Thoughts and prayers for those brutally murdered and those held hostage in Gaza
By Rolene Marks
[Warning: Graphic Content]
I think of Kfir. I see his toothless baby grin, his head of burnished copper hair. He is 9 months old.
I think of Joshua and Clemence, two students from Tanzania who were in Israel on an agricultural programme, learning skills to take back to their country.
I think of Mia Schem. Beautiful Mia, whose blue eyes are haunting. Little Abigail Idan is 3-years- old. Her parents were killed in front of her and her siblings. Her sibling are safe but she was taken. She must be terrified. Is there someone to comfort her? To hold her? To make the monsters go away?
I think of Hersh. His arm was blown off. Is he still alive? Vivian Silver is in her 70’s. She is a peace activist. A Holocaust survivor taken in her wheelchair. Is her life going to be bookended by the horrors and tragedies the Jewish people know very well?
Ohad celebrated his 9th birthday as a hostage. The horror is unimaginable. They are babies and children, mothers, fathers, foreign workers, tourists, whole families, the elderly, men and women and the disabled.
I think of the young woman, dragged out from a jeep by her hair, hands bound behind her back and blood all over the seat of her pants. The unimaginable is obvious. She has been sexually assaulted, paraded like a prize in Gaza. Who tends to her wounds, who tends to her shattered, traumatized body?
At last count, 242 Israelis and foreign nationals have been taken hostage by Hamas terrorists. Like many, I spend a lot of time thinking about them and their families. I think of the empty spaces at the Shabbat dinner tables. I wonder if they are all being held together or if they have separated men from women, mothers from their babies.
I think of the families in anguish. They do not sleep, they do not eat. They just worry. They are enduring the unimaginable and their courage is staggering.
Watch:
Bring Back My Daughter
Israel is a nation still coming to terms with our shock and grief. The atrocities committed by Hamas happened in our home, to our citizens. We all know somebody who has been murdered, taken hostage of kidnapped.
We are learning more and more on a daily basis about the depths and levels of depravity that Hamas inflicted on our people. This was the greatest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.
Whole families exterminated, women and children raped and tortured, babies burnt and beheaded (yes, it HAS been substantiated), the elderly gunned down, revelers at a peace festival hunted like prey and worse – it was depravity and horror that even our worst nightmares couldn’t conjure. Where once there were family portraits of smiling parents with their children – there are funeral notices. There are barely any traces of some of the victims. They were reduced to ash, like our ancestors at Auschwitz.
On a nearly daily basis the number of hostages increases – this is despite four being released as Hamas play a macabre psychological game by pretending to be “humanitarian” and one female soldier, Uri Megidish being rescued by the IDF during ground operations in Gaza.
Every day I think of the hostages. Every day I think of the victims and their families. I think of Thomas Hand who was relieved to hear his 8-year-old-daughter Emily was dead, rather than face captivity by deranged Hamas. I think of the soldiers slaughtered in their beds or beheaded and left strewn across the floor. I know this happened because I bore witness as many did because massacre denials forced the hand of our government to have to show the barbarity so it can NEVER be denied again. I think of Shany Louk, dancing and twirling before we all saw her body, legs broken, kicked and spat at on the back of a truck. I think of Hamid, a devout Muslim Bedouin from Rahat, his wife was pumped full of bullets. She was wearing a hijab. I think of Awad the paramedic. He was Muslim too. I think of the Thai workers and the tourists. I think of them all.
Those calling for an immediate ceasefire – and there are those like celebrities who mean well but calling them naïve is an understatement – need to understand that all a ceasefire does is give a license to Hamas to commit more murder. Hamas needs to be eradicated for all our sakes. Sorry Angelina Jolie, Drake et al – we will take our military cues from our Generals.
What happened on 7 October was a crime against humanity, of barbarity that would seem so unfathomable but is very, very real.
The blood of the victims cries out from the ground and their voices from the place in heaven reserved only for our martyrs. We will settle the score with the terrorists who committed the crime. We will not rest until all our hostages and remains are returned to us – and we include captive Israelis Avera Mengistu, and Hisham Al-Sayed, held by Hamas for several years and the remains of fallen soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul who fell during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
For Zion’s sake we will not be silent. May the memories of all who were murdered be eternally blessed.
Moment Hamas attack Muslim father’s car – this is his incredible survival story
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 – 30 October 2023– The Israel Brief 30/10 Updates on Israel’s War with Hamas, ground operations expanded.
The Israel Brief – 31 October 2023– The Israel Brief 31/10 IDF rescue one hostage and more on Israel’s war against Hamas.
The Israel Brief – 01 November 2023– The Israel Brief 1/11 13 Fallen soldiers. Updates on Israel’s war with Hamas.
