Month: May 2022

THE CURIOUS CASE OF CNN

CNN report accuses Israel of deliberately killing journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh – but who are the experts whose commentary they are peddling?

By Rolene Marks

Mark Twain once said that a lie can go halfway around the world before the truth can put its boots on. When it comes to the mainstream media’s reporting of the now decades long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, this description fits as snug as a pair of bespoke boots.

There are many who feel that perhaps we are overreacting or fracking for offense in every broadcast and headline; but the way that the narrative around this conflict is framed has a direct impact not just on how people view Israel; but if the Jewish state is continuously painted in a negative, brutal light, it impacts on Jewish communities around the world who bear the brunt of people’s ill-informed anger. I believe in this direct correlation so strongly that I am basing my doctoral dissertation on it.

The latest iteration is news network, CNN. Several days ago, the channel broadcasted an insert that featured “experts’ who stated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deliberately targeted and killed Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh. The facts did not matter, only their opinions.

As soon as this regrettable incident took place, the IDF requested a joint investigation with the Palestinians who summarily refused, a stance they still hold. They have also refused to cooperate with possible US investigators. IDF officials have said that it is possible the fatal bullet could have been fired from one of the soldiers but it is difficult to tell without a ballistics report after examination of the bullet. The Palestinians are still refusing to hand over the bullet and the coroner who conducted the autopsy on Abu Akleh, a Palestinian himself, said that his findings were inconclusive. This is why a joint investigation is needed.

Reprehensible Reporting. Some of CNN’s  reportage on the death of Shireen Abu Akleh  was nothing less than an anti-Israel ‘hit job’ taking the Palestinian narrative of a complicated conflict and falsely presenting it as “evidence” of Israel’s culpability.(Photo: Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Would Israel deliberately target a journalist? The other question we need to ask is what possibly does Israel, who enjoys a free and open press, unlike the Palestinians, have to gain by murdering a journalist bearing first hand witness to this conflict. Israel has an open, democratic press and is committed to ensuring that journalists can work freely and unimpeded. War correspondents who cover conflict zones understand the risks.

CNN however, had different ideas.

I remember the day this event took place very clearly. News alerts coming in spoke of “a heavy exchange of fire between Palestinians and Israeli Security Forces engaged in counterterror operations in Jenin”. Jenin in the West bank, is a hotbed of incitement and terror activity. Terrorists who have killed Israelis in the recent wave of terror have come from Jenin. The news then broke that a journalist had been fatally shot.

City of Terror. Jenin, where Abu Akleh was struck by a fatal bullet has been for decades a hotbed of violent terrorist activity as reflected in this photo of terrorists displaying in public their weapons in April 2002. (AFP)

No sooner had this happened, then footage started to circulate.

The footage clearly shows Palestinians wearing bullet-proof vests and firing automatic weapons, including one gunman who leans around a corner and indiscriminately shoots, at which point bystanders can be heard saying, “they’ve hit one, they’ve hit a soldier, he’s laying on the ground.” The IDF confirmed that no Israeli soldiers were hit or injured in the melee.

Judge for yourself:

CNN trotted out their “expert” eye witness who claimed that there “had been no conflict, we were standing around, joking with journalists”.

The next “expert” up to bat was “explosive weapons expert” and “security consultant and British army veteran”, Chris Cobb-Smith. Cobb-Smith based his findings on images provided by CNN that showed strike or bullet strafe marks on the nearby trees. Cobb-Smith is reportedly able to ascertain that Abu Akleh was not killed by a “random shot” but was “targeted.”

Now if I was asking Cobb-Smith questions, and I am not a lawyer, I would ask him:

 a) was he or has he been in a position to examine the fatal bullet because  it is  still in Palestinian custody and has yet to be handed over for ballistics testing as per the IDF request

b) could bullet strafings or marks on the trees not be assigned to either side given that he hasn’t examined the fatal bullet or any of those fired and the Palestinian coroner who conducted the autopsy, has said it is impossible to draw conclusive findings who was responsible.

Chris Cobb-Smith’s credentials are dubious to say the least. Some of his highly questionable activities include:

Contributing to an Amnesty International report alleging that the IDF had used white phosphorous during Operation Cast Led in 2009. Amnesty International make no secret of their view of Israel and the IDF.

Up to his old Tricks. The security consultant“expert” Chris Cobb-Smith who provided CNN with his findings alleging Abu Akleh was “targeted” by Israeli forces  was the same expert who misled in a report to Amnesty International  falsely alleging that the IDF had used white phosphorous during Operation Cast Led in 2009. Amnesty International makes no secret of their distaste of Israel and the IDF.

He met with the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) in 2009, in June 2015, and in 2018 and participated in a workshop held by PCHR at the Institute for International Criminal Investigations on “the procedures of criminal investigation into international crimes”. The PCHR is linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) which has been designated a  terrorist organization by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel.

I would also ask Cobb-Smith how he could give expert opinion when he has already been on record supporting an agenda against the IDF for Amnesty International who have a clear agenda against the State of Israel.

Smell a rat?

LTG Aviv Kohavi Adresses Shireen Abu Akleh Investigation

CNN also featured “former parliamentarian and member of the Palestinian Fatah Party in Jenin,” Jamal Huwail, who also backed claims that Israel deliberately targeted Abu Akleh and other journalists.

