Author: layoftheland376996452

A media platform providing reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond

IS BIBI ON POLITICAL LIFE SUPPORT?

Committed once to his country, now more committed to himself not being committed – the extraordinary complex journey of Israel’s Prime Minister

By David E. Kaplan

“DEMOCRACY IS STRONGER THAN THE COALITION” a protest placard read sending a strong message to the Israeli PM and his coalition.

No sooner had I read this placard, when someone standing next to me at a protest asked:

“How do you think this is going to end?”

Built into this question is not only “how” but “when” will it end?  

To paraphrase Churchill, is it “the beginning of the end” or “the end of the beginning”? It matters because the country cannot continue like this indefinitely. If there is any doubt as to the fortitude of the protestors, it was expressed to a global TV audience in a huge banner at the Tel Aviv protest that simply and succinctly – again very Churchillian – read:

“NEVER SURRENDER”

“NEVER SURRENDER”. Televised around the world, the banner carried aloft at the demonstration in Tel Aviv.

Now into its eleventh week with no side backing down, it’s a fair question. This predicament was lamented by Labour leader Merav Michaeli, who following an all-night Knesset vote immunizing the Prime Minister from prosecution while in office, said:

 “this is our second War of Independence, and we must win it.”

Approaching Israel’s 75th Day of Independence, the atmosphere is hardly celebratory as people reflect how we have only recently come out of three years of Covid. How do we now come out of this affliction?

Hard to predict. Politics today has shifted from the national to the personal. “Like thieves in the night, the coalition has now passed an obscene and corrupt personal law,” wrote opposition leader Yair Lapid on Twitter referring to this impeachment law hurriedly designed to protect one man – Benjamin Netanyahu. “The citizens of Israel [should know], just before the holidays, while the cost of living is skyrocketing, [that] Netanyahu once again only cares about himself.”

How has Bibi allowed, over nearly three months, for the country to be in such a dire state. After all, did not candidate Bibi assure an anxious electorate when he was making deals with highly-questionable potential coalition partners before the November 2022 election that he would be in control. His big line – or lie – was:

“They are joining me, not I joining them.”

In other words, if he won, he Bibi, would be calling the shots.

That turned out more to be a shot in the foot and people are now concerned about his grip of reality, struggling less as he had in the past for the country to strive and now just for himself to survive.

Israel at a Crossroad. Masses of demonstrators converge at major Tel Aviv crossroad to protest against the proposed judicial reforms, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 25, 2023. (Photo credit: REUTERS)

People are asking whether he is buckling under the pressure; whether he has lost control over his coalition whose members appear to enjoy free reign to propose and express publicly on any issue they fancy, indifferent to how crazy, impractical or reckless it might be. Whereas it was once expected that he would control any wayward ministers, it appears that they now control him.

In light of this depressing scenario, it is fair to question:

“Is Bibi losing it?”

To this point, Susan Hattis Rolef in her March 26 Jerusalem Post column writes that:

 “A more embarrassing and even worrying  event occurred when in recent cabinet meetings Netanyahu referred (twice in a row) to “the extremists, who are leading the reform….”.

 Whereas he intended to say:

 “the extremists who are leading the demonstrations.”

Was this a cognitive misstep – albeit repeatedly – or do we have to be seriously concerned of who actually is running affairs?  For a country in crisis, it is strange that the PM is suddenly traveling so frequently abroad – France, Germany and now the UK!

Truth be Told. A placard by a protestor conveying exactly what she thinks of the Israeli cabinet under Benjamin Netanyahu.

Every day, Israelis wake up to the morning news with a groan.  It is not that the government is failing to avoid crises; it is creating them! Just take  22 March’s  front page news in The Jerusalem Post.  The main headline was the following:

Justice minister threatens to disobey High Court

Lapid: If Levin refuses to obey the law, why should citizens obey the government

Is this not a recipe for chaos?

With the rest of the front page covering  – not threats from “the usual suspects” of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas or other terrorist groups – but threats from ourselves. Most concerning was hints of the unraveling of the cherished Abraham Accords with the UAE and Jordan considering reducing diplomacy with Israel. Once the pride of Netanyahu’s achievements – the Abraham Accords – a “game changer” for Israel as it began a journey of “normalization” with Arab countries in the Gulf, it now is like a leaky boat. Will it sink?

