays in a field setup with a team of dentists experienced in forensics. The moment of confirmation triggered a spontaneous and emotional gathering: hundreds of soldiers converged around the simple stretcher on which Gvili’s body lay, draped in the Israeli flag. Secular and religious soldiers alike sang the Hebrew song most known as a complete expression of faith, “Ani Ma’amin” (“I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah”) and other traditional songs, weeping, and embracing. The scene captured profound national catharsis — joy at fulfilling a sacred duty, grief for the cost, and affirmation of shared Jewish identity.
Raised from the Rubble. After a heroic recovery mission, comrades stand around honoring the remains of Col. Golan Vach, the last hostage to leave Gaza.
Before the return of Gvili’s body to Israel, the team respectfully reburied the several hundred Palestinian Arab bodies which had been exhumed. That was also part of the operation. The fact that they were reburied exactly where they had been disinterred showed the careful respect for the dead, even dead terrorists, and emphasized Jewish sanctity for human remains. Rabbis from the IDF’s search and rescue unit ensured sensitivity per Jewish law throughout. This reflected core IDF values:
cherishing life
upholding human dignity even toward adversaries, and
rejecting hatred as a motivating force.
Throughout the conversation, Vach and another IDF veteran, Shahak, referred to seeing God’s hand in many areas of this operation, and the war in general. They referred to many “coincidences” which were really Divine Appointments. In a fascinating and completely unscripted part of the conversation, Vach described how the honor of carrying Ran Gvili’s remains paralleled Moses and the Jewish people bringing Joseph’s remains out of Egypt, and the unique way in which God honored that.
Homeward Bound. The last photo taken at the conclusion of Operation Brave Heart as described by Col. Golan Vach. (Photo: Col. Golan Vach)
Shahak, a longtime combat veteran, described the moral rarity of endangering one’s soldiers to honor enemy dead, contrasting it with other militaries, noting bluntly that there is no army in the world that would do this. As a point person coordinating with Genesis 123 Foundation for providing support and encouragement for soldiers, he praised the enduring support from Christians worldwide as evidence that this is a shared struggle of Judeo-Christian civilization against darkness.
The conversation closed with reflections on resilience, faith, and unity. After 28 months of war, the recovery of Ron Gvili offered partial closure while reinforcing Israel’s resolve. As Colonel Vach shared the last photo taken at the end of the operation: the ruined landscape of Shuja’iyya behind Gvili’s flag-draped coffin symbolized the terrorists’ self-inflicted destruction — and the enduring light carried forward by those who risk everything to bring their brothers home.
Footage from the IDF’s brave mission to recover murdered hostage of Hamas Ran Gvili from Gaza.
Ran Gvili’s body was kidnapped on October 7 along with 250 others, dead and alive. His was the 250th body to be checked until confirmation of his remains being recovered were made. Accordingly, it’s no “coincidence” that in Hebrew gematria, the numerical value of the letters that spell his name, Ran (רן), is precisely 250. It’s just another sign that even in the darkest times, God’s hand is ever-present.
About the writer:
Jonathan Feldstein - President of the US based non-profit Genesis123 Foundation whose mission is to build bridges between Jews and Christians – is a freelance writer whose articles appear in The Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Townhall, NorthJersey.com, Algemeiner Journal, The Jewish Press, major Christian websites and more.
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Follow the full conversation with Col. Vach and Shahak on the “Inspiration from Zion” podcast HERE.
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).
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To Strike or not to Strike. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, accompanied by two military supply ships and two U.S. Coast Guard cutters, sail towards Iran in the Arabian Sea as aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 9 fly overhead. (Photo: CENTCOM)
ARTICLES
Please note there is a facility to comment beneath each article should you wish to express an opinion on the subject addressed.
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BRAVE HEART
A fulfillment of a sacred vow – to bring them all home By Rolene Marks
Lion of Judah. With a broken shoulder, 24-yer-old Ran Gvili went into battle and fought like a lion. “First in, last out,” in the words of his bereaved mother, Ran symbolizes the courage and self-sacrifice of Israel’s finest young people.
