The Right Moves

A dance instructor’s  recollections of  defying Apartheid in South Africa

By David E. Kaplan

A marine biologist and tour guide friend of Fonda Dubb in Eilat had a bad fall and was rushed to Emergency at Israel’s southern coastal city hospital – Yoseftal Medical Center. After being patched-up, Colin Porter, said the stitching done by the Arab doctor on duty was so well done  that he characterised it as a “tapestry” and wanting to show his appreciation, offered to teach him snorkeling.

Touched by this gesture, the Arab doctor agreed and said it was the first time he would be socialising with a Jew!

What this story or extended “tapestry” of life unveils is that too few people from worlds culturally separate, fail to meaningfully engage beyond the workplace. “This happens across the globe,” says Fonda. “We leave it to the politicians who are generally lousy at this job instead of us ordinary people engaging on a grassroots person-to-person level.”

Fonda knows exactly what she is talking about from her experiences in South Africa during the darkest days of Apartheid when she went out of her way to bring people who would not otherwise connect – together!

She made every effort, frequently putting herself in danger in crossing boundaries – geographic as well as personal.

What her story reveals is that while we  are more familiar with the high-profile opponents of Apartheid, we are less so of the ordinary people who in their own ordinary way achieved extraordinary results. Such was the case of Fonda Dubb of Eilat.

As a dance teacher in the late sixties in Port Elizabeth, Fonda lead a kind of double life. While in the city she taught kids at a dance studio exclusively for whites, she also immersed herself in teaching boys and girls at the Gelvandale Toynbee Ballet School in the coloured district of Port Elizabeth.

Not Dancing to the Tune of Apartheid. Fonda Dubb’s students at Gelvandale Ballet School.

At the city studio “coloureds” were excluded because of the ugly Group Areas Act, which assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of urban apartheid. So I used to drive backwards and forwards to the township, a one hour drive away. I was totally unperturbed visiting an area where very few Whites ever went, although I was under surveillance and at times stopped by the police enquiring where I was going and what I was doing.” When there were clashes with the police in  Gelvandale or on the route, “someone would phone and warn me not to come. ”

There was no stopping Fonda. If whites were blocked from being culturally exposed to the coloured community, Fonda ‘pirouetted’ devising a reverse step. “I was determined that my students performed in front of white audiences and so, I would apply for permits to the Administration of coloured Affairs for every such performance.”

Testing Times. Through Fonda Dubb’s perseverance, these coloured students would perform in White areas of Port Elizabeth.

Knowing the moves on the dance floor were not enough; Fonda had to ‘choreograph’ a path through Apartheid’s labyrinthian bureaucracy!

From a file, Fonda takes out a humiliating relic of the Apartheid era, the permit which imposed the following conditions:

“…that no social mixing with the audience occurs, that the coloured do not make use of any of the  change-rooms or any other facilities provided for Whites and that they leave the premises immediately after their performance.” And if they needed to use the toilets, “who knows what they were expected to do,” sighs Fonda, shaking her head.

A Good Mix. Fonda Dubb and her committee receiving a grant for the Gelvandale Toynbee Ballet School. Besides the Treasurer Colin Melmed (left), the only other white on the Committee, Fonda says “This to my knowledge was the only mixed committee during the Apartheid era.”

Fonda relates how they overcame problems that today, 26 years after the fall of Apartheid, appear strangely surreal:

If I received a permit, which only allowed for the exact number of my dances, then that would exclude the coloured staff, particularly their drivers. To surmount this problem, because we had to strictly comply with the conditions, of the permit, my late husband Mark and I would drive backwards and forwards in our own cars, taking and fetching the students.”

Aspiring Dancers. Fonda Dubb’s young students receiving awards in 1974.

Her coloured students frequently received the highest marks in Port Elizabeth. Following their progress, Fonda always felt proud to see how they overcame the many Apartheid-related obstacles. “Some would go on to UCT’s ballet School, others would become teachers, while a few went on to perform overseas.”

Following Dulcie Howes – considered the prima ballerina assoluta of South African ballet  – introducing Ballet as a matric subject in South African schools, two of the first graduates in the progamme “were  my coloured students who would go on to receive bursaries to study at UCT, where after they returned to teach at Coloured schools in Gelvendale. I think this was one on my proudest moments!”

Going Great. On a visit to the Toynbee Ballet School, the former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, London Johaar Mosaval, says he was most impressed with the caliber of the students who Fonda Dubb had been entering for R.A.D Ballet exams since 1970.

What’s Cooking?

Leaving Port Elizabeth in the mid-1970s, Fonda and her family moved to the small country town of her youth,  Pietersburg, today Polokwane, capital of the Limpopo Province. There she switched from dancing to her other great love – cuisine! Boasting a strong Jewish community of some 200 families, Fonda was kept very busy catering for barmitzvahs, batmitzvahas, britot mila and weddings.

Recipe for Success. Following Fonda Dubb’s  cooking course in Pietersburg for blacks making the national media, she was inundated with enquiries across South Africa.

In time she was soon approached by an organization called “Woman Power” to provide cooking lessons to blacks, where they would receive certificates enabling domestics workers to command higher salaries. They were “earning at the time a paltry – in today’s Israeli currency –  NIS28 per month,” recalls Fonda. Approximately 80% of my students could neither read nor write but they were determined to improve their lives.”

Pathway to Progress. Tasty delights of Fonda Dubb’s students that paved their way for higher salaries.

The graduation ceremonies regularly appeared on national television, where after “we would receive calls from other organisations throughout the country for the guidelines to our courses.”

White by Night

As a child growing up in Pietersburg, Fonda’s young eyes were witness to the horrors of Apartheid. She recalls the vivid images of “blacks being randomly picked up in the streets by roving police vans and tossed in brutally like sacks of potatoes. I can still hear the sounds of the siren that used to sound every night at 9.00pm, whereafter no blacks were free to roam the streets of Pietersburg.”

She recalls her late cousin, Dr. John Gluckman, a pathologist, “who had the courage of his convictions to expose the horrible tortures inflicted upon the black school children held in police custody during the 1976 riots. Years earlier, he had represented the Timol family, whose son Ahmed, was one of the first detainees to die at the notorious John Vorster Square by allegedly jumping out a window. He later represented the Biko family,” following the black Consciousness leader Steve Biko’s death in police custody.

She recalls being at the police station in Pietersburg a few years before immigrating to Israel and hearing the screaming coming from the cells. “I asked one of the policemen what was happening. With a whip of a hand, he bellowed, “We’re going to donner (beat) them”. Such was South Africa.”