“National Day of Paralysis”. Israelis take to the streets in mass protest in Tel Aviv, March 23, 2023.
(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV

We are now at the 11th hour. So desperately felt by Jews worldwide that on the 21 March 2023, a letter was sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yair Lapid, Leader of the opposition signed by:

Mark Wilf Chair, Jewish Agency Board of Governors, Doron Almog Chair, Jewish Agency Executive; Yaakov Hagoel Chair, World Zionist Organization; Julie Platt Chair, Jewish Federations of North America, Steven Lowy Chair, World Board of Trustees, Keren Hayesod; Eric Fingerhut President & CEO, Jewish Federations of North America and Sam Grundwerg World Chair Keren Hayesod. In this letter by Jewish leaders of major Jewish organizations around the world, they write:

“We have been witnessing an increase in serious polarization among Israel-loving Jews around the globe. The various opinions surrounding the proposed judicial reforms as well as heated public discourse are concerning to not only Israelis but to Jewish communities worldwide who feel an innate bond to the destiny and unity of our people. Today too many among us are experiencing real concern as we view the tension coming from all sides. Given the centrality of Israel in their lives, we find it our duty to share with and convey to you our concerns of so many among us regarding the future of Jewish unity. Looking towards the future of the State of Israel and world Jewry, it is essential that all sides seek dialogue at all cost, and take the time to reach, through an inclusive and wide-ranging conversation, without preconditions, the broadest possible consensus. Essential as the judicial reform may be, it cannot trump the risks of a, God forbid, brotherly war. Preventing internal strife between us is truly Pikuach Nefesh, a life-saving matter. The Jewish thing to do in such a situation is to seek dialogue at all cost, and to take the time to reach, through an inclusive and wide-ranging conversation, the broadest possible consensus.”

As I presently write this March 23, I can hear from my 5th floor study in Kfar Saba the blaring noise of drums beating, the shrill of bugles and voices over loudspeakers. This cacophony of noise is punctuated by the sound of loud car hooters, whether in support or frustration. This is a microcosm of what is playing out today across the country in every city, town and rural areas in what was is being called a  “National Day of Paralysis”.

“Knock, Knock. Whose there? Dick. Dick Who? DICKtatorship”. So reads a placard by British Jews protesting the Israeli government’s judicial coup in London.(photo Ben Combe)

Unsurprisingly, Netanyahu is off again today – this time to the UK.

If he is trying to escape the loud sound of opposition in his home country, he will not escape it by fleeing to the UK where he is expected to be meet with more protests. The message from London is clear  “Don’t expect a relaxing weekend”.

Bibi can hear. But when will he listen?



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- 20 – 23 March 2023

The Israel Brief – 20 March 2023 – Terror victim passes away. 11th week of protests. Terror attack Huwara. Israel gains places on UN Happiness Index. Rob Lowe spotted in Jerusalem.



The Israel Brief – 21 March 2023 – Terror representatives address UCT. Smotrich’s explosive comments. Yoav Gallant to resign? Police prepare for Ramadan.



The Israel Brief – 22 March 2023 – Jordan and UAE reducing diplomacy with Israel? Israeli Ambassador to US summoned. Iron Dome shoots down drone. Or Eshkar donates organs.



The Israel Brief – 23 March 2023 – Day of Paralysis update. UAE warn government of tension in ties. Netanyahu to visit UK. Breakthrough in pancreatic cancer research.




21 March 2023- ELNET UK Podast – Rolene Marks




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).

GERMANY SHOULD FAST-TRACK NAZI TRIALS

Now in their 90s and older those who kept the death camps running don’t deserve to pass away in tranquility

By Dr. Efraim Zuroff

(First appeared in The Times of Israel)

The recent death of an elderly German in the small Bavarian town of Coburg is hardly newsworthy, but the demise of Franz  Perlinger, several days after celebrating his 99th birthday, is actually more significant than most people could imagine. Had Perlinger not died two weeks ago, he was scheduled to be put on trial this coming October for accessory to murder in the cases of thousands of inmates in the women’s and the much smaller men’s camp of the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp in northern Germany, to which the Nazis deported more than 130,000, mostly female Polish and Soviet political prisoners.

Escaping Justice. Women inmates at the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany where Franz Perlinger served and was to stand trial as an accessory to mass murder.

The case against Perlinger would have been the eighth trial conducted in the wake of a dramatic change in German prosecution policy vis-à-vis Holocaust perpetrators, implemented in 2008. Until then, in order to convict a Nazi criminal, the prosecution would have had to prove that the suspect had committed a specific crime against a specific victim, an almost impossible challenge so many years after the crime. But based on the fact that the death camps (those with either gas chambers – Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor and Majdanek – or gas vans – Chelmno) were in effect “death factories”, government prosecutors were persuaded that anyone who served there could be held responsible for the murders and hence be prosecuted for “accessory to murder,” based on service alone, which could be proven by documents. Thus, the campaign to bring to justice guards in death camps, or camps with very high mortality rates was launched regardless of the age of the suspects, who all were already at least in their nineties.

Chasing the Clock. Efraim Zuroff, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s chief Nazi hunter, in front of a placard reading “Operation last chance – late but not too late”, in Berlin. (Photograph: Gero Breloer/AP)

This dramatic change in German policy, spearheaded by prosecutors Thomas Walther and Kirsten Goetze, gave a new lease on life to the efforts to hold Nazi perpetrators accountable. Germany is currently the only country that has achieved multiple convictions of Holocaust criminals during the past decade-and-a- half. This is a welcome development, but having noted this important achievement, it is important to point out several serious flaws in the handling of these cases, which Perlinger’s “premature” death helps highlight.

