By Gabriel Groisman, Mayor of Bal Harbour, Florida.
Our communal sense of history and peoplehood, and our ties to our religion and traditions, will continue to give us the strength to continue being a light unto the nations while our enemies fall by the wayside.
Last week, leaders from around the world commemorated those who perished at the hands of the Nazis during International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year, like most, there were statements recognizing and remembering those who were taken from us by people all over the globe. The recognition is critical and something appreciated by all from the Jewish community worldwide.
Much has been written about what needs to be done during the remaining days of the year to properly commemorate and educate the world about the horrors of the Holocaust, and what “never again” really means. A recent Pew Research poll proves that Americans’ Holocaust education is sorely lacking. For example, only 45 percent of Americans interviewed even knew that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Even fewer knew that Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany by a democratic political process.
Surely, what is far less known is how many Jews fought valiantly against the Nazis.
A group of female Jewish partisans. (Source: USHMM.)
But fight they did!
Jews fought back alongside resistance groups around Europe, organized uprisings in the ghettos, created partisan units and even fought back in the concentration camps, attempting to bomb a crematorium in Auschwitz. To properly commemorate the Holocaust, these stories must be told as well.
Group of Jewish partisan fighters in Soviet territories (Wiener Holocaust Library Collections)
To that end, I commemorate and honor the story of the following Jews who courageously fought back during World War II and the Holocaust. Their stories represent the thousands who fought to the end.
Mordechai Anielewitz
Mordechai Anielewitz
In April 1943, this leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising led 750 Jewish fighters armed with a handful of pistols, 17 rifles and Molotov cocktails – all smuggled into the ghetto – in a clash with more than 2,000 heavily armed and well-trained German troops. They held off the Germans for 27 days.
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Leader. Mordechai Anielewicz (top right) amongst with members of Hashoer Hatzair wanted to show the world that Jews could counter the German oppressors in open battle. He died along with his brave comrades, defending a basement in Mila Street on May 8, 1943.
Boris Lekach
Boris Lekach
This one is personal. My wife’s maternal grandfather, Lekach fought for the Russians against the Nazis. He enlisted at age 16 with doctored papers just so he could fight. He was also well-known to many in the Jewish community in Russia for helping Jews escape during and after the war.
The Bielski Brothers
Made famous in a number of books and in the 2008 movie “Defiance,” the Bielski brothers – Tuvia, Asael and Zus – fled their city in Belarus after their parents and two other siblings were murdered. The brothers found shelter in the forest, where they created one of the largest and most effective partisan groups during the war, focusing on guerrilla attacks against the Nazis and their collaborators, as well as on preserving Jewish life even in their hideout. In a little more than two years, the Bielski group grew to about 1,200 people.
The Bielski Partisans. Named after a family of Polish Jews who organized and led the organization, ‘The Bielski Partisans’ rescued Jews from extermination and fought the German occupiers and their collaborators around Nowogródek and Lida in German-occupied Poland.
Tosia Altman
Tosia Altman. A courier and smuggler to Warsaw Gehtto. Tosia Altman was captured suffering severe burn wounds and handed over to the Gestapo where she died.
A young woman who used fake papers to smuggle weapons and information in and out of Poland’s ghettos. She was an active member of the social Zionist youth movement Hashomer Hatzair, active in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising alongside Anielewitz and the other brave fighters.
Eta Wrobel
Eta Wrobel. Eta’s exclusively Jewish partisan unit of close to eighty people, set mines to hinder German movement and to cut off supply routes.
A young woman in her 20s, Wrobel helped form an all-Jewish partisan unit in the Polish woods. Her unit attacked German troops as they traveled through the area and is credited for saving the lives of hundreds of Jews.
Rudolph Masaryk
Rudolph Masaryk. A prominent member of the Treblinka prisoner uprising, Czech prisoner Masarek was killed on 2 August 1943.
On Aug. 2, 1943, at the Treblinka extermination camp, Masaryk and other Jewish prisoners stole 20 grenades, 20 rifles and a few handguns. Together, they attacked the SS guards, while another doused a large part of the camp with gasoline and lit it on fire. Approximately 300 prisoners escaped and 40 Nazi guards were killed during the Treblinka uprising.
May their memories be a blessing.
While it’s critical for the world to remember on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and on every other day that the Nazis rose to destroy the Jewish people, it is equally important for all to remember that the Jewish people fought back, and ultimately, as a people, we survived.
Today, the Jewish people not only survive but thrive. Our communal sense of history and peoplehood, as well as our ties to our religion and traditions, will continue to give us the strength to continue being a light unto the nations while our enemies fall by the wayside, as did Hitler and all enemies before him.