Wonder Woman. Fonda Dubb (left)  with the “Woman Power” group providing cooking lessons to blacks, where they would receive certificates enabling domestics to command higher salaries.

Making a Difference

While Fonda is quick to minimize her contribution during the dark days of Apartheid, she recognised the injustice around her and through her routine activities made a difference. In Eilat, she again used her passions for dance and food “to make a difference”. Apart from assisting the blind and visiting the sick, she over the years,  would through organisations like ESRA and WIZO instruct dance to children with disabilities, teach English to Ethiopian children through cooking and would fundraise for causes by conducting food demonstrations.

What’s Cooking? Fonda teaching English to Ethiopean children in Eilat through the meduim of cooking.

It is little wonder that Fonda is a recipient of Eilat’s prestigious Miller Award, presented personally by former Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi for:

 “diverse volunteer work conducted with dedication and sensitivity in guiding and supporting the needy in all sectors of the population and for the empowerment of women.” 

If bad laws kept people apart in South Africa, Fonda Dubb found good ways to bring them together.


Durban is a Downer

Major countries are boycotting this September’s UN 20th anniversary of the “Durban Conference” for its blatant antisemitism

By Rodney Mazinter

Even after Gaza firing earlier this year some 4,300 rockets at Israel’s civilian population, the false “Zionism = Apartheid” advocates are girding their loins to once again try to delegitimise Israel at the upcoming 20th Anniversary of the UN World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), also known as Durban IV.

Signs of the Times. Protestors brandishing masses of signs and banners outside the Durban Conference opening session, August 31, 2001  with one thing in common – they are all against  only one country in the world – Israel. (credit: REUTERS)

If ever a misnomer, we know it by its more common parlance as the infamous Durban Conference.

Their concern shown for the plight of the Palestinians is undermined against the backdrop of the slaughter going on today in the Middle East and North and East Africa – a humanitarian tragedy that significantly escapes their attention.

Such slaughter raises little to no concern because of their preoccupation with Israel.

It is wearying to once more point out the deceitful propaganda posing as facts. Here are a few salient points starting with Israel’s “disproportionate” response against attacks on its country:

Despite Israel over the years encountering incessant attacks on its civilians and their properties from Gaza,  the Jewish state only significantly responds when the situation has so escalated that it has little alternative.

Yet how does an unsympathetic world react? It wrings its hands and cries “disproportionate”. What is disproportionate, one may ask?

When Israel does react, it does so with care and circumspection. Col. Richard Kemp, former commander of the British Forces in Afghanistan said it best:

Based on my knowledge and experience I can say that … the Israeli defense forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in combat situations than any other army in the history of warfare.” 

Safeguarding Civilians. Explaining the truth about Israel’s military, Col. Richard Kemp, a former British Army officer who served from 1977-2006 fighting terrorism and insurgency, commanding British troops on the front line of some of the world’s toughest hotspots, including Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and Northern Ireland.

The charges against Israel reveal much more about those who make them than it does about their target.

Stopping the Slaughter

Much ink is expended in accusing Israel of being an Apartheid state, citing the checkpoints, the security fence and segregated roads. But these critics remain reticent about the forced segregation and anti-gay legislation, which does not exist in Israel but does in Israel’s neighbouring countries. Critics focus on the border between sovereign Israeli territory and the disputed territories of the West Bank, ignoring the efficacy of controls that keep civilians from being murdered. 

The much criticised security barrier for example has been hugely successful in protecting civilians. In 2000, the Palestinian leadership launched a massive wave of suicide bombers into Israel, leading to more than 1,300 civilian deaths and 10,000 injuries. Since the erection of the barrier, these staggering statistics have been reduced to almost zero. 

Death Downtown. Israel needs a security wall to prevent massacres like this suicide bombing in August 2001 that killed 15 people and wounded more than 80 others at the Sbarro pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem. (photo credit: REUTERS)

The same can be explained about separate roads for Israelis of whatever culture or religion. After numerous attacks on Israeli motor vehicles, hitchhikers and civilians at bus stops, Israel responded to the incessant slaughter by creating  separate bypass roads, inspections of suspicious cars and revoking permission for family members of killers to work in Israel. This made it harder for Palestinian terrorists to treat pedestrian precincts as killing grounds. 

 
Rebuffing Peace

In the last 21 years alone, Palestinian Authority leaders rejected US and Israeli negotiation offers in 2000, 2001 and 2008 without proposing counter offers. The 2008 offer would have provided Palestinians with 93.7% of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), a capital in eastern Jerusalem, and land swaps for the remaining 6.3% of “West Bank” territory. That offer served as the basis for US proposals to restart negotiations in 2014 and 2016 — the latter made by then Vice President and today President of the USA –  Joe Biden.

All were rejected out-of-hand, despite the fact that the Oslo Accords, which created the PA, called for outstanding issues to be resolved through bilateral negotiations. As part of Oslo, Palestinian leaders around the table agreeing to peace and stability promised to “renounce the use of terrorism and other acts of violence”, and to amend the Palestinian National Charter, which denied Israel’s right to exist. This still remains part of the Hamas Covenant as well.

In major and purportedly detailed articles, foreign correspondents fail to detail any of the rejected peace offers. It is as if they never happened. Instead, they indulge in false equivalency, writing that “Top Biden aides have said they can’t pursue a peace deal when neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis appear ready for serious conversations.” Yet, as noted above, Israel has made serious proposals and as a gesture, halted all construction work in disputed territories. What did Abbas deliver? For ten months during which discussions were due to commence, the Palestinians refused to turn up.

The Apartheid Libel

The false Apartheid libel becomes even more offensive in the larger context of Apartheid practices that occur in the entire Middle East including in the Palestinian territories. For example, The PA has a law invoking the death penalty for selling land to Jews. The PA has declared that no Jew will be allowed to live in a future state of Palestine. On the other hand, Arabs, Muslims, Christians and all others across religious and cultural divides live, own property and work in Israel.

Sabreen Saadi became the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman to attain the rank of lieutenant in the Israel Police. Saadi comes from a traditional Muslim family in a Bedouin town in northern Israel. Since 2016, when the Israeli government established a special unit aimed at improving policing and security in the country’s Arab communities, more than 600 Arab men and 55 Arab women enlisted in the Israel Police. Eight new police stations were established in the Arab sector, with the intention of adding ten more. 

Arab countries with large Palestinian populations – notably Lebanon, Jordan and Syria  – practice statutory apartheid against Palestinians, including denying them the right to work in most professions, attaining citizenship, passports, education and freedom of movement.

