The Israel Brief – 26 August 2024 – Israel thwarts massive Hezbollah attack and more on The Israel Brief.
The Israel Brief – 27 August 2024 – IDF and ISA rescue hostage alive! This and more on The Israel Brief.
The Israel Brief – 28 August 2024 – Former hostage shares details of his captivity and headlines on The Israel Brief.
The Israel Brief – 29 August 2024 – Hostage families run towards Gaza border in protest and more on The Israel Brief.
27 August 2024 – Rolene Marks interviewed on WINA-“The Schilling Show” about the rescue of hostage, Farhan Al-Kadi and the preemptive strike on Sunday, 25 August 2024.
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).
Tribute to a man of law, of reason and of community
By David E. Kaplan
(Courtesy to the Jerusalem Reportwhere a shorter version of the tribute was first published)
“Dialogue,” is the word that I closely associate with the late ‘Judge’ Henry Shakenovsky of Ramat HaSharon, Israel who on the 8 August at the age of 95, left this troubled world a poorer place devoid of his off-the-cuff humour and wise ‘counsel’. “Resolution is best achieved by listening and understanding the other side,” he publicly expressed at a meeting well over two decades ago when I first got to know him. It’s a credence that Henry always adhered to both in public and private discourse and followed through by example. He impacted many to follow this path, myself included.
Apexed with a wad of white hair, he would like a lighthouse, illuminate any place by his presence but it was much more his personality and erudition than his appearance that would hold the floor. Armed with a vocabulary that he masterly marshaled to be so poignantly persuasive, it was little wonder that he excelled as a barrister/ advocate at the South African Bar and in later years, even following his aliyah to Israel, remaining as an Acting Judge on the Supreme Court of the Witwatersrand Local Division (WLD). How many times I recall him saying, when trying to make arrangements, “Apologies, I will be in South Africa presiding in a case.” I would welcome on his return listening to him relate cases, usually with bizarre circumstances that would have me in stiches of laughter as he comically embellished in his inimitable way the facts of the case and the issues of law both in English as well as in Afrikaans, particularly as it related to witness testimony. Having grown up in the old Orange Free State province of South Africa, Henry spoke a “suiwer” (pure) Afrikaans and frequently teased me over my “kombuis Kaapse taal” (kitchen Cape dialect), with its own nuances and humour. Our love of the law and language was our bridge but there was so much more.
Out in the Open. Understanding the topography and turbulence, Unity in Diversity delegation meeting outside in the hills of Judea/ “West Bank” with Henry Shakenovsky (center).
Henry’s later retirement from the Bench in South Africa never impeded him from giving ‘opinions’ or ‘judgments’ on issues in Israel. I think back to 2005, when Israel was a society divided as it agonized over the issue of separating from the Palestinians in Gaza. There was a “them” and “us” self-imposed schism in the country and a prevailing mood of “What’s the point in talking to them? They don’t understand and never will.” This did not cut with Judge Shakenovsky who some six months preceding Israel’s evacuation of Gaza, formed a group with his wife Ruth and close friend Maurice Ostroff of English speakers from opposite sides of the political spectrum to thrash out the most divisive issue on Israel’s national agenda. Appropriately named Unity in Diversity (UID) – I believe coined by Ruth – I participated at these vibrant, at times volatile gatherings where Henry acted as the moderator and I reported on it for The Jerusalem Post.
Determined to Dialogue. Outreaching to understanding, the cofounders of Unity and Diversity (UiD) Maurice Ostroff (left), Henry Shakenovsky (right) with Rabbi Bernard Paz from Mitzpe Yericho (center).
It was always as if a court was in session with Henry presiding. In the absence of a gavel, ‘Judge Shakenovsky’ nevertheless maintained order and vociferous debate ensued.
Comprised of mainly former immigrants from South Africa, North America and the UK and from both sides of the “Green Line”, we exchanged views on issues that were dividing the nation. At the very first meeting, Henry introduced his vision with the following:
“We aim to explore whether there are shared values which, despite our differences, could unite us.”
What followed were tough meetings held alternately in ‘safe’ zones in central Israel followed by visits in armored busses to communities in Judea and Samaria or the “West Bank” as some participants insisted or demanded on calling. Some who came to that first meeting said, “That’s enough. I’m not wasting my time again.” Participants were at loggerheads over fundamental issues. Even the choice of words by a participant could cause a furor. Was the disengagement from Gush Katif in Gaza an ‘evacuation’ or an ‘expulsion’? Although at times feeling trapped in a verbal minefield, Henry was masterful at handling the situation.
As is today in 2024, Members of the Knesset back then were little better at setting an example of decorum and so Unity in Diversity under Shakenovsky’s co-leadership, felt it was up to them to create a fresh dynamic of intellectual discourse. “Our aim,” asserted Henry, “was never to try to change the views of the other side but to establish a forum for dialogue where people would be free to express their views to an audience that would listen.”
Meeting of Minds. In an office adorned with books of law, Henry (left) meeting with former President of the Supreme Court of Israel, Aharon Barak, at Reichman University.