The upside-down world that we now live in. By Neville Berman
Palestinian Puzzle. While ‘Indigenous Peoples’ from the Kurds and the Rohingya to the Tibetans, Uyghurs and Yazidis struggle for their cause of sovereign rights to globally resonate, not so for the Palestinians. Has it less to do with being Palestinian and more to do with their adversary being a ‘Jewish’ state?
Not only an attraction for Israel travelers, this captivating Mediterranean gem is attracting Israelis who are contributing to the Island and its tourism industry. By Motti Verses
Beauty Spot. The writer marveling at the beauty where legend has it that Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty was born. For centuries, people have traveled here to sweep their loved one off their feet. More and more Israeli tourists are showing that are being swept off their feet by Cyprus.
Perspectives and insights from writers in the Arab media
While there is much skepticism of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ – particularly across Western Europe – many in the Arab media are more approving, viewing it as a last ‘shot’ at peace for the region. Whether expectation is a consequence of exasperation, time will tell.
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).
Perspectives and insights from writers in the Arab media
While there is much skepticism and critique – mostly across Europe and in the Western press – to Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza, many in the Arab media look more favorably on it, even if viewing it as a last ‘shot’ at peace – pun intended.
Even a stalwart opponent of the US president like Thomas E. Friedman, despite his skepticism of the plan as noted in the article below, has subsequently come round to seeing some merit, writing in the NYT that, “President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip is a smart plan for turning a bomb crater into a launchpad for peace.”
Below are writers from the region – UAE and Turkey -addressing the issue reflecting a growing loss of confidence in the UN as well as the “traditional mediating countries” to “deliver results.”
Whether expectation is a consequence of exasperation, time will tell.
David E. Kaplan Editor Lay of the Land February 7, 2026
NO BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE By Radwan al-Sayed
Al-Ittihad, UAE, January 27
US President Donald Trump announced the formation of a Board of Peace and succeeded in attracting more than 30 countries to the idea before complaints and reservations began to escalate. He pointed out that a number of major European countries had not yet joined, as some viewed the initiative as vague and ill-defined.
Among the most prominent skeptics was the well-known American journalist Thomas Friedman, who wrote in The New York Times that under Trump, the US no longer takes into account the interests of its allies nor engages seriously in negotiating with its opponents.
Yet the central question remains:
What possibilities and alternatives exist in light of the tragedy that has been unfolding for over two years in Gaza and the West Bank?
It is evident that the UN and its various commissions have been unable to deliver results, just as the traditional mediating countries have failed, leaving little on the table other than Trump’s initiative.
Trump was able to impose a ceasefire through the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit and secure the withdrawal of the IDF from half of the Gaza Strip, even if Israeli killing did not cease entirely. With the start of the second phase, two developments followed:
First, the formation of a committee to manage civilian sectors in the Strip, the opening of land crossings, and the clearing of a path for the entry of international forces tasked with disarming Hamas and establishing security, allowing the Israeli army to gradually withdraw from the entire Strip, amid Israeli and American threats over what will happen if Hamas refuses to disarm.
The second development was Trump’s announcement of the Board of Peace, to be chaired by him, with the aim of rebuilding Gaza, thinking about its future, and reviving the two-state solution. Once again, Israel agreed to participate only reluctantly and is expected to hesitate and object at every step, however small; Netanyahu rejects the deployment of Turkish troops in Gaza and refuses any reference to a two-state solution within the project.
President Donald Trump holds a signing founding charter at the “Board of Peace” at January’s meeting in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo:Fabrice Coffrini / AFP – Getty Images)
In light of all this and while the obstacles are significant, no one yet has put forward a viable alternative that Palestinians and Arabs could reasonably reject. Furthermore, Trump’s proposal for Gaza, despite its many gaps and unanswered questions, remains the only concrete plan on the ground, offering a measure of stability and the possibility of progress toward certain human and political rights for the Palestinian people.
