In the midst of a global surge of antisemitism,  reflections on the 57^th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., of the man’s legacy and his support for a secure Israel.

By Jonathan Feldstein

This week, we commemorate the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most iconic figures in American history, known for his tireless fight against injustice and his leadership in the Civil Rights movement. Dr. King’s life and work was rooted in the understanding that all people deserve equal rights, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or background. In the decades since his assassination, while there are many challenges to the full realization of his vision as so well articulated in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, it is commonly accepted that all people deserve equal rights.

While Dr. King is especially well known for his moral clarity regarding Civil Rights, for which he was also honored with a Nobel Peace Prize, less well known are his statements and moral clarity about Israel and the Jewish people. Unfortunately, in the same period that acceptance of universal Civil Rights has become commonplace, there has also been a marked increase in promulgation of denying Israel’s right to exist, and acceptance of an unprecedented rise in antisemitism. 

This reality would have deeply disturbed Dr. King today, as noted by his niece Dr. Alveda King on the “Inspiration from Zion” podcast.  Alveda King remembers her uncle as a staunch advocate for Israel’s legitimacy, its safety and security, noting his reference to Israel as one of the greatest outposts of democracy in the world, and on behalf of persecuted Jews in the Soviet Union.

Speaking to me on the podcast, Alveda said:

“He also was a strong advocate for Israel. He wrote and spoke about supporting Israel, praying for the peace of Jerusalem. In his own words he says, ‘A no brainer, we have to support Israel.’ He was very clear on his stand.”

As the Civil Rights movement gained momentum, Dr. King found tremendous support and strong allies among American Jews, many of whom joined marches and protests against Jim Crow segregationist laws, and became active in black voter registration and other related causes across the American south. Throughout this time, Dr. King remained committed to his message of love and unity, universal human rights, and nonviolent resistance, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, which became the cornerstone of his activism, guiding peaceful protests against racial discrimination.

Dr. King’s connection to Israel began early and was rooted in his Christian faith. In 1959, King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, traveled to the Middle East, including a visit to the Holy Land. At the time, Israel was a young nation, having gained independence in 1948. Jerusalem was divided with the Jewish and Chrisitan holy sites under Jordanian control. King’s trip came during a period of global interest in Israel’s story of survival and resilience, especially after the Holocaust. For King, a deeply religious man, visiting the Holy Land – where Jesus lived – was a spiritual pilgrimage.

So moved by this trip, King was inspired to follow up by leading a mission of as many as 5000 black Americans to Israel. It’s also believed that in his famous and what would be his final, “Mountaintop speech” the night before he was assassinated, he was referencing Israel and being in Jerusalem. 

Dr. King saw parallels between on the one hand the Jewish people’s inspirational struggle for a homeland and the young Jewish state reaching out to newly independent African countries, and on the other hand, black Americans – today African American – in their fight for equality. These parallels of the struggles for freedom, resonated from readings from the Bible’s Book of Exodus relating to the redemption of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt.

Both Jews and blacks he believed, were battling for dignity and equality in the face of persecution. In a 1968 speech at the Rabbinical Assembly, ten days before his murder, King was unequivocal in his support for Israel. “Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity.” He understood Israel’s need for safety in a hostile region and supported its right to exist as a Jewish state. At the same time, he called for peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, consistent with his belief in resolving conflicts nonviolently.

Exemplifying the unity between black and Jewish Americans in the Civil Rights movement, many Jewish leaders and activists marched alongside King in places like Selma, Alabama, and worked together on a grassroots level. Dr. King spoke out against antisemitism, recognizing it as a form of hatred that needed to be eradicated. His trip to Israel and his statements reinforced this alliance, showing that his vision for justice extended beyond America’s borders.

Dr. King’s experiences in and support of Israel highlight the global scope of his mission. He saw the struggles of different peoples as interconnected, whether it was black Americans facing Jim Crow laws, or Jews seeking a safe homeland or their freedom from persecution in the USSR.

On December 11, 1966, Dr. King addressed an estimated 50,000 people by phone across the US, lending his moral clarity in support of Soviet Jews. Referring to the three million Jews in the Soviet Union, King said:

 “No person of goodwill can stand by as an onlooker while there is a possibility of the complete spiritual and cultural destruction of a once flourishing Jewish community. A denial of human rights anywhere is a threat to the affirmation of human rights everywhere.

“While Jews in Russia may not be physically murdered as they were in Nazi Germany, they are facing every day a kind of spiritual and cultural genocide. Individual Jews may in the main be physically and economically secure in Russia, but the absence of opportunity to associate as Jews in the enjoyment of Jewish culture and religious experience becomes a severe limitation upon an individual.

“These deprivations are a part of a person’s emotional and intellectual life. They determine whether he is fulfilled as a human being. Negroes can well understand and sympathize with this problem. When you are written out of history as a people…you are denied an aspect of your own identity.”

King concluded that “We cannot sit complacently by while our Jewish brothers in the Soviet Union face the possible extinction of their physical and spiritual life.” 

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was more than a civil rights leader; he was a unique global thinker who sought universal justice and whose inimitable voice – and message –  is sorely missed.

While one can only speculate today as we mark another anniversary of his assassination, what greater impact he might have had had he lived longer, what we do know is that Dr. King’s vision of a secure Israel and a peaceful Middle East is as relevant today as it was in the 1960s.

