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.

Lay Of The Land extends Happy New Year greetings to its readers around the world wishing days of joy, happiness and above all “Good Health” to all, and now with  “a new vision” in the Middle East, peace and prosperity for all its peoples.

What’s happening in Israel today?  See this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  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 Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

The Israel Brief

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Articles

(1)

“In The Mood”

British Trade Union inclined to ignore Covid-19 while promoting anti-Israel sentiment

By David E. Kaplan

While Britain’s second largest trade union is promoting resolutions against Israel over abandoned positions of yesterday, it ignores today’s movement towards peace and its monumental significance for a new Middle East of tomorrow.

“In The Mood”

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(2)

His Name was Navid Afkari

Iranian Wrestling Champion murdered by the regime for protesting.

By  Rolene Marks

“Wanted for Murder” – the state of Iran. Why did Iran execute its most celebrated wrestling champion? We examine the shocking circumstances surrounding the state contrived execution of a popular icon – Navid Afkari.

His Name was Navid Afkari

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(3)

To my Breslov and Balfour Brothers and Sisters

By Richard Shavei-Tzion

In keeping with we are our “Brother’s Keeper”,  the writer insightfully appeals to his kindred spirits who for whatever good cause create large crowds, to “Think  Big” beyond “the confines of your communes” for the greater health of us all.

To my Breslov and Balfour Brothers and Sisters

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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

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 this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  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 Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

The Israel Brief

(click on the blue article title)

Articles

(1)

Sights from the Saddle

A perspective on a “cycling revolution” in Israel and changing Middle East

By David E. Kaplan

As Israel participates for the first time at the 2020 Tour de France with team ‘Israel Start-Up Nation’, the brand Israel  as a modern democratic hi-tech powerhouse is resonating across new landscapes.

Sights from the Saddle

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(2)

The Holocaust is NOT Entertainment

“Trauma Porn” is the sickening new trend surfacing on social media

By  Rolene Marks

A disturbing new trend is taking place on the social media platform, TikTok. Described as “trauma porn” – young people are re-enacting scenes in which they pretend to be victims of the Holocaust or 9/11 – not for educational purposes, but for “likes” and views.

The Holocaust is NOT Entertainment

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(3)

A New Dawn in Dubai

Once a gulf apart, now Israeli emissaries set to serve Jewish community in the Gulf

By  Michael Jankelowitz

Following the signing of the historic Abraham Accords in August, emissaries from the World Zionist Organisation  are being sent to the UAE to serve the Jewish community in Dubai – a FIRST to an Arab country! Is this a portent for a “warm” rather than the old familiar “cold peace”?

A New Dawn in Dubai

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(4)

A Corona Cry for Help

The JNF in South Africa responds

By Beverley Price

It was Mandela that brought  a shidduch (match) between South Africa’s Mamelodi community and the Jewish National Fund so  when during the height of the Corona pandemic, a cry  from that community for food was heard by the JNF, it was a call for action.

A Corona Cry for Help

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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

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 this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  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 Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

The Israel Brief

(click on the blue article title)

Articles

(1)

“Under Construction” – from Buildings to Human Relations

Israel’s Trade Union Provides Safety Training During COVID Crisis for Palestinian Construction Workers

By David E. Kaplan

Something “constructive” has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel – an innovative programme  to save the lives of Palestinians not from disease but from preventable accidents in Israel’s bustling construction industry. The message from the “Histadrut” – Israel’s national trade union – “Unionised Labour Recognizes No Borders”.

“Under Construction” – from Buildings to Human Relations

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(2)

Remembering Munich

Survivors recall the massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics

By Rolene Marks and Yair Chelouche

Who would have thought that in the very country that we believed “Never Again” Jews would be targeted yet again for murder. Following joint Israeli Airforce – German Luftwaffe memorial flyovers over Germany on August 18 paying tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and the 1972 Olympiad, the writers revisit the saga and the scars by interviewing survivors of the Munich massacre.

Remembering Munich

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(3)

Back to School in Tel Aviv – of Sorts!

By David E. Kaplan

Israel’s “City of Big Ideas”, Tel Aviv-Yafo, has come up with some innovative ideas on meeting the COVID-19 challenge of students returning to school. “We have prepared for every scenario that we are expected to confront,” assures Mayor Ron Huldai. What does this mean?

Back to School in Tel Aviv – of Sorts!

