Month: September 2023

The Israel Brief- 11-14 September 2023

The Israel Brief – 11 September 2023 – Earthquake in Morocco. Israeli delegation in Saudi Arabia. War of Words. Team Israel at Invictus.




The Israel Brief – 12 September 2023 – Supreme Court convenes for historical deliberation. Mayor of Paris slams Abbas. Iran on Israel’s border? Remembering 9/11.



The Israel Brief – 13 September 2023 – Crisis in government? PM Netanyahu and Zelensky to meet at UNGA. MFA Eli Cohen off to UAE. Celebrating 3 years of the Abraham Accords.



The Israel Brief – 14 September 2023 – Ben Gvir to boycott coalition. Massive arms cache discovered in Ashdod. Team Israel wins 6 medals. Israel approaches Rosh Hashanah.






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).

HIGH ANXIETY

Following Israelis expressing their anxieties within society today from protest to poetry, lay of the Land  publishes another in our ongoing series. From fractures in Israel society to a sharp rise in terrorism, the son of Holocaust survivors reflects through this poem of living on the edge. Even something as mundane as commuting on a bus, becomes in Jerusalem today an existential experience.
Is it paranoia or reality?
David E. Kaplan  Lay of the Land Editor


UNTIL 120 – A REALITY CHECK

By Solly Kaplinski

Every morning
I normally take the 6.57 Egged bus
to the light rail station in French Hill
The train is usually packed
but invariably, someone stands up for me
a sort of back handed compliment:
respect for the grey hair and
me coming to terms with my ageing self
– and my impending mortality
Until 120, I tell myself

The 70 faces are all present and accounted for
women burying their faces in the Shacharit prayers
lips moving furiously
young soldiers and border police
high spirited and seemingly deep in superficial conversation
eyes darting in all directions
reluctant children going to school glued to their cellphones
vatikim with empty agalot off to the shuk
Our cousins are also on board conversing animatedly
and a tower of babel cacophony of tourist and worker languages


Such a normal slice of life – like anywhere else in the world
the rush hour for those who open up the morning.
But my usual paranoid self gets the better of me – as always…
I am a child of Holocaust survivors you know
and I have lived with exploding buses and burnt-out restaurants
and Jew butchers on the loose
And I cast suspicious eyes on my fellow travelers
looking for anything out of the ordinary:
someone in disguise
an over-stuffed duffel bag
a hand in a bulging pocket or
holding a scrunched-up Rami Levi sakit
ready for coiled action

I step out into the sunshine and blue sky
at the Hechalutz station
And there’s a spring in my walk
I’m almost at the office


Until 120, I tell myself

_______________________________________


Shacharit: early morning prayers
Vatikim – seniors
Agalot – small shopping trollies
Rami Levi – a discount supermarket chain
Sakit – a plastic shopping bag
Hechalutz – pioneer




About the writer:

Solly Kaplinski headed up Jewish Day Schools in Cape Town, Toronto and Vancouver before making Aliyah with Arleen almost 25 years ago. His professional life in Israel is bookended by working at Yad Vashem and then at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Solly is also the author of the novella A World of Pain: A Redemptive Parable? His three daughters, their spouses and an egalitarian minyan of grandchildren all live 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).


LAW REFORM 101

Israel should avoid replicating South Africa’s National Party shenanigans

By Peter Bailey

Counsel for the government of Israel, in applying for a postponement of the Supreme Court hearing on the Reasonableness Law said “The petitions involve historical, jurisprudential and doctrinal issues on a massive scale, and they likely lack precedent in the history of the High Court of Justice and other authorities. It’s doubtful that they have precedent in the entire Western world”. While there might not be an international precedent on the Reasonableness Law, there is certainly precedent material with regard to a democratically elected government trying to usurp the authority of a High or Supreme Court, and the end result.

The current situation in Israel is very reminiscent of political events in South Africa during the period 1951/1952 following the victory of the right wing Reformed Nationalist Party and its equally right wing Afrikaner Party partner in the 1948 general election. The primary objective of the governing coalition was to  pass legislation that would ensure its continuation as the governing party in a “democratic dictatorship”, by rigging the system. Ridding the voter’s role of the Mixed Race voters, colloquially referred to as Coloured voters, whose rights were entrenched, suited the Nationalist Party’s racial policies, while simultaneously removing a substantial block of voters who supported the opposition. Doing so would almost guarantee the coalition’s ability to hold onto power in future elections. This resulted in the Separate Representation of Voters Act of 1951, disenfranchising Coloured voters. The law was subsequently invalidated and set aside by the Supreme Court of South Africa as being unconstitutional, as it had not been passed by  the required two thirds parliamentary majority, but by the coalition’s slim 9 seat majority in the 150 seat parliament.

Onslaught on Judiciary. South Africa’s old Supreme Court in Bloemfontein when in the early 1950s was being undermined by the Nationalist government in furtherance of its agenda to disenfranchise the Coloured community.

The response from the governing coalition was to pass legislation in 1952 titled the High Court of Parliament Act, which would allow a simple majority in both houses of Parliament to set aside any judgment of the Supreme Court of South Africa. The Legislature consisted of an upper house, the Senate, with its members elected indirectly by the four provinces, and a lower house, the Parliament, elected by White and enfranchised Colored voters. During 1953, the Supreme Court invalidated the High Court of Parliament Act, with the Chief Justice stating:

 “The so-called High Court of Parliament is not a court of law, but simply Parliament functioning under another name … Parliament cannot, by passing an act giving itself the name of a court of law, come to any decision which will have the effect of destroying the entrenched provisions of the (Supreme Court in the) constitution“.