The Israel Brief – 02 November 2023– The Israel Brief 2/11 Updates on Israel’s war with Hamas.
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)
I run the Genesis 123 Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to build bridges between Jews and Christians and Christians with Israel. In the last few weeks, since the horrifying and inhuman attack against Israel by Hamas’ Islamist terrorists, countless Christians from all over the world have joined us in prayer, participating in briefings, and donating to our Israel Emergency Campaign. It’s been uplifting and encouraging beyond words.
Last week, a woman who I’ll call “Sherry” and apparently was on my email list, responded to an appeal for humanitarian aid with a curt: “It’s a genocide. Free Palestine”.
Hamas War Crime. Captured on closed-circuit television footage shows a Hamas militant firing upon a civilian car while the occupants are waiting to enter the Be’eri kibbutz in southern Israel on Oct (Photo: Reuter)
With more than 1 400 Israelis massacred in the most brutal ways, a son and son-in-law in the army, and really not in the mood to deal with the lies of the enemy, I responded bluntly:
“Respectfully that’s absurd. If there was a genocide, the population of Palestinian Arabs would be less than it was in either 1948 or 1967, not hundreds of percent more. I am not sure how you think that Israel’s defensive actions are a genocide, and when Hamas’ Charter and practice is the destruction of Israel and massacre Jews. Have you no sense? Have you no shame?
Do you not know that dozens of Jewish babies were slaughtered, burned alive, decapitated, just because they were Jews?
Do you not know that nearly 300 young people were slaughtered at a music festival, gunned down in cold blood just because they were Jews?
Do you not know that parents were murdered in front of their children, and children murdered in front of their parents, just because they were Jews?
Do you not know that pregnant women had their wombs cut open leaving the mother and unborn babies to die, just because they were Jews?
Do you not know that women were brutally raped, just because they were Jews”?
Or maybe according to your “logic” it was because they were “occupiers.” Is that it? The brave “freedom fighters” of Hamas, funded by Iran, carrying manuals about how to massacre as many people as possible in the most inhuman ways and taking hundreds of hostages from babies to elderly women were doing so to gain independence.
Do you not know that Hamas terrorists do not seek a two-state solution with a Palestinian state living peacefully side by side with Israel but the destruction of Israel and massacre of Jews?
That is the definition of genocide, not anything Israel is doing. Think about this. There have never been so many Jews murdered in any one day since the Holocaust which, in case you missed it, was an actual genocide. One third of the Jewish people murdered.
Stain on Palestinian leadership. Blood stains covering the floor of a house in Israel’s Be’eri kibbutz. (Photo AFP)
Oh, and there have never been so many Palestinian Arabs killed in one day in the alleged “genocide” that you claim, as there were Jews murdered on October 7. Ever. Sorry for bursting your antisemitic bubble with the uncomfortable truth.
Your facts are wrong, and you seem to have hatred of Jews in your heart. That’s antisemitism. You are an enabler of their evil Islamic ideology, and of all antisemites in the world, of which it seems you are a proud card-carrying member.
By the way, Hamas will kill you all the same as they kill us. Just ask my friend Kathleen whose twin sister was murdered by terrorists, stabbed in cold blood. An American Christian murdered because of the “occupation”, right? To “free Palestine”.
Why don’t you take your hatred to Gaza to see how they will treat you. And then you will witness the truth of Gaza being occupied, not by Israel but by Hamas. Hamas that uses its own civilians as human shields to increase their suffering and death. Hamas that is preventing Palestinian Arabs from evacuating areas that are embedded with terrorist infrastructure where Hamas has purposefully put innocent civilians in harm’s way. To inflict more death and suffering, of Palestinian Arabs. To blame Israel. To have ignorant people like you believe their lies and blame Israel too.
Everything I have said is documented. Facts. That’s inconvenient, eh? Not the nonsense that you believe wrapped up in lies of “occupation” and “genocide”. Can you be so willfully ignorant? Is your hatred of Jews so deep that you’re so blind? You should be ashamed.
Maybe one day you will understand the truth. Not today clearly.”
Then “Sherry” responded.
“I am pro-life and for that I should not be ashamed. The death toll in Gaza is over 7000. The lives of innocent kids and civilians are being taken. I don’t condone what Hamas did, but the people are not Hamas; they are in fact innocent bystanders. There is no aid, fresh water or medical supplies being sent to regions that are dire. To kill innocent people not tied to a war is genocide and inhumane. The loss of life in Israel is much smaller due to the America’s help, but even 1400 people is a loss so yes, I feel sorry for both sides and would like to see this war end all together. For this reason, I cannot fund a war that will kill more innocent people.”
