INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDE

Succumbing to Hamas propaganda, South Africa’s government is part of an immoral minority on the wrong side of history

By Derek Arnolds

(recently retired senior intelligence analyst in South Africa’s Secret Service)

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7^th, 2023, South Africa has emerged as the most vitriolic opponent of Israel over the latter’s military actions in Gaza. This article posits that Hamas’s propaganda war has fundamentally shaped South Africa’s policy vis-à-vis Israel. Employing discourse and deconstruction techniques, it unpacks the motivations for this negative trajectory trend. Despite a less-than-sanguine prognosis in resetting Israel-South Africa bilateral relations, renewed hope is possible if the South African government withdraws the International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case against Israel in The Hague.

**Dressed to Kill**. The war between Israel and Hamas has exposed deep divisions in South Africa, with the government’s one-sided support for the terrorist group as reflected by President Ramaphosa and his ANC collogues attired in Palestinian headscarf’s and colours.

Pretoria, then under the leadership of Hamas’ acolyte, the rapacious and morally bankrupt African National Congress (ANC), took the Kafkaesque step to charge the only Jewish state with genocide in the ICJ. Apart from the genocide case being meritless, it is the timing that reveals the extent of Hamas’ influence on South Africa’s foreign policy viz-a-viz Israel. Shortly after Hamas’ genocidal attacks on Israeli border communities, the South African government, under the direction of Naledi Pandor, former minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), used various platforms to issue the vilest statements against the Israeli government for purported “genocidal actions”, while providing moral succour to Hamas leaders such as the late Ismail Haniyeh. Pandor initially denied engaging with Hamas leaders, only to admit it later. Most disturbingly, Pandor and the ANC leadership failed to immediately condemn the perpetrator of the October 7^th massacre despite Israel exercising its right to self-defence according to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

**Pandor pandering to Terrorists**. Ten days after Hamas launched its deadly attack resulting in a massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, did not call Israel’s leaders to offer condolences for the mass killings but phoned instead the leader of Hamas to offer support.

South Africa’s cabinet then took the reckless decision to close its embassy in Tel Aviv, disrespecting officials of the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, which prompted Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recall Ambassador Eliav Belotserkovsky, and laid a genocide case against the Jewish state just a few months after October 7. This is not isolated and fits a familiar pattern:

Hamas and its principal patron, Iran, have gradually captured South Africa’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Hamas and Iran have done this through disinformation campaigns, messaging, imagery, symbols, and media narratives, thereby controlling the narrative ecosystem in South Africa. This predates October 7. Pandor’s successor, Ronald Lamola and the puerile Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, minister in the presidency, continue to spew anti-Israel venom to the delight of Hamas and Iran supporters in South Africa.

South Africa’s AND government support for Hamas goes back in time as seen here of Hamas officials, Khaled Mashaal (left) and Moussa Abu-Marzouk (right) at a press conference with officials of South Africa’s ANC party, in Pretoria on Monday, October 19, 2015 (screen capture: YouTube)

It is abundantly clear why Israel views the South African government as the most antisemitic following the genocide case. Since the war, South Africa has intensified its hackneyed broadside against Israel in international forums. This also resonates in statements, speech acts and policy positions of the South African government. The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, were influenced by South Africa’s hostile anti-Israel policy. Subsequent threats by Israel’s staunchest allies, France, Canada and the United Kingdom, to recognise a Palestinian state in September 2025 if no solution to the Gaza war is found, are a corollary of South Africa’s extremist anti-Israel policy. The timing of the genocide case warrants special scrutiny. The threshold for proving genocide is high, yet it took South Africa’s legal team less than four months to present its initial charge in The Hague. A case not in South Africa’s national interest, Israel’s allies in South Africa’s coalition government should pose the following necessitating an appropriate reply:

– When, where, and why was the egregious decision taken to charge Israel with genocide?

– Was it a coterie of ministers or a whole cabinet that deliberated on the matter? If so, was it a closed meeting? If it were not a closed meeting, then the minutes of that meeting should be made available to the South African public as per Section 32 of the South African Constitution, which guarantees the right of access to information. This is apposite since, in terms of the law of armed conflict, Israel has taken reasonable steps to prevent genocide during the initial stages of the conflict. The genocide case does not advance peace between Israel and Palestine, and only emboldens Israel’s enemies, like Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Yemen’s Houthis and the homicidal Iranian regime.

**Hamas at home in South Africa**. Chief of Hamas Politburo, Khaled Mashaal addressing the media following bilateral meeting with ANC leadership in South Africa in 2015.

While historically, Hamas maintained close ties with the ANC under the pretext of being fraternal liberation movements, Hamas is not a liberation movement but an armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood hellbent on obliterating the State of Israel. Although Hamas’s military capabilities and senior leadership have been eliminated, it remains intact relying on – as Netanel Flamer masterfully explains in his new book, The Hamas Intelligence War Against Israel – geospatial, human, open-source, signals intelligence and cyber warfare against Israel. This was laid bare on October 7^th.

Another dimension – although not addressed by Flamer – is Hamas’ influence on countries like Algeria, South Africa, Qatar and Türkiye. It is known that Hamas has ‘declared’ and ‘undeclared’ officials abroad, who promote the organisation’s extremist ideology as defender of the Palestinian resistance. According to open-source information, the movement has no official representation in South Africa. However, since October 7^th, ANC officials and senior government members have openly met with senior Hamas leaders. In addition, Hamas’ propaganda war against Israel has emboldened extremism in some circles in South Africa. On a casual drive through some of Cape Town’s Muslim suburbs, one would be astounded by the sheer number of mosques festooned in the colours of the Palestinian flag as well as the flags of terrorist organisations – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. Pro-Palestine groups like Africa4Palestine have been leading the campaign to delegitimise the Jewish state, impose sanctions and prosecute South Africans who serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Social media is abuzz with imams glorifying the October 7^th attacks, and one useful idiot even uttering:

“We are all Hamas”.

**‘Gunning’ for Jews**. Jewish-owned businesses are being targeted by BDS SA for purported links to the Israeli government and the IDF such as this branch in Cape Town of Cape Union Mart, an outdoor gear retail chain founded in 1933.

Jewish-owned businesses are being targeted for purported links to the Israeli government and the IDF. Hamas’s messaging is clear: Most Jewish-owned companies aid and abet the “genocide” in Gaza. This is a fallacy since South African Jews are part of our society and have made a remarkable contribution to the Republic. It has always been recognised in South Africa that Israel, as the ancestral home of the Jewish people, is central to Jewish identity. However, useful idiots under the direction of Hamas and Iran have turned the Israel-Palestine conflict, which is a political conflict over territories, into a religious conflict. Scornful terms, notably, “apartheid”, “baby killers”, “occupiers”, “war criminals” and “genocidaires” are bandied about and have been normalized resulting in the “New Antisemitism”. Despite several countries taking steps to designate Hamas as a terrorist organisation, the movement nevertheless enjoys strong support in South Africa. This threatens South Africa’s Jewish community as well as the country’s national security. Recent findings by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering watchdog, reveal that South Africa is a central regional hub for terror financing. It should be noted that South Africa remains on the FATF grey list pending progress in compliance. However, the relevant South African authorities have been ineffective in combating this scourge. It behooves law enforcement and the civilian intelligence agencies to monitor suspected Hamas financiers, institutions and their modus operandi. More importantly, the State Security Agency, a once rarefied institution, turned into a Potemkin agency by the feckless Ntshavheni, who is also responsible for state security, should immediately investigate if there are links between DIRCO officials and Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood members in South Africa and abroad. In this context, the South African government often deploys ANC loyalists and demagogues to key postings, instead of career diplomats. In April 2017, Ambassador Ashraf Suleiman, then South Africa’s head of the Ramallah Liaison Office, met Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders in Gaza. The meeting took place in the same year that the ANC passed a resolution to downgrade the South African embassy in Tel Aviv to a liaison office. Suleiman’s meeting with Hamas terrorists drew condemnation from Jerusalem. The liaison office’s riposte was that the mission is mandated to meet with all Palestinian political entities. The same ambassador is now serving as South Africa’s Head of Diplomatic Mission in Syria, which is governed by génocidaires and terrorists. South Africa’s ambassador Ebrahim Rasool’s expulsion in March 2025 from Washington, DC, was hardly surprising when, over and above his public antipathy towards Israel, it was revealed that Rasool had expressed during a webinar that Trump was “mobilising a supremacism” and trying to “project white victimhood as a dog whistle” as the white population faced becoming a minority in the US. Hardly an astute choice of words for a prospective diplomat to Washinton, DC!