Gabriel Groismanis the mayor of Bal Harbour, Fla., and an attorney at Meland Russin & Budwick, P.A., in Miami. He has been a leader in combating anti-Semitism and the BDS movement, having written and passed the first municipal anti-BDS ordinance, as well as the first codification of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. He is a co-founder of the Global Coalition of Mayors Against Hate and Discrimination.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO)
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“We Remember”
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Lay Of The Land’s (l-r) Yair Chelouche, Rolene Marks & David Kaplan In accordance with the UN’s General Assembly designating January 27 as “the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau as International Holocaust Remembrance Day”, we Remember and Honour “the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaustand millions of other victims of Nazism.”
What’s happening in Israel today? See this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL YouTubeby 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 Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.
Wezembeek Children. Roni Wolf ( front row second from the left) with fellow orphans who luckily survived the Holocaust.
Every year on the 27th of January, the world commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust – one and a half million were children! Lay Of The Land talks to Roni Wolf from Ra’anana – who narrowly escaped deportation to Auschwitz while staying at the Wezembeek orphanage during the Nazi occupation of Belgium.
The Long-Term Impact of the Abraham Accords in Africa
By Ben Levitas
Footprints in Africa. While Trump failed to set foot in Africa during his presidency, Biden as VP traveled thrice in one year.
With Israel’s increasing integration into a region commonly recognised as “a dangerous neighborhood” coupled with a new US administration promising to re-engage with the world and re-build alliances, appears as positive portends for a new enlightened Middle East with Israel as a major player.
Cultural Connections. Enriching conversations revisiting yesterday, exploring tomorrow.
Away from her native South Africa for close to a quarter century, the writer living in Israel revisits her past by engaging in weekly conversations with those that were so dear to her then and forging fresh relationships that are emerging as new friends dear to her now.
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 – 25 January 2021 – Malka Leifer extradited. Israel seals off airspace. Embassy inaugurated in Abu Dhabi. USA National Security Adviser reiterates unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.
The Israel Brief – 26 January 2021 -First Israeli delegation lands in Sudan. Israel vaccinating 16-18 year old. UN Chief calls for international alliance to fight hate speech.
The Israel Brief – 27 January 2021 –We commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. USA policy on Middle East. IDF Chief on Iran.
The Israel Brief – 28 January 2021 – Will Israel extend lock down. Israel – Iran updates. Will the next Ambassador to the UN follow in Nikki Haley’s footsteps?
Listen to the Lay of the Land Co-Founder, Rolene Marks, interviewed on the Schilling Show on WINA in the USA
– 22/01/2021
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO)
A few days ago I had a really lovely zoom call with Nomvuyo, known by most as Nhonho (pronounced Nono). Nhonho is a very dedicated and pious Christian, and Zionist. Her love for Israel and the Jewish people is incredible. It was a lovely conversation, and hopefully the first of many.
I was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa right in the middle of the apartheid era.
We were a regular middle class traditional Jewish family and we had (what in those days was called) a maid. Her name is Nomalizo Priscilla Zonke, Mama Zonke to her church, but we called her Priscilla. Priscilla had a husband, Elliot, one son, Theophelus and three daughters – Sylvia, Cynthia and Henrietta.
When I was about 11, Priscilla came to tell us that she was leaving. She had decided to go back upcountry to the Ciskei, to build a house in the village where she came from. I was heartbroken. Literally sobbed for weeks.
Writer’s mother Vivienne Maron with Priscilla Mama Zonke
We lost touch for a few years. We had no way to keep in touch while she was in the Ciskei.
And then one day about five years later, Priscilla got in touch with my Mom. I don’t remember the details but she came back to help us three days a week. I was ecstatic. It was during this time that I really got to know Priscilla. We would talk for hours, and hours. She taught me so much. She was super smart, super intuitive and super forward thinking. Her religion and her G-d meant everything to her. As did her family. She was super proud of her daughters, and of her grandchildren. Her son, unfortunately, passed away young from an illness. And she loved and adored me as much as I did her. She named me NOMSA.
Priscilla Mama Zonke
Twenty-three years ago I made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel). My parents joined me just under three years later and my brothers both moved to Johannesburg. Priscilla and I kept in touch over the years. I would call her every few months. When I got married, she travelled from Cape Town to Johannesburg to celebrate with us. She was my 2nd mother.
And then one day, her phone number was out of order. I kept trying to call her but to no avail! Eventually, one day about three years later, the phone rang and someone answered. I was super excited only to be told that I had called the number of a shop. The number I had was no longer hers! I kept trying every phone number that I had. No luck.
Fast forward a few years to April 2020.
I see a DM in my messenger inbox from someone named Thandi Hlobo. I had no clue who it was and normally I would just delete the message without reading it, assuming it was spam.
But something made me read the message and jumped up shrieking with excitement.
Thandi Hlobo
I knew Thandi Hlobo. I knew her well.
I knew her as Sylvia Zonke, Priscilla’s oldest daughter. Priscilla had moved in with her during the lockdown and they were chatting about us. Thandi decided to look for me on Facebook, found me and sent me a message. We quickly moved to WhatsApp messenger and video calls. Thank G-d Priscilla is doing well and keeping safe and healthy. I have since also connected with two of Priscilla’s grandchildren who I knew as little kids.
