THE RAMAPHOSA / PEREZ MEETING – PATHOS OR POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM ?

What truly lies behind the much-publicized meeting between South Africa’s President and the Rabbi parent of a SA-born Israeli soldier killed in the war in Gaza?

By Peter Bailey

The pathos in the unlikely meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and Rabbi Doron Perez and his wife Shelley, should be apparent in the personal exchange between them, despite their obvious political differences. The subsequent messaging from South Africa tells a different story.

President Cyril Ramaphosa meets with Rabbi Doron and Shelly Perez, parents of slain son, Daniel, killed in action on the 7 October, 2023.

The meeting on Monday 10 August between World Zionist Organisation (WZO) President Rabbi Doron Perez and his wife Shelley, with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, made the headlines in numerous media publications, mostly for the wrong reasons. Perez is also the CEO of World Mizrachi, a global religious Zionist organisation, established as the religious arm of the World Zionist movement. Ramaphosa, on the other hand heads the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s governing party, and staunch supporters of the Palestinian terrorist movements. The differences between the Perez couple and Cyril Ramaphosa could not be starker. Conversely the commonalities between the two could not be greater.

The political opportunism is evident, as the mainstream South African press has lambasted Ramaphosa for compromising on the ANC principles and approach to dealing with matters pertaining to Israel. Most journalists took the view that the South African charges of Genocide against Israel would lose their gravity in the face of the meeting with the Perez couple, particularly in the face of their strong Zionist credentials. The South African Jewish Report, on the other hand, took the pragmatic approach, lauding Ramaphosa and his government for the humanitarian action in intervening in order to assist in bringing closure to the tragedy that befell the Perez family. Newspapers in Israel were generally appreciative of the role played by Ramaphosa, despite the differences between South Africa and Israel. 

Rhamposa is the South African leader whose International Relations Minister,  Naledi Pandor, congratulated Hamas in a telephone call to the terrorist group leadership in Qatar on 14 October 2023 for, in her words, their fully justifiable invasion of Israel.  This was just 10 days  after the much-publicised vicious invasion by Hamas terrorists, accompanied by murder, rape, torture and other  acts of vicious cruelty that had been  recorded on the terrorists’ own body cameras, and later publicised by Hamas.  The South African Government then had the audacity to lead the charge against Israel – the victim of the Hamas attack – by laying unfounded complaints of genocide and other human rights violations against the Jewish State at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. 

Pandor Pandering to Hamas. Following SA’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor holding a phone call with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in mid-October 2023, Hamas released a statement asserting that the foreign minister expressed solidarity with their operation, leading to immediate public backlash and political controversy.

The Perez couple, on the other hand, are the parents of the late Captain Daniel Perez, who fell on 7 October 2023, while commanding his tank crew during their heroic defence of  the Nahal Oz military base for two hours. This in the face of the vicious attack by overwhelming numbers of Hamas terrorists who had invaded Israel. The family has been through the horrific trauma of initially believing that Daniel had been wounded and kidnapped, enduring 163 days of torment, before all hope was lost after the IDF advised them that there was sufficient evidence to show that Daniel had been killed on 7 October, after which his body had been kidnapped into Gaza, where it was being held. 

Killed in Action. Born and bred South African, 22-year-old Daniel Perez (z’l) was killed on 7 October 2023 whereafter his body was taken into Gaza. 

The obvious similarity between the two, is that both Ramaphosa and Perez are South African-born political leaders. Going a little further, both head political movements, the former being leader of the ANC, while the latter is President of the WZO. Both are fathers, as the headline in the  South African Jewish Report  made obvious, using the words Father to Father, Ramaphosa helps World Zionist President.  There is however a further much larger commonality between Ramaphosa and Perez and what they stand for, that is generally minimised, if considered at all.

While the ANC and the WZO can almost be described as sworn enemies, closer analysis reveals that the raison de etre of the two movements is almost identical. The African National Congress was founded as the South African Native National Congress in 1912, with the objective of uniting Black South Africans in the fight against British colonialism to reclaim South Africa for ts indigenous people. The World Zionist Organisation was founded in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the Zionist Organisation, with the objective of uniting the Jewish Diaspora to fight for the return of the Jewish People to their ancestral homeland for 3,000 years, then under Imperial Ottoman Turkish rule. 

The background is that the European Jewish Diaspora was largely the result of the Roman capture of Jerusalem, followed by the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 135 CE.  This in turn was followed by the carrying off into Roman slavery of around 300,000 Israeli souls from Judea, as recorded by the Roman senator and historian, Cassius Dio. By 1900 the European Jewish Diaspora numbered some 9 million people, the vast majority of them restricted to a life of penury within the Pale of Settlement, demarcated for Jews by the Russian Empire. United States Jewry in 1900 numbered some 1.5 million, while Jews living in the Arab lands totalled between 5 and 600 thousand.   

The irony and additional similarity between the ANC and the WZO is that following the Allied victory over Ottoman Turkey in 1918, Britain became the effective ruler of the former Ottoman Palestine. This was in terms of the League of Nations Mandate over Palestine granted to Britain, while South Africa had the status of a White self-governed British Dominion. Eastern Palestine soon became Transjordan, later the Kingdom of Jordan, while Western Palestine was slated to become the Jewish Homeland, an obligation which the British Government did not honour. 

Britain egregiously reneged on the promise of the Balfour Declaration for the establishment of a Jewish Homeland, which was embodied in the Mandate, instead limiting Jewish immigration, while encouraging the growth of the Arab community. Just as the ANC felt forced to eventually begin an armed struggle against the White South African government  in December 1961, so too the Jewish resistance movements were forced to start an armed struggle targeting the British military in 1937. The British failure to  carry out its responsibilities under its Mandate over Palestine, is the direct cause of the conflict between Israel and the Arab community, who have chosen to refer to themselves as Palestinians, in an attempt to create a fictitious historical connection to Israel, as a counter to the well documented and established Jewish history in the region.

Arab aspirations since the early 1900s have resulted in continuous acts of terrorism against the Jewish residents of Palestine, a situation which has continued unabated and to ever increasing degrees ever since. These endeavours have morphed into the numerous Palestinian organisations waging an unremitted terror war against Israel in particular, and global Jewry in general. These are the same terror movements with whom the ANC controlled South Africa has found common cause, culminating in the Hamas invasion of 7 October 2023.  