**Talking Heads.** Former South African President, Jacob Zuma (left) engages in conversation with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. (Photo: Reuters/S.Sibeko)

It is palpable that Hamas is ascendant in the information operations domain, as antisemitism across the globe has increased dramatically, as evidenced by the magnitude of violent attacks against Jews. The South African government is now part of an immoral minority on the wrong side of history. It chose to pursue a case that elicited opprobrium from the American administration, its second-largest trading partner. This is the unintended consequence of siding with extremist entities such as Hamas and Iran. The best South Africa can do to extricate itself from an unfavourable situation – both morally and financially – is to withdraw its genocide case against Israel which is anyway grounded on fallacious reasoning. In the main, most South Africans have an affinity for Israel, and let it be known that the ANC’s position on Israel does not represent all South Africans. It is a position that reeks of “ideological necrophilia” – blind fixation with dead ideas. In a related vein, the media landscape is seemingly dominated by leftists or liberals who have abandoned classical liberalism to direct hateful scorn against the Jewish state. Contrarian or alternative perspectives are deemed as Zionist and pro-Israel. A Derridean approach of recent analyses by so-called pundits fits this pattern. On August 4^th, 2025, Ziad Motala, professor of law at Howard University in the United States, penned an article in the Sunday Independent, titled “Propaganda masquerading as strategic realism”, wherein he took broadsides against the Sunday Times, a venerable South African newspaper. The central plank of Motala’s thesis is that the Sunday Times’s editorial integrity and journalistic objectivity had been compromised through its overt support for Israel and America and the Sunday Times had always welcomed diverse opinions. Motala further took umbrage at the newspaper’s journalists, who have advocated for improved bilateral relations between Israel and South Africa. Scornfully, Motala highlights a recent trip to Israel – sponsored by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) – by one of the newspaper’s staffers. The newspaper initially did not disclose the fact that the SAJBD sponsored its staffer’s trip; it later acknowledged the omission. Motala remained unforgiving and insisted that the paper’s editorial integrity had been captured by pro-Israel and pro-American apologists. What Motala failed to mention was that the SAJBD paid for the staffer’s trip to observe the objective reality on the ground, without fear of favour. Liberals who share Motala’s perspective have forsaken classical liberalism.

**Situation at Knife’s Edge**. Addressing a rally in Hamas’ honor in Cape Town, South Africa in 2015, Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal told a crowd of several hundred supporters waving Hamas’s white-and-green flags that the wave of knife attacks against Israelis would continue “until freedom is achieved and the land is for Palestine ….” (Photo: AFP/Rodger Bosch)

The renowned American political scientist, Francis Fukuyama, deftly defends classical liberalism, based on limited government, the rule of law, and individual rights, and criticizes those on the political right and left that have pushed its core tenets to the extreme. In essence, the crisis of liberalism is not a failure of the classic variant, but rather the tolerance of authoritarianism, ethno-nationalism, extremism and bigotry under the guise of liberalism.

At the time of writing, Israel is about to launch a major offensive on Gaza City to eliminate any vestige of Hamas, ensure a steady supply of humanitarian aid to Gazans, and allow the enclave to be rebuilt and governed by a non-Hamas entity. Despite the entreaties of its sponsors, Hamas refuses to disarm and leave the Strip. As Hamas will eventually be eliminated in Gaza, it still poses threats abroad. Qatar and Türkiye continue to host Hamas leaders, who, by extension, were complicit in the October 7^th attacks on Israel. These leaders, including Khaled Meshaal, Bassem Naim, Mousa Abu Marzouk and Khalil al-Hayya, should be brought to justice as designated terrorists. South Africa should take a noble step to designate Hamas and its parent, the Muslim Brotherhood, as terrorist organisations. Several countries, like Switzerland and Britain, have banned Hamas activities in their territories. While Hamas’s military capabilities have been degraded, it is almost a Sisyphean task to destroy its extremist ideology, which permeates the globe. Therefore, its activities in South Africa should be closely monitored.

Israel should not abandon South Africa, as the country cannot be blamed for a venal ANC that is on life support and afflicted with political atrophy. Despite strained diplomatic relations, South Africa remains Israel’s largest trading partner in Africa. Thus, Israel must intensify a sustainedstrategic communications campaignto counter Hamas and Iran’s grey zone operations in South Africa and beyond. David Saranga, Israel’s special envoy and seasoned diplomat, recently undertook an outreach and fact-finding mission to South Africa to open a dialogue channel between the two countries. This Israeli initiative is commendable, yet the biggest obstacle is the ICJ genocide case. The Israeli government can rest assured that it has allies in South Africa’s coalition government, who should exert pressure on the ANC, which initiated the ICJ case, to withdraw the lawsuit. Article 88 of the Rules of the ICJ makes provision for parties to withdraw a case “either by jointly notifying the Court of their agreement to discontinue the proceedings or by the applicant state informing the court that it no longer wishes to pursue the case”. The said Court may then direct that the case be removed from the list. Continued lawfare against Israel militates against dialogue between Israel and Palestine, is costly to the South African taxpayer, and only advances the extremist ideologies of Hamas and Iran.

About the writer:

Derek Arnolds is a freelance writer and corporate intelligence specialist. Educated at the universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, he previously held a teaching position in strategic studies at the South African Military Academy. He later served as a senior intelligence analyst for Africa and the Middle East in the South African Secret Service (later the State Security Agency: Foreign Branch). He retired from the Agency in May 2025.

Disclaimer: Although I previously served in the South African defence department and intelligence services, the opinions expressed in this article reflect my independent, open-source research. They are not intended, in any way, to reflect the views of the South African government.

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).

WHEN STATEHOOD = A STATE FOR HOODS

Why reward a terrorist leadership holding Israeli hostages rotting on the verge of death?

By Jonathan Feldstein

French President Emanuel Macron must be feeling particularly good seeing nations of the world following one of his country’s most honored traditions:

SURRENDER

Macron announced that he intended to recognize “Palestine” at the U.N. General Assembly next month. Immediately following Macron were British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Several other countries have indicated their inclination to do so as well.

The Macron, Starmer, and Carney ideological surrender is akin to recognizing Nazi controlled Vichy France. Mon Dieu! It not only does not bring peace any closer but, it hardens the position of the terrorists and emboldens and rewards their aggression. That has been clear as Hamas has continued to entrench its intransigence any time serious talks of a cease fire and hostage release get close.

**Terror Pays**. No consideration that he is messagining that terrorism against Jews pays dividends.

MIXED MESSAGING

There is something else critical to “recognize” in the announcement of the intent to recognize Palestine. Among other things, Starmer made clear threats to Israel that he would follow through to recognize Palestine if Israel:

“…takes substantial steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire, and commit to a long-term sustainable peace, renewing the prospect of a two-state solution.”

Then there is Starmer’s message to Hamas that remains “unchanged and equivocal” in that Hamas “must immediately release all of the hostages, sign up to a cease fire, disarm, and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.”

While the British PM’s threats to Israel are crystal clear, his “messages” to Hamas – while not vague – are meaningless. Hamas will not run to London, the U.N., or anywhere else to lay down their arms, nor will it ever release the hostages without maximum pressure. Does Starmer’s conditional recognition of “Palestine” also require Hamas to disarm and release the hostages? Do they need to post on their social media “In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful we will not play a part of the government of Gaza?”

**Conditional Surrender**. Unless Israel fufills certain conditions regarding Gaza within a stipulated time frame, the UK will reward the killers and hostage takers.

British-Israeli former hostage Emily Damari, who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and released after 471 days in captivity Gaza, used her own social media to condemn Starmer’s announcement:

“I am deeply saddened by Prime Minister Starmer’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood. This move does not advance peace — it risks rewarding terror. It sends a dangerous message: that violence earns legitimacy.”

In another post, Damari wrote:

“Prime Minister Starmer is not standing on the right side of history. Had he been in power during World War II, would he have advocated recognition for Nazi control of occupied countries like Holland, France or Poland? This is not diplomacy — it is a moral failure. Shame on you, Prime Minister!!!!!!!”

**Reminding the meaning of V**. British-Israeli Emily Damari who was held hostage by Hamas for more than a year and who lost two fingers in the attack on October 7, 2023, said that Sir Keir Starmer is “not standing on the right side of history” after his conditional pledge to recognise Palestine as a state. “Had he been in power during World War II, would he have advocated recognition for Nazi control of occupied countries like Holland, France or Poland?”

In announcing his country’s intent to recognize “Palestine”, Canadian Prime Minister Carney also made this conditional. He said it is:

“…predicated on the Palestinian Authority commitment to much needed reform including… to hold elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.”

He added that:

“Hamas must immediately release all hostages taken in their terrorist attack of October 7…. must disarm… and play no role in the future governance of Palestine.”

His language is troubling on many levels, but the premise is absurd. What if, in his Never-Never Land of diplomacy, the Palestinian Authority did hold elections, and what if a rebranded Hamas were to win? What if the PLO were to win, and then be summarily ousted in a coup in 2027 with Hamas in control of “Palestine”? Would “Palestine” be required to meet Carney’s standards or risk Canada withdrawing its recognition?

If any of these leaders were really sincere about recognizing “Palestine”, they would just do so and not need to announce their intentions to do so, or with all these unachievable conditions.

If I were a Palestinian Arab believing in the right to live in an independent “State of Palestine”, I would take offence to the provisional nature of recognizing what I would believe as the occupation of my country. Those who advocate the purported right of Palestinian Arabs to have an independent state should be up in arms (pun intended) that their “rights” are conditional.

