Category: Jewish World

THE RIGHT OF JEWS TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL

Indigenous and Sovereignty are in most cases mutually exclusive.

By Neville Berman

On February 18, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar addressed the UN Security Council on Israel’s right to the biblical land of Israel. He stated that the Jewish people are the indigenous people of the land of Israel. He then asked a question of how is it possible that Jewish presence on its ancestral land is seen as a violation of international law? The delegates were left in stunned silence as the logic of Jewish claims to the land of Israel were clearly articulated. This article is about whether Jews are in fact indigenous to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and whether they have the right to sovereignty over the land. It is based on the narrative as described in the Torah.   

The Torah is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus. Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is the basis of monotheism and western civilization.

According to the Torah, Abram who later became Abraham was born in Mesopotamia in 1,813 BCE. He is described as an Ivri. He married Sarah, who remained childless during a woman’s normal child bearing years. With his wife’s approval Abraham fathered a child with his wife’s maidservant, named Hagar. She was not Jewish and the child was named Ishmael. When Abraham was 70 years old, he received the Covenant from G-d. Five years after this epic event, Abraham moved to Canaan, where in accordance with an important part of the Covenant, he circumcised himself as well as his firstborn son Ishmael, who was then 13 years old. At the age of 90, Sarah miraculously gave birth to her only son called Isaac. G-d promised Abraham that both his sons, Ishmael and Isaac, would be the progenitors of great nations.

Contact Concluded. A 18 century graphic by William Hogarth depicting Abraham buying a field from Ephron the Hittite which included the cave of Machpelah in Hebron to be used  as a family tomb.

Using the dates above, we can conclude that monotheism began when Abraham received the Covenant 3,769 years ago. This is the number of years between when Abraham received the Covenant and the current year of 2026.  After his marriage to Sarah, they became the first monotheistic Hebrew couple. Sarah had a son with Abraham named Isaac. Isaac married Rebecca, and they had a son named Jacob. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are considered the three Patriarchs of what would become Judaism. Sarah is considered the first of the four Jewish Matriarchs. After Sarah’s death, Abraham purchased a tomb in Hebron known as the cave of Machpelah, for her burial. The cave was purchased from Ephron the Hittite at an exorbitant price.  In the book of Genesis, Abraham confessed that he is:

 a stranger and a resident among you.

Heavenly Hebron. The Cave of Machpelah in Hebron is the world’s most ancient Jewish site and the second holiest place for the Jewish people, after the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The cave and the adjoining field were purchased by Abraham some 3700 years ago and it is where he, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah are all buried in the same Cave of Machpelah. These are considered the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people.

The purchase of the site is highly significant. The cave became the burial site of all three Patriarchs and three of the four Matriarchs of the people that became known as Hebrews, then Israelites and finally Jews. The fact that Abraham had to purchase the burial site, indicates that people previously lived there, and were the owners of the property. They were Hittites, who were pagans. Indigenous people do not need to buy land from someone who lived there before they arrived.  

Stamp of Sovereignty. “I hold up a jug handle from the Kingdom of Judea, 2700 years ago. It has a stamp of the Jewish king on it,” says Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in an explosive address on the 19th February 2026 before the UN Security Council session on the Middle East.  He strongly argued that “No other nation, in any other place in the world, has a stronger right than our historical and documented right to the land of the Bible”.

Part of the narrative of Judaism is their exodus from Egypt. For hundreds of years Jews lived in bondage in Egypt. After suffering 10 plagues including the last plague of the deaths of all first-born Egyptian males, Pharaoh finally relented, and allowed Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. After the Red Sea miraculously parted to allow the Israelites to escape the advancing Egyptian army, the Israelites journeyed to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments from G-d. Moses then led the Israelites towards the land that G-d had promised to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Before entering the land Moses sent out 12 spies, one from each tribe of Israel, to spy out the land. After 40 days they returned.

All twelve spies reported that the area was harsh and occupied. Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, reported that with the help of G-d, they would be able to conquer the land. After all the miracles that Moses and the Israelites had personally witnessed, it seems surprising that they were hesitant to enter the land that G-d had promised to the seeds of the Patriarchs. Probably, due to this hesitancy, Moses and the Israelites were then required to wander in the desert for 40 years. Only when the next generation was considered worthy of entering Canaan, were the Israelites allowed to enter Canaan. Moses never entered Canaan and he died in 1,273 BCE.

Tumbling to Trumpets. Well-fortified Jericho is the first city that Joshua’s Israelite forces encounter and according to the Bible, falls in a miraculous manner following the march around the walls with the Ark of the Covenant once a day for six days, and on the seventh day and seventh lap they blow ram’s horn trumpets and shout really loud causing the walls to crumble.

Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River into Canaan, and was instructed by G-d to wipe out the Canaanites. The first city Joshua attacked was Jericho. Remnants of pottery found in Jericho have been carbon dated to be over 5,000 years old. From this, it can be concluded that people were living in Jericho for over a thousand years before Joshua conquered the land. The vast majority of the Canaanites were wiped out by Joshua. The Israelites would eventually become known as Jews and Canaan was renamed Judea. It is important to note that indigenous people do not need to conquer land that others inhabit.

To cut a long story short, the Romans conquered Judea, and renamed the area Palaestina. Over the course of time, it became known as Palestine, and finally in 1948, the Jews renamed it the Land of Israel. This name is based on the fact that Jacob was also referred to by the name Israel.

If Indigenous people are defined as the original inhabitants of a region, then from the events mentioned above, it appears that Jews are not indigenous to the land of Israel. The question now arises whether Jews have the right to sovereignty over the land.  

The Right of Jews to sovereignty over the land of Israel, is primarily based on G-d’s promise of the land to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This promise is repeated several times in the Torah. This right was never promised to the seed of Ishmael, or anyone else. The claim of sovereignty is supported by over 3,000 years of Jews living in the land, as well as the building of the First Temple that was destroyed by the Babylonians and the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans. Both Temples were built by Jews on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem that is the present site of the Mosque in Jerusalem. The United Nations approval of Resolution 181 in 1947, known as the Partition Plan of Palestine, merely confirmed the right of Jews to sovereignty over a sliver of the biblical land of Israel.  The victories in the War of Independence in 1948, and the Six Day War in June 1967, further extended the right of Jewish sovereignty over the land. This is the same right claimed by America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries that gained sovereignty by subjugating the land by conquest.  

History Unearthed. Excavation of King David’s palace in Jerusalem. According to the Hebrew Bible, the name “City of David” was applied to Jerusalem after its conquest by King David in 1000 BCE.

Sovereignty involves granting citizenship to the people living in the area. Israel cannot remain a Jewish and democratic state with a majority of Palestinian citizens. To avoid this scenario, Israel should not extend sovereignty to areas with large Palestinian populations in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza. What it can do, is to place the large Jewish settlement blocks in the West Bank under Israeli sovereignty. These large settlements are all situated in the biblical land of Israel.      

The saga of the return of diaspora Jews to their ancestral homeland is a testament to the fulfilment of G-d’s promise of the land to the seeds of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Jews have survived exile after exile, and thousands of years of blood libels, persecution and demonization.  They have never abandoned their belief in one G-d and their devotion to Jerusalem. They have miraculously returned to their ancestral land, and have resuscitated Hebrew as a spoken language. They have made the desert bloom. They have established what has been metaphorically described as the villa in the jungle. It is not utopia, and has many serious problems and faults that still need to be resolved in the fullness of time.

