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.

Yassamin Ansari is an American politician and climate policy advocate who serves as the U.S. representative for Arizona’s 3rd congressional district since 2025. A progressive Democrat, she previously served on the Phoenix City Council from 2021 to 2024.

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. Adam Hamawy, a trauma surgeon, US Army veteran and former medical volunteer in Ga-za, has emerged as a leading contender in the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.

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.

Left: Zohran Mamdani Centre: Rashida Harbi Tlaib Right: Ghazala Hashmi | 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
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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

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(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).

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

A confession: Of all the places I have travelled beyond Israel, there is only one where I have truly felt that Judaism is not merely tolerated, but genuinely respected, cherished and embraced with warmth: Prague.

There is something profoundly moving about walking through the Czech capital as a Jew. Here, Jewish history is not hidden away as an uncomfortable reminder of the past. Instead, it is carefully preserved, proudly presented and woven into the very fabric of the city’s cultural identity. From its beautifully restored synagogues and the haunting Old Jewish Cemetery to the stories shared by guides and locals, there is a sincere sense of reverence rather than obligation.

Every visit leaves me with the same feeling: Prague is more than one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. It is the only place outside Israel where I have truly felt embraced as a Jew. That feeling alone keeps drawing me back.

A day exploring the synagogues of Josefov, Prague’s historic Jewish Quarter, is both inspiring and deeply emotional. Each synagogue tells a different chapter in the remarkable story of one of Europe’s oldest Jewish communities.

Few places leave such a profound impression as the Pinkas Synagogue. At first glance, its interior appears almost understated. Then the walls reveal their heartbreaking secret: nearly 80,000 handwritten names of Jewish men, women and children from Bohemia and Moravia who perished during the Holocaust. This is far more than a museum. It is a place of remembrance where silence often says more than words ever could.

Nearly 80,000 names cover the walls of the Pinkas Synagogue, transforming the building into one of Europe’s most powerful Holocaust memorials.(Photo: Motti Verses)

Adjacent to the synagogue lies the Old Jewish Cemetery, unlike any cemetery I have ever visited. Layer upon layer of weathered gravestones lean gently against one another, reflecting centuries during which the Jewish community was forbidden from expanding the burial ground. The grave of Rabbi Judah Loew, the legendary Maharal of Prague, is one of the most revered sites in the cemetery, attracting visitors from around the world. I felt an overwhelming sense of reverence. It is not simply a cemetery. It  is a place where memory, resilience and the enduring spirit of a people continue to speak across the centuries.

The grave of Rabbi Judah Loew, the legendary Maharal of Prague, is one of the most revered sites in the Old Jewish Cemetery, attracting visitors from around the world. (Photo: Motti Verses)

The Maisel Synagogue tells the remarkable story of a community that flourished against the odds. Built by the wealthy philanthropist Mordecai Maisel during Prague’s Golden Age of Jewish life, it celebrates centuries of scholarship, commerce and culture. 

The elegant Maisel Synagogue traces the remarkable story of Prague’s Jewish community through centuries of scholarship, prosperity and resilience. (Photo: Motti Verses)

Tucked beside Prague’s historic Jewish Town Hall, the High Synagogue is easy to overlook, yet it remains one of Josefov’s hidden gems. Originally built for the leaders of Prague’s Jewish community, its elevated prayer hall symbolised both dignity and responsibility. 

The Spanish Synagogue is an absolute feast for the senses. Beneath its soaring dome, every wall glitters with intricate gold ornamentation, vivid colours and magnificent Moorish designs inspired by Spain’s Alhambra Palace. 

Unfortunately, the Klausen Synagogue was closed during my visit as it undergoes an extensive multi-year restoration and redesign of its permanent exhibition.

Passing through the doors of my last station – the Old-New Synagogue was overwhelming. Stepping inside feels like travelling back to the Middle Ages. Built in the late 13th century, its weathered stone walls have witnessed more than seven centuries of prayer, celebration, persecution and resilience. The synagogue is also forever linked to Prague’s most famous Jewish legend – the Golem – said to have been created by Rabbi Judah Loew to protect the city’s Jewish community.