What is interesting in the context of this war against Hamas now entering its 22nd month since the October 7, 2023 massacre, is the broad consensus across the Israeli political spectrum, against the Macron, Starmer, Carney bulldozing for Palestinian statehood amidst the unresolved hostages crisis. While there may be differences on the conduct of the war and priorities or imperative to get the remaining 50 hostages released, there is uniformity in their condemnation of this intended move.

Multiple voices throughout Israel, not just the government and not just on the right, have voiced their outrage, even harsh denunciation of such a declaration at this point in time.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum is not an echo chamber for the Israeli government, and has largely been more critical of the government and its policies related to the hostages. But on this, there is widespread agreement. “Recognition of a Palestinian state while Hamas holds 50 hostages isn’t just a step away from peace, it is a blatant violation of international law and a dangerous moral and political violation that bestows legitimacy to horrifying war crimes.”

“The international community — if it wants peace — must join the efforts of the US and demand, before all else, the release of the hostages and then the end of the fighting.” The Forum represents most of the hostages’ families, and advocates a deal with Hamas to return all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war and the release of Palestinian Arab terrorists.

“Abducting men, women, children and babies, and holding them in tunnels against their will, amid starvation and physical and mental abuse, cannot — must not — be the grounds for establishing a state,” they added.

“The recognition of a Palestinian state before the return of the hostages will forever be remembered as a shameful, antisemitic step that renders terror acceptable as a legitimate means of achieving political goals.”

Unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state, enables terrorism and deprives Israel of leverage amid efforts to secure the hostages’ release. It also goes against the terms of the Oslo Accords to which France, the UK, and Canada all subscribed, requiring actual negotiations and not unilateral actions by all parties. These and other countries recognition of “Palestine” will not only not bring peace closer; it will harden the position of the terrorists and prolong the war.

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.

FALSE NEWS,DOUBLE STANDARDS AND APPEASEMENT

The new world order that threatens Western culture and civilization.

By Neville Berman

In 1982, in response to attacks by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) from Lebanon, Israel launched a military campaign against the PLO in Lebanon. Within days Yasser Arafat, the head of the PLO, announced that Israel had killed 20,000 people in Lebanon. Newspapers throughout the world led with the headline ” Israel kills 20,000 in Lebanon.” The world was outraged. A few days later, a reporter from an international news agency arrived in Lebanon and asked to be taken to see the bodies or graves of the 20,000 people who had been killed. He discovered less than 300 people were actually killed. Not a single newspaper published an apology on their front page. The few apologies that were published were buried deep inside the publication. Fake news was seen to be very profitable. What everyone remembers is that Israel killed 20,000 people in Lebanon. I mention this as the phenomenon of reporting without any verification of the accuracy of the report has become widespread.

Every reporter in Gaza understands that he needs to report what Hamas wants him to report. Reports published by a reporter that are not approved by Hamas, are usually the last report of that reporter from Gaza. The fear of losing access to breaking news that millions of people want to see and read about in Gaza, results in zero verification of facts before publication. An excellent example was the report by the Gaza Health Ministry in October 2023, that Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza and had killed 500 civilians. Every newspaper and TV channel in the world immediately headlined the report. No one thought of checking if the story was factual. What actually happened was that a rocket fired from Gaza at Israel, misfired and landed in the Al Ahli parking lot of the hospital and killed less than 50 people. Israel did not fire the rocket, the hospital was not bombed, and 500 people were not killed. The story that was carried by every news agency was completely false.

**Self-Inflicted Harm**. The explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza on October 17, 2023, which was immediately blamed on Israel and led to instant protests across the Middle East as well as the cancellation of a summit between President Biden and Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders and led to a spike in viral disinformation was found to be a misfire from within Gaza from a local Palestinian rocket-propelled munition, most likely Hamas.

Hamas has tried every conceivable way to convince the world that they are victims and need to be supported. They first maintained that Israel had placed a blockade on Gaza. This must have been the worst blockade in human history. The southern border of Gaza is with Egypt. Thousands of tons of concrete used for building hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, and thousands of missiles that were fired at Israel, all came directly from Egypt into Gaza. In addition, Israel supplied food, water, electricity and fuel to Gaza. Hundreds of people from Gaza came to work daily in Israel. Obviously, there was no blockade.

**The “Gaza Metro”**. To the accusation that has found traction globally that Israel has imposed on Gaza a “blockade”, how did Hamas manage to bring in so much material to build hundreds of kilometers of underground terror tunnels that runs throughout the Gaza Strip towards Egypt and Israel? It must have been the worst blockade in human history!

They then claimed that Israel was an apartheid state. Every citizen in Israel over the age of 18 has the right to vote regardless of sex, race or religious beliefs. Arab citizens are elected into the Israeli parliament known as the Knesset. Arab citizens use the same hospitals, the same maternity wards, the same beaches, attend the same universities, and have senior positions within the bureaucracy of Israel. Clearly, Israel is not an apartheid state.

They then claimed that Israel was a colonial state. The truth is that Jews have lived in the Middle East for over 3,000 years and Israel is the ancestral home of the Jewish people. The First and Second Jewish Temples were built in Jerusalem. To claim that Jews are colonialists is a total fabrication.

They then claimed that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians. The Palestinian population in Israel has grown annually for decades. If Israel was committing genocide, then the Palestinian population would be decreasing and not increasing. It does not take a genius to understand that Israel is not committing genocide.

**The Genocide Libel**. Palestinians on a Gaza beach in 2006. The accusation that Israel’s longstanding policy for Gaza has been one of “genocide” hardly gels with the statistics that Gaza has an annual population growth rate of 1.99% (2023 est.), the 39th-highest in the world. Normally genocide leads to a dramatic decrease in population yet the Palestinian population of Gaza (estimated as at 2023 at 2.1 million) is relatively young when compared globally and more than half are 19 years or younger.

Hamas is now claiming that Israel is causing starvation in Gaza. The truth is that hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza are stolen at gunpoint by Hamas. The aim of Hamas, not Israel, is to starve the children of Gaza in order to get the world to accuse Israel of starvation. To prove that starvation is taking place, pictures of malnourished and emaciated children in Gaza are distributed by reporters from Gaza and published worldwide. The New York Times, like most newspapers, recently featured a large picture of a starving child on its front page. The United Nations immediately reported that it was outraged at the monstrous starvation that Israel was causing in Gaza. The condemnations of Israel became a torrent of threats even by friends of Israel. A few days later The New York Times issued an apology. The medical records of the child had been found and proved that the child was suffering from a debilitating genetic problem from birth, and that his malnourished appearance had nothing to do with lack of food. A check of the original picture shows both the mother and the brother of the starving child looking completely healthy. False news has become an industry that is spreading hatred around the world.

There is no doubt that news stating or implying that Israel is committing crimes against humanity and genocide is what the majority of the 2.4 billion Christians and 2 billion Muslims want to read about, hear about on social media, and see on their TV screens. It is a 24 /7 onslaught against Israel perpetrated by the vast majority of the news media of the world. It is a hate campaign based on 2,000 years of Christian blood libels against Jews, and an Islamist view of Muslim domination of the world. Whether the news is true or false is of absolutely no concern. Israel is guilty, no matter what Israel does.

European appeasement is back in vogue. Appeasement has proven to be a disaster in the past and it is worthwhile to carefully contemplate its implications for the future. Let’s look at what Khaled Mashal, one of the leaders of Hamas stated:

“The (Palestinian) state will come about from resistance not negotiation. Liberation first, then statehood. Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north. There will be no concessions on any inch of land. We will never recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation, and therefore there is no legitimacy for Israel. We will free Jerusalem inch by inch, stone by stone, Israel has no right to be in Jerusalem. ”

**Clear Message**. Khaled Mashal , the former chief of Hamas’s political bureau and current leader of Hamas’s diaspora office expresses it clearly: “*Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north. There will be no concessions on any inch of land*.”

I suggest that the European leaders who are now calling for the recognition of a Palestinian State, carefully read the above statement and reconsider what they are contemplating. The genocidal policies that both Hamas and the PLO openly call for in their respective Charters is available for anyone to read in English. All you need to do is google Hamas Charter or PLO Charter to read exactly what the Palestinians want. They are not interested in a two-state solution at all. What they want is one Palestinian State from the river to the sea in place of Israel. That is why they have rejected every offer of a Palestinian State living side by side with Israel. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al -Husseini stated that even if Israel is the size of a postage stamp, the Arabs will reject it. Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, has stated that not a single Jew will be allowed to live in the State of Palestine. You cannot appease this kind of thinking. It is a fool’s errand.

Supporting a Palestinian State will inevitably have unintended consequences. Voting in order to appease the growing Muslim population in the West, could end up being a one-way street leading to the obituary of Western culture and civilization in the very countries that are now announcing their support of a Palestinian State.

One should be very careful what you wish for.

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.

EUROPE AND THE PALESTINIAN LITMUS TEST

Why are Palestinians being reoffered what they have time and again rejected?