In wars of domination, it is an illusion to demand peace and justice simultaneously from the strong. The ceasefire is on the verge of being consolidated, the management committee is stepping in to stabilize it, and the Board of Peace promises a different future for Gaza. This is the opportunity that Arab and international participants in both the steering committee and the Board of Peace must seize. Let us begin speaking about justice under American guarantees, for there are no others available.
Radwan al-Sayed
TRUMP’S GAZA PLAN
‘I don’t see an alternative to what’s being proposed. I really don’t,’ says Yousef al-Otaiba.
By Iyad Nabolsi/ Rania Abushamala
Anadolu Agency, Ankara, Turkey.
Emirati Ambassador to Washington Yousef al-Otaiba said that he does not see “an alternative” to US President Donald plan for Palestinian displacement from the Gaza Strip.
Al-Otaiba made the statement during the World Government Summit in Dubai on Wednesday amid regional and international opposition to Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and displace Palestinians elsewhere.
During a session at the summit, al-Otaibi was asked by his interviewer if common ground could be found with the Trump administration regarding Gaza, he said Abu Dhabi was “going to try” to find common ground with the US president.
He termed the US approach to Gaza as “difficult.”
“But at the end of the day, we’re all in a solution-seeking business, we just don’t know where it’s going to land yet,” the diplomat said.
When asked if the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is working on an alternative plan to Trump’s proposal, al-Otaiba responded: “I don’t see an alternative to what’s being proposed. I really don’t.” “So if someone has one, we’re happy to discuss it, we’re happy to explore it, but it hasn’t surfaced yet.”
On Tuesday, Egypt announced that it would propose a plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing the territory’s population.
US President Donald Trump (center) speaks during the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II also emphasized the urgent need to begin Gaza’s reconstruction without displacing Palestinians.
On Wednesday, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed received a phone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during which he emphasized the importance of working towards a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, ensuring security and stability for all based on a two-state solution, the state news agency WAM reported.
Iyad Nabolsi/ Rania Abushamala
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).
02 February 2026 – Have Israel’s bilateral relations with South Africa hit an all time low? This and more on The Israel Brief.
03 February 2026 – A farewell and a Mazel Tov. Find out more on The Israel Brief.
04 February 2026 – US State Department condemns South Africa’s expulsion of Israeli diplomat and more on The Israel Brief.
05 February 2026 – IDF settles a score. Find out 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).
It is estimated that over 1,600 ethnic groups and indigenous peoples in the world lack sovereignty over the land on which they live. Included in the list in alphabetical order are the Aboriginal people in Australia, the Balochis in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Basques in Spain and France, the Catalonians in Spain, the Crimean Tatars in Russia, the Inuit in Greenland, the Kurds in Syria and Turkey, the Red Indians in America, the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Roma in Europe, the Sikhs in India, the Tamils in Sri Lanka, the Tibetans in Tibet, the Uyghurs in China, and the Yazidis in Iraq, Syria and Armenia.
However, there is one group of people called the Palestinians that are a complete exception to every other group of people that do not have sovereignty. Since 1937, they have rejected 6 offers of a Palestinian State living next to Israel in peace and security. Despite these refusals, 157 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations currently support the creation of a Palestinian State. The irony is that almost none of the countries in the world are interested in granting statehood to any of the other ethnic groups, such as those mentioned above.
There are over 100 million refugees in the world all living with help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The mandate of this agency is to assist refugees and to facilitate their resettlement in a third country. Palestinian refugees have a separate UN agency that deals exclusively with them. It is the United Nations Relief Works Agency known as UNRWA. It has an annual budget that exceeds a billion dollars. Its mandate is not to solve the Palestinian refugee problem, but to perpetuate it. Even the definition of Palestinian refugees is different to that of all other refugees. Other refugees have to prove that they were forced to leave in order to gain refugee status. In contrast Palestinian refugees are defined as Palestinians who left Israel as a result of wars in 1948 or in 1967. All descendants of Palestinian refugees, no matter when or where they are born, are considered Palestinian refugees in perpetuity. No other refugees in the world have the same rights as Palestinian refugees. Clearly, the Palestinians are the world’s most exceptional refugees.