Archeological digs in Jerusalem, and many other sites, have confirmed that Jews have lived in the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea for thousands of years. From the above, it appears that there is a compelling case for Jewish sovereignty over the land of Israel based on three claims. The first is the promise by G-d of the land to the seed of the Jewish Patriarchs, the second is over 3.000 years of Jews living in the land, and the third is conquest, both ancient and modern. No other sovereign country can claim all three of the above. I will end with the following message from G-d from the book of Genesis:

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse.


Unearthing Jewish Life in Ancient Times. The Excavation of King David’s Palace






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).

WE ARE ALL JEWS HERE

The heroism of Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds

By Andrew Fox

This month, the United States is set to posthumously award America’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor to US Army Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, a man who displayed one of the most difficult kinds of heroism: not with a rifle but with moral clarity. According to his family and reports confirmed by a White House official, President Trump told Edmonds’ son that the Medal of Honor has been approved and will be presented on a date still to be announced.

If you only remember one line from Master Sergeant Edmonds’ story, remember this: “We are all Jews here.”

Medal of Honor recipient, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds

In late 1944, Edmonds was captured during the Battle of the Bulge and taken to Stalag IX-A, a German prisoner-of-war camp. There, he became the senior American non-commissioned officer responsible for approximately 1,200–1,300 American POWs.

On 27 January 1945, the camp commandant ordered Edmonds to identify the Jewish-American prisoners for separate assembly. Edmonds understood what “separate” meant in Nazi Europe. Instead of handing Jews over one by one, he ordered all the American POWs to stand on parade together, Jews and non-Jews, then told the German officer: “We are all Jews here.”

The German officer raised a pistol and threatened to kill Edmonds on the spot. Edmonds refused to comply, invoking their rights as POWs under the Geneva Conventions and warning the officer about war crimes accountability. The officer backed down. The camp did not attempt segregation again. Edmonds’ refusal is credited with saving around 200–300 Jewish-American soldiers.

That is what “above and beyond” looks like when courage is guided by conscience. Like many others of his generation, Edmonds returned home and did not turn his story into a personal brand. He scarcely spoke of it at all. Only decades later did his son, Christopher, piece together what had happened, helped by testimonies from men who survived because Edmonds stood firm.

In 2015, Yad Vashem recognised Edmonds as ‘Righteous Among the Nations’, a rare honour awarded to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, making him the first US soldier (and one of only a few Americans) to receive it.

At a 2016 ceremony in Washington, President Obama warned that antisemitism was rising and urged people not to ignore it. Now, more than 80 years after the act itself, America will finally award its highest military honour to his name.

Edmonds’ story goes beyond inspiration to expose how evil manifests in the real world. It is more relevant today than at any time since his courageous act. The Auschwitz gas chambers were simply the culmination of the antisemitic journey. The Holocaust started with segregation and the demand that Jews be singled out, and that everyone else stand aside and let it happen. That is why Edmonds’ act remains so powerful: he refused to take the first step.

Today, that first step is making a comeback. Across the United States, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents in 2024, the highest total in the ADL’s tracking history, marking a fourth consecutive year of increases. In 2025, more than half of Jewish Americans (55%) report experiencing some form of antisemitism in the past year. Nearly one in five reported assault, threat, or verbal abuse based on their identity.

In the UK, the Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 instances of anti-Jewish hate crimes across the country in 2025. This is the second-highest annual total ever reported to CST. It represents a 4% increase from the 3,556 antisemitic incidents in 2024 and is second only to the 4,298 incidents logged in 2023.

In France, government data counted 1,320 antisemitic acts in 2025, accounting for 53% of all anti-religious incidents, remaining at historically high levels for a third straight year.

Jewish people are being threatened, targeted, excluded, blamed, harassed, assaulted, and made to feel that their public existence is a provocation. We should be precise and unwavering about where eliminationist antisemitism is being promoted and put into practice today.

Hamas’s original 1988 charter explicitly contains antisemitic incitement and conspiracy theories about Jewish control; language that reflects the same worldview that fuelled Europe’s exterminationist movements. Hamas later released a 2017 document attempting to alter some of its framing (stating its struggle is against the “Zionist project” rather than Jews), yet it continued to reject Israel’s legitimacy and endorsed “liberation” claims “from the river to the sea”. Hamas’s words are now repeated on our streets, legislatures and university campuses, daily and weekly.

Meanwhile, Iran’s regime has aided Hamas for decades, including materially and financially. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum has documented a long history of Holocaust denial and distortion from the Iranian government and official media sources, one of the classic ways through which antisemitism is disguised as “politics” and “respectable debate”.

We are witnessing a revival of Nazi-style antisemitism in modern guise: sometimes religious, sometimes revolutionary, sometimes “anti-Zionist” in label, all while still peddling the oldest anti-Jewish myths.

We need action today. Master Sergeant Edmonds did one thing: he made it impossible to single Jews out. That is the heart of this call to action. When someone Jewish is targeted for their identity, it does not matter whether it occurs online, on campus, in a workplace, on a street, or in a synagogue. Our response must not be silence, ambiguity, or “both sides” of the issue.

It must be: we stand together.

  1. Speak out loud. If you hear “Hitler was right,” “the Jews control…,” “Zionists are Nazis,” or any other recycled poison, do not let it go unanswered. The social cost of antisemitism decreases when decent people remain silent.
  1. Report what you see, document what you can. Use credible reporting channels (community security groups, campus reporting tools, the police when appropriate). Patterns become undeniable when they are recorded.
  2. Show up for Jewish spaces. Attend a public Holocaust remembrance event. Visit a Jewish museum. Accept an invitation to Shabbat dinner. If a synagogue or Jewish event is threatened, ask how to support them, not as saviours, but as neighbours.
  3. Push institutions to enforce their own rules. Schools and workplaces often have policies against harassment and hate. Demand they apply those rules consistently when the target is Jewish: no euphemisms, no excuses, and no special carve-outs for the “right kind” of hate.
  4. Respect moral courage and demand it from leaders. In the US, there was a bipartisan legislative effort to recognise Edmonds’ heroism, including a bill introduced in 2025 to award him a Congressional Gold Medal. Wherever you live, let your elected officials know you expect this kind of moral clarity, not just symbolic statements when convenient.

The Nazis demanded a list. Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds refused. Our era and our societies today face a similar choice, only with different uniforms and slogans. Make your decision. It matters. Will we continue to allow Jews to be singled out? Or will we stand united and declare, in practice and not just in sentiment:

We are all Jews here.



About the writer:

A veteran of three grueling tours of Afghanistan, Major Andrew Fox holds a Batchelor’s degree in Law & Politics, a Master’s in Military History & War Studies, Msc in Psychology and is currently studying for a PhD in History.







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).

RETRACING ROOTS

Israeli travel advisor takes a trip of a different kind tracing the footsteps of his late mother to Uzbekistan’s Samarkand.