The Government response to the Supreme Court ruling came in 1955 when the Senate was artificially enlarged with government appointed members who would ensure a two thirds majority, and so the Colored voters were soon disenfranchised with a contrived two thirds majority vote.

These attempts by the South African government coalition to set itself above the Supreme Court between 1951 and 1955, bear many similarities to the current attempts by Israel’s governing coalition to empower themselves to overrule the High Court with a simple majority in the Knesset. While the South African right wing coalition was able to manipulate the rules to its own advantage by maintaining popular support, the turn of events in Israel have shown that there is a huge groundswell of public disapproval of the intended law reforms.

Cataclysmic Clash. Determining the future character of the state of Israel, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces off against Esther Hayut,Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel.

Returning to the South African example, once the parliamentary vote was rigged to suit the governing Nationalist Party, there was nothing to hold them back from passing a plethora of discriminatory laws which entrenched the Apartheid policies of the government. These laws encompassed every aspect of life for non-White South Africans, defining who they could marry and where they could live and work. While these three factors were crucial to enable government policies, what became known as Petty Apartheid soon reared its ugly head. White facilities such as parks, churches, shopping centers, cinemas and sporting facilities were soon denied to non-whites, with Black, Colored, and Asiatic South Africans each having to develop their own racially exclusive facilities.         

Parallels between the racist policies of the South African government are very evident in the racist and divisive policies enunciated by the extreme right wing parties in Israel, as well as by some on the extreme right fringe of the Likud.  These extreme racist views do not permeate the whole coalition in Israel, with the ultra-orthodox component more concerned with looking after its own constituency, while the extreme policies are designed to attend to the wants and needs of its own largely nationalist religious supporters. This brings us to the sought after law reforms of the Israeli right wing, where the similarity with South Africa ends, as each component of the coalition wants similar changes to the judiciary for very different reasons and to attain divergent ends. This desire to change the judicial system is the only cement actually holding the current coalition together.

The prime mover of the law reform has been justice minister Yaariv Levin, whose grandfather hailed from Kroonstad, a bastion of Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa’s Orange Free State.  Levin might well have an agenda of his own, but appears to be acting in the best interests of his boss, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is facing several criminal charges with varying degrees of gravity, which he blames on the system, including the police, the attorney general’s office and the judiciary for fabricating. Laws dubbed as the Netanyahu Law have been passed to benefit the prime minister, with the courts apparently reluctant to allow laws with personal benefits to pass muster. So the Likud wants and supports legal reform to help to allow their leader to get off the hook.

Power Broker. Justice minister Yariv Levin, whose forbears hail from Kroonstad in South Africa, introduces plan to curtail power of judiciary that would boost the power of the elected officials over the courts. (Photo Ben Hakoon)

Thrown into the mix are the extreme right wing Religious Zionism and Otzmah Yehudit parties, who would like legal changes allowing them to have free rein in the West Bank to bring about a de facto, and preferably de jure annexation of the territory by Israel. They would then probably look to introducing policies similar to Bantustan policies that held sway in South Africa during the Apartheid years. Creating Arabstans (including Israeli Arabs) looks well suited to fitting their world view of settling the Israel Arab conflict. Nothing less than a totally subjugated Arab population subject to Jewish rule will satisfy Israel’s racist extreme right wing parties.

Next up with a ‘wish list’ are the haredi parties – United Torah Judaism and Shas – representing the ultra-orthodox communities in Israel. They have an interest in changing the legal status in order to obtain maximum financial benefits for their congregants, while keeping their children out of military service. Their support for the coalition has been bought with handouts from Netanyahu that will be paid for by the Israeli taxpayers, with very few ultra-Orthodox counted  among the tax paying public.

Few are Smiling Today. While there was much smiling at the President’s residence in Jerusalem on December 29, 2022, by members of Netanyahu’s new Israeli government, outside today in Israel’s streets, people protest against this government’s assault on the Supreme Court.  (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The needs and desires of prime minister Netanyahu, his right- wing Likud members and his coalition partners remain focused on self-gratification; they are quite prepared to see the rest of Israel suffer the fallout, from destructive damage to the IDF, right through to an economic collapse.

This article began with South Africa and the 1948 National Party victory which ushered in  disrespect for the established rule of law and ended in 1994 with an economic collapse followed by  precisely what the Nats were seeking to avoid: Black majority rule.

Let me end off by expressing the hope that the end result of extreme right and ultra-orthodox aspirations don’t bring about the end of the Democratic Jewish State of 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).

TAKE A WEIGHT OFF YOUR MIND

What if your weight is not the real issue?

By  Justine Friedman

I may be unpopular for saying this – and that’s ok – but it must be said. The answer to feeling uncomfortable within yourself and your body may logically seem to be to lose weight.

BUT is that really what’s going on?

Yes, I hear that your clothes aren’t fitting you the same anymore (or maybe not at all), and you don’t recognise yourself when you look in the mirror. But does this mean that weight loss will be the magic answer?

Or is there more to this dance?

We are constantly bombarded by solutions to the most painful problems we have. And most of the time the promises offered neither solve our pain, nor do they bring the relief we are looking for.

  • Just eat this and you will lose weight
  • Just do this exercise and you will get a 6-pack in 10 days.
  • Take this pill and you will be carefree.

A quick result with minimal effort is what this instant generation craves.

But the truth is that anything valuable in life generally comes from hard work and dedication. The two important words I stress to clients are CONSISTENCY & COMPASSION.

I believe these are the keys to building habits and a lifestyle of health and well-being.

With consistency comes reward  – as long as we are putting into place the habits that are best for ourselves.