The Altneuschul (Old-New Synagogue), built ca. 1270 is not only the oldest building in Prague’s Jewish Quarter but also the oldest preserved synagogue in Europe. (Photo: From Antiquitates)

I couldn’t resist meeting Daniel Wechsberg, who may well be the only Jewish boy to have celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Prague’s Old-New Synagogue during the Communist era. “It was 1961, and growing up in a deeply Jewish family under a Communist regime is something I will never forget,” he recalls. “Those years shaped who I am today and ultimately led me to build my life in Israel.”

1961: young Daniel Wechsberg – bottom left, at a Hanukkah festive candle lighting ceremony at the Old-New Synagogue (Altneuschul) with Bohemia Chief Rabbi Richard Feder (right). (Photo: Dr. Hans Wechsberg). (Inset right) Daniel Wechsberg today, a resident of Kiryat Ono, nearTel Aviv.

At the time, very few Jews attended synagogue services, especially at the historic Old-New Synagogue. “I return to Prague almost every year, and I never miss the opportunity to visit the synagogue where I celebrated my Bar Mitzvah. Whenever I tell curious visitors about my connection to the Altneuschul, they look at me as if I’m part of its history. They treat me like a hero and always invite me to stay and share more stories,” he says with a smile.

One aspect of visiting Prague’s Jewish Quarter nowadays surprises many Israeli visitors. Every entrance is protected by rigorous security measures, and unlike most of Prague’s churches, admission is not free. Some visitors quietly question why they must pay to enter synagogues while churches welcome visitors without charge.

The writer in the Old Jewish Cemetery, where every weathered gravestone tells another chapter in the remarkable story of Prague’s Jewish community. (Photo: Itzhak Rabihiya)

The answer lies in understanding what these sites represent. They are not simply synagogues. They form part of the Jewish Museum in Prague, one of the world’s most important Jewish museums. A single ticket (600 CZK, approximately €24) grants access to the museum’s historic synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery. Every ticket purchased directly supports the preservation of centuries-old buildings, priceless Judaica, invaluable archives and one of Europe’s most significant collections of Jewish heritage, ensuring that the story of Prague’s once-thriving Jewish community continues to be shared with future generations.

Pavla Niklová, Director of the Jewish Museum in the Spanish Synagogue, inspired by the Alhambra of Spain, with its Moorish architecture (Photos: Karel Cudlín and Motti Verses)

Pavla Niklová, Director of the Jewish Museum in Prague, believes preserving Jewish heritage means much more than maintaining historic buildings.

Says Niklová:

“The Jewish Museum in Prague has always had an important responsibility: to care for one of Europe’s most remarkable collections of Jewish heritage and to keep it open to the public. Since 2023, we have placed even greater emphasis on making the Museum welcoming and relevant to as many people as possible. Our synagogues are beautiful historic buildings, but they are much more than that. They are places where people can discover stories, ask questions and better understand Jewish history, culture and traditions. That is why we have expanded our cultural programme, introduced new exhibitions and educational activities, strengthened our partnerships and worked to make the Museum more accessible to Czech visitors as well as international guests.”

This year is particularly significant, as the Museum celebrates its 120th anniversary. “We wanted it to be more than a celebration of our history,” says Niklová. “Throughout 2026, we are inviting people to experience the Museum in many different ways. The programme includes a Day of Open Synagogues, cultural events throughout the year and our anniversary exhibition, Prague Jewish Museum: 120 Years.”

“Looking after our synagogues remains at the heart of everything we do. Over the past 30 years, the Museum has invested more than CZK 500 million (around €21 million) in restoring its historic buildings, collections and professional facilities. We are now continuing this work with the renovation of our temporary exhibition gallery, the restoration of the Ceremonial Hall and the future renewal of the Klausen Synagogue,” Niklová revealed.

The Jewish Museum in Prague welcomes more than half a million visitors each year, making it one of the Czech Republic’s most visited cultural and historic attractions. Yet what makes Prague truly remarkable is not the number of visitors, but the way it embraces its Jewish legacy. Here, unlike in many cities around the world, Jewish heritage is not hidden behind museum walls or remembered only on memorial days. It is carefully preserved, deeply respected, and shared with genuine pride




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.




*Feature picture: Inside Prague’s Old-New Synagogue (Altneuschul), Europe’s oldest active synagogue, where over 750 years of Jewish history still come alive. (Photo: Motti Verses).