How frequently Henry would quote – sometimes bellow – in Latin:
“Audi alteram partem”
A fundamental legal principle of “Let the other side be heard as well” in which each party is entitled to a fair hearing and given the opportunity to respond, Henry hammered this home when rowdy participants got out of hand.
There was something poetically poignant here because Henry’s birthplace in South Africa was a small dorp named “Vrede”, which in Afrikaans means “Peace”. This name arose following a bitter feud between the early Afrikaner settlers of the area as to where the town should be located. A compromise was finally reached and peace among those early citizens was achieved, hence the name, “Vrede”.
It is that dialogue and compromise that drove Henry to constantly seek the ultimate prize of “vrede” or “peace” on a new but biblical landscape and to shift away from the paradigm of “them” and “us”.
What was most disquieting to Henry was what he so eloquently termed “the dislike of the unlike.”
However, it was his legal insights and understanding of the “dislike” from OUTSIDE Israel who were abusing the law to legally assault the Jewish state under what became known as “Lawfare” that Henry’s contribution to our Truth be Told (TbT) committee proved so invaluable. Established in the wake of the notorious 2001 UN Conference Against Racism or “Durban Hatefest”, TbT, a grassroots organization committed to proactively articulating Israel’s narrative to the outside world, depended on erudite lawyers of Henry’s standing . He contributed immeasurably during the period of the Goldstone Report and the years following, when TbT members were responding to the lies and distortions appearing daily in the international media.
Memorable Meeting. A few members of the Truth be Told committee with Henry Shakenovsky (front left) meeting in Tel- Aviv with visiting from South Africa, Rev. Kenneth Meshoe, founder of the African Christian Democratic Party (center) and his wife Lydia (front). Also present are Barry Shaw, Harris Green, Annette Milliner, Rolene Marks and the writer (top left).
While Henry has sadly left the world stage, that stage since the October 7 massacre in southern Israel has only worsened as it pertains to the Jewish state and Jews across the world.
The global assault to undermine Israel by the abuse of law has only but intensified and a new generation of like-minded Henrys are needed today more than ever.
May Judge Shakenovsky’s legacy endure through the lives of others he so influenced.
A “mensch” and a community man (Henry served on the executive of Beth Protea, the retirement home for Southern Africans in Israel), he will be sadly missed by friends, family and colleagues.
Condolences to wife Ruth, daughter Jill Cohen in Israel, sons Brian and Richard in Australia and their families.
*Feature Picture: Acting Judge Henry Shakenovsky on the Supreme Court of the Witwatersrand Local Division (WLD).
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While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
The emotions and reflections of a father as he sees his son off to join the IDF.
By Jonathan Feldstien
This week, I brought my youngest son to join the IDF. It is a point we have anticipated from the day he was born, 19 years ago this week, but was especially poignant and a source of pride, especially in the wake of the war. My pride was multi-dimensional.
I knew that taking my youngest son to join the IDF was a big deal intellectually, but as it was happening, it became powerfully emotional. Most of the emotion was out of pride, the privilege to raise a son who is motivated to serve in the IDF, and who has the privilege to do so.
Ready to Serve. A proud moment for the Feldstein family as the youngest son (center) begins his first day in the Israeli army.
It’s a huge point of pride that he was not only not content just to join and be drafted as most Israeli men are, but that he wanted to do more than the position for which he was being drafted. He went into his service prepared to engage his first battle in the IDF fighting to do more for the IDF. By refusing to accept the position that the IDF tapped him for, he could have started his army career in an army jail.
It is no less a point of pride that as the “baby” in the family, three older sisters joined us to send him off to the charge of the IDF for three years. They chose to be there, sharing the pride we all felt, encouraging and celebrating him and this milestone.
Most friends and family overseas cannot really understand this beyond the conceptual, much less how it is an extraordinary privilege and point of pride to live in Israel today, to raise your children to serve, to be part of building our future.
This is no less the reality in light of the war which we are presently in the midst of. The challenges motivate us, and give us a greater sense of pride as a people and nation, even with the many imperfections that exist. This was no little part of what motivated him to want to do more after a year of tremendous growth in a pre-army preparatory program.
Despite being in Israel 20 years, veteran immigrants by every definition, we are still green in many ways. With limited experience in sending children to the army, and my not having the privilege to serve myself, I had little to offer by direct tangible help, or connections, to get him the better position that he sought.
Moving Moment. The writer whispering final words to his youngest son as leaves to join the IDF.
Short of writing to the Chief of Staff or Minister of Defense (which I was prohibited from doing), and with several offering to help, there was little I could do. He was determined, fought for more, and won. He did it himself.
He is our second son to serve in the IDF, but the first of our children born in Israel, the first since my father was born here in the 1930s. Being the first native born Israeli to serve in this generation, if my father could see, he would be bursting with pride like us all.
We raised our children to serve, do their best in and for the country, to give, not expecting to get something back, and not to abandon this duty and privilege. They all understand that and embody it; understanding that we are investing in the present for our future. Yes, there are sacrifices – but there is endless pride.