• Feature picture:
  ‘The King and I’. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century and friend of Dr. Martin Luther King who joined the iconic civil rights leader at numerous protests is seen here with King at Arlington National Cemetery, February 6, 1968 (Photo by John C. Goodwin)
  

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).

An interview with British military expert Maj (ret.) Andrew Fox on why Hamas casualty numbers don’t add up and why the media is so intent on parroting the Hamas narrative.

By Rolene Marks

Since the atrocities of 7 October, the information battlefield has been one of the most insidious in recent history. In the wake of 7 October, instead of the empathy that should have been afforded victims of terror, Israel and Jewish communities around the world have been faced with news networks, university campuses and the streets of major cities propagating the Hamas propaganda party line.

Maj (ret.) Andrew Fox, a military expert specializing in defense, the Middle East, and disinformation as well as a frequent commentator on major news networks, was recently in Israel and shared with the writer his perspective on Hamas casualty figures and the narrative war.

As a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society – a think tank that “works across borders and party lines to combat extremism, advance democracy and real human rights” – Fox, in December 2024, released his report, “Questionable Counting: Analyzing the Death Toll from the Hamas-Run Ministry of Health in Gaza”. In his accompanying forward, he reveals astonishingly that:

“ – The reporting of these figures has been analyzed by a group of international scholars, who meticulously analyzed reports of Gaza war fatalities from February 2024 through May 2024.  – They examined 1,378 articles from major English-language newspapers and media outlets, specifically The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, CNN, the BBC, Reuters, The Associated Press and the Australian ABC. Over that four-month period, 84% of those publications failed to make the critical distinction in total numbers between combatant deaths and civilian deaths.

– Only 5% of the surveyed media organizations cited numbers released by the Israeli authorities, while 98% cited fatality figures provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

– In 19% of media reports examined, numbers provided by Hamas-run institutions were used without citing any source, thereby suggesting those figures were undisputed.

– fewer than one in every 50 articles mentioned that the figures provided by the MoH were unverifiable or controversial. (Strikingly, the Israeli statistics had their credibility questioned in half of the few articles that incorporated them.)

-This report raises serious concerns that the Gaza MoH figures have been overstated. The data behind their figures contains natural deaths, deaths from before this conflict began and deaths of those killed by Hamas itself; it contains no mention of Hamas combatant fatalities; and it overstates the number of women and children killed.”

Meticulously researched and referenced, the report, presents clear indications that Hamas are padding casualty numbers. Despite this, many in the media seem to repeat, without question, whatever Hamas say. WHY?

The first reason he explains, “is human desire not to admit when they are wrong and we do not understand how powerful this is because it means that they have to admit that they have been wrong for the last 18 months. If your new agency’s credibility is reliant on inputs of cash, to admit you are wrong – it’s not going to happen. It is not financially feasible. The second reason is the power of the narrative and the power of a story to be engaging and get people’s buy-in. Once you have achieved the dominance of your narrative, it’s very difficult to present another narrative, and the third reason is antisemitism. While everything is not antisemitism, certainly there are biases.” While in Israel, Fox participated as a panelist at the Conference against Antisemitism, hosted by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.  

Fox’s report is not the only published study backed by empirical evidence to be largely ignored. He refers to the All-Party Parliamentary Commission (APPC) report by respected historian, Lord Roberts – “who is not Israeli” and that Israel “is not his area of focus” – into the atrocities of 7 October that lays bare the depravity of the attacks in excruciating detail with maps and references. Released earlier this month, “…it was utterly dismissed out of hand,”  and suspects “there will be a very strong counter campaign with Qatari money thrown at it. I had the same thing with my report… the Palestinians campaign has ten times the supporters that Israel does. Ultimately – it’s a numbers game.”

Antisemitism in the form of anti-Zionism or what some may even call “Israelophobia”, seems to be institutionalized in a lot of the legacy media – traditional media that dominated prior to the internet.  An obvious example is the BBC, which has had to apologise several times for erroneous reports. “It is institutional with the BBC,” says Fox. “Twice this year they have had to put out major apologies breaching their own impartiality guidelines when they platform Hamas royalty in a documentary about kids in Gaza using kids whose family members are Hamas, or when they email the Israeli embassy asking for a speaker that is specifically anti-Netanyahu. There are three parts to an apology, I am sorry, it’s my fault and I will do better – they haven’t really done that third part at all. It is endemic and institutionalized.”

The IDF has faced a lot of criticism from many journalists complaining about not being freely allowed to enter into Gaza. Some argue this strategy has impaired Israel’s ability to present the facts on the ground but Fox responds that the reasoning of the IDF is sound. “Journalists in war don’t just run around doing what they want… If you give journalists a free reign in Gaza, they will either do what Hamas tells them to do or they will be killed – and that will be blamed on the IDF anyway. From a military perspective, you don’t want anyone filming an airstrike because they don’t have all the supporting data to report fairly without knowing what went into the targeting process.” Continuing, Fox relates of  when he flew to Israel with John McColl, a retired 4 star general and Deputy Former Supreme Allied Commander of Europe, “who was very anti-IDF. All week he was pushing the IDF like a hawk – and then came home and wrote an op-ed saying he was happy and convinced Israel is doing everything to protect civilians and that’s what the IDF should be showing journalists. You can’t send journalists in with fighting troops, that is too dangerous. You can’t embed a journalist; it is too dangerous, fighting in Gaza is a 360-degree war – you have high rise buildings, ground level, underground. As a soldier, I would probably refuse to take a journalist into that battle.”