Priscilla Mama Zonke
Thandi and I started talking a lot. She is religious. She is pious. And she is an ardent Zionist. We have had some very interesting conversations. Thandi recently reached out to me, telling me that her friend Nhonho would like to connect with me, and asked if it would be okay to give her my number. Nhonho got in touch and we arranged a time to talk over zoom. And talk we did.
Nomvuyo (Nhonho)
Nhonho wants to start the conversation. She just wants to talk. We have to start somewhere and with what we have. The bridges will be built slowly. We have set up a weekly call, which I am already looking forward to. Respectful dialogue to learn from each other, to discuss differences and similarities, to learn to trust. Nhonho is a Black African Christian Zionist and I am a White ex South African Israeli Religious Jew. We can only start small with us.
But as we all know the power of a butterfly’s wings, maybe us will be enough.
Nomvuyo (Nhonho) (R) chatting with the writer, Martine Alperstein Maron (Nomsa) (L)
About the writer:
Martine Maron Alperstein made aliyah from Cape Town 21yrs ago. She currently resides in Modiin with her husband, kids and kitty cats.
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)
Every year on the 27th of January, the world commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Of the six million Jews murdered in the Shoah (Holocaust) – one and a half million were children!
By David E. Kaplan
Entering the Children’s Memorial at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem – World Holocaust Remembrance Center – one is engulfed by darkness until one turns a corner and then suddenly overwhelmed by tiny flames from candles – a Jewish tradition to remember the dead – that appear to reach out into eternity. Apparently, it might be one candle and through skillful mirror positioning, a single flame becomes many emerging endless. This is the point of the Memorial – that if the murder of ONE child is unbearable to bear then the innumerable flames help try apply the mind to the UNTHINKABLE – one and a half million children snuffed out in cold blood!
Lives Lost. Each flame signifying a young Jewish child murdered in the Shoah at the Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
The names of murdered children, their ages and countries of origin can be solemnly heard in the background – a roll call of the dead.
Visitors are left speechless; their only response – tears running down cheeks!
One child that survived that horror – though not her parents – was Roni Wolf from the city of Ra’anana in Israel. Her story of survival was revealed this month in an emotionally-charged global Zoom meeting together with her fellow survivors who had found themselves at an orphanage outside Brussels in Belgium during World War II. They had not seen each other since they were all young children together – in that fateful orphanage where death stalked them!
The Zoom reunion on January 17, 2021, came about because of the research of a Jewish Dutch 24-year-old law student, Reinier Heinsman. While studying, Heinsman opted to volunteer at the Kazerne Dossin – a Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights established within the former Mechelen transit camp from which in German-occupied Belgium, arrested Jews and Roma and sent them to concentration camps.
There, Heinsman became fascinated with the amazing rescue of some 60 orphaned Jewish children having been captured by the Nazis to be transported to Auschwitz on October 30th,1942. From photographs of the children he found at the Museum, he set about in tracing any surviving orphans. Over a period of eight months starting his research in May 2020, the intrepid investigator reveals “I located five children in the photo who are still alive. The other six who participated in the Zoom reunion were from this orphanage but do not appear in the photo.”
All had been snatched at the eleventh hour from certain death.
The last ‘child’ he found was Reizel Warman, today Roni Wolf from Ra’anana, the only one living in Israel.
Dinner Time. Roni is bowing her head on the left during meal time at the orphanage.
On Sunday night, the 17th of January, the young law student welcomed the eleven Holocaust survivors on Zoom who last saw each other over seven decades earlier. Most of them today are living in the USA. Each of the former ‘children’ re-introduced themselves as ‘adults’ and told their life’s story. Each were truly indebted to Reinier who reveals he is unsure what drove him to tackle with such passion such a deep study of this magnitude that will soon appear in his soon to be published book, Jewish Orphans from Belgium in the Holocaust-Testimonies. Born to a Jewish mother and Christian father, Heinsman has never even visited Israel.
When Roni’s parents were herded onto the train for Auschwitz, they departed not from Antwerp but Brussels, where they had been in hiding on Rue des Fleuristes. They had shortly before moved to the Belgium capital, “because it had a smaller Jewish population and they thought they could blend in and escape attention,” explains Roni. This proved to be true only temporary. Soon the roundups began in Brussels, and only days before the German’s came, Roni’s parents Zalman and Malka, took their two baby daughters to their non-Jewish neighbours. Roni would later learn that her mother was murdered on the first day she arrived in Auschwitz; her father would succumb later from illness. “We only spent a few days with this family, who were terrified of the danger we placed them in. They then took us to Wezembeek, an orphanage for abandoned children outside Brussels.”
For a while, the children were safe.
Wezembeek Children. Roni is in the front row second from the left with the white hood.