By Motti Verses

Central Asia was one of the few places that accepted Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Altogether, about 1.6 million Soviet Jews and 200,000 Polish Jewish refugees are estimated to have survived the war in Central Asia – across Siberia and parts of the Ural Mountains. In this fortuitous part of the world that became an unlikely center for Jewish refugees, the city of Samarkand played a significant role as a hub for these displaced Jews. Few in the world today are aware that this city served as a major center for the evacuation of children from the Soviet Union, with thousands being sent to Uzbek families and orphanages. Research reveals that the Samarkand region during the first years of the war, absorbed about 90,000 children. To meet this influx, sixteen orphanages were established absorbing 8,000 children, including 300 from Poland.

Safety in Samarkand. During WWII, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, became a refuge for Jewish refugees, primarily from Poland, who had been displaced by the war. Above is a group portrait of Polish Jewish refugees in Samarkand in 1943. (Photo Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Anne Miransky)

My late mother Sarah was a teenager when together with her family and a quarter of a million Polish Jews, fled with the outbreak of WWII, to the interior of the Soviet Union. Residing in a small village near the city of Chelm in eastern Poland,  my mother, together with her parents and a brother and sister, crossed the nearby border into Soviet Russia following the German Wehrmacht entering Warsaw on October 1, 1939.  In retrospect, she was among the fortunate to have escaped the genocide that befell European Jewry. I can only imagine what she experienced as she fled from one labor camp to another across Central Asia’s Muslim regions.

Years passed, and when I was her age in Israel of the 1970s, she began to revisit her past and spoke about this “most beautiful town” she remembered – Samarkand. She was reliving the best and blocking out the worst – like her experiences in a labor camp. This was understandable.

While for years hearing the name “Samarkand”, I never imagined that 85 years after the deadliest disaster to befall the Jewish people, I too – intrigued by my mother’s recollections – would journey to this intriguing city in Uzbekistan renowned in ancient times for being on the Silk Road linking China to the Mediterranean. 

Samarkand Uzbekistan on the Silk Road and the Hilton hotel / MOTTI VERSES 5/2025

This past Spring, I set out on my long-awaited journey tracing my mother’s footsteps to the city and its people that saved her life. A five-hour comfortable night flight in an empty aircraft from Ben Gurion airport and we landed in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The view from my taxi was of a modern impressive metropolis, but while our eyes feasted on  the city’s wide boulevards, its iconic Independence Square with vibrant fountains, an impressive park and spacious walkways, our minds were elsewhere, some 300 kilometers away – Samarkand.

ON TRACK TO SAMARKAND

Uzbekistan offers modern transportation, including flights and trains – fast track as well as regular. Unfortunately acquiring tickets to the faster options is not that easy with online tickets sold-out long in advance. Frustrated, we booked the 4-hour slow train, however, fortune favored us as the Tashkent hotel concierge came to our rescue and business class tickets on the fast train were found at the last minute at affordable prices. This 210 km/h high-speed train, the Afrosiyob, proved quick and comfortable as well as providing an unexpected and interesting encounter. I met a fellow passenger, Orif Shermatov, an Uzbek astronomer who was on his way to a paragliding festival in Samarkand and we engaged in a long conversation thanks to Google translation. He told me about his Jewish friends that had immigrated to Israel and when the conversation shifted to why Jews eat Matzah on Passover, my mind shifted back in time to the war and the  Jewish refugees – including my late mother and her family – marking Pesach (Passover) during those trying times in work camps.

The 2-hour ride passed quickly and soon felt as if we had passed through a time tunnel arriving in Samarkand one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. It felt as if we had also arrived back in the 14th century. Situated at the  crossroads of trade, Samarkand flourished under the rule of empires with its strategic location on the Silk Road marking it a melting pot of diverse cultures, fostering advancements in science, art and particularly in astonishing architecture that soon became visually all to apparent.  It is home of the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty, a Turco-Mongol empire that ruled much of Persia and Central Asia in the late 14th and 15th centuries founded by Amir Timur, widely regarded as one of the greatest military leaders of Central Asia and today an Uzbek national hero.

Exquisite and Enchanting. The structural geometry and colorful facades of Samarkand’s renowned Islamic architecture did not fail to enchant the writer. (Photo: Motti Verses)

For history lovers and architecture enthusiasts alike, visiting the exquisite Gūr-i Amīr or Guri Amir Mausoleum Complex is undoubtedly a must as we soon found out. It took our breath away staring at the incredibly huge azure dome over the tombs of Amir Timur himself and his sons and  grandsons. It was a highlight not to be missed. Gur-e Amir means “Tomb of the King” in Persian. 

A Feast for the Eyes. Interior of the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum which was erected on the initiative of Timur in 1404 and occupies an important place in the history of world Islamic architecture.(Photo: Motti Verses)

Located in the heart of Samarkand, the ancient Registan Square ensemble of Madrasas is a real gem and undeniably the centerpiece of the city. Its grand architectural ensemble has earned it global fame as a monument of oriental architecture offering a breathtaking journey through centuries of history, architecture, and cultural heritage. But it did not always look like this as we soon discovered.

‘Roaring’ Success. The name of the impressively restored Sher-Dor Madrasah on Registan Square built between 1619 and 1636, translates to “Madrassah with Lions”. (Photo: Motti Verses)

Over the centuries and a lack of resources left it neglected. We learnt how Samarkand had gone through severe economic decline, particularly when  its status of being a capital city passed to Bukhara and merchants of the Great Silk Road bypassed the city. 

However major restoration works were undertaken between 1967-1987 and the outcome is jaw dropping. We were left speechless facing this grand architectural collection and I couldn’t help thinking about my late mother, who had been 14 and 15 years old at the time, admiring the unmaintained sites in the 1940s before the restoration. The structures were then in a ruined condition with the domes and portals partially or in some cases, totally destroyed. The  minarets were dangerously inclined and the façades in some places had lost 70-80% of their ceramic tile coverings. We saw in the museum section of the madrasas, photographs capturing the history from those days. However, and this is what struck me so emotionally, was reflecting back to the city’s depressed period, its iconic architectural gems neglected and my mother  as with all the Jewish refugees also in a state of tragic upheaval and ‘disrepair’, nevertheless marveling at what she saw and experienced here in Samarkand. To my mother, it was the most beautiful city she had ever seen in her life.

Iconic Leader.  A great patron of art and architecture, Uzbek national hero, Amir Timur, the Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire. (Photo: Motti Verses)

The old town is gigantic in size. Much bigger to what I imagined. We explored endless additional breathtaking structures, monuments, mausoleums and the famous Bibi-Khanum Mosque, named after the emperor’s wife. At the time it was one of the largest and most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world. Bibi-Khanym Mosque is considered a masterpiece of the Timurid Renaissance and left us once again breathless.

Majestic Mosque. A masterpiece of the Timurid Renaissance, Samarkand’s Bibi-Khanym Mosque is one of the country’s most important monuments and in the fifteenth century was one of the largest and most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world.  (Photo: Motti Verses)

Everywhere we explored, I thought of my Mom as a teenager here, where she had been and what she saw and experienced. Leaving the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, we visited the nearby colorful Siab Bazaar known for its vibrant atmosphere and a wide variety of goods, including fresh produce, spices, textiles, and local handicrafts. 

