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ISRAELI BREAKTHROUGH – NOT ON A BATTLEFIELD BUT IN MEDICAL SCIENCE
“Walk Again”? – An Israeli breakthrough could make paralysis reversible!
Every year, up to half a million people worldwide suffer spinal cord injuries that lead to paralysis, often an irreversible condition. But in Israel, scientists are on the verge of changing that inevitability. At the cutting-edge biotech company Matricelf, researchers are engineering new spinal cord tissue from a patient’s own cells, a groundbreaking step that could soon allow people in wheelchairs to walk again.
ARTICLES
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DO JEWS HAVE A FUTURE IN BRITAIN?
It’s time for the silent majority to speak up By Andrew Fox
Not Okay in the UK. A protest today in the UK where the popular iconic insignia of the pro-Palestine movement are comfortably at home alongside the conspicuous dreaded Nazi Swastika. Is this an environment where Jews can sustain a long-term future?
The planeload of Gazans arriving in South Africa has so far been a saga of silence and falsity. By Lawrence Nowosenetz
Who’s The Boss? Most revealing in this image in the SA media covering the arrival in SA of Palestinians from Gaza is the enlarged face of the Dr Imtiaz Sooliman of a local anti-Israel Islamist charity (left) who dwarfs (l-r) SA President Ramaphosa, Foreign Minister Lamola and Home Affairs Minister Schreiber.
In loving memory of Tova Ben Dov z”l ByRolene Marks Tribute
Superlative Service. Tova Ben Dov(l) and the writer outside a WIZO project in Israel identified with the legacy of Tova. The largest Zionist women’s organization in the world, WIZO today runs 180 day care centers in Israel, caring for 14,000 children of working mothers, new immigrants and needy families.
While global pressure for the two-state solution accelerates, maybe time to apply the brakes and study the facts. By Peter Bailey
Conference’s Consequences. Delegates to the 1920 San Remo conference in Italy which led to far-reaching consequences for the people of the Middle East not least, the Jewish people who had been scattered across the world for two millennia. A failure to stick to the plan, challenges remain a century later!
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).
24 November 2025 – Israel bracing for possible retaliation from Hezbollah? Find out more on The Israel Brief.
25 November 2025 – Hostage remains to be handed to Israel, Roro gets on her soapbox and more on The Israel Brief.
26 November 2025 – Dror Or, the last hostage from Kibbutz Beeri, returned to Israel and more on The Israel Brief.
27 November 2025 – Roro goes off on the morons of the week and more 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).
While global pressure for the two-state solution accelerates, maybe time to apply the brakes and study the facts.
By Peter Bailey
World leaders are living in the past when they talk about two states being the only solution to the “Palestine Problem”, when in reality their real concern is the “Jewish Problem”, without being honest enough to say so. The two-state solution was applied in 1921 when the League of Nations accepted the British proposal that Palestine east of the Jordan River become an Arab State, hence the birth of Transjordan, today the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Mandate Palestine west of the river was set to become the Jewish Homeland, in terms of the Balfour Declaration and the subsequent San Remo Resolution. The two-state solution which has been touted since 1967 is thus in reality, a three-state solution. First, a short history lesson, which will establish the background and basis of the original two-state solution, while confirming my reasoning that the current demand is in fact for a three-state solution to the Arab Israel conundrum.
The leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Japan and many others appeared most anxious to punish Israel by recognising a mythical State of Palestine in light of Israel’s defensive war against Gaza, following the vicious and criminal terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas on 7 October 2023. Leading the pack in this ill-timed, uninformed and imprudent quasi- recognition was French president Emmanuel Macron, who together with his partners in this folly were clearly not in lockstep with their predecessors who attended the San Remo Conference 105 years earlier. Britain, France, Italy and Japan saw no problem then in accepting the bona fides of the Balfour Declaration by including it in the San Remo Resolution dealing with the future of the Levant, an area comprising modern day Israel, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. With the exception of Israel, which had to proclaim its own independence in 1948, the other states were soon established by the Mandatory Powers in terms of San Remo in territories that had formerly been part of the Ottoman Empire before its defeat in the First World War. The establishment of the Jewish Homeland was thwarted by successive British governments.
Conference’s Consequences. Delegates to the monumental 1920 San Remo conference in Italy which has had far-reaching consequences for all the peoples of the Middle East not least, for the Jewish people who had been scattered across the world for two millennia. Despite the biblical enshrining into international law “the title deed to the land of Israel to the descendants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, over a century later, the very legitimacy of the Jewish state in their ancient homeland is still being challenged.
The First World War brought four unique individuals together in London between 1916 and 1918. The fabled four were British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, British Foreign Secretary Sir Arthur Balfour, South African Defence Minister General Jan Smuts and scientist Chaim Weizmann, President of the British Zionist Federation. Lloyd George and Balfour were both Christian Zionists, while Smuts, informed by his knowledge of Jewish history together with his rural religious South African background had an ingrained belief in the biblical Promised Land as the historical Jewish homeland. The association of these global statesmen led to the Balfour Declaration, which was no accident of fate, but rather a merging of ideas based on political realities, historical knowledge and religious idealism.
The essence of the Balfour Declaration, issued by Sir Arthur Balfour in 1917, was a British undertaking to promote the reestablishment of the Jewish Homeland in Palestine, considering the historical right of the Jewish People to the territory. The San Remo Declaration confirmed the establishment of the division of the Levant into several territories under French and British Mandates, which would lead to the eventual self-determination of the local residents. The inclusion of the Balfour Declaration was to ensure that one element of that self-determination would be the establishment of the Jewish Homeland in historical Israel.
The San Remo Conference was convened 105 years ago with the express purpose of deciding the future of the Middle East region that had been part of the recently defeated Ottoman Empire. Present at the conference were the leaders of Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium and Greece, as well as the leaders of the Zionist Movement.
