What began as a war on Israel on October 7, 2023 has spread to a war on Jews everywhere. There are few safe havens for Jews anymore or anywhere. Strikingly evident is that while Jews may live in places across the globe, the only home where they may truly feel ‘at home’ – is in Israel. With many across the Jewish world choosing to express their thoughts in poetry rather than prose,Lay of the Land is providing the space for such expression. This week we share with you two poems by a former South African and recent oleh (new immigrant) to Israel, 27-year-old Zev Raphael Landau of Tel Aviv.
David E. Kaplan, Lay of the Land Editor.
THE WINDOW
By Zev Raphael Landau
I sit here, watching this window. This window of history. I watch as we move across the oceans. I watch as we survive attack after attack. I’m glued to the window. Time moves, and we stay the same. Joys and successes constant in our lives. Decades pass. It starts up again the attacks, the hate, the genocides. I stare at the window feeling distraught and confused. Why? year after year. The minority, the last ones picked, the disease? This window well it’s painted by the lies of those around us.
It paints a picture of distain, a picture of hate. I move across to the streets and notice kindness and happiness. I notice the good aspects that we give, that we do. I notice the joys amongst everyone. I notice that we are no different to those around us. The lies that many spread are results of feeling mediocre, feeling that we have something that they do not possess. It’s psychological, don’t be an ignoramus by watching the window. Go out for yourself and see the truth.
A NATION OF HOPE
By Zev Raphael Landau
It’s happened again. The sounds of chaos. The pandemonium. People running for cover. This isn’t new. This isn’t the next big thing. This is reality. And yet we move. We move with the times. We make do with the delirium. Each night for most is a night of endless stories. It’s a lunatic running into the public shelter half dressed. That one person who always brings their dog, another whose kids terrorise one another. It’s a friend group that becomes attached at the hip. It bonds us all. This weird chaos. In a way it’s an adventure of sorts. One weird big, strange family. You sit within it all. Take it all in. Every single person in it together. No matter the skin, the ideology. Arab, Christian, Muslim, Jew all surrounded by one another below ground. Below the sounds of rockets above. Below the mutiny of those with greed and envy. It’s a cycle. One where there is no end. Yet we push through it, we are resilient, a brutal force that cannot ever be pushed down. It’s in our blood. It’s in our souls. We do not know any different. It’s who we are. It’s who we’ll always be. A nation of hope.
About the poet:
Zev Raphael Landau is 27 years old, the eldest son of a family of 5 children. Matriculating at King David High School in Johannesburg, Zev qualified as a Graphic Artist, whereafter he immigrated to Israel, met and married in 2024, Yael Schlagman from the UK and have this month, been blessed with a new born baby – a sabra.
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).
Despite millennia of persecution and exile, the Jewish people – characterized by their historical resilience and survival often attributed to a divine covenant, enduring faith, and a mission to be a “light unto the nations” – is once more at war. It is at times like these, that renown writers, reaching into the soul of their people, prefer to express their thoughts and emotions not in prose but in poetry. So, it was for this esteemed former editor of The Jerusalem Post and Jerusalem Report, Steve Linde, who this Purim, penned this poignant poem below. David E. Kaplan Editor, Lay of the Land
There is a flame that runs through time, An ancient, ever-lasting rhyme. A people small, a story vast, An echo rising from the past.
It burns in stone and desert sand, In songs and prayers across the land. In exiles forced to wander far, Yet guided by a constant star.
Strange how this flame reveals its power. For some, it warms the darkest hour. For others, it ignites disdain And turns old hatred into flame.
One word can stir the air with spite, Old myths repeated day and night. The ancient blame, the poisoned art Of hurling lies at Jewish hearts.
They dress falsehood in robes of truth, Recycling slanders long uncouth. As if a scattered people few Could bend the world the way they do.
Yet rising too across the earth Are voices proving human worth. A hand extended, calm and strong: “You are not alone. You still belong.”
From distant shores and crowded streets, From quiet homes where conscience beats, Come words of courage, clear and bright, A simple stand for what is right.
For every cry of rage and scorn, Another light is quietly born. A candle lit, a flag unfurled, A sign of hope across the world.
So still the paradox remains: Two currents running through our veins. One born of darkness, fear and blame, One guarding justice like a flame.
And though the shadows sometimes rise, The flame endures. It never dies.
