WHY AMERICANS MUST PROTEST THE IRANIAN SOCCER TEAM’S INCLUSION IN THE WORLD CUP

Beware of what’s under the soccer jerseys the Islamic Republic regime wants to normalize on American soil

By Marziyeh Amirizadeh

As the United States prepares to host FIFA, the World Cup, I have an urgent appeal to all Americans. While sports in theory should be above international politics, the inclusion of a soccer team from the Islamic Republic of Iran is an afront to the freedoms we celebrate as Americans. If the Islamic Republic soccer team is participating, it must also be a time to use our freedom to protest their presence and the Islamic regime that they represent. I call on all Americans to join me to do so.

On the Way to the USA. Iran supporters cheer during a FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia zone qualifiers between Iran and the North Korea at the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran on June 10, 2025. (Photo: AFP/ Atta Kenare)

Why is this so important? I was born in Iran just months before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that plunged my beloved homeland into darkness. I grew up under the boot of the ayatollahs’ regime, where being a woman meant living as a second-class citizen, and daring to seek truth outside their intolerant radical Islam could cost you everything. In 1999 I became a Christian and in 2009, my friend Maryam and I were arrested for the “crime” of converting to Christianity. We were thrown into Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, interrogated, tortured, and sentenced to death by hanging for apostasy. Only international pressure secured our release after nine harrowing months. I came to America as a free woman, but my heart still bleeds for the millions left behind.

Beauties and the Beasts. For 259 days, the writer (left) and her friend Maryam Rostampour were imprisoned facing execution for spreading Christianity. Their case gained international attention, and human rights advocates around the world began calling for their release until growing pressure eventually led Iranian authorities to free them. After leaving Iran, both women moved to the US.

Today, as the Islamic Republic prepares to send its national soccer team to the 2026 World Cup on American soil, I raise my voice with urgency and conviction: Americans must protest this inclusion loudly, clearly, and without apology. Allowing this team to compete is not a celebration of sport. It is a betrayal of human rights, a whitewashing of tyranny, and an insult to every victim of the regime’s brutality – including the brave women, Christians, Baha’is, Kurds, and dissidents who suffer daily.

The Iranian national team does not represent the Iranian people. It represents the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the oppressive theocracy that has ruled through terror for nearly five decades. That’s why the Islamic Republic is protesting that the team including all its IRGC guards be allowed to come to America. It is literally allowing terrorists to come for a field day in our own backyards.

Should this murderous regime be represented at the World Cup? Graphic images smuggled out of Iran depict severe violence perpetrated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against civilians, including attacks on hospitals and the execution of injured protesters.

Players who are not IRGC are also not free.  They may not express themselves, or think of defecting, lest the threats they have been made clear to them against their families be realized. God help them if they dare show solidarity with the protests sweeping Iran, or thank their American hosts for helping to free Iran. In past tournaments, we saw courageous gestures of players refusing to sing the regime’s anthem only to be met with intimidation from the IRGC. This is no game; it is propaganda. The regime uses the unifying sport of soccer and the World Cup to project an image of normalcy while executing prisoners by the hundreds, brutalizing and disfiguring women who do not wear the hijab “properly,” and funding terrorism across the Middle East.

Crackdown to Kickoff. Is it acceptable that the regime responsible for mass murdering its own citizens during a crackdown of protests, should be permitted to normalize its crimes by being allowed to participate at the World Cup in the US? Seen here are families searching for their loved ones among bodies outside the Kahrizak forensic center in the suburbs of Tehran, Iran, January 13, 2026. (Photo: SIPA)

I know this evil firsthand. In Evin Prison, I endured conditions designed to break the human body and spirit. Solitary confinement, psychological torment, and the constant threat of execution were tools to silence faith and freedom. Thousands of political prisoners, including Christians like me, have faced the same. The regime hangs people for “enmity against God.” Women are beaten and killed for “improper hijab,” as we saw with Mahsa Amini in 2022. Young girls are imprisoned, and minorities are persecuted. Women are raped before execution because the religion of peace does not allow execution of virgins, and so, according to their perverted Islamic ideology, they will not go to heaven. This is what’s under the soccer jerseys the Islamic Republic regime wants to normalize on American soil.

Sing to Survive. In March 2026, fears mounted for members of the Iranian women’s soccer team following being branded “wartime traitors” by Iranian state media for refusing to sing their national anthem in Australia. (Photo: AP)

My fellow Americans, we live in a land of liberty, founded on principles of God-given rights, where faith is protected and dissent is a cornerstone of democracy. How can you welcome representatives of a regime that executes Christians, stones adulterers (by their laws), subjugates women in every way – including as sex slaves under the banner of Islamic “temporary marriages” – and which calls for the destruction of Israel and America? FIFA officials speak of “inclusion” and “sports diplomacy,” but there can be no diplomacy with evil that slaughters its own citizens and seeks to annihilate other countries. Protesting the Islamic Republic’s participation honors the true spirit of competition one rooted in fair play, not state-sponsored terror.

Our protest also sends an urgent message to the Iranian diaspora and freedom-loving people inside Iran. Many Iranian-Americans fled this very regime. They wave the old Lion and Sun flag, not the blood-soaked emblem of the Islamic Republic. By allowing the team entry, America normalizes the mullahs’ lies. It tells protesters in Tehran – risking their lives in the streets behind an internet blackout – that the world prefers games over justice. It dishonors the memory of those executed, those blinded and disfigured by pellets, those raped in custody, and those who simply wanted to live without fear. It’s all a big show because Iranians living behind the internet blackout won’t even be able to watch an uncensored broadcast of a soccer game, only able to see what the regime allows them.

Most recently, and in an affront to all Americans, FIFA has barred people from displaying the original Lion and Sun Iranian flag which was hijacked and perverted by the flag of the Islamic Republic since 1979. Not only is this an obscene whitewashing of the presence of the Islamic Republic team on US soil, it undermines the First Amendment in a peaceful display of protest. If allowed to be enforced, it’s tantamount to America ceding territory and our freedoms to the Islamic Republic by giving ownership and authority of our rights to FIFA as the gatekeeper. There are and must be an infinite number of ways for Americans to assert that FIFA may be the organizer, but they have no authority on matters of freedom of expression. Would they do what the Islamic Republic does in such an instance: shoot down protesters? The Lion and Sun must be present inside and outside the stadiums and all Americans must resist this violation of our inalienable rights for which Iranians are being slaughtered in the streets. 

Football Façade. Crowds gather for a public farewell ceremony for Iran’s national soccer team as they prepare to depart for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, on May 13, 2026. (Photo: Behnam Tofighi/UPI)

My faith in Jesus sustained me through Evin’s darkness. He taught us to stand for the oppressed, to speak truth to power. “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). The Iranian people are crying out for freedom. Women lead the revolution with the cry “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Christians worship in secret house churches, risking everything for their faith. Jews, Baha’is, Kurds and other minorities face systemic erasure. Americans who value life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have a moral duty to stand with them.