Regardless of what you choose, the habits that you decide on, first need to make sense for you and before you choose to keep them for good, I suggest testing them out and being curious about how they fit into your life and feel in your body.

Big declarations like “I will never eat carbs again” may seem like a good idea today when you hit the pit of self-loathing, but when your blood sugar dips, your hormones are all over the show, and you are stressed out and then tuck into a chocolate bar or packet of crisps, the result leaves you feeling angry and guilty for breaking the promise you made to yourself.

So before you toss the carbs out the window, and go on a 16:8 hour intermittent fasting regime, ask yourself:

 “Can I do this forever and how would it feel to give it a try and test it out first?” (Disclaimer – I am not suggesting intermittent fasting or low-carb diets!)

That brings me to the next important word COMPASSION.

Being hard on yourself may feel like the best way to get to your goal, but has it really worked for you?

Think about what happens if your kid makes a mistake. Do you “let them have it” by rebuking in deed and word how disappointed you are in them? Would that influence them to behave differently in the future? Or can you instead guide and help them learn from their mistakes so that they can do better – not perfect – next time around?

You are no different.

The little “you” within you needs the same kind of encouragement and understanding. After all, guilt and self-loathing rarely result in weight loss (unless you have an active eating disorder and if so, please seek professional help).

Being compassionate does not mean being weak….it doesn’t mean that you will allow yourself to eat whatever you want when you want because you are feeling “sorry for yourself”.

NO… it means understanding what you have the capacity for each day and tailoring your expectations on that day to what you can manage.

So on a day that you have good energy, it may mean enjoying more aerobic exercise and tackling more things on your to-do list. And on a day that you woke up after a poor night’s sleep, feeling hormonal and your kid is sick, you may move your body gently or not at all. Take care to have nourishing foods around, and do fewer demanding tasks.

So back to the elephant in the room: Your weight!

Is it ok to want to lose weight – yes of course.

Is it possible that making that the focus of your efforts and thoughts is causing you to make poor choices and try crazy eating plans that are unsustainable? Can we agree on a yes to that too?

So how DO you feel better, manage your weight AND achieve it without over-exercising, feeling restricted, hangry, anxious, depleted, starved, and avoiding all the foods that bring you pleasure?

One small step at a time. Winning a marathon doesn’t happen with a giant leap, and your life is not the 400m sprint.

Let me map it out for you and give you the gems from the process that I personally use and that my clients get the best results from.

Choose a goal unrelated to weight such as wanting more energy, to be less moody, enjoy better sleep, reduced cravings and to feel less bloated.

Look at when you feel this way naturally and focus on identifying the behaviours associated with that outcome. For example, if I read before I go to bed, do I sleep better? When I have more protein with my lunch, do I feel less of an urge to snack in the afternoon? Once you have identified the beneficial traits and act accordingly, you will begin to feel less hungry as well as less moody.

Actively implement this in your schedule and repeat it daily.

Next, choose a new habit that you want to include – most people choose to drink more water. I often hear, “I will drink 2 litres every day!” Is this realistic? If you are only drinking a glass a day right now, then aiming for 8 is a far reach. Focus on having 1-2 glasses extra each day for a week and when you are reaching that with ease, then proceed again incrementally.

When you attain your goal – albeit it small –  feel free to give yourself the proverbial big pat on the back. You deserve it. This positively reinforces that you are succeeding in your personalised approach. And just like a kid who thrives on positive reinforcement, you will be more likely to repeat this behaviour.

What if you don’t achieve what you set out to do? Instead of jumping to judgement and indulging in self-criticism, get curious and ask yourself what happened that made you drop the ball. By understanding what transpired, you can better prepare for the future. That way you’ll be able to prevent repeating the same mistakes. However, If you keep repeating these identifiable missteps, then maybe  what you believed were the right remedies were for you unsuitable, and you will need to reassess and try a different approach.

You don’t have to do this alone! If you feel stuck and don’t know where to start – reach out and work with someone who can tailor-make a plan of action that will support you.

It must be realistic and this may mean taking weight-loss goals off the table in the beginning while you focus on creating a lifestyle that supports your long-term health goals.



About the writer:

Justine Friedman works as a clinical dietician and a mindset mentor. She has over 20 years experience in supporting clients to make sustainable and practical lifestyle adjustments. Her focus is empowering women over 40 to make the necessary changes to feel confident with their food choices and at peace with food, while at the same time managing their weight without restriction or guilt. She works with women both 1:1 as well as in her online signature group program, “The Wellness Upgrade”. For more information visit her website on www.justinefriedman.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).

ELITISM AND THE JUDICIARY

Disentangling the toxic from merit-based judicial elitism

By Lawrence Nowosenetz

Bitter divisions are wracking Israeli society over the recently passed reasonableness legislation. This legislation is part of what was a planned package of judicial reforms by the coalition government. The reforms are touted as being necessary to restore democracy and return the will of the voters  to the elected representatives of the voters of Israel. The judges of the Supreme Court of Israel have been accused of overstepping the mark, entering politics, and making policy decisions based on their notions of reasonableness of government action and even legislation.

There is more than an undercurrent of criticism of the judges. Various commentators and politicians have stated that the  judiciary is undemocratic as it is unelected, and the judges are an elite and unrepresentative of a large part of  Israeli society.  The criticism of the selection of judges at present, is that the judges control this process and appoint their own peers. Thus a small self-appointed elite is making the important decisions and is out of touch with the wishes and needs of the electorate.  The reforms sought  are said  to aim at remedying this injustice and place the appointment of the judges in the hands of politicians and importantly the majority of whom are coalition government politicians. What can be wrong with this? Government by the people, for the people.