Fox also expresses concern that we are in a very dangerous information environment when people are turning to social media for information because of the 24-hour news cycle and very often what is posted is not factual and has not been verified. In the rush to make the news cycle, journalists are also not fact checking properly.

More than just a military expert, Fox also addressed the issue of antisemitism, having just attended the Conference on Antisemitism in Jerusalem. Says Fox: “The fight against antisemitism is THE most important thing to me. The stories I hear from my friends are just shocking.”

When asked what communities around the world could be doing better, he replies, “We are not going to stop 2000 years of antisemitism; it is not something we can defeat. I have noticed that the tone and flavor of antisemitism differs from one country to the next. From a British perspective, most people don’t care one way or the other, this is just another Middle Eastern war but there is a small but very loud group with loud volume that draws attention. It is not easy but I would work to bring the silent majority onto your side. Maybe move out of circling the wagons as which I can totally understand because if you are being constantly abused – the natural instinct is to do that.”

Coming from a British perspective, Fox suggests “to make it about a community that is part of the country. The marches for Palestine are horrendous and very un-British. What I would suggest is wave also the flags of the country where you live, in this case, British. It shows the Jewish community is proudly part of the country. Say more about Jewish contributions to the world, the amazing and fun things about Israel and its people, its great food and beautiful scenery. “ So important stresses Fox, “Is how you frame it!”

• Feature picture: Andrew Fox, addressing conference in Jerusalem flanked by Israeli journalist Danny Zaken (left) and Maj (ret.) John W. Spencer. (Photo: Ministry of Diaspora 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).

Why terrorism is not only an Israeli problem

By  Neville Berman

In 1929, Hassan al Banna, founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He stated the following:

 “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader, the Quran is our law. Jihad is our way.”

He also stated:

 “The nature of Islam is to dominate, and not to be dominated, to impose its laws on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.”

The aims expressed above encompass exactly what Iran, Hamas, and every other Islamic terrorist group are aiming for. The millions of human rights activists in the West, should study the above quotations. It just might shock them out of their thoughts of appeasing the Islamists in order to achieve a utopian la- la- land that they think is just around the corner. The Islamic concept of Jihad is not just against Jews, it is against anyone who does not believe in Islam as the true religion. The West has graciously welcomed millions of Muslims as new immigrants. There is no reverse immigration going the other way. Some of the hundreds of thousands of the Muslims that live in the West, are abusing the freedom and rights that exist in the countries that have accepted them. They are using the western liberal culture of free speech, freedom of religion and the right to protest, to bring about chaos. Their aim is to destroy the very fabric of Western liberal culture, and replace it with an Islamic culture of subjugation. Social media has allowed uneducated and uninformed individuals to spread hatred to millions. The irony of the situation is that the LGBTQ community and women who believe passionately in women’s rights, have come out strongly in favor of Hamas. Unless they have a collective suicide wish, they have absolutely no idea about what they are supporting.  It is time for people in the West to wake up to reality.

A few years ago, I was watching the France 24 TV channel late at night.  An interview with a retired senior member of the French Secret Service took place. In answer to a question about terrorism, he openly stated that France had entered into an understanding with Arafat prior to his passing in 2004, that terrorism in France needed to stop, and in return France would support the Palestinian cause. A few months following the France 24 interview, there were terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels that killed several civilians. The High Representative of the Foreign affairs of the European Union, Frederica Mogherini appeared on TV to answer questions. She was distressed and soon burst into tears while being filmed. In a moment of exceptional candidness, she let the cat out of the bag by stating that “this is not supposed to happen here.” Typically indifferent when Israelis are killed by terrorists, Europe was shocked to discover that they too were not immune to jihadist terrorism.  

The Palestinians have never accepted that Jews have a valid claim to any part of the land of Israel. They deny the Holocaust and deny over three thousand years of Jewish existence and history in any part of Israel. They claim every inch of Israel as Palestinian land. Despite these absurd claims, the Palestinians have huge support from the United Nations, the European Union and the Arab League. The Palestinians are without doubt the world’s most special people.

The Palestinians have perfected the art of portraying themselves as victims. They have refused offer after offer of a Palestinian State living alongside Israel in peace. They have always blamed Israel for all the problems that their own leadership has created. The Palestinians have no intellectual property and no oil. They don’t even have a currency of their own. They exist on charity. The world has poured billions of dollars into the bottomless pit of Palestinian aspirations to destroy Israel. While the Palestinians suffer poverty and despair, their leaders have become extremely rich from ripping off their own society, and stealing a chunk of the humanitarian aid that continues to pour in. No matter how large the deficit of most European countries is, they always seem to find money for the Palestinians.  Not even the atrocities committed on October 7, 2023 can get the world to stop supporting the Palestinians. One can rightly ask why are the Palestinians so special?  

The answer can be found in plain old-fashioned antisemitism. The world just cannot accept that Jews now control the biblical land of Israel. It goes against two thousand years of Christian blood libels and lies, and against the Islamic aim of subjugating and imposing Sharia law across the world.     