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).

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

This article contains information of a sensitive nature.

I was descending an escalator at  Kfar Saba shopping mall in central Israel. Above were giant industrial fans with huge propeller blades. With the blazing hot summer weather, it should have brought relief. It didn’t!  It reminded me of horror when only days before I went on a tour of Machaneh Shura (Camp Shura) near Ramle and the first visual image that greeted our Shurat HaDin tour at a hangar was the same type of huge propeller blades. Three years earlier, in October 2023, these very blades rotated furiously above the ‘living few’ processing the ‘many dead’, as endless bodies  – or remains  – were being brought in refrigerated trucks for identification and preparation for burial following the massacres of October 7 across southern Israel.

I had visited earlier some of the sites where these people were brutally butchered – Nir Oz, Nahal Oz, Kfar Aza, Be’eri the Nova Music Festival memorial site and the totally destroyed Sderot police station. Now I was bearing witness of what gruesomely played out at this military and rabbinical wayward station where remains had arrived on their final journey and then left with their loved ones to burial sites across the State of Israel.

One could understand the condition of the bodies seeing the level of destruction caused by Hamas terrorists such as this bedroom (above) at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

I soon understood the caution we received before alighting the bus at this IDF central military base that handles casualty identification, death determinations, and prepares fallen soldiers and massacre victims for burial with military and religious honors.

A young soldier who had boarded our bus at the camp’s entry gate warned:

“What you are about to see and hear may distress you immensely. You may not be prepared for what you will experience. If you have any problems or feel nausea along the way, please advise us.”

One of the ‘living few’ who attended to the ‘many dead’ three years earlier was our  ‘tour’ guide, Rabbi and Stf.-Sgt. Bentzi Mann, born to US parents who as a reservist had reported here for duty on October 8.

Rabbi Bentzi Mann carried out the ‘holy work’ of identifying the bodies of murdered Israeli citizens and soldiers as part of the IDF rabbinate. (Photo: KRifkind Photography)

“This is the IDF Rabbinate morgue. I was in Rehovot when I received the call-up and arrived here totally unprepared for what came next. I had never in my life seen a dead body before and within minutes I was holding a blood-covered body,” he says.

We look around the hangar, imagining what unfolded here three years earlier.

“So just try envision what occurred here – this is one of the hardest parts of my job,” he began as he relives in the telling of the horror. “Israel had never before faced this many dead at any one time. There was no ability to separate the civilian dead from those of the IDF, police, and other security forces. There were so many bodies, including those of terrorists and Gazans who were intermixed with Israelis. Many, burnt beyond recognition were meshed together.” 

A number of bodies had been beheaded and in one case Rabbi Mann worked on, “the head was discovered two weeks after the body had been buried.” For this reason, in cases where body parts remained missing, “a grave was not fully sealed so that if possible, the missing parts could be added later.”

While a grisly undertaking, Rabbi Mann refers to his work with the dead as “dealing with angels.” This is the only way he could deal with the mass of death that came to Shura which President Herzog had called “the gate to hell,” but which Bentzi prefers to characterize – as reframed by Rabbi Ephrahaim Mirvis – as  “Gate of Heaven” because “those who died, did so sanctifying God’s name.”

Rabbi Bentzi Mann emotionally unpacks to our Shurat HaDin tour group the horror of what unfolded in this hangar where bodies were “unloaded” from endless refrigerated trucks. (Photo: D.E. Kaplan)

Believing this, he says, “is what kept me going.”

I thought to myself listening to this young and traumatized rabbi, “How many times has he given this tour?” and three years later, he still cannot hold back the tears.

Such WAS – and IS – the horror of October 7.

This experience will never leave Stf.-Sgt. Bentzi Mann. I sensed he feels he owes it to the fallen who passed through Shura to never forget and explains his need – as part of his miluim (military reserve duty) – to serve as a guide. A “guide” has a totally elevated meaning in the context of the service Stf.-Sgt. Bentzi Mann performs. As he explains:

 “It’s not Chessed what I’m doing, its gratitude for people who gave their lives so others, like myself and my family, and many of you and your families, may live. They are angels.”