So far, all of the defendants whose trials had been completed have been convicted, and only one had to be stopped for health reasons. (The case of Johannes Rehbogen who served as a guard at the Stutthof concentration camp was suspended because his health deteriorated and he was no longer able to follow the trial.) Unpublicized however, is the fact that between five and seven cases had to be stopped for health reasons, after indictments had been submitted against the suspects.

Killers in Court. German prosecutor Thomas Walther (above) together with Kirsten Goetze have given a new lease on life to the efforts to hold Nazi mass murders accountable.

One would imagine that given the advanced age of both the criminals and the survivors, a “fast track” would be created for these trials, but unfortunately that has not been the case. Thus instead of being exposed, prosecuted, and convicted for his role as an SS guard at Ravensbrück, Perlinger passed away in relative tranquility that he did not deserve.

Mis’trial. Crematorium at Stutthof concentration camp where Johannes Rehbogen served as a guard. Leaving it too late to prosecute as the writer warns, Rehboggen’s case was suspended because his health deteriorated, and he was no longer able to stand trial.

The German justice system should have found a way to expedite these cases. In respect of Perlinger for example, the historian in his case took more than three years to complete the important historical report on the crimes committed in the camp. In addition, the opening date of his trial was scheduled more than a year after he was charged, and the result is not at all surprising. We have already been working on the case for about half a year, and there were still eight months to go before the trial even opened!!

Inspection Tour. SS leader Heinrich Himmler (centre) visited Stutthof where more than 65,000 people died before it was liberated by the Soviet Army on 9 May 1945.

Another problem relates to failure of the German justice system to add additional staff to the Zentrale Stelle (the federal agency that vets each case of a Nazi perpetrator to decide whether the cases have validity and should be brought to trial), to enable the handling of far more cases, since the change in prosecution policy made it possible to prosecute many more persons than was the case previously.

Survived to be Sentenced. In December 2022 at a court in Germany, 97-year-old Irmgard Furchner who worked as the secretary to the SS commander of the Stutthof concentration camp received a two-year suspended sentence for aiding and abetting the murder of 10,505 people and the attempted murder of five inmates.(photo Christian Charisius/Pool via Reuters)

A third problem is the choice of prosecutors. After a case is approved for trial by the experts of the Zentrale Stelle, the file is sent to a prosecutor near the residence of the defendant. None of these prosecutors, or even some of the attorneys representing the survivor witnesses and co-plaintiffs have any experience in handling Nazi perpetrator cases. So while this has some logic in dealing with the logistics of the trial, such as the appearances of the defendants, it often results in serious mistakes. One such example was of a witness, who claimed he was born in Stutthof and that his mother had been tattooed there when inmates of Stutthof did not have numbers tattooed on their arms.

Time is obviously running out, and soon it will no longer be possible to bring Holocaust perpetrators to justice. We therefore urge the German authorities to take whatever measures possible to expedite these cases promptly, in order to maximize justice.

97-year-old former secretary at a Nazi concentration camp convicted by German court | DW News


About the author:

Dr. Efraim Zuroff is the chief Nazi hunter of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the director of the Center’s 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).

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

Israeli youth reveal the nature of true friendship and camaraderie

By Lennie Lurie

Israel is a unique country in so many respects and the amazing achievements of this small nation are the envy of many countries, all larger and with a wealth of natural resources. However, it is the Israeli people who are undeniably responsible for these innovations, developments and remarkable accomplishments.

However, let me tell you about a relatively insignificant incident which does not involve any reputable Israeli movers and shakers; it does not elicit any “WOW” reactions of incredulity and wonder, and it has no bearing on Israeli science, technology and corporation takeovers. In fact it relates to a group of ordinary Israeli school pupils who undertook a rather simple though bizarre step in displaying their feelings towards a fellow school mate. Yet this unpretentious act solicited the empathy and admiration of all who heard about it. More than that, it displayed something uniquely “Israeli” in its originality, imagination and involvement. I can already see that quizzical expression on your face, so I request your patience.

All for a Good Cause. Proud of these youngsters, hairdresser Moshe (r), sets about shaving their scalps. (click on the blue caption)

Our son, Yair, having served his three years military service in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), was honorably discharged towards the end of 2017. During his service, he began to cut the hair of his friends and fellow soldiers. Where or how he learnt this skill is unknown to me but he did a most commendable job and his “clients” were most satisfied with the results (not to mention the free service!). Upon his discharge he worked as an assistant to Moshe, the proprietor of the local men’s barber / hair dresser in our village, Kiryat Tivon. With the additional experience he gained, when Moshe went on holiday, Yair single handed managed the business and undertook his hair cutting and styling duties with exemplary results. “Our son …. the barber!”