With that background, let us return to Cyril Ramaphosa and the Perez couple. Nobody can fault Rabbi Doron Perez and his wife for leaving no stone unturned in the quest for the return of their son Daniel’s body for a proper Jewish burial and a degree of closure following the terrorist inspired tragedy that befell their family. Ramaphosa must be lauded for his actions to achieve the release of Daniel’s body from its Hamas kidnappers, however, whether his actions were truly altruistic or not,  leave more questions than answers. Careful reading of the press release by Ramaphosa leaves no doubt that he has every intention of making political capital out of his intervention on behalf of the Perez couple, without in any way blaming Hamas for the tragedy   

SA GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASE


President Ramaphosa meets Daniel Perez family following government intervention

Monday, 10 August 2026

President Cyril Ramaphosa has met with the family of the late Captain Daniel Perez following the intervention of the South African government in facilitating the release of his remains by Hamas. Perez, born and raised in South Africa, was taken hostage and killed on 7 October 2023. President Ramaphosa expresses his condolences to the  Perez family and affirms South Africa’s support for an all inclusive peace process that will deliver a lasting peace for the people of Israel and Palestine. 
The South African government remains engaged in assisting all South Africans, irrespective of race or religion, that are ensnared in conflict zones as well as  assisting other foreign nationals where such support is requested. 
This includes facilitating the release of South Africans trapped in a war in Syria, citizens that were sold to Russian mercenaries and the safe return of Ukrainian children. 
Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President – media@presidency.gov.za
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Noteworthy about this press release is that there is no mention of Hamas having been responsible for the kidnapping and killing of hostages  during the terrorist invasion of Israel. Instead, they are lumped together with “all South Africans, irrespective of race or religion, that are ensnared in conflict zones as well as  assisting other foreign nationals where such support is requested.” How much better would it be to  offer support and assistance spontaneously, even when it isn’t requested, particularly in the case of South African citizens. 

The abductees whose bodies were recovered from Khan Yunis, from top right clockwise: Alex Danzig, Nadav Poppelwell, Yagev Buchstab, Yoram Metzger, Haim Perry and Avraham Munder (Photos: Abductees and Missing Persons Headquarters)

Despite the claims to the contrary in the press release, neither Ramaphosa personally, nor the South African Government collectively, are on record as having done anything to facilitate the release of the other South African citizens who were kidnapped into Hamas captivity on 7 October 2023 and then held in Gaza as hostages. I refer here in particular to 62-year-old Aviva Siegel (kidnapped together with her husband Keith, an American citizen), and 79-year-old Channah Peri, whose eldest son Roey was murdered during the horrendously cruel terror attack by Hamas. Both elderly ladies were released from captivity on 23 November 2023,  while South Africa was industriously busy preparing the documents for the malicious unfounded libellous charges laid against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Fully three months after the Hamas invasion of Israel, the South African government eventually delivered a diplomatic note to Israel on 21 December 2023, in which it condemned the 7 October attack targeting civilians, and the subsequent hostage taking. This was cynically done as it prepared the  moral ground for laying the unfounded charges of Genocide against Israel a week later, on 29 December 2023. 

Aviva and Keith Segal

Other than a few mealy-mouthed statements calling for the release of the hostages, neither  the South African Government nor its President appear to have done or said anything to facilitate the release of any hostages or criticise Hamas and its terrorist partners. Hamas terrorists proudly recorded their numerous acts of violence and killing, followed by the mutilation and rape of their victims, many of whom were  youngsters innocently attending a music festival.  Ramaphosa and his government have much to answer for, and little to be proud of, despite the self congratulatory press release. 



About the writer:

Peter Bailey made Aliyah from South Africa with his wife Jeanne in 2013 in order to join their three sons and families who were already in Israel. He spent 35 years in the glass industry in South Africa while also being active in military veterans affairs, being National Chairman of The South African Jewish Ex Service League prior to making Aliyah. He completed his compulsory military training in South Africa in 1964 and was commissioned as an officer in 1965, retiring with the rank of major, after 19 years service in the SADF Citizen Force. While on active service on the Namibian Angolan border in 1976 he commanded 101 Task Force’s Counter Insurgency Operations  Training Centre. He has enjoyed a lifelong interest in military history and has conducted intensive research into the Jewish contribution to South Africa’s military history, writing many papers on the subject and giving relevant lectures across South Africa. He is the author of two published books, Street Names in Israel and Men of Valor, Israel’s Latter Day Heroes.  





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 GHOULS FEEDING ON HIND RAJAB’S DEATH

An IDF investigation has produced no verdict and no new evidence of guilt. The online mob is exploiting the tragedy for clicks anyway.

By Andrew Fox

The IDF has opened a criminal investigation into the deaths of Hind Rajab and eight others. That is the entire development. No verdict is implied. The announcement identifies no suspect, nor does it specify an offence. Online carrion crows have turned Hind’s death into clickbait by stripping the news of its qualifications and selling an investigation as a verdict.

describes the alleged shelling of that ambulance and records that the girls and two paramedics were later found dead. It does not establish what happened during the intervening hours.

Mark Zlochin’s close reading exposes the misrepresentation. The formal finding concerns the initial fire at the car. The later events remain reports and allegations. His earlier analysis raised unresolved questions about the route and timeline and tested whether the telephone material and available lines of sight supported The IDF examination states that troops fired at the approaching family car on 29 January 2024. Five passengers were killed; Hind and her cousin Layan survived the encounter. Hours later, a Palestine Red Crescent ambulance, whose movement had been coordinated, went to recover them. The announcement more than one source of fire. Those questions do not resolve the deaths, and today’s announcement provides no new evidence of criminal guilt.

There is one awkward point for Israel’s defenders. The IDF’s first account said no troops were in the area. Its subsequent examination now acknowledges that troops fired at the car. That correction cannot be wished away, and anyone who repeated the first version should amend their view. The acknowledgement revises the official account of the initial encounter. Hind and Layan, it now says, survived the initial fire, while the ambulance strike and their later deaths remain under investigation. Criminal responsibility remains unresolved.

The carrion feeders have ignored that distinction. They demanded an investigation. The moment one was announced, they called it an admission. Their trick relies on readers confusing suspicion with conviction. They use a dead child for emotional force and borrow legal vocabulary to manufacture authority. Nobody has been charged. No court has tested individual liability in the Hind case or in the separate Tel al-Sultan referral. There is no legal conclusion in either case. For these people, the case is not about truth or justice for Hind Rajab: it is about validating their preconceptions about Israel no matter what.

Jaundiced Justice. For anti-Israel advocates, the tragic death of Hind Rajab (above) and family members is less about truth or justice but rather about  validating their negative preconceptions about Israel. (Family handout via AFP)

The IDF’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism compiles operational material for the Military Advocate General. Reasonable suspicion triggers a military police investigation; prosecutors then assess whether the evidence offers a reasonable prospect of conviction. A referral records suspicion but supplies no answer. The suspected offence may involve negligence in following procedure. The announcement does not say.