Protesting does not mean hating Iranian athletes as individuals. Many are victims themselves, coerced by a system that controls their careers and families. True solidarity would be demanding FIFA ban the team until the regime releases political prisoners, ends executions, grants religious freedom, and stops its nuclear ambitions and terror sponsorship. Sport should unite humanity, not provide cover and whitewashing of systematic evil.

As an American citizen now, I urge my fellow citizens: Do not let commercial interests or diplomatic niceties silence you. Organize at stadiums. Rally in cities hosting matches. Protest any hotel that gives lodging to the Islamic Republic team. Contact your representatives. Flood social media with the truth. Demand visas be denied to regime-linked officials and IRGC affiliates. Support true Iranian opposition voices who envision a free, secular, democratic Iran at peace with its neighbors, including Israel. Support Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi to return to Iran and lead the country to freedom and prosperity, the one name millions of Iranians support to do so.

I pray that the regime’s days are numbered, that its collapse is coming, through internal revolution and decisive external pressure. But while it clings to power, we must not legitimize it on the world stage, or on the soccer field.

The World Cup on American soil provides a moment of truth. Will we choose silence and spectacle, or courage and conscience? I survived Evin because people around the world raised their voices. My captors were angered by the broad international support and voices which ultimately made a difference in my being released. Now, I ask Americans to raise your voice. Protest the Iranian team’s inclusion. Stand for the Iranian people. Stand for freedom. The God who delivered me from death can deliver an entire nation – if we act with faith and boldness.

Let the games begin without the Islamic Republic’s symbol of oppression. Let the world hear the true voice of Iran: the voice of the oppressed, calling for liberty.



About the writer:

Marziyeh Amirizadeh is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity.   She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation. She is author of two books (the latest, A Love Journey with God), public speaker, and columnist. She has shared her inspiring story throughout the United States and around the world, to bring awareness about the ongoing human rights violations and persecution of women and religious minorities in Iran, www.MarzisJourney.com.
Marzi also is the founder and president of NEW PERSIA whose mission is to be the voice of persecuted Christians and oppressed women under Islam, expose the lies of the Iranian Islamic regime, and restore the relationships between Persians, Jews, and Christians. www.NewPersia.org.







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).

APPRECIATING ARTISTRY – THE DILEMMA

Can one separate the art from the artist when troubling actions conflict with your values?

By Motti Verses

For years, the music of Oliver Shanti was mainly part of my mornings. His 1996 album Well Balanced, perhaps his most iconic work, blended atmospheric melodies, Tibetan influences, and meditative world music into something that felt almost spiritual. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, his music became deeply associated across Europe with yoga, tai chi, meditation, and relaxation.

Shanti’s soft rhythms and calming soundscapes created a sense of peace that stayed with me long on my way to work. There was something almost healing in the atmosphere he built. Music that seemed disconnected from noise, aggression, and darkness. For years, I woke up to it at 7 o’clock each morning.

But sometimes art and the artist collide in a way that changes everything.

Oliver Shanti, whose real name was Ulrich Schulz, was convicted in Germany two decades ago for serious child sexual abuse crimes involving minors. When I discovered the full story behind the man whose music had accompanied so many quiet moments in my life, I felt a profound internal conflict. It was shocking.

How could music that sounded so spiritual come from someone capable of causing such harm?

For a while, I tried separating the music from the man. Many of my friends argued that art should stand on its own. And honestly, part of me wanted to keep holding onto those melodies because they were connected to memories, emotions, and years of my life.

Eventually I realized I could no longer disconnect the beauty of the sound from the reality behind it. Every song began carrying a shadow I could not ignore. What once felt peaceful no longer felt innocent.

So, I made a personal decision to stop listening to his music.

Fast forward to 2026.

A confession: I have loved FC Barcelona for almost 40 years. Long before football became a global industry driven by endless money and marketing, Barça already felt different to me. It was never only about trophies. It was about style, emotion, identity, and the feeling that football could still be beautiful.

I grew up watching generations of players who played with imagination and soul. In stadiums in Spain as well as other cities across Europe, but mostly on TV. From the influence of Johan Cruyff to Ronaldinho’s joy, Messi’s genius, and now the rise of young talents like Lamine Yamal. Through glorious victories and painful defeats, Barcelona remained part of my life because supporting this club always felt like something bigger than football. It felt like belonging to a story, a culture, and a dream that lasted across generations.

Then came another emotional conflict.

During Barcelona’s recent championship celebrations a few days ago, images circulated showing Lamine Yamal posing with a Palestinian flag among supporters and celebrations. For some fans, it was viewed as a gesture of solidarity with Palestinians – but for me – emotionally affected by the trauma of October 7, and the atrocities committed by Hamas – the image felt painful, political, and deeply uncomfortable.

That is where another dilemma begins.

I have supported FC Barcelona for decades. The club is connected to memories, identity, emotions, friendships, and entire chapters of my life. Then suddenly, a young player, the current  symbol of the club who may likely endure for a long time, became associated, at least emotionally in my eyes, with a political symbol that hurts me deeply.

It created an inner conflict between love for the club and discomfort with what I saw.

Of course, becoming a Barça fan and remaining one does not mean agreeing with every political gesture made by every player. Football clubs are enormous global institutions filled with people from different countries, backgrounds, religions, and political beliefs. But this one felt different.

So perhaps the real question is not: “Should I stop being a Barcelona fan?”

Maybe the deeper question is:

“Can I emotionally separate my lifelong connection to the club from one political moment involving the current mega star?”

Unlike the Oliver Shanti story, this situation is fundamentally different. One involved horrific criminal acts against children. The other involves political expression, symbolism, identity, and the emotions these subjects awaken in so many people, wherever they are.

Logically, I understand the difference.

Emotionally, it is far more complicated.

Spain Again. A return to its bleak past, three elderly Israeli women, including a Holocaust survivor, were kicked out of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid on February 14. The response from the museum staff was not to remove the people who were harassing them but to remove the people who were targeted with antisemitic abuse.

What will I feel the next time I watch Lamine Yamal playing for Spain during the upcoming summer FIFA World Cup? A national team representing a country where public attitudes toward Israel have often felt increasingly hostile and uncomfortable to many Israelis and Jews.

After a few days came the team reaction: FC Barcelona officially tried to distance itself from the incident, without attacking Lamine Yamal personally. The club’s message was essentially:

Yamal acted on his own, not on behalf of Barça.

Spain has the highest rate of antisemitic attitudes in Europe today.

The gesture was spontaneous and not coordinated by the club. Barcelona would not feature the flag moment in official highlight broadcasts or club media. The club acknowledged that many Israeli fans were upset and its response emphasized values of respect and inclusion.