Following the conference, the San Remo Declaration, incorporating the 1917 Balfour Declaration, was issued, providing the legal basis for the establishment of the League of Nations British Mandate over Palestine, amongst several other Mandates. Sir Arthur Balfour remarked at the time that this confirmed the “historical right of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland.” While Lloyd George and Balfour were committed to the establishment of a Jewish Homeland in Palestine, their tenure in government was unfortunately destined to be short-lived, and their promise of a Jewish Homeland left unfulfilled.
Lloyd George was replaced by Conservative party leader William Bonar Law on 23 October 1922. Bonar Law, whose primary concern was an amicable arrangement to settle Britain’s War Debt with the United States, paid scant attention to Palestine. He was seriously ill with throat cancer and resigned in May 1923, to be replaced by Stanley Baldwin on 23 May 1923. The San Remo Declaration granted had Great Britain Mandatory responsibility for Mesopotamia and for Palestine in terms of the Balfour Declaration. Our concern is with Mandate Palestine, which has two distinct regions, one east of the Jordan River, and the other west of the river, extending to the Mediterranean coast. The failure of Great Britain to honour and carry out its obligation of establishing a Jewish Homeland in terms of the Balfour Declaration lies at the heart of many of the current problems facing Israel in particular, and the Middle East in general.
Unlike their predecessors who approved of the San Remo and Balfour Declarations, contemporary politicians analysing the history of Israel and of the Jewish People without considering the facts, has resulted in a bizarre revision of that history, led by the Palestinian mythmakers and their fellow travelers.
The original sin which lies at the root of the Israel Arab conflict can be defined as the general acceptance of the Arab myth of indigeneity to the land they call Palestine, sans any verifiable historical evidence. The same land is referred to as Israel by the Jewish people, with reams of verifiable historical evidence as to their indigeneity. The time is long overdue that the 193 member states of the United Nations recognise this truth, after which they would have a solemn duty to educate the Palestinian masses that they have no prior right to the land of Israel. Acceptance by all of the rights of the Jewish people to Israel, could result in a reset of the relationship between Israel and the Palestinian leadership, which in turn, has the potential to result in a mutually acceptable conclusion to the never ending conflict.
HISTORY OF ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE
The beating heart of Israel is the city of Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism, while the Arab Muslim world claims Jerusalem as a holy city in Islam, refusing to acknowledge the prior rights of Jewry to the same city. There are two indisputable facts regarding Jewish and Muslim claims to Jerusalem. The first being that the Muslim religion came into being between the years 600 and 620 of the common era, while Jerusalem is historically confirmed as the centre of Jewish religious life and home to the Jewish Temple at least 1,100 years earlier.
Roman historian, Gaius Plinius Secundus (23/24 – 79 CE), known as Pliny the Elder described Jerusalem as by far the most famous city of the East, while fellow Roman historian, Publius Cornelius Tacitus, (c. 56 – c. 120 CE), described it as “the capital of the Jews, with a temple of enormous reaches.” The following excerpt (translated) from Historiae V, the fifth volume of Tacitus’ Histories, leaves the reader in no doubt as to the Jewish character of Jerusalem:
“But the city stands on an eminence, and the Jews had defended it with works and fortifications sufficient to protect even level ground; for the two hills that rise to a great height had been included within walls that had been skillfully built, projecting out or bending in so as to put the flanks of an assailing body under fire. The rocks terminated in sheer cliffs, and towers rose to a height of sixty feet where the hill assisted the fortifications, and in the valleys, they reached one hundred and twenty; they presented a wonderful sight, and appeared of equal height when viewed from a distance. An inner line of walls had been built around the palace, and on a conspicuous height stands Antony’s Tower, so named by Herod in honor of Mark Antony.”
While Pliny the Elder talks about the Essenes, a Jewish sect, in his history, Tacitus confirms that Jerusalem was the Jewish capital as well as corroborating the existence of the Temple, known in Judaism as the Second Temple. Neither Pliny nor Tacitus mention an Arab presence nor the existence of a mosque on the Temple Mount, simply because Islam did not exist in their era, only appearing on the world stage some 5 to 6 hundred years later. While there has been much conjecture about the existence of the First Jewish Temple, built by King Solomon according to Biblical records, there is sufficient proof placing the Jews in control of Jerusalem at least 1,000 years before the arrival of Mohammed and Islam on the world stage.
One of the results of the Roman conquest over Israel was the renaming of the region, particularly Judea and Samaria, as Palestina, in an effort to destroy the Jewish identity of the region, hence the name Palestine. One of the results of the birth of Islam was the military conquest of the entire Levant by Muslim Arab forces between 634 and 638 CE, the establishment of the Rashidun Caliphate and the subsequent Arab colonisation of the entire region. The Arab/Palestinian claim to Palestine originates from this colonisation, giving them some entitlement, while the claim of the rights that go with indigeneity can be debunked without further ado. The idea that Arabs are indigenous to Israel is of relatively modern origin, emerging around the same time as the modern Zionist movement and the subsequent birth of Palestinian nationalism, concomitant with the British Mandate over Palestine.
Apparently misinformed by the mythical contrived history of Israel, the 2025 United Nations General Assembly seemed to have a one-track agenda – the establishment of a Palestinian State in addition to the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River, popularly known as the Two State Solution. This was without any consideration for, or perhaps a lack of accurate knowledge, of the historical background. The map of Mandate Palestine below clearly indicates that in 1921, Britain divided Palestine into two separate units, the Arab entity of Transjordan, later the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, east of the Jordan River, with the clear intention that territory west of the Jordan would become the Jewish Homeland. That this was in fact the original Two State Solution has been long forgotten. The Arab Emirate of Transjordan was recognised by the League of Nations in September 1922, the first step to the implementation of the San Remo Declaration. The second step, the establishment of the Jewish Homeland fell by the wayside together with the Lloyd George government.