I have always maintained that where credible evidence supports a war crime charge, it should be prosecuted. That remains my position. The World Central Kitchen case illustrates the distinction. Australia’s review by Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin found that the strike was not knowingly or deliberately directed against the charity. It recorded mistaken identification and failures to follow procedures. Binskin made no criminal finding. A catastrophic outcome can warrant criminal scrutiny without establishing deliberate murder.

I know of a British soldier in Afghanistan who shot dead a farmer carrying a broom. Having known the soldier well and having previously expressed doubts about his suitability for deployment, I am fairly certain that a murder was committed. His defence was that he genuinely believed the broom was a weapon and that his life was threatened. No charges followed. The incident is relevant here only as an example of how difficult it is to reconstruct a shooter’s state of mind after the event.

War crime allegations in Gaza, and more generally, are difficult to investigate because evidence is disturbed and witnesses can be inaccessible. There are no sterile crime scenes, few witness statements, and evidential chains of custody are extremely hard to maintain or prove. The criminal standard of proof does not bend to outrage.

The delay remains a fair ground for criticism. Peter Lerner accurately describes the timing problem:

Israel’s legal machinery moves at an investigative pace, while the information war moves in minutes or seconds. His call for earlier acknowledgement and carefully bounded updates might have reduced speculation. Seth Frantzman’s demand for accountability is fair, too. However, a bleaker counterpoint remains as an answer to both: Israel will be hammered whatever it does. The same people who treated silence as concealment now present the inquiry as a confession.

Researchers should update their positions and opinions when new facts emerge. That applies to Israel’s initial claim that no troops were present. The acknowledgement of IDF fire at the car must be noted. It provides no new evidence about who killed Hind or what happened around the ambulance, or what Hamas was doing at the time. This was a war zone, remember. The public record still contains no evidence establishing a provable crime.

Nine dead human beings have become raw material for clicks and political self-gratification. They have taken an investigation that establishes no guilt and sold it as a confession, using Hind Rajab’s death as a weapon before investigators have established how she died and at whose hand. Decent analysts change their position when the facts change. The ghouls simply distort the facts until they fit the verdict they wanted from the start. If credible evidence of a crime emerges, I will follow it and demand that it be prosecuted. Until then, the spectacle of people parading a dead child through the information war deserves nothing but utter contempt.



About the writer:

A veteran of three grueling tours of Afghanistan, Major Andrew Fox holds a Batchelor’s degree in Law & Politics, a Master’s in Military History & War Studies, Msc in Psychology and is currently studying for a PhD in 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).

Lay of the Land Weekly Newsletter – 23 August 2026

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THE ISRAEL BRIEF – 17–20 August 2026
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ADOLESCENCE ALTERED

October 7 shaped their adolescence. Now they will be voting for the first time come 27 October, 2023 Over 640,000 first-time voters – shaped by pandemic, war, and social media – are poised to play a decisive role.

How will Israel’s young impact this October 27, three years after October 7, 2023?
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ARTICLES

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(1)

MAKING PEACE TO MAKE WAR

Israelis love to fantasize about eating humus in Damascus. However, fantasies turn into fiascoes when they collide with fiendish reality.
By Jonathan Feldstein

Peace or Pause. For this writer, this week’s headlines “could have come from headlines of the year 628 with Mohammed’s “Treaty of Hudaybiyha.” How do you make peace with enemies whose aim is biblically embedded to buy time in order the attack later when stronger?

MAKING PEACE TO MAKE WAR
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(2)

AMERICA, BEWARE OF THE ISLAMISTS IN YOUR BACKYARD

What I see is what I fear: How can American’s be so blind?
By Marziyeh Amirizadeh

Voting in Vipers. “As a grateful and proud American, I weep as I see a trend happening in the US that echoes the naïve ignorance that paved the way for the rise of the Islamists in the country of my birth,” laments this writer who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death for the crime of conversion.

AMERICA, BEWARE OF THE ISLAMISTS IN YOUR BACKYARD
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(3)

NEVER STOP LOOKING

The State of Israel goes to great lengths to retrieve its soldiers, whether alive or dead.
By Lennie Lurie

No Rest until Laid to Rest. The crew of INS Dakar, the Israeli submarine that was lost at sea in January, 1968, is pictured here at Portsmouth Naval Base, England, ahead of its first voyage to Israel which she would never complete.

NEVER STOP LOOKING
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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 – 17-20 August 2026

17 August 2026 – The MoU is over – is this a return to war and more on The Israel Brief.



18 August 2026 – Findings belonging to missing soldier located after 44 years and more on The Israel Brief.



19 August 2026 – Nobody left behind – Israel brings missing soldier home and your top stories on The Israel
Brief.



20 August 2026 – IDF opens very important investigation, a huge Mazel Tov for a former hostage and so much more on The Israel Brief.



18 August 2026 – Rolene Marks and Rob Schilling talk elections, ties with Latin America and the Turkish threat on The Schilling Show






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).

NEVER STOP LOOKING

The State of Israel goes to great lengths to retrieve its soldiers, whether alive or dead.

By Lennie Lurie

In light of the crucial importance Jews attach to the religious necessity to bury the bodies of their fellow Jews, one can now comprehend the vital role played by those dedicated and steadfast members of that unique Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) unit given the name Eitan Unit, whose members represent the very best in furthering the sacred obligations of the Jewish religion and fulfilling the mitzvah of Chessed shel Emet (English: “True Kindness”), in finding the bodies of missing Israeli soldiers for burial. 

This is the phrase that has echoed in my mind ever since that tragic date of 7th October, 2023, when the Hamas terrorists from Gaza, attacked Israeli towns and settlements located along the Israeli-Gaza border, murdering 1,195 people, comprising 831 Israeli civilians, security force members and foreign nationals as well as 364 Israeli civilians killed at the Nova musical festival.

251 people of both sexes and all ages (including foreign nationals, mainly workers from Thailand) were abducted by Hamas and hidden in underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

A total of 1,968 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were returned to Gaza in exchange for the final group of living Israeli hostages on October 13, 2025. This exchange included 250 prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Israel and Hamas became locked in lengthy and tense negotiations over the return of the remaining 13 bodies of Israeli hostages who died in Hamas captivity. To many people outside the Jewish community, the idea of fighting for the return of bodies can seem hard to grasp. Why would Israel go to such lengths to recover the remains of the dead?

However, there exists in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a very special unit whose name and primary function is unknown to most Israelis.  