Walking by numerous restaurants offering delicious Uzbek cuisine, we eventually stopped and tried the Plov, the national dish of Uzbekistan with carrots, rice and lamb. Tasty and definitely the ultimate social food here that brings people together.  As I chewed this delicious food, I could not escape the thought:

 “What did my mother eat as a refugee in this city? Did she also enjoy as I was the Plov?”

Food for Thought. Always wondering what his mother may have eaten here during the war years, the writer enjoys a plate of Plov, the quintessential dish of Uzbekistan.  (Photo: Motti Verses)

Thirty minutes away into the countryside and we were in the ‘Silk Road Samarkand Tourist Center’, a unique tourist complex built along an artificial rowing canal dating from the soviet times.

Dazzling Delights. Constantly wondering what his mother had seen all those years before of the ‘Eternal City’, the writer explores and is bedazzled by the restored beauty of Samarkand. (Photo: Motti Verses)

The architecture and landscaping – a recreation of ancient Samarkand, complete with domes and mosques, restaurants and bazaar-style shops – was stunning.

Surprise Encounters. The writer found surprise and beauty at every turn in this dream “Eternal City”. (Photo: Motti Verses)

Like Alice entering Wonderland, we felt we had stepped into an oriental fairy tale with the turquoise domes, majestic mosaics on palaces and high minarets piercing the blue sky.

While we strolled fascinated by the architecture, it was our minds too that wandered, imagining the versatile heritage of bygone centuries. The trade routes of the Great Silk Road paved the way to Samarkand paper manufacturing. The silk paper process-making is one of the most impressive presentations here. Thousands of years of astonishing technology by Samarkand craftsmen.

Paper Processing. From ancient times to the present, Samarkand paper has not lost its significance as seen hear in this silk paper process-making. (Photo by Motti Verses)

Moved by Samarkand’s magical landmarks and its rich cultural heritage, this city will certainly remain in our hearts forever. We felt  – as my mother must have felt – completely safe here, surrounded by the friendly Uzbek people. In my heart, I thanked them for being so brave and warm to the refugees fleeing the bloodiest conflict in human history. 

Time Travels. During the time the writer’s mother was in Samarkand during WWII, a group of fellow Jewish refugees are seen here in front of Tamarlane’s tomb. (Photo Credit:United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Marc Ratner)

Visiting Samarkand was not only a breathtaking journey to a beautiful city with wonderful people but it was also a journey into the past, linking my mother’s stories of my childhood with her childhood in this wonderous place where she found refuge before starting a new life in a new land – Israel.


  • In memory of Sarah Migdal-Verses (1926-2009)



*Feature picture: The writer thinking of his late mother Sarah (right) in Samarkand’s Registan Square (Photo: Motti Verses).



About the writer:

The writer, Motti Verses, is a Travel Flash Tips publisher. His travel stories are published on THE TIMES OF ISRAEL  https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/motti-verses/. And his hospitality analysis reviews on THE JERUSALEM POST, are available on his Linkedin page LinkedIn Israelhttps://il.linkedin.com › motti-verse…Motti Verses – Publisher and Chief Editor – TRAVEL FLASH TIPSAnd his hospitality analysis reviews on THE JERUSALEM POST, are available on his Linkedin page LinkedIn Israelhttps://il.linkedin.com › motti-verse…Motti Verses – Publisher and Chief Editor – TRAVEL FLASH TIPS.





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 NEW ISRAELI

Israelis have been irrevocably changed by the events of 7 October

By Rolene Marks

We are almost at the one-year anniversary since the Hamas invasion of 7 October.  One year. How does one capture a year of trauma, loss, agony, miracles, triumphs, tragedies, anger, sorrow and just about every other emotion you can think of. It does not matter how many days have passed since that Black Sabbath, for Israelis, every day is 7 October.

It has been almost a year of profound devastation – but also of exceptional resilience and heroism. Israelis have always been a plucky, “chutzpanit” and innovative but since 7 October, a new Israeli has been born.

We will never be those people who went to sleep on 6 October, filled with joyous anticipation of the next day when we would celebrate the Jewish holy festival of Simcha Torah. How could we ever be the same? We have been birthed anew – irrevocably changed.

Processing and Persevering. Daniel Weiss sings next to the destroyed home of his murdered parents Judith and Shmulik Weiss (Credit: Noam Dvir)

In our grief, we each adopted a personal mission. Through our pain, we have each found a purpose. On 7 October, we experienced the worst of humanity. On 8 October, the best of Israel and the Jewish people trudged through their pain, shock and grief and rose to meet the challenges. We are trauma bonded forever – but we are turning our pain into purpose and power.

The new Israeli is forged with a backbone of steel, even tougher than those of our predecessors. We have to be.  The 7 October massacre was a brutal wake-up call that if we thought for one second, we could be complacent or let our guard down – think again. 

For many Israelis, the rampant antisemitism that we see on campuses and in protests in cities around the world has woken us up to the imperative of the State of Israel and that Jew hatred is not an abstract concept. The genie is not just out of the bottle, it is running like a screaming maniac down the streets and on the campuses, on social media and across industries and careers. Our reaction has been to not cower – but to face it head on with pride, dignity and action. Israeli’s do not fit into any particular box of definitions and this confuses the paradigm. Israelis, no matter their age or background, religious or secular, left or right leaning, are patriotic. We are proud of our flag; we are proud to serve and we are proud of our national identity and history. This is an inconvenient truth for many of our detractors.

Prior to 7 October, many of us pondered this generation of Tik-Tok obsessed, social media addicts and wondered what would happen if they were challenged in any way. Would they stand up? Would they be worthy?

This generation of Israelis are worthy. They are the reservists who did not wait to be called up by the IDF to defend Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack who rushed to their bases or caught planes from the four corners of the world to fight. They fight with honour and with pride. While many of their compatriots around the world are looking for the nearest “safe space” on campus – they are busy fighting a brutal enemy that threatens our western values and liberties. We need to be worthy of them and make sure that they receive our full support. They certainly have our gratitude.

Our young people have known pain and heartbreak that their peers around the world have never encountered. Many of them have lost friends and peers fighting for their country or during the massacre.

Israelis have learnt the hard way over the last year that not only are we judged by a different standard for the way we are prosecuting a war we did not start, we are judged for daring to have the audacity to defend ourselves. We have learnt that those who hate Israel will attach any dehumanizing and demeaning label they possibly can to demonize the Jewish state. We have heard them all – Apartheid state, colonisers and genocidal killers. We have learnt that despite our earnest attempts to communicate the facts, they vanish into the abyss. I believe the silent majority stands with Israel but are too afraid to be vocal because of the violence and intimidation shown by the “opposition”.

Resilience and Rebirth. The Be’eri Printing Press factory at Kibbutz Be’eri reopens a week after the massacre carried out by Hamas.

Many are debating what the “day after” looks like for Gaza. We know we need to have a plan because we will not allow for any scenario that creates a sequel to 7 October. The new Israeli, birthed in the baptism of fire and murder continues to hope for peace but will fight with all our might no matter what because we are fighting for our very existence. The new Israel carries not only the Farhud, Shoah and the expulsions on our shoulders and in our souls; we carry the Kibbutzim, Nova family and every innocent who was taken from us that black day.