Comrades-in-Hair. Standing together as one, these students sit down for Moshe and reveal their true values. (click on the blue caption)

About a year ago, a pupil in the matriculation class at the local high school was diagnosed with bone cancer and he underwent chemotherapy as a means of treating this malicious disease. Sadly, a common result of this treatment is the total loss of hair on the head. The pupil, let’s call him Yossi, continued to attend school. Needless to say, a “bald” school kid amongst the pupils of the school was most conspicuous. Yossi experienced a terrible sense of being “different” and he seriously considered absenting himself from school. His close friends were aware of Yossi’s dilemma and they decided to do something to “remedy” this perturbing quandary.

One day, a group of pupils appeared at Moshe’s barber shop and requested that he “shear” each one of them completely! Moshe did not give this a second thought and both he and Yair went about their duties, turning each kid into a young Yul Brynner (a well-known Russian born Hollywood actor in the ‘50’s and 60’s, distinguished by his bald head). Upon asking the boys the reason for their extreme haircut, Moshe was informed that this was a means of identification with their fellow pupil who had lost his hair as a result of the chemotherapy treatment. No longer will Yossi stand out amongst his fellow pupils; he will have a number of “twins” to share the offensive stares of the school pupils.

Razor Reveals. With the hair gone, they are no different from their friend undergoing chemotherapy. (click on the blue caption)

Moshe was so impressed with this gesture of solidarity that he suggested to the pupils that both he and Yair would come to the school and during the school break, and give free haircuts to any pupils who wished to identify with their school mate, Yossi.

And so it was. The two professional barbers, together with their equipment, went to the high school and during the break, cut off the hair of about 50 school boys. These kids, with intense pride and self-satisfaction, proudly sported a clean cut cranium for all to see. One can barely imagine the feelings of Yossi who suddenly found himself, one of many, with a shining and hairless head. If ever a “friend in need was a friend indeed”, it was those selfless kids who never hesitated for a moment to undertake such an extreme aesthetic change in order that a fellow pupil would not feel the upsetting glances of the public.

Ready for Removal. Once hair gone, this youngster will be making a collective statement with his fellow students about leadership and values – particularly of leading by example. (click on the caption)

As stated above, there is something typically “Israeli” in the pupils’ magnanimous gesture of cutting off their hair. This bonding with a friend to eliminate any stigma, coupled with the ingenuity, spontaneity and the “contagiousness” of the act, is what makes these impudent, impolite, crude and spirited kids the envy of all their counterparts the world over. And it is with love, admiration, awe and respect that we embrace them and watch them become soldiers who will defend us with the same dedication, valor and unselfishness. 



About the writer:

A B.Sc. graduate in Economics and Geology from the University of Cape Town (UCT), Lennie may be the only volunteer from abroad who was granted permission to leave his group on kibbutz during the 1967 Six Day War to rejoin his paratroop brigade that he had served with years before following his matriculation in Cape Town. In Israel, Lennie has worked as an Export Manager for some of the country’s major food manufacturers and chemical companies as well as an independent consultant in Export Marketing guiding many small Israeli businesses to sell their products and services in the world-wide market. As a result of a work accident in 1995, Lennie made a career change and became an independent English teacher working mainly with hi-tech companies and associated with universities and colleges in the north 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).

Lay of the Land Weekly Newsletter- 19 March 2023

Unveiling the contours and contrasts of an ever-changing Middle East landscape Reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond

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The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)

TWO-STATE SITUATION!

Israel today is a house divided –  the message from the street, “Buckle Up”

By David E. Kaplan

Streets of Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is “a city that never sleeps”. It’s now a city that never lets the government sleep either!

Not only has Netanyahu’s ‘coalition of the crazies’ divided Jew from Jew within Israel; it has divided the ‘House of Israel’– the Jewish state from the Jewish world. With positions hardening instead of easing, where to now?

TWO-STATE SITUATION!

(Click on the blue title)



(2)

TERROR ONLY MINUTES AWAY

A personal  perspective of Israelis living with terrorism on their streets

By Jonathan Feldstein

‘Sitting’ Targets. Tables and chairs in disarray following shooting spree at city restaurant in central Tel Aviv.

“ONLY MINUTES” rings over and over in the writer’s mind for it was the time it would have taken for his 26-year-old daughter to reach where a lone gunman opened fire on a crowd at a restaurant in Tel Aviv’s popular Dizengoff Street. Family Stocktaking is the panic practice as soon as news breaks in Israel of another terrorism attack!

TERROR ONLY MINUTES AWAY

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(3)

BEYOND THE NARRATIVE – SOUTH AFRICA-ISRAEL RELATIONS

Can the South African experience be a guiding force? It could and should

By Ostern Tefo

Tapping into Israeli Innovation. Israeli Sivan opens a tap of clean water for the first time in remote Tanzania.