Within the IDF Manpower Directorate there is a specialized unit known as the Eitan Unit, which is primarily responsible for locating bodies of missing and dead IDF soldiers. The Eitan Unit is dedicated to the ongoing effort of finding missing IDF soldiers, whether they disappeared recently or in past conflicts (some cases date back to the 1948 War of Independence).  

Emblem of the IDF Eitan Unit

The Hebrew word Eitan is אית”ן , whichis an acronym of the Hebrew words “איתור נעדרים”  meaning: 

“Locating missing Persons”

The Eitan Unit is active on an everyday basis, as well as during emergencies, to try find missing soldiers. The Eitan Unit plays a critical role in saving the lives of missing soldiers as well as giving closure to families whose loved ones have been killed in action and the body goes missing.

The Eitan Unit utilizes advanced technologies along with intelligence and investigative processes in order to quickly detect a missing soldier during active combat or even after a long period of time.

Major Yoav, an unmanned aerial vehicle – UAV (also called drones) operator and a specialist in tracing missing and kidnapped IDF soldiers states:

The Hermes UAV produced by Elbit

“We are supposed to respond as fast as possible once a soldier is determined to be missing. Be it in an abduction or on the battlefield, we must find and bring the soldier back. Locating the soldier right away prevents a family, national, and international crisis down the road.”

Eitan UAV operators have been taught how to serve as the IDF’s eyes in the skies over enemy territory in order to trace and locate missing persons and also to thwart the next attempt of abduction. By using existing technology, 12-digit location coordinates are given that point to the place where a missing person is, dead or alive. This enables the Eitan operators to explore enemy territory and narrow the missing person’s search. It allows them to traverse through places which would not be possible without the UAV.

Major Yoav describes a particular finding:

“When you bury someone, a mound is created. Later, that mound turns into a very particular shape, which can be spotted.  In addition, we learned that when someone digs a grave, the soil is turned over and seeds are mixed in. The mound holds a greater amount of moisture. The moisture and the mixed seeds result in a unique effect that features vegetation different from the surrounding natural habitat. These findings helped us locate Dana Bennett [an Israeli teen murdered in 2003].”

Another crucial benefit of the UAV is its sophisticated cameras.  Major Yoav explains:

“The UAV has a thermal camera on board that provide superior resolution and quality.  Thermal techniques allow for further analysis of the terrain. We can even mark suspicious areas for further investigation. Our focus here is on getting to the soldier before the terrorists do”.

Since the IDF’s establishment in 1948, there are 179 missing soldiers, the majority from the War of Independence.  The investigators of the Unit visit IDF archives, State archives, and additional archives where they talk to people and try to understand what happened. They spend hours in the archives trying to piece together the circumstances of a disappearance in order to locate and identify the bodies of missing soldiers.

It has always been the goal of terrorist organizations to take Israeli soldiers, dead or alive. History has shown that the State of Israel has gone to great lengths to retrieve its soldiers, even solely for burial purposes.

The Eitan Unit supervises all recovery attempts of missing soldiers in Israel, taking full advantage of the most innovative technological advancements, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) and ground analysis, to identify potential burial sites or search areas. These physical search operations, conducted by a department within the Eitan Unit, has combat soldiers specially trained to operate in these delicate situations.

The commander of the Eitan Unit, Lieutenant-Colonel Nir states:

“There are faces behind every case. Behind every case there’s also a story. In recent years we’ve had a fair share of successful cases and we’ve managed to find missing soldiers. Every time we receive a new case, I’m part of the investigation and I’m amazed at the team’s dedication”.

There are some cases that are close to being solved and others that are further away, but the Unit continues searching for clues and evidence.

Says Lt. Col. Nir:

“For example, there are cases where the soldier died at sea and the chances of finding them are close to none!”

Within the Eitan Unit is a department that is in charge of mapping and analyzing the ground in order to know where to look for missing soldiers. “I can take a map from 1948,” explains Lt. Col. Nir,“and compare it to a current map, and then direct the investigators in that geographical area”.

Another Eitan Unit has combat soldiers who undertake regular drills and exercises in physically searching for missing IDF soldiers. During emergencies, the teams take notes on the missing soldier cases, keeping the information up to date, and then presents the information to the Military Rabbinate and the Head of the Manpower Directorate. Says Lt. Col. Nir:

 “We then decide whether the soldier is missing or a fallen soldier whose burial place is unknown. It will be then up to them to decide; our job is to provide them with as much information as possible.”

Once the family is notified, the Unit accompanies them to activities and meetings, providing them with any additional support they need. Although fraught with challengers, Lt. Col. Nir is never discouraged adding:

“After 70 years, the window of opportunities is closing and if we don’t act fast, we won’t have the testimonies because they’re a dying generation.”

However, the Unit continues to discover more information about missing soldiers, even from 70 years ago.

Lt. Col. Nir concludes:

“It’s important for soldiers to know that the IDF and Israel do everything in their power to bring back missing soldiers. A strong saying I heard while investigating a case of a missing Givati Brigade soldier from 1948 was, ‘After what I witnessed today, I hope and pray that if I am ever taken hostage or am missing, people will look for me  the same way we looked after missing soldiers from 1948’. We will do everything to bring a hostage or missing soldier back to his home and family in Israel.”

Sadly, there are 179 missing in action (MIA) IDF soldiers whose bodies were never found. Nevertheless, the State of Israel has honored them with the establishment of the commemorative Garden of the Missing in Action [Hebrew: גן הנעדרים  – Gan HaNe’edarim – (literal) Garden of the Missing] located on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

The ‘Garden of the Missing in Action’ is a commemorative garden on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem dedicated to Israeli MIAs.

The garden memorializes fighters and officers of the Israel Defense Forces and Land of Israel MIAs starting from 1914, whose resting place is unknown. The garden also contains memorials to those lost aboard the submarine INS Dakar and the 23 Palmach commandoes lost in Operation Boatswain. The establishment of the Garden of the Missing was initiated by Moshe Oren, head of the Ministry of Defense Commemoration Division in 2003. It was dedicated in February 2004 in a ceremony attended by army chiefs, Israeli Defense Minister at the time, Shaul Mofaz, and members of the Jerusalem Municipality.

The garden memorializes fighters and officers of the Israel Defense Forces and Land of Israel MIAs starting from 1914, whose resting place is unknown.

An annual memorial service for the missing soldiers of Israel takes place in the garden’s main plaza on the Seventh of Adar, the day in the Hebrew calendar which marks the traditional date of the death of Moses, whose grave, according to the Bible, is known only to God.