We are also wondering what “the day after” looks like for us as Jews and Israelis, demonized and dehumanized by so many around the world. How do we send our children to university? How do we travel safely and without harassment? How do we reconnect, if ever, with those we believed were friends but were conspicuous by their silence? How do we walk the streets of major cities around the world knowing they were the weekly venues for chants for our destruction?

I will tell you how. We do it with pride and strength because we know that the same DNA that carries trauma also carries that will to survive, that tenacity to thrive and build, that stubborn burst of the light of home that no hate can extinguish.

The last year has birthed a new Israeli, a new Jew, a new Israeli. We are different but stronger, prouder, fearless, forged in steel like a sword – and the sword is as strong as iron.

Am Yisrael Chai!







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).

“JEWS NOT WANTED”

Jews are receiving a familiar message and its lethal.

By David E. Kaplan

Recollecting a conversation I had as a youngster with my late dad in South Africa, he related how his good friend Walter Levy, whom he enjoyed smoking cigars with and playing billiards, arrived in Cape Town 1936 on the last boat to sail from Germany, with Jewish refugees before the start of the Second World War.  

Departed Harassed; Arrived Harassed. The arrival on October 27, 1936 of the steamer Stuttgart at Cape Town in which Walter Levy arrived. It was the last ship from Germany with Jewish refugees and according to a report, “Upon arrival at Cape Town, when the refugees left the ship, they were harassed and abused by antisemitic protesters.” (Photo: public domain)

What was remarkable was that Walter was 16-years-old at the time and he arrived in South Africa alone.

Emigrating without any member of his family, I pressed on: “How come?”

My father continued:

“Walter was very popular at school, and was a star in his football team. His best friends were his football mates. Then one day, he came onto the field for usual practice and these same friends spat at him and called him a filthy Jew. These were his BEST friends. He was stunned! He ran home and told his parents, “That’s it; I’m leaving school and leaving Germany; alone if needs be.”

And that’s what he did and within the year, and on October 27,1936, under the shadow of Table Mountain, the SS Stuttgart arrived at Cape Town docks, and young Walter, with some 550 other Jewish refugees, disembarked to start a new life.

Sign of the Times. An SS member instructs others where to post anti-Jewish boycott signs on a commercial street in Germany.

Walter, who would emerge as an outstanding businessman in Cape Town, had read the writing on the wall at the age of sixteen and immediately understood on a football field, an ancient hateful millennial message:

“Jews not wanted”

It is a message today following October 7 that Jews around the world are receiving loud and clear across the globe.

From the individual Jew on campuses across Europe and North America to the collective Jew of the State of Israel, that same message is clear. The recent behaviour of France was a dark reminder of an era in Europe we believed we left behind and now feels ever closer to revisiting! When the French government earlier this month BANNED Israel from participating in the prestigious Eurosatory defense exhibition – where the merchandise of Israeli companies is always in high demand – sent the same message Walter Levy felt in Germany in 1936 of “not wanted”.

Held every two years in the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre in Paris, the Eurosatory is the largest international exhibition for the land and air-land defence and security industry. In 2022, it gathered over 1,700 exhibitors and approximately 62,000 visitors from 150 countries. This year, the city whose police and gendarmes on 16 -17 July 1942 mass arrested Jewish families at the behest of the Nazis, banned Israelis.

HALT! Verboten to Israelis. The Eurosatory Defense and Security trade show in Villepinte, outside Paris, where this year, not only was Israel banned from exhibiting but Israelis were banned from attending. (Photo: AP)
 

It went further.

Upon the request of pro-Palestinian groups, not only were Israeli companies prevented from exhibiting their products as they traditionally do, but a district court furthermore barred Israelis from even attending the event.  Apparently, the petition filed by the pro-Palestinian groups were not satisfied with cancelling the Israeli pavilion as it:

 “Did not guarantee the absence of Israelis at the event.”

The court sided with this disgraceful argument,

So, while the representatives of China and Iran – two of the world’s worst violators of human rights – were free to come and go, of course, Israelis were barred.

And then, reminiscent of 1930s Berlin windows of Jewish-owned stores painted with the word “JUDE” (Jew), the French court ordered that the letter announcing the ban at the exhibition be posted at the entrances to the exhibition. Although long and convoluted, its message was clear:

 “No Israelis allowed”

As The Jerusalem Post columnist, Liat Collins wrote, it was only a step away from “No entrance for Jews.”

France’s decision to exclude Israel and its citizens from the fair was in its words driven by “suspicions of war crimes and genocide in Gaza”.  Really?

Apart from no evidence of either, Israel will never “get a fair shake from most of the world,” writes Eric R. Mandel, director of the consulting firm, Mandel Strategies. Writing in The Jerusalem Post (March 11 ‘Convincing American’), Mandel notes that:

 “Some 69% of protests in the first week after Hamas invaded Israel, on October 7, 2023, were against the Jewish state. This, despite Hamas causing the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, with unimaginable sexual violence. And the Jewish state hadn’t even started its ground operation.”

Ignoring Massacre and Sexual violence of Jews. Thousands of protestors participate in a pro-Palestinian protest in London on October 22, 2023. This followed the massacre of Israelis on October 7 and before Israel began the land incursion into Gaza on October 27.

In other words, the world had turned on the hate BEFORE Israel responded to the massacre of October 7. Hence, it does not matter what Israel says or does; it only matters to antisemites that Israel exists.

While Israel is being unreasonably pressurized to consider “the day after” offering a “political vision for tomorrow,” I cannot help but subscribe to the position that a people that base their right to self-rule, forfeit that right if their cause rests on the destruction of another.

That today is the position of the Palestinians where according to a Palestinian poll published by the Ramallah-based non-profit Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research released on June 12, “more than two-thirds support Hamas’s decision to launch its killing spree in southern Israel on October 7.”

Clearly, we have a clash of “visions for tomorrow”.

Israel is not obliged to commit suicide.

Masada fell once. It will never fall again.





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 LOVE LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF MY COUNTRY

These past 7 months have demonstrated that Israelis are extraordinary in so many ways.

By Rolene Marks

It has been over 7 months of agony. It feels like years. I do not remember life before 7 October – I do not think most people do either. There is 7/10 – and life before that, which is blurred and fuzzy. We are not the same people who went to sleep on 6 October. We never will be again. How could we be?

This year, the national holidays in Israel have a distinctly different tone. They are sacred days, filled with sorrow – and dread. Yom Hashoa (Holocaust Memorial Day) in the shadow of 7/10 was extremely poignant and difficult. The images of our brothers and sisters burnt to ash or herded onto the back of trucks and taken away as well as the raw, unbridled hatred that fueled the attack was reminiscent of the experiences of our ancestors – and family.

On 7 October, Hamas intended to terrorise. And they did. The trauma we have is so deep; it is at a cellular level. They came into the one safe haven of the Jewish people, our collective home and into our individual homes as families, and raped, mutilated, tortured, burnt, murdered and kidnapped. We thought it could never happen again – but it did.  We are so deep in our collective trauma that we have not even begun to emerge into post trauma but no sooner had the news broken, Israelis began to flex our well-toned resilience muscle. War and trauma are not new to Israelis or the Jewish people, but this time it was different. The level of depravity was beyond our comprehension – and many of us feel that we have been transported back in time, to the pogroms and persecution of our grandparents and great-grandparents.