I am sure that my emotions were all the more charged because of the war. Yes, there are risks. Since October 7, several hundred soldiers have been killed. Choking back my tears was not out of fear, but because we are here, with the privilege to bring him to this occasion.
As the first Israeli born member of our family in three generations, I always think of the two people he is named for: my great grandfather and my father’s cousin. Both were victims of the Nazi genocide. While my father’s cousin was old enough to know that there was a place called Israel that he prayed for, and maybe knew that he had a cousin here, he was a child when he was murdered. My great grandfather of course knew, knew his daughter (my grandmother) made it safely here, and had a son. He must have been elated knowing that his grandson would grow up in our ancestral home.
Stepping Up. Pride beams from this young inductee’s parents as he is about to begin his first day in the IDF.
Neither have graves of their own but today, if they were watching, they’d be amazed to see that a young man who is named for them, joined the army of the State of Israel and Jewish people, to ensure that Jews like them will never be victims unable to protect and defend themselves.
There are many reasons not to sleep these days. Now I have a new one. Not only can I not just call or text him to check in, but I am now back in the stage of looking at my phone even in the middle of meetings to see if he is calling, and if he does, to take his call no matter who I am meeting with.
The way forward. With his back now to his family, the young Feldstein steps forward beginning a new chapter in his life of serving his people.
I sent him off in a pair of shorts, t-shirt and sneakers. In a few days, he will come home in a crisp new uniform and a green beret indicating that he’s still a new recruit. As much as I didn’t anticipate the emotions sending him off, but of course was not surprised, I can’t wait to see him come home looking his part as the soldier.
I pray that he serves with the same pride that I have for him, a safe and meaningful service, and that he has the same privilege years from now to take his own child to serve and know the pride that I know.
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).
One of the strangest outcomes of World War II was the mass postwar emigration of Nazi war criminals to the Anglo-Saxon democracies which fought against the Nazis and played a major role in the defeat of the Third Reich. Thus, for example, some 200,000 American soldiers lost their lives fighting against the Germans, yet an estimated 10,000 Nazi perpetrators were admitted as immigrants to the United States during the decade after the war. And a similar situation developed in Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The only exception in this regard was South Africa, which was hermetically closed to immigration in the aftermath of World War II.
Safe Harbor. With serious flaws in the screening process during the post war period, how many Nazis and their collaborators sneaked into Australia? Seen here are migrant arrivals from Europe arriving in Sydney harbor in 1947.
For more than three decades in the United States, and more than 40 years in the other Anglo-Saxon democracies, no effort was undertaken to identify, investigate, and if possible, prosecute any of these perpetrators. But as knowledge and interest in the Holocaust grew throughout the world, efforts to bring these criminals to justice were launched.
The first government to take steps to enable the prosecution of the Holocaust perpetrators, who had immigrated by lying about their service with the Nazis, was the United States, which established its Office of Special Investigations in 1979. Nazi collaborators were stripped of their American citizenship, and could then be deported. Eight years later, Canada passed a law enabling criminal prosecution of Nazi criminals, and in 1989, Australia passed a similar law. In the UK, it took almost another five years to pass similar legislation in 1991. The only country which refused to take legal action against immigrants who lied about their service with the Nazis was New Zealand.
Now that at least three and a half decades have passed since the efforts to prosecute these perpetrators commenced, and there is no political will in any of these countries to bring ninety-year-olds to justice, the time has come for historians to assess the results. So far, two books on the “belated” trials of Holocaust perpetrators in Anglo-Saxon countries have been published this year – Safe Haven by Jon Silverman and Robert Sherwood on Great Britain, and Jayne Persian’s Fascists in Exile on Australia.
Easy Entry. A new life for immigrants from Europe disembarking in Sydney could so easily include Nazis and their collaborators as the screening was poor on departure and even worse on arrival in Australia.
The latter is the subject of this review, and well deserving of public attention. Anyone interested in post-Holocaust justice, the history of Australian Jewry, the critical role of Eastern European Nazi collaborators in the Final Solution, and related topics will find this book of great interest. Unlike Safe Haven, which covers the history of the issue starting with the passage of the British War Crimes Act in 1991 (after a heated struggle that took four and a half years with fierce opposition by the House of Lords, which twice rejected the bill), Fascists in Exile covers the entire issue, from the post-World War II emigration of the Eastern European refugees to Australia to the present.
Fascists in Exile: Post-War Displaced Persons in Australia Jayne Persian Routledge, 182 pages, A$49.99
Persian does an excellent job of exposing the serious flaws in the screening, or the lack thereof, both in Europe prior to immigration and in Australia after arrival. During the years 1947 to 1952, 170,000 non-Jewish Displaced Persons settled in Australia, the overwhelming majority of whom were Eastern Europeans from countries in which the local population actively participated in the mass murder of the local Jewish population. Although there was extensive information available on the World War II service of such individuals, hardly any effort was made by the International Refugee Organisation (IRO) to prevent their immigration, or even inform the Australian authorities about their past.