Photograph of the crew of INS Dakar, the Israeli submarine that was lost at sea in January, 1968. The crew is pictured here at Portsmouth Naval Base, England, ahead of its first voyage to Israel which she would never complete.

According to the rabbis, ransoming of captives is closely tied to the commandment of saving a life, and is thereby supremely important in Jewish law. Jewish law obligates searching for those who are missing in action even if there is only a remote chance of finding the person. The policy of the Israel Defense Forces is never to leave a soldier behind.

The INS Dakar Memorial in the Garden of the Missing in Action is dedicated to the 69 soldiers of the Israeli Navy of the submarine INS Dakar who perishedin the Mediterranean Sea in 1968. The exposed concrete is in the shape of a submarine with an inscription from the Bible: Psalm 77:19: “Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though Your footprints were not seen.”

COMING HOME

Master Sergeant Ran Gvili (aged 24 years) was an Israel Police combat officer in the elite Negev YASAM unit.

He was killed fighting Hamas terrorists near Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, 2023, after taking medical leave to join the defense. His body was abducted to Gaza, making him the final captive held there until his remains were recovered in “Operation Brave Heart” and returned to Israel on January 26, 2026.

24-year-old Master Sergeant Ran Gvili, an Israeli police combat officer in the Negev Yasam counter-terror unit, displayed extraordinary bravery on October 7, 2023. Despite recovering from a broken shoulder, he rushed south to defend communities, helped rescue Nova Festival survivors and fought valiantly at Kibbutz Alumim, continuing to engage terrorists even after being shot in the leg, until he was outnumbered and killed before his body was taken to Gaza.

The long and agonizing wait came to an end for the family of Master Sergeant Ran Gvili when, on Wednesday morning, 28th January, 2026, he was buried in the military cemetery of his home town Meitar, located 19 km (12 miles) northeast of Beersheba. The formal funeral procession began at 10:30 A.M. at the IDF Camp Shura  in central Israel, just south of the town of Ramle. Dozens of police officers stood in silent salute along the road, with Israeli flags spontaneously displayed by Israelis from all walks of life in honor of the Israeli cop who left his home and charged into battle against the invading Gaza terrorists on 7 October.

Left: Gvili’s casket arrives at the cemetery. Right: Police Officers bid farewell to hero Ran Gvili.

Eulogizing at the funeral of his brother Ran, Omri Gvili, the brother of Ran,  expressed the sentiment in the heart of all Israelis and which lies imbedded in the DNA of the IDF:

“I’ve closed the circle – my hero brother has come home.”



About the writer:

A B.Sc. graduate in Economics and Geology from the University of Cape Town (UCT), Lennie Lurie may be the only volunteer from abroad who was granted permission to leave his group on kibbutz during the 1967 Six Day War to rejoin his paratroop brigade that he had served with years before following his matriculation in Cape Town. In Israel, Lennie has worked as an Export Manager for some of the country’s major food manufacturers and chemical companies as well as an independent consultant in Export Marketing guiding many small Israeli businesses to sell their products and services in the world-wide market. As a result of a work accident in 1995, Lennie made a career change and became an independent English teacher working mainly with hi-tech companies and associated with universities and colleges in the north of Israel.






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).

AMERICA, BEWARE OF THE ISLAMISTS IN YOUR BACKYARD

What I see is what I fear: How can American’s be so blind?

By Marziyeh Amirizadeh

Becoming an American citizen ten years ago was one of the most exciting and proud days in my life.  It was not simply because I had fled Iran – the country of my birth – where, after becoming a Christian in 1999 I was arrested and sentenced to death for the “crime” of apostacy. Indeed, the ability to live as a Christian without daily fears of arrest or persecution, much less torture and death was life changing. I was also able to vote in a free and democratic election for the first time in my life. It’s impossible for most Americans to imagine not having the freedoms so cherished for us all– and for which Iranians are struggling and dying in order to gain their freedom from the oppression of the Islamic Republic – and being so foreign and unimaginable for me just years earlier as I sat on death row in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.

Often, as an American who was able to flee tyranny, I feel that I cherish America’s freedom’s more than those who were born here and take them for granted. I understand more than most what lack of freedom looks like in an entire country, and for the citizens living under the oppression of Islamic Sharia law.

I don’t dismiss the things that are talking points of American elections, not at all. But for so many Americans living with the freedoms that we have, far too many do not appreciate what they mean. When it comes to women’s rights, of course I stand for that in the American way of thinking. But sometimes I shake my head because I know what it’s really like to live in a society in which misogyny and subjugation of women is in its DNA. I know what it’s like to see women manipulated to become sex workers under the guise of a perverse and institutionally sanctioned Islamic formula of “temporary marriage.”

I know what it’s like to fear being beaten or abused because of not wearing the mandatory hijab “properly,” or to wear makeup, pluck one’s eyebrows, or have nail polish. I know what it’s like to see women brutally tortured, their faces deliberately disfigured and teeth knocked out because in Islam a woman’s life is only worth half of that of a man.

I know what women face daily by way of sexual harassment, assault, and rape both in prison and on the streets. I know that the Islamists are so evil that even before executing women on a variety of trumped-up charges like my best friend Shirin Alamhooli – as I would have been had God not spared me – they rape virgin women and girls to prevent them from going to heaven. No matter how many times you read that sentence, it will never be normal, humane, or tolerable in any way.

Iranian Injustice. This photo of Shirin Alamhooli was taken by the writer while in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. Shiran was executed on May 9, 2010. (Photo: Marziyeh Amirizadeh)

I even know what it’s like for a brother to tell me after I became a Christian, an Islamic cleric told him to kill me for shaming the family and insulting Islam, and that he would be protected from any legal repercussions. All these and many other ways women suffer in Iran, and under Islam generally, are due to the evils of Sharia law that imposes itself on women, and any non-Muslim, in countless ways.

As a grateful and proud American, I weep as I see a trend happening in the United States that echoes the naïve ignorance that paved the way for the rise of the Islamists in the country of my birth. More than the ignorance of those who protested to bring down the Shah, often what’s known as the Red-Green alliance of Marxists and communists collaborating with the Islamists, Americans are actually electing the Islamists through democratic voting that has been hijacked.

When I see Abdul El Sayid as the Democratic candidate for Senator in Michigan, I see the interrogators and judges I faced and argued with. They repeatedly tried to entrap me and convince me to reject and renounce my faith in Jesus, claiming that I would be forgiven and set free. But I knew the truth that there was no compromise with these evil people and no matter what I did they would still execute me.