October 7, 2023 changed Israel. What followed was a real wake-up call to every Jew in the world. The double standards and antisemitism in the world were totally exposed. The initial pain and shock of the barbarity of the attackers and their celebration and filming of their own atrocities was quickly forgotten by the world. The poisonous venom of pent-up antisemitism suddenly burst forth once again, and flowed freely through university campuses, and through towns and cities across the world. In an instant, Israelis realized that the time had come to put aside their differences and defend Israel. When Russia attacked Ukraine, the Ukrainian government passed laws that prevented young male adults from leaving Ukraine. In Israel, the opposite happened. Israelis reserve soldiers living overseas or on holiday quickly returned to rejoin their army units and defend Israel. EL AL organized special free flights for soldiers lining up to return to Israel. The number of Israelis joining the army exceeded the call-up requirements of the IDF. Hundreds of voluntary organizations were formed to help wherever help was needed. Israelis were stunned by what had happened, but quickly rose up in a unified response. Everyone wanted to do their share of what needed to be done.

Instead of the world condemning Hamas, the world demanded an immediate ceasefire, and started condemning Israel for defending itself.  TV channels the world over had an agenda aimed at demonizing and delegitimizing Israel. Not matter what Israel did, it was judged to be using disproportionate force, of breaking international rules of warfare, of committing crimes against humanity, and finally the worst crime of all, namely genocide. The actual heinous crimes of Hamas were ignored, and Israel was accused of the very crimes that Hamas had committed. The sickening response in social media, the liberal press and TV stations, is one of the low points in the history of news reporting. The suffering of the Palestinians was highlighted in every newspaper and TV report. The plight of the hostages did not concern any of the human rights organizations of the world. Women’s rights organizations were totally silent to the rapes and utter barbarity that took place on October 7.  The Red Cross not only refused to carry out their mandate to visit the hostages, they even refused to transfer medications given to them by Israel that were desperately needed by some of the hostages. What a disgrace.

Over 120 countries have recognized the State of Palestine. Not one of these countries wants to accept anyone from Gaza. What they want is to support Hamas so that Hamas will remain in control of Gaza and will attack Israel again and again. This is not going to happen. Israel will remain resolute in its beliefs, narrative and traditions and will not allow Hamas to remain in control of Gaza or any other territory. Hamas has acted beyond all accepted human behavior and has scored an own goal of historic proportions.  It has eliminated the possibility of ever being a peace partner.

Since 1979, the Iranian regime has promoted the slogans, Death to America and Death to Israel. The Mullahs of Iran mean exactly what they say. Iran is behind the funding, training and provision of military equipment to Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, Iraq, and the Houthis. The aim of Iran is crystal clear. It is to promote a Muslim Caliphate across the Middle East and to subjugate the world to Sharia law. The destruction of Israel is central to this plan. Instead of condemning this plan to eliminate a member country of the UN, the UN is actively supporting this idea. October 7, 2023 was one of the darkest days for Israel since the holocaust. The war, started by Hamas, quickly grew into a regional war. Initially President Biden supported Israel, but he soon switched his foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal. Antony Blinken, the American Secretary of State, will be remembered, if he is remembered at all, as a total disaster in the Middle East. He personified American weakness, and used his position to prevent Israel from ever being able to win the war. Biden’s warning to Hezbollah and Iran of “DON’T” was completely ignored. Biden and Blinken were not up to the task required. So here we are, more than 500 days later with Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas. Hamas and Hezbollah still exist, but their ability to attack Israel has been greatly reduced and their leadership has been decimated.  

The big change is that since January 20^th, there is a new sheriff in town. All the hostages have a better chance of being released under Trump, than they ever did under Biden. Israel has a green light to do what needs to be done to end this ridiculous war. It seems likely that history will repeat itself. Those that attempt to destroy Israel, will inevitably be the ones to be destroyed. The only way that this war will end is if the Mullahs of Iran are removed from power.  A prerequisite to the start of any reconstruction of Gaza is the return of all the hostages and the end of the rule of Hamas.

Israel has shown incredible resilience. The courage of the nation augurs well for the future. The next generation of Israeli leaders will come from the heroes that defended the country in the war that started on October 7. Those that were killed or injured will never be forgotten. What has happened will inspire future generations of Jews. The State of Israel is not utopia, but we will continue to be a light unto the world. With the help of the Almighty, Israel will prosper and survive until the end of days.

About the writer:

Accountant Neville Berman had an illustrious sporting career in South Africa, being twice awarded the South African State Presidents Award for Sport and was a three times winner of the South African Maccabi Sportsman of the Year Award.  In 1978 he immigrated to the USA  to coach the United States men’s field hockey team, whereafter, in 1981 he immigrated to Israel where he practiced as an accountant and then for 20 years was the Admin Manager at the American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel.  He is married with two children and one granddaughter.

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

Who Cares About the Anti-Hamas Protests in Gaza?

By Jonathan Feldstein

Over three to four consecutive days this past week, Gaza has witnessed an unprecedented wave of demonstrations by what appears to be average Gazan civilians against Hamas, the Islamist terror group that has ruled the enclave since 2007. Estimates differ about how many have been involved each day or cumulatively, but it appears that thousands of Palestinians have taken to the streets, chanting slogans and brandishing handmade signs like “Hamas does not represent me”, and “The people demand the toppling of Hamas”. There is no denying that with Hamas’ terrorist mafia-like grip on Gaza, protesters may be risking their lives to oppose a regime known for its brutal suppression of dissent, or anything seen controverting its strict, jihadi Islamic ideology.