Missing from his “expert testimony” was the fact that he lauded the terrorist who murdered four people in a car ramming and knife attack in Beersheba on March 22 as a “lone lion” who had “sounded the alarm of this criminal Zionist occupation.” The terrorist was an ISIS sympathizer.

Targeting Truth. How far has journalism sunk when CNN features unrefuted “experts’ who state that the IDF deliberately targeted and killed Al Jazeera journalist Abu Akleh?

The Palestinian Authority have said they conducted their own investigation and concluded the IDF deliberately targeted Abu Akleh. These findings were released two days after the CNN expose. Anyone else “shook”, as the kids say?

Israel is a democracy and holds the importance of a free press as sacrosanct.  News networks around the world need to be held accountable for their role in spreading disinformation that has dangerous and sometimes deadly consequences. This is possible and we can all play a role in it. It is time for the truth to strap on its best pair of boots and go walking. And this needs to happen sooner rather than later.





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).

LITHUANIAN JEWS ARE STILL AVOIDING THEIR COUNTRY’S HOLOCAUST DISTORTION

What a shame that those who work to bring Lithuania’s large-scale participation in Holocaust crimes to light cannot be honored by the Jewish community there

By Dr. Efraim Zuroff

[Courtesy of “The Times of Israel“]

Last week, the Lithuanian Jewish community hosted the “Fifth World Litvak Congress” in Vilnius (Vilna) from Sunday, May 22 until Thursday, May 26. In theory, the event is open to any Jew of Lithuanian origin and anyone who has a meaningful connection to the history, politics, or culture of Lithuanian Jewry. 

The program featured an opening event in the Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament), cultural events, as well as visits to Kaunas (Kovno), Panevezys (Ponevitch), Seduva (my grandmother’s birthplace), and other sites of Jewish interest. The congress was also addressed by Lithuanian politicians, such as Seimas Speaker Viktorija Čmilyté-Nielsen, the patron of the congress, foreign experts on combatting antisemitism, such as European Commissioner Katharina Von Schnurbein and former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, as well as scholars who are experts on aspects of Lithuanian Jewish history, such as American Professor David Fishman and Israeli Dr. Ben-Tsiyon Klibansky. 

The program even included presentations which addressed the ostensibly most controversial subjects regarding Jewish history in Lithuania, those dealing with the role of Lithuanians in the Holocaust. Thus, for example, Faina Kukliansky, the chairperson of the local Jewish community for close to a decade, was allotted all of 15 minutes for the important topic of “Thirty Years of History, Problems and Challenges of the Lithuanian Jewish Community”, and Lithuanian professor Violeta Davoliūte of Vilna University was given a whole quarter of an hour to speak about “Memory of the Shoah.”

Diluting the Truth. Lithuanian professor  Violeta Davoliūtė of Vilna University was allotted only 15 minutes to speak about “Memory of the Shoah” as was Faina Kukliansky, the chairperson of the local Jewish community on her important topic of “Thirty Years of History, Problems and Challenges of the Lithuanian Jewish Community”.

In other words, the congress had no intention of exposing, let alone attempting to deal, with the dangerous problem of Lithuanian Holocaust distortion, which has plagued the country since it regained its independence from the Soviet Union in March 1990. Given the fact that the local Jewish community numbers less than 5,000 members, and suffers from internal dissension, one cannot blame them for staging an event, which is a festival of celebration of a community doomed to extinction, highlighting the renovation of synagogues in communities without a single Jew, which will never again fulfill their original purpose.

Ironically, a different event sponsored by the Igud Yotzei Lita (Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel) was held in Tel Aviv the previous week, attracting a large crowd of Litvaks, anxious to combat the false narrative promoted for the last three decades by the Lithuanian government, which minimizes the extremely significant role of local collaborators, and glorifies Holocaust perpetrators who led the post-World War II fight against the Soviet occupation.

The guests of honor were two descendants of Lithuanian citizens, both currently residing in the United States, who were not invited to attend, let alone present, at the current Litvak World Congress, and not by accident. Both are determined to do whatever they can to persuade the Lithuanian authorities to honestly confront the large-scale participation of Lithuanians in Holocaust crimes, and thereby earned the disdain of Lithuanian officials, which naturally affects the attitude of the local Jewish community. 

The star of the event was Silvia Foti, the granddaughter of one of the biggest Lithuanian national heroes, Jonas Noreika, who was a leader of the post-World War II opposition to the Soviets, but played a key role in Holocaust crimes as the local liaison with the Nazis in northwest Lithuania. Her story is truly amazing. 

Raised in Marquette Park, Chicago, the largest concentration of Lithuanians outside Vilnius, Silvia imbibed the deep adulation of her grandfather by her Lithuanian émigré neighbors, and grew up in an ultra-patriotic Lithuanian family. At the deathbed request of her mother, who had originally undertaken to write her father’s biography, Silvia began to research her grandfather’s life, only to discover his key role, in the mass murder of thousands of Jews. Instead of abandoning the project, Silvia was determined to fully clarify his past, and ultimately realized that her beloved ancestor was indeed a Nazi war criminal. The result was her illuminating book:

The Nazi’s Granddaughter

How I Discovered That My Grandfather Was a War Criminal.