We are standing at the entrance of the hangar and Rabbi Mann relates that when huge sums of money had been donated to build this important facility, “It was asked ‘Why do we need such a big hangar? There will never a need to process so many dead bodies all at once.’ ‘It’s overreach’.”

Overreach?

No one predicted October 7!

Rabbi Mann tells how the trucks lined up and bodies brought in “one after another, after another.” We stood in silence absorbing his words, processing the images. I looked down at my feet and wondered what had occurred here where my shoes now stood. “There were not even enough refrigerated trucks. They had to commission civilian commercial vehicles. An ice-cream truck arrived piled up –  not with ice-scream – but bodies. To this day, every time I and my colleagues on duty that day see these trucks on the road, we think …of dead Jews.”

He describes the refrigerated trucks parking, and bodies being lined up on the ground in the hangar, which proved too small; “there was not sufficient space so bodies were  laid outside,” exactly where I was standing.

 “One had walk carefully to avoid stepping on bodies. You then take them to the refrigerators.” I shook my head in disbelief reflecting on this hangar that the planners originally thought was too big for the purpose it was built ending up on October 7 to be inadequate!

Rabbi Mann addresses the difficulties:

“One way to identify a corpse is to have two witnesses come before a beit din (rabbinical court)  but the process of identification after Oct. 7 was made harder because of the state on the deceased, such as those who were burned. Also, it was harder to find witnesses because there were so many dead.”

And then the sensitivities of welcoming and preparing the bereaved families when they come for the remains of their loved ones.

“You want to prepare the bereaving families for the moment when they will reunite with their loved one in the Cheder Preda (the “Goodbye Room” set aside for the families),” says Rabbi Mann.

“Families deserve to know what they will be seeing. It is their decision to make. Very difficult.”  Bentzi tells of a Hayal Boded (A lone soldier – a member of the IDF who serves without immediate family support in Israel) who took a direct hit by an RPG to the head and there was no face to show “….and so we said to the mother “Why don’t you hold his hand.” She cried and said “Thank you. It’s all I needed; I felt it was him, I know it’s him.” That was all she needed.”

Rabbi Mann relates that for the first few days “I was working 18 hours straight. The IDC chief rabbi of the IDF, who had to sign off on every identification, was basically awake 24/7. In the beginning we had 80 funerals in one day.” Many of the bodies, “arriving by the truckload were in terrible condition,” and together with  his colleagues “we began to learn  a body was broken up or not, by the weight of the body bags we were unloading.”

Rabbi Mann takes us over to the finger print scanner that helps identify but explained that many bodies were brought in without hands so that they would have to move to the next stages of identification through teeth and then DNA matching.

He explained that “every soldier is given a wrist band with a bar code and a number,” and recalled when showing a group that included visitors from the USA, “this older guy  burst into tears. I asked what happened and he tells us of his late father that had been a Holocaust survivor with a number tattooed on his arm and that imagining all these burned bodies of dead Israelis with numbers on their arms, reminded him of his father and the Shoah. That it was happening all over again – to the Jews now of Israel.” Bentzi takes a deep breath, his voice choking with emotion, and continued:

 “I told him, ‘No, it is not the same. With the Nazis they turned beautiful names into numbers. Here, we are turning numbers back into beautiful names. We are restoring identity and they will be arriving in heaven with their names known.”

Someone asks:

“Are soldiers always buried in coffins in Israel?”

It was a question Bentzi may have been reluctant to answer as he only addressed the issue because asked.

It was quickly evident why.

“Yes, unlike civilians who are wrapped in traditional shrouds, IDF soldiers are always buried in coffins,” and cites as an explanation the case of a soldier brought in “but there was no body but over 100 body parts – all associated with the same person. We took every piece of small flesh up to our laboratory where specialists analyzed every single part, from muscle to tissue to cells. We go to extreme lengths to isolate and examine every human body part as it is all holy. But in the end, there is no body and no one else knowns outside the family what is in the coffin.”

While people are stoically processing the story and explanation, Rabbi Mann continues, “Every time we finish the identification process and the body comes out and we place the name on top of the flag and tallit, I know we have succeeded both on a personal level  and on a national level. Over and over again they try and destroy us but we survive.”