Explains Roni:
“The orphanage was protected propertyas part of an understanding reached when Belgium capitulated in 1940, that the Nation’s children would not be harmed. This was insisted upon by the Queen. The Nazis adhered to this policy until one day in 1942, the trains bound for Auschwitz fell short of their quota. Precise by nature, the Germans would not countenance empty coaches. And if they could not meet their quota with adults, they knew where to find last minute substitutes – the children at Wezembeek.”
Roni, who was 2-years-old at the time and her older sister Regina were amongst those herded onto the trucks and driven to the station. Luckily, the orphanage was run by a cool head in Madame Marie Blum!
The Wezembeek Orphanage where Roni and her older sister Regina Warman spent four years following their parents deportation to Auschwitz.
Marie had been assigned the post of manager of the Wezembeek Home when she was only 26 years old. On Friday afternoon the 30th of October 1942 – less than two months after Roni and Regina arrived at the home – the SS raided Wezembeek. As related by Marie later, the SS headed by a Dr. Holm, burst in with their firearms in their hands screaming and shouting orders. “Their aim was to frighten all into immediate obedience.” The men rushed into Madame Marie office and started ripping up the wires to the phone, breaking all telephonic contact with the outside world. Two staff members, Julia and Livine Kumps, were washing the corridor at the time.
The Wezembeek staff and boarders.
Dr Holm barked at Marie, “Are these two women Jewish?”
“No,” replied Madame Marie, “they are outsiders employed on an hourly basis.”
“Pay and get rid of them,” ordered an impatient Holm.
The Germans wanted little interference with what they were doing. After all, they were reneging on the deal with the Belgian royalty not to harm the country’s children!
All this was going through the mind of Dame Marie, who while drawing the money from a drawer in her desk, also managed to write something down on the two pieces of paper in which she wrapped the wages. The clock was ticking, and all she had time to quickly scribble was one word “PREVENT” and a phone number. She hoped at least one of the messages would find its way to the Queen of Belgium and be understood.
It was not only a long shot but the only shot!
For the plan to have anychance of success, Dame Marie also needed to buy time – to cause as much delay as she could.
This would prove tricky and dangerous.
She guided Holm to the infirmary room where she said there were two boys with “contagious diphtheria” germs. Unfortunately when 13-year old Michel Goldberg and 7-year-old Jacob Gebotzreiber were asked by Holm if they were indeed ill, they truthfully answered:
“No, we are not sick.”
An irritated, impatient and much angered Holm then proceeded to move all of the children out towards the large canvas covered truck. Holm was meticulous in going through the entire home so as to be certain that everyone was accounted for.
Seven of the staff members were forced to board the truck together with the children. At that moment, a staff member – a Mrs. Gold – fainted which gave Marie time to run back for water, clothing and medical supplies for the journey.
Valuable time was bought.
Marie sat in front with the driver and Roni on her lap. She struck a conversation with the driver who looked at Roni and said:
“I have a daughter of the same age.”
Tedious conversation passed the time away and helped eased the tension.
The truck arrived in the Mechelen town centre where the children were offloaded into a large courtyard in front of the Dossin military barracks where many other deportees were gathered awaiting deportation to Auschwitz.
Again, Marie needed to play for more time and pulled the same stunt she had failed earlier with Holm. She convince the Commander of the Barracks, an officer Steckman, that there were two children that were taken from an infirmary having contagious diseases. Steckman ordered the boys to be separated from the rest of the children and began phoning awaiting further instructions.
Finally after all the delays, Steckman was ordered by his superiors to release the children, which he did that included Dame Marie and the orphanage staff.
The drive back to the orphanage was harrowing, afraid that they would be stopped at any moment and sent back to the deportations.
They returned safely back to the orphanage and survived the Shoah!
Marie would later discover that JuliaDehaes, the cleaner, had taken her scribbled note and had run to the hardware store in the village, where a telephone was available and called the number that Marie had written on her paper. One thing led to another and a message got through quickly to Queen Elizabeth of Belgium who contacted the military governor of Belgium, General Alexander Von Falkenhausen. He complied with her pleading and ordered the return of the children to Wezembeek. That order came through while the children were disembarking from the trucks and being marched towards the train.
A short while later the train left for Auschwitz with a few empty carriages, while the truck returned to the orphanage full – with the children!
Close Encounter. Roni (Reizel Warman) soon after her narrow escape of being deported on a transportation to Auschwitz.
In 1992 Madame Marie Blum was honoured by the US Senate for being “a true heroine”.
When the war ended, only Roni and Regina of the Warman family in Belgium had survived but so had her aunt Rachel, who was living in London.
When Rachel was given the names in 1945 of all the deportees in Belgium she noticed that her brother’s children Regina and Rosa (Roni) were not listed. “It meant they had survived,” thought Rachel. She had lost in the Shoah her parents, two brothers, a sister, a sister-in-law, aunts, uncles and cousins, “but I had two nieces and we were going to find them.”
The Marvelous Madame Marie. Roni with the ‘children’s saviour’ Madame Marie Blum (left) at Wezembeek orphanage.