Grave Concerns. Following the desecration of 20 Jewish headstones at Les Corts Cemetery in Barcelona in January, 2026, local Jewish leaders linked it to the sustained normalization of antisemitic hostility in Spain since the October 7th massacre in Israel. They accused authorities of failing to confront a trend of antisemitic violence.

I am relieved, but is the dilemma history?

I have a feeling it is not.

Time will tell.



*Feature picture:  Ulrich Schulz and Lamine Yamal – The Shanti Soundtrack of Yamal dilemma (photo generated by AI).



About the writer:

The author is a seasoned hotel expert, traveler, writer, and videographer, and formerly served as Head of Public Relations for Hilton Hotels & Resorts in Israel. Today, as a travel writer and hospitality trends analyst, his insights and experiences are regularly featured in leading Israeli media outlets.













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).

THEY ARE SILENCED NO MORE

There are words here that will direct you to look away – DON’T! You need to read, process and bear witness.

By Rolene Marks

[Warning: Sensitive Content]

In 2024 I was invited with a small group of journalists and diplomats to view some of the evidence that was found on the terrorists on 7 October and what was subsequently discovered in the Gaza strip. Under close supervision and military intelligence headquarters, we viewed weapons, maps, books and material – and orders in specific detail to commit acts of appalling sexual violence, including instructions for the victims to remove their clothing.

This article will be extremely uncomfortable and difficult for many to read. I appeal to you to please persist – we must bear witness and be the voices of victims and survivors. 

Ushered into another room, phones prohibited, we were shown a 20-minute collation of footage from Hamas body-cam, first responders and desperate family members searching for their loved ones. This we were told, would be evidence submitted to the ICJ where South Africa had filed a case accusing Israel of genocide. The images are seared into my conscience – including that of a partially burnt woman, her legs splayed, dress pushed up and naked, intimate parts for the world to see. There was a slice across her one thigh. I recall another image that I see as clear as day. The body of a woman, on top of a pile of corpses, bleeding from her crotch where she had been shot with the deliberate intent to defile her femininity.

A picture taken during a media tour organized by the Israeli military shows food on a table inside a burned house in the kibbutz Nir Oz on October 19, 2023, following the October 7 attack by Hamas. (Photo: Menahem Kahana / AFP)

The evidence of what I saw is undeniable.

These are two specific examples of the horrific crimes of Sexual and Gender based Violence (SGBV) and crimes against humanity committed against Israeli men, women and children on 7 October 2023 and to hostages in captivity.

Despite irrefutable proof noted in reports by UN Women, the Dinah Project and one from the Association of Rape Crisis Centres, denial, downplaying and even justification of the atrocities still continue – including from feminist organisations. It would appear that the voices of victims matter – unless they are Israeli. What message does this send future victims of SGBV?

This week, the Civil Commission – an independent Israeli non-profit organisation led by human rights expert and 2024 Israel Prize laureate Dr Cochav Elkayam-Levy – released their report. “Silenced no more” was meticulously documented and referenced for over two years and is a devastating collation of the crimes against humanity and SGBV committed on that day and to hostages in captivity.

Children were no less a target for Hamas savagery as seen here at a blood-stained kindergarten in Kibbutz Beeri following their bloody barbarous rampage. (Photo: Reuters/ Amir Cohen)

The report is close to 300 pages long and contains documentation of at least 10,000 items including videos, photographs, forensic findings and the testimonies of 430 victims and survivors. Hamas proudly filmed and distributed evidence of their crimes. The hope is that not only will this be documented to fight back against denial – but could lead to further legal action against the perpetrators. Israel’s Knesset has approved the convening of a special tribunal to try the perpetrators of 7 October.

The individual testimonies are absolutely devastating.

In the weeks and months following the atrocities, eye witnesses and forensic experts testified about what they witnessed. Forensic experts spoke about the condition of the bodies that were brought in for identification, saying how they were shot in their eyes, their faces and their breasts, and even targeted in their most intimate parts. Women were stripped, bound, stabbed, shot and burned. Heads were decapitated and pelvic bones shattered. Even after death, sexual assault continued.  A Nova survivor testified to a victim being shot in the head while her rapist continued his assault. The intention was clear – to destroy their beauty and femininity. Forensic pathologists spoke of an “obsession with sex organs”. First responders echoed the same sentiment and have addressed numerous NGO’s and global institutions sharing their testimonies to the defilement and horror they saw on the kibbutzim, road 232 and at the Nova festival grounds.

Raz Cohen, a survivor of the Nova Music Festival on October 7 and a key witness to the horrific acts committed by Hamas terrorists provided detailed testimony which included witnessing the rape of a young woman. (Photo: Tomer Shunem Halevi, Hagai Dekel)

“I saw them raping her,” says Raz Cohen, who escaped the Nova Music Festival, “Then they murdered her. And then they raped her again.”

New report details ‘systematic’ rape and sexual violence during Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israel. Seen here is an Israeli soldier patrolling the Nova Music Festival sites following the massacre. (Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)

Eden Wessely, who came to Nova to rescue a friend, found and filmed a naked, burned body. “Her dress was pulled up, and she wasn’t wearing underwear, not because it burned, because there was no trace. . . . Her legs were spread. Her genitals were exposed.” Was it the same image I saw?

“There were horrific scenes, difficult to take in,” said Eden Wessely who saw  “hundreds of corpses, and a girl who had been raped and [her body] burned. Things that human eyes have difficulty looking at.”

Former hostages have spoken about the abuse they suffered in captivity. Guy Gilboa-Dalal spoke about how he was touched on his private parts and how his captor “wanted to make a porn movie with him.” Arbel Yehud testified to daily abuse.

Keith Siegel, a 66-year-old grandfather who was taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza along with his wife Aviva, 65, testified that he was made to undress in front of a terrorist who then shaved his pubic hair and made comments about his penis.

Former hostage Aviva Siegel seen here speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reveals in the Civil Commission Report how she was nearly executed after she comforted a young girl who was sexually assaulted in captivity.

Aviva Siegel spoke about how she was nearly executed after she comforted a young girl who was sexually assaulted in captivity. Siegel recalled telling young girls to take feminine products with them to the bathroom so that if their captors thought they were on their period, they would not abuse them.

A male says he was gang-raped at the Nova site, providing medical records and a detailed account:

“They laughed, they were really pleased, as if I was their sex doll.”

The Commission also identified thirteen recurring patterns of sexual and gender-based violence repeated across multiple sites. They include a damning list of crimes:

*    Rape, gang rape, and other forms of sexual assault.

*    Sexual torture, including intentional burning and mutilation.

*    Deliberate shooting in the head, face and genital area.

*  Killings and executions following or committed during abuse.