With South Africa “on its knees” with rolling blackouts, the world’s highest unemployment rate, poor access to healthcare and “a murder rate higher than the present death toll in Ukraine,” the writer counsels that his country could benefit – by joining with countries elsewhere in Africa – with closer ties with Israel.

BEYOND THE NARRATIVE – SOUTH AFRICA-ISRAEL RELATIONS

(Click on the blue title)



LOTL Cofounders David E. Kaplan (Editor), Rolene Marks and Yair Chelouche

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While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

TWO-STATE SITUATION!

Israel today is a house divided –  the message from the street, “Buckle Up”

By David E. Kaplan

It’s beginning to feel at least atmospherically – if not territorially – that Israel has finally adopted the elusive “Two-State Solution”, but Palestinians are totally out the picture. It’s the Jewish population that has opted to separate – not from Palestinians but from each other!

The clearly misguided, shamefully bigoted, and much theocratic ‘coalition of the crazies’ conjured up by star political alchemist Benjamin Netanyahu has done what no Arab enemy state or feared Palestinian terrorism group has ever achieved; it has cracked our Golden Egg – Jewish unity. Not only has it divided Jew from Jew within Israel; it has divided the House of Israel – the Jewish state from the Jewish diaspora.

What an achievement?

United in their Opposition. The once  ‘King Bibi” has achieved the impossible – uniting the country against him as reflected in protests attracting bedfellows from all sides of the political spectrum. (Photo: Getty Images)

Does Netanyahu remember or even care that  following his election victory in November 2022 he promised:

 “to be a prime minister for everyone – for those who voted for me, and for those who did not vote for me.”

Speaking then like a true democrat, Netanyahu has done everything since to undermine Israeli democracy, while all the time professing to strengthen it.

Is he ever again to be believed or trusted?

The jury is no longer out on that one. The protestors  are not waiting for the prosecutors; they are coming out in ever-increasing numbers onto the streets given their unanimous decision. They are joined from the top by Israel’s State President, Isaac Herzog, former colleagues of Netanyahu in his Likud Party, notable Israelis in commerce and banking, former top military personnel, former Prime Ministers, celebrated scientists and Nobel Laureates, top reserve Israeli fighter pilots and even the veterans of the elite commando squad that rescued hostages in Entebbe in 1976 who published a letter slamming Netanyahu for:

 “sacrificing the State of Israel and the people of Israel for your own interests.”

Appeal from the President. Warning of looming ‘societal collapse,’ an anxious Israeli State President, Isaac Herzog, lays out a plan of compromise on legal overhaul.

These heroes noted that while serving under the Prime Minister’s brother, Yoni Netanyahu in the daring raid on Entebbe “who consciously and with open eyes sacrificed himself for the State of Israel and the people of Israel……. you, Bibi, are consciously and with open eyes sacrificing the State of Israel and the people of Israel for your own interests.”

What an indictment.

From Prime Minister to Crime Minister.  Perceived now as a criminal in high office, Netanyahu’s grip of support amongst the people is shrinking.

These are not what Bibi and his cohorts label, “anarchists” or “Leftists”. These are the salt of the earth Israelis, many of them from his own political party and who voted for him in the past  who are bellowing at the tops of their voices, from city squares and major crossroads across the country and who echo the thrust of The Jerusalem Post March 14’s editorial that appeals to the government to listen to the State President and:

“STOP THE MADNESS”

Netanyahu can stop this “madness”; it may cost him but failing to do so, will cost this country far more. So far, however, he appears impervious to righteousness or reason, and much like the warhorse on a medieval battlefield, gallops headlong into the history books, leaving in his ravaged wake, shameful chapters that future generations will have to erase.

As one friend said to me this morning in reference to the multiple criminal cases against him:

 “If Bibi’s guilt in the past was in doubt – no more!”

Raising her voice, she bellowed over the phone:

“HE IS SCREAMING OF GUILT.”

Streets of Tel Aviv. They say that Tel Aviv is “a city that never sleeps”. It’s now a city that never lets the government sleep either!(Gili Yaari/Flash90)

That is the increasing thinking of many. We don’t know this man anymore or the people he represents. They are not us; we are not them.

Who are we?

We are as we stand today – a country divided.

And while our precious Israel burns, the Prime Minister runs off  – or is it runs away – first to Italy than to Germany. Hardly anyone knows or even cares why he is flying or fleeing so frequently to Europe. The news media is hardly covering beyond saying “to discuss various international affairs,”code parlance for Iran,while it is the ‘affairs’ at home that lies in shambles. Yes Iran is the enemy, but right now the most immediate existential danger lies within. To face off our enemies we need to be united and that we are not; far from it as nearly every component of Israeli society and the Jewish world is warning Bibi – you are going down a very dangerous road that undermines the very existence of the State of Israel.