While watching and listening, my mind drifted of my visits down south and the destroyed homes I had visited where families had been brutally murdered, many burnt alive. I thought of vehicles ambushed and burned with people inside when terrorists fired heavy weaponry, RPGs, and set fire to hundreds of civilian cars along southern Israeli highways and access roads — notably around the Nova music festival near Re’im and surrounding kibbutzim.  Many victims attempting to flee in vehicles were shot, trapped, or burned alive inside their cars as the vehicles were deliberately torched by attackers.

Israeli soldiers carry the body of a victim of the massacre at Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel. (Photo: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

All this I thought of as I imagined all those beautiful lives cut short and ‘passing through’ where I was standing, here at Camp Shura.

This emotional rollercoaster culminated at the Cheder Preda (the “Goodbye Room”), a quiet space where grieving families can view and say a final farewell to their loved ones in a controlled, dignified setting following the identification and ritual preparation process. We sat, emotionally drained, looking at the bench in the center of the room coffin after coffin had been  placed, over 1000 in the early days following October 7, 2023.

“It was particularly hard,” said Rabbi Mann, “when bodies were brought in of soldiers I personally knew,” and cited Captain Yaron Chitiz from Ra’anana, who he knew, and his family, well.

So, did I and the South Africans in our group.

Our thoughts went out to his parents Clive and Debbie who would have stood where we were sitting now.

Rabbi Mann addressing our group in the “Goodbye Room’.

Yaron was killed one week before his 24th birthday in Gaza where he bravely fended off terrorists on a stairway in a building about to spring a surprise ambush on his unit. He was killed together with two other soldiers in the ensuing battle.

His mother Debbie would mention Shura when she later expressed how grateful she was that his body was retrieved whole following the battle:

“We were able to see him, touch him and say goodbye to him. At Shura, which is where the bodies are prepared for burial, we sang or should I say tried to sing המלאך הגואל אותי. This is the song that is sung at night to children before they go to sleep. The ironic coincidence is that this song appeared in the parshat hashavua – Parashat Vayechi – the week that Yaroni was killed.

We are also extremely grateful that his phone survived the four-hour battle.”

Yaron had left a letter for the family which he had written on his phone.

Included in his last words to his family:

“I feel proud to fight Hamas under the banner of the Chitiz family and the people of Israel.

Thank you for everything!

You are a family for the glory of the State of Israel!

שרים ומספידים לזכרו

Everyone that knows me knows that you are amongst the most important things in my life.

You are the air that I breathe, the laughter, this genuine friendship.”

And to his girlfriend:

“Dara, I love you, you are my life.

You give me the strength to continue….”

It was these messages on the phone that helped his surviving loved ones also “continue”….

And so too we all have to “continue” and we ended the tour of Shura with few words, many thoughts and a silent prayer that what happened here:

 “Will never happen again.”

Yaron Chitiz (z’l) who died heroically fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza left a phone beside him that contained heart-wrenching messages to his family and girlfriend.






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 – 09 August 2026

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THE ISRAEL BRIEF – 03 – 06 August 2026
(Click on the blue title)



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

THE ‘NEW’ – NEW YORK

It may look the same but does it feel the same?

Beneath the Veneer. New York City holds the largest Jewish population of any city in the world outside of Israel, with over 1 million Jewish residents living within the five boroughs. They came as immigrants to escape; are they going to leave again for the same reason?




ARTICLES

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

(1)

THE MORAL DECAY OF THE WEST

Are we seeing the decline of Western values?
By Rolene Marks

Fearing the Future. If “You can tell a society is in moral decay by the way it treats its Jews,” asserts the writer, then what does it say about crowds in cities across the world that “before the bodies were cold,” on October 7, 2023,  gathered to celebrate the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust?

THE MORAL DECAY OF THE WEST
(Click on the blue title)



(2)

WORN DOWN BY WAR

A Jewish perspective of ‘anticipatory grief’, loss and mental health during war.
By Bev Moss-Reilly

Fearing the Worst. The dread that sits in the chest when “a loved one is at the front”, when “a mother keeps checking her phone”, or when “a father looks at the door and wonders who will walk through it next.” Anticipatory grief is exhausting and a way of daily life in Israel.