* Postmortem sexual abuse, humiliation, and the desecration   of bodies, including cutting off body parts.

*   Forced nudity and exposure including to family members.

*   Handcuffing, binding, and restraint of victims.

*   Public displaying and parading of women and children. One such example is the parading of the body of Shani Louk, whose partially undressed and twisted limbs were paraded on a truck in Gaza while men spat at her.

*    Abduction of mothers and children.

*     Sexual violence in the presence or near vicinity of family members including Kinocide – the deliberate targeting and destruction of families as a weapon of war or terror, recognized as a distinct form of violence against humanity.

The graphic image by freelance AP photojournalist Ali Mahmoud depicts 22-year-old Shani Louk’s half-naked body being taken by Hamas terrorists on October 7. The Jewish Chronicle has blurred her image. (Photo: Ali Mahmoud)

*   Filming and digital dissemination by the perpetrators including the use of social media to document, glorify, and amplify the atrocities.

*    Threats of forced marriage.

*   Rape and other forms of sexual violence against boys and men.

President Herzog released a statement on social media platform X on behalf of his wife, Michal, who said:

 “We must continue to amplify around the world the voices of the victims of sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7th and thereafter.”

 Mrs. Herzog commended the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes against Women and Children “for their dedicated research and tireless work, resulting in the publication of an important new report that once again gives voice to the victims.”

The victims and survivors of these most evil of crimes will no longer be silenced by those who deny, downplay and justify the atrocities committed by Hamas. Please do not look away. As unbearable as the testimonies are to read and hear, we must bear witness. We have a moral duty to be their voices. Silence is a second violation.





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 – 17 May 2026

Unveiling the contours and contrasts of an ever-changing Middle East landscape Reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond.

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

THE ISRAEL BRIEF –11-14 May 2026
(Click on the blue title)



Lay of the Land’s Photo Pick of the Week

BEYOND BOOS AND BOYCOTTS

As much as they try pull Israel down, it Rises, Survives and Thrives – 2nd place at 2026 Eurovision in Vienna

It was a triumphant finish at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Viena for Israel in a year filled with many European governments, broadcasters, and artists all conspiring to prevent Israel from competing. They failed – and this is the second year running that Israel has finished in second place. Watch here: https://youtu.be/E2aL4xRzNXI (photo: Georg Hochmuth / APA / AFP via Getty Images)



ARTICLES

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

(1)

JEWS IN EVERDAY LIFE – WHEN VISIBILITY IS A RISK

How do you raise a child to feel proud, rooted, and secure in their Jewish identity while knowing that visibility can sometimes bring risk – an empathetic look at today’s mental health toll caused by antisemitism.
By Bev Moss-Reilly

Constantly on Alert. Caution entering a synagogue, unease sending a child to school, weary over displaying a Magen David openly, these are routine anxieties of being a Jew today in the Diaspora. While Israeli Jews run to bomb shelters,  their brethren abroad are no less in need of  ‘shelter’.

JEWS IN EVERDAY LIFE – WHEN VISIBILITY IS A RISK
(Click on the blue title)



(2)

MIDTERM ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Historically the midterm elections result in a loss of seats by the ruling party in the House of Representatives and a small change in the makeup of the Senate.
By Neville Berman

Mindful of the Midterm. The coming midterm elections “will provide the first clue as to what can be expected after Trump leaves office.” Apart from domestic politics, the writer is concerned how it will impact the world and particularly an increasingly targeted Israel.

MIDTERM ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(Click on the blue title)



(3)

DOWNTURN IN DUBAI

As regional tensions escalated into direct confrontation with Iran, the impact on Dubai’s tourism sector, so beloved by Israeli travelers, was almost immediate.
By Motti Verses

Calm before the Storm. It is mid-day and before the war, “Pool Ambassador”  Alex from Ghana, dressed in a smoking jacket and top hat, serves juices at the Ritz Carlton in Dubai. Today there are few tourists to serve. An industry as shaky as a tray in one hand over water!

DOWNTURN IN DUBAI
(Click on the blue title)



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

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

THE ISRAEL BRIEF – 11-14 May 2026

11 May 2026 – Secret bases in Iraq, Marathons in Gaza and more on The Israel Brief.



12 May 2026 – Warning: Sensitive content! Report on sexual and gender-based violence crimes on September 10 and release of prisoners, regional update and more on The Israel Brief.



13 May 2026 – Winner on stage and loser in the New York Times. Roro gets angry in today’s edition of The Israel Brief.



14 May 2026 – Israel to sue the New York Times, Finland hosts largest Israeli military delegation 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).

MIDTERM ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Historically the midterm elections result in a loss of seats by the ruling party in the House of Representatives and a small change in the makeup of the Senate.

By Neville Berman

The United States President is elected for a four-year term of office. Half way through this 4-year period,  an election takes place that is known as the midterm elections. The next midterm elections are due to take place on November 3, 2026. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and 1/3 of the Senate seats are up for re-election.

The United States Congress is the legislative body of the federal government of the United States. It is made up of an upper body known as the Senate, and a lower body known as the House of Representatives. Members of the House of Representatives are elected for 2-year terms and members of the Senate are elected for 6-year terms. There are 100 members of the Senate, with each of the 50 States electing 2 senators irrespective of the population or size of each state. In the event of a tie in a Senate vote, the vice president has an additional vote in the Senate There are 435 members of Congress elected by electoral districts in each state.

The US House of Representatives is the body that proposes federal laws. The Senate then needs to approve the laws passed by the House. Finally, the President needs to sign the bill before the bill becomes federal law. If the President chooses to veto the bill, in most cases Congress can then vote to override the veto and the bill then becomes federal law.

There have been 20 US midterm elections since the end of the Second World War. In 10 of these elections, the President was a Democrat, and in an equal number the President was a Republican. Let us look back at what happened in the first of these 20 midterm elections and see if there is any resemblance to the next midterm election.  

In November 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected for an unprecedented fourth term of office as President. His vice president was Harry S Truman. They were sworn into office in January 1945. Eighty-two days after the inauguration, President Roosevelt died and Truman was sworn in as the 37th President of the United States. He was the 7th Vice President to become President due to the death of the President while in office. Truman was a poor farmer from Missouri, who never went to university, and never ran a successful business. He was now the President of the most powerful country in the world. On his desk, he placed a sign that read “The buck stops here”.  Truman took this to heart. He took decisions that changed the world. 

Recalibration in the Capitol. Riding widespread discontent with the postwar economic policies of the Harry Truman administration, Republicans in 1946, running on the slogan, “Had Enough”, recaptured majority control of the House from Democrats for the first time in 15 years. The GOP gained 55 seats for a 246 to 188 advantage.

Less than one month after Truman became President, Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally. However, the War in the Pacific was far from over. In order to shorten the war and save American lives, Truman signed an order authorizing the use of atomic bombs in the war against Japan.