“After months of investigation, we learnt that one was living with a devout Catholic family and the other in a Jewish children’s home.” Rachel travelled to Brussels, brought them back to England where she and her husband Jack adopted them.
Surviving to Thriving. A jovial Roni (left) and her friend Pearl during basic training in the Israeli Defence Force.
At the age of eighteen, Roni left for Israel on a year’s educational programme. Instead of returning to the UK after the year, she joined the army where she met her future husband, South African Ivor Wolf.
Young Country, Young Lovers. From surviving the Holocaust and brought up in London, Roni meets Ivor Wolf from South Africa to forge a life together in the young State of Israel.
Epilogue
On Yom Hashoah in 2009, Yediot Achronot ran an article on the Holocaust with an appeal from a woman working at Yad Vashem to identify any of the children in the six photographs she had randomly selected from some 130,000. The caption read:
‘Lost Youth’
Shortly before midnight, one young reader of the Hebrew paper was about to retire to bed when she glanced at one of the photos. The next thing she did was call her parents in Ra’anana and said:
“Don’t go to bed, I’m coming over right now.”
Roni and Teddy. A picture of innocence removed from the horror gripping all of Europe.
A short while later, Yaella arrived, finding her parents, Ivor and Roni Wolf anxiously drinking coffee. She dropped the newspaper on the kitchen table and pointed to a photo of a little girl clutching her teddy bear.
“Mommy, it’s you, it’s you,” she tearfully repeated.
The following day Roni contacted Yad Vashem. The photo was taken when Roni had been staying at Wezembeek, the orphanage outside Brussels.
Horrors from the Holocaust. A 2009 article in Yediot Achranot of Roni Wolf pointing to herself in the paper’s earlier article with a photograph of herself holding a teddy bear taken at Wezembeek Orphanage.
Now twelve years later, Roni has again reunited with the past, meeting on Zoom all those fellow children who narrowly escaped death at the hands of the Nazis.
“Living in our Jewish state with my husband, children, grandchildren and great grandchild instills in me hope for a brighter future” says Roni.
Survivors Reunite. The young Dutch law student Reinier Heinsman who tracked down Jewish Holocaust survivors from a Belgium orphanage and brought them together for a Zoom reunion.
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)
Although relations with Africa were low on Trump’s agenda, he set in motion some momentous foreign relations events that will have enduring consequences that offer the Biden administration some tantalizing opportunities to expand American influence in Africa. While Trump spoke of “pivoting out” of the region, it is likely that Biden will deploy more resources to Africa, both to counter China’s growing influence and because of the opportunities that Africa offers.
What can Africa Expect from the Biden Administration? Then US Vice-President Joe Biden concludes his address to the U.S.- Africa Business Forum in Washington August 5, 2014. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
The historic events which overturned seventy-two years of hostility, are the establishment of diplomatic relations between several Muslim majority countries and Israel. Known by the epithet as the “Abraham Accords”, which recognised the historic and cultural bonds shared by the Arabs and Jews, Trump managed to sweep aside decades of animosity and boycotts to inaugurate mutual recognition and diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Israel. This has set in motion a domino effect, influencing Muslim majority Morocco and Sudan to break their embargoes on relations with the Jewish State. For the first time, direct flights from Tel Aviv to popular destinations in Morocco will commence and Sudan has granted Israel overflight rights. It must be said that the “Abraham Accords” built on the fertile grounds when in November 2018 Chadian President Idriss Deby visited Israel and established diplomatic relation two months later. Immediately thereafter, Mali started a diplomatic push to improve relations with Israel and apparently Mauretania could be next. Israel already has diplomatic relations with 42 out of the 44 Sub-Saharan states.
Footprints in Africa. Whereas Donald Trump did not set foot in Africa once during his presidency, Joe Biden as US Vice President traveled in 2010 to three African countries.
What promise would be underpinning the “Abraham Accords” offer Africa?
We have seen how America has coaxed Sudan to follow the process, by removing it from the list of terrorist supporting states. One of the first Executive orders of Biden was to remove the ban on travel by many Muslim states to the USA, and this will immediately affect several African countries. Biden will be more predisposed to follow his Democratic predecessors who displayed an acute desire to be involved with Africa, particularly to eradicate disease, improve food security and the quality of lives. Attracting foreign investment is still the biggest need for African countries to build skills and create jobs and America can be expected to be more amenable to be accommodative. Despite China’s impressive growth, America still has the deepest pockets. Furthermore, China is being very assertive in spreading its influence in the South China Sea and across Asia with the “Silk Road” which removes its foot from the pedal with regards to Africa and creates a possible vacuum for the United States to fill. Moreover, African countries may be more open to American investment, particularly having experienced the onerous consequences of allowing unrestrained Chinese investment, which has resulted in debt and in economic exploitation.