We are now approaching two Days of Awe – Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror – and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Independence Day. The two days take place one after the other so that we never forget the price we paid for what we have – a Jewish state. This year it is all the more emotional and heightened as we are fighting a war for our very survival – while antisemitism soars to astronomical levels.

Hamas made no distinction between any of us – left or right, religious or secular, Muslim, Christian, Jew, and foreign national – everyone was a target. Our answer to that, despite our differences, is to come together as a nation and focus on what is most important – supporting our bereaved families and families of hostages, demanding the immediate return of our hostages, ensuring the world does not forget what happened on 7/10 and standing behind our army.

In our grief, we each adopted a personal mission. Through our pain, we have each found a purpose and this article is my personal love letter to every single one of my exceptional fellow citizens and women. On 7 October, we experienced the worst of humanity. On 8 October, the best of Israel and the Jewish people trudged through their pain, shock and grief and rose to meet the challenges.

These Days of Awe, I want to express my profound love for my fellow citizens.

To the men, women and canines on air, sea, land, tunnels and airwaves, who are fighting not just for our survival, but for our very existence, there are not enough words to thank you. You are the best of us. You are our husbands and wives, sons and daughters, lovers, colleagues, friends and you are not just fighting for us, you are the vanguard in the clash between good and evil. We are proud of you, we stand by you and we know without any doubt that you adhere to the strictest moral and ethical code as you fight a monstrous entity that does not respect the laws of armed conflict, but instead uses their civilians as human shields. You can hold your head up high.

To our warriors, human and canine, who paid the ultimate price for our safety, your names will go down in the annals of our history, and we will honour you eternally. We will wrap our arms around your families. May your memories forever be blessed.

The 7th of October was the darkest day in Israel’s history, but it was also a day that ordinary people became superheroes. There were parents who drove down south to rescue their children in the carnage, risking their lives and saving many. Noam Tibon, a retired IDF General, and his wife got into their car and headed straight to Nahal Oz to help rescue his son and his family, trapped in their safe room.  Tibon and his wife would not only rescue injured soldiers, shepherding them to safety, but Noam engaged in combat with terrorists before managing to free his family. Civilians like Yusuf Marhat, a Bedouin bus driver who transported revelers to the Nova festival and then drove towards the carnage to rescue as many as possible. He saved many lives that dark day. Aner Shapira was amongst a group of people hiding in a shelter when Hamas opened fire on them and threw grenades in. Video footage shows Shapira throwing at least 7 grenades out before he was eventually killed. His best friend Hersch Goldberg Polin was taken as a hostage and remains in captivity. These are just a few of the many who drew superhuman strength to save as many lives as they could.

To every first responder who ran into the danger, we salute you. It was the call centre operators who took those first calls from terrified kibbutz residents. I keep thinking of the operator who took the distressed call of Avigail Idan’s siblings, who saw their parents murdered and did not know where their baby sister was. The siblings hid in a cupboard where their mother Smadar had safely hidden them before she was murdered. The operator told them to hide there “till the good people come”. Images of Jewish children hiding in cupboards from killers takes us back to that darkest time in our history. The remarkable first responders from Magen David Adom, firefighters, United Hatzalah, Zaka, IDF soldiers, doctors, nurses, police and all who ran into the gates of hell went above and beyond the call of duty. They were nothing less than magnificent.

The attacks of October 7 left many orphans. Statistics estimate 119 children who lost either one or more parents. Breastfeeding mothers rushed to donate their breast milk so that our smallest and most vulnerable treasures would receive sustenance. This is love in a profound time of sorrow.

The Beautiful Israel.  Young kids making sandwiches for soldiers who may be their fathers or mothers defending their country in the north and the south.

To the volunteers, near and far, who are diligently picking fruit and vegetables, thank you! You are helping to feed a country who faces the real threat of a lack of food security. Many of the agricultural workers who came from Thailand, Nepal and other countries returned to their countries in the wake of 7/10, leaving farms without labourers. Israelis sprang into action, making sure cows were milked, fruit, vegetable picked, and that the farms that form the country’s food belt have continued to function. Volunteers have been streaming in around from around the world to help – including a team of cowboys from the USA.  It has been an incredible show of love and solidarity.

Stepping up to the Plate. Braving warm smiles on faces traumatized by national tragedy, Israelis preparing food for their soldiers.

To my colleagues who are journalists or are in the field of public diplomacy – we are tasked with bearing witness, recording history and testimony and sharing it with the world. It has been at times, an agonizing task. We have had to see the images and footage from the atrocities that are unfathomable in their cruelty. We have had to see them again and again in order to ensure the story is told, the atrocities not denied or forgotten. It takes a massive toll. We will continue to speak.

To the lawyers who are defending Israel in the international courts against libelous accusations of genocide – some heroes really do wear capes. In this case, robes. You are our legal heroes in your robes, presenting Israel’s case with alacrity, dignity and forensic detail, compiling case after case that easily disproves the accusation of genocide. You have had to pore over the evidence of a true genocide, the atrocities of 7 October, in all of its savage imagery. This is unbearable but proves without a doubt who the perpetrators are – Hamas.  

To my sisters, the Zionesses roaring on behalf of our mothers, sisters and daughters who no longer have a voice, who were raped and tortured and then violated again by feminists and women’s organisations who not only denied the violence they endured, but built a wall of silence. We, the women of Israel, will tear down that wall by speaking up. We will not be silenced.


Country United. As they say an army marches on its stomach, it didn’t take long for Israel’s restaurants to get into the kitchen to feed their heroes. Within days of the war began following the massacre of October 7, even Israel’s top restaurants rallied to provide food for the soldiers.

Someone once said that an army marches on its stomach. The IDF must be the most well-fed army in in the world. Israelis and volunteers from abroad have been packing food parcels, donating, hosting barbeques on the border and ensuring that the army that defends its nation, eats well. Restaurant owners have koshered their restaurants to ensure that all food meets religious requirement and no soldiers is excluded from enjoying a delicious meal.  Druze women and restaurant owners have closed their restaurants to the public and are catering solely to soldiers. When they open to the public again, we will support them in our masses.


What’s Cooking? In wartime Israel, everyone does their part – even if that means cooking dinner in a parking garage. Seen here at the Keshet school in Jerusalem’s Katamon neighborhood, are student volunteers in their school’s parking garage, which also is functioning as a makeshift kitchen feeding as many as 300 people per day.(Photo by Neil Weinberg)
 

To the hostages – our brothers and sisters held in torturous conditions, and those who have been released – no amount of words do justice to explain your courage and your dignity.  Former hostages who have bravely shared about their horrific experience have done so with the greatest dignity and continue to fight for the 132 that remain captive. The stories are shattering – torture, starvation, systematic sexual abuse and more accounts that speak of unfathomable trauma. We will not stop until every single one of you is back.

The people who have vowed to rebuild their devastated communities and kibbutzim, you are the beacon of hope, of resilience. You remind us of what we have, what we cherish and what our commitment is.


Seniors in the ‘Service’. Volunteers sort donated resources for Israelis displaced by the October 7 attacks and Israel-Hamas war. (Photo: Foni Mesika)

Young people who have risen to the challenge. You are more than our greatest hope, you have more than proven our future is radiantly bright – you light the way. You have shown up in our darkest moment in the most magnificent way and while we look around the world at the chaos on campuses and in marches, alarmed at how the young and more often than not, gullible have been radicalized, we do not fear for the future of Israel. You are our future. You are the generation that will go down in the annals of history as one of our greatest. I believe that.

