Day: February 13, 2024

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

HOMAGE TO THE HOSTAGES

Stolen from Israel, our precious hostages lie isolated in a hostile dark. Despite their disconnect, millions who knew them not, know them today as family. 
Such is the sentiment expressed in this poem by Fonda Dubb of Eilat.
(David Kaplan Lay of the Land editor)

By Fonda Dubb

We feel your pain
We feel your suffering
Our souls are connected with yours
You are not alone

Your strength is from the Lord
Your Creator
You are not alone

We grieve with you
and grieve for you
Your longing to be home
You will never be forgotten
You are not alone

We cry for you
We do not know you
You are “people ” some of us have never met
Yet my heart sings a song of love and tears
Longing for you to come home
To be freed from your chains of bondage
And united again together with your family and friends

How brave you are!!
We simple mortals cannot feel nor see your pain
But cry in unison
That soon you will be free to roam in our beloved land again
While I who do not know you
shed tears of sorrow and love
To come back again
You are not alone

I feel you belong to me
I pray that almighty G-d will protect you all
And give you strength to live each day in a noble way
Knowing
You are not Alone

Hashem anoints your head with precious oils
And heals you in a calming way
With thoughts of coloured butterflies
Of white, blue, yellow and red
that come gently down to rest upon your shoulders
So you can rest at night
to give you peace of mind
You are not alone

I shed a final tear with hope, love and prayer
to restore your mind
Knowing
You are not alone

We live in a world that cares
And cries for you with might
We blow you kisses
We send you hugs
To hold you and secure you tight
So you are not alone at night
And to feel our tears
That are not in vain that splash upon our pillows at night
To protect you all the day and night
With a gentle smile
We send a glow of light to spread our message to tell you
Spread out on a golden sheet
Our love for will never waver
YOU ARE NOT ALONE



Wherever you are in Israel, from the cities to the smallest town, the faces of the hostages stare back, appealing …..
Seen here is a woman looking at a board displaying pictures of hostages, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 5. (Photo: Reuters/Susana Vera)



About the poet:

Fonda Dubb, a former South African who in her own daring 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.






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- 11 February 2024

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 Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA, broadcasting out of Virginia, USA.

THE ISRAEL BRIEF- 05-08 February 2024
(Click on the blue title)



MESSAGE TO THE WORLD

Help bring an end to the war by demanding Hamas release the hostages

They are not “captives” nor “prisoners” as too frequently referred to in the global media. They are “HOSTAGES”.




Articles

Please note there is a facility to comment beneath each article should you wish to express an opinion on the subject addressed.


(1)

IT’S TIME TO END THE WAR…. THE 1948 WAR, THAT IS!

Facilitating an ever-increasing Palestinian refugee population, UNRWA ensures its existence by exacerbating a crisis it was created to resolve.
By Craig Snoyman

UN’reasonable. When UNRWA began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about
750,000 Palestine refugees. Today, some 5.9 million are eligible for UNRWAservices.
Palestinians remain refugees in perpetuity. 

IT’S TIME TO END THE WAR…. THE 1948 WAR, THAT IS!
(Click on the blue title)



(2)

LETTER FROM ISRAEL AT WAR – WEEK 18

While a bitterly cold front hampers our brave soldiers, a frosty front from UN organs towards Israel undermines Gaza solution.
By Harris Zvi Green

Cold Front. As Israelis soldiers endure the winter defending their homeland, the writer laments that
while South Africa’s legal charade at The Hague amounts to another antisemitic ‘blood Libel’,
the perpetrators of the true genocide – Hamas – aren’t on trial.

LETTER FROM ISRAEL AT WAR – WEEK 18
(Click on the blue title)



(3)

SPYING ON THE STRIP

The war against Hamas rekindles memories for the writer as a young Israeli soldier stationed in the Gaza Strip in 1959.
By Lennie Lurie

Having a Field Day. The writer, Lennie Lurie, working on Kibbutz Urim during his voluntary IDF service in 1959. Situated between Kibbutz Re’im – the music festival site of the Hamas massacre – and the town of Ofakim where Hamas terrorists rampaged through, Urim was miraculously spared.

SPYING ON THE STRIP
(Click on the blue title)



(4)

CRYING FOR THE BELOVED COUNTRY

While South Africa goes to The Hague against Israel, former South Africans living in Israel go to central city square in protest against South Africa.
By Rolene Marks

How Low Can South Africa go?  Beholden to Iran and friend to terrorists, South Africa takes on the role
of being the “legal arm” of the perpetrators of the massacre of Jews. Former South Africans
in Israel came out to protest and say: “ENEOUGH”.

CRYING FOR THE BELOVED COUNTRY
(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).