On August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb named Little Boy, was dropped on Hiroshima. Three days later the second atomic bomb, named Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki. Between 150,000 and 246,000 people were killed, almost all of whom were civilians.

Six days later, Emperor Hirohito addressed the nation on radio. He could not bring himself to use the word ‘surrender’. Instead, he said that Japan had agreed to an American proposal. Everyone understood that Japan had surrendered.

On September 2, 1945 the formal signing of Japanese unconditional surrender took place aboard the USS Missouri. The Second World War was finally over.

Having won the war, one would imagine that Americans would overwhelmingly vote to support the ruling Democratic Party in the midterm elections the following year. So, what happened?

During the war wages in America were frozen and price controls were instituted. With the war over, all the big military contracts were cancelled, and at the same time the labour unions were demanding a 30% increase in salaries. Millions of workers were laid off. The steelworkers’ union went on strike. Hundreds of factories including General Motors were closed due to labour strikes. At the same time millions of soldiers were returning and could not find jobs. Three weeks before the 1946 midterm elections the meat workers went on strike. People were despondent and fed up with the government. In the 1946 midterm elections the Republican party ran on the slogan “Had enough”.” The slogan resonated with the electorate. The Republicans won in a landslide and gained control of both the Senate and the House. The Democrats lost 55 seats in the House and 12 seats in the Senate.

At present, the Republicans have 218 seats in the House and the Democrats have 215 seats. The Republicans thus have a slender 3 seat majority in the House.  Two members of the House resigned in April and their seats are presently vacant.

Bush ‘on the Ball’. To buck historical trends, presidents and parties go all out for the midterms. Seen here is President Bush holding a jersey from a local high school football team during a rally in LeMars, Iowa days before the 2006 midterm election. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

In 80% of the last 20 midterm elections the ruling party has lost control of the House of Representatives. The average number of seats in the House lost when Democrats were in power in the last 20 midterm elections is 27. In the case where the Republicans were in power, the average number of seats lost in  the House over the last 20 midterm elections is 22. If this trend continues, the Republicans will lose control of the House in the next midterm elections.

Democrats Rebound. Popular U.S. President Ronald Reagan campaigns for the GOP in the 1986 midterms, but voters choose Democrats. (Photo: Douglas C. Pizac/AP)

In the Senate, the Republicans presently have a 53 to 47 advantage. Included in the 47 are 2 independents who caucus with the Democrats. In 60% of the midterm elections since 1946, the ruling party has retained control of the Senate with a reduced majority, and in 40% of the elections, the ruling party lost control of the Senate. Republicans under Eisenhower, Ford and Reagan all lost control of the Senate in the midterm elections. Based on the data of the past 20 midterm elections, there is a statistical likelihood that the electorate will again demonstrate that they have had enough and want change. If the past is any indication of what will happen, the Republican Party will in all likelihood lose their majority in the House. and will either have a reduced majority in the Senate, or will lose control of the Senate in the next midterm elections.  

Tea Party Turnaround. 2010 was President Barack Obama’s first midterm test and the newly prominent Tea Party and a GOP pushback resulted in a change of course by voters. Republican gains were huge and Democrats lost the House

In 1947, the 22nd Amendment of the American Constitution was passed.  The amendment limited the Presidency to a maximum of two terms of four years each. As President Trump is now in his second term in office, he cannot stand again in the next Presidential election due to take place in November 2028.

Trump on Trending. Historically, the party in control of the White House loses seats in the House during the midterm elections.

No matter what the actual outcome of the next midterm election will be, barring unforeseen circumstances, Trump will remain President until 2028. He will probably govern by signing more Presidential Decrees. America is indispensable in its role as a superpower and any weakening of American resolve will have a devastating effect on what happens in the future. The coming midterm elections will provide the first clue as to what can be expected after Trump leaves office.  The situation does not augur well for a peaceful and prosperous future for the Middle East or for anywhere else.



*Feature photo: Capitol Hill. The western front of the United States Capitol, Washington DC. (Phoyo: Public Domain)


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).

JEWS IN EVERDAY LIFE – WHEN VISIBILITY IS A RISK

How do you raise a child to feel proud, rooted, and secure in their Jewish identity while knowing that visibility can sometimes bring risk – an empathetic look at today’s mental health toll caused by antisemitism.

By Bev Moss-Reilly

Antisemitism is often spoken about through headlines, attacks, protests, security alerts, and rising statistics. All of those matters, and all of it is real – but there is another side to it that is quieter and often far less visible.

It is the emotional toll carried long after the headline fades.

It is the exhaustion of always being alert.

It is the hesitation before entering shul, the pause before sending a child to school, the decision about whether to wear a Magen David openly, and the internal calculation of what feels safe today.

For many Jewish people, the strain is no longer limited to one place. It is not only about Israel. It is not only about a synagogue in one city or a violent outburst in another. It is global, personal, and cumulative.

An attack in Sydney can shake a family in Johannesburg. Gunfire at a synagogue in Toronto can unsettle a Jewish teacher in London.

Hostility in Belgium, harassment in Massachusetts, online hatred, campus intimidation, graffiti, threats, and the growing normalisation of anti-Jewish rhetoric all contribute to the same emotional reality. Safety begins to feel fragile, and daily life becomes heavier than it should be.

This is where the mental health burden deepens.

Antisemitism does not only wound in dramatic moments. It settles into the nervous system. It can leave people hypervigilant, anxious, emotionally drained, angry, grief stricken, numb, or unable to relax fully even in ordinary settings. Some struggle with sleep. Some become more withdrawn. Some avoid public Jewish spaces. Others push themselves to keep functioning while carrying an invisible level of tension that slowly chips away at wellbeing.

For parents, the burden can be especially painful. They are not only managing their own fear, but also trying to protect their children from it without pretending the danger does not exist. That balancing act is exhausting. How much do you say. How much do you shield. How do you raise a child to feel proud, rooted, and secure in their Jewish identity while knowing that visibility can sometimes bring risk. Even when parents say very little, children often sense the unease. They hear changes in tone. They notice extra security. They pick up snippets of conversation, phone calls, headlines, and the tension in adults around them. Children do not need every detail to feel that something is wrong.

Teachers and school staff carry another layer. A Jewish educator is not simply doing a job in an emotionally neutral environment. They may be teaching children while processing their own distress, concern for family members, or anxiety about the wider climate. They may be expected to create calm, safety, and continuity for learners while silently holding their own fear and fatigue. The same is true for rabbis, communal leaders, volunteers, and those who work in Jewish organisations. So many become emotional anchors for others while rarely being asked how they themselves are coping.