The New Left. Abdul El-Sayed, the anti-Israel Democratic candidate who won the Michigan Senate primary, has called the idea of Jewish state “illiberal”,  and said money is only reason Dems who ‘believe in human rights’ support Israel. (Photo: AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

When I see Ilhan Omar who manipulates American freedom to impose radical Islam in Congress, and become rich in schemes that she and her husband/brother are alleged to have concocted, I see the hijab covered women of the Iranian Revolution era, who with their stupidity and self-righteous adherence to Islam, ushered in a society that made them worth only half of their brothers and husbands.

Menacing Mindset. Already back in 2012,Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s views were clear when she tweeted “Israel has hypnotized the world”, invoking an old anti-Semitic trope of Jews controlling world events through some sort of mystical power.

When I see Iranian-American Yassamin Ansari serving in Congress representing Arizona’s 3rd District, I see the fake reformists within Iranian society and those who have been exported by the Islamic regime in order to infiltrate Western society. She makes her handlers at NIAC happy, but turns the stomach of average Iranians who want to see freedom from everything she represents.

Climate Change. Climate policy advocate U.S. Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona has shifted from her initial position as a self-described “pro-Israel progressive” to sharply criticizing Israel’s military campaigns, describing actions in Gaza and Lebanon as “genocide” and “mass atrocities”, and stating she will block offensive military aid.

When I see Adam Hamaway in New Jersey, I see the professionals of Iran who colluded with the Islamic regime to protect themselves and their livelihoods, empowering and enabling the ayatollahs out of fear, or their own conversion to radical Islam. How an Islamist who was an aid to the “blind Sheikh” associated with the World Trade Center bombing could stand for congress in a district just 50 miles from where Islamists brought down the World Trade Center 25 years ago is unthinkable. How can Americans be so blind?

Dr. No. Prior to his win in the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s12th congressional district, Dr. Adam Hamawy appeared on the Hasan Piker’s show (noted for its antisemitic rhetoric) saying NO to supporting Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system because it is “insulating Israel” from “having to deal with the consequences of war.” 

When I see Ghazala Hashmi as Lt. Governor of Virginia, I see the slavery that has been imposed by Islam over much of the non-Arab world – including the country of her birth – by the steady and deliberate Islamic conquest. Islamists will conquer city by city and state by state, through violent jihad where necessary, or under the stealth manipulation of freedom in the country that they are trying to conquer.

Troubling Triumvirate. Gunning for Israel are (l-r) Zohran Mamdani, Rashida Harbi Tlaib Right and Ghazala Hashmi (Photo: X)

When I see Zohran Mamdani, an unapologetic Islamist extremist as mayor of America’s largest city and financial capital, I see the radical Mahmoud Ahmadiinijad who served as mayor of Tehran before becoming President of Iran, under whom I experienced and witnessed the regime’s savage brutality while in prison. God help us if this is not the beginning and final stop of Mamdani’s political career.

Suspect Priorities. What is the true agenda of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani whose first day in office, revoked the City’s recognition of IHRA – the gold standard definition of antisemitism – sending a strong message in word and deed that he is hostile to Israel and a danger to the local Jewish community?  (Photo: Angela Weiss / AFP)

When I see hundreds of Democratic leaders pandering to the Islamists, I see leftist Iranian civilians who protested against the Shah and ushered in the Ayatollah’s regime in 1979 before being arrested, imprisoned, tortured, executed, or exiled by their former poster child Ayatollah Khomeini and his Islamist backers. It didn’t take long before the Islamists’ true colors were clear, and how the leftists who had been manipulated as the useful idiots they had become became evident and unstoppable.

I love the country of my birth and pray that all Iranians will be free from the heel of Islamic brutality soon. I also love my adopted country, the United States, and the freedoms that we all cherish. But I fear that Americans do not see the threat that’s already in our back yard, and will continue to elevate, enable, and elect Islamists like these and others, and end up seeing our cherished America becoming like the country of my birth. 

One Islamic Republic is one too many. We do not ever want that here. America, please do not be fooled, and please do not vote for any of these Islamists or their enablers. Heaven help us all.



About the writer:

Marziyeh (Marzi) Amirizadeh, the founder and president of www.newpersia.org, an author, public speaker, and activist. She has written two books “Captive in Iran,” and “A Love Journey with God” which are available on www.marzisjourney.com. She is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death by hanging in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity. She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation in Evin prison- one of the most brutal prisons in the world.









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).

MAKING PEACE TO MAKE WAR

Israelis love to fantasize about eating humus in Damascus. However, fantasies turn into fiascoes when they collide with fiendish reality.

By Jonathan Feldstein

In the good old days, Arabs would just rant with wild unabashed rhetoric about destroying Israel outright and driving Israelis into the sea. They would threaten Israel openly, blockade shipping, eject UN “peacekeeping troops,” launch a variety of terrorist attacks, initiate global boycotts of Israel and the companies that do business with Israel, etc.  Today, while the chants of freeing “Palestine” “from the river to the sea” still mean driving Israel into the same sea and eliminating the Jewish state, their tactics have changed from outright hostility and threats to something even more nefarious but not new.

Israelis want peace. We are lured by the idea of peace. Each generation prays that it will be the last generation to serve in combat to defend ourselves from ongoing threats. Even after the Hamas attack and massacre of October 7, 2023, even though the reality vis-à-vis our Arab neighbors is clear, some still fantasize about peace and believe it is somehow achievable.

Israel has peace with Egypt and Jordan, and the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco thanks to the Abraham Accords. While three years ago, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said peace with Israel has never been closer, the Saudis remain unwilling to pull the trigger so to speak.

Qatar who still threatens Israel, is an epicenter of radical Islam, and brainwashing the world as such through media and buying influence.

Turkey, while not Arab, has emerged as one of the major regional threats with its Islamist leader threatening to reconquer Jerusalem (and his fantasies about restoring the Ottoman Caliphate which was resoundingly defeated in WWI). Its influence in Syria has increased, bringing the threat of a land attack – though they also seek American F35s – closer than ever before. Turkey also openly supports and harbors Hamas terrorists, making no secret of its ill intent, despite being a member of NATO.

While no less alarming, Turkey’s tactics are old-school: overtly threatening, delegitimizing, and seeking alliances and weapons upon which it can realize its threats vis-à-vis Israel. Recently, reports were revealed marking a shift in the tactic but no less threatening to Israel’s existence.

While the countries involved have not yet been named, what has been revealed is that one or more Arab countries are being encouraged to make peace with Israel in order to normalize relations as if being part of the Abraham Accords, but to use this to “lull” Israelis to think that peace is real, and at the same time to build up their military preparedness to attack Israel. This is a new tactic in the past 100 years of the broader “Arab-Israel Conflict,” but it is indeed a tactic that is as old as Islam.

