Lay of the Land Weekly Newsletter- 21 September 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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Articles

(1)

IT’S RISKY BEING ALIVE THESE DAYS

Lay of the Land reports on the 2023 World Summit on Counter-Terrorism (10-12 September) at Reichman University

By David E. Kaplan

Northern Exposure. Defense Minister Gallant points out a new runway built by Iran in Lebanon close to Israel’s border.

Could the Yom Kippur War of 50 years ago and 9/11 of 22 years ago have been predicted and hence prevented? The World Summit against Counter-Terrorism convenes annually on the anniversary of 9/11 at Israel’s Reichman University bringing together top practitioners and academicians in multifarious fields from across the globe. They engage with their Israeli counterparts to secure a safer tomorrow.

IT’S RISKY BEING ALIVE THESE DAYS

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(2)

I SLEEP ILL AT NIGHT

Something is happening in Israel today that fills its citizens with trepidation

By Stephen Schulman

Bibi’s Buddies. Itzik Zarka whom the PM is proud to pose calls protesters “whores” and wishes them to “burn” like in the Holocaust.

The Israel of 2023 is not the country this writer envisaged when he immigrated in the late 1960s from South Africa, imbued with the idealism of his youth movement. The uptick in venomous verbiage and behavior of government members and their supporters is leaving “a bad smell in the air.”

I SLEEP ILL AT NIGHT

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(3)

WE ARE ALL SIGNATORIES TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

By Yaakov Hagoel, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization

Israel’s Rebirth. David Ben-Gurion publicly pronouncing the Declaration of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948, in the old Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Rothschild Street.

Israel’s ‘Declaration of Independence’ belongs to the people, and besides the 37 actual signatures on it, there are millions more transparent signatures of every citizen. For this writer,  “each of us” are no more or no less signatories “with his own special pen, values, stories and hopes.”

WE ARE ALL SIGNATORIES TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

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

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

The Israel Brief- 18-21 September 2023

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The Israel Brief – 21 September 2023 Saudi normalization closer. Biden and Bibi meet. Emirati and Israeli FM’s meet. Yom Kippur. 






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).

IT’S RISKY BEING ALIVE THESE DAYS

Lay of the Land reports on the 2023 World Summit on Counter-Terrorism (10-12 September) at Reichman University

By David E. Kaplan

When Israel’s minister of defense, Yoav Gallant, said from the podium at the 2023 World Summit of Counter-Terrorism  held at Reichman University in Herzliya that “We have our eyes looking through binoculars and our finger on the trigger,” it set the tone. The countries represented at the Reichman summit all face severe threats to their national security. Some more than others. Israel, most of all!

The day Gallant chose to say this was portentous.  After all, the date marked the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 and the Summit  was holding a special ceremony for the victims of 9/11 and terrorism worldwide. It was also noted by the Summit moderator and Israeli war veteran Jonathan Davis that the following month would mark the fiftieth anniversary of the fateful Yom Kippur War, where Israel came the closest to being – in the wish off its enemies – “Wiped off the map.”

The message from both cataclysmic events  – 9/11 and the Yom Kippur War  –  was the element of “surprise” and it permeated the 2023 Summit throughout. Both the USA and Israel were caught unprepared and both countries paid a heavy price – physically and psychologically. It forced both countries to recalibrate their respective collective mindsets and has impacted their foreign policies ever since.

Speakers from both countries repeated that  the failures before the Yom Kippur War as with 9/11 could be summed up in one word –  IMAGINATION or the lack thereof. “We failed to think out of the box and expect the unimaginable,” said one speaker, while another relating, to all the US agencies and departments before 9/11, said. “We each had a piece to the puzzle but we failed to slot them together. Why? Because we were not talking to each other.” 

Reichman University’s Counter Terrorism Institute that hosts the World Summit is dedicated to rectifying this. With its lectures, simulations, workshops and networking, the summit is the most influential event in the field of counter-terrorism today. Hardly surprising, the Summit was called:

 “SECURING TOMORROWenhancing the Couter-Terrorism efforts in a changing world”

And towards “Securing Tomorrow”, we heard Israel’s Mossad Director, David Barnea, reveal that Israel’s intelligence services and their foreign partners had foiled in just over the past year- “27 Iranian-orchestrated terrorist plots.”

Riveting Revelations. Mossad director David Barnea reveals on September 10 at the World Summit on Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University that Israel’s intelligence services and their foreign partners have foiled 27 Iranian-orchestrated terrorist plots over the last year.

Showing a video that exposed the deep Iranian involvement in terrorism around the world, including the confessions of terrorists who were sent to attack Israelis and Jews by official Iranian intelligence and security organisations, the Mossad director said, “The Iranian regime is no longer able to deny its involvement.”

He exposed Tehran as having tasked some of the terrorists with targeting specific people and offering thousands of dollars for every Israeli attacked. “The squads that were captured, the weapons that were seized together with them, all had clear targets,” Barnea revealed, noting that the attempts were global “…. in Europe, Africa, the Far East and South America.”