The small area in black with the legend – area ceded to Syria 1923 – this is the Golan Heights that were intended to be part of the Jewish Homeland, but removed.
The resignation of David Lloyd George on 19 October 1922 as the result of a financial scandal was followed by the election of a new government signaling the end of Britain honouring the terms of the Mandate. The establishment of a Jewish homeland became a very low priority, while Britain meticulously limited Jewish immigration to Palestine in order to maintain an Arab majority. Simultaneously with its Jewish immigration policy, Britain introduced a second Two State plan, while ignoring its own decision creating Transjordan in 1921 as the first step towards an Arab and a Jewish state in Mandate Palestine. The new two state plan, creating a second Arab state west of the Jordan River became the rallying cry of the Arab community. This was resolutely, and in many cases aggressively opposed by the Zionist movement, which demanded the application of the San Remo and Balfour Declarations. Trapped between Jewish determination and Arab demands brought about by its own perfidious plans, the British Government decided in 1947 to return the Mandate over Palestine to the United Nations.
1947 United Nations Partition Vote.
The General Assembly subsequently approved a partition plan in 1947, totally ignoring the Mandate division of Palestine, rather voting for a grossly unfair partition of the Eastern half of Palestine as shown on the above map. Needless to say, the Arab world refused to abide by the U.N. vote, now calling for a single Arab State, which would include a “Jewish component”. The Zionist movement in turn reluctantly accepted the vote on the basis of:
Half a loaf being better than none.
Britain vacated Palestine on 15 May 1948, the day after David Ben Gurion had proclaimed the Independent State of Israel in the region west of the Jordan River. The nascent State of Israel was immediately attacked by the surrounding Arab States in an attempt to strangle the Jewish State at birth. The rest of the story is the modern history of Israel, together with a never-ending call for the establishment of two states following Israel’s stunning victory in the 1967 Six Day War. History also records that every offer by Israel of an independent Palestinian State has been spurned, regardless of the terms. The Two State solution with no Jewish State has become the new global cry on behalf of the Palestinian people, while the Palestinians themselves chant:
“From the River to the Sea”
This amounts to a call for a single state west of the Jordan River. Back to the future, I conclude with the all too familiar quote by legendary Israeli diplomat Abba Eban, who said in 1973:
“The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”
About the writer: The writer, Peter Bailey, a military history buff, was a Major in the South African Army Reserve before making aliyah in 2013. He is the author of two books: Street Names in Israel; and Men of Valor: Israel’s Latter Day Heroes.
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).
If anyone was the absolute embodiment of her name, it was Tova Ben Dov. Tova, as her name suggests, was goodness personified. With twinkling blue eyes and the familiar sound of “Bubbeleh” greeting all who she was fond of, Tova brought her unique charm, wisdom and humour to all who knew her.
I will never forget the first time I met Tova. I joined a cohort of WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organization) women at the World Zionist Congress and saw how this slender, twinkly-eyed lady wielded tremendous power and respect and how when she spoke, she commanded the room.
Assigning herself as my “ima Israelit” (Israeli mother), Tova was a pillar of support and a gentle guide to help navigate the travails of Aliyah. I looked so forward to our chats where she would share anecdotes and always looked for the silver linings, even though these past years that have been so difficult for all of us. Tova never missed a beat – she knew what was happening in our communities around the world and stood strong in her identity, always encouraging pride in who we are and the imperative of standing up to the hate.
Tova Ben Dov (l) and Rolene Marks (r).
With wisdom, humour and patience, Tova was a mentor to so many, including WIZO women. Creating leaders and education was important to Tova; and from Melbourne, to Malmo, we were guided, encouraged and mentored by her.
Tova was more than just Honorary Life President of WIZO – she was the beating heart of the movement. Tova poured her heart into everything that she did and it shows in her legacy and the love that so many have for her.
Tova was born in Tel Aviv to parents from a Zionist family that was one of the founders of the Jewish state. For six decades, she devoted herself to WIZO.
Starting her career as a volunteer at the Herzliya Pituach branch, she became a respected leader on the national and international stage.
Working her way up the WIZO ladder, she held several leadership positions, including President of World WIZO from 2012 to 2016. She also served as vice president of the World Jewish Congress, a member of the executive committee of the Jewish Agency for Israel and a member of the International Council of Women.
Among other things, Ben-Dov founded the Open House in Sderot, named after former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as well as the first secure daycare center in the southern Israeli city. During her tenure, WIZO won the Israel Prize in 2008 for its contribution to advancing the status of women and gender equality.
Among Ben-Dov’s notable accomplishments within WIZO was the establishment of the Margaret Thatcher Open House in Sderot (above) which provides professional treatment, therapy and support programs to thousands of children and families in a city whose residents are traumatized by war.
In 2011, Tova was honoured with the Yakir Tel Aviv-Yafo award in recognition of her dedication to the well-being of the city, and in 2016, she was awarded the title of honorary fellow of the World Zionist Congress.
These are incredible achievements and are testament to a lifetime of service to her country.
Her greatest pride and joy has always been her family and her siblings, three children, seven grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, survive her. Tova was laid to rest in the Kiryat Shaul cemetery.
Her passing leaves a gaping hole in the lives of so many. May we all live up to the example that she set. Tova by name – and by nature. Goodness personified. May her memory be eternally blessed.
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 planeload of Gazans arriving in South Africa has so far been a saga of silence and falsity.
By Lawrence Nowosenetz
There is something deeply wrong with the way this story has been framed in South Africa. For a week, the country has been fed a fake narrative that suits the political and activist sector that favours casting Israel as a malignant player. The South African media swallowed it whole, without questioning the source, the motives, or the glaring contradictions.