Persian explains in great detail what went wrong in Europe, as well as in Australia. First of all, in Europe, most of the investigations were carried out by inexperienced officers and enlisted men, who were not aware of the role played by Eastern European Nazi collaborators in the Holocaust. To make things worse, the British Foreign Ministry instructed its military officers to protect the 20,000 members of the Latvian SS Legion, who fought for the victory of the Third Reich. Quite a few of the Latvia SS Legion’s members joined after serving in the Arajs Kommando mass murder squad, or the Latvian SD, both of which played major roles in the annihilation of Latvian Jews, as well as German and Austrian Jews deported to Latvia.
Another example of the totally irresponsible screening of large numbers of prospective immigrants occurred with respect to the Ukrainians of the Galicia Division of the SS, which also participated in the mass murder of Jews. Only 180 out of 8,000 men were interviewed individually. Thus, is it not at all surprising that the IRO acceptance rate for immigration was 82.6%.
To make matters worse, all the flaws in the screening process in Europe were exacerbated by the policies of the Australian government, which believed that once the IRO vetted the refugees, they were no longer responsible for any additional security checks. In addition, the major concern of the Australian government was that the refugees would fit into “White Australia”, and help solve the country’s population and labour force deficits. In effect, their only concern was that the new arrivals might join and strengthen local fascist organisations.
To add insult to injury, the only Europeans whose immigration to Australia was considered undesirable by the government were Jews. In the words of an Australian immigration official quoted by Persian:
“We have never wanted these people and still don’t want them.”
Australia’s Attitude. In spite of the alarming rise in the Nazi persecution of German Jews, Australia’s attitude towards Jewish refugees remained inhospitable as was expressed at the Evian Conference in 1938, by Australia’s chief delegate, Colonel T. W. White, (above) who declared: “as we have no real racial problem, we are not desirous of importing one by encouraging any scheme of large-scale foreign migration”.
And in instructions sent in 1949 to the Australian mission in Europe, the staff were instructed that “The term [Jewish] referred to race and not religion and the fact that some DP’s who are Jewish by race have become Christian by religion is not relevant.”
Given this attitude, it is not surprising that all the protests and warnings, especially by Jewish activists, about the immigration to Australia of Nazi collaborators were ignored or summarily dismissed. All this changed in 1983, in the wake of the ouster from power of the Liberal Party, which was the political home of the overwhelming majority of the right-wing Eastern European refugees. Labor was open to investigating the Nazi war criminals who had immigrated to Australia, and the combination of the deportation of Latvian suspect Konrad Kalejs from the US to Australia, and a five-part exposé on radio and TV by journalist Mark Aarons, led to the 1986 decision to establish an official government inquiry, headed by Andrew Menzies, a former deputy secretary in the Attorney-General’s Department.
Heading ‘Home’. Deported by the US and Canada and unwanted in Britton, accused WWII Latvian death squad commander Konrad Kalejs flees to Melbourne where this photo caption heading reads, “Flying home”.
The final chapters of the book are devoted to the efforts of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which was established in 1987 by the government as a result of the findings of the Menzies investigation. It opened with a total of 841 files, but according to Persian, that figure is misleading since some suspects had two or three files. The country of origin with the highest number of suspect files was Lithuania with 238, followed by Latvia with 111, Ukraine with 84, Hungary with 45, and Croatia with 44. (The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s office in Jerusalem sent the Australian authorities a total of 487 suspects, mostly from the Baltics, between 1986 and 2005). Two hundred and forty-eight of the suspects were not located in Australia, and 262 persons were assumed to be deceased due to their advanced age.
Unearthing the Truth. Between 1987 and 1993 the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) carried out investigations into allegations that Nazi collaborators and mass killers had migrated to Australia following the end of WWII. During those investigations the SIU undertook the exhumation of the human remains of Jewish victims who were executed as seen here during the course of the Serniki exhumation, where the SIU forensic team counted 553 bodies.
According to Persian, SIU interviews of suspects were a fairly informal process, which relied on a cooperative interviewee. Suspects could simply refuse to be interviewed, others simply answered “No comment, no comment.” In case after case, it was clear that the suspects had served in killing squads, but no one admitted that they had committed murder, nor were there any eyewitnesses who could testify that a certain suspect had committed murder. Thus, it was not surprising that the first three prosecutions failed, which gave the government of Paul Keating an excuse to close down the SIU long before it finished its task.
There are a few factual mistakes in Jayne Persian’s book that should be mentioned. The American OSI won cases against slightly more than 100 Holocaust perpetrators, not against “several hundred people”. Canada only prosecuted one case on criminal charges, not three. And Persian failed to mention the successful prosecution in Germany of Ernst Hering, who was discovered due to the (failed) trial in Australia of Heinrich Wagner, who served in the same unit that murdered 104 Jews in Israelovka, Ukraine. She also failed to mention the jailing of Karoly Zentai, who sat in prison in Perth for several months awaiting extradition to Hungary to face charges for the murder of Peter Balasz, an 18-year-old Jewish boy whom he caught in Budapest on a tram without the obligatory yellow star.