To you who has gone above and beyond and who I may not have mentioned, thank you. To every single one of us, navigating our own trauma and pain, but showing up, every single day, there is no greater love than the love we have for each other.

Every single one of us. Am Yisrael Chai!







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).

UCT COUNCIL ELECTION

Shaping a safer future today for tomorrow’s students

“A university is supposed to be a safe space for young students to learn, debate, and discuss things,” said Daniel Bloch, the director of the Cape South African Board of Jewish Deputies.  He was sadly referring to Cape Town University (UCT), that in recent times has emerged as an increasingly hostile environment for Jewish students.
Once the bastion of academic freedom and free speech, Jewish students frequently face frightening abuse and threats from Israel haters.
In the light of the forgoing, Lay of the Land was approached to bring to the attention of its readers, many of them UCT alumni, that there is an important Council Election taking place at present that closes on the 23 April 2024.
See below for details.

David Kaplan
Editor Lay of the Land


UCT Alumni Action Alert 📢📢📢

UCT has announced the commencement of its Council Elections. This allows alumni to have a direct impact on the future of the university. The UCT Council is the highest decision-making body at UCT. The election runs until 23 April 2024.

Over the past number of years UCT has become notably hostile toward Israel, academic freedom, independent thinking and opposition voices.  Events in which Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi speakers have even been hosted have been held on the campus.

Four alumni candidates are running for the UCT Council to help restore stability and support the university’s commitment to academic excellence and freedom.  They are:

David Ansara, Think Tank Director; Mark Oppenheimer, Advocate; Kelly Phelps, Legal Academic; Brian Kantor, Professor Emeritus

VOTE NOW FOR ALL FOUR CANDIDATES – Support the future of the University of Cape Town and all South Africans

To Vote:

You can only vote if you have received a ballot via email from UCT.  If you haven’t received a ballot, request one by emailing convocationelection@uct.ac.za and follow the instructions. To learn more about the candidates  https://tinyurl.com/fnftnvyd

PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHER ALUMNI!

Warm Regards

Adam Frank
Researcher in Geo-Political Risk
UCT Alumni Action Alert





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



IT’S NOT CRICKET

It is also not the direction South Africa should be going stripping the cricket captaincy of a Jew while falsely accusing Israel at The Hague of “Genocide”

By Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe

For heaven’s sake, let’s depoliticise sports.

It was the late statesman, Nelson Mandela, who reminded us that “sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”

Wrong Turn. No longer following the path of Mandela, South Africa has taken a dangerious slipery road  by its changing attitudes towards Jews.

The recent nonsensical decision by Cricket SA (CSA) to strip David Teeger of the captaincy of the SA Under 19 team cannot be justifiable in our reputed democracy. The young man was cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent adjudicator. Is Cricket SA not happy with the outcome of the investigations – into sentiments expressed by Teeger – that were instituted by CSA itself? Those who accused Teeger of any wrongdoing should surely be apologising to him instead of causing him yet more distress.

The timing of demoting Teeger is of interest as it intriguingly occurred during the International Court of Justice’s case where South Africa is accusing Israel of possible acts of genocide against the people of Gaza. CSA’s excuse was that there were “security concerns”. It is highly plausible, however, that there was direct political interference aimed at pressuring CSA to unceremoniously dethrone Teeger on the eve of the tournament.

‘Howzat!’ South Africa. Cricket South Africa, the country’s governing body for the sport, stripped David Teeger, an observant Jew, of his captaincy just weeks ahead of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
 

Are we going to be coerced into making foolish, unjustified and unfair decisions because a group of people threaten to terrorise us? There is nothing that Teeger has done that justifies CSA’s baseless action, therefore he should be reinstated to his captaincy position. Those who still believe that he has done anything wrong have to exploit possible legal avenues to challenge what is already on the table rather than thrive on the spirit of terror and aggression.

South Africa under the ANC is being turned into a useful tool for the East-West ideological battle. A few months ago, we were accused of helping Russia with armaments, which has not helped our struggling relationship with the Western powers. Our foreign affairs minister Naledi Pandor further had a “cozy” phone call with her friends, the bloodthirsty Hamas organisation. The ANC could not wait to meet these friends, when barely three weeks after the brutal attacks it carried out against Israel, South Africa hosted a senior Hamas delegation that – incredibly – visited the country for a “solidarity gathering”.

True Colours. Showing support for terrorism against the Jewish state, South Africa’s foreign minister Naledi Pandor wasted little time following the massacre of Jews on October 7 by  calling  the organisation’s leader Ismail Haniyeh to offer her country’s support.

The treatment of Teeger does not only undermine him personally, but undermines all the citizens of this country. Our leaders appear to just wake up in the morning and decide what should happen without justification or reasoning. We should be taken seriously as people, and those in authority should be held accountable for their actions or inaction.

Is it wrong for Teeger to hold political views?  The issue that began this disgraceful reaction of South Africa’s cricket authorities was when the 18-year-old David Teeger accepted an award as the inaugural Rising Star of the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards, he dedicated it to the young soldiers fighting for Israel following a horrendous massacre of his Jewish people.

Aristotle reminds us that a man is by nature a “political animal” because he is a social creature with the power of speech and moral reasoning. This means that we all are influenced by politics, like it or not. It also denotes that each person has political views. Are sportsmen or journalists not allowed to vote and align themselves with the party of their choice? They are indeed, which affirms that they are political animals.

We should encourage more young people to engage in politics and current affairs in general. Young people must have a say about what is happening around them, and should be allowed to hold and express their views on the issues of the day, be it climate change, conflict, sports, technology and science, politics, food security, gender-based violence and other topical issues.

While we are always going to hold conflicting views on political questions, it is sport that will enable us to have common grounds and positively engage with each other. Cricket SA does not have a right to punish players for their political views. Had David Teeger expressed his support for the other side of the conflict, Palestine, would he have suffered the same fate?

If he had wrapped his neck with a Palestinian flag, would he have been demoted? I doubt it very much.


About the Writer:

Kenneth Mokgatlhe is a political writer and columnist studying Master’s at Ben Gurion University in Israel.






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

ISRAELI POLICE WOMEN

Defenders of the state of Israel, woman heroes in the line of fire

By Rolene Marks and Marc Kahlberg

When police in Israel’s southern community first started to receive calls from terrified residents in the kibbutzim and small communities that came under brutal attack by Hamas terrorists, Israel’s police responded as quickly and forcefully as they possibly could.

Israel’s valiant police defended as hard as they could with the limited firepower they had at the time – and many paid with their lives. Hamas murdered at least 58 police officers and women – and that number is expected to rise. Brave women joined their male counterparts, fighting with all their might to eliminate the enormous threat of Hamas.

As the days go on, we learn more details about that horrific day when Israeli civilians were murdered, tortured, raped and kidnapped in the most barbaric and depraved way. We are also starting to hear the stories of those that were first on site, the first responders of the Israel Police alongside local community security personal, who witnessed the carnage and fought it with all their might.