Most importantly, Barnea warned, Iran needs to understand that it “has no immunity.”

The message from the Mossad head was loud and clear:

I would like to take advantage of this podium to state that any harm done to any Israeli or Jew in any way whatsoever, and I mean in any way whatsoever, via proxy or Iranian alike, will elicit a response against the Iranians who dispatched the terrorists and the policymakers who authorized the terror units. I mean what I say. The price will be exacted from deep inside Iran, in the heart of Tehran.”

These are serious words  from a serious man heading a serious organization. Iran – be warned!

From the words of Israel’s national intelligence agency  head to the minister of Israel’s defense, Iran was at the centre of the web.  No longer shying away from their nefarious activities, Iran today is brazen in its pursuit to blot out the Jewish state.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visually revealed how Iran is establishing an airport in in the Qalaat Jabbour mountain region in southern Lebanon, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli border, which is being used “for terror purposes.”

Danger on Israel’s Doorstep. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant points out at Reichman University conference on September 11, 2023 a new runway built  by Iran in southern Lebanon close to Israel’s border. (Photo: Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry)

Standing at the screen and pointing, Gallant continued:

In the pictures, you can see the Iranian flag flying over the runways, from which the ayatollah regime plans to operate against the citizens of Israel. In other words: the land is Lebanese, the control is Iranian, and the target is Israel.”

This is one lethal cocktail that Israel cannot allow to remain unanswered.

Enemies at the Gates. A close-up of the new Hezbollah runway in southern Lebanon presented at the World Sumit on Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Herzliya by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who identifies an Iranian flag. (Defense Ministry)

Like Mossad head Barnea’s warning the day before, IDF  head Gallant was no less assertive in his warning:

If it comes to a conflict, we will not hesitate to activate the lethal force of the IDF. Hezbollah and Lebanon will pay heavy and painful prices.”

With talk of not being “surprised” there was one big glaring surprise – and it concerned the Prime Minister.  Structuring his career as the flag bearer in the fight against the threat of Iran, it was a surprise to many at the Summit –  particularly following Defense Minister Galant’s revelation with aerial photos of the airfield in Qalaat Jabbour in Lebanon which he said was for Iranian ‘terrorist purposes’ – that Netanyahu remains so invested in the ‘Judicial Overhaul’. Many are of the opinion that it is undermining Israel cohesion and deterrence. While Prof. Uriel Reichman, Founding President of Reichman University, in his opening remarks spoke on the damaging impact of Netanyahu judicial overhaul, warning of a potential “explosion”, it was mainly at the panel discussion on ‘Security and Counter-Terrorism Threats to Israel’ that this issue was seriously addressed. Sitting on this panel were Israel’s former, but remaining influential esteemed heavyweights in defense, security and intelligence, namely:

Col. (Res) Omer Bar Lev, Former Minister of Public Security and Former Commander of Sayeret Matkal; Maj. Gen. (Res) Aharon Farkash, Former head of Miliary Intelligence in  the IDF; Maj. Gen. (Res) Amos Gilead, Executive Director, Institute for  Policy & Strategy; Maj. Gen. (Res) Gershon Hacohen, Former Commander, Northern Corps, and Lt. Gen. (Res) Moshe “Boogie” Ya’alon, Former Defense Minister and Chief of Staff.

Talking Heads. Experienced input on a ‘countering terrorism threats to Israel’ panel debate (l-r) moderator Dr. Dana Wolf, Lt. Gen.(Res) Moshe “Boogie” Ya’alon, Col.(Res) Omer Bar Lev, Maj. Gen.(Res) Aharon Farkash, Maj. Gen. (Res) Amos Gilead,  Maj. Gen. (Res) Gershon Hacohen. (Photo: D.E. Kaplan)

All spoke persuasively on the major threats – Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas  until the last question, which the moderator referred to as “the elephant in the room,” and hence could not be avoided, the judicial overhaul that is undermining Israel’s security. All down this esteemed line, the panelists spoke against Netanyahu’s obsession with the judicial overhaul as being an obstacle to safeguarding Israel from real rather than imagined threats. Israel under its current leadership was unnecessary taking its eye off the ball much to its enemies glee.

Over three days, addressing theatres of conflict and potential conflicts, speakers from the military, intelligence agencies, police forces, academia, diplomacy and think tanks from all over the world, locked horns to work for a more secure future to avoid catastrophic surprises.

We heard from Britain’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly,  FBI director Christopher A. Wray, the UN’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland and many theorists and practitioners who have as their goal – to “partner” with Israel to save lives from terrorism.

But for this writer, what sounded most eerily terrifying, particularly in keeping with the Summit’s caution of preparing for the “unimaginable” was the arise in this millennium of   “algorithms and terrorism”, which is the malicious use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for terrorist purposes.