Despite this, Persian’s book is extremely informative, and well-researched and written, and should be required reading in every Australian high school and university.
Jewish Reaction. Australian Jewish students shout slogans at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne before the arrival of alleged Nazi mass murderer Latvian-born Konrad Kalejs. (Photo: Reuters/Will Burgess / Bridgeman Images)
About the writer:
Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff is the chief Nazi-hunter of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and director of its Israel Office and Eastern European Affairs.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
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“My house went up in flames” The north burns as Katzrin residents fear for their safety
Hezbollah launches rocket barrages at residential neighborhoods in Katzrin in the Golan Heights; “You evacuated Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee and we have become the front line”
Articles
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THERE ARE NO STRANGERS IN ISRAEL – BUT ONE BIG FAMILY
Observations and insights from an encounter with ‘strangers’ coming together in Jerusalem on behalf of the hostages. By Galya Tregenza Hall
Strength among ‘Strangers’. “Whether it’s the man driving the bus or the lady on the till in the supermarket…. whetherit’s the shopkeeper or the young girl making our coffee… You never really know who you are talking to or who you arewalking past when you go about your life here in Israel.”
HAMAS IS AN IMPEDIMENT TO A PEACEFUL SOLUTION BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE.
For Hamas there is no substitute for menacing and murderous resistance; negotiations are only a façade. By Dr. Peter Wandwasi
Resistance not Resolution. Seeking “peaceful solutions and international conferences” appear in the Hamas’ Charter as contrary to its principles and not considered capable of realising its agenda – the destruction of Israel. How do you include Hamas at the negotiating table? “You can’t,” argues the writer.
GERMANY SHOULD EXPRESS REMORSE OVER THE CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST SERBS
The UN’s Srebrenica resolution has sparked debate over selective historical justice, particularly Germany’s role in WWII-era atrocities against Serbs. By Dr. Efraim Zuroff and Aleksandar Nikolic
Hardly UN’usual! Why was this heinous war crime chosen out of so many massacres committed during the Modern era to be designated as a case of “genocide”? Did political self-interest and usual UN machinations – so familiar to Israel – play a role?
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 – 19 August 2024 –Terror attacks in Israel and top stories on The Israel Brief.
The Israel Brief – 20 August 2024 – The Israel Brief live from kibbutz Nir Am on the border with Gaza.
The Israel Brief – 21 August 2024 – UN omits Israel from Victims of Terror exhibition and more on The Israel Brief.
The Israel Brief – 22 August 2024 – Kibbutzim to boycott national memorial for 6/10 and headlines on The Israel Brief.
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).
For Hamas there is no substitute for menacing and murderousresistance; negotiations are only a façade.
By Dr. Peter Wandwasi Senior Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg
While Hamas vows never to recognise the legitimacy and existence of the Jewish state, the State of Israel is not going to vanish. Any future international negotiating efforts to reach an agreement resulting in a two-state solution necessitates either Hamas sits not at the negotiating table or no longer exists. Its actions and positions preclude its participation.
Hamas Official Ghazi Hamad: We Will Repeat the October 7 Attack Again Until Israel Is Annihilated
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict enlists historical complexity and has become a contemporary subject of heated intellectual debate amongst scholars here in Africa. However, factoring in the dimension of Hamas into this historical complexity adds a new spin for the worst against not only the intellectual debate aimed at seeking solutions towards ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but situates the involvement of Hamas as a deleterious force which in all its intentions, seeks to undermine the much needed two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
No Partner for Peace. During an interview with a Lebanese TV channel in Beirut on October 26, 2023, Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, says the terror group will repeat the October 7 attack time and again until Israel is annihilated. (Photo: AP/Bilal Hussein)
In August 1988, Hamas, published its Covenant for its struggle against Israel in which it calls for the total destruction of the state of Israel. Article 11 of Hamas’s August 1988 Covenant, for example, unequivocally, states that the land of Palestine from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea is an Islamic endowment and that none of it should be squandered or given up by:
– any organisation
– a single Arab country
– all Arab countries
– any king or President nor all kings or all presidents be they Palestinians or Arab.
Furthermore, Article 13 reiterates, by interpretation, that peaceful solutions and international conferences which are in contradiction to the principles of Hamas are not considered capable of realising the demands of Hamas and that these peaceful solutions are only intended to yield to the infidels (referring to Israelis and Jews) occupying the land belong to Muslims.
Words and Deeds. In its original 1988 charter, Hamas states that “There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad.”Mastermind of the October 7 massacre, Yehya Al-Sinwar seen here about to address a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the movement’s founding, in Gaza City December 14, 2022, is today the new leader of Hamas.
The August 1988 Hamas Charter is a galvanising invitation to Muslims across the globe to join its struggle aimed at the total annihilation of the state of Israel through the propagation of violent resistance within the context of a holy struggle and martyrdom by brainwashing its members and deploying them as suicide bombers not only against Israel military targets but also against Israeli civilian targets. Hamas has rejected international negotiated agreements such as the Oslo Accords as merely schemes to sell off the Palestinian land to the infidels. The Palestinian state from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea and from the south to the North, Hamas argues, will come from resistance and not from negotiations.