(click on the blue article title)

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

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.

Please visit/ join/follow our social media platforms: Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LotLSite/

Twitter: Lay Of The Land – @layoftheland5

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

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 this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  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 Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

The Israel Brief

(click on the blue article title)

Articles

(1)

Read All About It!

The Israel-UAE deal is a “Big Deal’ – an Arab perspective

By Lay of the Land founders David E. Kaplan, Rolene Marks & Yair Chelouche

Neglected in the global media coverage on the groundbreaking Israel-UAE deal was the positive and warm response across much of the Arab world. So accustomed to a daily news’ diet of war and terrorism, it was a breath of fresh air to read in the Arab press that “the hearts of both Israelis and Emiratis are filled with joy after news of the historic agreement”. Are finally “The Times Are A- Changin”?

Read All About It!

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(2)

“Beverly Hills, 90210” in 2020

Women building businesses while building Israel

By Gina Raphael

In the spirit of the WIZO mantra of “empowering women at home as we work to empower women in Israel”, the Los Angeles branch of the Women’s Zionist international Organization have come up with a resourceful “win-win” business concept that helps local businesses in LA during the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, while also benefiting Israel.

“Beverly Hills, 90210” in 2020

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(3)

From Peace with the Gulf to a Gulf with his People

Reflections on leadership from a past interview with former security chief, Carmi Gillon

By David. E. Kaplan

Staring at a photo front-paging Israel’s August newspapers of former security chief with his hands raised defiantly above his head being ‘escorted’ by the police from a protest outside the PM’s residence in Jerusalem, the writer reflects on a 2003 interview with Carmi Gillon, whose life’s journey has taken him from the world of espionage to strong advocate for peace with the Palestinians.

From Peace with the Gulf to a Gulf with his People

(click on the blue article title)

Lay of the Land 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

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

https://layoftheland.online

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

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 this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  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 Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

The Israel Brief

(click on the blue article title)

Articles

(1)

Grow More – with Less!

Israel is leading the way with precision irrigation by getting to the ‘root’ of the problem

By David E. Kaplan

August has been a monumental month. From Israeli company signing a deal to provide Smart irrigation solutions to Indian famers – a country

once not too friendly with Israel – to Israel’s highly publicised breakthrough into the Arab world with its normalization deal  

with the UAE, it leaves South Africa to get in step and support a path to peace and prosperity.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/08/20/grow-more-with-less

(2)

Fortune Favours the Bold

The historical peace agreement between Israel and the UAE ushers in new era

By  Rolene Marks

The “Abraham Accords” or normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE is a “game changer”, not only bringing together the descendants of Abraham but a signal to other regional countries and the world that the time has come to transcend ancient divisions and hatred and work together towards a better future for the Middle East.

Fortune Favours the Bold

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(3)

Fabulous Phyllis

Lifetime volunteer for Israel and WIZO turns 100

By Martine Maron Alperstein

Belying her 100 years, sprightly WIZO stalwart Phyllis Lader arrives at top speed on her scooter for her interview atProtea Village with a message to the younger generation “get involved, give of yourself and of your time.  Charity is not only about money, it is about doing.” Both Phyllis and her beloved WIZO are all revved up  – at 100!

Fabulous Phyllis

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(4)

In this week’s media roundup of the Arab world, writers from Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, opine on the story dominating international news – The Blast in Beirut.

The Arab Voice

(click on the blue article title)

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

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

https://layoftheland.online

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

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 this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA broadcasting out of Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/08/12/the-israel-brief-10-13-august-2020/

 

Articles

(1)

From Drive-In to Sail-In

Tel Aviv-Yafo goes ‘retro’ with  Israel’s first “Sail-In” floating cinema

By David E. Kaplan

With a reputation for ‘floating’ new ideas, Tel Aviv is displaying a flare for ‘Creativity during Corona’. Fresh off the successful return of Tel Aviv’s legendary drive-in theatre, the “City that never sleeps” will this August, launch in Yarkon Park’s boating river, Israel’s first “Sail-In” floating cinema.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/08/13/from-drive-in-to-sail-in/

(2)

We said NEVER AGAIN

China’s treatment of Uighur minority – a Crime Against Humanity.