This week’s headlines could have come from headlines of the year 628 with Mohammed’s “Treaty of Hudaybiyha.”  What happened 1398 years ago was that Mohammed signed a truce with the stronger Quraysh tribe at Hudaibaiyah. Many of Mohammed’s followers found this humiliating. However, Mohammed had a bigger scheme planned.  As the Quraysh tribe lived through the intoxication of their “peace in our time” fantasy, the pause in fighting allowed Mohammed time to rearm and grow stronger. Two years later, he broke the treaty, attacked Mecca with a much larger force, and conquered it from the Quraysh tribe. Mecca was never the same, and Islam continued this path until today of using the model of the Treaty of Hudaibiyha to conquer other tribes, cultures, and countries.

Strategic Patience:  The Prophet accepted seemingly unfavorable terms in the short term to secure long-term stability and growth.  Here lies the caution for today’s negotiators

What’s evident in this week’s headline is that as much as Israelis strive for peace agreements with our Arab and Muslim neighbors, what’s been proven time and again throughout history, is that we cannot trust them, we cannot let our guard down, and we must maintain our military and intelligence capabilities because every treaty has the potential of being Hudaibaiyah .

Countless ceasefires with Hamas and Hezbollah were not made from positions of strength or genuine desire for peace, or the well-being of their own communities. They are made from weakness in order to regroup, rearm, and return to war when the time is right. That’s what this week’s headline is about.

While Israel has peace with Egypt and Jordan in the form of signed treaties, it has been a cold peace. We have continued to see threats and military buildup, and the frequent undermining and delegitimizing of Israel, as well as publicly bashing Israel in many forums. Since the Hamas massacre of October 7, rather than standing with Israel against the Islamists who also threaten them, these two nations at ‘peace’ with Israel, have only increased their rhetoric and threats against Israel.

In Lebanon, we see hopeful signs of some sort of agreement with our northern neighbor which has largely been plagued by war since 1975. However, Hezbollah’s tight grip on Lebanon’s fractured society,  continues to plague the nation and jeopardizes its future.

Elusive Peace. Welcomed by Israels and much of Lebanon weary of conflict but will the stranglehold of Hezbollah allow peace to prevail?

The Lebanese should want peace, and signing a piece of paper would be advantageous. However, as long as Hezbollah remains dominant and a threat to Israel as well as to Lebanon, Israel will never be able to truly trust a peace agreement with them either.

So, which Arab countries are involved in this attempt at a modern Treaty of Hudaibaiyah?

 I don’t know yet but have my guesses. In the bigger picture it almost doesn’t matter because it’s the simple reality of the threat of peace with any Arab or Islamic neighbor is the same. In 1979 we were intoxicated by the idea of peace with Egypt and indeed there have been many advantages of that. The same with making peace with Jordan in 1994, theoretically freeing up the risk of threats along our longest border. Some never trusted these from the outset, and recent rhetoric and threats may prove them right.

Peace or Pause? Despite the 1979 peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel (above), widespread hostility for Israel is found in Egypt’s state media while a significant portion of its coverage crosses into outright antisemitism,

The Abraham Accords brought normalization with Arab countries that were never in open conflict with Israel, and with which Israel does not share a border. These have been fruitful in just a few years. But just because we’re paranoid about the long-term threats as a result of making peace does not mean we’re wrong about the potential for these threats. Time will tell.

Israelis fantasize about eating humus in Damascus. From the early years of the state. After the Arabs’ resounding loss in the 1967 Six-Day War, we believed that they would eventually come to understand that Israel is not going anywhere, and if it were a conflict about land, using the failed “land for peace” model which the rejected anyway, if we “gave back” land to the vanquished Arab states, they would become rational and make peace with us.

As we maintain the need for readiness for anything, and as has been revealed this week we cannot let our guard down, we also must continue to look in the rear-view mirror. As much as we want peace, Mohammed’s model then is our tragic and treacherous reality today. 



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.







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 – 16 August 2026

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THE ISRAEL BRIEF – 10–13 August 2026
(Click on the blue title)




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

“YOUR’E IN EUROPE HERE, GO AWAY”

It says much for Europe today when Irish tourist (below) said this to a Jewish couple inside a French supermarket followed by: “You get the f** away from me before I put a f**ing bullet in your head?”

Inside a French supermarket this week an Irish tourist who initially introduced himself to an Australian Jewish couple as “Paddy from Ireland,” made hateful remarks saying he was sorry Hitler hadn’t “finished the job” after a conversation turned political. He proceeded to threaten the couple with violence when they began recording the encounter.
(see: https://x.com/AustralianJA/status/2087326866562834566/video/1)




ARTICLES

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

(1)

HANGAR OF HORROR TO GATES TO HEAVEN

I did not want to talk about it; so now I’m writing about it – my visit to Camp Shura in central Israel.
By David E. Kaplan

From Hell to Heaven. This young rabbi who had never seen a dead body before October 7 was suddenly thrust into a situation that he was totally unprepared for – the arrival of dead Jews “by the truckload.” Hearing firsthand of what played out at Shura, one can understand why 3 years later, the tears still flow from the teller and listeners alike!

HANGAR OF HORROR TO GATES TO HEAVEN



(2)

BEYOND MEMORY: PRAGUE’S LIVING JEWISH HERITAGE

Despite its complex millennium-long relationship with its Jewish community, Prague today actively preserves, honors, and celebrates its profound Jewish heritage.
By Motti Verses

Poignant Prague. The Altneuschul in Prague’s Jewish Quarter is the oldest preserved synagogue in Europe. Of all the places the writer has travelled,  “there is only one where I have truly felt that Judaism is not merely tolerated, but genuinely respected, cherished and embraced with warmth: Prague.” Discover why.

BEYOND MEMORY: PRAGUE’S LIVING JEWISH HERITAGE
(Click on the blue title)



(3

MENSCHESKEIT, MITZVOT AND THE JEWISH SOUL IN TIMES OF WAR

A sensitive reflection on Jewish ethics, Derech Eretz, preserving life, and how living by Torah values can help protect mental health even in times of conflict.
By Bev Moss-Reilly

Soul Searching. “The soul of a people is tested not only by how it suffers, but by how it behaves when it has the strength to act,” asserts the writer. Beyond the ritual and law, what characterizes Jewish life   is menscheskeit, Read and learn more.

MENSCHESKEIT, MITZVOT AND THE JEWISH SOUL IN TIMES OF WAR
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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 – 10-13 August 2026

10 August 2026 – Did Bibi “go nuclear” and reject “Gaza peace plan”, big beauty brand comes to Israel and more on The Israel Brief.