HARDLINE HONCHOS
In general, the exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashal reflects Hamas’ hardline wherein he always argues that there will be no concession on any inch of the land of Palestine, reiterating that Hamas will never recognise the legitimacy of Israel and that Hamas will free Jerusalem inch by inch, stone by stone and that Israel has no right to be in Jerusalem. The charter also employs language that explicitly calls for the killing of Jews.
Before his assassination, Ismail Haniyeh, who replaced Mashal as head of Hamas political bureau in exile, celebrated the carnage inflicted by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians including foreigners attending a party on 07 In October 2023. In a jubilation message, Haniyeh stated that the political, military, intelligence, security and morale of the state of Israel was crushed and was optimistic that the State of Israel will be defeated by Hamas and expelled from all Palestinian lands from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea and from north to the South following the 7 October 2023 incursion into Israeli territory. While Haniyeh celebrated the massacre of civilians and foreign tourists, Reuters reported on 15 October 2023 that President Mahmoud Abbas did not share Haniyeh’s enthusiasm and criticized Hamas’s murderous spree of innocents. In furtherance of his disapproval, President Abbas added that Hamas policies and actions do not represent the Palestinian people nor the policies, programs and decisions of the Palestinian liberation organisation (PLO). By implication, Hamas was acting against the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people.
In general, the positions of world leaders are mostly unequivocal in condemning the heinous crimes committed by Hamas during its incursion into Israeli territory arguing for a peaceful settlement of the underlying causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in a two-state solution. Included in this camp is African Union Chairperson, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani who has reportedly emphasised that it is Hamas’ rejection of Israel’s right to exist as being the main impediment of international efforts to resolve the crisis. So too the Algerian government that has heightened the call for the de-escalation and a cease fire through dialogue, arguing that violence only serves to perpetuate unending suffering for the civilian population that bears the brunt of every conflict. President Biden, whose country renders unwavering support to the state of Israel has pushed for Middle East leaders to support the two-state solution saying there is no going back to the 6 Oct 2023 status quo. The President of the European Commission, Ursula Van der Leyen, affirms Israel’s right to self-defence.
EU affirms Israel’s right to self-defense. European Council President Charles Michel (left), European Parliament President Roberta Metsola (2nd left) European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen (2nd right) and Head of the Mission of Israel to the EU and NATO Haim Regev (right) participate in a tribute to the victims of the Hamas-organized massacre in Israel, at the European Parliament in Brussels, on October 11, 2023. (Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD/AFP)
Plausibly, while the Oslo Accords are believed to have paved the way for a two-state solution bringing an end to the protracted violence and tensions between Israel and Palestine, Hamas has, nonetheless, reiterated its disdain of any agreement that seeks to promote a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, Hamas has chosen the path of not only murdering innocent civilians including those they suspect as collaborating with Israel, but has vowed never to stop attacking Israel.
Israel’s present mop up process against the murderous Hamas elements hiding in the enclave must continue in order to lay the foundation for genuine and effective negotiations between the State of Israel and well-meaning Palestinian leaders towards a two-state solution, where, Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in peaceful coexistence.
With Hamas eternally pledged to never recognise Israel’s right to exist and committed to perpetrating future 7 October massacres, all international negotiating efforts necessary to reach an agreement resulting in a two-state solution can only be one where Hamas is effectively not at the negotiating table.
About the writer:
Dr.Peter Wandwasi (PhD) is a Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation, University of Johannesburg.
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).
Slightly more than two months ago, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution, which was not supported by a majority of its member states (84 voted in favor; but 68 countries abstained; 19 voted against, and 22 countries, including Israel, were not present for the vote). It adopted a resolution designating July 11 as the “International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica,” condemning the denial of genocide, as well as the glorification of war criminals.
Why was this heinous war crime chosen out of so many massacres committed during the modern era to be designated as a case of genocide? The UN General Assembly did so, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the Bosniaks who had escaped to Srebrenica, which had been officially proclaimed as a haven for Bosnian Muslims, were not harmed by the troops of the Republic of Srpska. In fact, all the women, children, and elderly men, who constituted a huge majority of the 25,000 refugees, were released unharmed.
Such an absurd decision is hardly unusual in the United Nations, where politics is the name of the game, and certain political allies have an automatic majority. Under these circumstances, Serbia did not stand a chance of preventing the passage of this resolution. Israelis can commiserate with Serbia since Israel, too, was the victim of patently politically motivated resolutions and unfair criticism passed in the General Assembly. The most famous and outrageous of which was the “Zionism is racism” resolution.
Outrageous Resolution. On November 10, 1975, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Chaim Herzog – later the sixth President of Israel – delivered one of the most influential speeches in history denouncing the UN General Assembly resolution that equated Zionism with racism.
