Day: July 21, 2026

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO LORDS

An Israeli visiting London while war rages in the Middle East.

By Sidney Victor Kaplan

If life is crazy in Israel these days, sometimes it is no less crazy for an Israeli finding himself outside Israel.

I live on a moshav ‘Manof’ in the north of Israel that has been subjected to endless sirens warning of incoming missiles, mostly from Hezbollah in Lebanon but also from Iran.

It is not that we are specifically being targeted but because we are situated near Rafael  – Israel’s state-owned aerospace and defense technology company responsible for pioneering and producing such famed operational defense systems like the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and the Iron Beam – we are ‘included’ on a ‘hit list’ and I’m not referring  to a collection of popular songs.

So, like all Israelis, I am armed by having a fully loaded cellphone, which has the lifesaving Home Front Command app that prepares you with a warning of an impending siren that in turn warns you of an impending missile. The only thing is, this abrasive ear-piercing rat-a-tat warning sound is loud, disruptive, intrusive and irritatingly inescapable.

To escape it  – or so I thought – I went off to London for a week on my annual pilgrimage to watch cricket and listen to music.

MANOF TO MARLEBONE

So, there I was this past June ensconced at my usual seat, not watching the Ashes, which I try never to miss, but a 5 -day test between England and New Zealand at Lords, home of the  Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

Having a Field Day. Away from war in the Middle East, the writer watches a more sedate battle at Lords between England and New Zealand.

The atmosphere could not be more different from Israel.  Far removed from the soundtrack of war of sirens and planes flying above to a blend instead of reverent tradition, hushed anticipation and quite elegance all set against historic architecture, where the crowd’s deep knowledge and respect for the game shines through.

However, one can never really escape.

Despite being away, the  mind never leaves Israel and so one is constantly tracking the news. It was refreshing looking at the sky above Lords, seeing only birds and the flight of a red cricket ball rather than planes and missiles. Also, no piercing warning and sirens, just the occasional “HOWZAT”  when things were hotting up on the pitch.  Meanwhile, I could see  – tapping into newsfeeds – that things were ‘hotting up’ in the north of Israel, although all was quiet at Manof.

That was until that evening!

And this is where it gets crazy. I forgot to turn off my blaring siren warning app and off I went to the Wigmore Hall to hear a solo violinist performance of Bach. And, midway during the recital in this famed historic concert hall, my phone starts blaring, warning on an incoming missile – in the middle of a Bach concert!

OMG, I was stunned, immobilized, instant panic. What do I do?  Nobody sitting around me, or more likely their parents or grandparents had experienced anything like this since the bloody Blitz! 

I felt like Mr. Bean – How do I shut down this noise. The last thing you want in London is to advertise you are Israeli, which was exactly what I was doing. I wonder what people thought as they saw me shove my phone under my bum as I tried to muzzle the shrieking alarm competing with the solo violin.

Lover of Lords. The writer stands below a board at Lords Cricket Grounds that includes a plaque celebrating his birthday with the wording ‘HOME AWAY FROM HOME.

To say this felt CRAZY is an understatement. There I was, absorbed in the beauty of a Bach solo, only to be suddenly yanked back to the reality of what was happening back home, thousands of miles away in the Middle East.

How do you explain this to someone? Sitting peacefully in a world class concert hall in London but technologically and emotionally tied directly back to an air raid alert back home in Israel.

You can’t even get away and relax overseas.


Bach to the Bizarre. Enjoying a Bach recital in Wigmore Hall, London shortly before the writer’s app on his cellphone warned him of an incoming missile near his home in Israel. (Photo: Sidney V. Kaplan)




About the writer:

Sidney Kaplan is originally from  Cape Town South Africa and a founding member of ‘Manof’, a moshav founded in the Galilee in 1978. Today, he is retired, having been involved in marketing in Cape Town prior before coming to Israel, and in Israel, one of three partners involved in the flower growing industry for export.





*Feature picture:  Lord’s Cricket Ground, the most famous cricket ground in the world.








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).