Interviews obtained by UN Watch reveal students of UNRWA schools glorifying violence and terrorism against Jews. In this interview (above), Aya, a student at UNRWA’s Tulkarm Camp Girls’ School, was taught that “we don’t like Israel,” that Palestinians will “shoot” Israelis, and that the martyrs are “big heroes.” Aya says that she wants to join the resistance “so that I can fight, and take my rights from Israel and become a martyr.”
The Palestinians have no oil. They have no rare earth commodities that the world needs. They have zero intellectual property. They have no currency of their own. There is absolutely nothing that the Palestinians manufacture that the world needs or cannot do without. They have no language or customs that are unique to them. They have not had elections since 2005. They rule by force of arms. They claim perpetual victimhood and rely on billions of dollars of aid to sustain their economy. They deny the holocaust, and falsely claim that the Jews have no history in Israel. Another remarkable fact about the Palestinians is the enormous wealth of their leadership. They are all either multi-millionaires or billionaires while claiming to be victims of Israeli occupation. The Palestinians are simply quite extraordinary.
After the Second World War ended, the principles of what became the foundation of international law came into existence. It was based on the following scenario. The defeated country agreed to unconditional surrender. Their leaders were then charged with committing crimes against humanity. Those found guilty were executed, or sent to prison for decades or for life. Reconstruction of the defeated country then commenced.
In the case of Gaza, it seems that the accepted scenario has been inverted. Hamas has not surrendered. No living leaders of Hamas have been charged with committing any crimes. Despite this, President Trump has called for a 20 point plan for the reconstruction of Gaza. The plan calls for an estimated $100 billion to rebuild Gaza and turn it into a tourist attraction. The competition for tourists, conventions and sporting competitions in the Middle East is already fierce. Millions of tourists are presently flocking to the superb tourist attractions in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt. They are incredibly interesting places to visit and have top class hotels, facilities and amenities catering to tourists. In addition, Saudi Arabia is building a massive new tourist complex along the Red Sea. It is part of its Vision 2030 program. Realistically speaking, Gaza is unlikely to become a major tourist destination. The competition is just too overwhelming. The amount requested to rebuild Gaza is more than the today’s equivalent of the cost of the entire Marshall Plan that helped 16 Western European countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy to rebuild and modernize after the Second World War. Trump’s plan to rebuild Gaza is a hugely expensive project. It is a recipe for corruption and failure on a massive scale.
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel. They killed over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, in unimaginable savage circumstances and took over 250 living and dead hostages back to Gaza. They killed babies. They raped women. They killed whole families and beheaded people. They burnt people to death and destroyed whatever they could. They proudly filmed themselves committing the most horrendous crimes and boasted about what they had done. Hamas broke every accepted code of civilized behavior, and ruled themselves out as ever being potential peace partners. They have never expressed any remorse about what happened. These are the people that the world now wants to reward by granting them statehood.
Ruiners not Rulers. While the world wants to now reward them with statehood, a leadership that was responsible for inflicting this on October, 7, 2023 has ruled themselves out as ever being potential peace partners. (Photo: Jack Guez/AFP)
One day after the attack on October 7, 2003, the Secretary General of the United Nations called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Three days later he accused Israel of starving the people of Gaza. Despite all the atrocities committed by Hamas, the UN has not issued a single resolution condemning Hamas. In May 2024, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) charged 4 individuals with committing crimes against humanity. The four individuals are the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the ex-Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, and 2 Hamas leaders, namely Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif. The linking of the horrendous crimes committed by Hamas and Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself is a disgrace to the very concept of international law. To add insult to injury, both of the Hamas leaders charged by the ICC are dead, and none of the billionaire leaders of Hamas living in luxury in Qatar have been charged. They are fully complicit in the crimes committed by Hamas, yet they have been given total amnesty by the ICC. This is a real Ripley’s “believe it or not” situation.