Forgotten People. Unable to blame Israel, where were the cries of global anguish for the suffering of the Kurds following Turkish troops launching an attack on Kurdish northern Syria after US troops pulled out? (Photo. Ilyas Akengin)

In Saudi Arabia, non-Muslims are severely discriminated against by the government, yet those who accuse Israel of Apartheid seem never to complain about such official discrimination. And so it goes on. To any objective person it would be evident that many of the practices that characterized South African Apartheid while absent in Israel, are very much present in many of the Arab countries in the Middle East.

 
Over and above the strategy to delegitimise the only Jewish state and to hold it to different standards from the rest of the world, critics of Israel hide behind the argument that they are not antisemitic but “anti-Zionist”, all the while seeking to blur the distinction between the two concepts. They  disregard Jewish people’s right to self-determination, despite promoting their distorted definition of Zionism as an Apartheid system. Even more so, they seek to rewrite any manifestation of Jewish identity that does not fit their propaganda in which they align Jews with the South African Apartheid regime.

Hardly Apartheid. In 2020, Sergeant Sa’adi became the first Hijab wearing Muslim woman to attain the Rank of Lieutenant in the Israeli Police.

Those ostensibly supporting Palestinians, devalue their cause by quoting from propaganda and not from independent sources. One such independent source is Freedom House, which evaluates countries throughout the world and apportions a percentage score dependent on each country’s human rights performance. Israel scores 79%  despite facing constant terrorism and ranks above every country in the Middle East and North Africa, with Syria scoring a low of minus-one and Jordan a high of 37%. Israel’s record is better than South Africa’s 78% and just behind the USA at 86%.

Who Cared? With no Israel to blame, where was the UN, the international media and human rights NGOs when the Yazadis in Syria were fleeing for their lives from ISIS?

If the Palestinians were to use the billions they receive to build dams instead of attack tunnels, educational structures instead of colleges of hatred and indoctrination, water conservation infrastructure instead of rockets and other weaponry, Israel would be the first to offer a hand of friendship and cooperation. Proof of this are the 2020 Abraham Accords that is illuminating a new progressive direction in the Middle East.

New Directions. Following the 2020 Abraham Accords, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog (left), shakes hands with United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja during the opening ceremony for the new UAE Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

It is astonishing that 73 years after Ben-Gurion’s Declaration of Independence in 1948, a period that includes more than 16 wars, continuous terrorism, existential threats, refusals of neighbours to accept a Jewish State, BDS, Palestinian intransigence, global anti-Semitism, anti-Israel movements, UN bullying, media obsession, and the persistent antisemitism emanating from the recuring Durban Conferences, miniscule Israel is:

  • The 11th happiest country on Earth (beating the US, Germany, UK and of course South Africa),
  • The 4th best place on Earth to raise children.
  • Remains in 2021 the only democracy in the Middle East and a thriving place for minority groups.
  • Is a technological, water and medical superpower and has more start-up companies per capita than anywhere on earth that intricately affect our lives everywhere.

Israel has enriched the world in spite of adversity with the fruits of her innovation, and the world has thrived as a result.

There are those who say that they are “offended” by Israel’s actions. I too am “offended”, not by trumped up accusations of disrespect, but by beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public and private buildings, attacks on Westerners for the crime of drinking beer at their local pubs, suicide murders, murders of Christian priests in Middle Eastern countries, burning of Christian churches and Jewish Synagogues, the continued persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the imposition of Sharia law on non-Muslims and Muslims alike, the rape of Scandinavian girls and women and what we are witnessing tragically unfolding in Afghanistan today.

As countries gather for the UN World Conference Against Racism, one hopes that after 73 years, instead of conspiring to undermine the legitimacy of Israel  with false narratives, they instead embrace the Jewish people’s right to their ancestral homeland.



About the writer:

RODNEY MAZINTER, a Cape Town based writer, poet and author, who is involved in media activism on behalf of Israel. Past vice-chair of the South African Zionist Federation, Cape Council, he has held numerous leadership positions within a range of educational, sporting, secular and Jewish organisations. His novel “By A Mighty Hand” was favourably reviewed on Amazon. He has just finished writing the sequel called Ge’ula (Redemption).








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-29 August 2021

Unveiling the contours and contrasts of an ever-changing Middle East landscape

Reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond

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Striking Gold

Swimming Against The Current

In historic firsts, Lay Of The Land salutes Paralympic swimmers Iyad Shalabi who took gold in the 100m backstroke and Mark Malyar in the 200-meter medley. Born deaf-mute to a Muslim family from Shefara’am and paralyzed in all four limbs following an accident at age 13, Iyad is Israel’s first Arab Olympic medalist, while Haifa-born Mark with Cerebral Palsy, set in the medley a new world record.




Articles

(1)

Poles Apart

Cordial, if never sweet, Polish-Israeli relations have  assuredly soured

By Dr. Efraim Zuroff, chief Nazi-hunter of the Simon Wiesenthal Center

Poland vs Israel. Not seeing eye-to-eye, Polish President Andrzej Duda (left) and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

Despite impassioned appeals from Israel, Poland persistently proceeded with a statute restricting Jews from recovering their rightfully-owned property looted in World War II. With Israel responding by labelling the decision “unethical and antisemitic”, the writer and internationally renowned Holocaust historian, peels off the layers of a complicated relationship whose future now lies uncertain.

Poles Apart

(Click on the blue title)



(2)

Sweet Surrender

Israelis get their just desserts

By David E. Kaplan

Taste of Israel. Tempting, tantalising and tasty, Israeli desserts that will satisfy your sweet tooth.

From the 19th century to the present, enjoy an illuminating and mouthwatering tour, sampling some of Israel’s most irresistible dessert treats from Baklava to Knafeh and discover the sweet side of Israeli cuisine.

Sweet Surrender

(Click on the blue title)



(3)

Ruth’s Roots Revealed

By Adv. Craig Snoyman

Homeward Bound. A woman’s journey across land and time.

In 2016 a solitary, single, slightly tired woman arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa from Zimbabwe with no family or friends and no more than a suitcase, a small amount of money and gaps in her past that she was determined to fill. This is her journey of personal discovery.

Ruth’s Roots Revealed

(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- 23-26 August 2021

The Israel Brief – 23 August 2021 – Riots on Gaza border. Bennett to present Biden with plan on Iran. HRW say Israeli bombing of media house in May broke international law. Communal Shabbat in Bahrain.




The Israel Brief – 24 August 2021 – IDF strike targets in response to incendiary balloons. PA arrests 30 protesters. UNHRC Chief says Taliban committing human rights abuse. Avera Mengistu, 7th birthday in captivity.