Israel is now at war against Hamas and the police are in the frontlines of not only classic policing, but also dealing with an existential daily terror threat.

Many police officers have been called up for reserve duty in the army. It is the women of the Israeli police that are our frontline of protection in our cities and communities across the country as most of their male counterparts move from protecting our cities and communities to protecting our borders.

Those that serve in the Israel Police represent a cross-section of Israeli society – Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Bedouin, Druze and are a mosaic of the diversity that is Israel.

These are a few of the Israel Police real life heroes;

Meet Israel’s Policewomen:

Major Moran Etedgi (Picture Credit: Israel Police International Spokespersons Unit)

Saturday morning 7 October 2023, a Jewish holiday celebrating happiness, “I woke up together with my family to the sound of the sirens indicating that we were yet again under rocket attack from the terrorists in Gaza. I quickly gathered my family and hurried downstairs to the protected and sheltered area. After a few minutes the alarms blared again, and then again and again and at this point, I understood something unusual was happening; I realized that the rockets being launched were far beyond that which we have grown accustomed to in such situations.”

Moran Tedgi, is a major and in charge of operations at the Aror police station in the Negev. She lives in Ofakim, and is the mother of two young children.

“I received a report that there were dead and injured in the Aror community, a predominantly Bedouin community and began to give instructions to strengthen our station and alert off duty officers, after fully understanding that we were under attack by terrorists.

At the same time, I turned on the walkie-talkie and listened in on the Ofakim [a large city] police radio channel, and heard commanders and police officers reporting on various encounters with terrorists. I made an instinctive decision to put on my uniform to protect myself and go out. On my way, I picked up another police officer from my station and together we went to the scene.”

Arriving at the first scene:

“we became aware that three police officers were murdered and many police officers were injured. The sight was one of immediate shock. The initial picture of the situation was four terrorists in a house with civilian hostages. As I took command, it was only a matter of seconds before we received a barrage of automatic weapons fire that included grenades and a RPG.

During this never-ending battle, an officer and a police officer were injured and were rescued under fire. We then faced a standoff – not uncommon in a hostage situation – until the arrival of our skilled tactical units.”

When the senior commander of the area arrived at the scene, “I briefed him of the situation while still under attack and returning fire , when suddenly an officer appears and reports that there are three terrorists in his friend’s house on the opposite street. I asked him to show me the photos he took on his cell phone.

The commander of the area asked me to take some police officers and take command of the situation. We approached very carefully until we understood fully which house it was.

I examined the area from all angles to understand where it was possible to counter attack until we became aware that the terrorists were hiding in the backyard of a house.

During this chaos and in the middle of a battle, I had to stop and call my children and tell them that I love them and that their mom is taking care of herself. We surrounded the house in the initial phase from two directions; we saw a body in the house lying lifeless through a hole in window.

In the initial phase, we managed to get some of the family members out safety.

I gathered strength and gave instructions to fire to try to draw out the terrorists that were hiding and waiting to surprise us. We opened up and the terrorists returned the fire wounding an officer. Then the terrorists threw a grenade which injured several more police officers. I was struck in the face by a  fragment of the grenade but I knew must keep calm, and I give a directive to retreat and reorganize.”

Constantly reporting on the dire situation:

  “I asked for help from our helicopter to size up the situation from above, relay photos, and to instruct residents not to leave their homes due to the security situation. I decided to enter again and this time we encircled the house completely.

The challenges were many, continues  Moran with, “constant terrorist fire, grenades, injured police officers, hostages, and logistics, trying to control the additional officers and now IDF soldiers that arrived, over 50 in total. It was imperative that we were all on the same page and to prevent friendly fire between the Police and IDF. My first thoughts were constantly Command and Control, even under fire.

Ordering the firing each time from a different direction, Moran had to scream “since we were barely able to talk on the walkie-talkie and not everyone had walkie-talkies. I also had to ensure I screamed the orders clearly. We then used grenades accompanied by aggressive firepower.”

During one of the firefights, “we shot two terrorists. Another officer was on the roof and started shouting at the last terrorist to surrender, who refused. After further confrontation, the terrorist became visible and I give instructions to shoot him.

Once we neutralised all the terrorists, our bomb squad sappers arrived and disabled several booby traps and other lethal devises designed to kill us. Then it was the job for the medical teams.”

The place now secure, Moran gathered her officers, reorganized and proceeded to the previous scene.

“At this point, I assumed command of the entire city of Ofakim under the direction of the commander of the area. Together with other forces, we responded to dozens of events that happened throughout the city on what can only be described as a bloody Saturday.”

Attending a situation assessment together with the mayor and the commander of the IDF officer’s school, “we divided the city into combat and reaction sectors.”

Reflecting back starting from Saturday 7 October at 7.30 am when the war began, “I participated at the battles of Ofakim, and then continued until Tuesday 10 October and then went back to aid my police station. Certainly, the longest days of my life.”

Every day the brave officers of the Israel Police protect us on the home front. We owe these exceptional men and women a massive debt of gratitude. They would never ask for it or expect it, but they deserve it.

Major Hodaya Loyani

“The late Major Hagai Bibi told his soldiers before he fell in battle in the Kissufim area: “Some will call us fools, but I call it Zionism, giving and true love,” recalls Major Hodaya Loyani, Commander of Municipal Police, Jerusalem district municipal policing.

Major Hodaya Loyani. Commander of Municipal Police, Jerusalem distric municipal, Israel Police, (Picture Credit: Israel Police International Spokespersons Unit).

“In these complex and difficult days, the State of Israel and in particular the Israel Police, experienced a great disaster and lost some of the best of its sons and daughters.

The Israel Police officers, who responded first, directly into the line of fire, sacrificed their lives as heroes.

For the past 14 years, I have been privileged to wear the Israel Police uniform every day with pride and true love for the people of Israel and the State of Israel.

As a woman and as a commander in the urban policing unit in the Jerusalem district, I have the privilege to lead the police officers who do holy work.

The people of Israel have known quite a few wars and many battles, but have never been defeated, and this time too, we will win with God’s help.

We will stand at the front and be called to stand up for whatever it takes to protect the citizens of the country. We will maintain governance in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel and in the country because the people are determined and not afraid of the difficult long road ahead.”

Inspector Sharon Cohen

“For me, ever since I was recruited into the Border Guards,” says  23-years-old Sharon Cohen from Pardes Hana, “I had no doubt that I was going to stay a soldier until the end. I would do the officer’s course and, above all, advance in the core duties”.

                                            Inspector Sharon Cohen (Picture Credit: Israel Police International Spokespersons Unit)

Sharon enlisted in November 2018 and serves in a reserve unit of the tactical brigade team in a command position.

“Following the war that befell us on 7 October, I realized that this was the moment for which I enlisted, for why I am an officer.

The sense of mission deeply embedded in me, even at times of great duress, did not leave me for a moment, saving the lives of residents in the State of Israel. All that I was trained for and taught since enlistment, as a soldier, served me well and allowed me to do my duty and save as many lives as I could.

More than ever, I am proud to belong and proud to serve. I am a defender of the State of Israel.”




About the writers:

Rolene Marks – Freelance Broadcast Journalist & Marc Kahlberg Israel Police (retired)






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

WE ARE ALL SIGNATORIES TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

By Yaakov Hagoel, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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







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