Back on Track. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right), warmly welcomes on Sunday, 25 November 2018) President of Chad, Idriss Déby (left) at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. (GPO/Amos Ben-Gershom)
With the Biden administration promising to re-engage with the world and re-build alliances, it will surely strengthen relations with its strongest ally in the Middle East, Israel. Israel in turn has a tantalizing offering to address the most pressing problems faced by Africa, such as:
Cleantech,
food production and food security,
sewage and
sanitation treatments
water treatment.
A recent report by the WWF, lists Israel as the second most innovative country world-wide for clean technology, and the Global Cleantech 100 Index listed Israel as the world’s top innovator. With Global warming and the climate challenges, Cleantech is a necessary imperative to meet the Paris Agreement targets and covers the whole field of renewable energy technologies to make the world free from carbon emissions. Africa suffers from chronic power shortages and Cleantech will ensure that it is able to reach its economic growth targets in a sustainable way.
Israel’s prowess in desalination, where it operates the world’s largest desalination plants and has transformed itself from a water deficient country into an exporter of potable water, is well known. Less known is the fact that Israel recycles nearly 90 % of its sewage water for irrigation and industry making it a leader in the world. South Africa in comparison recycles less than 5 % and spews huge quantities of raw sewage into its rivers and seas. Israel treats sewage as a valuable commodity whereas in Africa it is a waste product that pollutes our water resources.
In agriculture, Israel has already built up a proud history of innovation in Africa such as making Kenya, Africa’s leading flower producer and introduced new varieties of vegetables, such as peppers and tomatoes and even seeds, such as the sesame. Israeli produced dripper lines are responsible for most of the food production in Africa and this is supported by Israeli agronomists, who have trained thousands of Africans and Israeli engineers planning, designing and building greenhouses.
Sowing Seeds. In April 2016, a Rwandan delegation visited in Israel to examine the agricultural, research and commercial aspects of Israeli agriculture, with an emphasis on subtropical crops and nurseries as well as on post-harvest and marketing of vegetables.
In every field – from dairy production, where an Israeli company has taken control of Clover to satellite technology to facilitate communication – Israel can help Africa to leapfrog over its deficiencies in infrastructure and make up for its lack of development.
There is a time for everything, and this is the time to embrace the new paradigm that the “Abraham Accords” have unleashed for Israel’s new role in Africa.
About the writer:
Ben Levitas graduate of Hebrew University with postgraduate degrees from London School of economics and Pretoria University. Chaired the Cape Council of the SAZF for 6 years.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO)
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A man who shied away from the spotlight all his life but spent a life never shying away from helping others
By David E. Kaplan
Visionary. Steel magnate Eric Samson addressing a Keren Hayesod fundraiser at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
The passing of Eric Samson – South Africa’s “Man of Steel’ and philanthropist – has left a void but also a lasting legacy. Lay Of The Land pays tribute to this icon whose vision and support impacted on the lives of many across continents.
A response to false accusations in top British tabloid
By Rolene Marks
Racist Reportage. The UK’s Daily Mail besmirches Israel with false narrative relating to COVID-19 vaccinations.
Following the UK’s popular Daily Mail publishing a statement by Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Minister accusing Israel of racism regarding its vaccination roll out, Lay Of The Land responds in an Open Letter taking issue with this defamatory position to tarnish the Jewish State.
Israeli innovative medical science restoring sight to the blind
By David E. Kaplan
Sight to Behold. Blind Jamal Furani reading a vision chart a day after receiving artificial corneas at Israeli hospital.
Never thinking he would ever properly see again, Jamal Furani, an Arab from Haifa opened his eyes and saw his youngest grandchild. Following the success in Israel of this first ever operation, KPro artificial corneas from CorNeat Vision based in Ra’anana, offers hope of sight to the inoperative blind.
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 English expression “long time, no see” took on a quite literal meaning with Israeli medical science restoring sight to the blind
By David E. Kaplan
It was like a miracle out of the Bible when an Israeli resident from Haifa “saw the light”! However, it was all about science, not divine intervention.
And yet there was something majestically “biblical” about the scene played out at the Rabin Medical Center when a 78 year-old BLIND man from Haifa on the 3rd of January was able to see his youngest grandchild – only three months old!
An Arab from Haifa, Jamal Furani had gradually lost most of his vision over the past decade due to corneal disease.
If someone resembling a friend or neighbour stood in front of him, “I would not be able to tell the difference,” he said. His cause had seemed lost following four donor transplants to try to restore his vision. All had failed!
That was until the 3rd of January 2021 when he became the first patient to receive the KPro artificial cornea from CorNeat Vision in Ra’anana.
A Sight to Behold. Jamal Furani reading a vision chart a day after receiving the KPro artificial cornea from CorNeat, surrounded by his surgeon, Prof. Irit Bahar (left) and CorNeat cofounder Dr. Gilad Litvin and Furani’s daughter Khulud. (Screenshot from Channel 13)
Prof. Irit Bahar, Chief of Ophthalmology at Beilinson Hospital of Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva who performed the implant surgery, explained that “each successive surgery has less chance of success,” however, “the synthetic cornea changed all that. The surgical procedure was straight forward and the result exceeded all of our expectations.”