By Peter Bailey

The leading question in answer to the European intent to recognise a mythical State of Palestine is the location of the undeclared borders of a Palestinian State, and who gets to define those borders.

The idiom “be careful what you wish for” is an earnest warning to consider the law of unintended consequences, before making impulsive utterances that could have results totally opposite to the desired outcome.

French President Macron and many of his European partners assert that they will recognize the State of Palestine in September. Such recognition could well fall victim to the aforesaid law of unintended consequences. The whimsical recognition of a state without defined borders by the Europeans, offers far less than the recognition and borders offered by Israeli prime ministers Ehud Barak in 2000, and Ehud Olmert in 2008, both of which were spurned by the Palestinian leadership.

**Presidential Predicament**. Without agreement or defined borders, what precisely is the French President recognising beyond ‘recognising’ mounting Muslim pressure within his own country?

Our friends in Europe should not forget that Fatah, with Yasser Arafat as one of its founders, was established in 1957, 10 years before Israel captured the West Bank during the Six Day War of 1967. The PLO, currently in control of the Palestinian Authority, and the potential rulers of an independent State of Palestine, was founded by the same Arafat in 1964, also before the Six Day War. Both Fatah and the PLO were not interested in a Palestinian state in the West Bank, but in the destruction of the State of Israel. While Hamas was established much later, in 1987, one of its objectives was the dismantling of the State of Israel, and replacing it with an Islamic Brotherhood state ruled by Sharia Law. Nothing to do with the West Bank or Gaza, which are merely stepping stones in its quest for the end of the Jewish homeland, Israel, the realisation of the Zionist dream.

Between 11 and 25 July 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak met with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton at Camp David, in an effort to end the ongoing Israel-Palestine dispute. While reports differ as to the precise final offer on the table, there can be no doubt that this was a serious and significant offer of peace by an Israeli Prime Minister and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian State within a very large part of the West Bank. Barak recalls that Arafat never negotiated, but continually said “NO” to every offer or concession. Barak and Arafat met again in December 2000 and January 2001, in a last-ditch attempt at peace again chaired by President Bill Clinton. This was shortly before Israel’s election on 6 February 2021, with Barak dependent on a peace agreement to have any chance of re-election.

**Fact not Fiction.** From the Mufti of Jerusalem, Yasser Arafat, Saeb Erekat and Mahmoud Abbas, the consistent and enduring Palestinian rejection of any and all peace initiatives with Israel, calls into question the commitment of the Palestinian leadership to a peace deal that accommodates any Jewish sovereignty in this region. (Images via Wikimedia)

The Jewish Virtual Library presents a long article on the December 2000/January 2001 meeting, featuring a portion of President Bill Clinton’s autobiography, “My Life”, published in 2005. In the excerpt from Clinton’s book that follows, he is scathing of Arafat’s refusal to accept a peace deal saying “Arafat’s rejection of my proposal after Barak accepted it was an error of historic proportions. However, many Palestinians and Israelis are still committed to peace. Someday peace will come, and when it does, the final agreement will look a lot like the proposals that came out of Camp David and the six long months that followed.”

The full article can be viewed at:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/president-clinton-reflects-on-2000-camp-david-summit

**Talk to the Trees**. Several times, from 1936 to the 21st century, Arab and Palestinian leaders were offered a state of their own in which to live side by side with their Jewish neighbors but repeatedly declined.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem in September 2008 to discuss peace and the establishment of a Palestinian State. Olmert recalls that he presented a plan which included withdrawal from almost 95% of the West Bank, while Israel would retain 6.3% of the territory in order to keep control of major Jewish settlement blocs. He further offered to exchange about 5.8% of Israeli land in return for the settlement blocs. The offer also included a land bridge connecting the West Bank with Gaza. During a 2015 interview on Israel TV Channel 10, Abbas is reported to have said of his reaction to Olmert’s offer “I did not agree, I rejected it out of hand.”

The European leaders who seem obsessed with a State of Palestine within undefined borders, but presumably within the area Jordan named as the West Bank after Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, seem unfazed by the Palestinian rejection of all and any offers for a State of Palestine within the West Bank and Gaza. The rejection of the principle of ‘Two States’ as a solution to the problem was made obvious 78 years ago, when the League of Arab States, speaking on behalf of the Palestinian Arabs, refused to accept the 1947 United Nations partition Vote, which the Jewish authorities did accept, albeit with great reluctance. The Arab League chose instead to wage war on the nascent State of Israel immediately after its Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. It should be clearly understood that the war was for control of the area now popularly defined by pro-Palestinian activists as the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean coast. There can be no doubt that Israel ended up with far more territory after the 1948 war than it would have had, were the Arabs to have accepted the partition plan.

**Seeking Solution or Dissolution**? Why are European leaders more keen than Palestinian leaders for a Palestinian state as part of a Two-State solution’?

Following the 1948 war with the nascent State of Israel, Jordan illegally occupied, and then on 24 April 1950, illegally annexed the territory, naming it the West Bank (of Jordan), to distinguish it from rump Jordan, east of the Jordan River. The illegal annexation by Jordan was only ever recognised by Great Britain and Pakistan, and ended with Israel occupying the entire West Bank during the 1967 Six Day War. Between 1918 and 1948, the sovereign power had been Great Britain in terms of its Mandate over Palestine. Britain’s relinquishment of its Mandate in 1948, left no sovereign power in control of the region, hence Jordan’s vain and illegal attempt at annexation. Then, with Jordan’s King Hussein on 31 July 1988 renouncing all claims to control of the West Bank, it effectively ended Jordan’s illegal occupation of the territory since the Armistice Agreement signed with Israel on 23 March 1949. This effectively reversed Jordanian occupation, bringing the entire former Mandate of Palestine territory west of the Jordan River under Israeli control. This would have been the de jure situation after Britain’s withdrawal from Palestine, followed by Israel’s Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948, had the Arabs not attacked Israel.

Then, as has happened so often with Israel’s wars since 1948, the Western European nations, the Soviet Union and the United States brought intense pressure to bear on Israel for a cease fire and an end to the war. Prime Minister Ben Gurion steadfastly refused to recognise the Jordanian occupation or annexation of the West Bank. Israel has never referred to the Armistice Line with Jordan – dubbed the Green Line – as an actual border. This approach remains an unchanging factor of Israeli policy with regard to the West Bank, which Israel regards as Judea and Samaria, including the Jordan Valley. Notwithstanding this, numerous offers with differing minutiae have been made for the establishment of a Palestinian State, all of which have been spurned by the Palestinian leadership.

The calls for the recognition of a State of Palestine in the wake of the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, is incomprehensible, as it will result in all of Israel being subject to threat by a Hamas type insurgency sometime in the future. There can be little doubt that the calls for the recognition of a Palestinian State within the non-existent pre-1967 so called borders, is a response to the global mass hysteria calling for “Palestine to be free, from the river to the sea”, effectively negating the existence of the State of Israel. European recognition of the State of Palestine is thus nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to populist calls for an end to the State of Israel, in the vain belief that this will satisfy the pro-Hamas constituency in their own countries. European leaders need to internalise that Arafat in 2000, and Abbas in 2008, refused very generous offers to accept a Palestinian State in the West Bank, simply because they wanted all of Israel, not just the West Bank, and that remains the case today.

**True Intentions**. Hardly pushing for a Two-State solution when at every anti-Israel protest, the dominant sign is “**From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free**” that translates into the erasure of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state – not alongside – but instead of.

The migration of Muslim Arabs to Europe has changed the population demographics and created political realities far removed from traditional European politics. The modern-day anti-Israel fanatics across the world, who have been activated by Hamas, the PLO, Iran, Qatar and others, to call for a State of Palestine between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea will not be satisfied with a State of Palestine in the West Bank. They want it all with no Israel. European leaders beware; the route you are choosing is littered with obstacles and pitfalls beyond your worst nightmares. European meddling in the borders of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Israel over the last 100 years, have brought bedlam, mayhem and war to the region. Ignoring the lessons of history, the current crop of European leaders are rushing in where angels fear to tread. They must face one reality, the Palestinian leaders do not want a state within the West Bank, they’ve said so often enough, so start believing them.

About the writer:

The writer, Peter Bailey, a military history buff, was a Major in the South African Army Reserve before making aliyah in 2013. He is the author of two books: Street Names in Israel; and Men of Valor: Israel’s Latter Day Heroes.

WHEN DOES LACK OF FOOD MORPH INTO LACK OF TRUTH

Hellbent on shaming Israel in the midst of an existential war, the media ignores the mega-million starving across the world.

By Allan Wolman

If you didn’t know better, you’d think Gaza was the only place on Earth where children go hungry. Just switch on CNN, Sky, or BBC – every night another solemn anchor, another indignant UN official, another weepy “expert” telling us what a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza. And yes, it is tragic. But if starvation is now characterised as the world’s ‘No. 1’ war crime, what about all the other famines the media doesn’t bother to cover?