Indeed, there are reports now of armed Hamas terrorists threatening, beating, and even killing or deliberately targeting and executing protesters, and blaming the protests on Israel as they conflate the protestors with Israeli collaborators. Already the family of one slain Gazan protester blames Hamas for his death. Ariel Oseran from i24 NEWS reported:

“The family of murdered Oday Nasser Al Rabay, 22, said that he was found dumped in front of his family home over the weekend in the Gaza Strip, after he participated in demonstrations against Hamas. According to his relatives, he was kidnapped, tortured, and then executed by members of the Islamist movement.”

Rabay’s funeral on Saturday attracted scores of people who marched and chanted “Hamas out!” Since the demonstrations began, this is being seen as the first murder in retaliation by an angered Hamas.

Occurring amidst an ongoing war and renewed Israeli military combat, these protests, signal a potential turning point in Palestinian “resistance” – not against Israel (as Hamas and other Iranian backed proxies as well as many Western narratives often frame it), but against Hamas itself. However, the interpretation of these events – the  protests and Hamas’ ferocious retribution  – reveal a stark contrast in narratives, from the lack of Western media attention to the selective outrage of “pro-Palestinian” activists only demonstrating against Israel, and not Hamas – the real culprits who are threatening and inflicting death and destruction on their own people. All this transpires in the context of social and ideological undercurrents reflected in polls and actions showing wide support among Palestinian Arabs for Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023, attack, massacre and kidnappings.

Hamas’s first official response to these protests, as reported, exemplifies what appears to be desperation and weakness. The group accused Israel of orchestrating the demonstrations, labeling them an “incitement campaign” against the “resistance.” It has cautiously acknowledged the protesters’ frustrations, attributing them to war-induced suffering rather than genuine anti-Hamas sentiment, while subtly threatening dissenters through its “resistance security” apparatus’ internal civil control of its broader terror operations. This rhetoric underscores Hamas’s precarious position: it lacks the infrastructure to jail or systematically suppress such large-scale unrest, yet it could not afford  – one would have thought  – to lose face by cracking down violently on its own people. The murder of Oday Nasser Al Rabay and reports of a further brutal crackdown on protectors now negates that assumption.  It’s being reported in Ynet.news.com that residents in the enclave are saying that at least six Palestinian protest organizers have now been executed by Hamas, while others have been publicly beaten.

Confronted with a situation it was unprepared for, Hamas seeks to redirect the narrative, urging protesters to focus their anger solely on Israel – a strategy that aligns with its historical deflection tactics but seems increasingly untenable as Gazans have begun to equate Hamas with the war’s devastation.

Opinions have been expressed surmising that Hamas’ apparent recent willingness to enter into another ceasefire that will see the release of more of the 59 hostages still in their captivity is to afford the terrorist group the opportunity to focus on suppressing the protesters instead of being hamstrung fighting Israel. This assumption is not without merit.

Contrastingly, the Western media’s response – or lack thereof – has been glaring. While visual evidence of the unprecedented wave of thousands protesting across Gaza, mainstream media outlets have downplayed the scale – reporting of mere “hundreds” of demonstrators – or the potential significance of the population beginning to rise up against Hamas. This downplay of facts is a manipulation of the news, reflecting a media complicity to not deviate from the entrenched  Hamas narrative that the terrorist organisation is the legitimate voice of Gazan  “resistance”. Outlets like Al Jazeera, widely criticized as a mouthpiece for Hamas, have been accused of ignoring or distorting these events to protect the group’s image. The absence of robust press coverage not only obscures the courage of Gazan protesters but also perpetuates a one-dimensional portrayal of the conflict, sidelining the internal Palestinian Arab dynamics at play. News outlets like Al Jazeera intentionally inhibit the strengthening of widespread dissent.

This selective media attention impacts the “pro-Palestinian” movement in the West, particularly evident in protests and campus activism. In Washington, D.C., and on U.S. college campuses, demonstrators continue to chant anti-Israel slogans, oblivious to the Gazans risking their lives to oppose Hamas. Receiving filtered news, they adhere to the strict ‘party line’ of not confusing the narrative that it is Israel – not Hamas – that is evil.

This reveals the dishonesty of a media more invested in an anti-Israel agenda than in supporting the genuine well-being of the Palestinians, especially when protests target an Islamist group responsible for decades of oppression. Signs in Gaza reading “Hamas is a terrorist” and pleas for peace, go unacknowledged by the alleged “pro-Palestinian” activists, who appear to prioritize ideological hatred of Israel over the actual well-being of Gazans.

Yet the hopeful signs must be tempered by sobering realities. Banners proclaiming, “Hamas does not represent me” and chants demanding an end to the terror group’s rule suggest a burgeoning resistance within Gaza, seeking liberation from Hamas’s grip. However, this shift may be more strategic rather than ideological. Polls conducted since October 7, 2023, consistently show over 80% of Palestinian Arabs in Gaza and the “West Bank” (Judea and Samaria) approving of the Hamas massacre, which saw Gazan civilians along with Hamas terrorists participate in murder, rape, and looting alongside the terror group.

Eyewitness accounts and footage reveal Gazan civilians cheering as hostages were paraded through the streets, and many hostages later reported being held captive in civilian homes. Seventeen months later, as Israel cuts humanitarian aid to try influence the speedy freeing of hostages as time is running out, these protests may reflect concerns of survival rather than a rejection of the underlying genocidal anti-Israel ideology with which they have been indoctrinated for generations.

