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

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Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

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

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)
ROCK SOLID REVELATIONS 

Digging up the past releases curses, reveals truths but time for Israelis and Palestinians to maturely move on.

By David E. Kaplan

Despite finds such as the latest 3,200-year-old folded-lead tablet in Hebrew revealing Jewish life in the land of Israel, Palestinian leaders still reject any Jewish connection. As the saying goes ‘From a Rock to a Hard Place’, the region has to move beyond false narratives to arrive at destination PEACE.

ROCK SOLID REVELATIONS 

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(2)

WHEN BERNIE MET LENNIE

A personal recollection from Israel’s victorious war 56 years ago

By Lennie Lurie

Marking the 56th anniversary of the Six Day War, the writer takes the reader back to those worrying days in 1967 when a younger Jewish state’s future was uncertain. More certain was that young Jews all over the world were prepared to drop everything – put their lives on hold – and volunteer to serve Israel. Here is the story of one young man from Cape Town, South Africa.

WHEN BERNIE MET LENNIE

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(3)

ISRAEL HAS FAILED TO FIGHT LATVIA, LITHUANIA’S HOLOCAUST DISTORTION

While three acclaimed films shine spotlight on the Holocaust in the Baltics, Latvia and Lithuania respond with Holocaust distortion

By Dr. Efraim Zuroff

There are dark reasons why new highly acclaimed Holocaust documentaries – James Bulgin’s BBC’s ‘How the Holocaust Began’, Michael Kretzmer’s ‘J’Accuse’ and Eugene Levin’s ‘Baltic Truths’ – are winning awards at film festivals all over the world yet are mostly ignored in the Baltic countries to whom the messages of the films are directed. Allow this writer to reveal why!

ISRAEL HAS FAILED TO FIGHT LATVIA, LITHUANIA’S HOLOCAUST DISTORTION

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

To unsubscribe, please reply to layotland@gmail.com

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

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

Home

Like this content? Please share and tweet it to your friends and followers.

To subscribe via email please send a mail noting your request to: layotland@gmail.com 

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Twitter: Lay Of The Land – @layoftheland5

Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

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

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)
‘REVIVIM’ REVEALED

The Jewish festivity of Shavuot brought back memories  of a kibbutz in Israel’s South and its South African connection

By David E. Kaplan

Google ‘Kibbutz Revivim’ and you will find that it was established in 1943 by a youth movement group from Rishon LeZion on land given to them by the JNF. Nowhere will you find – without research – that is was established on land owned and donated by a South African family from Parow, outside Cape Town, South Africa.

‘REVIVIM’ REVEALED

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(2)

THE SEAL THAT CAPTURED THE HEART OF A COUNTRY

Yulia, the rare monk seal captures the hearts of Israelis

By Rolene Marks

‘She Came, She Saw,’ and above all ‘She Conquered’ the minds and hearts of Israelis. Following a 5-day war with Gaza and the ongoing national protests against the government’s judicial overhaul, Israelis needed some ‘Time Out’. They found it with a rare six-foot seal who they named ‘Yulia” and made her into an unlikely celebrity!

THE SEAL THAT CAPTURED THE HEART OF A COUNTRY

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(3)

THE ARAB VOICE – MAY 2023

Arab writers opining on Middle East issues, address the surprising stir caused by a black actor playing the role of Cleopatra in a Netflix documentary, why Arabs are following with interest the less predictable election in Turkey and why the West needs to address problems in the Middle East with more urgency.

THE ARAB VOICE – MAY 2023

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

To unsubscribe, please reply to layotland@gmail.com

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

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

Home

Like this content? Please share and tweet it to your friends and followers.

To subscribe via email please send a mail noting your request to: layotland@gmail.com 

Please visit/ join/follow our social media platforms:

 Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LotLSite/

Twitter: Lay Of The Land – @layoftheland5

Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

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

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)

JITTERS AND JUBILATION IN JERUSALEM

On Jerusalem Day Israel celebrates the unity of the city but how unified is it?

By David E. Kaplan

With much on Jerusalem Day to celebrate there is much as well to warrant concern. While we now have a capital of the Jewish People that is geographically united,  how united are its people? An incident with visiting family from the USA, prompted some largely unanswered questions.

JITTERS AND JUBILATION IN JERUSALEM

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(2)

ARAB TERROR LEADERS SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER PROFESSION

Reflections from Israel amidst another round of hostilities

By Jonathan Feldstein

Does not matter anymore what floor terrorist leaders live on, that is where they may die and not of old age! Israel’s precision surgical-like targeting of terror leaders in their apartments leaving the rest of the building intact, may be changing the rules of the game in counterterrorism.