The Troubled Truth. Silvia Foti began to research her revered Lithuanian grandfather’s life, only to discover that her beloved ancestor was indeed a Nazi war criminal participating in the mass murder of Jews. The result was her illuminating book, which Lithuania prefers no-one to read.

The second guest of honor was Grant Gochin, a Litvak born in South Africa, currently residing in Los Angeles, who lost practically his entire family in the area where Noreika collaborated with the Nazis. Ever since he discovered Noreika’s role in the murders, he has waged a legal battle against the Lithuanian government to force them to cancel the numerous honors bestowed upon the man. He has submitted such suits to Lithuanian and international courts, and a current suit is under consideration at the United Nations. When Silvia found the initial evidence regarding her grandfather’s crimes, she reached out to Grant, who has devoted much effort to assisting her with the publication and promotion of her book, which has attracted worldwide attention and been published in several languages, including, quite recently, in Lithuanian.

Message Muted. Why were these well-received US guests-of-honor at an ‘Association of Lithuanian Jews’ event in May 2022 in Tel Aviv, Israel – Grant Gochin (left) and Silvia Foti – NOT invited to attend a week later the ‘Litvak World Congress in Lithuania’? Clearly, there is a reluctance in Lithuania to provide public platforms to these strong advocates  set on exposing the false narrative by the Lithuanian government, which downplays the magnitude of local collaboration during WWII and glorifies Holocaust perpetrators who later emerged as heroes in their subsequent fight against Soviet occupation. (courtesy)

Both Silvia and Grant were given the standing ovation they well deserved by a very appreciative audience of Litvaks, who are sick of the lies and false narrative of the Holocaust promoted by the Lithuanian government. They are part of a group of truth-tellers in Lithuania, determined to fight for the accurate account of the tragedy of Lithuanian Jewry, such as Prof. Dovid Katz, and Prof. Pinchos Fridberg, and ethnic Lithuanians like Ruta Vanagaite (who was the first to deal with this issue after discovering that her family were participants in Holocaust crimes) and researcher Evaldas Balčiūnas. None of them were invited to speak at the Litvak Congress, but their efforts will ultimately count more than any of the speeches delivered in Vilnius last week.

Other Voices Unheard. The writer and Nazi-hunter, Dr. Efraim Zuroff (right) with Ruta Vanagaite, who was among the first  to expose the whitewashing by successive Lithuanian governments of the huge extent of Lithuanian complicity in Holocaust crimes after discovering that members of her family were participants. She co-authored an exposè of the cover-up with Dr. Zuroff, entitled (in English) Our People; Discovering Lithuania’s Hidden Holocaust (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020), which was a best-seller in Lithuanian. Neither of the authors were invited to address last week’s Litvak World Congress in Vilnius.




About the writer:

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.






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 May 2022

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

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

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Articles

(1)

WHAT IF?

From bicycle saddle to hospital bed – some existential thoughts about self and country

By David E. Kaplan

Staying on Track. Shifting from muscles to  musings this cyclist takes a cerebral route.

This writer went cycling on Israel’s Independence Day and arrived at a destination unplanned – the surgical ward in a local hospital! With all the time in the world, the cyclist journeyed on from pedaling to pondering on scenarios of Israel’s past that ‘paved’ the way to thankful futures.

WHAT IF?

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(2)

Can women across the world move freely in their cities?

A British study says no – an Israeli app now says yes

By Diana Grosz

Finding Freedom. If in a car you ‘buckle up’, when you step out use SafeUP.

Despite remarkable progress to make societies safer, half the world’s population is not truly protected – WOMEN! Nearly two thirds of women feel unsafe in cities and restrict their lifestyles to mollify their fear. An Israeli app comes to the rescue for women anywhere in the world.

Can women across the world move freely in their cities?

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LET DEAD TERRORIST GROUPS LIE

Enlisting support against delisting terrorists

By Jonathan Feldstein

Bad Boys. There is overwhelming evidence that the IRGC is the largest and most powerful sponsor of global terrorism.

Why NOW is the US administration considering delisting  5 “defunct” terror organisations from its foreign terrorist list? Is it related to the far from “defunct” lethal Iranian IRGC that is/was also being considered for delisting? The writer unpacks the convoluted reasoning behind these strange deal-making machinations.

LET DEAD TERRORIST GROUPS LIE

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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- 23-26 May 2022

The Israel Brief – 23 May 2022 – Updates on Abu Akle investigation. IRGC official assassinated. New PM in Australia. New York celebrates Israel!



The Israel Brief – 24 May 2022 – Terror cell busted. EU parliamentary President addresses Knesset. Turkish FM in Israel. IRGC official is buried.



The Israel Brief – 25 May 2022 – Israeli leaders express sorrow for Texas shooting victims. CNN say Israel deliberately killed journalist. Turkish FM in Israel. PM Bennett thanks Pres. Biden for keeping IRGC on terror list.



The Israel Brief – 26 May 2022 – NY Times claims Israel assassinated IRGC Colonel. Pres Herzog at World Economic Forum. Hezbollah threatens Israel. Tyga heading to 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).