11 August 2026 – Trump smuggled in a catering cart, Colombia’s historic recognition and more on The Israel Brief.



12 August 2026 – Debunking the GenoLie and will there be Nuremberg type trials for those who perpetrated 7/10 – this and more on The Israel Brief.



13 August 2026 – Is Eurovision scared of a win for Israel next year, and extraordinary diplomatic ruse uncovered 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).

MENSCHESKEIT, MITZVOT AND THE JEWISH SOUL IN TIMES OF WAR

A sensitive reflection on Jewish ethics, Derech Eretz, preserving life, and how living by Torah values can help protect mental health even in times of conflict.

By Bev Moss-Reilly

There is something deeply rooted in Jewish life that goes beyond law, ritual, or identity alone. It is menscheskeit, that instinctive decency, compassion, and moral accountability that shapes how a Jew is meant to move through the world. It is expressed through mitzvot, through Derech Eretz, and through the understanding that power must never cancel conscience. In times of conflict, when grief, fear, and rage can easily consume the human spirit, these values matter even more. They remind us that to be Jewish is not only to survive, but to remain anchored in holiness, restraint, and compassion.

The Torah teaches that every human being is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God, and that life itself begins with divine breath. In Bereishit (Book of Genesis), Hashem breathes the breath of life into the human being, and the Talmud teaches that saving a single life is as if one has saved an entire world. These are not abstract ideas. They form the moral architecture of Jewish consciousness. They tell us that a Neshama is never trivial, never ownerless, and never outside the concern of Heaven. When Jews speak about life as sacred, it is because we believe that the soul within a person is entrusted by Hashem and ultimately belongs to Hashem – that we feed our Neshama to afford us a place in Olam Habah (the world to come).

That belief has consequences. It means that even in war, even under unbearable provocation, even when facing an enemy, the Jewish moral instinct is not meant to delight in cruelty or become casual about suffering. Jewish ethics calls on us not to stand idly by the blood of another, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. It also demands that we do not allow pain to turn us into people who no longer recognise the humanity of others. This does not mean abandoning self-defence. It does not mean becoming passive in the face of terror. It means that defence must still be held within a moral framework, because the soul of a people is tested not only by how it suffers, but by how it behaves when it has the strength to act.

International humanitarian law reflects some of these same moral instincts. It prohibits attacks directed at civilians and requires effective advance warning of attacks that may affect civilians when circumstances permit. Whatever political arguments may rage around any specific conflict, the underlying principle is clear, civilians are not to be the object of attack, and precautions matter. For many Jews, that principle does not feel foreign. It resonates with a Torah shaped conscience that recoils from the deliberate targeting of innocents and insists that even necessary force must never become moral carelessness.

This is also why so many Jews feel deeply moved by examples of medical care given across lines of hostility. Israeli official sources have documented the coordination of medical aid and field hospitals for Gazan civilians, and Israeli hospitals have long described treating Palestinians and even patients from adversarial states. These moments matter far beyond public relations or politics. They express something enduring in Jewish moral life, namely that saving a life is not cancelled by enmity. When an injured person is treated, stabilised, or comforted, even if they come from the other side of a conflict, a line is being drawn in favour of life. A statement is being made that our values do not evaporate under pressure.

Driving across the Divide. Prior to the October 7 massacre in southern Israel, around 2,700 Palestinian patients were driven to Israeli hospitals every year by members of the ‘Road to Recovery’ group, breaking physical and language barriers. Seen here was Adam Abu al-Rob, a six-year-old Palestinian eye cancer patient, siting with his father Mamoun in a vehicle driven by Israeli ‘Road to Recovery’ volunteer Yael Noy. (Photo: Jack Guez/AFP)

From a mental health perspective, this matters profoundly. War always leaves emotional scars. There is fear, anticipatory dread, helplessness, grief, and often deep exhaustion. But another burden can enter as well, moral injury. Moral injury occurs when a person feels that a deep moral line has been crossed, whether by what they did, what they witnessed, or what they failed to prevent. It is associated with guilt, shame, disgust, anger, and severe psychological distress. When people feel they have betrayed their deepest values, the inner toll can be devastating. By contrast, acting in ways that remain aligned with conscience, compassion, and restraint may help protect the inner life, even when pain remains. That is an inference, but it is a meaningful one. If violating one’s moral core can wound the psyche, then remaining faithful to that core can help preserve it.

There is research too showing that helping others can reduce stress and improve mood, self-esteem, happiness, and a sense of connection. Kindness does not erase trauma, and compassion does not make war emotionally easy. But it can interrupt the hardening of the heart. It can protect people from becoming consumed by hatred. It can remind them, even in crisis, that they are still capable of good. In that sense, living by Torah values is not only spiritually elevating, but it can also be psychologically protective. It gives suffering meaning, keeps cruelty from colonising the soul, and creates a moral continuity between belief and action.

This is where Derech Eretz becomes more than a beautiful phrase. It becomes an emotional stabiliser. To act with dignity, to show mercy, to preserve life where possible, to warn civilians, to treat the wounded, and to refuse to surrender one’s humanity, these are not signs of weakness. They are signs of spiritual strength. They say that even under siege, even after trauma, even when the heart is broken, the Jewish people are still answerable to something higher than rage.

That does not mean Jews do not suffer. Of course we do. It does not mean Jews are not traumatised by terror, by war, by loss, by hostage crises, or by the constant psychological strain of living under threat. We are. When a people continue to act from mitzvot, from compassion, and from the awareness that every Neshama comes from Hashem, something important is preserved. The body may be exhausted, the heart may ache, and the mind may still need support, but the soul is less fractured when it has not betrayed itself.

Perhaps that is one of the deepest forms of Jewish resilience. Not merely surviving but surviving without letting brutality define us. Not merely fighting but fighting without worshipping force. Not merely mourning our own but recognising the sacredness of life itself. In that lies both holiness and protection. Because when Jews live by Torah, honour the Neshama, and save life wherever they can, they do not only help the other. They help guard their own inner world as well.



About the writer:

Bev Moss -Reilly is a Jewish freelance content writer living in South Africa with a deep and heartfelt focus on mental health, emotional wellbeing, trauma, grief, and the unseen struggles people carry every day. Through her writing and her Mental Health Packs, she aims to bring comfort, awareness, compassion, and practical support to individuals, families, workplaces, and communities. Her work is rooted in empathy, dignity, and the belief that nobody should feel alone in their pain, especially in times of crisis.








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).