Existing words were simply inadequate to describe what happened in the Holocaust. Raphael Lemkin, a Polish lawyer coined a new word to describe the unprecedented horrors of what had befallen the Jews of Europe. The word was “genocide”. To now accuse Israel of committing genocide is the ultimate insult to the memory of all those millions of Jews who were exterminated in the holocaust. If one wants to know what genocide is, all one has to do is read the Hamas Charter. It calls for the killing of every Jew and the elimination of Israel.
Programing Palestinians. A Palestinian member of Hamas holds an Arabic copy of its charter in 2006. The highlighted sentence reads “When our enemies usurp some Islamic lands, Jihad becomes a duty binding on all Muslims. In order to face the usurping of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad.” (Photo: Abid Katib/Getty Images)
The Christian world is obsessed with preventing the Jews from reclaiming the Jewish ancestral biblical homeland. This is not actually that surprising when one considers that for over two thousand years, the majority of Christians have been led to believe that Christianity has replaced Judaism, that God has forsaken the Jews, and that Jews are a wandering people without a country. The events of 1948 and 1967 have clearly shown that God has kept his promise to the Jews.
Write Off. While Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas has declared the Palestinian Authority (PA) ready to assume full governance for a post-Hamas-ruled Gaza that had inflicted the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, it is disquieting when reviewing Abbas’ book on the Holocaust: “…which is essentially an indictment against Zionism and its leaders.”
It is time for the world to come to its senses and accept reality. It is time for the world to recognize that appeasing and rewarding terrorism leads to greater terrorism in the future. It is time to discard the outdated and failed policies of the past. It is time to accept the fact that Jews have a long history of living in the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It is time to accept that centuries before the beginning of Christianity, Jews built the First and Second Jewish Temples on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It is time to accept that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the State of Israel and that Israel will always be the homeland of the Jewish people. Israel has become a technological powerhouse of ingenuity and intellectual property. It is changing not only the Middle East, but the entire world for the better. It’s time to stop trying to delegitimize and demonize Israel. Instead, it is time to support 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).
A fulfillment of a sacred vow – to bring them all home
By Rolene Marks
“Blessed are You, L-rd our G‑d, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion.”
There were times when we wondered if it would ever happen. Would they all be returned home? For 843 days, we all hoped, prayed, shook the heavens, and bargained with the Almighty and anyone in power. We were brought to our knees, pleading and breathed the fire of our relentless fight for our brothers and sisters. On 7 October, 251 men, women and children including whole families were taken hostage when Hamas infiltrated southern Israel, leaving a trail of atrocities in their wake. Since 2014, Hamas had held the remains of two soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul who fell during Operation Protective Edge. Two civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al Sayed, were also still captive. Hisham and Avera would be returned to the grateful embrace of their families during the ceasefire deal of January 2025 and the remains of Goldin and Shaul would be returned, months apart, for a dignified burial.
After 843 days, only one remained – Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili. He was as his superhero mother Talik said, the first one in and the last one out. For 843 days, Talik, Itzik, Shira and Omer fought for their son and brother Ran like the Maccabees themselves. With superhuman strength and a tenacity that is awe inspiring, they persevered with all their might until their beloved son, a hero of Israel was returned.
Master Sgt. Ran Gvili (z’l)
It is almost impossible to describe what we are feeling in Israel. In the last two years we have learnt that it is possible to walk alongside our grief, it is possible to carry both resilience and heartbreak and yesterday we discovered that our hearts can be both full and broken at the same time. We have learnt what it is to carry a profound love for people who we have never met and yet are our family, a part of our souls.
Our hearts are full that our brother, Ran, “the defender of Alumim” has returned to us – but broken that we are laying him to rest. The return of the last hostage may close a painful circle for us – but for their families, there is an aching wound that will never heal, a chasm that can never be filled and a longing that will never end. For the families of the hostages who are deceased, murdered by their captors, the loss will never lessen.