ARAB TERROR LEADERS SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER PROFESSION

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(3)

WANT TO GET AHEAD OF HATE?

Follow Social Media Rhetoric

By Aviva Klompas and Rachel Fish

In an era of social media, “algorithms” and “worldwide connectivity” are the ‘weapons’ of easy access. Through contrived visuals and prose, they are proving no less lethal than guns and Jews worldwide are in the crosshairs.

WANT TO GET AHEAD OF HATE?

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(4)

MIND THE ROCKETS AND PASS THE SUGAR

Recollections and reflections of a South African immigrant under fire

By Joel Klotnick

Sitting with friends at a café, the writer looked up to see a rocket plume high in the sky and then another followed seconds later by a “BOOM”. The scrip thereafter is predicably the same – find cover, call your loved ones and return to the ‘proverbial’ table. “Anyone for more tea?”

MIND THE ROCKETS AND PASS THE SUGAR

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

To unsubscribe, please reply to layotland@gmail.com

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

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

Like this content? Please share and tweet it to your friends and followers.

To subscribe via email please send a mail noting your request to: layotland@gmail.com 

Please visit/ join/follow our social media platforms:

 Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LotLSite/

Twitter: Lay Of The Land – @layoftheland5

Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

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

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)
ISRAEL CAN WALK AND CHEW GUM AT THE SAME TIME

‘Shield and Arrow’ was a reminder to terrorists not to misread Israel’s internal tensions as fragility

By David E. Kaplan

Thought’s about a competition-winning dance choreographed by the writer’s daughter, illuminated understanding and misunderstanding as no country in the world is NOT going to respond when over a 100 rockets are rapidly fired at its civilian centers?

ISRAEL CAN WALK AND CHEW GUM AT THE SAME TIME

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(2)

HEROES IN OUR TIME

People behind exposing the hard truth of Lithuania in the Holocaust

By Grant Gochin

The writer makes the case that NATO and the European Union cannot demand truth from Russia when one of their own members is so deeply engaged in “Holocaust fraud”. Lithuania has to come clean and tell the truth about its own past.

HEROES IN OUR TIME

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(3)

HOW’S YOUR DAY GOING?

Probably very different from Israelis who were ducking rocket fire near Gaza

By Jonathan Feldstein

Parents who spend all night worried about protecting their kids from rockets have to wake up – assuming they even slept at all – to get their kids off to school and then get to work. How has ‘ABNORMAL’ terrifyingly morphed into ‘NORMAL’.

HOW’S YOUR DAY GOING?

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(4)

PROCESSING THE PAST

Marking Israel’s 75^th, descendants of Nazi killers participate in Jerusalem’s ‘March of Life’

By David E. Kaplan

While a Nazi past of relatives can understandably be a taboo subject in some German families – not all. A number of descendants of Nazis chose to bravely confront rather than suppress their family’s war-time past. Hear their stories and why they will be in Israel this week.

PROCESSING THE PAST

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

To unsubscribe, please reply to layotland@gmail.com

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

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

Home

Like this content? Please share and tweet it to your friends and followers.

To subscribe via email please send a mail noting your request to: layotland@gmail.com 

Please visit/ join/follow our social media platforms:

 Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LotLSite/

Twitter: Lay Of The Land – @layoftheland5

Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

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

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)

DO THE MATH

Still defining who and what it is, Israel at 75 is plugging full steam ahead

By David E. Kaplan

From political mess to proven math, the win at the girl’s European Mathematics Olympiad by Israel, augers well for Israel’s future. Imbedded in modern Israel’s DNA is the pursuit of excellence.

DO THE MATH

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(2)

A LOVE LETTER

From driving “me crazy” to “no place I’d rather be” the author writes to her beloved Israel on her 75th Birthday

By Andi Saitowitz

“Even when things feel as messy as they feel these days,” this is the nature of long-term relationships. But Israel is not just ‘any’ relationship. On the occasion of Israel’s 75^th, the writer explores this profound relationship through a personal letter.

A LOVE LETTER

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(3)

THE FOOLISH PRICE ISRAEL PAID TO RESTORE SCHOOL TRIPS TO POLAND

Will our kids really be taught the Polish government line that no Poles helped murder their Jewish neighbors?