WORN DOWN BY WAR
(Click on the blue title)



(3)

ROTH’S WRATH AT JUSTICE DENIED

Arnold Roth’s 25-Year fight for justice for his daughter’s murder and accountability for a Hamas terrorist.
By Jonathan Feldstein

Downtown Devastation. Among the dozens killed was 15-year-old Malki Roth whose father, Arnoldhas has not ceased to bring the mastermind of his daughter’s murder – a resident of Jordan – to justice.

ROTH’S WRATH AT JUSTICE DENIED
(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 – 03 – 06 August 2026

03 August 2026 – Will Hamas really disarm and who has Uganda honoured? This and more on The Israel Brief.



04 August 2026 – Who is “Unbelievably Duplicitous” and you can show Boy George support – this and more on The Israel Brief.



05 August 2026 – Has Israel agreed to the Gaza plan and remembering a very special boy on what would have been his birthday on The Israel Brief.



06 August 2026 – A father’s tribute to his son, Theodore Herzl’s grandparents buried in Israel, your news, mensches and morons 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).

WORN DOWN BY WAR

A Jewish perspective of ‘anticipatory grief’, loss and mental health during war.

By Bev Moss-Reilly

(*To assist readers, a glossary appears at the end of the article)

War wounds people long before the final phone call, the funeral, the shattered building, or the unbearable silence. One of its deepest cruelties is anticipatory grief, that aching state of living in fear of loss before the loss is even confirmed. It is the dread that sits in the chest when a loved one is at the front, when a child is missing, when a siren sounds, when a family waits for news, when a mother keeps checking her phone, or when an elderly father looks at the door and wonders who will walk through it next.

It is grief in advance, and it is exhausting.

Anticipatory grief affects mental health profoundly. It keeps the nervous system on constant alert. People struggle to sleep, eat, think clearly, or regulate their emotions. The body remains tense, braced for impact. Anxiety and helplessness grow. So does guilt. People feel guilty for being safe when others are not, guilty for carrying on, guilty for moments of laughter, guilty for not having done more. In war, the mind rarely gets to rest. Even when tragedy has not yet struck, the soul is already trembling.

Then, when loss does come, it often arrives in layers. War does not only take one thing. It can strip a person of home, family, routine, livelihood, identity, faith in the world, bodily safety, and the simple expectation that tomorrow will look like today. This is why grief in wartime is not only about death, although death is devastating enough. It is also about every other form of loss that leaves a person disoriented, raw, and altered.

PHYSICAL LOSS

 A person may lose a limb, mobility, eyesight, hearing, strength, or independence. A child may lose the sense of safety that once came from being held by a parent in a familiar room. A family may lose a house filled with photographs, books, toys, mezuzot, candlesticks, wedding gifts, kiddush cups, and all the ordinary holy clutter of Jewish life. Possessions are not merely objects. They hold memory, tradition, continuity, and meaning. When they are gone, part of a person’s story can feel erased.

EMOTIONAL LOSS

People lose trust. They lose innocence. They lose the emotional energy required to keep showing up in the same way. They lose the version of themselves that existed before trauma. Some lose the ability to cry. Others cannot stop crying. Some become numb. Some become irritable, angry, frightened, withdrawn, or hypervigilant. Mental health in these moments is not a neat or tidy thing. It is often about survival. It is getting through the next hour, the next night, the next funeral, the next alert, the next memory.

SPIRITUAL LOSS

This can be especially painful because it is often invisible. War can shake a person’s relationship with Hashem, with prayer, with community, and even with meaning itself. Someone may ask, “Where was God?” Another may feel unable to daven. Someone else may go through the motions while feeling empty inside. Others may feel their emunah deepen, not because they understand suffering, but because faith becomes the only place left to stand. Spiritual grief is real grief. It is the mourning of certainty, of order, of the feeling that the world makes sense.

In Jewish life, however, grief is never meant to be carried alone. This is one of the great strengths of our tradition. Judaism does not deny pain, rush mourning, or ask people to be strong in a performative way. It creates structure around sorrow. It gives the mourner something solid when everything else feels unsteady.

When someone dies, Jewish mourning practices provide an emotional and spiritual container. Sitting shiva is one of the most compassionate responses to grief imaginable. The mourner does not have to host, perform, or explain. The community comes. People bring food. They sit low. They share silence. They tell stories. They cry. They pray. They remember. There is no pressure to be polished. Grief is allowed to be visible. It is witnessed. There is no timeline and it’s not linear, neither is it expected to be. That matters enormously for mental health.