Can women across the world move freely in their cities?

A British study says no – an Israeli app now says yes

By Diana Grosz

Most people would say that life today is far safer compared to previous centuries. International agreements and treaties protect us from wars; innovative medicine saves millions of lives from diseases, and local and international laws provide security and a feeling of safety on the streets in a majority of Western countries.

However, despite these monumental developments, half the world’s population is not truly protected – even in highly developed states!

Even though politicians and the media constantly talk about equal rights of all citizens and the growing success in the fight against gender inequality in recent years, feeling safe and secure is still a privilege reserved mostly for men.

According to a research in 2019 bythe British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, YouGov, around half of all women feel unsafe in various routine situations. Men however, in the same context, feel relatively secure and safe.

50% of women say they always or often feel unsafe walking alone at night.

The insecurity and awareness of women in this study are related to them moving from one place to another; whether it’s a walk from work to their home or traveling to another country. For instance, the average man is able to easily travel by hitch-hiking, while among women this practice is considered high-risk. Such an evident polarity in opportunities leads to thoughts about the difference in men’s and women’s freedom, which are in the end validated and maintained by our own societies.

The situation seems even grimmer after realizing that the surveys from 2007 have very similar data as the same surveys from 2019, and the data hasn’t significantly changed during the last twelve years.

For instance, 62% of women that had to go out at night were afraid to go alone, and 66% of interviewed women were afraid to go through certain neighbourhoods.

Women are as insecure while using public transport, walking in the park, or going out alone as they were more than ten years ago. This is according to the data provided in 2007 by Stéphanie Condon, Marylène Lieber, Florence Maillochon in their research entitled:

‘FEELING UNSAFE IN PUBLIC PLACES

understanding women’s fears’ .

From the data, it appears that society is indifferent to the problem of women’s safety and hence makes little effort – if at all – to effect change. The statistics reveal that women’s freedom of movement is constantly violated and somehow it has become the norm, sadly even for women themselves.

As a consequence, women might not even try to move freely anymore, their mindset programmed to accepting this ‘reality’ as a normal part of life.

Regrettably, this constant sense of danger leads women, instead of availing themselves of various creative methods to protect themselves to instead succumb to their feared situation and restrict their lifestyle accordingly.

Six in ten women – fearing a sexual assault or street harassment – will avoid walking in certain areas or walking alone preferring instead to travel in their own vehicle or take a taxi.

Most women say they regularly take steps to avoid being sexually assaulted.

The point therefore is that women adapt their routines and daily activities to meet safety considerations, when safety should not even be an issue.

What do women need to do to feel and be safe?

The evident obstruction of women’s rights and freedom due to safety concerns has challenged people towards creating solutions to protect women in potentially dangerous situations.  The market already offers women and girls access to self-defense tools and techniques that might be useful for particular live situations.

On such is the Israeli app SafeUP, a social network for women that allows them to help each other in real time to feel safer and prevent incidents of harassment and sexual assault.

For those 50% of women who feel safer when accompanied, SafeUP is the perfect and simple solution to their day-to-day worries.

No neighbourhood will ever be too scary or dark when knowing that a community near you will have your back.  Just pull out your phone and within seconds our SafeUP guardians will be with you.

It was an incident as a girl that sowed the seed for 30-year-old Israeli Neta Schreiber Gamliel to made her first steps in the hi-tech world and cofound  SafeUP. The start-up’s CEO explains:

“I went out with some friends to a party at the villa, when one of my friends disappeared from us. We went to look for her and after a few minutes we found her in one of the rooms with two men, half naked, half conscious. When they entered the room, the men ran away and we realized that we had saved her life. From that moment on, we created a system of internal laws between our friend group that was designed to protect each other.”

Co-Founder and CEO of SafeUP, Neta Schreiber Gamliel.

A decade and a half later, this event ignited the creation of SafeUP, which she launched with her partner Tal Zohar together with the Tel Aviv Municipality. Within three months, they had reached 11,000 users and six local authorities paying for the service. Breaking into the US market, the Israeli duo have created communities of female guardians in Boston, New York and Washington that protects women walking alone at night.

TIME TO CHANGE

But these solutions are for real-time situations. It is still imperative to change society and its vision on women’s safety. We should all be able to comprehend that actions such as catcalling, whistling, unwanted sexual comments, unwelcome sexual touching, or following girls as an attempt to demonstrate interest, joke or to get her phone number is not acceptable. 

Any of these inappropriate behaviours that are usually perpetrated by men, even if they think it’s funny or not, are the main reason why women do not feel safe while out on their own.

However, until the process of educating people on gender violence, its roots and how we can solve it,  women must have the right and opportunity to create communities and safe spaces in which they can share their experiences and perspectives on the subject. The idea of creating empathic and trustworthy communities, where its members could assist each other in dealing with difficult and even harmful situations – is one of the main goals of SafeUP.

We are trying to not only provide women with a useful and secure app but also to show them how important and meaningful the power of community can be. By joining SafeUP,  women are provided the means to connect with women willing to help and support them, and the chance to be the ones who provide this support and help.

Only by combining powers and aspirations to protect our right to feeling confident regardless of whether we are walking at night, during the day, wearing a mini or maxi dress, can women begin to change the reality we live in.