By Dr Efraim Zuroff

With Israel embroiled in a standoff with Poland over the latter’s insistence on ‘regulated’ Holocaust educational trips to present narrative of Polish resistance rather than collaboration, has Israel “surrendered” over a controversial signed deal?

THE FOOLISH PRICE ISRAEL PAID TO RESTORE SCHOOL TRIPS TO POLAND

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(4)

TWO SIDES OF A FENCE AND A WORLD APART

An illuminating crossover visit to kibbutz Ha’on and the formerly owned now privatized Daria Resort on the Sea of Galilee

By Motti Verses

As much exploration as holiday visit, travel writer Motti Verses is fascinated how a wooden fence separating a once-thriving kibbutz and an adjacent lakeside resort on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, reveal insights about Israel’s past and its future.

TWO SIDES OF A FENCE AND A WORLD APART

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

To unsubscribe, please reply to layotland@gmail.com

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

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

Home

Like this content? Please share and tweet it to your friends and followers.

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Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

YOM HA’ZIKAROM followed by YOM HA’ATZMAUT

From Monday 24, April through to Wednesday 26, April 2023

Lay of the Land joins with the people of Israel on its day of national remembrance to solemnly commemorate soldiers and civilians who lost their lives during the struggle to defend the State of Israel and to joyously celebrate thereafter as it leads the next day to Israel’s 75th birthday.

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

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)

RAIN OF TERROR

Rockets and terror attacks rain sorrow on Israelis

By Rolene Marks

There’s hardly an Israeli family untouched by the “icy grip of loss” from war or terrorism. Although no formal declarations, it has recently felt like WAR with too many casualties on Israel’s streets from terrorism and barrages of rockets from Lebanon, Gaza and Syria.  Sadly, too many fresh names to mourn this upcoming Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day).

RAIN OF TERROR

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(2)

A CAUTIONARY TALE

Realpolitik-Israel and Poland April 2023

By Stephen Schulman

With the Polish government’s attempts to “create a squeaky-clean past” of its countrymen during the Shoah by “sweeping under the carpet” war crimes of its citizens against its Jewry, educational trips to Poland have become complicated and controversial.

A CAUTIONARY TALE

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(3)

“WHY, WHAT FOR?”

Israelis question the senseless murder of its civilians in public places

By Jonathan Feldstein

Jerusalem one day Tel Aviv the next – the hand of a terrorist could be clutching a firearm, a knife or the steering wheel of a car. The word “why” in Hebrew is “lama” but “lama” is similar to “le ma”, which in English means “what for”. With the uptick in terror, Israelis are not only asking “Why?” but also “What for”.

“WHY, WHAT FOR?”

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

To unsubscribe, please reply to layotland@gmail.com

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

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

Home

Like this content? Please share and tweet it to your friends and followers.

To subscribe via email please send a mail noting your request to: layotland@gmail.com 

Please visit/ join/follow our social media platforms:

 Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LotLSite/

Twitter: Lay Of The Land – @layoftheland5

Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

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

The Israel Brief

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Lay of the Land conveys heartfelt condolences to all the families that have lost loved ones in the horrendous spate of recent terror attacks in Israel.

Articles

(1)

WRONG IN MY PREDICTION

No timeout for Passover, Saturday night protests intensified

By David E. Kaplan

Beset by three months of unprecedented protests against Israel’s governing coalition’s signature plan to overhaul the judiciary, Netanyahu did hit the pause button calling for “negotiations”. The problem is too few trust him today as Passover proved with even intensified protests.

WRONG IN MY PREDICTION

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(2)

REPORTING DURING ISRAEL’S DAYS OF TURMOIL

Reporter’s recollections covering judicial reforms and counter protests

By Rolene Marks

Following a series of op-eds and reporting on radio and television, the writer has been subjected to a barrage of offensive and demeaning name calling. Aided and abetted by a prime minister who routinely blames the press, covering Israel news these days comes with a personal price for journalists who are only “doing their job.”

REPORTING DURING ISRAEL’S DAYS OF TURMOIL

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(3)

ONE YEAR LATER

The murder of a Christian Arab Israeli hero and his message to the world

By Jonathan Feldstein

Its most uncommon to pay a condolence visit to a family home of a deceased you do not know but that is exactly what this writer did a year ago. Meeting the family that fateful day was the start of a journey that will enshrine a heroic act in the past to enrich the future.

ONE YEAR LATER

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

To unsubscribe, please reply to layotland@gmail.com

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

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

Home

Like this content? Please share and tweet it to your friends and followers.