Steve Linde Purim March 4, 2026
About the poet:
Steve Linde, the JNS features editor, is a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Report and The Jerusalem Post and a former director at Kol Yisrael, Israel Radio’s English News. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, he grew up in Durban, South Africa and has graduate degrees in sociology and journalism, the latter from the University of California at Berkeley. He made aliyah in 1988, served in the IDF Artillery Corps and lives in Jerusalem.
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).
What began as a war on Israel on October 7, 2023 has spread to a war on Jews everywhere. There are few safe havens for Jews anymore or anywhere. With people submitting in poetry for publication their thoughts that encompass their concerns, hopes and their joy, Lay of the Land is making the space for such expression.
David E. Kaplan, Lay of the Land Editor.
YOU CALL ME A ZIONIST
By Tim Flack
You call me Zionist as though the word were a curse, as though it burns like shame upon the tongue. But I wear it as a crown. It is the echo of prophets, the dream of exiles, the oath whispered by rivers of blood: Next year in Jerusalem.
You call me Jew as though it were a slur, as though history had not proven that every empire which spat that word is dust beneath our feet.
Jew means covenant, it means we outlasted Pharaoh, Rome, Babylon, it means we walked through fire and sang still.
You call me Zionist and I do not shrink. It means my grandparents’ bones rest easy because their children came home. It means the desert blooms where they tried to salt the earth. It means we write Hebrew on the wind again, unbroken, unafraid.
Call me Zionist, and hear in that word the thunder of Masada, the prayers of Vilna, the rifles of ’48, the voices that refused to be silenced in Auschwitz and rose again in Tel Aviv. I am Jew. I am Zionist. Not your insult, but my anthem. Not your dagger, but my sword. Not your shame, but my glory. You call me Zionist. Yes. And I answer: Am Yisrael Chai.
A DANCE OF HOPE
By Fonda Dubb
A dance of hope is all I want To spread my wings and travel to other places, other lands, where people live with different smells, different colours and different faces. How I would love to fly above the sky and look down at other places I would dance to the heartbeat of a drum, and dance as my heart beats over other lands To explore the universe
And spread my wings To love all other places To comfort those that grieve in other places And breathe the air of other places To give out love and charity And embrace all those that live in other places To be united and have no pain With all who live in other places As I float above the sky Looking down at other places And bring peace and love to all I see To say Amen for God’s creation of other places and dance lovingly to tunes of love of other lands and other places. I pray for all of us living in this fruitful land which brings us light and love. Mankind has to show and feel the beauty of a single word HUMANITY The biggest secret of it all That’s what teaches us to live with pride in this precious land, that God created for us all To show respect and love for one another Let us pray together in unison For a better us To live together in peace, harmony and love So we can all share God’s Gifts together in this Holy Land Where our only wish is for us to dance A DANCE OF HOPE together in a deep and troubled land.
About the poets:
Tim Flack, Cape Town, South Africa. Fonda Dubb, Beth Protea, Herzliya, 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).
Stolen from Israel, our precious hostages lie isolated in a hostile dark. Despite their disconnect, millions who knew them not, know them today as family. Such is the sentiment expressed in this poem by Fonda Dubb of Eilat. (David Kaplan Lay of the Land editor)
By Fonda Dubb
We feel your pain We feel your suffering Our souls are connected with yours You are not alone
Your strength is from the Lord Your Creator You are not alone
We grieve with you and grieve for you Your longing to be home You will never be forgotten You are not alone
We cry for you We do not know you You are “people ” some of us have never met Yet my heart sings a song of love and tears Longing for you to come home To be freed from your chains of bondage And united again together with your family and friends
How brave you are!! We simple mortals cannot feel nor see your pain But cry in unison That soon you will be free to roam in our beloved land again While I who do not know you shed tears of sorrow and love To come back again You are not alone
I feel you belong to me I pray that almighty G-d will protect you all And give you strength to live each day in a noble way Knowing You are not Alone
Hashem anoints your head with precious oils And heals you in a calming way With thoughts of coloured butterflies Of white, blue, yellow and red that come gently down to rest upon your shoulders So you can rest at night to give you peace of mind You are not alone
I shed a final tear with hope, love and prayer to restore your mind Knowing You are not alone
We live in a world that cares And cries for you with might We blow you kisses We send you hugs To hold you and secure you tight So you are not alone at night And to feel our tears That are not in vain that splash upon our pillows at night To protect you all the day and night With a gentle smile We send a glow of light to spread our message to tell you Spread out on a golden sheet Our love for will never waver YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Wherever you are in Israel, from the cities to the smallest town, the faces of the hostages stare back, appealing ….. Seen here is a woman looking at a board displaying pictures of hostages, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 5. (Photo: Reuters/Susana Vera)
About the poet:
Fonda Dubb, a former South African who in her own daring way challenged the apartheid regime by teaching dance and cooking in “Black areas” in the Eastern Cape and Northern Transvaal. Fonda Dubb, today, resides in Eilat, Israel (see article: The Right Moves). Her lifelong concern for others has led to her receiving numerous awards, most notably in 2012 the ‘Woman of the Year Miller Prize’ for volunteerism from the Mayor of Eilat. In recent times, Fonda has taken to writing poetry drawing from her experiences both in South Africa and 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).