Remember Ethiopia in the 1980s? Over a million dead of hunger—an entire nation skeletal and forgotten – until Bob Geldof grabbed a mic and shamed the West into coughing up for Band Aid. No 24/7 news ticker, no panel of UN pundits. Just silence. The fact is, Africa has seen starvation used as a weapon of war for decades, if not centuries, but little of it made the prime-time cut.

**It’s Not Gaza, Stupid!** Any media covering this? No, its none stop covering a food crisis in Gaza caused by its elected rulers – Hamas!

However, when it comes to Gaza, suddenly every camera lens, every crocodile tear, and every moral sermon is locked in. The media’s appetite for images of starving children seems oddly selective – especially when it’s Israel in their crosshairs. We hear next to nothing about starvation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Zimbabwe or the Horn of Africa. These don’t suit the media’s narrative. Gaza, however, does.

And yet, while Amanpour and company bleat about Gaza, they continue to miss – or ignore – what’s happening in South Africa. This is no war zone. No blockade. No siege. This is a country run by a government that shouts “a better life for all!” while literally letting its children starve to death.

**No Interest, Not Gaza**. While Yemen fires ballistic missile at Israel, the world ignores that the rate of child malnutrition in Yemen is one of the highest in the world with 75% of Yemeni children suffering from acute malnutrition. In Yemen’s Al Sadaqah hospital, four-year old malnourished Abdo is comforted by his uncle (above) before passing away days later. (Photo: UNOCHA/Giles Clark)

Paul Hoffman of Accountability Now pulled no punches back in 2022 when he asked, “Too corrupt to feed starving children – is this freedom?” He was talking about South Africa’s ruling party – the ANC – which, instead of feeding its own people, dumps nutritious food into landfills. Meanwhile, kids are dying.

**Who Cares?** When its Africa and not Gaza in order to blame the Jews, it’s not news!

That same year, William Saunderson-Meyer highlighted the horror: in just three years, 2,818 children under five died in public hospitals from malnutrition. UNICEF says chronic undernourishment is responsible for over half the deaths of South African children under five. One in three children in the country is physically stunted from lack of food. Cape Town’s Children’s Institute revealed that 4 million children are growth-stunted, and 10 million go hungry every single day:

– Not during war

– Not under sanctions

– Just under the ANC.

But will you see that on CNN? Will BBC dispatch their moral heavyweights to the Eastern Cape or Limpopo? Will the UN scream genocide in Pretoria? Of course not. South Africa doesn’t fit the preferred narrative.

When the ICJ hears South Africa’s accusations of genocide against Israel, perhaps someone will ask: what about the slow-motion genocide of your own children?

There’s something truly rotten when the loudest voices claiming to care about human suffering go mute when the victims are poor, black, and too close to home.

Apparently, black lives only matter when it suits the script.

About the writer:

Allan Wolman in 1967 joined 1200 young South Africans to volunteer to work on agricultural settlements in Israel during the Six Day War. After spending a year in Israel, he returned to South Africa where he met and married Jocelyn Lipschitz and would run one of the oldest travel agencies in Johannesburg – Rosebank Travel. He would also literally ‘run’ three times in the “Comrades”, one of the most grueling marathons in the world as well as participate in the “Argus” (Cape Town’s famed international annual cycling race) an impressive eight times. Allan and Jocelyn immigrated to Israel in 2019.

SMALL IN SIZE HUGE IN HEART – THE DRUZE COMMUNITY

A world indifferent, Israelis understand why the Druze in need have to be supported by Israel in deed.

By David E. Kaplan

Last week I received a call in Israel from my cousin in Australia opening with:

“What’s going on; you guys are now invading Syria; attacking Damascus?”

When I started explaining by mentioning Israel coming to the rescue of “the Druze,” I was interrupted by:

“Yes, I heard mention on our news something about the Druze….Who are they? Never heard of them! What religion are they? Where did they suddenly spring from?”

With well over a 1000-year history, they did not exactly ‘suddenly spring’ out of nowhere. They were a proud people with their own unique religion long before there was an England, a France, a Germany or new kid-on-the-block – Australia. A community of 150,000 with elements of all three religions – Islam, Christianity and Judaism – the Druze in Israel are an enriching and warm people embedded in this ancient land as its timeless rock. Mainly because of its paucity in number and concentrated largely in northern Israel, not too much is known about this special and endearing people.

**Community facing Catastrophe**. Israeli Druze approach the Israeli-Syrian border fence to protest in solidarity with their vulnerable community in Syria, July 16, 2025. (Photo: Michael Giladi/ FLASH90).

BONDED IN BLOOD

It was clear from my conversation with my cousin, there was paltry reportage in Australia – as there was across the world – about the existential threat to Syrian Druze following a massacre of its people, their relationship with Israel’s Druze community or who the Druze are.

Israel’s Druze leader Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif was frank to the press:

“… These are beasts… They talked about a ceasefire and then continued the massacre, the cleansing, going from house to house. … They raped a five-year-old girl, they entered a holy place where women were hiding to avoid being harmed, and they burned them alive. They killed, beheaded, it was pure cleansing. This is only because they are Druze…”

Identifying with what the Jews in southern Israel experienced, Tarif continued:

“We’ve seen this movie with Hamas, they are the same people, let’s not get confused. They didn’t let ambulances pass; the bodies were in the streets.”

For Majd Al-Shaer, a 21-year-old Druze man, “This is not a conflict anymore, this is extermination,” he told the Indian news network NDTV. “They are humiliating our elderly, killing our women and children. This is a campaign to wipe us out. An ethnic cleansing campaign is taking place against the Druze.”

However, on the international news networks, the narrative typically conveyed by the panel of ‘usual experts’ was that Israel was using the Druze as a pretext to attack Syria. What’s more, the global media mostly IGNORED that the Druze – both in Israel and Syria – had appealed to Israel to save them from the same fate that Hamas has for Israelis. This appeal was couched “Israel owes the Druze” and it is true – Israel does. It was brought home to me back in 2007 when reporting for The Jerusalem Post (https://www.jpost.com/features/patriot-games), I visited the largest Druze town in Israel, Daliyat el-Carmel perched on top of the Carmel Mountain range to meet and interview a Druze family, including the legendary Kamal Mansour. Mansour, who subsequently passed away 2023, was an Israel Prize recipient who had been appointment by Israel’s third president, Zalman Shazar, as his Adviser on Minority Communities and continued to serve in this position under presidents Ephraim Katzir, Yitzhak Navon, Chaim Herzog, Ezer Weizman, Moshe Katsav and Shimon Peres.

**Excruciating Anguish**. Druze from Syria and Israel protest in Majdal Shams on the Israeli-Syrian border amid the ongoing clashes in the southern Syrian city of Sweida where the UN says it has credible reports of summary executions. (AP Photo/Leo Correa).

Mansour enlightened me on history that I was not familiar with – important history that illuminates the special relationship between Jews and Druze. While Most Israelis are familiar with the spectacular escape from Atlit in October 1945, when the Palmach (Israel’s pre-state fighting force), under the command of Yitzhak Rabin (who later became Israel’s Prime Minister), broke into the illegal immigrant detention camp at one o’clock in the morning setting free over 200 Jewish prisoners, what followed next, most do not know.

**Massacre in the Making**. Syria’s government forces entering Suweida city amidst the turmoil.

Bedraggled and exhausted, the escapees – mostly holocaust survivors – dodged the British mandate forces as they fled on foot uphill over the Carmel to Kibbutz Yagur on the northern side of the mountain range. The story made international front-page news. What did not make news was that at the top of the mountain range, some of the fleeing Jews briefly connected with a people equally rooted to the land who helped them elude the pursuing British forces – the Druze. Kamal Mansour was a young boy in 1945 living in the then small village of Isfiyah where his father was mayor when some of those exhausted and hungry Jewish escapees crept cautiously into his village. “It was pitch dark, and my parents welcomed them and offered them tea and cake and a place to rest before guiding them on in their escape to freedom. Not only had my family, but other Druze families as well, opened their homes to these frightened new immigrants. Proudly,” Mansour says, “We acknowledged in deed the Jewish State before there was a Jewish State.”

This hardly known episode in modern Jewish history reflects the characteristically low profile of a unique and special people who chipped in from the start to be a part of the modern state of Israel.

“Whatever the temptations in 1948,” continued Mansour, “the Druze community opted against mainstream Arab nationalism and before the draft was introduced, Druze soldiers served as volunteers in the Israeli army.”

During Israel’s War of Independence in 1948, many Druze, mainly from the villages of Shfaram, Usfiya and Daliat El-Carmel joined forces with the Jewish Haganah forging a relationship that led during this war to the creation of the Minorities Unit, which recruited Druze volunteers, mainly from these three towns. “This trend continued and an increasing number of Druze,” says Mansour, “voluntarily joined the Minorities Unit of the IDF right up to 1956, when compulsory service was introduced, a decision by the way, that was initiated by the Druze leadership.”

Mansour proudly says:

“Although I was too old when conscription for Druze was introduced, I nevertheless served in the reserves for 26 years and six days.”