On 13 November a commercial jet belonging to Global Airways landed at OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg carrying 153 people from Gaza. They had lawfully departed from Gaza through the Israeli Keren Shalom crossing to Ramon Airport, a civil (not military) airport near Eilat in Israel and had flown to Nairobi, Kenya.
For 9 hours Border Management officials barred them from disembarking from the aircraft due to lack of documentation. They did not have exit customs stamps of Israel and entry visas to South Africa. They had not sought refugee status with the United Nations prior to their departure. Nor had they applied for asylum under South African immigration or refugee law. The Department of Home Affairs was apparently unaware of their arrival and regarded their entry as illegal. Eventually, 130 were granted 90-day tourist visas and entered South Africa under the care of a local Muslim charity, Gift of the Givers. The remainder transferred to their ultimate destination.
The narrative of the South African Government was that it did not want to collaborate with Israeli “ethnic cleansing” and the travellers had no legal documentation to enter South Africa. Imtiaz Sooliman of Gift of the Givers presented himself as the heroic interlocutor of the crisis. Politicians claimed confusion and ignorance. Commentators repeated the same talking points and as usual blamed Israel for everything while blindly accepted the Palestinian Authority’s version without hesitation or scrutiny.
Who’s The Boss? Interestingly in this image appearing in the SA media covering the unfolding and confusing saga of the arrival in Johannesburg of Gazan passengers, the large face of the Dr Imtiaz Sooliman of the Islamist charity, Gift of the Givers (left), dwarfs from (left to right) South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, Dirco Minister Ronald Lamola and Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber. (Photo: Lulama Zenzile / Gallo Images / Die Burger)
Yet the one group that the media should have been listening to has been completely sidelined. The people who actually made the journey from Gaza to South Africa.
TESTIFYING TO THE TRUTH While newsrooms were still recycling press statements, Tim Flack, a PR professional specialising in crisis management and media relations, did the basic work that journalism used to value:
He spoke to the individuals involved.
(Click on the picture for the X post)
Two Gazan women spoke to him independently. One who is in South Africa and another who travelled on to Indonesia.
-Both used the Al Majd humanitarian pathway that has been operating quietly and legally.
– Both voluntarily applied to leave Gaza.
– Both willingly boarded the flights.
– Both thanked Al Majd and Israel for coordinating their safe exit.
According to Tim Flack, their testimonies destroy the pre-packaged narrative about abandonment, scams, trafficking, forced removal and Imtiaz Sooliman’s new buzzword:
“Ethnic Cleansing“.
These testimonies completely contradict the claims made by Sooliman who in pushing for an investigation by the South Africa President, took to the media in an Al Jazeera style operation of blame Israel at all costs. The testimony of these women clearly undermines the political theatre that played out in South Africa.
FLIGHT CONTROLL TO OUT OF CONTROL One of the women shared a WhatsApp directive that she allegedly received from the Palestinian Embassy in South Africa. It was not a request – it was an instruction.
Hereunder is the translation:
“We are about to issue an official press statement regarding the situation of the Palestinian group that arrived from Palestine. It is very important that you all commit to not issuing any statements on social media and not communicating with any press outlet. If any journalists contact you, please direct them to speak with Sara. [ Presumably Sarah from Gift of the Givers] The purpose of these instructions is not to restrict your freedom, but to protect your privacy and to ensure a better legal situation for you. We do not want any statements being made outside the approved framework, because that would create obstacles for the group.”
The Embassy’s message was clear:
* No talking to media.
* No social media posts.
* Only speak to a designated individual who is not even a government official named Sara Oosthuizen who works for Gift of the Givers.
* No public statements outside the approved framework.
This reads like a gag order disguised as concerned counsel.
Even more sinister, is the claim by the Gazan woman passenger that the Palestinian Authority forced the embassy in Indonesia to cancel visas earlier in the year just as another group of Gazans was preparing to leave. Those visas were unduly revoked under political pressure.
The flights being legal raises the important question of why the Palestinian Authority attempted to block people from leaving Gaza legally and peacefully:
Could it be that an orderly and legal departure of Gazans does not fit with the Palestinian narrative of Gaza being “an open-air prison”?
Clearly, it refutes that there is no truth in the South African statement that the Gazans are being “expelled” or that they are barred from returning.
Happy Landing. While a smiling Palestinian ambassador to South Africa, Hanan Jarrar, is seen here (centre) meeting on the plane with Gazan passengers, it is noted that her boss, the Palestinian Authority attempted to block people from leaving Gaza legally and peacefully. (Photo:/Embassy of the State of Palestine via Reuters)
The core issue I am addressing is:
What is the explanation for such media submissiveness to deliberately ignore reporting the full story?
Is governmental pressure being applied and perhaps ‘duly assisted’ by the conniving Israel-hater Imtiaz Sooliman? And why are journalists not investigating the actions of the Palestinian Authority (PA) with the same intensity and zeal they apply to Israel? Many questions; too few answers!
‘ON BOARD’ WAS ALL ABOVE BOARD The story about South Africa being blindsided does not stand up to scrutiny. Palestinians do not require visas for visits up to 90 days. It’s on the South African Department of Home Affairs website.
The South African government officially announced in September 2023 that Palestinians with valid Palestinian passports are visa exempt travellers. The only requirements for entry are valid travel documents and perhaps proof of resources for accommodation and intent to return.
As to the false and malicious allegation against Israel regarding the failure to stamp the Gazans passports on exit, Israel did away with this practice in 2013. This is common knowledge and to have over-dramatically pedalled to the media this false accusation as did Gift of the Givers’ founder and CEO Imtiaz Sooliman was nothing less than slander to besmirch the Jewish state.
The plane carrying the Gazan passengers could not have landed without South African approval as the third country and Israel publicly confirmed that the exit was coordinated. France24 too confirmed that the unnamed third country was South Africa.
Air traffic control at OR Tambo was always aware of the incoming flight and its landing schedule.