Amid the protests, one needs to avoid a naive misinterpretation of the protests as progress. While opposing Hamas’s tyranny may be real, there is no evidence to suggest that average Gazans have had a change of heart or that they no longer remain committed to the destruction of Israel. In this view, the protests are less a moral evolution than a self-serving reaction to Hamas’s failures, with the same “butchers and rapists” now facing the rubble of their own making. This perspective casts the demonstrations in a tactical pivot, not a renunciation of the hatred that fueled the massacre. It underscores that the true solution for peace in Gaza must be a wholesale ideological change. There is no evidence of this – as yet – in any of the protests.

There’s a contradiction that must be laid bare between those who see a glimmer of hope in Gazan protesting against Hamas and those who see only enduring enmity despite the protests to rescue Gazans from Hamas. The lack of press coverage and the disingenuousness of “pro-Palestinian” activists complicates these events. What remains clear is that Gazans are speaking, risking their lives to demand change.

Whether the world listens, and how it interprets these events, will shape the discourse around this unprecedented moment in history, and impact the future.

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).

A distraught dad strives to bring his daughter’s killer to justice as she boastfully lives like a ‘rock star’ in Jordan.

By Jonathan Feldstein

On August 9, 2001, Arnold Roth’s life was irrevocably derailed. His 15-year-old daughter, Malki, was murdered in a terrorist attack on the Sbarro pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem. A vibrant young woman with a passion for caregiving – and devoted to her special-needs sister – Malki was one of 16 killed and 130 injured in a bombing spearheaded by Ahlam Tamimi, a 21-year-old Hamas operative and journalist from Jordan. Tamimi selected the site because Jewish children would be thronging the eatery during school vacation and later boasted repeatedly of her deeds, repulsively claiming divine approval. For Roth, the tragedy ignited what has become a decades-long and ongoing pursuit of justice marked by resilience, frustration and a determination to hold Tamimi accountable.

Malki’s death turned Roth’s world “upside down.” The Israeli authorities told the family nothing about the arrest, trial, sentencing of Tamimi. A mysterious glimpse into the process came from an anonymous source who handed him the trial transcripts – a bundle of non-public documents that revealed Tamimi’s scornful boastfulness. Sentenced to sixteen life terms after pleading guilty to all charges, she smirked to the judges that her release would come sooner than they thought. She was right: in 2011, Israel traded 1,027 terrorists – including Tamimi – for Gilad Shalit, a soldier held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for five years. Tamimi returned triumphantly to her native Jordan and instant fame. Roth and his wife were devastated by Jordan’s warm embrace of the Sbarro bombing monster.

Weeks later, Tamimi began hosting her own weekly TV show from studios in Jordan’s capitol and for the next five years, her platform spread Hamas’ horrifyingly extremist message to Arabic-speaking audiences worldwide, promoting an obscene, sanitized Islamic narrative to terrorist activities while urging support for those doing terror.

Roth’s outrage grew as Tamimi’s popularity soared as she enjoyed celebrity status in the Arab world as an unrepented mass murderer.

Then a glimmer of hope; an opportunity to see the terrorist murderer brought to justice. Learning of an obscure U.S. law targeting terrorism outside the U.S. against Americans and involving weapons of mass destruction, Roth flew to Washington where he secured a Department of Justice undertaking to act. The key to success was that Malki was a U.S. citizen as were two of Tamimi’s victims.

In 2013, federal charges were secretly filed against Tamimi. Unsealed in 2017, she was named an FBI Most Wanted Terrorist. A $5 million State Department reward came soon afterwards. Bound by its bilateral 1995 extradition treaty with the U.S., Jordan refuses to comply, calling the treaty invalid. Officially, the U.S. position is that it is perfectly valid although American officials, according to Roth, only admit so quietly. By suing the State Department under the Freedom of Information Act, the Roths obtained documents that strongly refute Jordan’s claim, but which receive no media attention.

Jordan is regarded as a close ally of the United States and is deeply reliant on its generous aid. Yet King Abdullah II escapes all public pressure about the Kingdom’s thwarting of a Tamimi extradition during his frequent White House visits. Published claims preceded Abdullah’s February 2025 Oval Office meeting with President Trump that Jordan was about to extradite Tamimi. They were denied by Jordan immediately afterwards. Roth sees such claims as “disinformation intended to keep Tamimi safe from U.S. justice.”

Roth’s frustration with American officials is understandable. A 2022 letter from Victoria Nuland, then a senior State Department official, writing on behalf of President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken, told the Roths that bringing Tamimi to justice is “a foremost priority” and promised to keep the Roths updated. With some bitterness, Roth reveals that Nuland, Biden, and Blinken then went cold, refraining from mentioning another word about the case. The bitterness grew when, in December 2023, Naftali Gordon, the husband of Malki’s younger sister, fell in combat fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza. 

Roth spoke recently on the Inspiration from Zion webinar series and podcast, about efforts see Tamimi tried in Washington. The aggrieved father addressed the issue in the context of the recent deal with Hamas to release dozens of hostages the terrorists kidnapped on October 7, 2023, in return for a ceasefire, and the release of hundreds of terrorists from Israeli prisons. Seeing terrorists with blood on their hands released from Israeli prisons reopens agonizing wounds. As others see the murderers of their loved ones walking free as he did, he dreads what will come.

