The Israel Brief – 11 April 2022 – Israel cracks down on terror following another attack. Tomb of Joseph desecrated twice in 2 days. Palestinian woman killed after charging at soldiers. President Herzog chats to Eytan Stibbe in space.
The Israel Brief – 12 April 2022 – IDF troops clash with Palestinians in Jenin. Republican Senators draft bill to with hold funding from Amnesty International. Essawi Frej in Kosovo. Ukrainian barmitzvahs at Kotel.
The Israel Brief – 13 April 2022 –Heavy clashes as Tomb of Joseph renovated. Cyber Unit reports 800% increase in online incitement. Chinese gift controversy – storm in a coffee cup? Update from space.
The Israel Brief – 14 April 2022 –Clashes between Palestinians and Security forces. Turkish FM on relations with Israel. Pres Herzog hosts Iftar. Israel prepares for Pesach.
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).
From a people to a nation we relive the long journey to freedom
By Justin Amler
The greatest story in history is upon once again.
And oh… what a story it is.
It is a story about a people who went from slavery to freedom, from hopelessness to belief, from an uncertain future to one filled with destiny.
It is a story about courage, about faith, about belief and about miracles – one that took the natural order of life and flipped it around.
And even though many others will try to culturally appropriate it, as they do with everything else about us, and claim it’s about all humankind, it was and is and remains a quintessential Jewish story.
For it is our story – perhaps our greatest story – of a time when we grew from a people into a nation.
About 3500 years ago, we were slaves in Egypt, condemned to a life of hardship and bondage, a seemingly bleak existence. And if it wasn’t for the actions of one man, guided by God, the story of the Jewish people might have ended right there.
But it didn’t end.
Instead, it led to the greatest adventure in all of Jewish history – an adventure continuing today.
And through all the wanderings in the desert, the many miracles Hashem performed, the gift of the Ten Commandments, and of course the ultimate return to our land of Israel – where we remain today.
Pesach is a story of such inspiration, because although thousands of years have passed, we continue to celebrate it as if it just happened.
And in a way it did. Because every single moment of every single day, Jews continue to fight for their homeland, their identity, their culture, and their history. And we have to fight, because every single moment of every single day there are those who continue to try take it from us, to uproot us from our land, to appropriate our history as if it’s their own, to rob us of our past, of our stories, of our nationhood and of our identity.
We cannot afford to remain silent.
But the Jews, while few in number, are a strong people whose foundations are built on stronger things than crumbling empires and dusty buildings. Our foundations are built on almost 4000 years of a promise, of a mission, and of a shared destiny among us.
And even though there are some, even among us, who continue to try spread division through arbitrary things like skin colour and food, they will fail in the end, because we, as a people, are far stronger than the petty divisiveness they sow.
When we left Egypt, we were not white or black or brown and we were not Mizrachi or Ashkenazim or any other designated identity that some are overly obsessed about these days.
We were Israelites.
We were Jews.
We were a people forged in the sands of time and held together by a promise of a God we could not see – a promise without an expiry date. A promise that, despite the many differing views among us, has held us together.
We don’t need to get ‘woke,’ because we’ve been awake for a very long time.
So, on this Pesach and on every other day, let’s celebrate our freedom, our history, our culture and all the things that make us who we are.
In this world in which we are constantly under attack, let’s stand together and keep our Jewish identity alive, for it is one we should all hold onto proudly.
About the writer:
Justin Amler is a noted South African-born, Australia-based writer and commentator on international issues affecting Israel and the Jewish world.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
From messaging to targeting – Jews in the firing line
By David E. Kaplan
Its hunting season – and the prey are Jews!
Hardly a day goes by that Jews around the world – and over the last month on streets across Israel – are not in the deadly ‘crosshairs’ of some raving antisemite or raging jihadist terrorist.
Last Thursday there was blood on Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Street with three young Israelis shot dead at a popular pub; and several days ago there was a knife attack – thankfully not fatal – in the port city of Ashkelon.
Should we be surprised?
Sadly no when a soundtrack of hate against Jews is being played over and over by murderous messages ranging from ‘finishing Hitler’s job’ to doing ‘God’s work’.
FROM THE DEVIL TO THE DIVINE
So who are the “VOICES” sending these messages?
Crazed Cleric. Considered one of the most influential Islamic scholars of his generation, the preeminent Egyptian scholar Yusuf Al-Qaradawi advocates for completing Hitler’s job against the Jews and supports suicide booming against Israelis.
With over 120 books under his belt and sometimes described as a “moderate Islamist”, Sunni religious authority Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi who is Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars called in one of his recent sermons for his flock to finish what:
“HITLER HAD STARTED“.
Based in Doha, Qatar, this Egyptian-born spiritual leader publicly advocates for the extermination of Jews.
His defenders will point out that he is a “moderate” referring to his cautionary dissertation on the danger of extremist groups of Islam, but then will ignore that Al-Qaradawi has condoned Palestinian suicide bombings against Israelis.
One of the deadliest “voices” inspiring violence against Jews is Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah, the most powerful group in Lebanon who has said that it was good that Jews congregated in Israel because:
“there will be no need to chase them around the globe, and in Israel, the final solution could be implemented to the end.”
In other words – ‘easier to kill’
‘Dead’ set on Killing Jews. The fiery leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah,Hassan Nasrallah, that has praised the recent terrorist attacks in Israel.