Poet Fonda Dubb from Eilat who as a former dance teacher defied apartheid in her native South Africa, prophetically penned her thoughts and “hopes” in January 2023, 10 months before war erupted on our holy landscape
HOPE
By Fonda Dubb
1/03/23
We have to believe in Hope It’s a word that carries us as we go on our way It lifts us up to reach the heavens To ask for mercy on our souls And ask for forgiveness To give us strength To make this world a better world A dance of Hope is what we need Like a circle of light Which frames our faces To reach out to others with a smile A kind touch or gesture A welcome to us all That unites us in togetherness Which brings the Hope which almighty God blessed and created for us all That we can hold hands And dance together In a Dance of Hope It’s a gift from Heaven To keep our spirits alive And Hope like water from a cool fresh spring will bring a light to carry and to hold With kindness and with Hope We live in a wonderland of gifts that God has bestowed on us all. And one of them is Hope We Hope with our hearts and prayers that we await A better world to come. To say Amen for precious life That we can sing like ringing bells, with voices loud and clear that can be heard across the Holy Land That tomorrow will be a better day and both Hope and Peace will suddenly appear like a Butterfly that comes gently down to perch upon your pillow As we sing holding hands together Like climbing up a ladder Blowing trumpets in the sky That reach out to the Heavens so we can ALL sing and dance together the melody of Hope
former South African who daringly in her own unique way challenged the apartheid regime by teaching dance and cooking in “Black areas” in the Eastern Cape and Northern Transvaal, Fonda Dubb today resides in Eilat, Israel. (See article: The Right Moves). Her lifelong concern for others has led to her receiving numerous awards, most notably in 2012 the ‘Woman of the Year Miller Prize’ for volunteerism from the Mayor of Eilat.
In recent times, Fonda has taken to writing poetry drawing from her experiences both in South Africa and Israel, her values, as well as the natural beauty of Eilat. Her guiding star she says, is “a yellowing piece of paper” that hung in the consulting rooms of her late pathologist cousin, Dr. Johnathan Gluckman, who exposed the truth with his post-mortem of the famed Black anti-apartheid activist, Steve Biko, who met his untimely death in police custody. The words on that piece of paper read: “Good men have only to remain silent for evil to prevail”. These words says Fonda, “always stuck with me and influenced my way of thinking.”
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).
You cannot hide it nor disguise it; Israel is facing a political crisis. It’s a crisis not only of the state but the state of its people. From a decidedly happy people, we are a people less than happy at the new direction of their country since January 2023 caused by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s governing coalition’s unpopular and controversial overhaul of its judicial system. This is causing anxiety.
Some have found an outlet of this anxiety by expressing what they are feeling not only in protest and prose but also in poetry. Here below is a poem by a Lay of the Land contributor from Israel’s southernmost resort city of Eilat.
David Kaplan (editor)
HELPLESS
By Fonda Dubb, Eilat
Sometimes I feel my heart beating fast My breath breathing faster How can I stand aside and say or do nothing I loathe the words that are spoken I loathe the division that is so split and divided I loathe the violence That like an inferno rips the country apart. It affects me so deeply That I have to write In the hope that there will be a change of heart That I can look in the mirror and say I did something!! So I feel forgiven But just for a little while It takes time to adjust ones thoughts to one of gratitude for the many things bestowed on me Family and friends to brighten up our days Eilat with its beauty of mountains and sea. They are not in the conflict of helplessness that I experience They are G-d given The joy of nature, of flowers and trees, butterflies and bees They too like the birds that sing and fly at night are a gift of life. I count my blessings every day To remind myself of the many gifts of life So never to forget that the opposite of helplessness is light and joy in the miracles of life. It is my fervent prayer that we all believe in gratitude To change our thoughts to one of prayer and forgiveness to make a better world to see the ” other side of life”. Just to be kind to one another is goodness itself to rid the helplessness we feel and see A belief that one hand will stretch out and touch each another So we can cling to hope that will never be abandoned But will forever with our gratitude Be intertwined together While we pray for peace in our blessed land.