The Israel Brief – 25 August 2021 – PM Bennett arrives in Washington. Historic gold for Israel. Morocco and Algeria sever ties but why involve Israel?




The Israel Brief – 26 August 2021 – Israel eases restrictions on Gaza. Productive meetings for PM Bennett in the US. Afghanistan updates.






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).

Ruth’s Roots Revealed

By Adv. Craig Snoyman

In September 2016 a solitary, single, slightly tired woman arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa. She did  not find the streets  paved with gold, nor were the people particularly friendly. With no family or friends, or even acquaintances, she has arrived in xenophobic South Africa with little fanfare and no more than a suitcase, a small amount of money and bucket-loads of grit and determination.

She made her way to the room that she had found on the internet and rented.  This too, did not match what had been advertised. The room formed part of a larger house that was sub-let to  other tenants as well.  A small , grubby dingy room with a communal toilet and kitchen, substantially misrepresented by the photos that appeared on the website, was to be her new home for the  immediate future. Not even having unpacked, she took a walk to the corner cafe,  bought some cleaning detergent and got down to work, scrubbing down her room and the toilet. She was determined to make the best of whatever hurdles confronted her.

She was different from the other Zimbabweans. She was not an economic migrant. She was here for a higher purpose. She was here to convert to Judaism. For someone who knew nothing about Johannesburg, the area  in which she had  selected to live was slightly out of the more heavily populated Jewish suburbs, but it was within easy  walking distance of  an orthodox shul. This had been her priority.

 Ruth (not her real name) had been in contact with the Union of Orthodox Synagogues  of South Africa. She had been told that there were inadequate facilities in Zimbabwe for her to convert. If she wanted to convert, she would have to do this in South Africa. So she gave up her comfortable life in an affluent area of Harare  and came to stay in the heart  of  the unknown, dangerous Johannesburg.

It was about two weeks after she arrived that I first met Ruth. It was on a Friday night, when walking back from shul. By coincidence, I had gone to that shul to make a minyon (required quorum of ten Jewish male adults). She was a new face in the congregation.  The congregation is small and even with a mechitzah (participation separating men and women), you couldn’t really miss her.  It is a very small congregation, usually all male,  Ashkenazi and (to be politically incorrect) all white.

Ruth, the only woman present, was none of the above.

After the service, she was walking home with the head of security and headed in the same direction as me. The Security head asked me to walk her home as she lived only a few houses away from me, in the same street. With little further ado, she came to our Shabbas table and revealed to us the amazing story behind her desire to convert. 

Ruth had grown up in one of the leafy green suburbs in Harare,  part of a close-knit family. She had cared for her grandmother during her illness, but it was only on her deathbed, that her mother told Ruth that her grandfather was Jewish. Ruth was stunned!

And so began the investigation. Ruth’s aunt (her mother’s sister) had also been aware of the secret but had been sworn to secrecy. She told Ruth what she knew. Her grandfather was a well-known Jewish merchant who lived in a small town in the southern part  of Rhodesia. She knew his name and she knew the name of the shop that he owned. Ruth went to  the town to see what she could find out.  However, this small outpost no longer had a Jewish community,  and the trail ran cold.  She had made various inquiries over the past ten years, including approaching Africa’s travelling rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Silverhaft, but had come no closer to discovering the truth.

Rabbi Moshe Silverhaft

What remained unsaid, but what all of us realised, was that we were talking about colonial Rhodesia and love across the colour line was absolutely taboo at the time. Had anyone been aware of what had happened it would have resulted in a scandal that might well have ruined this man’s  reputation and certainly his livelihood.

Rhodesia, today Zimbabwe in the early 1900s.

Her interest in Judaism had been sparked  and she embarked on a course of discovery to learn more about Judaism and to discover more about her Jewish roots. The course of this road led to a trip to Israel, accompanied by her daughter.  She had done some studying in Israel but wasn’t really ready to proceed further. She returned to Zimbabwe and resumed her life. Her daughter remained in Israel, converted, married, and is living in Israel.

Some years had passed, she was now more settled and had decided to  proceed on her journey. It was now time for her to convert.

It was a  coincidence that she had chosen to come to South Africa to convert. It was a coincidence that she had chosen to rent accommodation in the same street in which we live. It was a coincidence  that I had gone to that shul that night. It was a coincidence that Ruth had accepted our Shabbas meal invitation. By a further  coincidence,  the only Zimbabwean that we knew, just happened to be Jewish. Coincidently, he also just happened to have grown up in that very town where her grandfather had lived. He  just happened to be the son of the reverend who conducted the religious services in the small town, where everybody knew everybody. As the son of the “makulu-baas” (the big boss) of the Jewish community in the town, if anybody had any information about that time, it would be him.  Further coincidently, he and his family just happened to be living around the corner from us. Again, just by coincidence, he had not severed his relationship with Zimbabwe when he emigrated, regularly returning  to Zimbabwe  on business.

And so Ruth was introduced to Boaz, who after hearing two sentences from Ruth, completed the description of the shop, the shops next to her grandfather’s shop as well as a general description of the town. He also  knew who presently owned  the shop.  More importantly, he remembered  her grandfather!

Opening a book entitled “Famous Jews of Rhodesia”, Boaz directed Ruth’s attention to a potted biography of her grandfather, together with  a picture of him.  After ten years of dead-ends, it took only  two weeks in South Africa for her grandfather to be revealed to her.

Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi) – Jewish Community exploring project

A few weeks after Ruth’s initial shock, Boaz  went on a business trip to Zimbabwe and took Ruth to visit the gravesite of her grandfather.

Arriving as a stranger in a strange land, Ruth has now learned of her past, formed a durable support base and having spent five tough years following the long, winding, and difficult road to an Orthodox conversion. This morning she went  to the mikveh  and participated in small socially distanced  se’udah (festive meal). In a touching gesture, when she announced her new Hebrew name, she had also adopted her grandfather’s surname. Her long  road continues to wind its way, leading to Jerusalem.

In her process of conversion, Ruth would follow in a 3,500 year tradition of observant Jewish women immersing themselves in a ritual purification bath (mikveh).

The unspoken,  but  equally incredible part of the story is about her grandfather. He was by all accounts a very prominent member of the Jewish community. He held national congregational  office and was married to his wife for many years. He and his wife never had children. In Ruth’s own small way, the stone that was rejected has become the cornerstone. She is now a proud Jewess; she has a son that has converted recently at his yeshiva in Israel and soon to be married. She also has a wonderful Kibutznik daughter and son-in-law with two beautiful grandchildren. Her family is  a shoot that   has  grown  from the stump of Zimbabwean Jewry, it is  a branch that has borne new fruit.    