Despite all of this, South African media outlets continued to present the false narrative that the Gazans arrived in some irregular fashion.
The facts say otherwise.
The law says otherwise.
The testimony of the Gazan women passengers says otherwise.
MEDIA’S SCANDELIOUS ‘SOUNDS OF SILENCE’ Several questions remain unanswered.
Why are the testimonies of the most affected people – the Gazan passengers – not being reported?
Why are the media outlets in South Africa failing to investigate a significant lead in the story that respected media relations expert Tim Flack exposed?
Why are the investigative journalists not doing their job by tenaciously pursuing the allegations of the Gazan passengers against the Embassy of the Palestinian Authority in Pretoria for trying to subdue them into silence?
Why have Sooliman’s outrageous claims not been challenged against available evidence?
Why is the public subjected to one exclusive politically motivated narrative that is only against Israel?
In Search of Safety. Many stories to be told, what is preventing journalists from interviewing these passengers as to why and how they left Gaza and if they are happy with their decision? (Photo: Embassy of the State of Palestine / South Africa / via Facebook)
Failure to all of the above sadly affirms a quiescent mainstream media that is subservient to the South African government, the Embassy of the Palestinian Authority in South Africa and the Gift of the Givers being their enablers and abetters.
The shabby truth is that once the Rainbow Nation, South Africa is now a country where crime and corruption are part of the unwritten constitution, and in step with this decline, turned its foreign policy against true democratic Western interests and values to which it pays lip service. Instead, it embraces BRICS and the so-called global South which includes rogue nations such as Iran. It pursues a perverted and hypocritical stance on human rights which is passive about the ongoing atrocities in Sudan, Yemen and massacres of Christians in Nigeria and other African countries.
TIME FOR TRUTH This saga is not only about a flight from Gaza. It is about how narratives are manufactured, manipulated and spun and how easily journalists abandon independence and human empathy. The human aspirations of the Gazan travellers and their quest for a better life does not seem to be a topic worthy of pursuit.
Journalism is debased when a particular narrative – in this instance demonisation of Israel – becomes paramount, either because it aligns with the prevailing popular worldview or so that a journalist can hold onto his or her job without offending.
A CALL FOR MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY Migration from conflict zones in the Middle East has become commonplace hence not complicated to report on. When people who survived the Gaza war speak, the responsible act is to listen to their personal account. There was no shortage of tearful accounts of Gazan suffering during the war but suddenly this fails to be of interest when Gazans leaving for a better life wish to tell their story! Why?
Two Gazan women, thousands of kilometres apart – one still in South Africa the other now in Indonesia – each told the same story. They explained how they left Gaza legally, willingly, and were grateful for all the assistance they received.
They also revealed how they were subjected to pressure and intimidation after landing in South Africa and explained how the Palestinian Authority played a disruptive role in the pursuance of their plans for a new life outside of Gaza. Is this the narrative the anti-Israel lobby do not want to hear? That there is life outside of Gaza free of Hamas?
Ignoring these corroborative testimonies amounts to a moral and media failure.
Life after Gaza. Is it pictures like these from a news network video clip of Gazans arriving at OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg that the PA and Hamas don’t want the world to see?
By failing to follow the facts and track the truth – the guiding principles for any journalist – these professionals would be doing a disservice to their audience. There is a story is out there to be told, a true story from passengers who will testify to their personal experiences and the paths they have opted to pursue. It is time for the media to step up and ask the questions they should have been asking from the very beginning.
About the writer:
Now retired, Pretoria-born human rights and labour lawyer, Lawrence Nowosenetz practiced at the Pretoria and Johannesburg Bar. Recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, Nowosenetz completed an internship in the USA and served as a part-time Senior Commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) as well as a panellist at Tokiso Dispute Settlement – the largest private dispute resolution provider in South Africa. He has also served as an Acting Judge of the Hight Court, South Africa.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
An entirely reasonable question, given the raging storm of antisemitism that has blustered for two years. Jake is usually the optimist of the two of us, and I am the pessimist, but allow me to briefly reverse those roles and write a positive response (while openly stealing his title).
There is a strange dissonance in Britain right now. If you listen only to the street marches, the online cacophony, and the endless churn of algorithmic outrage, you could convince yourself that antisemitism has become the dominant cultural mood of the country. Many (if not most) of my Jewish friends feel that way, and it is wholly understandable, painful, and visceral.
However, if we step back, look up, and pay attention to the quiet majority, the picture changes. Antisemitism is not a mainstream opinion in Britain or even in the USA.
Birds of a Feather. A protest today in Britain where the popular iconic insignia of the pro-Palestine movement are quite at home alongside the Nazi Swastika.
Not even close.
It remains what it has long been: a persistent, ugly, but numerically small fringe. The difference today is not the size of that fringe; it is the volume. The antisemites have learned how to be loud.
There is a psychological trick at play here, and it is one that extremists understand instinctively. When a small group screams loudly enough, often enough, and aggressively enough, they create the illusion of size. People hear the shouting, see the placards, watch the videos, and assume that noise equals scale.
This is a mirage. All the data tells a far calmer story. Most Britons and Americans do not hate Jews. In fact, most Britons do not think about Jews or Israel very much at all, and that is exactly how a liberal society should be: minority groups not fetishised or scapegoated, and simply allowed to live in peace. Our problem is the tiny but committed fraction who regard hatred as a vocation, and who understand that a single drum can sound like a whole orchestra if it is struck hard enough.
Sign of the Times. Signs like these reflect the precarious situation of Jews today living in Europe.
Pointing out that antisemitism is a minority view does not diminish its significance: it is undeniable that antisemitic incidents are on the rise. Our communities are justified in being worried. This highlights the government’s duty to safeguard public spaces from fringe groups that confuse tolerance with weakness. When authorities allow chants of violent hatred to echo through our capital city every week, permit marches filled with eliminationist rhetoric, and let intimidation masquerade as protest, extremists take notice. They recognise this permissive environment and escalate their actions.