Unrepentant terrorists walking free, and the near certainty that more terror and additional deaths will follow, trigger strong emotions for Roth. Joy for the freed hostages and their families of course, but profound concern at the price. He mentions the 900-year-old story of Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg of whom Arnold Roth is a direct descendant: a giant of Jewish scholarship who was taken hostage and who forbade his community to ransom him lest it led to more hostage-taking. That milestone ruling, says Roth, ought to guide us today. If the price of redeeming captives is to encourage more hostage-taking, we have done a terrible thing.

Roth emphasizes that his fight is not for vengeance but justice. His tools are public advocacy – a petition at www.change.org/extraditeTamimi  – and relentless storytelling, as shared in a recent conversation with Inspiration from Zion.

He deplores congressional inaction while singling out Senator Ted Cruz who has challenged designated US ambassadors to Jordan in their confirmation hearings. “Not a single Democrat,” says Roth, “has spoken out about Tamimi. This should never have become a partisan issue.”

Roth’s plea is for others to:

– amplify his story

– to sign the family’s petition

– to pressure representatives in Congress and the media to press the U.S. to act.

The closing prayer during Roth’s recent conversation invoking divine justice for Malki and strength for the Roth family – is evocative and reflective of a father’s resolve. His fight is a testament to a father’s love, a call for accountability, a stark warning of justice betrayed. “Everybody can do something,” he insists, refusing to let Malki’s memory – or Tamimi’s escape from justice – fade into silence.

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).

Blinded by bias, upcoming UN report on status of ‘children in conflict zones’ omits Israeli kids

  By David E. Kaplan

While required to adhere to the principles of ‘neutrality’ and ‘impartiality’ – what Shakespeare’s “Words, words, words” might dismiss as meaningless – the UN is blinded by embedded bias when it comes to Israel. True, the UN’s anti-Israel bias is hardly a new phenomenon, nevertheless it can still surprise, particularly when viewed “in context” in the putrid parlance of its head honcho, António Guterres. The “context” here is the kidnapping and then  brutal murder of two red-headed babies, what all the world knows but ignored by the UN in its report.

Neither the cold-blooded strangling of the Jewish Bibas babies by Hamas terrorists nor the 12 Druze children killed by a deliberately aimed Hezbollah rocket at Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights raised the slightest professional interest in the UN to include in its upcoming report on  ‘children in conflict zones’.

While referencing Palestinian kids, the murder of the Bibas baby brothers that garnered world attention covered by most international media networks, did not merit inclusion in the UN’s annual report expected to be published in June 2025.

Transparently biased, the draft of the ‘children in conflict zones’ report, glaringly omits Israeli victims, not only the murdered siblings Ariel and Kfir Bibas but also the 12 children killed by a Hezbollah rocket in Majdal Shams, which too made world headlines at the time. In reaction to the distorted report, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon described it as “…a platform for baseless accusations against Israel”.

Justifiably furious, particularly with UN’s Guterres, he continued:

“The Secretary-General once again chooses to blatantly ignore the harm done to Israeli children. As far as he’s concerned, our lives are worth less and don’t deserve to be included in this report. We will not let diplomatic terrorism prevail.”

Dannon has it right; in the eyes and hearts of most the member states of the UN, Israeli lives “are worth less” hence not warranting “… to be included” in the report.

Furthermore, the report is downright venomous. While it ignores the murder of the Bibas babies, it amplifies a report of an Israeli soldier that was falsely alleged to have “Kidnapped” a Palestinian girl, which received wide Palestinian condemnation at the time. What it failed to reveal was that the alleged ‘kidnapper’ was an IDF officer that took the infant girl after air strikes likely claimed the lives of her family. An act of concern in the midst of a heated battle was portrayed as an act of criminality – a traditional nefarious trademark of the UN when it comes to Israel. As was said about the officer, “He did the right thing and put his heart first.”

It gets worth by the report exaggerating figures, including unverifiable data from dubious Palestinian sources and deliberately deflects responsibility away from the terrorist groups for their role in placing children in harms way. A case in point is that while the report aggressively accuses the IDF of using 27 Palestinian children as “human shields,” it only vaguely references Hamas’ consistent use of civilians in such a manner. There is abundant video footage revealing Hamas’ abuse of Palestinian children as human shields by the internationally declared unlawful use of:

– children’s schools

– amusement parks, and

– kids’ bedrooms

as weapons depots and terror tunnels entrances for their vast terror network.

A clear violation of international law, the Report is happy to ignore, downplay or deflect Hamas’ turning civilian areas into terrorist targets.  While the report claims the IDF used schools and hospitals for military purposes in 10 different cases, it mentions only ONE instance in which Hamas used civilian structures for military purposes. This is despite the well-documented evidence that many of these “innocent” buildings in Gaza were revealed to be bases for launching terror operations!

Hamas – unlike the UN –  is well aware of Israel’s desire to minimize collateral damage and its sensitivity towards civilian casualties and knows that if the IDF uses lethal force and causes an increase in civilian casualties, it can utilize that as a ‘lawfare’ tool and can accuse Israel of committing war crimes. Hamas is also alternatively aware that if the IDF limits its use of military force in Gaza to avoid collateral damage, it – Hamas – will be less susceptible to Israeli attacks, and thereby able to protect its assets while continuing to fight. All of this escapes the attention of the UN folk who drew up the report; probably deliberately so.