Barring Bibi. Israeli protesters against the Israeli government’s planned judicial overhaul try bar Prime Minister Netanyahu from boarding his plane at Ben Gurion Airport on March 9, 2023. (photo credit: ERIK MARMOR/FLASH9)

It would be naïve if we don’t see we have hard days ahead as a country.

One would think with ALL the rabbis in the ruling coalition, there would be some prevailing wisdom of lessons learnt from our Torah to avoid another cataclysmic clash amongst our people. Why did our ancient kingdoms in Jerusalem ever endure? We can understand seeing how our leaders today are behaving; no compromise; no listening to the counsel of our State President, just barreling ahead blaring their mantra “The people want it?”, “The people voted for it” and “It will not weaken but strengthen democracy?”

Flying or Fleeing? No adoring fans, PM Benjamin Netanyahu faces the media ahead of his departure to Germany on March 15, 2023 (Haim Zach/GPO)

Not too many are buying. The government’s vocabulary today is but the sour substance of soliloquy not conversation and is being drowned out by Israel’s ‘winds of change’ as the market place of ideas has shifted from the nation’s shuks (markets) to its streets as protestors take to the soles of their feet for the soul of the nation.

I am proudly one of them.





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- 13 – 16 March 2023

The Israel Brief – 13 March 2023 – Voices against overhaul grow. Protests against Smotrich in USA. Terror attack in TLV last week. Team Israel Baseball.



The Israel Brief – 14 March 2023 – Controversial bills pass first readings. MK Fogel investigated for inciting terror. Ashkelon Crane collapse. Women of Rahat and Sderot put on play.



The Israel Brief – 15 March 2023 – Protests around Ben Gurion Airport. EU Parliament debates judicial reforms. Ben Gvir cancels AJC project. Israeli baseball on the map.



The Israel Brief – 16 March 2023 – Protests on Day of Resilience. Pres. Herzog presents his “People’s Outline”. Major security breach in north. FM speaks to Omani counterpart.






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).

BEYOND THE NARRATIVE – SOUTH AFRICA-ISRAEL RELATIONS

Can the South African experience be a guiding force? It could and should

By Ostern Tefo

Several anti-Israel activists, including BDS (Boycott Divest Sanctions) and others, boldly assert that Israel is an Apartheid state, when such allegations could not be further from the truth. Misguidedly, this has led to a South African foreign policy exclusively geared to favour one side – Palestine. As a result of erroneous perceptions, this has created a complex and divisive viewpoint.

Ruling oppressively in Gaza, Hamas has no interest in achieving peace in the sense of parties arriving at a mutually agreeable consensus. This not in its DNA. As long as this remains the case, the predicament of the Palestinian community must be regarded as the product of both Hamas’ rule over Palestinians in Gaza as well as the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Conflicts can be resolved if both parties are willing to do so. The latter is well illustrated by the success of the South African liberation struggle which resulted in a successfully negotiated settlement that birthed democracy and above all, “peace and reconciliation”.

Raucous Road. A protest against Israel in South Africa in 2021. Are these the voices that shape South Africa’s foreign policy?
(AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

Israel has repeatedly attempted to initiate peace negotiations with the Palestinian leadership, but each time has been violently rebuffed. It would be inaccurate to compare the struggle for democracy in South Africa to the Palestinian struggle for independence. They are not remotely comparable. To say that “Israel is an Apartheid state” solely in an effort to delegitimize Israel, ends up delegitimizing the definition of Apartheid. It is an abuse of the word and hence an abuse of the people who suffered under Apartheid.

It is critical for a number of reasons that South Africa not only maintains but strengthens its diplomatic relations with Israel. South Africa is on its knees with:

– its rolling blackouts

– the world’s highest unemployment rate

– poor access to healthcare

– grey listing

– a murder rate that is higher than the death toll in Ukraine at present.

All this, when my country, South Africa, could greatly benefit from Israel’s rapidly expanding entrepreneurial economy with its emphasis on hi-tech innovation. South Africa could profit from a number of Israeli solutions which is presently being used to solve problems in much of African.

So, why not South Africa?

Take the South African healthcare system for starters, which is in tatters and compare it to Israel’s superlative National Healthcare System. There is no comparison!

Cultivated Hate. The venom by some in the South Africa Muslim community against Israel that influences the ANC today began years ago as seen in this protest against the late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Every resident across Israel, whether in cities or small towns in the countryside is insured for quality healthcare under their National Health Insurance Law. While South African health care accessibility remains poor in rural areas and there are problems retaining physicians in the public system, surely South Africa could learn from the Israeli system.

Then there is Israel’s drip irrigation technology popular in much of Africa. Tailormade for dry terrain or lands plagued by unreliable water resources, the Israeli system allows villages to grow more food with less water, which not only dramatically improves food security but also economic development and financial independence. Israel, a far more desert country than South Africa with much less rainfall, is now water independent. South Africa should welcome the Israelis instead of driving them away!