Sounds great except that it is not so simple. There are some gross distortions of social justice and violations of robust established principles of justice and good governance.  Misunderstandings about the role of the judiciary and gross disrespect for the rule of law also inform this most abused idea of elitism being at the root of all the evil within the judiciary.   

Unveiling or Unleashing? Justice Minister Yariv Levin unveils his plan for overhauling the judicial system at a press conference in January 2023 leading to protests across the country now in its ninth month. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

We are living in a populist era where the idea of a select few having a privileged position in society is looked upon with disfavour. We have become so obsessed with the notion of equality and our aversion of discrimination that we have lost sight of the moral basis of elitism, which is merit. We are all equal in worth and all men and women were created in the image of G-d. This is a noble immutable and just social principle except that it overlooks  one thing: We are not equal in ability. The more able are entitled to the fruits of their talents and contributions towards the welfare of society.  This entitlement is based on merit and not on patronage, popularity, political favour  or background.  Elitism is toxic when it is undeserved. George Orwell satirised this in his famous novel Animal Farm where the corrupt political doctrine “some are more equal than others” made a huge impact on  our thought.  We need to disentangle  toxic from  merit-based  elitism.      

Judges  are not public representatives and never were meant to be elected. Indeed popularity, particularly temporal political approval, is no criterion at all for fitness for judicial office. As eminent US law professor Allan Dershowitz has remarked,  the judiciary is actually anti-majoritarian. He has supported the existing  Israeli system of judicial selection as  better than the US system where the US Supreme Court is perceived as being politicised. To state the other side of the coin, judges are and should be  an elite. Peer recommendation plays a legitimate role. Senior jurists  are in the  best position to evaluate the competence and fitness of their colleagues. Successful societies  need top  jurists  who have earned their place by skill, character, experience, maturity, independence, and service to society.  Their loyalty is to the State and the protection of the rights of all that are affected by the laws. The State is not the same as the government. Political ideologies and governments come and go but the State binds every citizen to respect the founding values and rule of law. Judges are only answerable to the rule of law.    

We have elites in all walks of life and professions. Not only judges. We have engineers and scientists who design weapons and technology to protect  us from attack by our enemies.  There are skilled surgeons who save lives and improve the quality of our lives by their expert medical knowledge and dedication. There are hi-tech entrepreneurs who have gifted the world with innovations and  computer solutions which have brought huge investments, profits and tax revenues flowing to Israel.  They are the elites of the Start-Up Nation. None of these people were placed in their positions because they were popular or demographically representative. They succeeded on merit, and it made no difference what background they came from.   

Judges are in a similar expert category although they differ in that they are public officials. They constitute the third layer of government but unlike the two layers of the legislature and the executive, the judiciary is independent of them. That is the essence of the separation-of-powers doctrine. Each has separate spheres of power and competency. Judicial independence is not limited to independent decision making, but also to independence in their appointment from political influence.   This is an international standard protected by various declarations of the UN the EU and other international legal bodies.     

Judges are trained professionals and not ideologues or politicians. They are trained in concepts of rights, procedures, and legal theory. They gain  experience in real situations and have to distinguish conflicting claims of fact and law. They are required to uphold the rule of law.  They are required to make decisions which may conflict with their personal political convictions and have to distance themselves from  predisposed  personal political or social views.  The best of them have an independent outlook which does not change according to the governing politics of the day. Strong moral character and a commitment to basic justice defines them.    

Judicial review is a topic which has engaged lawyers since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Marbury v Madison in the early 1800’s that established the principle of judicial review in the US, meaning that American courts enjoy the power to strike down laws and statutes that they find to violate the Constitution.

Marbury v Madison. US Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review in the United States. 

Law is work in progress. There is no definitive state of the art about the powers of courts to intervene in legislative and executive action. This is a balancing act within a county’s constitutional  framework.  Law develops slowly and sometimes painfully as do social values.  We  cannot however turn back the clock. The role of the judiciary not only in Israel but in other democratic jurisdictions is constantly evolving. The days of parliamentary supremacy are waning. We have seen  the slippery slope to political absolutism. It has led to the violations of basic rights, dictatorship and worse, as seen in Nazi Germany and Apartheid South Africa. Judges have to ensure the law meets the standards of successful, free, and prosperous democratic societies.  Paul Kruger, the President of the old Boer Republic of the Transvaal (ZAR) in South Africa at the turn of the twentieth century, called ‘judicial review’ the work of the devil. Neither he nor his republic lasted long. 

In countries with an English common law tradition, the courts have always had what is known as an inherent jurisdiction. This includes the power to fill lacunae or vacuums in the law. This includes  an interpretive function based on principles of justice.  Indeed Jewish values are based on  justice rather than  legal rules.  The Torah speaks of tzedek tzedek tirdof (justice  justice shall you pursue) rather than  mishpat mishpat tirdof  (law, law shall you pursue).  

The South African Constitution, internationally held in high regard, states in Section 173 :

 “The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and High Courts have the inherent power to protect and regulate their own process and to develop the common law taking into account the interests of justice.”  

The judges of the Supreme Court have few modern common law sources at its disposal as a result of the youth of the State of Israel and the repeal of English common law precedent in 1980. It therefore has to reach far wider and deeper in developing a system of law based on justice. Its inherent jurisdiction was recognised in the Israel Foundations of Law statute of 1980:

“Where a court facing a legal question requiring  decision, finds no answer to it in statute law or case law or by analogy, it shall decide it in light of the principles of freedom, justice, equity and peace of Israel’s heritage”.  