Several days ago, the IDF launched “Operation Brave Heart” to search for the remains of Ran (or Rani as he has become known in Israel) and bring him home. The search took them to a cemetery in northern Gaza and after searching through 250 graves, Ran was found. Speaking at his son’s funeral, Itzik Gvili revealed that not only was Rani whole – but that he had been found in the 250th grave our warriors searched. In Hebrew, each letter is assigned a numerical value and Ran’s name was the equivalent of 250. It is impossible to not see that as a message from the Divine.
Honoring a Hero. Israel’s Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir joins his troops in Gaza City for a ceremony honoring slain hostage Master Sgt. Ran Gvili after his body was recovered in Gaza City, on January 26, 2026. (Photo: IDF)
Hiding the bodies of hostages in graves demonstrates another level of Hamas’s depravity. Not content to use their civilian populations as human shields, the terror organization defiles their dead as well.
The soldiers of the Alexandroni Brigade were joined by 20 forensic dentists who meticulously searched through the remains until they found Ran. Gvili was identified through his fingerprints and was found still in the clothes he fought in on 7 October.
Operation Brave Heart was the most fitting name for the mission to recover this hero of Israel. In a tribute written by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Ran was described:
“Staff Sergeant Ran (Rani) Gvili from Meitar was a YASSAM Negev fighter in the Southern District of the Israel Police. Ran took great pride in being a police officer and wearing the blue uniform.
On the morning of the Black Saturday, Ran was at home recovering from a motorcycle accident and suffering from a fractured shoulder. Upon learning of the terrorist infiltration, he immediately put on his uniform and went out to assist his fellow unit members in the fighting. On his way, he encountered terrorists and fought with courage and determination on the front line at the entrance to Kibbutz Alumim. Members of the kibbutz community later gave him the name “Ran, the Defender of Alumim.”
Hero’s Homecoming. Israeli Police and IDF soldiers stand in line as they pay their respects at the funeral procession of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili as he makes his way to his Negev hometown of Meitar.(Photo: Yossi Zeliger/TPS-IL)
The bravest heart is now home. He will be laid to rest with the dignity he so richly deserves. Kissing his son’s coffin, his father Itzik told him:
“We are proud of you, my son”.
Israelis lined the route of Ran’s final journey as the police escorted him with an honour guard that bore testimony to the love and brotherhood that Israel’s protectors and defenders have for each other. Laid to rest in Meitar, Ran can now have the peace he deserves. He is home.
Israelis have cried rivers of tears in the last 2 + years. We have had days that are more sorrowful than others, and some days that epitomize how we live with ha’dvash veha’oketz – the honey and the sting. The return of Rani was exactly that. It closes a painful circle. For the first time since 2014, there are no more hostages in Gaza. For the first time in 843 days, perhaps we can think about a day after 7 October. Israel has fulfilled a sacred vow – we leave no one behind.
The stop watch at Hostages Square that counted down the days, minutes and seconds has been switched off. The yellow pins, dog-tags and posters put away. Perhaps we can start to heal our broken hearts. I have a feeling they will never totally heal. How could they? October 7 was a seismic event that has changed Israel and the Jewish people forever – but we are a stubborn nation. We face forward and look at what we have learnt, how we will grow and what we can do to ensure another generation does not feel this pain again.
Momentous Moment. After 843 days, 12 hours, 5 minutes, and 59 seconds, the clock at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv stopped, a shofar was sounded, and many recited the Shehecheyanu blessing, giving thanks for reaching this moment. The mitzvah of redeeming captives – which Maimonides called the greatest commandment in Judaism – was fulfilled.
Ran Gvili is home. Alumim’s defender is home. The bravest heart can now rest in peace. They are all home. May the living hostages start to heal. May Ran’s and all the deceased hostages’ memories be an eternal blessing.
Lion of Judah. With a broken shoulder, Ran Gvili went into battle and fought like a lion in defending the lives of the residents of kibbutz Alumim (FB).