Mansour referred me to the Druze poet, historian and diplomat, Reda Mansour, who wrote:

“We are the only non-Jewish minority that is drafted into the military and we have an even higher percentage in the combat units and as officers than the Jewish members themselves. So, we are considered a very nationalistic, patriotic community.”

**Loose Cannons**. Bedouin fighters who have clashed with Druze militias in Syria’s Al-Suwayda province. US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio in a post on X has demanded an end to “the rape and slaughter of innocent people.”

Kamal Mansour, who was the first Druze to serve on the Board of Directors of Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), the Board of Governors of both Haifa University and Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and to be a member of the plenum of the Israel Broadcasting Authority chuckled as he recalled his service on the Committee to investigate the proposal to introduce TV to Israel. “It is hard today to envisage the debate at that time. Both Golda [Meir] and Ben Gurion were dead against it. Ben Gurion thought people would stay away from work to watch TV.”

**Early Days**. Kamal Masour (left) whom the writer interviewed in 2007, seen here with Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion (centre) and Kamal’s father, Najeb Mansour, who was then mayor of Isfiya.

However, for Mansour who was presented in 2010 with the Israel Prize in recognition of the enormous service he had rendered to the State of Israel, said “I had no such misgivings.”

And Israel should have no misgivings of supporting the Druze community in Syria. As Catherine Perez-Shakdam writes in The Jerusalem Post (‘The Druze and the great betrayal’ July 21,2025), “It is Israel that stands, quite literally, between the Druze and the abyss.”

**Comrades-in-Arms**. Druze have been dying in battles alongside their Jewish comrades. Seen here is Colonel Ehsan Daxa, 41, commander of the 401st Brigade within the IDF’s 162nd Division who was killed in Gaza. From Daliyat al-Karmel, Daxa had expressed pride in leading a “special and courageous generation of fighters and commanders” committed to decisively defeating Hamas.

How can Israel do otherwise as the world ignores the plight of the Syrian Druze. This writer is left with the words of Kamal Mansour:

“We acknowledged in deed the Jewish State before there was a Jewish State.”

Feature picture: Separation and Solidarity. A community divided, in this pre-war photo, Druze gather to contact their relatives on the Syrian side of the border from the Israeli Golan Heights. (Photo: Amnar Awad/Reuters).

THE DRUZE AND ISRAEL – A COVENANT IN BLOOD

Israel is and always has been short of friends.

Today, Jews across the world are finding themselves alone, ostracized and vulnerable.

One people that have stood by Israel sacrificing life and limb since 1948, is the country’s Druze community, who through thick and thin, war after war, have thrown in their lot with the destiny – and fate – of Israel. In the current Israel-Hamas war, Druze have fought and died alongside their fellow Jewish soldiers in the IDF as they have done in all previous wars.

Today, the Druze in southern Syria, family to the Druze of Israel, are under attack with regime forces aiding Syrian Bedouins in perpetrating atrocities – including the summary execution of Druze civilians.

Israel could not sit back, particularly as Israel’s Druze community’s leadership has appealed to Israel to save their people across the border in turbulent Syria from slaughter.

Lay of the Land fully supports Israel’s efforts to help save the Druze of Syria.

Why Israel helps the Druze in Syria

ALL QUIET IN THE WEST WING

With discussions at the White House held in private and no clear announcements of a major Gaza deal nor followed by the customary Oval Office photo, what can we read?

By Jonathan Feldstein

The third summit between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu this year has ended, but there are still more questions than concrete answers about the nature of their meetings and the outcome. To help understand the significance of their meetings, what took place, and what to look for in the coming weeks and months, in the recent episode of the “Inspiration from Zion” podcast, military and political analyst Elliot Chodoff and journalist Jonathan Tobin provided a deep dive into the high-level meetings. The conversation was rich with strategic and political analysis, explored the outcomes, implications, and future projections as a of these talks, the war against Hamas, returning of 50 hostages, implications of the war against Iran, and the broader Middle Eastern geopolitical landscape.

The Trump-Netanyahu meetings were marked by significant speculation about potential breakthroughs, leading many to look for “A Big Beautiful Deal” particularly regarding a ceasefire with Hamas and broader regional agreements. In fact, the absence of a major announcement, such as a ceasefire with Hamas or an expansion of the Abraham Accords raised questions as to the nature of the meetings. Chodoff and Tobin emphasized the importance of the meetings was significant alone due to the strategic importance of maintaining a close U.S.-Israel relationship, particularly under Trump, whose personal style demands loyalty and public displays of alignment. Tobin highlighted that Netanyahu’s visit was not merely a “love fest” but a critical effort to align Israel’s interests with American priorities, especially given the personal nature of Trump’s diplomacy.

**What’s the Big Deal?** With expectations of a “Big Beautiful Deal” relating to the hostages, a ceasefire and expansion of the Abraham Accords, in the absence of a major announcement left everyone guessing.

A central focus of the meetings was the ongoing war in Gaza, where Israel’s stated goals – destroying Hamas and securing the release of hostages – remain elusive after 21 months. Chodoff outlined a three-tiered view of Hamas relating to these objectives: its military infrastructure (largely dismantled), its guerrilla capabilities (still active), and its ability to control the Palestinian population through fear (nearly impossible to eradicate). He argued that Israel has entered a phase of diminishing returns in the active combat with recent ambushes, like the loss of several soldiers in each of two consecutive weeks. He suggested a fatigued IDF still adapting to Hamas’ guerrilla warfare.

Chodoff speculated that Netanyahu might welcome a U.S.-imposed ceasefire, allowing him to claim he had no choice, thus avoiding domestic backlash while stepping back from a costly operation. The domestic implications of this might be the weakening of Netanyahu’s coalition government, but strengthening his position with the end of combat, weekly deaths, and return of the hostages.

Tobin, however, expressed skepticism about a ceasefire, noting that Hamas “gets a vote” and may not agree to terms that allow it to survive without significant concessions. He warned that a deal leaving Hamas intact could enable it to claim victory, undermining Israel’s strategic objectives. Both agreed that the goals of defeating Hamas and returning all the hostages are likely mutually exclusive, posing a political and strategic challenge for Netanyahu. Tobin emphasized that Trump’s desire for a deal to bolster his second-term legacy might pressure Israel into concessions, though he acknowledged Trump’s sensitivity to Israel’s security needs.

People’s ‘Parliament’ in Session. Always in a waiting-for-news-mode, these Israelis appear in anxious conversation on the terrace of a coffee shop. Everyone’s lives are on hold waiting not for the ‘Big Deal’ but the ‘Big Breakthrough’.(Photo: Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images)

Regarding Israel’s and the US’ recent tag team military campaign against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion” and “Midnight Hammer,” Chodoff described it as a tactically flawless 12-day operation that set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions by years. However, he cautioned that it was a campaign within a broader war dating back to 1979, not a resolution. Chodoff criticized Trump’s decision to impose a ceasefire, arguing it halted Israel’s momentum in weakening Iran’s regime control institutions, potentially missing a chance to empower internal opposition. He dismissed negotiations with Iran’s Khomeinist regime, equating their anti-Israel stance to a non-negotiable religious tenet.

Tobin agreed that Iran’s nuclear threat was reduced but argued that Trump’s strategy – inflicting damage and then offering negotiations – might suffice, given Iran’s financial constraints. He noted a divergence in U.S. and Israeli interests. While both oppose a nuclear Iran, the U.S. is less inclined to pursue regime change, which Trump views as risky. Both underscored the need for continued vigilance, with Chodoff advocating a zero-tolerance policy for any Iranian violations, similar to Israel’s approach with Hezbollah.

There had been anticipation of an announcement of the widening of the Abraham Accords, with Trump reportedly eager to include Saudi Arabia, and Syria and other Arab and Islamic states floated as possible members. Tobin was skeptical, arguing that Iran’s weakened state reduces Saudi motivation for formal recognition of Israel, as their covert cooperation sufficiently serves Saudi interests. He also dismissed the notion of Syria joining the Accords under its new leadership, led by a former terrorist leader, describing Syria as a “banana republic without bananas” due to its unstable, tribal nature. Chodoff agreed but suggested that symbolic gestures, like removing Syria from terrorist lists, could be reversible and worth exploring cautiously, provided Israel does not cede tangible assets like territory.

The outcome of the international summit also has implications for Netanyahu’s domestic standing. Tobin noted that despite the October 7, 2023, attack occurring under his watch, Netanyahu’s political resilience—bolstered by a loyal 25-30% voter base and favorable demographics—makes him the likely winner in the next election currently scheduled for late 2026. However, Chodoff highlighted emerging challenges, including economic fallout from the war which has still yet to be fully absorbed, and discontent among reservists and religious Zionists, which could erode his coalition. Both agreed that the war’s unresolved issues and economic costs could shape Israel’s political landscape, with new centrist movements led by reserve officers potentially complicating Netanyahu’s coalition-building. Yet both agreed that Netanyahu is never the candidate to count out.