A Light unto the Nations. Israeli engineering students from Tel Aviv University (TAU) bring solar power to a remote Tanzanian medical clinic, as part of their ongoing work in the village. (Photo via Facebook)

In terms of “loadshedding”, our all-consuming national catastrophe  of widespread national blackouts of electricity supply that began in 2007 and is worse today in 2023, why not speak to the Israelis who have revolutionised solar power and energy?

Instead of the South African parliament dumbly voting this March 2023 to downgrade ties with Israel, it should be doing the opposite. It should be strengthening not destroying ties!

Sad ‘State’ of Affairs. At a time when many African and Muslim countries are strengthening and deepening ties with the State of Israel for the benefit of everyone’s common interests, South Africa does the opposite as exhibited in its House of Parliament in Cape Town when it voted to downgrade its ties with the Jewish state.

Ultimately, we have to come to terms with the fact that Israel  cannot be prejudiced for defending its sovereign policies and the interests of its people, and Palestine must take responsibility for the attacks on Israel carried out by Hamas and other extremists. South Africa’s refusal to maintain full diplomatic relations with Israel motivated solely by the conflict, exposes its bias and prejudice because Palestine also commits a fair share of unprovoked aggressions against Israel.

To preserve the true legacy of the South African experience of reconciliation and share it with others that they too can benefit,  South Africa’s foreign policy should be consistent, and above all, its leaders need to display impartiality and non be biased.

‘Tapping’ into Israeli Ingenuity. Israeli Sivan Yaari of INNOVATION:AFRICA opens taps of clean water for the first time in this remote part of Tanzania. Innovation:Africa has completed over 880 solar and water installations, impacting over 4.2 million people (photo credit: INNOVATION:AFRICA)

Since COVID-19 broke out, the South African economy has continued to contract. In contrast, Israel’s economy is still expanding.

We have much to learn and gain by deepening our relations with Israel. South Africa stands to gain far more from a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with Israel than Israel does and yet, we behave abysmally towards Israel.  All to our detriment and suffering of our people.

Switched On Tanzania. An ‘illuminating’ lesson for South Africa – Nkaiti Medical Center is lit up at night for the very first time thanks to Israeli engineering students. (Photo via Facebook)

In essence, one cannot dismantle the fact that the benefits of the association outweigh the costs. Thus, it would be in the best interest of the South African to restore full relations with Israel and encourage partnerships to the mutual benefit of South African and Israelis.




About the writer:

Ostern Tefo has a BA in Political Studies and International relations and is currently studying for his LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand. He serves as a coordinator at ‘Africans for Peace’, a collective of independent students, scholars and activists who bring an African lens to the global debate on peace and stability on the African continent.





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).

TERROR ONLY MINUTES AWAY

A personal  perspective of Israelis living with terrorism on their streets

By Jonathan Feldstein

At 9:34pm Thursday, I received a strange message from my daughter in our family WhatsApp group:

“For all those who asked, I am ok and alive”

Since nobody asked, her sarcasm coupled with a little fear was eerily palpable.

I had been recording a podcast and didn’t know what she was talking about. None of us did. It seems that there was another terrorist attack, this time in central Tel Aviv.  I had not heard about it.

Three people were injured, one shot in the neck and as of this writing, is still in critical condition. One terrorist was killed on the spot but there are reports that another terrorist escaped. The last time this happened, much of Tel Aviv remained on lockdown until the terrorist was caught, as it was again.

I also didn’t know my daughter was in Tel Aviv. She is 26, I don’t need to know her every move.  But she lives in Jerusalem and we live just south of Jerusalem so, while not far away, we’re not often there. It’s a strange paradox in Israel that our kids have such wide freedom, so much so that we don’t feel the need to keep track of them 24/7 or on an unusually tight leash, yet we live in a society in which this could happen.

Devastation on Dizengoff. The scene following the terror attack on Dizengoff street, in central Tel Aviv, March 9, 2023. (Avshalom SaassoniFlash90)

My daughter was out at a restaurant when it happened, fifteen minutes away by foot on Ben Yehuda St. They were just about to leave to walk to Israel’s first 7-Eleven on Dizengoff Street, right before it happened.

Fifteen minutes after her first note, she wrote that she and her friends had decided to return to where they were staying and had arrived safely. Thank God!

Forty-five minutes after her first message, another daughter wrote, “There was a terrorist attack?”

Fifteen minutes later, an hour after the shooting attack happened, my younger son came into the room announcing another attempted terrorist attack in a community nearby. A Palestinian Arab terrorist entered the largely ultra-Orthodox community of Beitar Ilit by bus, left a package on the bus which began emitting smoke but didn’t explode, and then fled at the second bus stop into the city of some 50,000 residents.  The residents were put on lockdown while a bomb-squad arrived to detonate the explosive, accompanied by other security personnel who began the search for the terrorist.

While this was unfolding, several friends from overseas reached out to ask:

 “Are you guys OK?”. 