The best lawyers  are required for  this daunting task. It requires wisdom, insight, a solid grasp of established legal norms and values, as well as the roots of Israel’s heritage. Surgeons are not second-guessed for their professional decisions unlike judges who are subjected to degrading and disparaging criticism. People are  often displeased with the outcome of a case and the immediate reaction is that the court is predisposed to favour or not favour a certain person or group. Few bother to examine the reasoning behind the decision.

It is up to the judiciary to interpret laws and apply the rule of law.  Their role is to fill legal gaps  (lacunae). Israel is replete with such gaps as it has no formal constitution,  a Bill of Rights, nor a developed common law. Judges thus have declaratory powers and in this respect they have the last say as to what the law is. This does not mean they are exercising judicial supremacy. They are rather custodians of the higher legal values which constitute the foundational legal  basis of the country. They do not generate legislation; they only exercise quality control and only decide on cases which are brought to them. The fact that they interpret laws and have declaratory powers about the cases before them does not make them dictators nor legislators. Anyone who reads the judicial decisions and  legal literature will soon realise that judges follow a policy of caution and a reluctance when  entering  the arena of government policy  and interfering with  existing laws.   Indeed in the past 30 years of judicial activism, there has  been    approximately one decision on average per year which has overturned  a law.  Judges make law as a last resort. Not a first resort.

The work of the Israel Supreme Court has been oversimplified and distorted in the public discourse raging in Israel. The loud voices proclaim that the court, an unelected elite, imposes its own agenda on government: It  obstructs  the will of the people.   These are at best misleading allegations and at worst shocking and discrediting misrepresentations about the conduct of the judiciary. Many of the loud  supporters of judicial reform possess no expert knowledge and experience in legal theory and practice. Seldom is there any  meaningful discussion of the offending judgments and there is no attempt to examine and analyse the reasoning of these activist  decisions. Some writers  have  made the absurd claim that  ‘reasonableness’ depends on the whim or subjective preference of the judge. This is grossly false. The very legal notion of ‘reasonableness’ is an objective test and stringently applied. Established jurisprudential criteria are carefully weighed up.  

Battle of the Buildings. Supreme Court and the Knesset (behind) in a showdown with the character of Israel’s democracy hanging in the balance.

Judges are highly disciplined professionals governed by strict ethical rules. They are restricted from public comment and cannot defend these accusations.  It subverts the social  order for the trust and confidence of the judiciary to be maligned. Criticism needs to be based on sound legal principles based on international best practice and not ad hominem attacks on the background and ethnicity of judges. This leads to tearing down the legitimacy of the courts and undermines respect for the justice system.  

It is time to value and respect the elites in the judiciary who are the guardians of our freedom and also the custodians of righteous  Jewish values according to the heritage of Israel.



About the writer

Born in Pretoria, Lawrence Nowosenetz obtained his BA at University of the Witwatersrand and LL.B at the University of South Africa. Admitted as an attorney and advocate in South Africa, he practiced at the Pretoria and Johannesburg Bar and worked as a human rights and labour lawyer at the Legal Resources Centre, a public interest law firm. Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, Lawrence completed an internship in the USA and is presently a part-time Senior Commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) as well as a panelist at Tokiso Dispute Settlement – the largest private dispute resolution provider in South Africa. He has also served as an Acting Judge of the Hight Court, 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).

Lay of the Land Weekly Newsletter- 10 September 2023

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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Lay of the Land express our condolences to all who have lost their loved ones in the horrific earthquake in Morocco. Our prayers are with all who are affected.Israel is sending search and rescue teams and humanitarian assistance. We stand with the people of Morocco.



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)

BATTLING WITH THE BASICS

While confidence in Netanyahu’s government drops, consumer prices rise

By David E. Kaplan

Taking Stock. Prices at the till sour as people’s confidence in Israel’s governing coalition plummets.

As an extreme right-wing government struggles with bulldozing forward on judicial overhaul, Israeli consumers struggle with rising prices. Breaking with his governing coalition colleagues, Likud MK David Bitan admitted this week the folly and the harm of this track. Is he a lone voice in government or will others follow?

BATTLING WITH THE BASICS

(Click on the blue title)



(2)

A LOOKOUT OF HOPE

A highpoint of  a tour of northern Israel proved to be the highest point overlooking Rosh Pina

By Stephen Schulman

Picturesque and Poignant. A tranquil lookout named after Nimrod Segev who fell in the Second Lebanon War. 

A majestic observation terrace overlooking Rosh Pina unveils to visitors not only a vista of Israel’s fertile north, but a vista – in the words of the writer – of “selflessness, sacrifice, loss, grief, love and affirmation.” The contours of nature and human relationships all merge at Nimrod Lookout.

A LOOKOUT OF HOPE

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HIGH ANXIETY

There is no escaping the turbulence and torment

A poem by Fonda Dubb

Time out from Tumult. Protester lies in foliage during massive demonstration in Jerusalem against judicial overhaul.

Israel’s current crisis is not only of the state but the state of its people. From being a “happy people” as multiple polls attest, Israelis are less happy today at their country’s shift from democracy. Some have found an outlet by expressing their feelings not only in protest but also in poetry.

HIGH ANXIETY

(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).

BATTLING WITH THE BASICS

While confidence in Netanyahu’s government drops, consumer prices rise

By David E. Kaplan

At last Saturday night’s demonstration against the governments judicial reform in Kfar Saba, a friend of mine, defying the deafening din, blasted profoundly in my ear:

“You know, never in my wildest dreams did I ever believe when I was protesting as a 20-year-old medical student in South Africa that I would be protesting as a doctor in my seventies.”