Political violence begins with a handful of people who realise no one intends to stop them. A minority emboldened can do more damage than a sleeping majority.
Part of why antisemitism feels so omnipresent is the rise of the influencer economy. Figures like Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, pseudo-intellectual grifters on YouTube, and the constellation of anonymous accounts orbiting them have mastered a simple truth:
outrage travels further than accuracy, conflict outperforms consensus, and noise beats numbers.
They target impressionable fringes: alienated young men, confused teenagers, disaffected minorities, anyone drifting on the edges of identity and belonging. Then they radicalise them in real time, in front of an audience. Extremism sells.
When a community feels threatened, it often turns to the loudest person who claims to be on its side. That is human nature, and it is understandable, but it is dangerous. There is a growing, worrying instinct among the pro-Israel and Jewish to look toward figures like Tommy Robinson; people who drape themselves in solidarity with Jews as a convenient coat over years of anti-Muslim incitement. This is a false bargain.
You cannot oppose antisemitic extremism by embracing anti-Muslim extremism. You cannot defend your dignity by standing beside those who deny it to others. You cannot protect liberal democracy with illiberal allies.
These political fringes feed off fear. If they cannot recruit you, they will settle for frightening you into amplifying it. Much of the panic filling Jewish communities (and much of the exhilaration filling extremist ones) comes from forgetting a simple fact: social media is not the country.
X is a coliseum designed to reward combat. TikTok is a hall of mirrors with no sense of proportion. Instagram is a performance stage.
These platforms amplify the loudest, angriest, most theatrical versions of reality. They reward extremism over moderation and turn a few hundred agitators into a spectacle that appears to be a mass movement. However, when you walk outside, you are not entering TikTok or X: you are entering actual society. It is quieter and far more decent than online.
Here is the critical factor in that decency: if antisemitism is a fringe view (and all the data shows that it still is), then the health of the country depends on those who reject it saying so. The silent majority cannot remain silent.
From Berlin to London. Their grandparents stood against the Nazis but these British protestors at a London pro-Palestinian march on December 9, 2023 embrace Nazis ‘solutions’ for Jews? (Photo credit: @_Jacker_)
Non-Jewish allies against antisemitism do not need to march or brawl or tweet. We need to challenge extremism when we see it, support colleagues who feel unsafe, refuse to indulge conspiracies, insist that political leaders show moral clarity and remind the extremists that they do not speak for the nation. Silence is a vacuum, and vacuums get filled; usually by people you do not want speaking on your behalf.
The truth is both reassuring and sobering: antisemitism is not widespread, but it is loud, organised, and increasingly confident in spreading its message.
Confusing noise with meaningful data can lead to despair, while dismissing minority opinions as insignificant risks can lead to complacency. This moment demands neither panic nor retreat, nor alliances born of desperation. Instead, it calls for a confident, democratic majority to remember who it is and to make its voice heard.
Jews absolutely have a future in Britain. The antisemites are few. They were just emboldened and stopped whispering. It simply needs the silent majority of decent people to stop whispering, too.
About the writer:
A veteran of three grueling tours of Afghanistan, Major Andrew Fox holds a Batchelor’s degree in Law & Politics, a Master’s in Military History & War Studies, and is currently studying for a PhD in History.
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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Thousands protest against government at Habima Square, Tel Aviv on Saturday night, 22 November 2025, demanding a state probe into the failures of the October 7 massacre.
Calling for a State National Enquiry not an in-house government contrivance, the core message articulated was: “The people of Israel deserve answers about how the terrible failure happened and how to prevent it from happening again.”
ARTICLES
Please note there is a facility to comment beneath each article should you wish to express an opinion on the subject addressed.
(1)
IS THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION REALLY A SOLUTION?
Israel cannot be expected to support a Palestinian State that has the destruction of Israel as one of its aims. By Neville Berman
Puzzling the Pieces. Since 1937, all attempts to establish a Palestinian State living next to Israel have been rejected. Consistently rejecting any presence a Jewish state, Palestinians are resolved for a single Palestinian State from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – hence the emphatic cry “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA”.
A PLANE LANDING LANDS SOUTH AFRICA IN EMBARRASSING CONTROVERSY
‘Surprise’ arrival of planeload of Palestinians from Gaza exposes how ‘Gift of the Givers’ is de facto running South Africa’s foreign ministry. By Kenneth Kgwadi
Reception Committee. While SA government claims being “uninformed”, local Muslim charity appeared more than “informed” as well as ready to receive the Gazans led by its founder Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman (centre), who falsely tells media: “Israel deliberately did not stamp the passports” of the Gazans “to exacerbate their suffering.”
Touring India’s “Land of Kings” reveals surprise insights to Israelis on history of their own land. By Motti Verses
Doorstep Discoveries. What made this writer from Israel salute his hotel doorman in India? Where did their histories enrichingly connect that new found revelations resulted in this iconic expression of understanding , gratitude and respect?
BBC NEWS FAILS TO ACCURATELY AND IMPARTIALLY REPORT SOUTH AFRICA PLANE STORY
Another in endless stories on Gaza that BBC presents narrative to besmirch the reputation of Israel. by Hadar Sela
SUSPECT SOURCE. Neglectfully or deliberately tarnishing the image of Israel, the BBC on the report of the arrival of Gazans in South Africa, quotes local Muslim leader whose views are “Zionists were too clever… They run the world with fear. They control the world with money.”
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).
17 November 2025 – What we know about the mysterious plane filled with Gazans that appeared in an airport in Johannesburg. This and more on The Israel Brief.
18 November 2025 – Israel files to dismiss ICC prosecutor and more on The Israel Brief.
19 November 2025 – “I dug my way out” – the remarkable hostage story. Find out more on The Israel Brief.
20 November 2025 – The Mossad exposes the “Hamas Octopus” in Europe and more 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).