By Rolene Marks

How in the aftermath of the Holocaust and the cry “Never Again”, does China get away with its treatment of its Uighur minority herding millions of Muslims and transporting them in trains to detention camps where many are murdered or die from starvation or disease?

https://layoftheland.online/2020/08/12/we-said-never-again/

(3)

An Open Letter to Seth Rogen

By Stephen Schulman

 

The star of the 2019 ‘An American Pickle’, Seth Rogen recently found himself in a pickle himself after controversial comments he made on a podcast about Judaism and Israel. Believing religion “silly” and Israel “makes no sense,” the writer responds in an Open letter to the Canadian-American comedic actor counselling on some useful educational tips before tripping again when opening his mouth.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/08/09/an-open-letter-to-seth-rogen/

   (4)

Testing Times

Johannesburg Jewish Community came to my rescue

By Neo Nino Mofokeng

These are anxious times! Fears about COVID-19 can take an emotional toll, especially for those already suffering from anxiety. Heading for imminent mental breakdown under the strain of South Africa’s strict lockdown, this writer’s appeal for help on social media not only resonated but was responded to by members of Johannesburg’s Jewish community.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/08/11/testing-times/

 

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

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

https://layoftheland.online

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

Please visit/ join/follow us at:

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

Twitter: @LayOfTheLand5

 

What’s happening in Israel today?  See this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA broadcasting out of Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/29/the-israel-brief-27-30-july-2020/

Articles

(1)

Agonising over the Past, Ignoring the Present

Atoning for slavery of yesterday, what of slavery today?

By David E. Kaplan

If past slavery was  “inexcusable”  – as guilty banks and companies today are admitting – what of present slavery? There are currently 167 countries that still practice slavery, affecting approximately 46 million people of which almost three quarters are women and girls.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/29/agonising-over-the-past-ignoring-the-present/

(2)

No Safe Space for Jew Hate!

By Rolene Marks

Sometimes the loudest protests – are silent. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world participated in the #nosafespaceforjewhate campaign to raise awareness and put an end to online antisemitism. Will Twitter and other social media outlets finally take action against online hate?

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/29/no-safe-space-for-jew-hate/

 

  (3)

Christianity is Intertwined with Zionism

By Bafana Modise

Does Israel have pressing problems to resolve? Yes, it does. Does South Africa have major issues that demand resolution? Yes, it does. But this should not undermine either country’s existence or warrant their destruction argues the writer, a Christian activist and radio personality in support of his Chief Justice’s position on Israel.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/26/christianity-is-intertwined-with-zionism/

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

 

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

https://layoftheland.online

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

Please visit/ join/follow us at:

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

Twitter: @LayOfTheLand5

 

What’s happening in Israel today?  See this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA broadcasting out of Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/22/the-israel-brief-20-23-july-2020/

Articles

(1)

Hidden Holocaust

– Journey with the Enemy –

Descendants of victims and perpetrators team up to unravel the truth of who murdered the Jews of Lithuania

By David. E. Kaplan

Murder Most Foul! But who did the killings of 90% of Lithuania’s Jewish community? Many in Lithuania, from its government down, would like to blame it all on ‘the usual suspects’ – the Nazis! NOT TRUE reveals intrepid investigators Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff and Lithuanian writer Rūta Vanagaitė in a revealing exposé of the nature and scope of Lithuanian complicity in the Holocaust.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/22/hidden-holocaust/

(2)

Love Thy Neighbour

By Rolene Marks

It took an army to save Syrian civilians – Israel’s army! Between 2016-2018, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) embarked on Operation Good Neighbour, a humanitarian mission that saved thousands of Syrian civilians experiencing injuries and trauma during the ongoing civil war. Lay of the Land travelled to the Golan Heights to meet Lt Col (Res) Eyal Dror, who commanded the special unit charged with carrying out over 700 lifesaving missions.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/23/love-thy-neighbour/

 (3)

Nose Breathing vs Mouth Breathing

Lessons learned during COVID is that Preventive Care in the ‘best of times’ can reduce health risks in the ‘worst of times’

By Lionel H. Phillips D.O.