Nasrallah’s choice of the Nazi parlance of “Final Solution” is chilling as it is revealing and a reminder that Israel needs to be strong and resolute. His message is to expunge any Jewish presence on earth and coming from him, it is perceived by his Shia followers as doing “God’s work”.
CAPITALISING ON CRISES
Whatever the current crisis is in the world – economic, pandemic or presently Ukraine – it always provides the ‘perfect platform’ to attack Jews. Only last month, the director of the Jewish community of the city of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine where many refugees have fled to escape Russian attacks, Igor Perelman, was stabbed while delivering aid by an assailant yelling antisemitic obscenities. A few days later in Turkey, on April 3, leading Palestinian Muslim scholar claimed on Turkish TV that Jews started the “Ukraine-Russian war” to establish “a second Jewish state in Ukraine”.
Rid the world of Jews. Back in February 10, 2021, Palestinian Islamic Scholar, Mraweh Nassar said on Turkey’s Channel 9 that the Jews are the most dangerous enemies of the Muslims and that if Muslims really want to live in peace and security, they must get rid of this enemy. He explained that the Muslims will experience their “best days” after they kill the Jews, as described in the Hadith.
The scholar was the Secretary-General of the Jerusalem Committee of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Mraweh Nassar, who made the statements on Turkey’s Channel 9, an Arabic-language outlet affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Towards the end of his maniacal rant, the ‘scholar’ could not resist adding that the Holocaust was a Jewish hoax:
“Even in the false Holocaust… There is a book written by a Jew, which asks ‘Who killed the Jews?”
Blame the Jews. On 3 April, 2022, Palestinian Muslim scholar Mraweh Nassar denies the Holocaust on Turkish television after blaming the Jews for causing the Russian-Ukraine war. (Photo: MEMRI)
ANTISEMITISM IN VOGUE
When not gracing the pages of Vogue and other fashion magazines, supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid – with a combined 125 million Instagram followers – are quick to vilify Jews and Israel on social media. Far more plunging than her necklines, Gigi Hadid reached an all-time low in March 6, 2022, when she posted on Instagram that she was pledging to donate her earnings “to aid those suffering from the war in Ukraine, as well as continuing to support those experiencing THE SAME IN PALESTINE.” In other words, she was equating the massacres of civilians in Europe not seen since the Second World War to what the Palestinians experienced in Gaza during Israel’s defensive war in 2021. While Israel was trying to stop unprovoked rocket attacks aimed at her civilian population, supermodel Gigi saw this as the same as Putin set on destroying a country and mass-murdering its civilian population. The false comparison is not only obscene – its antisemitic.
Hardly Model Behaviour. Having made thirty-five appearances on international Vogue magazine covers, Gigi Hadid is well familiar with make-up. She is also a master at making-up facts as she equates the situation in Ukraine with Gaza.
Should the Hadid sisters ever parade their scantily clad bodies in Gaza as they do on runways and magazines, they would unlikely ever again have the opportunity to ‘parade’ their warped ideas. With Gaza patrolled by the “modesty police”, Gigi and Bella may well find themselves arrested or far worse!
And what of our local “voices” in Israel?
Cover Girls Uncovered. Critical of Israel’s justifiable defense against rockets from Gaza, supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid would hardly be welcome on the streets of Gaza, patrolled by the “modesty Police”.
LETHAL LEADERSHIP
What message did Knesset Member Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List send when he called on Arabs serving in security forces to give up their weapons and quit?
In a Ramadan video that he posted from Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate – a flashpoint of ongoing clashes between Palestinians and Israel Police – he said:
“It is humiliating for our sons to join the security forces of the occupation… The young people must not join the occupation forces. Throw their weapons in their faces and tell them that our place is not with you.”
Call to Quite. Joint List party leader Ayman Odeh speaks in a video on April 10, 2022 in which he calls on Arab Israeli officers to quit the security forces, saying they ‘humiliate’ their people. (Screencapture/Facebook)
To say this during a period when. Israel is facing the deadliest wave of terror in recent years, is inflammatory.
To say this when one of the victims of the recent attack in Bnei Brak included an Arab police officer, Amir Khoury, who was fatally wounded as he shot the terrorist in a firefight, shows insensitivity and a message to fellow Arabs to not integrate into Israeli society nor join its civil service.
To say this when there have been constant appeals from the Arab community and its leaders to the Israeli government to fight the escalating crime in Arab areas is hypocritical.
National Hero vs Toxic Politician. While the ultra-orthodox city of Bnei Brak will be naming a street after Amir Khoury, the Arab policeman who died a hero in a terror attack, Joint List party leader Ayman Odeh dismisses this bravery and calls on his fellow Arabs not to join hands with Jewish Israelis in protecting the entire population.
To say this from the same man when he once said when he served on the Haifa Council that “Arabs and Jews must work together”, shows he is not a man of his word nor of principle.
Is it any wonder that Odeh’s calling triggered outrage.
Instead of acting as a responsible member of the opposition, Ayman Odeh’s calling joins all the other VOICES in weaponizing their rhetoric aimed at harming Jews.
If there is to be any fighting, we need to fight hate!
*Feature picture courtesy: Avshalom Shoshoni
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).