“Sherry” is now my paradigm of all the evil, ignorant antisemites in the world, who weep for the “suffering” of Palestinian Arabs, but contort morality to find a way to excuse Hamas’ evil.
“I don’t know if you’re just ignorant, or ignorant and hateful. First of all, you’re ignorant and foolish to believe the Hamas death count. There are already pictures of how they are faking that. You want to be misled so you are, and you believe a source that at its core is evil.
How wonderful that you are pro-life and “don’t condone” what Hamas did. REALLY? Hamas planned a massacre of civilians, raping, burning alive, beheading, and kidnapping. They carried manuals how to inflict the most pain and death and do so in the most evil gruesome ways possible. They arrived high on amphetamines to have the greatest stamina in committing their crimes. Don’t condone? How about condemning? How about horrified? How about any kind of actual emotion that suggests that you are anything other than an evil antisemite yourself who sees no problem in Hamas and its charter to massacre and destroy Jews and the Jewish state. I’m so glad you ‘don’t condone’ such things. When someone ties you and your child up with metal wire and shoots your husband in front of you, then rapes your daughter, and sets you and your child on fire to be burned beyond being able to extract DNA, I will be sure not to condone that either.
And no, dear ignorant “Sherry,” the people are Hamas. There’s a recent poll by a reliable Arab pollster that shows 57% of the Gazans support Hamas, and more support even more extremist (if that were even possible) terror groups. They are responsible for allowing Hamas to rule them, first by elections, then by revolution, fueled with their antisemitic hatred, and active collaboration in Hamas ruling them. That’s on them, completely. But you, the one who doesn’t condone what they did to us, don’t care. You just want to find a way to blame Israel. “Sherry,” your antisemitism is showing.
Of course, there are innocent civilians and innocent civilians are dying, of that I have no doubt and regret. But no, ignorant “Sherri,” this is not a genocide. A genocide does not take place when civilians – whether innocent or complicit with the evil – are warned to leave, repeatedly. In a genocide, the population of the victims does not increase.
What’s really killing the victims? Hamas! Hamas wants more Palestinian Arabs dead to play to the ignorant and hateful people of the world, like you. Thank you for drinking their Kool Aid.
Oh, and you’re lying about supplies being sent in. They are going in through Egypt, or are you too ignorant and hateful to know that Egypt also shares a land border with Gaza and doesn’t want to help any more than anyone else. Why? Because they know that the evil of Hamas, which is rooted in the Moslem Brotherhood and Iran, are an existential threat to Egypt as well. I suspect your ignorance and hatefulness are too far gone to note that Hamas has raped the people in Gaza for decades, building a huge terror network to destroy and kill us, hiding supplies from average Gazans, and are giving ignorant and hateful people of the world like you the reason to think that it’s Israel’s fault.
Dear ignorant and hateful “Sherry,” the deaths are lower in Israel because Israel invests in protecting its people. I suppose in your magnanimity you also “don’t condone” Hamas firing tens of thousands of rockets at Israeli communities. We have bomb shelters; we have the Iron Dome. We care about life and protecting life, on both sides. Hamas doesn’t. You claim that you’re ‘pro-life.’ Does this not horrify you?
How do you not see that what Hamas is doing is attempted genocide? Really? Are you ignorant and blind? As I write, dozens more rockets are being fired targeting Israeli civilians, protected by our military. Not in Gaza. Hamas hides behind its civilians. I guess it’s too much to expect that you’ve seen the evidence of Hamas placing its weapons and hiding its leaders in bunkers near and under schools, mosques, UN facilities, and even Gaza’s main hospital. Did you miss all that? Would you like proof?
Let me remind you that your initial response to me was ‘free Palestine.’ You don’t even know what that means and how there are ZERO Palestinian Arab groups in any position of influence that accept Israel as a Jewish state. They refer to the “occupation” and the “Nakba” of Israel’s birth in 1948. They chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” which means the bloody massacre of Jews and destruction of Israel. THAT’s a genocide. That’s evil at its core. You don’t even know what you’re talking about. Wait, but I am sure you also ‘don’t condone’ that. Right?
Let me ask you, as a pro-life American, how do you feel about the fact that the October 7 Hamas butchery is the third or fourth largest massacre of Americans since 9/11. All by Hamas. I guess that you ‘don’t condone’ that either, right. God forbid you should have any moral compass when it comes to Jews being slaughtered.
Finally, just to be 1000% clear, nobody ever asked for your help to fund a war. I am involved with an array of humanitarian projects to help people, not fund a war. Clearly your bias and intellectual limitations prevent you from understanding that either.