We all breathe without giving it a thought, and all too often, choose the wrong option – breathing through the mouth instead of the nose. Be guided by International Fitness & Health Instructor Lionel Phillips on how to go about breathing through the nose and discover the many important health benefits to be had from correct consistent nose breathing.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/20/nose-breathing-vs-mouth-breathing/

 

 

 

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

 

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

https://layoftheland.online

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

Please visit/ join/follow us at:

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

Twitter: @LayOfTheLand5

 

What’s happening in Israel today?  See this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA broadcasting out of Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/16/the-israel-brief-13-16-july-2020/

 

Articles

(1)

Along Came a Hero

He rescued not only lives – but faith in humankind as Arab world mourns Israeli who died saving Bedouin family from drowning

By David. E. Kaplan

When Michael Ben-Zikri drowned from exhaustion after rescuing three Bedouin children and their aunt in a lake in southern Israel, this was only half the story. The other half was the responses across the Arab world.  Not only did Muslims from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Oman, Morocco and Egypt send condolences, but there are calls by local Arab politicians to name streets in Arab towns after this brave Israeli. Can Ben Zikri emerge as “a symbol of co-existence”?

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/13/along-came-a-hero/

 

(2)

Mending a Broken Heart

By Rolene Marks

 

The saga of a young Eritrean woman’s perilous journey 10 years ago from Eritrea at age 16 to Israel, then fleeing for her life with her young children from domestic abuse to a WIZO shelter and then undergoing life-saving heart surgery during the height of the Corona pandemic at Sha’arei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem, is testimony to the unique services of the Women’s International Zionist Organization being on the frontline in helping non-Jewish refugees in Israel.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/15/mending-a-broken-heart/

 

(3)

The Jewish Double Standard in Action

Evil of One Kind Denounced, Evil of Another Given a Pass

By Jake Donnelly

Following on-line anti-Semitic posts by star NBA footballers, an American broadcast journalist explores why “when Jews see something bad, racist, or evil, they join in the fury and call it out,” however “when something antisemitic occurs, there is little by way of resulting uproar.” Exposing this “Jewish double standard”, the writer cautions that failure to address this ‘double standard’ is accelerating contemporary anti-Semitism.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/14/the-jewish-double-standard-in-action/

 

(4)

The Arab Voice – July 2020

Arab writers from the Middle East and beyond opine on a range of issues from the impact of former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s “bombshell” book on the Trump presidency, to what history can teach about sanctions on Iran and the escalating decline of Lebanon.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/12/the-arab-voice-july-2020/

 

 

 

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

 

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

https://layoftheland.online

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

Please visit/ join/follow us at:

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What’s happening in Israel today?  See this week’s daily ‘The Israel Brief’ broadcasts on LOTL  YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA broadcasting out of Charlottesville, Virginia. You can subscribe to LOTL news from Israel and enjoy at a time of your convenience.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/08/the-israel-brief-06-09-july-2020/

 

Articles

(1)

Heartwarming

Syrian baby brought to Israel for lifesaving heart surgery

By David E. Kaplan

Suffering from a severe heart defect, a newborn son of Syrian refugees, was airlifted from Cyprus to Tel Aviv to undergo an emergency operation at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan. The delicate “operation” was no less diplomatic than it was surgical, involving the cooperation between the Israeli embassy in Nicosia, the Cypriot Health Ministry and Cypriot and Israeli doctors.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/05/heartwarming/

 

(2)

Poison Pen

When a cartoon is beyond the pale

By Stephen Schulman

The writer takes issue with South African cartoonist for his “scurrilous caricature” characterizing his country’s Chief Justice as a fool (“Moegoe”)  who is prevented from exercising independent thought by both Jews through their false religion depicted as a “MYTH” and Israel, portrayed by its defensive wall compressing his brain.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/08/poison-pen/

 

(3)

Hands off our Chief Justice!

By Rev Reuben Chapasuka

“There is nothing controversial” in what South Africa’s embattled Chief Justice said, writes this reverent supporting his country’s most senior law official. Embroiled in furor, the writer agrees with his esteemed fellow Christian that South Africa would enjoy far greater influence by adopting a more balanced approach in order bring Israelis and Palestinians closer to the negotiating table.

https://layoftheland.online/2020/07/08/hands-off-our-chief-justice/

 

(4)

Seeing the Wood from the Trees

Recognising today’s dangers averts tomorrow’s disasters

By Jonathan Danilowitz

With Israel embattled and imperiled by venomous word and deed, a 2020 “Yakir Ha’Ir Tel Aviv” award recipient and civil rights activist, explores why people who are “mostly rational” and “logical”, nevertheless in these troubling times too often “act against their own best interests.”

https://layoftheland.online/2020/06/03/seeing-the-wood-from-the-trees/

 

 

 

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