The greater our numbers, the greater our power. By joining SafeUP and becoming a guardian, you can easily take an active role in helping women feel safer wherever they are going.


Join a global solidarity of women, to belong, be free and be safe together



About the writer:

Diana Grosz  is a history teacher, Middle Eastern specialist, and a women’s rights advocate. Diana’s mission is to raise awareness about women’s issues and promote equality. She started her journey in South America and later immigrated to pursue her passion of helping women in the Middle East.






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).

LET DEAD TERRORIST GROUPS LIE

Enlisting support against delisting terrorists

By Jonathan Feldstein

[Ed note: At the time of publication of this article, Politico  media reports that President Biden has “finalized his decision to keep Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on U.S. notorious terrorist blacklist.”]

There have been recent reports that the Biden administration is planning to remove five groups from the US’ foreign terrorist blacklist. Each of these groups is now considered defunct. But it’s strange that if they are defunct anyway, why anyone would worry about delisting them. It’s better to let dead terror groups lie.

The groups include Basque Fatherland and Liberty, Aum Shinrikyo, a Japanese cult; Kach, an Israeli/nationalist Jewish group, and two Islamic groups: the Mujahideen Shura Council in the environs of Jerusalem, and Gama’a al-Islamiyya.

When I read the reports, I asked myself why, and why now?  A Christian friend reached out to me to get an understanding from an Israeli perspective, and whether it was something for which she needs to pray. I explained to my friend that it seems the delisting of these groups is connected with ongoing reports that the Biden administration is considering removing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the US terror blacklist as part of wooing Iran to renew the Obama-era nuclear deal.

Just to be clear, the IRGC is directly responsible for the killing of some 600 U.S. military and is far from defunct. A group of 46 retired U.S. generals and a growing number of Democrats and Republicans are on record urging the Biden administration not to remove the IRGC from the terrorist blacklist.

In this context, I explained to my friend that not only does it not make sense to delist defunct terror groups but doing so is deliberately dangerous. Typically, when members of a board, alumni of an institution, or other notables pass away, they are not removed but are identified by a note that they are now deceased. Why not just leave the list of terror groups as is, and make a note that they are defunct? Listing those that are no longer active actually shows success in the war on terror.

To Delist or not to Delist? Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei meeting with leaders of the IRGC last January. Will the Biden administration remove Iran’s IRGC from terror blacklist? (Photo: Handout via Getty)

I told my friend that delisting the defunct organizations is a smoke screen for plans to delist the very active IRGC. Anyone who cares about the threats of Islamic terror in general, and to Israel in particular, will be uncomfortable with the delisting of two Islamic terror groups.  However, the Biden administration’s machinations appears expedient – like the tossing a bone to placate some in Congress – by the inclusion of the Jewish/nationalist group Kach, creating the pseudo impression that the administration is being equitable.  There’s no reason to delist any of these – including Kach. It’s also offensive to those who were the victims of these and other terror groups.

My friend is a Hispanic pastor. She revealed how the removal at the end of 2021 of Columbia’s FARC off the US list of terrorist organizations proved traumatic for Hispanics who had suffered under the ruthless terrorist and drug trafficking group that raped and destroyed and kidnapped poor Colombians for decades.

FARC Fiends. On May 15, 2000 the Colombian FARC put an explosive collar around the neck of a woman, killing her and a man who tried to neutralize the device. (Photo of FARC soldiers: Pablo de Tarso Luz Meneghel Sparco)

The similarities are astounding. It was reported that the Biden administration’s delisting of the ‘now defunct’ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group as a “foreign terrorist” organization was to support a tenuous peace agreement in Colombia. As a rule, wooing terrorists with promises of turning a blind eye rather than confronting and defeating them is not good policy.

This applies to FARC in Colombia, and IRGC in Iran.

Clearly what’s behind this is to bring Iran to sign a new or revised nuclear agreement which has become a pilar of US foreign policy.  Seeing the Biden administration’s eagerness to renew an agreement at any cost, the Iranians have used this as a make-or-break negotiating tactic.

The IRGC is on the terrorist list as a central part of Iran’s military. However, it operates far beyond a typical military unit simply preparing for combat. Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, the IRGC has become a quasi-governmental institution, with vast independent power and actual oversight and control over key elements of Iran’s economy, industry, and energy sectors. It regularly calls for Israel’s destruction, and materially supports other terrorist groups around the world with money, training, and equipment.

Bad Boys. There is overwhelming evidence that the IRGC is the largest and most powerful sponsor of global terrorism, writes Navid Mohebbi in Al Arabiya News. (Stock photo)

While Biden has made a new Iran deal a key pillar of his foreign policy even before coming into office, reports to mitigate the looming disaster of delisting the IRGC, suggest Biden is personally resistant to such delisting. These conflicting agendas suggest a combination of schizophrenia, deliberate disinformation and possible incompetence which I discuss in the interview . Delisting the IRGC might help achieve his key foreign policy goal of an Iranian agreement, but looks weak regarding international terrorism, something that he and other Democrats don’t need as another foreign policy failure.  With the mid-term election in just six months, that’s part of the reason that even some moderate Democrats – already resistant to rejoining a nuclear deal that goes too easy on Iran – are urging Biden to stand firm on keeping the IRGC on the terrorist list.