If you were alive in the 1930s and 40s, you’d clearly be one of those brave moral people ‘not condoning’ the persecution and mass murder (yes, actual genocide) of Jews. I hope that you sleep well at night knowing that you’re so morally bankrupt.
Please don’t take my word for it. Here’s the proof. Maybe that will warm up your naked antisemitism.
Here’s an animated infographic showing the Shifa hospital and Hamas’ use of energy allocated to the civilian population for its own needs: https://bit.ly/3si5RYB
Here’s a 3D illustration of the Shifa hospital under which they are hiding: https://bit.ly/40bWSVA
Here’s a recording of a call between an IDF officer and a senior official in the energy industry in the Gaza Strip: https://bit.ly/3FAgNnB
Here’s a recording of a call confirming the presence of the Hamas headquarters at Shifa Hospital: https://bit.ly/478YW2G”
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).
How do I prioritize myself and my health when my world is so upside?
By Justine Friedman
If you are feeling frozen, if your thoughts are focused on safety and living through today, then it is likely that you may well also be thinking, what difference does it make if I eat the chocolate bar right now?
And I get it. There are times during the last 3 weeks (which feels more like an eternity) when I have given into the comfort foods and allowed myself to opt out of the world for a period of time.
I may not be on the front lines of this war, and I may not have a soldier who is risking their life for this fight which will determine whether we as a nation survive, but I feel every last drop of it in my heart and soul and more distinctly in my nervous system.
With every siren and with every boom, some of which are normal sounds in the building where I live, my body reacts with a strong survival instinct. My heart races, my breathing quickens, and a knot forms in my stomach.
And it takes time to calm down again.
There are moments when I am distracted and I realize that I haven’t thought about the war, what a sweet relief these times are, and then the reality returns.
I am living with a sense of intensity and pressure that is so hard and I am sure you are too.
So back to my question, is it even realistic to focus on my health or should I put that on the back burner while there are more important things to deal with right now?
Here is why in whatever capacity you can, I encourage you to value taking care of yourself.
As women, we are the core of our families. How we function has a ripple effect on our husbands, children, and our extended family and friends. We don’t have to have it all figured out, or have it all together but neglecting ourselves right now serves no one, especially ourselves.
Back when corona began, many of us endured the time baking banana bread, lounging in pyjamas, and feeling generally unmotivated and out of sorts. And even though what we are living through right now can’t be compared, there are aspects that feel similar.
It is so normal to push off taking care of ourselves, but when we are running on empty and we have nothing to give, we suffer more and those around us, who rely on us to be an anchor have a harder time.
“It doesn’t matter, nothing matters I don’t care what I eat right now” the inner scared voice may say….
But it does matter! And not only does it matter but taking time to nourish your body right now can make a difference in the most profound way.
We all know how stress can impact the body.
It affects our brain, causing memory loss, inflammation, and brain fog.
It raises our blood pressure leading to extra stress on our kidneys and every cell in our body.
It increases heart rate and risk of heart disease.
Anxiety and depression are intensified by poor food choices.
And as women symptoms of PMS, perimenopause, and menopause are exacerbated.
If you have pre-diabetes, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or autoimmune conditions, taking care of yourself is the difference between suffering from these and dealing with long-term complications versus reversing some of the ill effects.
So how can you take care of yourself without adding extra pressure? Because the last thing I am suggesting is that you eat less, exercise harder, and deprive yourself of foods that you enjoy.
(Even as I am writing this there are booms close by as the iron dome intercepts rockets being fired from Gaza!)
Here are some tips on what I am currently doing and working together with my clients on to implement in their lives:
Drink water- being hydrated helps your brain and improves your cognitive ability
Limit caffeine if anxiety is worse at this time
Do light exercise and if you are able to do more then go for it- it reduces stress, increases the production of endorphins in the body, and overall improves mindset and mood.
Pay attention to your hunger- if you have lost your appetite- still nourish your body by eating smaller, balanced meals- this helps keep your blood sugar stable and reduces symptoms of anxiety.
If eating chocolate (or your desired comfort food) is what you need, by all means, have some but do so after a meal where you have included vegetables, salad, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and protein.
Take time to breathe and do stress-relieving exercises that work for you.
Limit time on social media and the news- it is important to stay informed but if what you are “consuming” is increasing your worry and stress then pay attention to this.
Connect with friends
Smile at people that you pass on the street
Wave to the soldiers- there is nothing better than getting a smile and acknowledgment back!
We are all in this together, and although it feels like we are living a double life in many respects, let’s find a way to live each day, right now in the best way that we can.
You cannot pour from an empty cup and if you need guidance on how to take care of yourself right now, with compassion and understanding, then let me help you to do that so that you can take care of those who are depending on you too.
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).