To subscribe via email please send a mail noting your request to: layotland@gmail.com 

Please visit/ join/follow our social media platforms:

 Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LotLSite/

Twitter: Lay Of The Land – @layoftheland5

Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

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

The Israel Brief

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CHAG PESACH SAMEACH

Commemorating a profound time in our history, Lay of the Land wishes all our Jewish readersacross the globe, a happy, peaceful and meaningful seder.

Articles

(1)

“THE KING’S SPEECH”

By David E. Kaplan

Unlike King George VI’s speech that inspired, comforted and rallied his nation, King Bibi’s speech achieved the opposite. Condescendingly smearing protestors as misguided and uncivil delinquents, the Prime Minister chose the narrow interests of his coalition over his country and the Jewish People.

“THE KING’S SPEECH”

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(2)

CHILDREN’S VOICES RISE FROM DEATH PITS

Time for coming clean – reconciliations cannot be based on fraud

By  Grant Gochin

How do you engage today with a country whose heroes – honored with plaques and monuments – were killers?That only “0.04% of the Lithuanian population helped to save Jews,” while the rest were either perpetrators or bystanders, might explain why.

CHILDREN’S VOICES RISE FROM DEATH PITS

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(3)

SOUTH AFRICA AT WAR WITH ITSELF

Architect from Michigan, USA revisits his  hometown of Cape Town and reflects on disturbing urban landscapes and its people still saddled with racism – but now in reverse 

By Michael Witkin

Shantytowns punctuate stunningly scenic South Africa. A US architect from Michigan revisits his hometown of Cape Town and reflects on disturbing urban landscapes and its people still saddled with racism – but now in reverse!

SOUTH AFRICA AT WAR WITH ITSELF

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(4)

THE ARAB VOICE – MARCH 2023

Arab writers opining on Middle East issues, address Israel’s crisis over judicial overhaul, anxiety over a nuclear Iran “within 12 days”, and the Jordan hosted Aqaba Summit aimed at easing local tensions before Ramadan and Passover.

THE ARAB VOICE – MARCH 2023

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

To unsubscribe, please reply to layotland@gmail.com

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

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

Home

Like this content? Please share and tweet it to your friends and followers.

To subscribe via email please send a mail noting your request to: layotland@gmail.com 

Please visit/ join/follow our social media platforms:

 Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LotLSite/

Twitter: Lay Of The Land – @layoftheland5

Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

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

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)

IS BIBI ON POLITICAL LIFE SUPPORT?

Committed once to his country, now more committed to himself not being committed

By David E. Kaplan

He does not look good; worse, he is NOT doing good – either for his legacy or his country’s future. Clutching at ever diminishing straws for personal and political survival, the once indestructible steamship Netanyahu has sprung a leak.  When will it sink?

IS BIBI ON POLITICAL LIFE SUPPORT?

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(2)

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

Israeli youth reveal the nature of true friendship and camaraderie

By Lennie Lurie

In this troubling age where Israel is confronting itself and wondering what it will look like thereafter, comes this story about Israeli schoolkids who in a surprise collective act, reveal the nature of true ‘beauty’. May their message represent Israel’s values of tomorrow.

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

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(3)

GERMANY SHOULD FAST-TRACK NAZI TRIALS

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

By Dr. Efraim Zuroff

Of what value is justice when the worst perpetrators of mass murder the world has ever known are living out their lives – FREE? While Germany does pursue surviving Nazis – given the advanced age of both the criminals and the survivors – such efforts are fruitless unless there is a true commitment to expedite the legal process.

GERMANY SHOULD FAST-TRACK NAZI TRIALS

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

To unsubscribe, please reply to layotland@gmail.com

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

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

Home

Like this content? Please share and tweet it to your friends and followers.

To subscribe via email please send a mail noting your request to: layotland@gmail.com 

Please visit/ join/follow our social media platforms:

 Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LotLSite/

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Also available on YouTube @The Israel Brief  – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.

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

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)

TWO-STATE SITUATION!

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

By David E. Kaplan

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

TWO-STATE SITUATION!

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(2)

TERROR ONLY MINUTES AWAY

A personal  perspective of Israelis living with terrorism on their streets

By Jonathan Feldstein

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

TERROR ONLY MINUTES AWAY

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(3)

BEYOND THE NARRATIVE – SOUTH AFRICA-ISRAEL RELATIONS

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

By Ostern Tefo

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

BEYOND THE NARRATIVE – SOUTH AFRICA-ISRAEL RELATIONS

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

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