Right is Might. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) that in his personal opinion, he does not support the delisting of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization.

These issues will no doubt be top on the agenda when Biden is expected to visit Israel at the end of June, particularly in light of recent reports that Iran may be days away from enough material for one nuclear bomb. With his coalition shaky at best, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett cannot afford to appear weak or allow anything to undermine his leadership in protecting Israel from the Iranian threat.

Towering Rage. The IRGC was found liable in 2018 for the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 Americans and injured 260. (© AFP/Getty Images)

Is this a good cop, bad cop quasi negotiating tactic with Iran, or just a dress rehearsal for another Biden administration foreign policy failure? The implications of delisting these terror groups now, along with FARC, opens old wounds of their victims, brings Jews, Hispanics and all people of conscience closer together, and makes us all less safe.



About the writer:

Jonathan Feldstein ­­­­- President of the US based non-profit Genesis123 Foundation whose mission is to build bridges between Jews and Christians – is a freelance writer whose articles appear in The Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Townhall, NorthJersey.com, Algemeiner Jornal, The Jewish Press, major Christian websites and more.





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

WHAT IF?

From bicycle saddle to hospital bed – some existential thoughts about self and country

By David E. Kaplan

On Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) on the 5th May, I went for a ride on my bicycle. Turned out – a regrettable mistake. In a quiet side road, I had a serious accident and ended up in Meir Hospital, Kfar Saba. I am recovering well but I ask the question:

“What at the last corner before the accident I turned right instead of left?”

Lying in my ward later that night following a general anesthetic stitch-up, I reflected on the poem of Robert Frost ‘The Road Not Taken’ and pondered literally and figuratively if, in the words of the poet:

“I took the one less traveled by”

Clearly then – inter alia –  I would not be penning this prose!

But then I pondered beyond my bodily bruising and thought instead of the anatomy of the world whose condition too throughout history has either sored or soured dependent at critical moments when  fractured futures or favourable fortunes could have gone either way and the destinies of people would have been quite different.

As I was reflecting in an Israeli hospital, I thought back to those past pivotal – some even existential – moments in Israel’s modern history, when disaster or salvation hung in the balance:

–WHAT IF on November 2, 1917, Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour had not written a letter to Britain’s most illustrious Jewish citizen, Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild, expressing the British government’s support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine – a letter that would eventually become known as the Balfour Declaration.  In all likelihood, I would then not be lying in a ward of the seventh largest hospital in the Jewish state of Israel after 2000 years of exile.

Weighty Words. Lord Arthur Balfour and the letter that moved a dream towards reality.

– WHAT IF Rommel’s African Corp had not lost the Battle of El Alamein in 1942, leaving the German Wehrmacht free to steamroll northwards to Palestine? Again, possibly no Meir Hospital would have been established in 1956.

– WHAT IF Prime Minister David Ben Gurion had not demanded the unification of ideologically diverse Jewish armed forces during the War of Independence to forge a national army – the IDF?

WHAT IF? A British army recruitment drive in Tel Aviv during World War II. The big fear for the Jews before the Battle of El- Alamein was that Rommel would overrun Palestine.

– WHAT IF Israel had not taken out the Egyptian Air Force in the opening round of the 1967 Six Day War?

– WHAT IF Israel had not mounted Operation Thunderbolt in 1976 to rescue the Jewish hostages held in Entebbe airport following the hijacking of an Air France airbus A300 jet airliner? No Jew or Israeli plane would be safe anywhere. The message – don’t mess with us and expect  you will get way with it. Jews will “NEVER AGAIN” be slaughtered with impunity.

‘Plane’ Truth. What if Israel had not rescued the Jewish captives held by Palestinian and German terrorists in Entebbe in 1976?

– WHAT IF there was not a young IDF commander of a tank battalion Avigdor Kahalani, like a biblical David that blocked a Goliath Syrian army from conquering the Golan Heights in 1973.

– WHAT IF Prime Minister Menachem Begin had not embraced the peace process with Anwar Sadat of Egypt or authorized the surprise bombing of Iraq’s nuclear facility in 1982?

– WHAT IF Israel had not mounted highly secretive operations to rescue the threatened Jews from Yemen and Ethiopia and absorbed one million Russian immigrants. In 1948, Israel had a Jewish population of 716,700; today over seven million, the largest concentration of Jews anywhere in the world! If the quest before had been for the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in their ancestral homeland, the quest today is to secure it for eternity.

Reaching a Crescendo. What if Israel had not neutralised Iraq’s nuclear ambitions in 1981 with Operation Opera.
 

ONE DOME TO ANOTHER

And then as I lay in the hospital bed digesting the distressing news of the Arab disturbances playing out at the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif, the compound housing both mosques, Al- Aqsa and Jerusalem’s most iconic Dome of the Rock, I reflected on exactly a year earlier when Hamas and its cohorts had unleashed over 4,300 rockets at Israel’s civilian population centers and pondered WHAT IF we did not have our IRON DOME?