There is also a uniquely Jewish depth to this pain. Current antisemitism does not enter an empty room. It lands in a people with memory. For many Jewish individuals and families, today’s hostility can stir inherited grief, historical awareness, and intergenerational trauma. Even those who did not personally live through earlier atrocities may carry the emotional residue of stories, silences, losses, and collective memory. That does not mean Jewish life is defined only by suffering. Far from it. Jewish life is rich with faith, humour, continuity, learning, family, and resilience – but it does mean that present threats can reverberate more deeply because they touch old wounds as well as new ones.

Germany… Again! As Jews and Israelis face a relentlessly hostile climate in Germany, the Jewish community in Potsdam, a city just outside Berlin, fears it may not be safe to open a new Jewish daycare center amid growing security concerns. Seen here, on May 9, 2026, anti-Israel protests in Berlin. (Photo by Erbil Basay/Anadolu via Getty Images)

One of the hardest parts of this experience is minimisation. Many Jewish people are not only distressed by the hostility itself, but by the way it is sometimes dismissed, rationalised, or explained away. When fear is minimised, the psychological impact often worsens. People may begin to feel isolated, unseen, or reluctant to speak honestly about what they are carrying. Validation matters. Being taken seriously matters. Emotional safety is not created only by guards, gates, and cameras. It is also created by being believed.

So how can we assist.

We can begin by recognising that this is a genuine mental health issue, not only a political or social one. Chronic vigilance, fear, and exposure to hatred take a toll. Jewish individuals and families need support that is culturally aware, compassionate, and free of judgement. They need spaces where they do not have to explain why they feel shaken by events happening far away, because those events do not feel far away emotionally.

Children need calm and honest conversations, not silence and not overwhelming detail. Parents need support in helping children feel safe without denying reality. Schools need trauma aware approaches that make room for emotion, routine, reassurance, and mental health care. Teachers need support too. So do rabbis, youth leaders, and all those expected to hold communities together.

Communities can also help by creating spaces of warmth and grounding. Prayer, music, movement, ritual, learning, shared meals, support groups, counselling, and simply being together all matter. These do not erase the reality of antisemitism, but they strengthen emotional resilience without demanding emotional suppression. There is a difference between resilience and pretending not to hurt. Real resilience allows room for fear, sadness, anger, and weariness while still making healing possible.

Professional mental health support should also be normalised. There should be no shame in saying that the strain has become too much, that sleep is suffering, that panic is increasing, that children are struggling, or that one feels constantly on edge. Trauma does not always announce itself dramatically. Sometimes it shows up in irritability, withdrawal, tears, overthinking, headaches, digestive upset, exhaustion, or a quiet sense of dread that never fully switches off. These responses are human, and they deserve care.

Calling in the Marines! Briton’s ‘The Mirror’,  shared how Jewish pupils had been learning a  “Sleeping Lions” game in which they sought safety in classrooms and toilets in preparation for a potential terror attack.

Jewish communities have always understood the power of showing up for one another. That matters now more than ever. In a world where hostility can flare in multiple countries and where fear travels instantly across borders, one of the most important things we can do is protect emotional wellbeing with as much seriousness as we protect physical safety.

Because when fear settles into everyday Jewish life, the answer cannot be silence. It must be compassion, awareness, support, and the steady reminder that no one should have to carry this weight alone.


School for Scandal. A Brooklyn high school became a haven for Hitler-loving hooligans who terrorized Jewish teachers and classmates. On Oct. 26, 2024, 40 to 50 teens marched through Origins HS in Sheepshead Bay chanting “Death to Israel!” and “Kill the Jews!” staffers said. “I live in fear of going to work every day,” said global history teacher Danielle Kaminsky. Students ripped down the Israel flag from her international display, missing above, and told her it was burned.




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).

DOWNTURN IN DUBAI

As regional tensions escalated into direct confrontation with Iran, the impact on Dubai’s tourism sector, so beloved by Israeli travelers, was almost immediate.

By MOTTI VERSES

(Courtesy of The Jerusalem Post were article first appeared)

I met Suri, the no-longer-young Indonesian, yet intelligent and well-educated, about two years ago over breakfast at a hotel in the United Arab Emirates, where he worked as a dedicated and enthusiastic waiter.

He had migrated far from home, leaving behind his family and children, sending them money each month.

We kept in occasional contact, but when the war with Iran erupted, he wrote to me saying he had lost his job and asked if I could help. At that moment, it became strikingly clear just how fragile the position of foreign workers in the Gulf truly is.

Far from Home. With the world’s largest skyscraper – the Burj Khalifa – in the background, Pakistani workers clean a road in the Business Bay area of Dubai. (Photo: Jonas Bendikson/Magnum Photos)

Now, with a ceasefire in place, early signs of recovery are beginning to emerge, but for workers like Suri, the damage has already been done.

As regional tensions escalated into direct confrontation with Iran, the impact on Dubai’s tourism sector, so beloved by Israeli travelers,   was almost immediate. It came, ironically, on the heels of a record-breaking year.

In 2025, the city welcomed 19.59 million international visitors, operated 154,264 hotel rooms across 827 properties, and achieved an average occupancy rate of 80.7%.

By Contrast. Despite war, as of early 2026, roughly 1,000 to 2,500 Jordanian citizens commute daily from Aqaba to Israel’s southern resort city Eilat, working primarily in hotels. They are protected by Israeli labor law and receive many of the same social benefits as Israeli workers.

Within the first weeks of the conflict, sharp signs of slowdown appeared. More than 80,000 short-term rental bookings were canceled. An early indicator of collapsing demand.

Hotels experienced an even more dramatic shift: according to CoStar, occupancy rates dropped sharply to just 20%-30%, with some properties falling as low as 5%, levels not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic.

SURVIVING IN A DOWNTURN

The human impact was immediate and widespread. As of April 2026, industry estimates indicate that tens of thousands of foreign hospitality workers have been placed on standby without active employment.

Across many hotels, including five-star luxury properties, large portions of staff have been sent on indefinite unpaid leave, often without a clear return date. In some cases, only 3-4 employees remain active out of an original team of 30.

For those still formally employed, the situation is no less precarious.

Many remain housed in staff accommodations, yet must cover their own food expenses despite having no income. Others continue to work on reduced schedules, facing salary cuts of 20% to 50% as hotels struggle to survive the downturn.

Rather than implementing mass layoffs, many hotels have chosen to keep workers in a suspended “standby” status, preserving a labor pool for the eventual recovery.

It is a strategy driven by operational logic: rehiring and retraining an entirely new workforce would take time and resources. Yet for employees, this limbo creates deep uncertainty.

With the ceasefire now in effect, new bookings are reappearing across reservation platforms. Airlines  are gradually restoring routes, and some hotels report a cautious uptick in demand, primarily from regional and European markets.