**Trying Times**. While the region’s future is in the hands of politicians, this young armed Israeli father in the reserves has his hand on his kid’s pram as he walks along deserted streets in Tel Aviv the day after Israel and Iran exchanged missile fire on June 24, 2025. (Photo: Fadel Senna, AFP Via Getty Images)

Looking ahead, Tobin advised watching Trump’s statements for signs of frustration with Israel’s positions, which could embolden US critics. Chodoff echoed this, emphasizing the need for alignment without compromising Israel’s security.

With no clear announcements of a major deal or anything concrete, and the significant discussions held in private without even an Oval Office photo opportunity, a delicate balancing act exists : Netanyahu navigating domestic pressures, Trump’s deal-driven agenda, and the intractable and yet to be completely defeated challenges of Hamas, Iran, and regional diplomacy.

See the entire conversation HERE, or listen to the audio HERE.

About the writer:

THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE AWARDS!

An award of ignominy given to deluded Middle Eastern leaders who have tried to destroy Israel.

By Neville Berman

There are many prestigious awards in the world for exceptional achievements. Anyone awarded a Nobel Prize instantly receives international recognition and fame. The film industry has the Oscars. Journalists have the Pulitzer Prize. The music industry has the Bafta awards. Time magazine has the Person of the Year award, and FIFA has Best Footballer of the Year awards for both men and women. The British King or Queen annually bestows titles and medals to individuals in recognition of outstanding services to the country. Every country has developed some way of honoring exceptional people in their society.

However, there is one award that has never previously been awarded, that has attracted a number of nominees. The award is the Bermuda Triangle Award. (BTA) This award is for leaders who by their own deliberate policies and actions, have brought poverty, death, destruction and in several cases starvation to the countries that they rule or ruled.

As this article is limited in length, the numerous post-colonial African leaders and other infamous dictators who should suffer the ignominy of being awarded a BTA have been omitted. Instead, only Middle Eastern leaders, both deceased and living, are included. Let us start with those nominees for a posthumous BTA.

Gamal Abdel Nasser was President of Egypt and a charismatic leader who promoted the concept of Arab unity known as Pan Arabism. In May 1967, he ordered the United Nations to withdraw all UNEF troops from Sinai. He then closed the Straits of Tiran and the Suez Canal to Israeli shipping, and boasted that Egypt was ready for an all-out war that would push Israel into the sea. On the morning of June 5, 1967 Israel responded with a preemptive air attack that destroyed almost the entire Egyptian air force on the ground. Nasser then lied to Syria and Jordan by informing them that the Egyptian air-force was bombing Tel Aviv. Syria and Jordan then joined the attack on Israel. In what is known as the Six Day War, Israel routed the armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Israel gained control of the whole of Sinai, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Judea (West Bank) and the Golan Heights. Not since the Egyptian army was destroyed in the Red Sea pursuing the Israelites, has Egypt suffered such humiliation.

**A Losing Battle**. Instead of fulfilling his life’s ambition of driving the Israelis into the sea, Egyptian president, Abdul Nasser oversaw his country’s humiliating defeat in 6 days in 1967.

In 1979, Saddam Hussein gained control of the Sunni Muslim Ba’ath Party and became President of Iraq. Iraq has the 5th largest crude oil reserves in the world and should be wealthy and prosperous. In 1980, Saddam attacked Iran in a territorial dispute. After nearly 8 years of fighting and an estimated 500,000 deaths, the war ended in a stalemate. In August 1988 both sides accepted UN resolution 598 that ended the war.

Two years later Saddam attacked Kuwait. When Saddam refused to leave Kuwait, America formed a coalition and decisively defeated Saddam and liberated Kuwait. In 1993, under the Presidency of George W Bush, America again invaded Iraq. The premise for the attack was that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction that were a direct threat to America. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found. Instead, Saddam was found hiding in a hole in the ground. An Iraqi Special Tribunal convicted Saddam of crimes against humanity and he was hanged on December 30th 2006. It was the end of a tyrant who was responsible for the deaths of an estimated million Iraqis in war, arbitrary arrests, torture, and disappearances. Iraq has yet to recover from the 24 years of the rule of Saddam Hussein.

**Hussein Hanged**. A man of many dreams ended with his worst nightmare – executed by his own people.

Yahya Sinwar was one of the leaders of Hamas. Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007. Hamas is a terrorist organization with a genocidal charter aimed at killing all Jews. Since 2007 it has fired over 30,000 rockets at Israel. It has stolen hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid and then sold it to the inhabitants in Gaza at inflated prices. It has built 500 kilometers of underground tunnels to attack Israel from and to hide in. Many of the tunnels are built under hospitals, schools and mosques. The main headquarters of Hamas was built directly under the maternity ward of the European hospital in Gaza. Without any doubt, Hamas uses babies, children and civilians as human shields. Under the leadership of Sinwar, Hamas planned and executed a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The scale of the attack and the barbaric actions were proudly filmed by the attackers themselves. Hamas scored an opening victory that consisted of mass killings, beheadings, rapes, hostage taking, destruction of property, and unbelievable cruelty to babies and families. It has now turned into a pyrrhic victory. At the time of writing, Gaza is unrecognizable from what it once was. Thousands of Hamas terrorists have been eliminated, and those that are still alive are living like rats in tunnels underground. The only card that Hamas still holds are Israeli hostages captured in the initial attack. Both Yahya Sinwar and his brother, Mohammed Sinwar, who succeeded him have been eliminated. The legacy of the Sinwar family is death, hunger, poverty and destruction.

**Lousy Leader**. Inspiring victory of death to Jews, poor leadership by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar leaves him dead and his Gaza in ruins. (Photo: Shutterstock).

Starting in 1992, Hassan Nasrallah was the undisputed leader of Hezbollah. Before the rise of Hezbollah, Beirut was considered the Paris of the Middle East. With backing from Iran, Hezbollah basically took de facto control of Lebanon and effectively destroyed the country’s economy and prospects for a peaceful and prosperous future. With an estimated 150,000 rockets supplied by Iran, Hezbollah posed a direct threat to Israel. After Hezbollah decided to join the attack by Hamas on Israel, the vast majority of Hezbollah’s rockets were destroyed by Israel. Nasrallah himself was assassinated in his bunker in September 2024. Another posthumous BTA.

**Bunker Blusterer**. Once noted for his fiery hour-long speeches from his bunker, Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah’s control over Lebanon ended with a bang.

Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father as President of Syria when his father Hafez died in July 2000. Bashar retained power for 24 years by ruthlessly oppressing all opposition to his minority Alawite rule. Between 300-500 thousand Syrians were killed, and approximately 5 million Syrians became refugees during the rule of the Assad family. Assad even used poison gas against his own people. After Israel effectively reduced the capacity of Hezbollah to support Assad, opposition forces took advantage of the situation and seized control of Syria. Assad fled to Russia on December 8, 2024, where he was granted political asylum. Naturally the International Criminal Court has never charged Assad with committing any crimes against humanity. It appears that the killing of hundreds of thousands of Arabs by Arabs is not considered a crime. In an absurd double standard, if Jews kill Arabs in self- defense, then the ICC leaps into action against Israeli leaders.

**From Russia with Love**. The former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad left his country in tatters and now lives in Moscow. (© Chappatte in The International New York Times).

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi became leader of the Houthis in Yemen in 2004. Yemen is situated at the entrance to the Red Sea and is more than 2,000 KM from Israel. There is no territorial dispute between the two countries. In 2014, the Houthis took control of parts of Yemen including the capital Sanaa in a civil war. Since then, the Houthis have carried out missile attacks against oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. They have attacked scores of ships in the Red Sea, and have fired inter- continental missiles at Israel. The Houthis are supported by Iran and are sacrificing themselves for Iran’s ambitions to destroy Israel. All of their actions have brought zero prosperity to the Houthis. They will continue to suffer because of the stupidity of their own leaders. By reducing shipping through the Red Sea, the Houthis have caused billions of dollars of lost revenue to Egypt. Some recent reports say that Abdul -Malik is no longer alive. Either way, he is a nominee for a BTA.

**Proud Pirate**. While unsure where Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement is today, what is sure is that Yemen is a mess grappling with a decade-long civil war, widespread humanitarian crisis, a collapsing economy. while threatening maritime shipping in the Red Sea.(Photo credit: Arab Media).

In 1989, Ali Hosseini Khamenei became the second Supreme Shiite leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran is larger than France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands combined. It has approximately 90 million citizens. It has the third largest oil reserves, and the second largest gas reserves in the world. Its geographical location affords it significant control over the vitally important Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Under normal circumstances, Iran should have a thriving economy and a prosperous society. Instead, Khamenei has a fanatical religious aim of destroying Israel. Iran has built a nuclear program that it claims is for peaceful purposes. In a daring clandestine operation, Israel obtained the actual archives of the Iranian nuclear program. The archives provided 100% proof that Iran is actively trying to build a nuclear arsenal and that its nuclear program is not for peaceful purposes.

**The Supreme Concealer**. A ruthless leader and concealer of its nuclear intentions, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali *Khamenei* has presided over the exposed failure of Mullah leadership.