Not designed to attack or retaliate, this “life saver” defence missile system developed by Israeli companies and financially supported by the US, proved some 90% effective in intercepting enemy rockets, greatly reducing the death toll. No less significant, this remarkable instrument of Israeli ingenuity also reduced the need for IDF ground operations in and around the civilian areas that terrorists use for launching missiles and rockets at Israeli civilians. Invariably ground offenses result in greater loss of lives. All this was avoided or averted because of the IRON DOME!

Special Relationship. Israeli Iron Dome anti-rocket system (right) and an American Patriot missile defense system are shown during a joint U.S.-Israel military exercise on March 8, 2018. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

A MAJOR LEAK

And then finally before retiring to sleep at Meir, the need for the bathroom reminded me of one final WHAT IF, which at the time of its happening was lavatorialy inconsequential but decades later proved monumentally existential.

What do I mean?

For many years, U.S.-Israel military ties  – so vital to Israel – were non-existent. From Israel’s creation in 1948 until the mid-1960s, US State Department and Pentagon officials argued against even providing American arms to Israel lest it provoke the Arabs to ask the Soviets and Chinese for more weapons, which in turn would stimulate a Middle East arms race.

U.S. policy fundamentally changed only after the 1967 Six Day War when France – Israel’s main supplier –  abandoned the Jewish state and the US stepped in to give Israel a qualitative military edge over its enemies. This was all due to a successful meeting between Israeli PM Levi Eshkol and US President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 leading to an agreement to sell Phantom jets to Israel marking the change in relationship between the two countries and establishing the US as Israel’s principal arms supplier.

Meeting of Minds. One of the most important meetings in Israeli history was Prime Minister Levi Eshkol (left) meeting here with President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 as the President’s Texas ranch, which established a warm relationship between the two countries which has stood the test of time.

Since then, Israel has never looked back.

All this however would not have happened, had LBJ not decided at a precise moment in 1942 to relieve himself at an airbase toilet.

A 33-year-old Representative from Texas, lieutenant commander Johnson on the 9th June 1942, boarded a plane called the Wabash Cannonball for a mission in the South Pacific. While the Wabash Cannonball was on a bombing mission, Johnson’s participation was as an observer to inspect and report back to President Roosevelt of Japanese troop movements over New Guinea. However, no sooner had the future US president boarded the B-26, nature called!

Toying with the decision to “hold it in” or go to the toilet and catch the next bomber, he chose the latter and alighted from the plane.

It was a history-altering decision.

After relieving himself, he then joined the crew of another bomber, the Heckling Hare. 

LBJ was lucky.

The  Wabash Cannonball  was hit by enemy fire and crashed with a total loss of life, while a crippled “hare” made it back to base.

So to my list of Israel’s “What Ifs?”, I add:

Where would Israel’s relationship be today with regard to the US, had not a young Lyndon B. Johnson not had the desperate need to at the right moment to take a leak?

And so while Israel never looked back, my final thought was if only  the driver of the car in Kfar Saba had ‘looked back’ – in her rear view mirror – before opening her door into which I rode!

The writer on a ride in northen 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).

Lay of the Land Weekly Newsletter- 22 May 2022

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

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

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

(Enter and watch this week (17/05/22), on WINA, Rolene Marks discusses media bias in the shooting of Al-Jazeera reporter, Shireen Abu Akleh.)

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)

When Truth is a Casualty of War

Why has truth become the first casualty in the media’s coverage of Israel?

By Rolene Marks

‘Aiming’ at Israel! Ignoring journalists killed in Ukraine and elsewhere, UN energises into high gear against Israel.

Why when the international media covers conflict in Israel they so readily dispense with the fundamental principles of journalism and rush to judgment accusing Israel of crimes without the facts? The blatantly biased reportage of the death of Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh tragically caught in a crossfire is the latest case in point.

When Truth is a Casualty of War

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(2)

Covid, terror and our future

From a pandemic to an ‘outbreak’ of mass murder on Israel’s streets

By Jonathan Feldstein

Unmasking the Future. Difficult times as Israelis navigate through a pandemic to an uptick in terror in its cities.

“Worrying about corona is one thing; worrying about terrorists looking to kill you and your family is quite another!” reflected this Israeli writer during a parent school ZOOM meeting suddenly interrupted by a terror attack. Such simultaneous existential assaults demand of a people – fortitude, resilience and staying alert.

Covid, terror and our future

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(3)

The Arab Voice – May 2022

A selection of opinions and analysis from the Arab media

Arab writers opining on Middle East issues, unpack the worrying syndrome of men’s sexual harassment of women, Israel seeking a modus operandi in dealing with an aggressive, appetitive and potential nuclear Iran and President Putin’s illuminating respect for Islam.

THE ARAB VOICE – MAY 2022

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LOTL Co-founders 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).



When Truth is a Casualty of War

Why has truth become the first casualty in the media’s coverage of Israel?

By Rolene Marks

There is something about covering Israel that causes the global media and even some of the most reputable journalists to take leave of their senses. This phenomenon doesn’t happen with coverage of any other conflict or country but is reserved exclusively for Israel, the nation state of the Jewish people.

There have been numerous examples of this but perhaps the most topical of all is the recent shooting of Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Al Akleh, who was killed in a heavy exchange of gunfire while covering an Israeli counterterror operation in the volatile town of Jenin in the West Bank.