While Serbia can take some consolation in the fact that a majority of General Assembly members declined to support the resolution, one of the most infuriating aspects was that the resolution was proposed and cosponsored by Germany. While German responsibility for the horrific “Final Solution” implemented by the Nazis to completely annihilate European Jewry is common knowledge, few people outside of former Yugoslavia are aware of the extent and cruelty of Nazi crimes against the Serbs during World War II.
Crveni Krst Concentration camp. Located in Crveni Krst, Niš, more than 10,000 inmates are thought to have been killed here by the German Gestapo who operated this notorious camp.
Nazi brutality was already on display from the first day of the invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, when they launched a murderous fire-bombing attack on Belgrade, during which the National Library and its precious collection of books, some of which were even from the 12th century, were all destroyed. This was followed in the areas under German military occupation by the erection of infamous Nazi concentration camps, such as Banjica in Belgrade, and the notorious Crveni Krst (Red Cross) in Nis, where about fourteen thousand innocents, mostly Serbs, were murdered.
Banjica Concentration Camp. Located in the Banjica neighborhood of Dedinje – a suburb of Belgrade, a German soldier points his rifle at a prisoner in Jajinci, which served as an execution site for Banjica inmates.
BLACK OCTOBERS EVERYWHERE
The killing of a German soldier was accompanied by massive reprisals against the Serbian civilian population, which were far more drastic than the measures taken in other occupied countries. One hundred civilians (in some cases including children), executed for the death of a single German soldier, and 50 for a wounded one. The most notorious slaughter of innocents took place in Kragujevac in aptly-named “Black October” of 1941.
Mass murder of Serbs. On October 21,1941, Nazi soldiers killed over 4,000 civilians, including children, as part of an “atonement exercise” in occupied Serbia, which today hardly features in Germany’s historical recollection of WWII.
A substantial number of Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans), residents of Yugoslavia, acted as a fifth column during the years leading up to the war and then joined the Nazi invaders, many volunteering to join the S.S. 7th Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen.
In the annexed areas of Yugoslavia, the Germans’ allies committed horrific crimes against the Serbian civilians with the full permission and support of the Nazis. The worst perpetrators in this regard were the Croatian Ustasha, who launched a genocidal campaign against the Serbs, during which they were massively slaughtered in rural areas and in the concentration camps they built throughout the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), which the Germans created following the occupation of Yugoslavia. Serbs, Jews, Roma, and anti-fascist Croatians were tortured in the most horrific ways, and ultimately murdered in Jasenovac, the camp which became a symbol of Ustasha cruelty and depravity.
‘NAZI GERMANY HAD COMPLETE RESPONSIBILITY’
Even Edmund Glaise von Horstenau, the German military envoy in Zagreb, harshly criticized the terrible Ustasha atrocities, warning that they would cause an uprising of the local Serbian population. Nazi Germany had complete responsibility for them as well. It not only created the preconditions but also conceived the NDH. Nazi Germany never made any attempt to restrain the Ustasha genocide campaigns launched by the NDH’s dictator Ante Pavelic. On the contrary, Hitler told him that if the NDH wants to be stable, intolerant nationalist policy must be conducted for 50 years, since too much tolerance can only create problems.
The head of the foreign policy committee of the German Bundestag, Michael Roth, referring to the negative reactions from Belgrade to the passage of the resolution on Srebrenica, called them “shameful and disappointing.” He added that suggesting in response to pass a similar resolution on Jasenovac seems an attempt to divert attention. “The point is not for some to point fingers at others.”
Selective Characterization. A Bosnian Muslim survivor of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre walks among headstones as she visits the graves of her relatives at the memorial cemetery in Potocari, near the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, July 11, 2024. Serb officials deny that the 1995 massacre was a “genocide,” instead referring to it as a “terrible crime”. (Photo: Elvis Barukcic, AFP)
Despite understanding what Roth wanted to say, the lack of an elementary expression of regret and remorse is unacceptable. It is certainly not about the absence of honoring the victims as such, but the absence of special consideration for their fate, which should be forthcoming from Germany, which had full responsibility for Jasenovac as well. Until today, however, there is no feeling in the Balkans that Germany has ever expressed any remorse or regret for the crimes committed against Serbs.
Instead, for political reasons, it has too often sided with those who acted to Serbia’s detriment. Germany is among the most important investors and foreign trade partners of Serbia. It is certainly one of the central countries of the European Union, so important to Serbia as well. Precisely because of this, it would only be natural to expect an expression of historical responsibility towards the Serbian people and reverence for its victims.
About the writers:
Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff is the chief Nazi-hunter of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and director of its Israel Office and Eastern European Affairs.
Aleksandar Nikolic is an honorary consul of the Republic of Serbia to Israel.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
Observations and insights from an encounter with ‘strangers’ coming together in Jerusalem on behalf of the hostages.
By Galya Tregenza Hall
You never really know who you are talking to or who you are walking past when you go about your life here in Israel.
I was reminded of this recently when I attended a night of communal singing in Jerusalem that was organized by Jon Polin and his wife Rachel Goldberg, the parents of American-Israeli hostage, Hersh. Hersh was kidnapped on that dreaded day of October 7 last year whilst he was at the Nova music festival. Hundreds and hundreds of people gathered to sing together, pray together, cry together and hope together….for the return of Hersh, and all the other hostages still being held captive so brutally in Gaza.