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).
Not only an attraction for Israel travelers, this captivating Mediterranean gem is attracting Israelis who are contributing to the Island and its tourism industry.
By Motti Verses
Israel does not possess an island, yet it has found one it returns to with remarkable consistency. A close, welcoming getaway for Israelis in the Mediterranean, Cyprus has evolved into something more than a holiday destination for Israelis. It has become a familiar refuge, close enough to feel reassuring, distant enough to feel like an escape.
The connection is evident in the numbers. With multiple daily flights year-round, including during winter months, Israelis travel to Cyprus in extraordinary volumes. Beaches, food, and a sense of ease draw them in, but what sustains the relationship is something less tangible: the feeling of being welcome, understood, and safe.
Few people understand this bond better than Louisa Varaclas, Director of the Israel Office at the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism. Having spent nearly three decades in the role, she has witnessed the transformation firsthand.
Venturing into the Vinyards. Touring a Cypriot winery, the Director of the Israel Office at the Cyprus Ministry of Tourism Louisa Varaclas (left), assures the writer that “Israelis have discovered that Cypriots remain genuine friends, regardless of circumstances.” (Photo: Motti Verses)
“When I began, fewer than 30,000 Israelis visited Cyprus each year,” she recalls. “By 2025, that number had risen to almost 600,000, not including cruise passengers.”
Varaclas identifies the COVID period as a turning point, but not the sole explanation. “Israelis are natural travelers,” she says. “Travel is embedded in the culture. Cyprus offers proximity, affordability, and the reassurance that home is always within easy reach.”
That reassurance, she adds, has taken on greater importance in recent years. “Cyprus has remained consistently friendly. Israeli visitors feel genuinely welcomed here, especiallycompared to destinations that have become more complicated or less hospitable. Israeli tourists are also significant contributors to the local economy, staying in high-end hotels, shopping, dining, and engaging with entertainment and leisure offerings.”
Winter Light, Mediterranean Calm
Arriving in Limassol at the start of 2026, I encountered a city in its quieter season. Winter strips the coastline of its summer crowds and reveals something more elemental. The sea turns dramatic, the air sharp, the promenade contemplative. Walking along the rocky shoreline, with waves crashing hard against the coast, the city feels grounded and honest. A place allowed to breathe.
Yet Cyprus is not only a destination Israelis visit. Increasingly, it is a place where Israeli professionals shape the hospitality landscape itself.
That realization became clear when Roni Aloni, Managing Director of the Mediterranean Region at Leonardo–Fattal Hotels, was awarded the Award of Excellence by the Cyprus Hotel Managers Association, recognizing his contribution to hospitality development across the region in 2025.
Rising Tide. Making waves in the Mediterranean is the award-winning Managing Director of the Mediterranean Region Roni Aloni (right) who tells the writer (left) that “Nine Fattal hotels are already operating in Cyprus with three more set to open soon.” (Photo: Motti Verses).
The award prompted a deeper look at the Israeli hotel group whose footprint on the island has become impossible to ignore.
Israeli Hospitality, Mediterranean Scale
Leonardo–Fattal Hotels, a publicly traded Israeli hospitality group, has quietly become the largest international hotel operator in Cyprus, surpassing global brands such as Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, and Wyndham in number of properties.
Coasting Along. Taking in a drink and the vista of the promenade and beachfront from the roof top bar of NYX Limassol. (Photo: Leonardo-Fattal Hotels)
My base during this exploration was NYX Hotel Limassol, part of Fattal’s lifestyle-oriented NYX brand. Positioned along the promenade near the port, the hotel reflects a distinctly urban sensibility: contemporary design, social energy, curated music and art, and a relaxed cosmopolitan atmosphere. With 189 rooms, generous public spaces, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking either sea or city, it feels tuned to modern travelers rather than traditional resort guests.
View Bar None. A view of the Mediterranean view from the roof top bar of NYX Limassol. (Photo: Leonardo–Fattal Hotels).