UK Support. While emphasizing at the World Summit on Counter-Terrorism that Great Britain “will always stand by Israel’s right to self-defense,” UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly stressed his country’s continued support for a two-state resolution as a resolution to the conflict. (photo credit: Avshalom Sassoni/Maariv )

Although terrorist organisations have to a certain degree, traditionally tended to employ various forms of “low-tech terrorism” such as firearms, blades and vehicles like in the streets of Israel or unsophisticated projectiles from Gaza,  terrorism itself is not static. The nature of this ugly beast is that it is ever-changing. It is an evil that morphs and re-shapes under new guises. The only constant is its  goal – the killing of innocent civilians, hence the subhead of the Summit was counter-terrorism for a “changing world” and therefore as AI becomes more widespread, the barriers to entry of potential terrorists will be lowered by less need for technical expertise to employ it. This is frightening as speaker after speaker on this issue in the session ‘GENERATIVE AI – Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism’ cautioned.

Therefore, the question confronting the civilized nations of the world is not a question of “if” but rather of “whenAI will become a major instrument in the terrorist’s toolbox. When that does occur, how will the international community respond?

Today, we see the ugly faces of terrorism. In a less transparent AI world of tomorrow, the terrorists may be faceless – We need to be prepared.



Time Out. The writer during the lunch break at the World Summit was happy to meet with members from the South African Embassy (l-r) Colin Winkler former chief accountant at the SA Embassy, David Kaplan, Phadime Choshane and Derek Arnolds.  





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).

I SLEEP ILL AT NIGHT

Something is happening in Israel today that fills its citizens with trepidation

By Stephen Schulman

I sleep ill at night, my slumber is restless and I do not breathe easy. I sleep ill because I am worried. I worry about my beloved country. I worry about our children and our grandchildren. I worry for their future here and how this country will be, for what I see at the present leaves me deeply unsettled.

Over half a century ago, I left South Africa the land of my birth and came to live in Israel. Like many of my friends and fellow graduates of a Zionist youth movement, who came too, I was imbued with an idealism to help contribute to a Jewish state that was both liberal and democratic. After completing our studies, we left our families and came alone. We were not cockeyed optimists. We were perfectly aware that Israel was a young state born in especially difficult circumstances, coping with many problems. There was much to be done, but we wished to do our part. With the passing of time, we worked in our professions, did our army service, married and raised families. We are part of the country and feel pride in its achievements. However, something has changed, bad things have been happening and I am filled with trepidation.

Proud to Picture. The same man Itzik Zarka (left) –  whom prime minister Netanyahu is proud to pose with for a selfie during a Likud Party faction meeting at the Knesset in 2018 is in 2023 calling anti-judicial overhaul protesters “whores” and saying that he wishes “another six million would burn,” a reference to the Holocaust. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

”Ashkenazim may you burn in hell.”  “Not for nothing did six million die. I’m proud.  If only six million more would burn.”  Words that would make Goebbels, Streicher and all their despicable followers, knowing that their vicious antisemitism was alive and flourishing, beam with happiness and satisfaction. If anyone in his/her naiveté thinks that these foul utterances issued from the mouth of a most extreme neo-Nazi, they err gravely.  They were said by forty-nine-year-old Yitzhak Zarka, a Jew from Ma’ale Efrayim, a settlement in the State of Israel, who was relating to the anti-judicial overhaul protestors.

Zarka, in spewing his vicious and venomous hatred desecrates the memory of the six million martyrs, man, woman and child who were murdered in the Holocaust. It also deeply insults and defiles all the Holocaust survivors both from Europe and the Arab countries that fell under the yoke of Nazism. It insults the memory of my late father-in-law Meir who lost his entire family and my late mother-in- law Tsilla who while surviving the war, lost her father and a brother. It insults the memory of my dear friends: Yehuda whose family was persecuted in Libya and Uri who hailed from Iraq.

This individual’s sick jubilation over the Holocaust and his fervent desire for another one to occur to all the Jews of Ashkenzi (European) descent living in Israel and in the Diaspora does not suffice. In a feverish mind stoked and warped by a consuming and blind hatred, all logic and decency has long been defenestrated. In a twisted, perverted line of thought defying all comprehension, he curses them, for in his eyes, not only were the six million who perished deserving victims but they and all their descendants are of the same ilk as their murderers.

Never Again! Israel comes to a standstill on Yom HaShoah remembering the mass murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust while in 2023, a “proud” Likud activist Itzik Zarka, desecrates their memory by referencing the anti-judicial overhaul protestors as “Ashkenazim” whom he hopes “If only six million more would burn.” 

In any enlightened country, and as is happening in Europe, such pronouncements are considered a clear contravention of the law and would arouse public opprobrium. It goes without saying that the speaker or writer of them would be speedily hauled into court and prosecuted.

The Holocaust and the persecution and expulsion of Jews from the Arab countries is seared in Israel’s conscience. Zarka’s vituperative statement is clearly a criminal offense and it would be expected that the arm of the law swiftly reach out for him. It would be expected that he be publicly condemned by members of the government for his harmful statements.

Shockingly and shamefully, not so in present day Israel!