Iran has poured billions of dollars into building a crescent of proxy allies to try to wipe Israel off the map. Every country and terrorist entity that is supported by Iran, has suffered as a result of accepting Iranian so-called help. Iran’s policy of building a ring of fire around Israel has been a total failure. After Iran attacked Israel directly with inter-continental missiles and drones, Israel effectively destroyed Iran’s missile defense system and then attacked its nuclear and missile facilities. In what has been called the 12- Day War, that included an attack by American B2 bombers and tomahawk missiles on Iran’s nuclear program, the Iranian nuclear program is no longer a current threat to Israel or the world. Iran has wasted billions of dollars on trying to destroy Israel. This waste of money, coupled with American sanctions has devastated the value of the Iranian Rial. The present black-market rate of the Rial is close to 1 million to the dollar compared to 70 to the dollar before the Shah was overthrown. Khamenei has led Iran down a path of poverty, destruction and despair. Over 500 executions take place annually in Iran. Khamenei has proven that he is prepared to use the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to kill those demonstrating against the regime. Without any doubt Khamenei is the leading nominee for a BTA. Hopefully it will soon become a posthumous award.

What Israel builds, others try to destroy. This is the reality of the Middle East.

About the writer:

FEEDING OFF THE DEAD

A breed of South African vultures prey upon the deceased to further their political narrative.

By Josh Schewitz

There is a grotesque political theatre that has been actively around for years in South Africa, hiding in the wings, that is, until Israel was invaded by marauding mass killers from Gaza on October 7, 2023!

The star director in these theatrics is DIRCO, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, in ‘cooperation’ with a suspect cast that includes terror-sponsoring states, professional full-time activists, journalists, and bureaucrats who feed not on facts but corpses – literally – all to undermine the legitimacy of the one Jewish state in the world – Israel. This is the script in a nutshell.

As if taking their cue off the local wildlife, they wait like vultures circling the wounded. They need and feed off death and salivate over child-sized coffins to prop up their message. They may call themselves humanitarians but in reality they are scavengers feeding off proverbial carrion.

Every Gazan life the Hamas terror organization purposely sacrifices as a human shield is a new talking point. Every IDF airstrike targeting terrorist’s intent on killing and holding hostages is spun into another indictment – not of Hamas, but of Israel.

The facts do not matter to them. The context does not matter either because to people like Jo Bluen – a former newspaper columnist for the South African daily ‘Business Day’ and presently a PhD candidate in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics (LSE) in genocide studies – tragedy is not a humanitarian crisis – it is political capital.

**Bluen’s Logic!** “Actually, the idea of Zionism is in itself a very antisemitic idea,” says Jo Bluen.

A good insight on Bluen’s bias is revealed in this 2 December 2023 posting of hers that articulates her ignorance as well as her naked prejudice:

“Abolish the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. Abolish the South African Zionist Federation. They do not speak for Jews, but for Zionists. They are dangerous, Islamophobic, racist and antisemitic.”

The ultimate evildoer in the world today for Bluen is the Zionist, and if evil is not rooted in Western colonialism, it warrants no concern to her. Hence ethnic cleansing of the Kurds, the slaughter of the Armenians by the Turks and the persecution of Christians by Muslims conveniently escapes her attention for it fails to fit into her worldview.

PATRON SAINT OF WEAPONISED GRIEF

Bluen is not some fringe radical shouting from the digital wilderness but has evolved into an amplified voice in South Africa’s anti-Israel propaganda machine – in classrooms, in the media, and outside the offices of companies that provide jobs for many South Africans. Her tantrums, incitement and hate speech towards Jews and her calls outside the US Consulate in Sandton or on her social media pages to “abolish” the State of Israel have not gone unnoticed.

Whether she lies about “290,000 children being starved to death,” or discredited stories about Israel bombing hospitals, her circle treats her malicious messaging as gospel. They do not question her sources but accept and recycle them.

Most of their talking points originate from rogue Hamas-run media offices in South Africa, Iranian-funded channels, or anonymous Telegram accounts.

POSTING FOR PERFORMANCE, NOT PEACE

Bluen boldly accuses Israel of “genocide” when there is no evidence whatsoever. Yes, the crime of genocide requires a specific intent, known as dolus specialis, that is, to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. Israel has no such “intent” other than to defend its civilian population by rooting out and removing an existential threat. That is the nature of war not genocide. Bluen would off course know this but choses to ignore that her Hamas heroes killed scores of innocent people younger than herself while they were dancing and enjoying life; that they raped, beheaded, kidnapped and tortured, not to mention facts that Hamas:

– hijacks their own Palestinian people’s aid

– slaughters Gazan’s in cold blood and

– has built terror tunnels under hospitals and

– uses their own civilians as human shields.

**Out of the mouth of Joe Bluen**: “*Genocide is not unique to the Nazi Holocaust; it is the story of colonial modernity*” and “*While Israel weaponises Judaism, it is a settler colonial fascist state, not a religion*.”

When Israelis were slaughtered – babies decapitated, Israeli families burned alive and civilian apartment buildings and Israeli hospitals were destroyed by Iranian missiles, Bluen said nothing.

No outrage!

No grief!

Just lies and justification of terrorist murderers she has grown to admire and wilfully chosen to stand by, aid and support.

Because in her warped worldview, Jewish blood is not to her human loss but – using her lexicon – “colonial” consequence.

‘RED TRIANGLE’ RITUAL

Every time Israelis are murdered whether festival goers gunned down in fields, toddlers shot in cold blood or taken hostage only to be brutally murdered by their kidnappers, families burned alive in safe rooms or even an unrelated Israeli civilian diver killed in a Mediterranean off-shore shark attack, Jo Bluen has ZERO sympathy. Instead, she marks or nay we say celebrates the moment with an inverted red triangle – originally a sign of resistance in the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Turks – today the symbol adopted by online Hamas sympathisers to identify, harass, and target Israelis and Jews. Glorifying Hamas’ terror, the inverted Red Triangle – is a dog whistle for increased violence against Jews.

**This Woman is Evil**. Modeling herself on the women who sat beside the guillotine during the French Revolution and would knit at public executions, Cape Town’s Jo Bluen uploads onto her social media accounts the inverted **Red Triangles** when Israeli soldiers are killed as in this posting on her X and Instagram accounts rejoicing following the death of 3 Israeli soldiers.

This symbol, banned in Germany since 2024, appears on Bluen’s profile not when Jewish civilians are spared, but when they are slaughtered. It is her euphemism for:

“They had it coming.”

In any other conflict, waving the emblem of a terror group after a massacre would be called what it is: glorifying violence, but for Bluen, the red triangle has become her badge of honour – her digital bloodstain.

**Bluen is Blunt**. Joe Bluen says on Salaamedia, “The Nazi Holocaust has become something that is being used as a political point scoring thing ….that is being taken out on Palestinians and Muslims as a European Zionist Colonial project that has found its antisemetism being directed to Muslims and Palestinians.”

CULTURE OF COWARDICE

Let us not pretend South Africa has a watchdog culture. There is no press council challenging this infectious poison. The South African Human Rights Commission is complicit as are the NGOs that claim to champion human rights but are conveniently silent or captured. There are those South African journalists that quote these vultures masquerading as “experts”. They are invited onto panels; address public functions and provided op-ed space. Platformed and protected, this is not activism, it is indulgence. It comes at a cost. Because every unchecked lie about Israel “targeting children” while ignoring Hamas’ military tactics is not just bad journalism -it is incitement. It fuels antisemitism. It radicalises youth. It tears at the social fabric of an already fractured society and it will eventually kill.

CALL IT WHAT IT IS

What is in ‘play’ here in these theatrics is not peace-building but fetishised war porn masquerading as social justice and Jo Bluen and her comrades do not want the conflict to end because the minute the rockets stop flying and the cameras stop rolling, they lose the one thing they crave more than anything – relevance. This orchestra of enablers that includes government figures, academicians, media operators, and NGO apparatchiks have built entire careers out of blaming Israel while absolving terror.

**Voice of Violence**. Screenshots from Bluen’s Public Instagram account leave little doubt about her dangerous intent towards Israelis. (left) a neon sign reading “Every day is f**k Israel day”; (right) Bluen appears in a red keffiyeh with the caption “good afternoon from serious face – abolish ‘israel’”.

Far from being humanitarians, these are political morticians who dress corpses in talking points. Unless South African institutions grow a backbone, they will keep thriving on the blood of others.

A Woman of Waffle.
Hard to believe from this rambling interview that Jo Bluen of Cape Town will be accepted to study for a PhD at the London School of Economics unless the LSE welcome candidates who suggest to “Free Palestine” is to “….Abolish ‘Israel’ and the Zionist entity and its white internationalisms of genocide settler colonial inter-nationalisms.” ( Jo Bluen online post August 2024)

About the writer:
Josh Schewitz is a researcher and analyst specializing in Africa and the Middle East, with a focus on securitiy related topics in addition to blockchain technology.

Category: Israel-Arab Relations

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