*Feature picture: A protester lies in foliage during a demonstration in Jerusalem July 24, 2023 against PM Netanyahu and his governing coalition’s judicial overhaul. (photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters).
About the Poet:
A former South African who daringly in her own unique way challenged the apartheid regime by teaching dance and cooking in “Black areas” in the Eastern Cape and Northern Transvaal, Fonda Dubb today resides in Eilat, Israel. (See article: The Right Moves). Her lifelong concern for others has led to her receiving numerous awards, most notably in 2012 the ‘Woman of the Year Miller Prize’ for volunteerism from the Mayor of Eilat.
In recent times, Fonda has taken to writing poetry drawing from her experiences both in South Africa and Israel, her values, as well as the natural beauty of Eilat. Her guiding star she says, is “a yellowing piece of paper” that hung in the consulting rooms of her late pathologist cousin, Dr. Johnathan Gluckman, who exposed the truth with his post-mortem of the famed Black anti-apartheid activist, Steve Biko, who met his untimely death in police custody. The words on that piece of paper read: “Good men have only to remain silent for evil to prevail”. These words says Fonda, “always stuck with me and influenced my way of thinking.”
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).
“Disability is not contagious; ignorance is” – In a brave new world, brave young girls
By David E. Kaplan
When USA Baltimore native Becca Meyers, a three-time Paralympic gold medallist swimmer – eight Paralympic medallists in total – withdrew from the Tokyo games after being told she couldn’t bring to the competition her Personal Care Assistant (PCA) – “my own mother” – she was angry and understandably disappointed.
She took a stand – to withdraw!
Troubled Waters. The withdraw on principle from the Tokyo Paralympics of three-time gold Paralympic swimmer medalist Becca Meyers of the US (above) inspired teenager Milla Wolman to write and recite a poem that is proving inspirational on YouTube.
With only one PCA unreasonably tasked with serving all 34 Paralympic swimmers, nine who were visually impaired, Becca, who has been deaf since birth due to Usher syndrome and has been gradually losing her vision, said her “gut-wrenching decision” to withdraw was necessary to advocate “for future generations of Paralympic athletes.”
Although approved in having “my trusted PCA – my mom – at all international meets since 2017,” at the Tokyo Paralympics, due to Covid, new safety measures were introduced limiting “non-essential staff”.
For Becca however, her trusted PCA mother was definitely not “non-essential staff”.
Her defiance found traction.
Bold, Strong, Beautiful. Deaf-blind Becca Meyers (second left) poses in 2020 for ‘Happy Women’s International Day’. (photo cred: Richard Phibbs)
“Individuals who experience disabilities should not be forced to navigate the Tokyo Paralympics without the support that they need,” expressed Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, who called Becca’s position a “preventable situation.”
The U.S. lawmaker was not a lone voice.
At the other end of the world in Australia, support for the deaf-blind Becca came from a young kindred spirit, a Jewish girl with cerebral palsy born in South Africa. Her name is Milla Wolman, who was inspired by Becca to compose an ode that she aired on YouTube.
Mazeltov Milla. Milla (centre) with her parents Jonathan and Romy and her younger siblings, Lola and Judah at her Bat Mitzvah in Sydney, Australia.
Every now and again, poets emerge that capture the mood of an era and the crying issue of their time. They call out and talk back to injustices and unfair treatment and crystallize a collective conscience towards a cause. Young Milla Wolman has joined this elite cadre of revolutionary poets with her poem DIFability, reaching a global audience with her message:
“We are not disabled, we are different”.
When she repeats the word “tremor” over and over between stanzas, she is shaking an indifferent world to wake up from a selfish slumber.
So who is Milla Wolman?
Milla was born at the Linksfield Clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the pediatrician had said she would neither be able to walk or talk. When Milla was nine months old, the Wolman family, Jonathan, Romy and Milla, left for Sydney and a shortly after a year, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Fast forward to the present and “You should see and hear her now!” and “Unbelievable and unforgettable!” are some of the comments on social media to this extraordinary girl.