We have yet to hear of his prosecution, and silence reigns supreme. It is a silence both disgraceful and ominous and the reason is quite simple. Zarka is not just (like most of us) another common garden variety citizen. Zarka is a member of the Likud Party. Zarka is not a simple party member either. Zarka is a  faithful, veteran Likud activist who is highly esteemed by fellow members and greatly valued for his efficacy in garnering votes mainly among his fellow Sephardic (Jews who have come mainly from the Arab countries) citizens . Zarka is even more highly esteemed by quite a few Likud ministers in the present government for giving them his vital support in obtaining them a high placing in party elections. There is a well known adage: “Never bite the hand that feeds you votes!” Therefore this influential gentleman must be assiduously cultivated, his affection and loyalty secured and scrupulous care taken not antagonize him and earn his enmity. So, when he has a celebration like a birthday party, there is always an impressive bevy of fawning Likud party notables, including the Speaker of the Knesset and assorted ministers, bearing gifts, bowing and scraping, waiting patiently in the long line to congratulate, flatter, embrace and be photographed with the man of the moment.  Not for nothing is there a picture of him hugging and bussing our prime minister.

Darker side of Zarka. Itzik Zarka (centre) at a rally in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is today supporting the moral decline of the Jewish state by his ugly dangerous rhetoric.(Photo Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Bibi Netanyahu in his usual spin declared that the miscreant would be expelled from the party – which Zarka’s wife promptly denied and said would never happen. And, as to be expected, on the morn, he mumbled some lame excuse and claimed his grandfather was a Holocaust survivor. What difference does that make?

I sleep ill for there is a bad smell in the air. It is the stench of moral and ethical putrefaction. It is the stench caused by politicians, choosing to turn a blind eye and prefer self interest over moral obligation to their citizens. It is amoral Realpolitik at its ugliest. Not one Likud member of the Knesset, not one single minister from the same party, to their everlasting shame, has opened his/her mouth. It is not only the silence of assent. It is the silence that condones an egregious act that deeply offends so many citizens and harms the country’s social cohesion. It is the official stamp of silence that makes such behaviour the norm.

To add insult to injury, there are many of the party faithful who see no wrong, view it as a trifling incident and justify such behaviour. “I do not remember any other party that expelled any of its members for excessive anger,” was one mealy mouthed pronouncement.

Is this the ‘Face’ of Israel 2023? A prime minister (right) that is allowing the hard-fought Jewish state to unravel and Itzik Zarka, a spewer of hatred against fellow Jews, who is a veteran and highly respected Likud activist. (photo: Mark Israel Sellem)

Growing up in South Africa, antisemitism was par for the course and I experienced it in various ways. Nevertheless, never in my darkest dreams did I think that I would have to live in Israel in July 2023 to encounter it in its vilest and most toxic form and see its purveyor speak with impunity. Never in my darkest dreams, did I think that I would see such abominable behaviour accepted with equanimity by members of his party. Never did I imagine that not one minister in the coalition government (and our small country is gifted with 31 of them!), to their everlasting shame, would open his/her mouth in condemnation and disassociate him/her self from the speaker.

South Africa has Julius Malema, notorious for his abhorrent racism. It appears that we might have his doppelganger living here. How many of his repulsive clones walk around in our country?

Tragically, this sick behaviour is not an aberration. It is symptomatic of this culture of public and political discourse that is now eroding the very foundations of our society and has become a norm. Civility, politeness, mutual respect and common decency have long gone the way of the dinosaurs with rudeness, vulgarity, intolerance, insults and disrespect superseding them. Verbal violence: bullying, threats and intimidation is becoming commonplace.

South African ‘export’ that Israel can do without. Is this South African politician, Julius Malema, notorious for his abhorrent racism who some Israelis would be proud to emulate?

Is this an exaggeration? Look no further than the floor of the Knesset and the behaviour of certain ministers. A few days ago, our Minister of Transport’s car was stopped at gates of an army base by a security guard. As she felt that her entrance was unnecessarily delayed and her pride hurt, in her arrogance and rage she ordered her driver to proceed regardless. Ignoring his pleas that he would run over personnel, she repeatedly shouted at him:

Drive, drive, drive!”

With such an example it is no wonder that violence is no longer limited to being verbal and has become part and parcel of daily life.

My sleep is troubled. This is not the country I envisaged and I worry for the quality of its future. It took many generations to build but is being rapidly destroyed. What shall it be like for our grandchildren?



About the writer:

Stephen Schulman is a graduate of the South African Jewish socialist youth movement Habonim, who immigrated to Israel in 1969 and retired in 2012 after over 40 years of English teaching. He was for many years a senior examiner for the English matriculation and co-authored two English textbooks for the upper grades in high school. Now happily retired, he spends his time between his family, his hobbies and reading to try to catch up on his ignorance.






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).

WE ARE ALL SIGNATORIES TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

By Yaakov Hagoel, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization

When talking about the Declaration of Independence, one usually focuses on its resounding opening sentences:

 “The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books“, or in one of the following paragraphs, which talk about the natural and historical right to the land, the call for peace with all the inhabitants of the land and the partnership in the fight against Nazi evil.

All this is good and important. The Declaration of Independence is truly a work of thought of precise wording, every word of which was examined and weighed by the heads of the Jewish population on the eve of the establishment of the State. But no less is the last part of the scroll, dedicated to signatories.