Five decades later and in another country, and we feel we are back where we started. To get seventy-year-olds and older out every Saturday night standing for hours, listening to speeches repeating what we all know and agree, bellowing “Busha” (shame) repeatedly while holding aloft the Israeli flag and then walking home saying farewells to friends, “Same place, same time next week,” then clearly, to paraphrase the Great Bard:

 “Something is rotten in the State of Israel”.

Saturday Night Fever. A typical Saturday night at city square Kfar Saba with protestors. People tend to stand in same areas meeting the same people each week.

Much of the country knows it, including those brave enough in the Likud at admit it. In my recent article ‘IS THERE EVEN JUST ONE?’ I asked:

 “Where is the one in Netanyahu’s coalition who is going to finally stand up and say – “enough”?”

Well, maybe cracks are appearing.

Has now the proverbial ‘penny dropped’ – the shekel has – with Likud MK David Bitan’s headline admission in the news? Using the platform of Israel Bar Association’s 12th annual conference, Bitan in his address to Israel’s legal fraternity, admitted that his governing coalition had made a mistake with the judicial reform adding that his government was failing to give sufficient attention to other important issues unrelated to judicial reform – like the soaring cost of living! He alludes that he is not alone by revealing that  “There are [other] members in the Likud who think so too.” Seemingly unafraid – unlike his colleagues –  he publicly admits that his Likud party:

 “….was harmed by this move, and it will continue to be harmed if we don’t reach broad agreements.”

Bitan was clearly seeing what most his political bedfellows were failing see or as the astute 16th century saying goes:

“There are none so blind as those who will not see.”

If the coalition pursued its judicial reform legislation warned Bitan, “credit rating companies would follow up on their threats and drop Israel’s rating.”

It was happening.

No Age Limit. Afar cry the writer recalls from the protests in South Africa against Apartheid where the average age was below twenty. Looking around at the protests in Kfar Saba, the average age appears to be 55 and over.

While affirming Israel’s rating in April at A1, Moody’s in July then warned Israel that continuing judicial overhaul legislation would have negative consequences on Israel’s economy. Ever since the judicial reform was presented, credit rating companies have warned that the situation would lead to a downgrade in ratings and hardly unexpected, at the end of July, Morgan Stanley did lower Israel’s rating.

Clearly, Israel’s government is battling with the basics. As Bitan continued in his Bar Association address, the government is failing to give sufficient attention to other important issues that are not related to the reform.

As Israel’s government struggles with bulldozing forward on judicial ‘reforms’ – a misnomer if ever there was one –  consumers struggle with rising prices.

“We could be dealing with a lot of things at the same time,” Bitan continued. “The cost of living needs to be dealt with. It’s not just on the government, but the government needs to change directions. It’s not doing its part. The responsibility is ours, and we need to give attention to the rest of the issues outside of the reform. Unfortunately, only some of us are working in other fields.”

What an admission by this Likud MK and what a shocking indictment against the government in which he serves.

David Denounced. Likud MK David Bitan in the Knesset. What he had to say at the recent Israel Bar Association’s 12th annual conference did not please his Likud colleagues, who were quick to respond that it did not represent the party’s position.

Since Netanyahu returned to the premiership at the beginning of 2023, prices in Israel have only continued to rise. Despite campaign promises to address the high cost of living, most of the prime minister’s focus in 2023 has been on passing sweeping judicial reforms, something hardly addressed during the campaign. Although  inflation and the rising cost-of-living were Likud campaign promises, once in government, it relegated these issues to a low priority, subordinate to the judicial overhaul. The result – as confidence in the government has plummeted, consumer prices rise.

Commensurate with Netanyahu government’s failure to grapple with reality, more and more regular Israelis are failing to grapple with their financial situation. Struggling to make ends meet, Sharona Bat Haim, a cleaner and single mother of two girls, told The Jerusalem Post’s Media Line that:

“I have no money and prices keep going up. I don’t know how I will cope. I will probably have to stop buying meat for my other daughter, but I don’t want to discriminate.”

Tapping into this cry from the people, opposition leader, Yair Lapid said at a recent protest, “Milk, fruits and vegetables, meat—all the prices are going up. We will come back to power, and we will lower the prices.”

In the first quarter of 2023, foreign investment dropped by 60%. This is according to a Treasury report revealed by Israel’s chief economist on Wednesday.  The preliminary data paints a troubling picture of a steep drop in foreign investment transactions, totaling approximately $6.2 billion. Comparing with the quarterly averages in previous years, the data represents a “HEFTY PLUMMET”.

Is this not a sufficient sobering confirmation of the dire warnings for months by esteemed economists against the government’s controversial judicial overhaul?

Israel needs to recalibrate its priorities. Sadly, the Likud has distanced itself from its lamenting MK David Bitan refuting his public utterances at the Israel Bar Association as “not the position held by the party.”

Warned and Ignored. Rating agency Moody’s warned in July on the negative consequences of the government’s judicial reform for Israel’s economy.

Considering the destructive makeup of the governing coalition and the ‘March of Folly” its leading this country, what is needed is  YES – a pressing overhaul – but not of the judiciary but of Israel’s present political leadership!

This is why seventy-year-olds like every other age of participating protestors across Israel, will continue to block off their calander’s Saturday nights for the foreseeable future.





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- 04-07 September 2023

The Israel Brief – 04 September 2023 – IDF arrest 3 Hamas terrorists. Riots in Tel Aviv. Did the Libyan PM meet Mossad? Solidarity campaign.



The Israel Brief – 05 September 2023 – Coalition agreement drama. Shekel devalues. NY Times a Shanda. Remembering Munich.