 “Isn’t it wonderful,” says Ruth, “how Hashem reveals the jigsaw pieces and lets us put them together, for us to create our own puzzle.”



About the writer:

Craig Snoyman is a practising advocate in South Africa.




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).

Sweet Surrender

Israelis get their just desserts

By David E. Kaplan

Anguishing over the news on TV from Afghanistan to Covid,  this writer needed a trip to the kitchen on a quest for a sweet diversion.  It inspired this article.

It is a universally acknowledged truth that however full after the main course there is always room for a dessert. Of course, the more prudent might dispute this and feel the need to either eat less or dispense with one course altogether.

Admittedly these are tough choices!

Will one skip the hors d’oeuvre or soup to make room for a dessert?

Interestingly, the ‘last course’ or what should be cuisine’s curtain call, its place in history was little more of an ‘afterthought’.

Ask Le French  – the folk who first transformed sweets into an elaborate post-meal extravaganza and remain today’s undisputed world title holders of cuisine. The word “dessert” is derived from the French infinitive desservir, meaning “to clear away” as from a table.

Puddings from the Past

In Israel, desserts or “sweets” as some refer to it, have come a long way since Hannah Barnett-Trager, an English visitor to Palestine in the 19th century observed how families in Jerusalem would bring their pre-baked traditional cakes to a large communal oven usually not far from a synagogue. “Each family sends cakes in its own tins to be baked in it. Generally, about half a dozen tins are carried by each boy. Nothing I have seen before can be compared with the many kinds of delicious cakes and “stuffed monkeys” (English Jewish almond pastries) that are seen here. My mouth waters even when I think of the delicious strudels filled with sesames and plenty of raisins!”

Palestinian Palette. In writing ‘Pioneers in Palestine’ during the early 20th century,  Hannah Barnett-Trager had plenty of opportunity to ‘tuck in’ and get a ‘taste’ of local cuisine.

In writing her ‘Pioneers in Palestine’  – a memoir covering the foundation of the city of Petah Tikva, and other aspects of the period including a description of young women campaigning in 1886 for the right to vote, Barnett-Trager had plenty of opportunity to ‘tuck in’ and get a real ‘taste’ of the Palestinian palette.

Following independence in 1948, the situation in the new State of Israel was tough. In just three and a half years, the Jewish population had doubled, and Israel’s first government was compelled to introduce rationing. During this period known as the Tzena (Hebrew for austerity), Israelis – still without personal ovens, and compounded by the scarcity of ingredients – would exercise ingenuity in creating desserts. They would concoct sweets like aknacknick (salami) of cocoa, crushed vanilla wafers, wine, and nuts rolled together, refrigerated, and then cut into slices.

Another culinary trick was to substitute peanuts for the costlier walnuts and almonds in their tortes (multi-layered cakes), with powdered eggs replacing fresh eggs in delicacies like cream puffs.

Since those austere days, desserts have emerged as an Israeli meal’s ‘Jewel in the Crown’ – works of culinary art where pastry or dessert chefs are free to run wild and express themselves with an abundance of creativity tantalising the eye as much as satiating the tongue.

A Load of Waffle

When I emigrated to Israel well over three decades ago, one of the desserts I missed most was the – the waffle. Totally at variance with its other meaning of – “to talk or write a lot without saying anything important or interesting”, the waffle, on the contrary, for ‘sweet-toothers’ like myself, is most “important” and much more than simply “interesting”, so I welcomed with most Israelis its Aliyah (Hebrew: immigration to Israel) and its increased popularity.  One food critic described this trend as such:

 “It is a lesser known fact but the Belgian waffle has become a classic comfort food in Israel.”

All Tantalising. There is nothing typical about a waffle in Israel – there are so many variations with the one common thread – they are all delicious.

In Jerusalem alone there are several eateries that specialize in waffles, such as the Waffle Bar, Barbette and Waffle Factory.

Today, the toppings for waffles in Israel are vast and various. For me the waffle at ‘Shenkin Bar’ in Ra’anana is sheer magic. It is large – a very good start; it has an abundance of delicious soft serve and cream – totally on the right track; and topped with Israel’s best yummy fruit!

While Israelis enjoy most the traditional overseas desserts like waffles and another favorite import like Crème brûlée, the prevailing palette has evolved with variations reflecting the local culture.

Tel Aviv Temptations. An array of baklava at a market in Tel Aviv.

Bite into Baklava

There is a strong tradition of home baking in Israel arising from the years when there were very few bakeries to meet demand. Many professional bakers came to Israel from Central Europe and founded local pastry shops and bakeries, often called konditoria, thus shaping local tastes and preferences. There is now a local style with a wide selection of cakes and pastries that includes influences from other cuisines and combines traditional European ingredients with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ingredients, such as halva, phyllo pastry, dates, and rose water.

Most popular is Baklava, a nut-filled phyllo pastry sweetened with syrup and served in Jewish communities who originated in the Middle East. It is often served in restaurants as dessert along with small cups of Turkish coffee.

Cuisine Consensus. Aboulafia bakery in Jaffa  is a Mecca for those with a sweet tooth.

Dozens of Israeli bakeries boast the best baklava, however Zalatimo’s Bakery in the Old City of Jerusalem, which opened in 1860 is believed to be the oldest operating baklava bakery in the world. According to freelance journalist Viva Sarah Press, it is hailed by everyone from the man-on-the-street to culinary cognoscenti as “the place to bite into a warm, hand-thrown wad of phyllo pastry soaked in sugar syrup.” The head baker, Abu Samir Zalatimo, relies on a secret family recipe to prepare the dish for which his place is famous, a deliciously sweet Palestinian phyllo pastry known as mutabak.

Marvelous Malabi. Enjoy the flavours of rose and pistachio in this light Israeli Malabi, common at many Israeli weddings as a dessert.

The Proof is in the Pudding

As with many Middle Eastern foods, Israelis have taken the dessert “muhalllabia” and made it their own, even changing the name to “malabi”. Probably hailing from Turkey, malabi is a milky pudding thickened with rice – or more commonly in Israel, cornstarch – flavoured with vanilla and rosewater and topped with sugary syrup – often containing more rosewater.

Most wedding receptions in Israel include Malibi amongst its desserts but it is also sold as a street food from stalls in disposable cups with thick sweet syrup and various crunchy toppings such as chopped pistachios or coconut.

Its popularity has resulted in supermarkets selling it in plastic packages and restaurants serving richer and more sophisticated versions using various toppings and garnishes such as berries and fruit. 