David Ben-Gurion at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1948 (Photo: GPO)

Thirty-seven people were privileged to sign the founding document of the State, headed by David Ben-Gurion of course, and among them also Golda Meir, Moshe Sharret, Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaCohen Fishman Maimon and many others. Every time I look at the signature section, I come across David Remez‘s signature.

Why specifically  Remez’s signature? Because it is the most prominent of them all. Most of the signatories used a pen brought especially for the event by the People’s Administration that intended  uniformity for the signatures. Remez brought his own pen with him, a special and thick pen, and to this day  his signature stands out as the most prominent name among the signatories.

For me, the story of David Ramez’s signature – he has many accomplishments to his credit since the early days of the Yishuv, as a Knesset member and cabinet minister – is not just a historical anecdote. There is an important message, especially during  these days. Recently the Declaration of Independence has become a symbol of the national controversy that is burning within us. Some say it is all mine, and others say it is all mine. There are those who maintain  that the values that they support  are the correct balance between the different levels of government and the other side  which says that these values are actually the opposite.

But the truth is neither here nor there. The Declaration of Independence belongs to the entire Israeli public, and besides the thirty-seven actual signatures on it, there are millions more transparent signatures of every citizen. Everyone signed the scroll – each of us with his own special pen, values, stories and hopes. Over the years we learned to unite around the scroll, to add more and more signatures at the bottom, and today the Declaration of Independence is the place where all these signatures are gathered, and on the basis of which the Israeli partnership grows.

The Declaration of Independence must not be read as if it supports only one side of the political map. Such an appropriation will erase from it many signatures of Israelis, partners on the way. What we must do is the opposite: take out each and every one of us his special pen, re-sign the scroll, find our unique place within this founding text – and then take all these pens and continue to write, together, the great Israeli story.







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- 14 September 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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What’s happening in Israel today? See from every Monday – Thursday LOTL’s The Israel Brief broadcasts and on our Facebook page and YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africaand millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA, broadcasting out of Virginia, USA.

The Israel Brief

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SHANA TOVA – HAPPY NEW YEAR

Israel is a miraculous country globally admired for finding solutions against military threats to making breathtaking breakthroughsin medicine, science, and technology. We are not the “Start-Up Nation” by accident – We earned it!We owe it to ourselves to match these achievements in our political arena.May the sound of the shofar herald with the New Year also new beginnings –New understandings and New efforts to outreach and find solutionsleading to peace between peopleLay of the Land wishes you all a happy and healthy New Year.



Articles

(1)

ELITISM AND THE JUDICIARY

Disentangling the toxic from merit-based judicial elitism

By Lawrence Nowosenetz

Battle of the Buildings. High Court and Knesset face off in a showdown with democracy hanging in the balance.

With insights and experience of being a former Acting Judge of the Hight Court in South Africa, the writer now living in Israel, weighs in on the judicial issues rocking this nation and beyond.

ELITISM AND THE JUDICIARY

(Click on the blue title)



(2)

TAKE A WEIGHT OFF YOUR MIND

What if your weight is not the real issue?

By  Justine Friedman

Weighing up the Issues. Maybe step off and step up to new approaches for an improved wellbeing.

Making “Losing Weight” the focus of your thoughts and efforts may cause you to “try crazy eating plans that are unsustainable.” Your most important steps are not on the scale advises the writer – a clinical dietician – but finding solutions best suited to you.

TAKE A WEIGHT OFF YOUR MIND

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(3)

LAW REFORM 101

Israel should avoid replicating South Africa’s National Party shenanigans

By Peter Bailey

Gambling with the Gavel. Hanging in the balance is more than the judiciary but the country’s democracy.

While there might be little global precedent on the Reasonableness Law, there is certainly precedent material with regard to a democratically elected government trying to usurp the authority of a High or Supreme Court and the end result. The writer looks at the South African experience as a guide for Israel to avoid.

LAW REFORM 101

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(4)

HIGH ANXIETY

UNTIL 120 – A REALITY CHECK

A poem by Solly Kaplinski

Commuting to Contemplating. While the body travels in one direction, the mind wonders and worries in another.

Even something as mundane as riding on a bus, becomes in Jerusalem an existential experience. Is it paranoia or reality? The writer, a resident and commuter in Jerusalem, shares his observations, anxieties and intimate insights through a poem.

HIGH ANXIETY

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

The Israel Brief- 11-14 September 2023

The Israel Brief – 11 September 2023 Earthquake in Morocco. Israeli delegation in Saudi Arabia. War of Words. Team Israel at Invictus.




The Israel Brief – 12 September 2023 Supreme Court convenes for historical deliberation. Mayor of Paris slams Abbas. Iran on Israel’s border? Remembering 9/11.



The Israel Brief – 13 September 2023 Crisis in government? PM Netanyahu and Zelensky to meet at UNGA. MFA Eli Cohen off to UAE. Celebrating 3 years of the Abraham Accords.