The Israel Brief – 06 September 2023 – PM Netanyahu to talk to Pres. Zelensky. Papua New Guinea open embassy in Jerusalem. Road to Saudi normalization. Today’s epic BDS fail.



The Israel Brief – 07 September 2023 – Abbas vile comments. Israelis trapped in Greece. Emirates plane with Israelis forced to land in Malaysia. Ribo rocks The Garden.






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 LOOKOUT OF HOPE

A highpoint of  a tour of northern Israel proved to be the highest point overlooking Rosh Pina

By Stephen Schulman

In the Upper Galilee, on the lower eastern slopes of Mt. Kna’an (Canaan), nestles Rosh Pina. This picturesque, small town founded in 1882, stands as a testament to the foresight, enterprise and tenacity of the early pioneers who helped lay the foundations of the modern State of Israel.

Steeped in history, the town is dotted with interesting historical sites. Walking up the steep hill from the main road, you encounter the Baron’s Park that marks the beginning of the old, original neighborhood and named in honor of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the settlement’s early benefactor. Continuing upwards along the walking path, you can visit the home of Professor Mer who searched for a solution to the problem of malaria that plagued the early settlers in the swampy Hula valley. Still higher up is the synagogue, Rosh Pina’s first public building, now restored and in use.

 Prime position. A reminder of Nimrod in the prime of his life, colourful flowers in full bloom as one approaches the observation terrace of Nimrod Lookout from the path below. (Photo: Stephen Schulman)
 

Ascending further, you enter the first street of the settlement, the cobbled Hanadiv Street that leads up to the highest point in the town: the Nimrod Lookout: a magnificent observation terrace that stands at an elevation of 500 meters, overlooking the town and commanding a clear view of the Hula valley, the Golan Heights to the east and Mount Hermon to the north.

Named after Nimrod Segev, this gem of tranquility and beauty tells a story of selflessness, sacrifice, loss, grief, love and affirmation.

Welcome to Nimrod Lookout. A smiling Nimrod welcomes visitors to the Lookout. (Photo: Stephen Schulman)

Nimrod, a fourth generation born and raised in Rosh Pina was imbued with a deep love of nature and the landscape. Growing up, wandering freely in the village and surrounding countryside, he developed an intimate knowledge of and attachment to them both. At the age of 25, he married Iris, the love of his life, who had brought with her little Vicky from a previous marriage. Nimrod adopted and loved her as his own and soon she was joined by a baby brother Omer.

After matriculating, he left the small town to study and graduate with a degree in computer engineering from the Microsoft College in Herzlia. The small family then moved to the city of Ramat Gan from where he commuted to and worked as a valued employee at the corporation’s center in Ra’anana and where his charm and warmth endeared him to all. At weekends they would return to visit his parents and reconnect with the countryside of his birthplace. His father Hezi recalls how Nimrod would stop the car to listen to the trickling of the stream that ran near their house, shake off the dust of the city and inhale the special atmosphere of the Galilee.

Deck this Out. A panoramic view from the Lookout deck of Rosh Pina below and the north of Israel all the way to the Golan and Mt. Hermon. (Photo: Stephen Schulman)

In March 1996, Nimrod was drafted into the Israeli Defense Forces and served in the armored corps. In the Second Lebanon War, whilst serving in the reserves, he was called up. On the 9th August 2006, while protecting his village, his parents’ home and the countryside he loved so much, his tank that was providing cover for bulldozers paving a route near the Lebanese village of Eitah ah-Shaab struck a roadside bomb and seconds later was hit by an anti-tank missile. Nimrod and his tank crew of Gilad Shtukelman, Nir Cohen and Noam Goldman were all killed. Nimrod was 28 years old.

War and Peace. The avenue alongside this peaceful lookout with the names of Nimrod Segev and his fellow tank crew comrades Gilad Shtekelman, Nir Cohen and Gilad Goldman who fell on 9 August 2006 during the Second Lebanon War. (Photo: Stephen Schulman)
 

The loss of a child is inconsolable and there is no salve for the wounds of grief and pain that do not heal with the passing of years. Hezi was determined to commemorate Nimrod’s name, to create a memorial to perpetuate his son’s legacy and pass it on for future generations.  An especially beloved place for Nimrod was a high vantage point above the town where, in his youth, he would come with his horse, sit in the shade of the trees, look out over the valley and enjoy the solitude and the silence. It was there that Hezi decided to create the memorial – a lookout.

The project was challenging. Being a private one, it would demand funding and the investment of much time and labor. Hezi was undeterred and set to work. With the help of volunteers and the generosity of donors, especially one from Canada who wished to remain anonymous, the site was completed in 2010.

Sights and Sounds. For up-close views of the countryside there is a telescope and to learn more about the area and Nimrod’s life, press a button to hear it all explained in your own language. (Photo: Stephen Schulman)

Today, Nimrod Lookout is a jewel in the crown of Rosh Pina. It boasts a magnificent observation terrace complete with a telescope, lighting, a computerized voice telling stories of and explanations of the landscape and plaques giving information on the topography and telling Nimrod’s story. Behind, in the cool shade of the trees, visitors can avail themselves of a drinking fountain, benches and tables. There is also Wi-Fi and the security of 24 hour surveillance cameras. The site is spotless, and surrounded with carefully planted and lovingly cultivated trees, shrubbery and flowers. Crowning it all is a magnificent fig tree that Nimrod used to sit under.

Hezi is in attendance daily, keeping a watchful eye on the place and giving talks to groups of visitors. He tells them about Nimrod, perpetuating the memory of his life, his cherished values and his legacy: of love for humanity and nature, the special love for the Upper Galilee countryside, its flora and fauna, the love of his country and in so doing, hoping to instill these same virtues in his listeners.