The day after the operation, Prof. Bahar said that even she was “amazed”, “surprised” and “thrilled” at how well Furaniwas “able to read a vision chart and to recognize family members.” And of course Furani’s family had changed over the years but the absolute thrill was seeing for the first time the new members who he had spoken with and touched but now could see!
It has been emotionally tough for medical practitioners all over the world over the last year with COVID-19, so this was a thrill. “The moment we took off the bandages was an emotional and significant moment. Moments like these are the fulfillment of our calling as doctors,” said Prof. Bahar.
To which an exuberant Furani replied, “As much as you are happy, I am even happier. It’s my treasure to be able to see.”
So what is this artificial cornea that can now restore sight to the blind?
Seeing Eye to Eye. CorNeat’s artificial cornea fits into the wall of the eye without the need for any donor tissue.
CorNeatco-founder and the inventor of the KPro, Dr. Gilad Litvin, told Channel 13 news that “The innovation here stems from the ability to take something totally synthetic that has no cells or tissue and implant it in the wall of the eye so that it essentially becomes part of the body.” Litvin who sat in on the operation, revealed to the Times of Israel the sensation of “Unveiling this first implanted eye” and “being in that room was surreal. Witnessing a fellow human being regain his sight the following day was electrifying and emotionally moving. There were a lot of tears in the room.”
You bet!
The Insightful A-Team. The CorNeat Vision team with Almog Aley-Raz, and Dr. Gilad Litvin seated centre. (Courtesy of CorNeat Vision)
It was only last July, the first in-human trials of the CorNeat synthetic cornea were approved at Beilinson. This is only the start of a procedure which will undoubtedly impact the lives of millions.
A Welcome Sight. Israeli startup has successfully carried out the world’s first artificial cornea transplant, restoring the sight of a 78-year-old man who had been blind for 10 years.
First Step
CorNeat Vision’s Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and VP R&D, Almog Aley-Raz, noted that theCorNeat KPro’s first-in-human implantation is just the first step in a multi-national clinical trial, geared toward attaining CE Mark, FDA Clearance and China NMPA approval. “A total of 10 patients are approved for the trial at Rabin Medical Center in Israel with two additional sites planned to open this January in Canada and six others at different stages in the approval process in France, the US, and the Netherlands. Our first trial includes blind patients who are not suitable candidates for- or have failed one or more corneal transplantations. Given the exceptional visual performance of our device, the expected healing time and retention, and the fact that it cannot carry disease, we plan to initiate a second study later this year with broader indications to approve our artificial cornea as a first line treatment, displacing the use of donor tissue used in full thickness corneal transplantations.”
Now, when Haifa grandpa Jamal Furani says to someone “I’ll be seeing you” he sure means it!
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 – 18 January 2021 –IDF strikes targets in Gaza strip in response to rockets. Israel Covid updates. Morocco signs MoU on fighting anti-Semitism and anti Zionism.
The Israel Brief – 19 January 2021 –Australia to open probe against UNRWA. Covid updates. What can we expect from a Biden administration for Israel?
The Israel Brief – 20 January 2021 –Sec. of State Blinken on Iran. Vaccines for 35’s +. Setting Tlaib straight.
The Israel Brief – 21 January 2021 –Embassy to remain in Jerusalem. Covid updates – over 3 million vaccinated. IDF to do mass drill.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO)
A man who shied away from the spotlight all his life but spent a life never shying away from helping others. South Africa’s “Man of Steel’ philanthropist Eric Samson passes away in the USA
By David E. Kaplan
“Eric was a visionary leader and nation-builder and a man of unsurpassed generosity, one whose multifaceted legacy will benefit our country long into the future,” voiced the South African Jewish Board of Deputies in a statement following the passing of South African steel magnate and philanthropist Eric Samson who died at his Newport, California home on Tuesday at the age of 83.
Lasting Legacy. South African steel merchant Eric Samson – A man who left his mark on the lives of many.
No less a beneficiary of his generosity was the State of Israel.
The founder and majority shareholder of the Macsteel Group, I recall last speaking to Eric at the funeral in Cape Town in 2009 of his good friend, the steel industrialist, Mendel Kaplan. They had been more than good friends. While partnering in many shared interests in the steel industry, it was their partnership in collective causes that they left their mark in making the world a better place. Eric stood right behind me at Mendel’s funeral service at Cape Town’s Pinelands Jewish Cemetery, shocked and devastated and said that he was on board his private plane flying to Europe when he heard the news and related how he immediately asked the pilot to change the flight path and “head to Cape Town.” That was Eric – decisive at being where he feels he needs to be.
He has been like that together with his wife Sheila with causes in South Africa and Israel.
In South Africa “Innumerable organizations and individuals benefited from his support throughout his life,” revealed the South African Board of Deputies in a statement. A great friend of the late South African State President, Nelson Mandela, Eric served on the board of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund for two decades and donated to it every July to mark the South African leader’s birthday.