OBSTRUCTION AND OBFUSCATION

Where is the global outrage at new UN finding of Hamas’ obstruction of humanitarian aid?

By Kenneth Moeng Kgwadi

There has been near-total silence from many of Israel’s critics following the recent United Nations (UN) finding that Hamas obstructed the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. Hamas had long portrayed the humanitarian crisis as solely the result of others denying Gazans access to necessities such as food, medicine, water, clothing, and other essential supplies. However, the UN’s finding indicates that Hamas itself also played a role in preventing civilians from accessing this aid.

Trucks and the Truth. While for much of the war in Gaza, Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of stealing humanitarian aid, intimidating aid workers and exploiting relief operations for its own benefit (seen above), the UN has finaly now issued a statement condemning what it describes as armed personnel affiliated with Gaza’s de facto authorities for interfering with humanitarian operations, entering aid distribution sites, assaulting aid workers and disrupting the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Such actions serve Hamas’ political objectives by reinforcing its narrative of victimhood on the global stage. By obstructing humanitarian assistance while simultaneously presenting itself as the defender of Gaza’s population, Hamas has contributed to shaping international perceptions of the conflict in ways that advance its own strategic interests.

This is the same group of people who refused to allow people to leave endangered locations for the humanitarian zones after the Israel Defense Force (IDF) issued warnings of impending strikes. In their minds, they were being strategic in order for Israel to kill civilians and have blood on its hands, so that the world would believe that the IDF is the monster and isolate Israel in order to achieve their political and religious ends. It has previously been stated that Hamas is using innocent civilians as human shields, but to date the UN has neither seen, investigated, nor acknowledged some of these indictments.

In a strongly worded statement dated 12 July 2026, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, said:

“I strongly condemn the recent obstruction of humanitarian operations in Gaza by the de facto authorities, which endangered humanitarian personnel, intimidated workers delivering lifesaving food assistance and disrupted lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”

What happened on Saturday, when armed Hamas men ambushed two truck drivers at a World Food Program warehouse, was not the first time they had stolen, hijacked, or intimidated humanitarian personnel. At the height of the war between Israel and Hamas, they stole food aid in order to feed their insurgents in the tunnels, while the remaining food aid was sold at exorbitant prices to the poor people of Gaza. Since its formation in 1987, Hamas has become accustomed to not taking any form of accountability for its actions. They always falsely blame Israel as a political strategy and people who accept this false narrative are complacent in the destitution that the people of Gaza are confronting. 

Truth be Told. Following the IDF saying months ago that Hamas was hijacking aid trucks and stealing aid and were denounced as liars, the UN’s Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, admits that Hamas stole aid and disrupted distribution.

Hamas won political power in 2006 but has held elections in 20 years. It recently announced the dissolution of its governing “Emergency Committee” stepping aside to transfer administrative authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) as part of the U.S.-brokered peace and ceasefire plan.

As a government ruling more than two million people, they have only brought terror to the lives of those people by inviting unnecessary wars, while they could have created a conducive environment for their people to thrive. It is highly unlikely that Hamas would be attacked by Israel without any provocation because Israel has invested its time and resources in establishing ties with its neighbours. In all the wars that have taken place between Israel and Hamas, it has always been Hamas that started the war, with Israel counter-attacking as a form of defense of its territory.

Since 2006, Hamas has been majorly responsible for the poor material conditions of the people of Gaza through its political divisions, incompetence, corruption, and war-mongering policies. Throughout the past 20 years, they have never gone to elections to allow the citizens to vote for their preferred government and use elections as an accountability mechanism, which means they have continuously imposed themselves on the people of Gaza to their detriment.


Hamas Takeover. Seen here in 2007, Hamas security force officers attack a Fatah supporter as he lays on the ground in Gaza City, following Hamas’ violent takeover of the Strip in June. (Photo: Adel Hana / AP)




About the writer:

Kenneth Moeng Kgwadi is a political scientist, journalist, and research fellow at the Middle East Africa Research Institute (MEARI).







*Feature picture: Hamas Hijack. A Hamas coordinated intercepting food aid from trucks.







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).