The Israel Brief – 14 September 2023 Ben Gvir to boycott coalition. Massive arms cache discovered in Ashdod. Team Israel wins 6 medals. Israel approaches Rosh Hashanah.






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).

HIGH ANXIETY

Following Israelis expressing their anxieties within society today from protest to poetry, lay of the Land  publishes another in our ongoing series. From fractures in Israel society to a sharp rise in terrorism, the son of Holocaust survivors reflects through this poem of living on the edge. Even something as mundane as commuting on a bus, becomes in Jerusalem today an existential experience.
Is it paranoia or reality?
David E. Kaplan  Lay of the Land Editor


UNTIL 120 – A REALITY CHECK

By Solly Kaplinski

Every morning
I normally take the 6.57 Egged bus
to the light rail station in French Hill
The train is usually packed
but invariably, someone stands up for me
a sort of back handed compliment:
respect for the grey hair and
me coming to terms with my ageing self
– and my impending mortality
Until 120, I tell myself

The 70 faces are all present and accounted for
women burying their faces in the Shacharit prayers
lips moving furiously
young soldiers and border police
high spirited and seemingly deep in superficial conversation
eyes darting in all directions
reluctant children going to school glued to their cellphones
vatikim with empty agalot off to the shuk
Our cousins are also on board conversing animatedly
and a tower of babel cacophony of tourist and worker languages


Such a normal slice of life – like anywhere else in the world
the rush hour for those who open up the morning.
But my usual paranoid self gets the better of me – as always…
I am a child of Holocaust survivors you know
and I have lived with exploding buses and burnt-out restaurants
and Jew butchers on the loose
And I cast suspicious eyes on my fellow travelers
looking for anything out of the ordinary:
someone in disguise
an over-stuffed duffel bag
a hand in a bulging pocket or
holding a scrunched-up Rami Levi sakit
ready for coiled action

I step out into the sunshine and blue sky
at the Hechalutz station
And there’s a spring in my walk
I’m almost at the office


Until 120, I tell myself

_______________________________________


Shacharit: early morning prayers
Vatikim – seniors
Agalot – small shopping trollies
Rami Levi – a discount supermarket chain
Sakit – a plastic shopping bag
Hechalutz – pioneer




About the writer:

Solly Kaplinski headed up Jewish Day Schools in Cape Town, Toronto and Vancouver before making Aliyah with Arleen almost 25 years ago. His professional life in Israel is bookended by working at Yad Vashem and then at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Solly is also the author of the novella A World of Pain: A Redemptive Parable? His three daughters, their spouses and an egalitarian minyan of grandchildren all live in 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).


LAW REFORM 101

Israel should avoid replicating South Africa’s National Party shenanigans

By Peter Bailey

Counsel for the government of Israel, in applying for a postponement of the Supreme Court hearing on the Reasonableness Law said “The petitions involve historical, jurisprudential and doctrinal issues on a massive scale, and they likely lack precedent in the history of the High Court of Justice and other authorities. It’s doubtful that they have precedent in the entire Western world”. While there might not be an international precedent on the Reasonableness Law, there is certainly precedent material with regard to a democratically elected government trying to usurp the authority of a High or Supreme Court, and the end result.

The current situation in Israel is very reminiscent of political events in South Africa during the period 1951/1952 following the victory of the right wing Reformed Nationalist Party and its equally right wing Afrikaner Party partner in the 1948 general election. The primary objective of the governing coalition was to  pass legislation that would ensure its continuation as the governing party in a “democratic dictatorship”, by rigging the system. Ridding the voter’s role of the Mixed Race voters, colloquially referred to as Coloured voters, whose rights were entrenched, suited the Nationalist Party’s racial policies, while simultaneously removing a substantial block of voters who supported the opposition. Doing so would almost guarantee the coalition’s ability to hold onto power in future elections. This resulted in the Separate Representation of Voters Act of 1951, disenfranchising Coloured voters. The law was subsequently invalidated and set aside by the Supreme Court of South Africa as being unconstitutional, as it had not been passed by  the required two thirds parliamentary majority, but by the coalition’s slim 9 seat majority in the 150 seat parliament.

Onslaught on Judiciary. South Africa’s old Supreme Court in Bloemfontein when in the early 1950s was being undermined by the Nationalist government in furtherance of its agenda to disenfranchise the Coloured community.

The response from the governing coalition was to pass legislation in 1952 titled the High Court of Parliament Act, which would allow a simple majority in both houses of Parliament to set aside any judgment of the Supreme Court of South Africa. The Legislature consisted of an upper house, the Senate, with its members elected indirectly by the four provinces, and a lower house, the Parliament, elected by White and enfranchised Colored voters. During 1953, the Supreme Court invalidated the High Court of Parliament Act, with the Chief Justice stating:

 “The so-called High Court of Parliament is not a court of law, but simply Parliament functioning under another name … Parliament cannot, by passing an act giving itself the name of a court of law, come to any decision which will have the effect of destroying the entrenched provisions of the (Supreme Court in the) constitution“.