The Visionaries. Eric Samson (right) with South African President Nelson Mandela.
In Israel, the Samsons ‘directed’ their generosity to such causes as Keren Hayesod that had been established in 1920 to serve as the fundraising arm of the Jewish People and the Zionist Movement, the Barzilai Medical Center, the Eric and Sheila Samson New Emergency Surgical Hospital in Ashkelon, the Samson Assuta Ashdod Hospital, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, the South African retirement home in Herzliya Beth Protea, and the Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize – a prestigious international award, launched in 2013, which grants a million dollars annually for groundbreaking innovation in the fields of smart mobility and alternative fuels for transportation.
Rooted to Israel. The Samson family at the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office in Jerusalem.
I attended the sixth ceremony of The Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize held on the 29th October 2018 at the Hilton Tel Aviv Grand Ballroom as part of Israel’s 2018 Smart Mobility Summit.
I could not help feeling proud both as an Israeli for what my country was achieving for all mankind, and as a former South African, for the contribution of its Jewish community in enriching the State of Israel. And in the quest to “transform transportation”, it all began a little over six years ago, explained the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “with ONE phone call to my friends Eric and Sheila in South Africa.”
Smart New World. The 2018 Smart Mobility Summit at the Hilton Tel Aviv where the 6th ‘Eric and Sheila Prime Minister’s Prize’ was awarded to two outstanding recipients currently making critical advancements in the fields of alternative fuels for transportation and Smart Mobility.
Aiming to reduce 60% of Israel’s oil consumption by 2025, the Prime Minister revealed his concerns to the Samsons that “we have to free the world from the stranglehold of oil and the biggest culprit in the consumption of oil is transportation.” Therefore, persisted the PM persuasively, “we have to work on transforming transportation.” In pursuance of this vision, the PM appealed to the Samsons to consider sponsoring an annual prize that would not only help reduce the world’s dependency on oil but would further help revolutionize mankind’s modes of transportation.
Peering upon the large audience from across the globe that included delegations from 36 countries, including all the states of Europe, Israel’s Prime Minister bellowed proudly:
“It took only 60 seconds for Eric and Shelia to answer with one word – YES!”
A co-recipient of the Samson award was Prof. Doron Auerbach of Bar-Ilan University for his contribution to breakthroughs in the field of battery development that included the development of advanced batteries for electric vehicle applications. “Every electric car anywhere in the world is partly powered by our research,” said Auerbach in accepting the prize. “I feel great pride for Israel.”
Israel’s then Minister of Science and Technology, Ofir Akunis said,
“We are changing the world. Israel is investing in the future and our Ministry could not ask for a better partner in this critical mission than Eric and Sheila Samson who have made this possible through their contribution towards the Prime Minister’s Prize. We know from our history, knowledge is strength and when used properly, we can make the impossible – possible!”
The South African retirement home Beth Protea would not have been “possible” were it not for Eric saying “YES” to a vision that skeptics said was “impossible”. It was not too long after that then President of South Africa and future Nobel Peace Laurette, F.W. de Klerk laid the foundation stone to Beth Protea during his visit to Israel in November 1991.
For the Community. Beth Protea, Israel’s South African retirement home ‘of the community, by the community for the community’.
Enter Beth Protea today and there in the lobby, hangs a large portrait painting of Eric amongst the other founding fathers. What began as a “vision” over a quarter of a century earlier, this South African ‘flower’ flourished to emerge as the benchmark of excellence in caring for seniors leading in the ensuing years with the name ‘protea’ resonating across the land as its ‘seeds’ sprouted with other retirement complexes carrying the brand name. Such is the impact of a man who said “yes” to the callings that touched his heart.
Turning 13. Sheila and Eric Samson with Beth Protea senior staff member and member of the Beth Protea Foundation Lyn Bach (left) in 2005 at Beth Protea’s ‘Bar Mitzvah” party.
And on the question of “heart”, one could have asked 106-year-old Avraham Barry who made an incredible recovery from heart surgery at the Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital. The hospital’s oldest patient, Avraham who had immigrated to Israel from Yemen as a young child with his family only days after his surgery, returned to his home in Ashdod.
Heartwarming. Born in Yemen, a 106-year-old patient, Avraham Barry from Ashdod in Israel, makes an incredible recovery from heart surgery at the Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital. It was the oldest patient in the Hospital’s history.
In a statement from Keren Hayasod at the time, “Eric and Sheila Samson, through Keren Hayesod, have provided unparalleled support for patients like Avraham by giving residents of the periphery greater access to healthcare and advance medical facilities.”
The Business of Caring. Businessman Eric Samson addressing a Keren Hayesod fundraiser at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. (photo credit: Courtesy)
His namesake in the Bible, Samson, was noted for his great strength. Such too was this softly spoken ‘Man of Steel’ who impacted the lives of many – young and old. He will be sorely missed.
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)
