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 19 years, until his retirement in 1981, Walter Cronkite the legendary TV news presenter for NBC, ended every broadcast with the words “And that’s the way it is.” Well, here is the way it is in Israel.
Israel is a country divided. The war has gone on for over 600 days. Tens of thousands of protestors are demanding that the government ends the war in Gaza and gets all the remaining hostages released even if it means leaving Hamas in charge of Gaza. The government has decided that it is not willing to pay this price. The country is divided between those that support the Prime Minister and those that believe that he needs to resign.
Time for Truth. One of the most respected figures in the history of American journalism, Walter Cronkite covered many of the 20th century’s most memorable events and with a calm, reassuring manner, he would conclude with his famous catchphrase, “And that’s the way it is.” When will international journalism today report on the Middle East with such honesty?
It is divided between those that want to build new settlements in Judea (known as the West Bank) and those against the settler movement.
It is divided between those that want to limit the power of the Supreme Court and those opposed to any changes. It is divided between the ultra-orthodox yeshivas who want the exemption of their students being called up for military service to continue, and those who demand that they should serve in the army like everyone else.
Any of the above issues could result in the collapse of the coalition government. In the meantime, Israel continues to do what Jews always do. They argue about every issue. Millions pray, and others don’t. Meanwhile on the international front, antisemitism has increased dramatically.
The United Nations and the European Union have totally exonerated Hamas for all the atrocities that they have committed. They are falsely accusing Israel of committing crimes against humanity, of killing babies, of causing starvation and genocide in Gaza. The UN is determined to implement an immediate ceasefire, and to reward Hamas by creating a Palestinian State. The fact that the Palestinians have refused six offers of a two-state solution does not seem to faze the international community. Unfortunately, Bob Dylon’s vision of an “Age of Aquarius”, that will bring peace to the world, died with the atrocities committed by Hamas on the morning of October 7, 2023.
Hamas and the Palestinian authority have always played the victim card. Their leaders know that as long as they are perceived as victims, money from the gullible West will flow into their pockets. The result is that Hamas never builds anything that will bring prosperity to Gaza. Every Palestinian leader is wealthy from skimming off donations and stealing from their own people. Hamas leaders living in Doha are reported to be worth billions of dollars. No matter how much in debt European countries are, they always come up with money for the poor suffering Palestinians.
The bottom line is that the Palestinians are waging a war aimed at ending the State of Israel and replacing it with a Palestinian State “from the river to the sea.” It appears that there are none so blind as those that do not want to see that the Palestinians are not interested in a two-state solution.
Dissolution not Solution. Demonstrators in London in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, are not protesting for a “Two-State Solution” but for the dissolution of the Jewish state in favor of a Palestinian state that will span “From the river to the sea”. In a 2024 poll by the most reliable center for Palestinian opinion polling, 64% of Palestinians said that they do not support a two-state solution. (Photo: Hollie Adams/Reuters)
Iran remains the number one problem in the Middle East. Iran has spent billions of dollars building up a crescent of proxy terrorist organizations with the aim of destroying Israel. The policy has failed. Israel has succeeded in decapitating almost the entire leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah and has significantly reduced their capacity to wage war against Israel. Assad has been overthrown in Syria and its new leadership has turned against Iran.
For years Iran has claimed that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, and that it has no intention of building a nuclear arsenal. The truth is that Iran is enriching uranium to levels that have no possible civilian use. They are clearly aiming to produce a nuclear arsenal. Iran is an inveterate liar, and none of its claims are believable. America and Israel have both stated that Iran will not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. One way or another Iran’s nuclear enrichment program needs to end. The clock is ticking down on how this will be achieved.
Qatar has approximately 320,000 citizens and is controlled by the Al Thani family. Qatar is flush with hundreds of billions of dollars from oil exports. It is using this wealth to pour billions of dollars into building Middle Eastern Departments on all leading American university campuses. The aim is to influence the future leaders of America to stop supporting Israel. Qatar is using the American constitutional right of free speech to promote chaos and hatred in America. Qatar has funded Al Jazeera that broadcasts 24/7 to hundreds of millions of viewers around the world in both English and Arabic. It broadcasts a nonstop condemnation of Israel and accuses Israel of committing genocide and crimes against humanity. Al Jazeera has radicalized millions of its viewers to hate Israel. Qatar is acting as pyromaniacs, while pretending to be fire-fighters. They are actually supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood that believes in the domination of Sharia law over the whole world. They are using their enormous wealth to buy influence and to promote Islam in the West. They are a direct threat to America, Israel and western civilization. Unfortunately, President Trump considers Qatar as an ally!
Inflaming instead of Reporting. Since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, Qatar’s Al Jazeera news network has switched to non-stop live coverage of what it calls “the Israeli aggression on Gaza,” even though it was Hamas that started the carnage by massacring 1,200 Israelis. Claiming objectivity, Al Jazeera’s language exposes its bias – such as describing Palestinian or Lebanese deaths as “martyrs who were elevated” to heaven, while calling Israeli casualties merely “killed.”
The Houthis in Yemen are over 2,000 kilometers from Israel. Despite their poverty, they are supported by Iran and are shooting intercontinental missiles at Israel. The Houthis are going to pay a steep price for their stupidity. Every state has the right to enter into agreements with other states. Just imagine if the Palestinians had a State and they requested help from Iran or Russia. Instead of missiles fired from Iran or Yemen at Israel, they will be fired from a few kilometers away from Ben Gurion airport and Jerusalem. With a direct line of sight of Ben Gurion airport, all civilian air travel will be under threat. If one spends just a few minutes thinking about the effect of planes blowing up either on the ground at the airport, or while arriving or leaving Israel, it becomes obvious that a two-state solution is really an oxymoron. It is unworkable, unsustainable, and dangerous. It is a recipe for a much wider war with devastating consequences. It is time for those seeking to promote the western concept of democracy, human rights and a two-state solution to understand that the Palestinians have a totally different idea in mind. A Palestinians State will not bring peace to the Middle East.
From Yemen with Venom. With the Houthis in Yemen over 2000 kilometers away causing millions of Israelis to run for cover and crippling Israel’s tourism industry, the writer questions what would happen if these same lethal missiles were being fired from an independent Palestinian state, only a few kilometers away from Ben Gurion Airport?
The best that the Palestinians can expect is autonomy to run their own affairs in area A of the Oslo accords and Gaza. They can forget about the right of return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to Israel. No such right exists anywhere in the world.
Despite all the attempts to annihilate the Jews, they have miraculously survived and have returned to the land of their forefathers as predicted by the Jewish prophets in biblical times. The desert has been transformed into productive farmland. Hebrew has been resuscitated as the spoken language of Israel. Israel has become a technological powerhouse of innovation and inventions. The economy and people are resilient, and one way or another Israel will survive, prosper and continue to make the world a better place. All things considered, Israel is a living miracle.
And that’s the way it is.
About the writer:
AccountantNeville Berman had an illustrious sporting career in South Africa, being twice awarded the South African State Presidents Award for Sport and was a three times winner of the South African Maccabi Sportsman of the Year Award. In 1978 he immigrated to the USA to coach the United States men’s field hockey team, whereafter, in 1981 he immigrated to Israel where he practiced as an accountant and then for 20 years was the Admin Manager at the American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel. He is married with two children and one granddaughter.
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).