Love or hate it, every Israeli is familiar with malabi.

Heavenly Halva

For those in search of a unique dairy dessert, Halva parfait is an Israeli dessert of halva suspended in cream and egg yolk. So embedded today in the local cuisine culture, the recipe even appears on the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. It is justifiably part of Israel’s global outreach.

Visitor’s Delight. A halva vendor in Tel Aviv’s Shuk HaNamal (The port). Made from tehina and sugar, halva is used to make original desserts like halva parfait (Photo by Chameleon’s Eye/Shutterstock.com)

The creation of Israeli chefs Tsachi and Linda Buchester, it has been widely copied both in Israel and abroad. It is like an ice scream, cold and creamy with a distinct flavour of sesame. If you enjoy halvah and tahini, you will enjoy this dessert. Even if you are not a halvah fan, you will more than likely delight in the cold creameries of this unusually-flavoured frozen confection. In the words of the Foreign Ministry:

Just call it ‘Israeli Frozen Parfait’ and serve it with a few bright-colored berries and some whipped cream and it will be a big hit.”

How’s this for sweet soothing Israeli diplomacy?

Cream of the Crop

A popular dessert in Israel as an alternative to ice cream is Krembo.

The Krembo has gained a cultural standing and has been referenced in literature, film, and popular music as a quintessential Israeli snack food.

Back in November 2015, Israel took a sweet approach to International Relations when its officials handed out Krembo marshmallow treats to passengers on a  Royal Jordanian  Dubai flight that made an emergency landing at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Soft Landing. Setting the scene for a future peace accord, seen here in November 2015, Israeli security officers holding boxes of Krembo ( chocolate-covered marshmallow candy) and striding towards a Royal Jordanian flight on the tarmac of the Ben-Gurion Airport that was forced to make an emergency landing in Israel.

Who knows, this might have sweetened the deal that was to follow – The Abraham Accords.

It has a biscuit base, marshmallow center and thin chocolate shell and comes in two flavours, each with its own wrapping: blue for vanilla-flavoured marshmallow and brown for mocha-flavoured marshmallow.

In Hebrew, the word krembo is a combination of krem (cream) and bo (in it). According to a study funded by Strauss, Israel’s leading krembo producer, 69% of Israelis prefer to eat krembos from the top down (starting with the cream), and only 10% start with the biscuit at the bottom; the rest had no preference. From whichever direction Israelis assault their krembos, the result is always the same – their hands reflexively reaching out for next one!

Sweetie Pies. For sweet lovers, Israel’s Beloved Chocolate-Coated krembo.

Sweet Dreams

No meal is complete at any Arab restaurant in Israel without Knafeh made from mild white cheese topped with a crispy layer of shredded wheat, and covered with sugar syrup. Though knafeh is widely regarded as an Arab dish, it is today also part of Israel’s culinary DNA and a popular dessert at Jewish as much as Arab weddings.  One of Israeli-songwriter Ehud Banai’s classic songs is called “Ha-knafeh metuka”, meaning “the knafeh is sweet.” The song waxes nostalgic about Jerusalem’s Old City, where you can easily stumble upon giant copper trays serving bright-orange knafeh, which is served warm with the cheese half-melted, accompanied by a tiny cup of strong Turkish coffee.

Craving for Knafeh. Originating from the Palestinian streets of Nablus in the early part of the last century, Knafeh today is a staple for all good occasions Jews and Arabs alike.
 

The Milky Way

There is not a child in Israel that is not familiar with the dairy pudding Milky. Produced by Strauss, Israel’s largest food and beverage company, Milky is claimed to be the most successful dairy product on the Israeli market since its debut in 1980 and is sold in small containers with chocolate pudding on the bottom and whipped cream on the top.

Its early TV commercials in the late 1980s, it featured a young kid, Bar Refaeli, who would emerge an international model, film star and more recently, host on The X Factor Israel. Both Bar and Milky made it to the top.

Creamy Combination. Despite its long history, Milky’s secret and magic have not diminished remaining the perfect combination of chocolate and whipped cream

Love at first Bite

For Israeli culinary guide Judith S. Goldstein, “A great meal doesn’t feel complete without dessert.” Poetically, she elaborates:

Skipping dessert after an amazing meal is like going on a perfect date and not getting a kiss at the end of the night to seal the deal.”

So, to our overseas visitors in a post Covid world, we have some “dates” lined up for you!

Israel is a passionate country and when it comes to desserts, resistance is futile!





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).

Poles Apart

Cordial, if never sweet, Polish-Israeli relations have  assuredly soured

By Dr. Efraim Zuroff, chief Nazi-hunter of the Simon Wiesenthal Center

The restitution of Jewish property in Eastern Europe has never been a topic of any great interest to the wider public, even in Israel, and has very rarely received serious media attention. Until now!

During the past several weeks, a bill passed initially in the Polish Sejm (Parliament) and Senate, and signed into law on August 14 by President Andrzej Duda, has sparked an extremely heated controversy which is seriously  threatening the future of Polish-Israeli relations, which had been quite cordial since Poland’s transition from Communism to Democracy. The law in question does not specifically mention Jews, or the Holocaust, or World War II, but in practical terms makes it almost impossible for Holocaust survivors to be able to reclaim their pre-World War II property or obtain commensurate compensation, even if they have already filed the appropriate claims in a Polish court.

President Duda justified the passage of the bill by pointing to the fact that there had been numerous cases of fictitious claims and that criminals had been able to unjustly obtain property that had never belonged to them, resulting in the ejection of “tens of thousands of people being thrown onto the pavement.” In his words, “re-privatization to restore justice became almost synonymous with injustice and human harm.” In that respect, it is important to mention that the bill was passed by a huge majority in both the Sejm and the Senate, and was fully supported not only by the government coalition, but by the opposition as well. Undoubtedly, part of that support stemmed from economic factors, given the large number of properties owned by Jews in prewar Poland, especially in urban centers.

True Colours Exposed. Polish President Andrzej Duda(left) who signed the law in early August  limiting claims to property seized by the Nazis and later by Poland’s communist government, and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid who rebuked this decision, labeling it as “unethical and antisemitic”.(Getty)

Israeli officials were already aware of the seriously negative implications of the bill for the efforts to achieve restitution (or compensation) for Jewish-owned property before the votes in the Sejm and Senate. Israeli chargé d’affairs Tal Ben-Ari Yaalon gave an impassioned speech to the joint  Senate committees before the vote was taken, in which she emphasized Israel’s obligation to “give a voice to Holocaust survivors and their descendants…who have the right, historically, morally, and legally to present their claims and to receive the compensation they deserve for their property.” Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears, and the support for the bill was overwhelming, which prompted strong criticism from the U.S. government and international Jewish organizations, but especially from Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. He not only called the bill “unethical and antisemitic”, but also instructed the new Israeli ambassador to Poland to remain in Israel in the meantime, immediately recalled our Chargé d’Affairs, in Warsaw for indefinite consultations, and suggested that the Polish ambassador to Israel remain on vacation in Poland. In his words, “This time should be used to explain to the people of Poland the meaning of the Holocaust to the citizens of Israel, and the extent to which we will refuse to tolerate any contempt for the memory of the Holocaust and its victims.”