There is no end to the nefarious intent of the Report’s drafters. This is further evidenced in the callous crafting of the issue of humanitarian aid, which invariably affects the welfare of children. Placing almost all the responsibility on Israel, the Report almost entirely ignores the fact that Hamas itself damaged the crossings designated for aid transfers and, according to countless testimonies and evidence, also stole aid intended for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for its own purposes. As further reported in Ynet, “The report claims that 2,723 requests for aid were denied but downplays the fact that 5,327 requests – nearly twice as many – were approved.”

In conclusion, the UN’s annual report on children in conflict zones is characterized throughout by imbalance and an anti-Israel tone. Most glaringly so by ignoring two of the youngest Israeli Israeli victims of the war  – Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were murdered in captivity in Gaza and the 12 Druze children killed by a Hezbollah missile on a soccer field on Israel’s annexed Golan Heights.

Kids like to skip; the UN likes to skip out kids if they are Israeli – Jews and Druze alike!

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 Monsters Murdered the Innocents

By Rolene Marks

“Monsters aren’t real,” we tell our children. We check under the beds and in the cupboards and leave nightlights on to reassure them that they are safe – but the monsters are real. Too real.

On the 360th day following 7 October, I visited Kibbutz Nir Oz and other communities and areas attacked, with a small group of foreign press at the invitation of the Government Press Office. On 7 October 2023, this little slice of paradise along the border with Gaza became a killing field for monsters that live beyond the fence. The monsters that lie beyond the bucolic paradise in the edge of the Western Negev. That black Sabbath, which was also the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, the monsters invaded, leaving a trail of carnage as they plundered, raped, burned, mutilated, murdered and stole families in and from their homes.

The definitive image that seared 7 October into the conscience of many, albeit too few around the world, was the footage of a beautiful young mother, Shiri Bibas, cradling her two flame-haired children protectively in her arms, her face contorted in terror, as armed monsters stole them away to the terror tunnels of Gaza. Mere weeks later, they were murdered in captivity, by the hands of the depraved.

Kibbutz Nir Oz suffered more damage per capita than any of the other attacked communities. About 60 percent of the homes were destroyed, most set alight with their occupants inside them. Only six houses remain untouched. On that black Sabbath, a quarter of the community was either murdered or kidnapped by Hamas. One in four.

Toys were still strewn across the front of the Bibas house, a home that once rang out with the delicious, infectious laughter of children; and burst at the seams with love is now a mournful witness to a loss that is unbearable. On the front of the house, posters of the family reminded everyone of their fate on that horrendous day. The images of Yarden with his kind brown eyes, beautiful Shiri and her dazzling smile and those two gorgeous flame haired little angels. The images of Ariel barreling down the path in Nir Oz in his beloved Batman costume, the delicious, gummy toothless grin of Kfir and the family dog, Tonto, proudly keeping watch overt his human charges. We know the ending to this horror story. Tonto and 59 other dogs were murdered on 7 October.

The image of a terrified mother and her babies cuts to the core of who we are as Jews, as humans. Mothers and babies are a promise of a future and of the continuity of a people. The Nazis knew this and so do these monsters.

Shiri’s parents, Yossi and Margalit were murdered on 7 October. Three generations of one family murdered by the monsters who did not see them as human.

There is a little hook in the kindergarten, ‘Gan Tut’ (Strawberry) where Ariel hung his school bag. The pomegranates that the kids made on the drying board, waiting to be painted are still on the drying table. It was difficult to breathe inside this place dotted with tiny furniture, books and all the accoutrements that kindergartens have. Almost a year later, the air was still thick and acrid from smoke. The safe room burnt; the walls blackened. The monsters came for the most vulnerable.

Walking through the kibbutz, where bright magenta bougainvillea are set against the backdrop of blackened and burnt houses, the stench of death wafts through. The smell of death is difficult to describe but unmistakable and it never leaves your senses. Death never leaves.

One of these burnt homes belonged to Oded and Yocheved Lifschitz. It was a home where music rang out as Oded played the piano, and their prize cactus garden drew admirers. Oded, who drove Palestinian children who needed cancer treatment to hospitals every week as a volunteer for The Road to Recovery | NGO was kidnapped and murdered in captivity.

I remember standing inside the remnants of his house, listening to Rita, his wonderful sister-in-law speaking about how every Friday, they would drink a beer together and how she hoped someone in Gaza would recognize him from his volunteering and helping the children of Gaza and treat him kindly.

Eulogizing her husband at his funeral, Yocheved said:

“Our abduction and your death have shaken me to the core. We fought all through the years for social justice, for peace. To my sorrow, we were hit by a terrible blow by those we helped on the other side. I stand here staggered to see the number of graves, and the terrible destruction of our community that was completely abandoned on October 7.”

Two families, each one a universe – and there were so many more, on Kibbutz Nir Oz and others on that day. Each home tells a devastating story.

Hamas murdered grandfathers and peace activists, a lioness mother and her cubs, nature lovers and peacemakers, whole families, music festival revelers, warriors and artists, nation builders and healers and more.

Most telling about Israeli resilience were the first words said by former hostage, 80-year-old Gadi Mozes – an agronomist from Nir Oz, whose wife was murdered and who spent nearly 500 days in captivity:

“I will do everything in my power to rebuild Nir Oz.”

Monsters in every story are eventually vanquished by the hero. Nir Oz is a community of heroes. Gadi’s promise to rebuild is the sword a hero wields.  

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).