Shiva says to the mourner, “You are not abandoned in this pain.” It acknowledges that loss is not something to “move on” from quickly. It slows life down and lets the heart catch up with reality. Shloshim continues that process, recognising that mourning does not end after one week. The rhythms of aveilut honour the fact that the soul needs time. In a world that often demands productivity and emotional suppression, Judaism insists on presence, tenderness, and community.

This is not incidental. It is the essence of emotional support. In many ways, it is the essence of mental health. To be held by others, to be seen, to have meals arrive without asking, to hear Tehillim being said, to be surrounded by people who understand the sacredness of memory, this is not small comfort. It can be life preserving.

SHAPING SURVIVAL

Jewish tradition also understands that grief belongs not only to the individual, but to the collective. We are a people shaped by memory, by exile, by destruction, by rebuilding, by mourning, and by survival. We know what it means to carry names, stories, and absences across generations. That collective memory can be heavy, but it can also be deeply connecting. Jews inherently know how to show up because we have inherited the language of showing up. Nichum aveilim, comforting mourners, is not an abstract value. It is lived chesed. It is practical love.

During war, that support becomes even more vital. Not everyone is mourning a death. Some are mourning a son who returned from battle alive but changed. Some are grieving a daughter who lost her home. Some are living with the anguish of a hostage situation, not knowing whether to hope or prepare their hearts to break. Some are mourning the loss of livelihood, community, safety, or country. Some are grieving while still in danger, which means there is no neat beginning, middle, or end to the process.

That is why compassion matters so much. People living through wartime grief may not look “grief stricken” in the expected way. They may be functioning, making meals, going to work, caring for children, even laughing at times. But beneath that, they may be carrying terror, heartbreak, and spiritual fatigue. We need to be gentle with one another. We need to understand that trauma and grief can coexist with faith, resilience, and even moments of gratitude.

The Jewish way does not promise that grief will disappear. It offers something truer. It teaches that sorrow can be honoured, shared, ritualised, and held with dignity. It teaches that broken hearts still belong in community. It teaches that when a person cannot stand alone, Am Yisrael stands with them.

In wartime, anticipatory grief, loss, and bereavement can shake mental health to its core. Jewish tradition reminds us that comfort is not found only in answers. Often it is found in presence, prayer, remembrance, community, and love. In the candle lit for a soul. In the hand on a shoulder. In the meal left at the door. In the whispered words, “HaMakom yenachem etchem.” In the quiet, enduring truth that even in unbearable loss, no Jew should ever have to mourn alone.

For when one Jew feels pain, every Jew feels pain, and in that shared sorrow lies the quiet, enduring strength of our people.



Glossary of Hebrew Words and Expressions:

Hashem
Literally “The Name.” A reverent way of referring to G-d.

Shiva
The first seven days of mourning after the burial of a close family member. During this time, mourners remain at home and are supported by family, friends, and community.
Note: “sitting sheva” is commonly intended to mean “sitting shiva.”

Shloshim
The thirty-day mourning period following burial. It includes the first seven days of shiva and continues as a gentler, extended phase of mourning.

Aveilut
Jewish mourning practices and the broader laws and customs of bereavement.

Daven
To pray.

Emunah
Faith, trust, or deep spiritual belief, especially in G-d.

Tehillim
Psalms. These are often recited in times of sorrow, danger, illness, or communal need.

Nichum Aveilim
Comforting mourners. This is considered a deeply important mitzvah, or sacred obligation, in Jewish life.

Chesed
Loving kindness, compassion, and acts of generosity or care toward others.

Am Yisrael
The people of Israel, or the Jewish people as a collective.

HaMakom Yenachem Etchem
A traditional phrase said to mourners, meaning:
“May the Omnipresent comfort you.”
It is part of the fuller condolence expression used during mourning.

Mezuzot
Plural of mezuzah. Small parchment scrolls containing sacred verses, placed in a case and attached to the doorposts of Jewish homes.

Kiddush Cup
A ceremonial cup used when reciting Kiddush, the blessing over wine, usually for Shabbat and festivals.




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).