The Government response to the Supreme Court ruling came in 1955 when the Senate was artificially enlarged with government appointed members who would ensure a two thirds majority, and so the Colored voters were soon disenfranchised with a contrived two thirds majority vote.

These attempts by the South African government coalition to set itself above the Supreme Court between 1951 and 1955, bear many similarities to the current attempts by Israel’s governing coalition to empower themselves to overrule the High Court with a simple majority in the Knesset. While the South African right wing coalition was able to manipulate the rules to its own advantage by maintaining popular support, the turn of events in Israel have shown that there is a huge groundswell of public disapproval of the intended law reforms.

Cataclysmic Clash. Determining the future character of the state of Israel, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces off against Esther Hayut,Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel.

Returning to the South African example, once the parliamentary vote was rigged to suit the governing Nationalist Party, there was nothing to hold them back from passing a plethora of discriminatory laws which entrenched the Apartheid policies of the government. These laws encompassed every aspect of life for non-White South Africans, defining who they could marry and where they could live and work. While these three factors were crucial to enable government policies, what became known as Petty Apartheid soon reared its ugly head. White facilities such as parks, churches, shopping centers, cinemas and sporting facilities were soon denied to non-whites, with Black, Colored, and Asiatic South Africans each having to develop their own racially exclusive facilities.         

Parallels between the racist policies of the South African government are very evident in the racist and divisive policies enunciated by the extreme right wing parties in Israel, as well as by some on the extreme right fringe of the Likud.  These extreme racist views do not permeate the whole coalition in Israel, with the ultra-orthodox component more concerned with looking after its own constituency, while the extreme policies are designed to attend to the wants and needs of its own largely nationalist religious supporters. This brings us to the sought after law reforms of the Israeli right wing, where the similarity with South Africa ends, as each component of the coalition wants similar changes to the judiciary for very different reasons and to attain divergent ends. This desire to change the judicial system is the only cement actually holding the current coalition together.

The prime mover of the law reform has been justice minister Yaariv Levin, whose grandfather hailed from Kroonstad, a bastion of Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa’s Orange Free State.  Levin might well have an agenda of his own, but appears to be acting in the best interests of his boss, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is facing several criminal charges with varying degrees of gravity, which he blames on the system, including the police, the attorney general’s office and the judiciary for fabricating. Laws dubbed as the Netanyahu Law have been passed to benefit the prime minister, with the courts apparently reluctant to allow laws with personal benefits to pass muster. So the Likud wants and supports legal reform to help to allow their leader to get off the hook.

Power Broker. Justice minister Yariv Levin, whose forbears hail from Kroonstad in South Africa, introduces plan to curtail power of judiciary that would boost the power of the elected officials over the courts. (Photo Ben Hakoon)

Thrown into the mix are the extreme right wing Religious Zionism and Otzmah Yehudit parties, who would like legal changes allowing them to have free rein in the West Bank to bring about a de facto, and preferably de jure annexation of the territory by Israel. They would then probably look to introducing policies similar to Bantustan policies that held sway in South Africa during the Apartheid years. Creating Arabstans (including Israeli Arabs) looks well suited to fitting their world view of settling the Israel Arab conflict. Nothing less than a totally subjugated Arab population subject to Jewish rule will satisfy Israel’s racist extreme right wing parties.

Next up with a ‘wish list’ are the haredi parties – United Torah Judaism and Shas – representing the ultra-orthodox communities in Israel. They have an interest in changing the legal status in order to obtain maximum financial benefits for their congregants, while keeping their children out of military service. Their support for the coalition has been bought with handouts from Netanyahu that will be paid for by the Israeli taxpayers, with very few ultra-Orthodox counted  among the tax paying public.

Few are Smiling Today. While there was much smiling at the President’s residence in Jerusalem on December 29, 2022, by members of Netanyahu’s new Israeli government, outside today in Israel’s streets, people protest against this government’s assault on the Supreme Court.  (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The needs and desires of prime minister Netanyahu, his right- wing Likud members and his coalition partners remain focused on self-gratification; they are quite prepared to see the rest of Israel suffer the fallout, from destructive damage to the IDF, right through to an economic collapse.

This article began with South Africa and the 1948 National Party victory which ushered in  disrespect for the established rule of law and ended in 1994 with an economic collapse followed by  precisely what the Nats were seeking to avoid: Black majority rule.

Let me end off by expressing the hope that the end result of extreme right and ultra-orthodox aspirations don’t bring about the end of the Democratic Jewish State 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).

TAKE A WEIGHT OFF YOUR MIND

What if your weight is not the real issue?

By  Justine Friedman

I may be unpopular for saying this – and that’s ok – but it must be said. The answer to feeling uncomfortable within yourself and your body may logically seem to be to lose weight.

BUT is that really what’s going on?

Yes, I hear that your clothes aren’t fitting you the same anymore (or maybe not at all), and you don’t recognise yourself when you look in the mirror. But does this mean that weight loss will be the magic answer?

Or is there more to this dance?

We are constantly bombarded by solutions to the most painful problems we have. And most of the time the promises offered neither solve our pain, nor do they bring the relief we are looking for.