Calm before the Storm. It is mid-day and before the war, “Pool Ambassador”  Alex from Ghana, dressed in a smoking jacket and top hat serves juices at the Ritz Carlton in Dubai. (Photo: Jonas Bendikson/Magnum Photos)

TOURISM INDUSTRY MAY TAKE TIME TO RECOVER

However, industry insiders stress that a full recovery of international tourism is expected to take time, particularly given the erosion of traveler confidence. Bookings may be reappearing, but confidence has not fully followed, leaving Dubai’s recovery uneven, driven more by proximity than by trust.

At the peak of tensions, industry estimates suggested that the cost to the Middle East tourism sector could reach approximately $600 million per day, highlighting the scale of the shock even for a powerhouse destination like Dubai.

In response, the Dubai government announced a relief package of around AED 1 billion (approximately $272 million), including deferred fees and payments for hotels, in an effort to stabilize the sector.

Despite this support, foreign workers remain the most vulnerable group, with many fearing permanent job loss or even deportation if the crisis extends into the summer season.

Yet beyond the numbers lies a deeper story – the story of the workforce. Unlike most destinations worldwide, Dubai’s hospitality industry is built almost entirely on foreign labor.

Workers from India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and beyond form the backbone of the system, from housekeeping and kitchens to front-of-house service.

Time Out. Where are these south Asian workers today seen here on their ‘off day’ playing cricket outside their lodgings in Dubai? (Photo: Jonas Bendikson/Magnum Photos)

The hotel sector alone employs approximately 240,000 foreigners, as part of a broader tourism workforce of around 800,000. In luxury hotels, 95% of those who provide service are not locals.

In the early weeks of the crisis, field reports revealed empty restaurants, silent entertainment districts, and taxi drivers reporting steep declines in income, often the first visible signal of collapsing demand.

For many of these workers, employment is not just a job – it is their entire living framework. Housing, meals, health insurance, and transportation are typically provided by the employer.

This model enables high efficiency and operational flexibility, but it also creates near-total dependency. When employment disappears, so too do housing, healthcare, and the ability to remain in the country.

In Dubai’s employment model, workforce reductions rarely take the form of public layoffs. Instead, they unfold quietly: shifts are reduced, bonuses disappear, and employees are placed on unpaid leave or left waiting for contracts that may never be renewed.

At the same time, a process of departure begins. Workers without permanent status or social safety nets are often forced to leave within a short period if they cannot secure alternative employment.

The countries of origin for many of these employees had to rise to the challenge during the war. The Philippines stood out, repatriating roughly 1,500-2,000 nationals from Dubai as part of a broader effort that evacuated more than 6,700 citizens across the region.

Most other governments, however, limited their response to advisories, leaving tens of thousands facing uncertainty.

Now, as stabilization begins, a more complex picture is emerging. Some hotels are cautiously considering rehiring or bringing back former staff, yet industry voices warn that workers who have already left the country may not return quickly.

The implication is striking: if demand rebounds faster than expected, Dubai may face a labor shortage, the opposite scenario of the initial crisis.

Dubai Delights. The Dubai Miracle Garden – the world’s largest natural flower garden. (Photo: Motti Verses)

A comparison with Israel highlights the structural differences.

In Israel, even when hotels emptied of tourists or were repurposed to house evacuees, workers did not simply disappear. Many were placed on unpaid leave, received government unemployment benefits, or remained employed through adjusted frameworks in an industry where the vast majority are local workers.

The state played a central role in maintaining employment continuity. In Dubai, by contrast, responsibility rests almost entirely with the employer.

When work disappears, that responsibility dissolves just as quickly. Workers do not transition into unemployment; they enter a state of immediate and near-total dependency.

A particularly telling example of Israel can be found in Eilat, where 1,500 hotel employees commute daily from neighboring Jordan.

Dubai’s beach Deserted. Most tourists have abandoned Dubai since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran. (Photo: AFP via Getty Images).

Despite not being Israeli citizens, these workers are employed under Israeli labor law and are entitled to full social benefits, including pension contributions, paid vacation, and health-related rights.

Even during periods of crisis, their employment status is not immediately severed, reflecting a system that, while not without complexity, offers a level of protection and continuity largely absent in more employer-dependent models.

Dubai’s employment framework was designed to be efficient, flexible, and highly responsive. Yet that same flexibility is also its core vulnerability.

The recent crisis demonstrated just how quickly the system can contract. But with the ceasefire now in place, a new question emerges:

How quickly can it rebuild?

With the summer off-season approaching and the hope for relative calm with Iran, Dubai’s extreme heat, which naturally suppresses international demand, may temporarily ease pressure on the sector.

Israeli travelers, typically undeterred by 40-45° temperatures, are likely to take advantage of the increasingly attractive rates on offer in this less demanding period in the Emirate.

Suri, the Indonesian worker, still hopes to return to his job.

But the larger question is no longer just what happens when demand disappears; it is whether the workforce the system has lost will still be there when the world returns next winter.



Feature Photo:   Huge tourist attraction,  the writer visiting Dubai’s iconic Museum of the Future.  How will the Iran war affect Dubai’s future?



About the writer:

The author is a seasoned hotel expert, traveler, writer, and videographer, and formerly served as Head of Public Relations for Hilton Hotels & Resorts in Israel. Today, as a travel writer and hospitality trends analyst, his insights and experiences are regularly featured in leading Israeli media outlets.








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 – 11 May 2026

Unveiling the contours and contrasts of an ever-changing Middle East landscape Reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond.

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THE ISRAEL BRIEF –04-07 May 2026
(Click on the blue title)



Lay of the Land’s Photo Pick of the Week

HARDLY  ‘STRAIT’FORWARD

Photo captures the complex standoff between Iran and the US at the Strait of Hormuz

Not Going Anywhere! Vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on May 4, 2026 off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.  (Photo: Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA / AFP)




ARTICLES

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

(1)

STAGGERING STATS

How do young Brits who display poor understanding of their own history, emerge so ‘knowledgeable’ about Jews – enough to hate them?
By David E. Kaplan

Up the ‘Poll’. “Red Poppy Day,” responded a Gen Z in a national poll asking “What VE Day represents?”
While a UK poll show too few young adult Brits are familiar with their own history, other polls
reveal the toxic character of British society today in their attitudes to Jews!

STAGGERING STATS
(Click on the blue title)



(2)

SACRED GROUND, SACRED SAFETY – HOLY SEPHULCHRE NEEDS A SHELTER NOW

The Church should be a protected sanctuary rather than a site for political standoffs- sanctity of life over frictions of the past.
By David Nekrutman and Jonathan Feldstein

Resurrection to Rectification.  While Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre may be the holiest site
in all Christendom, it is not immune from Iranian ballistic missiles. It is also not immune from internal
interfaith bureaucracy that has failed to provide a necessary bomb shelter.