Watch Milla here:
Through her powerful poetry, Milla asks:
“Why was Becca Meyers forced to withdraw?
It should be against the law,
For someone we adore to leave,
solely because of her disability.”
“An ironic sick joke
Which makes me want to choke
For a swimmer with a masterstroke
Becca Meyers is blind but we are the ones who cannot see.”
Describing the attitudes of the Paralympic authorities as:
“This humungous assault to our own humanity
What a calamity to not get to see her victory!”
And then poses the further question:
“It is your choice
Do you see Becca Meyers, the deaf-blind disabled person?
Or do you see Becca Meyers, the courageous and strong Paralympian?”
It is your choice.”
What is so captivating is Milla’s inspirational leadership:
“Our revolution has just begun, we will not stop
Until we have won,
We have voices,
So why do you disable our voice?
We are not disabled, we are different,
It is not a disability
It is a DIFability.
And whoever said it is wrong to be different
That person is insignificant.
Disability is not contagious; ignorance is”
Preferring to characterise herself as DIFabled rather than disabled, her grandfather, Allan Wolman, today a resident of Tel Aviv, and a contributor to Lay of the land, describes the day Milla was born in Johannesburg, on 26 August 2007:
“It’s a day I will never forget. As you can imagine the anticipation of awaiting our first grandchild’s birth with much excitement and joy.
Super Siblings. Lola, Milla (centre) and Judah with grandparents Allan and Jocelyn Wolman in Sydney, Australia.
That joy quickly turned into awful anxiety with doctors and nurses frantically running in and out of the delivery room and seeing little Milla being carried into the neo-natal care unit looking very blue! A heart stopping moment. After her birth, she had oxygen deprivation for eight minutes! There was no diagnosis at birth other than brain damage, and not knowing how severe at the time.
Lying in a little incubator with tubes protruding and monitors beeping was traumatic for her parents and grandparents. She lay in the unit for two weeks without uttering a cry – which wasmore than concerning as the specialist pediatrician had advised that she would neither walk nor talk again. After an agonizing number of days, she eventually let out a little cry, which was cause for such relief and happiness – can you imagine that a faint cry can give so much joy and hope.”
That baby cry from the past is today a megaphone as teenager Milla cries out to a global audience.
Allan recounts Milla’s ‘journey’ as seen through their own journeys as grandparents “visiting the kids” in Sydney.
“When Milla was a few months older, we remember her just starting to sit up on her own, which again was cause for much celebration, and on subsequent visits celebrated her development albeit later than most children, but began walking with the help of a ‘walker’ and also her talking was difficult to understand due to her weak muscles and drooling. But naturally her mom and dad could understand everything – words just cannot describe those two incredible people – who created an atmosphere of normality.”
Milla attended a mainstream nursery school and “on our visits to Sydney, we – my wife Jocelyn and I – derived so much pleasure in taking and fetching her from school.”
Proud Grandparents. Allan and Jocelyn Wolman with Milla at her Bat Mitzvah in Sydney, Australia.
At some stage, Allan recalls:
“Milla began to have epileptic seizures which were terribly traumatic and started to increase in frequency over a period of time. Naturally, the doctors gave her medication which was a worry because while calming it also had a slowdown effect. After struggling with the seizures for some time, her parents put her on cannabis oil – a wonder drug – and from having multiple seizures a day, the cannabis virtually stopped the seizures, and Milla has hardly suffered a seizure these past few years.”
Milla attended a mainstream primary and is presently at a regular high school and “Three years ago, participated in a six week programme at the Feuerstein Institute in Jerusalem. It was immensely beneficial to her learning as well as her confidence.”
From Sydney to Jerusalem. The Feuerstein Institute in Jerusalem, which Milla attended on a six month programme which improved her learning and confidence.
Attesting to this confidence was “a terrific speech she made at her Bat Mitzvah,” affirms the proud grandfather followed by last month addressing the world on YouTube in her support for Paralympian Becca Meyers.
If once little Milla had no voice, today there is no silencing her as her message resonates beyond Australia to the world.
She ends her poem:
“Tremor, tremor, tremor,
Here they come again,
But this time
They won’t stop me…
I will never give up.”
We believe you Milla and we believe in you.
Meet Milla who was born with no heartbeat. She was resuscitated back to life for 10 minutes and as a result lives with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Milla’s mum Romy hopes to change the perception of ‘disability’ to ‘difability’ meaning that we all have different
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).