Hostage Hersh. The night before Hersh Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova desert rave, he danced at his family’s Jerusalem synagogue for the Simchat Torah holiday, ate dinner with them at the home of close family friends and then left at 11 p.m. to go camping with another friend. “And that was the last time I saw him,” said his mother, Rachel Goldberg seen here with Hersh in happy times. (Courtesy Rachel Goldberg)
It was a poignant evening and I feel privileged to have been a part of it. There was something so beautiful about strangers joining together and raising their voices in unison and hope, despite the intense sadness and desperation that seemed to define every face I looked into. The beauty and strength of the Israeli people permeated the atmosphere that night. In actual fact it was not a gathering of strangers but a gathering of one big family who came together in the most moving manner. We all knew why we were there; we all understood the almost intrinsic need in each of us to be together and ‘do something’ … of course, we also understood that our singing would not bring Hersh home but then again, who knows? Psalm 133 tells us that:
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore”.
I experienced complete unity that night with everyone around me. Perhaps God will bestow His blessing and grant life forevermore to the hostages. This remains my prayer.
Whilst at the gathering I got chatting to a man who was there with his two sons. It turned out that they were very close family friends of Hersh’s family and that Hersh was like a big brother to his two teenage boys who stood by looking quite overwhelmed, dressed in t-shirts donning his face alongside the words:
‘BRING HERSH HOME’
I swallowed deeply and listened as their father recounted stories to me of different ways Hersh had impacted his son’s lives and how much they miss him, how much they grieve and how desperate they and his family feel. I stumbled over my words trying to find the right thing to say but all I could come up with was, “I’m so sorry”.
Moments later a friend came up to me and told me she wanted to introduce me to someone, a lady that had been standing with us chatting to some other people. Turns out this lady is an Iranian Christian who was jailed in Iran and sentenced to death, before being miraculously released and able to now live in safety in America. She is committed to developing relationships between the Iranian and Israeli people and speaking up boldly on behalf of the Jewish people. I couldn’t believe my ears as she shared some of her story. I was deeply humbled to meet her and could not stop the tears as I watched her go up to Hersh’s father and tell him who she was and what had happened to her. She assured him that miracles do happen, that she was living proof and that he must not lose hope and not stop believing for a miracle for his son.
People unite for ‘Bring Them Home’. Nine months into captivity, demonstrators in June 22, 2024 calling for the for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip. (Photo: Jamal Awad/flash90)
As the evening came to an end I was preparing to leave when I noticed an elderly lady walking past me. She had a look in her eyes and face that I can only describe as excruciating pain. Tears were falling down her cheeks. I could not let her pass by. I approached her and opened my arms. She accepted and I embraced her. We did not speak. She collapsed in my arms and buried her head into my shoulder, weeping and weeping. I just held her. We did not need to talk. We were united in a way that did not require words. Perhaps this is what the Psalmist was talking about. After some time, she composed herself and looked up at me. She whispered the words “thank you” and continued on her way. I do not know who she was. Maybe she has a relative held hostage, maybe she has a grandchild fighting in Gaza, maybe she lost a loved one on October 7, or maybe she is simply a human being who has been deeply wounded by displays of such inhumanity.
Through my work with Christian Friends of Israel, I am constantly meeting people who, since October 7, are traumatized and suffering for many different reasons, but what I experienced at the night of communal singing reminded me that every person we come into contact with has a story and deserves empathy. Whether it’s the man driving the bus or the lady on the till in the supermarket…. Whether it’s the shopkeeper or the young girl making our coffee … You never really know who you are talking to or who you are walking past when you go about your life here in Israel.
Let’s all treat each other with an extra dose of love and gentleness and let’s all choose to offer kindness and words of peace to people we come into contact with. We should not underestimate the power of these characteristics. With the war continuing in Gaza, tensions steadily increasing in the north, our hostages still in captivity and a regional war with Iran and her proxies looming, I hope we can all do our best to live as the Psalmist described because round about now, we could all sure do with a blessing from Above.
Rachel Goldberg & Jon Polin speak about their son, Hersh, who is being held hostage by Hamas.
About the writer:
Galya Tregenza Hall is Director of Media and Public Relations, Christian Friends 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).
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Amid tentative hopes that Israel’s ongoing negotiations with Hamas have put a hostage-ceasefire agreement within reach, people are appealing as much as protesting that their government agree to the deal. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
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WAITING FOR WAR
To strike or not to strike – these are the agonizing questions confronting all parties in the conflict. By Jonathan Feldstein
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UNRWA’S ROLE IN THE INTERSECTION OF AID AND TERRORISM
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UNacceptable. UNRWA, the UN agency tasked with aiding Palestinian refugees, has been deeply compromised by its entanglements with terrorist activities. Can it unentangle itself to do its job?
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LOTL Cofounders David E. Kaplan (Editor), Rolene Marks and Yair Chelouche
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While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