SACRED GROUND, SACRED SAFETY – HOLY SEPHULCHRE NEEDS A SHELTER NOW
(Click on the blue title)



(3)

THE OLDEST HATRED IS BACK, AND I AM ABSOLUTELY DONE WITH THIS SHIT, GET ANGRY AND THEN GET ANGRIER

If the West cannot stand with its Jews when they are threatened, blamed and smeared with recycled blood libels, then we are dead as societies.
By Andrew Fox

How the West was Lost. A visibly identifiable Jew walking down any street in the UK today is a target for
attack. It is no safer in Europe or the Americas. What does this say about Western society today
and what needs to be done?

THE OLDEST HATRED IS BACK, AND I AM ABSOLUTELY DONE WITH THIS SHIT, GET ANGRY AND THEN GET ANGRIER
(Click on the blue title)



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

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

STAGGERING STATS

How do young Brits who display poor understanding of their own history, emerge so ‘knowledgeable’ about Jews – enough to hate them?

By David E. Kaplan

I was stunned!  Why?

VE (Victory in Europe) Day falls Friday, 8 May 2026. It commemorates the end of WWII in Europe in 1945, and is marked by community commemorations and events that traditionally include a parade starting at Parliament Square around 12:00 PM and a fly-past over Buckingham Palace at 1:45 PM.

So, on the Tuesday preceding this proud national celebration of the downfall of Nazism in Europe, while watching the British news channels, I sat in disbelief as one young adult after another   – the so-called Gen Z – was randomly asked in a national poll in cities across the UK the question:

“What does VE Day represent?”

Most were clueless!

While all polled were well-spoken and seemingly well “educated”, it was nevertheless a question that had most of them stumped.

Many guessed and most wrongly. One confused Gen Z Londoner claimed it was “basically the red poppy day.”

The Day Young Brits Forgot. GB News interviewing Gen-Z Britons on whether they knew what VE Day is.

Even more telling was the way they treated the question as having little to no meaningful relevance in their lives. The sacrifice made by their grandparent’s generation hardly resonated.

Back in the studio, the two news co-anchors at GB News as well as those they had on as panelists – albeit of an older generation than those polled – sat distressed and asked themselves:

“How has our education system failed us?”

Britain’s “Greatest Generation” seemed forgotten by today’s generation.

All this follows a 2026 poll conducted by the Royal British Veterans Enterprise (RBVE) and Opinium, revealing a significant portion of younger generations unaware of what ‘VE Day’ represents. The survey foundthat:

“…two-thirds (66%) of Gen Z adults in the UK do not know that VE Day marks the end of the Second World War in Europe.”

Sad Situation. A survey by the Royal British Veterans Enterprise (RBVE) found that while 63% of UK adults know VE Day marks the end of the Second World War, only 34% of Gen Z do. The poll also showed that although 80% consider VE Day important to British identity, fewer than a quarter believe younger generations truly grasp veterans’ experiences. (Photo: The Independent) 

I though as I sat and processed this ignorance, never mind 26-year-old Brits but 6-year-old Israelis know of Yom HaZicharon (Day of Remembrance) commemorating all those killed in defense of the State of Israel or were killed in acts of terror as well as Yom HaShoah, (Holocaust Remembrance Day) commemorating the murder of 6 million Jews during the Nazi Holocaust.  Israelis of all ages know their history. They cannot afford the luxury of not knowing.

Cultural Amnesia. After this Gen Z interviewee was corrected thinking VE Day is “an anniversary of the First World War?” she then argued: “I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily the most important lost knowledge, but in terms of being aware of past conflicts in order to prevent future ones is probably a good thing. But how is it celebrated; I don’t know…”

All this begs the question:

With a shallow understanding of their OWN history as revealed in the recent poll, how is it that Britain’s Gen Z seem to feel sufficiently informed on the history of the Middle East to take to the street with such collective aggression against the Jewish state?

Is it feasible to believe that those who are ignorant of what  VE Day stands for truly understand the meaning and implications of the banners they hold up, such as “Globalize the Intifada”, “Zionism is Racism”, “Death to the IDF” and “From the River to the sea”.  

Other statistics are no less disturbing. This  past May, a poll conducted by ‘More in Common’ for the Jewish News found that 40% of British voters surveyed agreed that Britain would be “neither better nor worse off” if Jews left the country.

Clueless. “I don’t know what it is and I’m Gen Z. What is it?” replied this young woman to the question ‘What is VE Day?’

Released in the wake of a string of violent antisemitic attacks, the polling found that only 32% of those surveyed believed Britain would be “much worse off” if Jews left. This concerning metric on the state of antisemitism in the UK should come as no surprise following a March poll conducted by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) that revealed that one in five (20%) university students in the UK would be reluctant to, or would never, share a house with a Jewish student. The survey, published on March 16, 2026, and conducted by JL Partners, surveyed 1,000 students across 170 institutions between late January and early February 2026 and painted a picture of “normalized” antisemitism on UK campuses.

Revolting Reversal. While their grandparents and great-grandparents might have fought against those that mass murdered Jews, these youngsters today support those who massacre Jews. Protesters outside King’s College London in London on October 7, 2025, the second anniversary of the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel. (Photo: Justin Tallis/ AFP)

The survey further revealed that nearly one in four respondents (23%) have seen behavior that targets Jewish students for their religion or ethnicity, while almost four in 10 (39%) who “witness regular Israel-Palestine protests” have seen frequent harassment of Jewish students.

In addition, close to half polled heard chants or slogans “glorifying Hamas, Hezbollah or other proscribed groups on campus” (49%) or seen justification of the October 7, 2023, massive massacre of Jews orchestrated by Hamas (47%).

With attack on Jews and their property in the UK reaching “unprecedented” levels, Prime Minister Starmer said in a televised address to the nation:

“People are scared, scared to show who they are in their community, scared to go to synagogue and practice their religion, scared to go to university as a Jew, to send their children to school as a Jew, to tell their colleagues that they are Jewish, even to use our NHS. Nobody should live like that in Britain, but Jews do.”

Is it any wonder  in a survey conducted by Campaign Against Antisemitism in late 2025 found that a majority of British Jews (61%) had considered leaving the UK over the previous two years due to rising antisemitism.

Jews in the UK – An Endangered Species. People attend a rally organized by Campaign Against Antisemitism opposite Downing Street in central London on April 30, 2026. (Photo: Carlos Jasso—Getty Images)

As I write, news comes through of a “Stamford hill Antisemitic Incident” where a male suspect onboard a London bus threatened Jewish passengers, shouting “Shame Hitler didn’t kill you” and “You should all go in the gas chambers”, while making threats to kill Jewish children and claiming to have a knife.

As this May 8 on VE Day when millions of Britons will commemorate those who identified and stood against the forces of evil, one wonders what the people of that generation would think of today’s generation when  Jews today are still not safe  – not from Nazis but from residents of Britain!








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