Courtesy of CAMERA UK (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis)
On the afternoon of November 14th, the BBC News website published a report by Khanyisile Ngcobo in Johannesburg and Wycliffe Muia in Nairobi headlined “South Africa to investigate ‘mystery’ of planeload of Palestinians”.
The report begins by telling readers that: [emphasis added]
“South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says there will be an investigation into the “mysterious” arrival of a chartered plane carrying 153 Palestinians from Gaza into the country.
The group arrived at OR Tambo International Airport but were initially refused entry and were stuck in the plane for more than 10 hours as they “did not have the customary departure stamps in their passports,” local authorities said.”
Readers are later told that:
“Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that while Palestinian passport-holders qualified for 90-day visa-exempt access to South Africa, the lack of departure stamps, return tickets or accommodation addresses in some of the travellers’ documentation resulted in the initial refusal to let them into the country.”
Despite their uncritical amplification of those statements, the writers of this report did not bother to inform BBC audiences that – as noted by the Israeli embassy in South Africa and others – Israel does not stamp passports on exit from the country.
The BBC’s report also tells readers that:
“The circumstances of their departure from Gaza and travel to South Africa remain unclear.”
It goes on to quote a South African media outlet:
“Ramaphosa said the group “somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi” and flew to South Africa, reports the News24 site.”
As the BBC knows, since June 2024 Israel has been facilitating the evacuation of Palestinians in need of medical care abroad and their caregivers via the Ramon Airport near Eilat. Indeed, the BBC’s report continues:
“Israeli military body Cogat, which controls Gaza’s crossings, said in a statement: “The residents left the Gaza Strip after Cogat received approval from a third country to receive them.” It did not specify the country.”
France 24 later reported that the “third country” was South Africa. The BBC’s report continues:
“According to the Palestinian embassy in South Africa, the group left Israel’s Ramon Airport and flew to the country via the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, “without any prior note or coordination”.
A statement from the embassy said “an unregistered and misleading organization [had] exploited the tragic humanitarian conditions of our people in Gaza, deceived families, collected money from them, and facilitated their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner”.”
The BBC’s report has nothing more to tell readers about that “misleading organization” – which is called Al Majd Europe – or about the South African company to which the chartered plane belongs.
Quoting an article that appeared in Ha’aretz, the Times of Israelreports:
“According to Haaretz, the group left Gaza early Wednesday morning, via the Strip’s southern Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, following Israeli vetting.
Members of the group were then taken by bus to Israel’s Ramon Airport, near Eilat, where they boarded a chartered plane to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and from there boarded the chartered flight to Johannesburg.
An earlier group departing Gaza made an identical trip some two weeks ago and disembarked in Johannesburg without incident, Haaretz said. Both journeys were organized by an hitherto unknown organization called Al-Majd, which has received many requests from Gazans who want to leave the Strip, the report said. […]
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees the flow of people and goods to and from Gaza, also told Haaretz that the Palestinians had received visas from South Africa ahead of time. COGAT was also cited by the newspaper as saying that, as a rule, Israel always makes sure that there is a country that will accept Gazans departing the Strip.”
The BBC’s report goes on to quote a South African charity which was not involved in the evacuation of that group of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip but which has also been promoting the ‘no exit stamps’ narrative.
“South African charity Gift of the Givers has said it will provide the group with accommodation in the country.
Civil societies in South Africa have called for investigations into the conditions the Palestinians had fled in Gaza and the exact route of the aircraft.”
As explained by a South African commentator, the route taken by the chartered aircraft is already known.
“From Ramon Airport, the group was routed through Nairobi as a routine logistical connection. Global Aviation Flight 901 left Johannesburg on 12 November, landed in Nairobi, and returned early on the 13th carrying the Gazan travellers. Kenya did not stamp their passports because they were in transit. Israel did not stamp passports because Israel discontinued passport stamping years ago to protect travellers from discrimination in countries that penalise entry from Israel. Instead, Israel issues electronic entry cards.
These are standard international practices. Flight records confirm the exact timings.”
The BBC’s report continues:
“Gift of the Givers has since called for Ramaphosa to investigate the home affairs ministry and border authority for the “humiliation they’ve caused” the Palestinians.
The organisation’s founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said this treatment included being forced to wait for hours on the tarmac at the airport, being denied food provided by the group and “using every excuse in the book to prevent these passengers from disembarking”.”
Remarkably, the BBC had nothing to tell its audiences either about the organisation it chose to quote or its founder – including his participation in a Cape Town rally marking the anniversary of the October 7th attacks.
“On 5 October 2024, Sooliman shared a platform under a banner proclaiming, “We are all Hamas” with known Islamist extremists. He said, “Every time we protested, the Zionists were too clever. They were arrogant, acting with impunity, put fear into you. They put fear into corporate corporations, into universities, into communities, into governments, into political parties, into associations. They run the world with fear. They control the world with money. And every time you say something, they terrify you and they say it’s antisemitic. But I’ve got a message for them. Find a new narrative, this one is dull, boring, and stupid.””
More recently, on Holocaust Memorial Day 2025, ‘Gift of the Givers’ co-hosted the screening of a problematic Al Jazeera ‘documentary’. In February 2025 the same charity promoted a video falsely claiming that Shiri Bibas was an Israeli soldier and that she and her two small children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
In recent days,Imtiaz Sooliman (with the help of Al Jazeera) has been promoting the notion that the flight that arrived in Johannesburg was part of a scheme of “forced migration” and “ethnic cleansing” of Gazans by Israel. A similar narrative is being promoted by the Palestinian Authority, the representative of which in South Africa was quoted in this BBC report.
Notably, it was the ‘mystery’ narrative promoted by a highly questionable charity – the Gift of the Givers, the PA and others that the BBC chose to highlight in this report on the story.