  • Just eat this and you will lose weight
  • Just do this exercise and you will get a 6-pack in 10 days.
  • Take this pill and you will be carefree.

A quick result with minimal effort is what this instant generation craves.

But the truth is that anything valuable in life generally comes from hard work and dedication. The two important words I stress to clients are CONSISTENCY & COMPASSION.

I believe these are the keys to building habits and a lifestyle of health and well-being.

With consistency comes reward  – as long as we are putting into place the habits that are best for ourselves.

Regardless of what you choose, the habits that you decide on, first need to make sense for you and before you choose to keep them for good, I suggest testing them out and being curious about how they fit into your life and feel in your body.

Big declarations like “I will never eat carbs again” may seem like a good idea today when you hit the pit of self-loathing, but when your blood sugar dips, your hormones are all over the show, and you are stressed out and then tuck into a chocolate bar or packet of crisps, the result leaves you feeling angry and guilty for breaking the promise you made to yourself.

So before you toss the carbs out the window, and go on a 16:8 hour intermittent fasting regime, ask yourself:

 “Can I do this forever and how would it feel to give it a try and test it out first?” (Disclaimer – I am not suggesting intermittent fasting or low-carb diets!)

That brings me to the next important word COMPASSION.

Being hard on yourself may feel like the best way to get to your goal, but has it really worked for you?

Think about what happens if your kid makes a mistake. Do you “let them have it” by rebuking in deed and word how disappointed you are in them? Would that influence them to behave differently in the future? Or can you instead guide and help them learn from their mistakes so that they can do better – not perfect – next time around?

You are no different.

The little “you” within you needs the same kind of encouragement and understanding. After all, guilt and self-loathing rarely result in weight loss (unless you have an active eating disorder and if so, please seek professional help).

Being compassionate does not mean being weak….it doesn’t mean that you will allow yourself to eat whatever you want when you want because you are feeling “sorry for yourself”.

NO… it means understanding what you have the capacity for each day and tailoring your expectations on that day to what you can manage.

So on a day that you have good energy, it may mean enjoying more aerobic exercise and tackling more things on your to-do list. And on a day that you woke up after a poor night’s sleep, feeling hormonal and your kid is sick, you may move your body gently or not at all. Take care to have nourishing foods around, and do fewer demanding tasks.

So back to the elephant in the room: Your weight!

Is it ok to want to lose weight – yes of course.

Is it possible that making that the focus of your efforts and thoughts is causing you to make poor choices and try crazy eating plans that are unsustainable? Can we agree on a yes to that too?

So how DO you feel better, manage your weight AND achieve it without over-exercising, feeling restricted, hangry, anxious, depleted, starved, and avoiding all the foods that bring you pleasure?

One small step at a time. Winning a marathon doesn’t happen with a giant leap, and your life is not the 400m sprint.

Let me map it out for you and give you the gems from the process that I personally use and that my clients get the best results from.

Choose a goal unrelated to weight such as wanting more energy, to be less moody, enjoy better sleep, reduced cravings and to feel less bloated.

Look at when you feel this way naturally and focus on identifying the behaviours associated with that outcome. For example, if I read before I go to bed, do I sleep better? When I have more protein with my lunch, do I feel less of an urge to snack in the afternoon? Once you have identified the beneficial traits and act accordingly, you will begin to feel less hungry as well as less moody.

Actively implement this in your schedule and repeat it daily.

Next, choose a new habit that you want to include – most people choose to drink more water. I often hear, “I will drink 2 litres every day!” Is this realistic? If you are only drinking a glass a day right now, then aiming for 8 is a far reach. Focus on having 1-2 glasses extra each day for a week and when you are reaching that with ease, then proceed again incrementally.

When you attain your goal – albeit it small –  feel free to give yourself the proverbial big pat on the back. You deserve it. This positively reinforces that you are succeeding in your personalised approach. And just like a kid who thrives on positive reinforcement, you will be more likely to repeat this behaviour.

What if you don’t achieve what you set out to do? Instead of jumping to judgement and indulging in self-criticism, get curious and ask yourself what happened that made you drop the ball. By understanding what transpired, you can better prepare for the future. That way you’ll be able to prevent repeating the same mistakes. However, If you keep repeating these identifiable missteps, then maybe  what you believed were the right remedies were for you unsuitable, and you will need to reassess and try a different approach.

You don’t have to do this alone! If you feel stuck and don’t know where to start – reach out and work with someone who can tailor-make a plan of action that will support you.

It must be realistic and this may mean taking weight-loss goals off the table in the beginning while you focus on creating a lifestyle that supports your long-term health goals.



About the writer:

Justine Friedman works as a clinical dietician and a mindset mentor. She has over 20 years experience in supporting clients to make sustainable and practical lifestyle adjustments. Her focus is empowering women over 40 to make the necessary changes to feel confident with their food choices and at peace with food, while at the same time managing their weight without restriction or guilt. She works with women both 1:1 as well as in her online signature group program, “The Wellness Upgrade”. For more information visit her website on www.justinefriedman.com





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).