View from the Top. Nimrod’s father Hezi, on the Lookout deck, addressing visiting school children. (Photo: Stephen Schulman)

We were there one morning and joined a large group of teenagers from Venezuela who had come to hear the Outlook’s story. Hezi spoke softly and from the heart with an unpretentiousness and sincerity that kept his listeners in rapt attention. When he had finished, he said “You can ask any question you wish. I can only cry!”  Quite a few hands shot up and everyone was answered with patience and dignity. It was a moving experience.

When the group had departed, we stayed behind to chat to him and learned that his caring for and maintaining the lookout is not only a labor of love; it is a constant process that also involves great expense. Being a private venture freely open to the public, it has monthly bills for water, horticulture and electricity to be met plus the many other attendant expenses that the municipality also does not cover.

Father and Son. The atmosphere of his son all around, Hezi looks through the telescope upon the countryside below that Nimrod loved to explore from as a child to when his life was tragically cut short in 2006. (Photo: Stephen Schulman)

 According to the Hebrew calendar, Nimrod had died on the 15th of the month of Av; the Hebrew Valentine’s Day. Every year, on the evening of the anniversary of his passing, at the terrace, open to all, there is a short ceremony and then a show put on by a band for the enjoyment of everyone – remembering and celebrating Nimrod’s joy and love of life.

Getting to Nimrod Outlook presents no problem: you simply enter the town, turn into and go straight up the Main Road. If you do not wish to or are unable to walk uphill, you can arrive by car. There is ample parking and only the last 20 meters or so must be done on foot. The observation terrace is inspiring, the view is uplifting and meeting and listening to Hezi is an enriching experience. Highly recommended!




*Hezi Segev is a local tour guide. “If Walls Could Talk” is his award winning tour of the most special sites of Old Rosh Pina, telling the story of the place combined with the story of Nimrod. For booking, Hezi can be contacted at:   info@roshpina.org and at 050-532-5732
The upkeep of Nimrod Lookout involves substantial costs. Any donation would be greatly appreciated. Bank Details: Bank Hapoalim (12)Rosh Pina Branch542, Account No.22222, Account Name: Hezi Segev.





About the writer:

Stephen Schulman is a graduate of the South African Jewish socialist youth movement Habonim, who immigrated to Israel in 1969 and retired in 2012 after over 40 years of English teaching. He was for many years a senior examiner for the English matriculation and co-authored two English textbooks for the upper grades in high school. Now happily retired, he spends his time between his family, his hobbies and reading to try to catch up on his ignorance.






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).

HIGH ANXIETY

You cannot hide it nor disguise it; Israel is facing a political crisis. It’s a crisis not only of the state but the state of its people. From a decidedly happy people, we are a people less than happy at the new direction of their country since January 2023 caused by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s governing coalition’s unpopular and controversial overhaul of its judicial system. This is causing anxiety.

Some have found an outlet of this anxiety by expressing  what they are feeling not only in protest and prose but also in poetry. Here below is a poem by a Lay of the Land contributor from Israel’s southernmost resort city of Eilat.

David Kaplan (editor)


HELPLESS

By Fonda Dubb, Eilat

Sometimes I feel  my heart beating fast
My breath breathing faster
How can I stand aside and say or do nothing
I loathe the words that are spoken
I loathe the division that is so split and divided
I loathe the violence
That like an inferno rips the country apart.
It affects me so deeply
That I have to write
In the hope that there will be a change of heart
That I can look in the mirror and say
I did something!!
So I feel forgiven
But just for a little while
It takes time to adjust ones thoughts to one of gratitude for the many things bestowed on me
Family and friends to brighten up our days
Eilat with its beauty of mountains and sea.
They are not in the conflict of helplessness that I experience
They are G-d given
The joy of nature, of flowers and trees, butterflies and bees
They too like the birds that sing and fly at night are a gift of life.
I count my blessings every day
To remind myself of the many gifts of life
So never to forget that the opposite of helplessness is light and joy in the miracles of life.
It is my fervent prayer that we all believe in gratitude
To change our thoughts to one of prayer and forgiveness to make a better world to see the ” other side of life”.
Just to be kind to one another is goodness itself
to rid the helplessness we feel and see
A belief that one hand will stretch out and touch each another
So we can cling to hope that will never be abandoned
But will forever with our gratitude
Be intertwined together
While we pray for peace in our blessed land.





*Feature picture: A protester lies in foliage during a demonstration in Jerusalem July 24, 2023 against PM Netanyahu and his governing coalition’s judicial overhaul. (photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters).



About the Poet:

A former South African who daringly in her own unique way challenged the apartheid regime by teaching dance and cooking in “Black areas” in the Eastern Cape and Northern Transvaal, Fonda Dubb today resides in Eilat, Israel. (See article: The Right Moves). Her lifelong concern for others has led to her receiving numerous awards, most notably in 2012 the ‘Woman of the Year Miller Prize’ for volunteerism from the Mayor of Eilat.

In recent times, Fonda has taken to writing poetry drawing from her experiences both in South Africa and Israel, her values, as well as the natural beauty of Eilat. Her guiding star she says, is “a yellowing piece of paper” that hung in the consulting rooms of her late pathologist cousin, Dr. Johnathan Gluckman, who exposed the truth with his post-mortem of the famed Black anti-apartheid activist, Steve Biko, who met his untimely death in police custody. The words on that piece of paper read: “Good men have only to remain silent for evil to prevail”. These words says Fonda, “always stuck with me and influenced my way of thinking.”





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).