Needless to say, Lapid’s harsh attack on the Polish government did not go unanswered. In an obvious response, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pavel Jablonski told journalists this  on August 16 that the government was “reviewing” the trips to Poland of Israeli high school students, approximately 40,000 of whom travel annually to Poland for Holocaust study trips and visits to sites of ghettoes and death camps under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Education. Jablonski called the trips “propaganda” – an unequivocal insult to the manner in which Israeli schools teach the Shoah.

No Entry. In retaliation to Israel’s opposition to the bill, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński (above) says his country is weighing the future of Holocaust education trips for Israeli youth to Poland. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

At this point, it is not exactly clear how this crisis in Israeli-Polish relations will be resolved, but in order to understand its roots and causes, we have to return to a somewhat similar, previous dispute between the two countries over a law passed in Poland in 2018, which also aroused considerable anger and indignation in Israel. The so-called “Holocaust bill” criminalized use of the term “Polish death camps”, as well as any attempt to attribute Holocaust crimes to the Polish state. And while the first part of the bill was in fact justified, because it was the Germans who built the death camps in Poland, and the only Poles in death camps (Auschwitz and Majdanek) were inmates not collaborating perpetrators, the second clause was a brazen attempt to whitewash the widespread participation of individual Poles in Holocaust crimes. Negotiations between Polish and Israeli officials and historians led to a very bad compromise signed by former Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Polish counterpart, which was strongly criticized by Yad Vashem, because it appeared to accept the Polish narrative of World War II and the Shoah, which promoted the canard of equivalency between Polish participation in Holocaust crimes and assistance by Poles in rescuing Jews from the Nazis, when in fact the number of Poles guilty of the former, surpassed those who rescued Jews many times over.

Death and Destruction. Whatever became of the property of this group of Polish Jews being led away by German SS soldiers during the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943? Poland passes bill cancelling all claims of ownership of property if 30 years have elapsed since the confiscation. (AP Photo)

Thus the heart of the debate between Poles and Jews over Holocaust-related issues is the false narrative of the events of 1939-1945. The Polish narrative is primarily one of their own undisputed suffering under the Nazis, with little room or empathy for that of their Jewish neighbours and fellow citizens. Poland was one of the most antisemitic countries, if not THE most antisemitic country in Eastern Europe prior to World War II, and the estimated figure by reputable Polish historians, such as Jan Grabowski and Barbara Engelking, of approximately 200,000 Jews murdered directly by Poles, or turned over by Poles to the Nazis to be killed during the Holocaust is a clear manifestation of that animus. The fact that Poland’s suffering under the Nazis has not received the same treatment as that of Jewish Holocaust victims further complicates the situation.

In Jeopardy. Will Poland stop the annual Holocaust education trips of Israeli high schoolers visiting Nazi death camps like the concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau (see above)?

This situation, it must be noted, is not unique to Poland. Practically every post-Communist democracy in Eastern Europe has created a fake narrative of their Holocaust history, primarily to hide the important role played by their nationals in Holocaust crimes, and to promote the canard of equivalency between Nazi and Communist crimes, which they insist constitute genocide. These measures are all being taken  in order to emphasize their suffering under Communism and deflect attention from their Holocaust crimes. While the Nazis were able to enlist helpers in every country which they occupied or with whom they had an alliance, only in Eastern Europe did collaboration with the Nazis include participation in systematic mass murder of Jews. Until now, the policy of the previous Israeli governments was to ignore these lies, in order to maintain friendly relations with the countries of Eastern Europe, although the fake narrative created by these countries was an unforgivable insult to the victims, their families and the entire Jewish people. The new policy by Foreign Minister Lapid is a welcome and necessary change, but ultimately we will have to enter into serious dialogue with our Eastern European friends to convince them that telling the truth about their role in the Holocaust will ultimately be most beneficial to them and their citizens.


About the writer:

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Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff is the chief Nazi-hunter of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the director of the Center’s Israel Office and Eastern European Affairs. His most recent book, with Lithuanian author Ruta Vanagaite, is Our People; Discovering Lithuania’s Hidden Holocaust (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020) which deals with Holocaust distortion in Lithuania.


For further information on this issue  and on Holocaust distortion in Eastern Europe, please visit www.swcjerusalem.org and www.wiesenthal.com





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-22 August 2021

Unveiling the contours and contrasts of an ever-changing Middle East landscape

Reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond

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Afghanistan

Darkness Descends  

As we bear witness to fleeing Afghans, Lay Of The Land joins in the campaign in raising awareness of the plight of an entire captive population – particularly its most vulnerable women and girls –  as human rights are subjugated under the tyranny of terror.




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What’s happening in Israel today?  See from every Monday – Thursday LotL’s “The Israel Brief” broadcasts and on our Facebook page and  YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station  WINA, broadcasting out of Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

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Articles

(1)

Kabul Falls, Jerusalem Beware

A cautionary tale of trust and mistrust

By David E. Kaplan

Countdown to Chaos. Biden speaks in April 2021 about the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

As a US president that prides himself on his foreign policy experience, can Israel  – in the wake of the US Afghan debacle – henceforth trust President Biden’s stewardship in his obsessional pursuit of reviving the JCPOA  and removing the strategically-structured sanction regime imposed on Iran?

Kabul Falls, Jerusalem Beware

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(2)

A Cry for the Women of Afghanistan

Swift pullout leaves a human catastrophe in wake of Taliban takeover

By Rolene Marks

Faceless Future. Covered head-to-toe, women will again have to adjust to armed enforcement of their lives.

As an Israeli woman enjoying the freedoms of movement, right to vote, own property, pursue an education and a career and make decisions governing her body, the writer reflects of the restrictive future for Afghan women who have been silenced and are now voiceless.

A Cry for the Women of Afghanistan

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(3)

History Is A Cruel Teacher

Jews have had to learn to rely on themselves

By Justin Amler

Back to the Bad Old Days? The leadership that will determine the future of 38 million lives.