About the writer:
UK-born Hadar Sela has a special interest in the influence of the media on the British public’s perceptions of the Middle East and the Islamist networks operating in the UK and has been published in The Jerusalem Post, The Algemeiner, The Commentator, MERIA Journal and at Harry’s Place, among others.
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).
‘Surprise’ arrival of planeload of Palestinians from Gaza exposes how ‘Gift of the Givers’ is de facto running South Africa’s foreign ministry.
By Kenneth Kgwadi
It has become increasingly clear, particularly in the handling of the recent flight carrying the so-called “153 Palestinian refugees”, that Gift of the Givers has effectively assumed control over the functions of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).
It was deeply embarrassing for the government to remain completely uninformed about the details of the flight, while Gift of the Givers appeared to possess full knowledge of every aspect of the journey – information with significant foreign-policy implications for South Africa. This is especially troubling at a time when the country is already at odds with the United States and its allies.
Plane Surprise. Palestinian ambassador to South Africa Hanan Jarrar, (centre), meets with 153 Palestinian passengers from Gaza on a plane in Johannesburg, South Africa, in this handout image released on November 13, 2025 by the Embassy of the State of Palestine via Reuters. The ‘surprise’ landing allegedly left South African officials “blindsided” and after nearly 12 hours of scrambling, the group was allowed to disembark into the care of the Gift for Givers organization, which “coordinated their arrival and housing.”(Photo: Embassy of State of Palestine via Reuters)
It is increasingly reasonable to conclude that Gift of the Givers has effectively infiltrated and taken control of South Africa’s foreign policy, which has drifted far from its traditional focus on economic prosperity, peace, African unity, regional stability, and multilateral cooperation. Under the tenure of Dr. Naledi Pandor, foreign policy has increasingly centred on confronting the United States and its allies – particularly Israel – apparently as a strategy to curry favour with China, Iran, and Russia.
Gift of the Givers’ founder Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman, has positioned himself close to influential power centres within DIRCO, to the point where he appears to exert substantial influence over key decisions. He played a notable role in South Africa’s move to take Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – a decision that not only cost the state millions of rands but also provoked serious backlash from the US and its partners.
Reception Committee. Ready to provide services to the arriving Gazans is the Muslim charity ‘Gift of the Givers’ and its founder Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman (centre) who falsely claimed to the media in order to demonize the Jewish state that “Israel deliberately did not stamp the passports of these poor people to exacerbate their suffering in a foreign country,” a policy that has not existed at Israeli airports for well over a decade.
As South Africa hosts the 2025 G20 summit (22-23 November) without the presence of the world’s largest economy, the United States – and with Mexico and Argentina also absent – the message should be unmistakable. While the summit will proceed, South Africa must urgently reflect on how its international posture is eroding its global standing and take steps to repair its international image.
Many South Africans – including politicians, analysts, and ordinary citizens – have long expressed concern that the government has failed to manage the country’s borders effectively. It has now become even more evident that the state is struggling, and failing dismally, to address the complex and sensitive issue of immigration. Worse still, the authorities appear to be enabling and abetting unlawful immigration, a practice that poses serious security risks to everyone living in South Africa. By allowing people to enter the country without proper screening or due diligence, we are exposing ourselves to avoidable threats.
Gazans on the Go. The biggest mystery was that it was a mystery to South African authorities.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics, 26,232 people were murdered between January and December 2024. What is most troubling is that the majority of perpetrators are never apprehended. This alone demonstrates that South Africa faces a profound internal security crisis – one that demands urgent attention to ensure the safety and security of all residents. Instead of tightening internal security, the government is permitting the entry of additional groups of people without adequate vetting.
Government officials who are making the dangerous decision to admit the so-called ‘Palestinian refugees’ should revisit the historical record of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). After being expelled from Jordan in the early 1970s, the PLO relocated to Lebanon, entering the country as refugees. Over time, the refugee camps were transformed into heavily armed military bases that overshadowed the Lebanese national army and effectively created a state within a state. Their growing power contributed to the instability that culminated in the Lebanese Civil War of 1975, in which the PLO became a major participant. They were hardly conducting themselves as refugees!
The removal of the PLO in 1982 to Tunisia left the establishment of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which continued to cause chaos in that country by attacking Israel from the North. The country that used to pride itself as one of the few hubs of Christians now has below 50% of Christians, with weaker security and instability due to the infiltration of Hezbollah, which has created a state within the state in Lebanon.
There are numerous economically capable Arab states in both the Middle East and North Africa that should be at the forefront of championing the Palestinian cause. South Africa, by contrast, is grappling with a quadruple burden – poverty, inequality, unemployment, and weak economic growth – which continues to devastate the lives of its citizens. Emerging from the brutality of apartheid, South Africans still carry the deep scars of that system, and their government’s primary obligation should be to prioritise their well-being and socio-economic upliftment.
What, then, elevates the Palestinian struggle above the genocide unfolding in Sudan, where Africans are being killed in large numbers with minimal global outrage?
Why does the ANC government remain conspicuously silent on the humanitarian crises in Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, the Central African Republic (CAR), Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Cameroon, Burundi, and many other African nations? These countries are battling terrorism, widespread hunger, entrenched unemployment, collapsed governance systems, and various socio-political crises, yet they do not receive the same level of vocal solidarity and diplomatic energy.
South Africa cannot afford to ignore the lessons of history. The security of the nation and its people must come first. During these tumultuous times, South Africa cannot afford to allow its foreign ministry to be hijacked and its national interests diverted by political motivated and agenda-driven non-government organizations like the highly questionable ‘Gift of the Givers’.
The TRUTH Behind The MYSTERIOUS “Palestinian Refugees”
About the writer:
Kenneth Kgwadi is a research fellow at the Middle East Africa Research Institute (MEARI).
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).