The loss of life is incredibly sad and regrettable and our thoughts go to her family and loved ones. It is imperative that in a democracy like Israel, we have a free press and no matter what our opinions about Al Jazeera are, we have to maintain their right to report. For the many war correspondents that cover conflicts around the world and take an enormous risk doing so, it is important that they are able to work as safely as possible.

But Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in the crossfire.

Caught in Crossfire. Covering a conflict situation in Jenin for the Arabic-language channel Al Jazeera, Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by a single bullet, the source of which remains undetermined.
 

The response from the global media was outrage, anger and the usual, expected, reflexive blaming of Israel for firing the fatal bullet.

The next casualty was the truth about what actually happened.

Nobody waited for proof of whodunit but they immediately jumped to conclusion faster and higher than an Olympic athlete competing for a medal. Israel, having learnt the brutal lesson taught by the Mohammed Al Dura case where the IDF immediately accepted responsibility for the killing of the little boy but on closer investigation it was found he was killed in the crossfire by a Palestinian bullet, called for a joint investigation. The Palestinians refused.

To date, the Palestinians have refused to hand over the fatal bullet and Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, under international pressure to cooperate with an investigation, has said “international organisations” may take part but not Israel. He omits to say which organisations or how much participation they may have. The Palestinian medical examiner who carried out the autopsy on Al Akleh said that it was impossible to draw conclusive results.

But this did not mollify the global media who still maintain Israel is responsible. Not only has the global media bared its teeth for Israel but they also forgot to mention a very import thing – the context in which this exchange of fire took place. Since the beginning of March, Israel has endured a wave of terror that has seen 19 people killed. Several of these attacks have been planned and carried out by Palestinians from the town of Jenin in the West Bank. Jenin is a hotbed of incitement and terror activity and even the PA have lost control. The only way to root out terror, is for IDF security forces to engage in counterterror operations. This was the reason there was an exchange of fire. Al Akleh’s death could have been accidental and a horrible mistake.

This did not matter to the media and as a result, the public are only receiving half a story.

Al Akleh is not the only journalist to die in conflict but she is the only one whose name we know and inspires hashtags. She is the only journalist whose death managed to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council where a unanimous vote on a resolution called for “an immediate, thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation into her killing.”

According to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity, the negotiations on the text were particularly arduous.

The United Nations did not convene an emergency session for Jewish Wall Street journalist, Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped by terrorists in Pakistan and brutally beheaded after uttering his famous last words, “I am a Jew”.

UN’perturbed. The Jewish reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Daniel Pearl, who was beheaded by Muslim extremists in 2002 in Pakistan never received the same instant  concern  and calling for action from the United Nations  as it  has shown for the probable accidental killing of the Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. The indifference to the Jewish reporter’s murder was further exposed last year in 2021 with the deafening silence of the world when  the Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the release of the British national who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering  Daniel Pearl.

The International Federation of Journalists recently published statistics where they claimed between 1990 and 2020, 2,658 journalists were killed in war zones. In recent years, Syria has become the deadliest conflict zone but can anyone name a journalist killed in Syria? Twelve Al Jazeera journalists have been killed during this time and seven were killed in Syria, two in Iraq, one in Yemen, one in Libya, and the last one being Al Akleh.

There have been 340 killed in Iraq and hundreds in other parts of the world.

Taking Aim – at Israel! Despite showing any similar attention to the many journalists killed while covering conflicts around the world – notably over 23 already in the Ukraine –  United Nations Security Council (UNSC), with Israel as the unproven accused, unanimously denounced the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh calling for “an immediate” investigation” into her death. Additionally, the UN Human Rights noted that it might constitute a war crime.

At least 23 journalists have been killed in Ukraine since the brutal invasion by Russian military forces. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least seven of those deaths took place while on assignment.

Media’s Lens – a Selective Focus. While the tragic death of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh has received non-stop news coverage and UN debate, scant such attention for the over 23 journalists from around the world killed during Russia’s seven-week war in Ukraine.

Covering conflict as a war correspondent is perilous work. We owe a debt of gratitude to the brave journalists, camera crews, producers and everyone risking their lives so that we can know the truth and facts about what is happening in conflict zones around the world. We owe it to them to pursue the truth when it comes to the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

 If not, the truth becomes another casualty of war.





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 May 2022

The Israel Brief – 16 May 2022 – What happened at Al Akleh’s funeral? Nakba Day in Israel. President Herzog pays his respects in UAE. FM Liberman pushes for more equality in nation State bill.



The Israel Brief – 17 May 2022 – Operation Breaking Waves continues. Was antisemitism a factor in Israel’s results at Eurovision? Did Russia fire on Israeli planes? Israeli Embassy in Kyiv reopens.



The Israel Brief – 18 May 2022 – Meron prepares for Lag B’Omer. 65year old charged with threatening PM. Israel sends Ambassador to Chad. Israel sends helmets and flak jackets to Ukraine.



The Israel Brief – 19 May 2022 – Israel sends military aid to Ukraine. UK Home Secretary: BDS is racist! Update into Al Akleh investigation. US Congress vote to condemn antisemitism.




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17.05.2022 – Rolene Marks discusses media bias in the shooting of Al – Jazeera reporter, Shireen Abu Akleh.






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).