With the US leaving behind a terrified populace facing a frightening future, there is a sobering lesson in the  rapid fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban. For the nation state of the Jewish People, it’s a timely reminder that Jews can only rely on themselves.

History Is A Cruel Teacher

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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- 16-19 August 2021

The Israel Brief – 16 August 2021 – Hamas fire rocket – emboldened by Taliban? Diplomatic spat between Israel and Poland widens. Fires around Jerusalem. Israel sends aid to Haiti.




The Israel Brief – 17 August 2021 – Biden addresses the nation. will Poland stop Holocaust education trips for Israeli teens? Fires around Jerusalem.




The Israel Brief – 18 August 2021 – The Taliban give their first press conference but do we believe a word they say? Why has Israel not responded to the rocket fired? Update on fires.




The Israel Brief – 19 August 2021 – Bennett to meet Biden, invited to meet Sisi. Jewish orgs weigh in on Afghanistan. Historical moment for LGBTQ+ community in Israel.







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

A Cry for the Women of Afghanistan

The swift pullout of allied troops leaves a human catastrophe in its wake as the Taliban take over Afghanistan.

By Rolene Marks

For a brief moment in time, the people of Afghanistan had hope. The presence of allied troops in their beleaguered country, sworn to fight the war on terror and topple the oppressive, fundamentalist Taliban meant that the Afghan people could envision a future for themselves, they could have agency again and the most important, women and young girls could feel more safe, they could have access to education again and they could be treated as human beings.

This all came to a crushing halt as over a matter of days, the Taliban swept through the country, taking territory after territory until the capital, Kabul fell into their control. The former President, Gharni, fled and the images of the Americans hastily evacuating their embassy will now live on as a new day of infamy. The speed and haste of retreat was staggering and many compared it to images of the USA retreating from Saigon during the Vietnam War.

Traumatised by Taliban. Prepared to go to any lengths to escape,  horrific scenes as people fall from a plane in Kabul in bid to escape the Taliban.

The enduring image for me is the footage of human beings falling to certain death as they lose their grip on the landing gear of the airplanes they cling to as the plane climbs in altitude. This shows me the desperation and lengths that people will go, to escape what we all know will be a brutal future – if they are not caught first. It reminded me of those awful images from 9/11, when people jumped to their death out of the burning towers to avoid being incinerated. The irony is that the war on terror started with those images and came to an end in Afghanistan with eerie similarities.

In the wake of the fall of Kabul, the situation for women has deteriorated rapidly and is getting worse by the day. Prominent women have had their homes or business daubed with paint by the Taliban so that they are easily identified, female journalists have been taken off air and axed, rape squads roam the streets and there have been reports of Taliban men going from house to house, rounding up young girls to become sex slaves or wives for their “fighters”. It is a human rights catastrophe.

Homira Rezai, who grew up in the war-torn country until she was 13 and now lives in Dudley, described how the militants were already drawing up lists of women to target for future punishments.

Fear for the Future. Women in Afghanistan face an uncertain future

She told BBC Women’s Hour:

Just an hour ago, I received an update from Kabul where they are going house to house searching for women who were activists, women who were bloggers, Youtubers, any women who had a role in the development of civil society in Afghanistan.

“They are going door to door targeting those women and marking the doors with bright pink or bright-coloured paint to ensure ‘this is the house we need to come back to and do something about them‘.”

Afghan women, girls fear return to ‘dark days’ as Taliban enter Kabul 

I am watching Afghanistan with a broken heart. I am a woman, who enjoys all the freedoms and privileges that we women in western culture often take for granted. I live in Israel, a tiny spot of hope in a neighbourhood where many of our sisters in Gaza, Syria, Iran and other places don’t enjoy the freedoms that I do. I have the right to vote, enjoy the freedom of movement, own property, make decisions that govern my body, pursue education and a career and so much more. I can use my voice, as loud and as often as I want – and I think of the Afghan women who are now voiceless and who have been silenced.

I am watching Afghanistan like so many of you are, with a broken heart. I cannot help but think of the young girls forced to marry against their will, some as young as 12-years-old. They have barely begun to understand the changes in their bodies, how will they cope with the advances of men who will treat them as their property? I think of the brave, brilliant females now robbed of the right to an education. I think of Afghanistan’s first female Mayor, Zarifa Ghafari who said she is now waiting for militants to come and kill her.

Living in Fear. Afghanistan’s first female mayor, Zarifa Ghafari is now fearing for her life with the Taliban takeover.

Ghafari, told media on Sunday:

I’m sitting here waiting for them to come. There is no one to help me or my family. I’m just sitting with them and my husband. And they will come for people like me and kill me. I can’t leave my family.”

I also have tremendous sorrow for the brave men and women of the armed forces who served so valiantly. Many paid the ultimate sacrifice and many have been wounded, carrying the wounds of war on their bodies and deep in their souls. Was their sacrifice, their fight in vain?  I think of the thousands of workers translators, embassy staff and others who helped allied powers in the region and are now left to their own devices and certain harm from Taliban militia.

Afghanistan’s last Jew Zebulon Simentov decides to stay on amid humanitarian crisis. Kabul Crisis.

I have watched as our neighbours and sworn enemy, Hamas, congratulated the Taliban who declared the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” with gleeful celebration of their “victory over America”. I am reminded of how grateful I am that despite global indignation, Israel can defend itself; our country against a regime that aligns itself with the Taliban.

Dark Days Revisited. Women’s rights activist, Zarmina Kakar cries during an interview with AP in Kabul where she recounts as a child when her mother took her out to buy her ice cream, back when the Taliban ruled the first time and her mother was whipped by a Taliban fighter for revealing her face for only a few minutes. “Today again, I feel we will return back to the same dark days.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

The withdrawal of the USA and other allied troops empowers other terror groups like Al Qaeda, Al Shabab, Hamas and many others.

The response of the social media activists, the Squad, talk show hosts and many others who were very vocal during Israel’s defensive operation against Hamas in May, has been staggering silence. World leaders and institutions like the United Nations and New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern appealed to the Taliban to respect human rights. The Taliban claim to have “changed” and want international recognition but their actions of the last few days speak louder than placating tones for media consumption.

There will be reams of analysis written about what went wrong. We will debate over who is to blame politically for years to come. We will discuss this decision which will leave a human catastrophe in its wake.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we will count the toll of the human cost of the last two decades and wonder if history will repeat itself.

I watch Afghanistan with a broken heart and I feel powerless watching the unfolding human tragedy. We cannot be silent for who will tell their story if not we?



Afghanistan’s first female mayor, Zarifa Ghafari waits for the Taliban to kill her.






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).