I assured them we were all fine, that my daughter who was fifteen minutes away from the attack was shaken but also fine. I explained that it’s sometimes surreal that things like this happen sometimes; that it’s close to home, sometimes closer, and sometimes  too close.  But we go about our lives.

Sitting Targets. Tables and chairs in disarray following lone gunman on a shooting spree at city restaurant on Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv.

While we were watching the news unfold, three of my kids were out, going about life. I didn’t really think about it, but did want to stay up to be sure they got home safely. My youngest son went to a midnight movie with friends. Another daughter was out at a kosher Korean restaurant with her boyfriend (and didn’t bring me any), and my older son and his fiancé went to an engagement party for other friends.

One friend asked about mental health and trauma related issues, a logical and intuitive question. I explained that because of the reality of terror and the threat of terror and war that exists (though the impression is that Israel is unsafe like the wild-west which is not the case), people do suffer trauma but most just go about their lives. 

Trauma like this, particularly impacts terror victims and families of terror victims, military and former military and at-risk youth who live in areas that might be particularly unsafe and/or come from homes where they have no parents or parents who are unable to care for them. These children need support. It’s one of the important projects that the Genesis 123 Foundation funds, to empower “at-risk” youth so that they can pursue  – with security and confidence – successful lives.

Terror in Tel Aviv. One minute there are revelers enjoying the nightlife of Dizengoff street in central Tel Aviv, the next police at the scene of a terror attack on March 9, 2023. (Avshalom Saassoni/Flash90).

Both military and private civilian security in communities like mine which abut Palestinian Arab communities, go on high alert in situations like this as well. First responders must be trained in defense, able to confront a live terror incident, and take care of anyone injured from an attack before EMS personnel arrive. Providing resources for these rapid response civilian security teams saves lives, I know this, because my son-in-law is in one of the local teams and has actually saved people’s lives.  It’s a reason that this is also a project that the Genesis 123 Foundation is proud to fund.

Friday morning, while running errands before the onset of, Shabbat (the Sabbath), I drove by Beitar Ilit, just 15 minutes away from my house by car. I went to the bakery where “Abed” and I always greet one another, as we did again. In another shop, another Palestinian Arab worker helped me professionally and politely. All as if nothing had changed.  Maybe it hadn’t.  Maybe this is just the norm: on one day others try to kill us and the next day we’re being polite and respectful.

Targeting Busses. Israeli security forces scan the settlement of Beitar Illit, following an infiltration of a Palestinian terrorist who placed a bomb on a passenger bus that caught fire but failed to explode on March 10, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

All this comes on the heels of other civil strife in Israel that has been adding to the stress of increased terror attacks. Earlier in the day there were country wide protests over proposed sweeping judicial reforms. Roads were blocked to and at Ben Gurion airport, and main arteries in Tel Aviv.  Hours later, Tel Aviv’s roads were clear of protestors, replaced by police and military securing the area and hunting for the terrorist who got away.

This is a taste of life here. There are injured people and their families who need your prayers. There are others for whom this creates trauma. And if these don’t hit too close to home, the rest of us just try to go about our lives.



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).

Lay of the Land Weekly Newsletter- 12 March 2023

Unveiling the contours and contrasts of an ever-changing Middle East landscape Reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond

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MEN’aces FROM THE MINISTRY

Each one rotten all the way up to PM Netanyahu

By David E. Kaplan

Faces of Failure. Only two months in office, they have proved a “clear and present danger”.

A far cry from the British classic comedy series, there is nothing funny – only pathetic, sad and dangerous – that comes out from the mouths of Israel’s current crop of cabinet ministers. Their only talent displayed so far is not in running but ruining our country!

MEN’aces FROM THE MINISTRY

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HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN

A reputation of tough and tenacious, SA Rugby loses its spine

By Lennie Lurie

Can’t take the Heat. SA Rugby Board withdraws invitation to Israel’s rugby team ‘Tel Aviv Heat’.

It is no surprise when South Africans today turn on the light switch, they tall too frequently remain in the dark. Instead of ‘TACKLING’ the issues crippling their country, they focus on who they don’t want to play rugby against – Israel! Is darkness to be their destiny?

HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN

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(3)

CELEBRATING A MODERN PERSIAN HEROINE

Reflections during Purim of a latter-day heroine, Marzi, a defiant and brave Iranian Christian

By Jonathan Feldstein

Beaty and the Beast. Marziyeh “Marzi” Amirizadeh (l) faces off Iran’s ruthless Ayatollahs.

Thousands of years after the Jewish heroine Esther saved her exiled people in Persia, a young Christian woman survives a brutal interrogation and a sentence of death for “apostacy” in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. An exile today in the USA, Marzi, is a shining example of defiantly standing up to a ruthless autocratic tyranny.

CELEBRATING A MODERN PERSIAN HEROINE

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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).