Meeting Aloni there felt less like a formal interview and more like a professional exchange between peers shaped by similar decades in the industry.
“Our move into Cyprus began about eight years ago,” he explains. “After establishing ourselves in major European cities, we wanted to enter the resort world, which is operationally and commercially far more complex. Cyprus made sense immediately.”
The group identified underperforming locally owned hotels, particularly in Paphos, and saw opportunity. “We believed these properties could be completely reimagined under our brands. Cyprus was open to foreign investment, close to Israel, and aligned with our long-term vision. Greece followed naturally.”
Lively Lobby. The urban-design lobby in the NYX Limassol blending the contemporary with a Mediterranean feel. (Photo: Motti Verses).
DESIGNED WITH ISRAELIS IN MIND
Many of the group’s Cypriot properties feel uncannily tailored to Israeli travelers. A point Aloni readily acknowledges.
“In some ways, we’ve expanded Israelis’ holiday choices beyond Eilat,” he says. “The decision is no longer automatic. Do you drive south, or take a short flight to Larnaca or Paphos? Cyprus competes on price, convenience, and experience.”
The hotels are deliberately segmented: adults-only resorts, family-focused properties, and seasonally adaptable concepts. Attention to detail matters: Hebrew signage, kosher solutions, diverse dining, personalized service, and entertainment designed around Israeli expectations. Even elements like escape rooms, spa concepts, and family lounges were developed specifically for the Cypriot context.
Captivating Cyprus. View of the harbor of the ancient city of Paphos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One in eight tourists in Cyprus is Israeli with approximately 590,000 visiting in 2025, making Israel the second largest tourism market in Cyprus after the UK.
The clearest expression of this strategy is Leonardo Laura Beach & Splash Resort in Paphos. With 420 rooms, extensive dining options, constant entertainment, an on-site water park, and a beachfront location, it has become the group’s most sought-after family property on the island.
LOOKING AHEAD
As holiday habits shift toward nearby destinations where travelers feel culturally comfortable, Cyprus continues to strengthen its appeal.
“Nine Fattal hotels are already operating here, with three more opening soon,” Aloni notes. Among them: a 240-suite family resort in Latchi near the Blue Lagoon, featuring a floating water park; a 72-room urban hotel in Nicosia opening next month; and later in the year, NYX Nicosia, a 162-room lifestyle property.
Cool View. High above the coastal city, looking out on the Mediterranean from the roof top pool at NYX Limassol. (Photo: Leonardo–Fattal Hotels).
Together, these developments reinforce Cyprus’ evolving role. Not merely as a holiday island, but as a second home of sorts for Israeli travelers and hospitality professionals alike.
Asked about his recent award, Aloni deflects the spotlight. “It’s not about me,” he says. “It recognizes the teams on the ground – leadership, staff, and partners in Cyprus and Greece. Their work is what made this possible.”
Cyprus today is more than a destination Israelis visit. It is a place where Israeli hospitality has taken root, shaping experiences from behind the scenes and making the island feel, in many ways, comfortably familiar.
*Feature picture:Love is in the Air. The writer marveling at the site where legend has it that Aphrodite – the goddess of love and beauty – was born from the Mediterranean waves below. For centuries, people have traveled to Aphrodite’s Rock to sweep their loved one off their feet. (Photo: Motti Verses).
About the writer:
The writer, Motti Verses, is a Travel Flash Tips publisher. His travel stories are published on THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/motti-verses/ And his hospitality analysis reviews on THE JERUSALEM POST, are available on his Linkedin page LinkedIn Israelhttps://il.linkedin.com › motti-verse…Motti Verses – Publisher and Chief Editor – TRAVEL FLASH TIPSAnd his hospitality analysis reviews on THE JERUSALEM POST, are available on his Linkedin page LinkedIn Israelhttps://il.linkedin.com › motti-verse…Motti Verses – Publisher and Chief Editor – TRAVEL FLASH TIPS.
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).
