Category: Politics

A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND

America needs to confront its unsustainable debt problem that is threatening to collapse the economy of the world.

By  Neville Berman

In 1858 Abraham Lincoln gave his famous speech in which he stated “a house divided cannot stand.” At the time the issue was slavery. Fast forward 168 years, and the prophecy of Lincoln is very pertinent today.

Today there are approximately 8.4 billion people in the world, of which approximately 342 million live in the United States of America. Statistically less than 4.2% of the world’s population live in the United States. Clearly American influence across the world is out of all proportion to its population size. America is a technological, financial and military powerhouse unmatched by any other country. The annual American gross domestic product is by far the largest in the world.  America is clearly the greatest creative, inventive, progressive, and influential society in history. It has more intellectual property and patents than any other country. American innovation and daring put a man on the moon. The American way of life has lifted millions of people out of poverty to personal prosperity.  

The Second World War ended in 1945 with the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The revelations of the horrors of the Holocaust, shocked the world. With Europe in ruins, the world was facing a pivotal moment that would determine the future of Western civilization.  US president, Harry Truman introduced a policy the likes of which the world had never seen before. It was called the Marshall Plan. Under the plan, the victorious Americans offered to pay for the cost of rebuilding West Germany, the very country that had just waged war against America, and to pay for the resuscitation of countries in Europe that were devastated by the war. It did the same for Japan. No reparations for damages were demanded from any of the defeated parties. When the Soviet Union attempted to starve West Berlin into submission, America flew 189, 000 flights that carried 2.3 million tons of aid into West Berlin. The airlift started in June 1948 and lasted for 15 months. It saved the people of West Berlin. America became the indispensable superpower whose generosity and foresight ushered in decades of prosperity to the world. No burden was too great for America. 

Tractors on Track. The U.S.-sponsored Marshall Plan (April 1948–December 1951) was designed to rehabilitate the economies of 17 western and southern European countries in order to create stable conditions in which democratic institutions could survive. (Photo: US National Archives)

After the end of the Second World War, America and their previous ally, the Soviet Union, began what was called the “Cold War.” In order to oppose the spread of communism, America got involved in wars of choice in Korea and in Vietnam. Following the attack on America on 9/11, America decided to retaliate by waging a war against terrorism by attacking both Iraq and Afghanistan. America is now involved in a costly war against Iran. All the above wars were initially seen as justified and in America’s interest. However, all of the above inflicted an enormous cost on America in terms of blood and treasure. Americans have now grown tired of paying the price of forever wars in far off countries.  

America is the greatest consumer society in history. Slick advertising and promotions, coupled with easy credit, resulted in a demand for products and services that in many cases are neither needed nor affordable. Garages across America are filled with items that were hardly used. Millions of people are now maxed out on credit, and live from day to day. Materialism has created a society living in debt. A loss of income for even a short period can be catastrophic for millions of ordinary working-class Americans. Bank foreclosures on home mortgages are increasing. Tens of thousands of people are homeless. Millions have insufficient savings for their retirement. Capitalism made America great, but poverty still persists. Americans used to envisage a better future for their children. For millions of Americans, this no longer seems to be the case.  

The demand for illicit drugs in America is staggering. The Office of National Drug Control estimates that over $150 billion worth of illegal drugs are sold annually in the US. Instead of trying to do something meaningful with their lives, more and more Americans are seeking short term happiness by resorting to drugs. As long as this demand persists, the illicit trade in drugs will continue. Drug addiction is now a major problem all across America. There are over 2 million people in prison in America. Many are imprisoned because they turned to crime to finance the cost of their drug addiction, and others are imprisoned for selling drugs illegally. America now has proportionately three times the prison population of Britain. Black prisoners account for 38% of the prison population, but make up only 13% of the population.

Out of Hand. The opioid epidemic in the United States impacts public health, economic productivity, and community safety nationwide.

Materialism and greed have replaced morality and ethics. Americans are buying guns, overdosing on drugs, getting divorced, and getting into debt as never before. Racism continues to plague the country. Millions of Americans feel that they are not sharing in the wealth of the country. They are angry and full of hate. Anarchy is now common in many of its cities  and the political divide is unbreachable. The radical left has embarked on a socialist ideology that is against everything that made America great. Some American cities have become sanctuary cities for those who entered the country without going through the correct procedures. Some cities have experienced blackouts, followed by looting in certain areas. The looters believe that they are entitled to take whatever they can. They resent all forms of authority. The social cohesion of society is in danger. There is a very thin line between anarchy and law and order. The radical left is demanding the defunding of the police. This is the surest way to promote lawlessness and ensure a breakdown of society.  

In 2025, over $5 billion was spent on hiring lobbyists to influence lawmakers in Washington. The lobbyists promote the interests of the health industry, the oil industry, the military industrial complex, the national rifle association, big business, the farmers or whatever they are paid to promote.  Even if it is against the interests of the American society at large, lobbyists promote whatever they are very well paid to do. Undoubtedly, powerful lobbyists have ensured that the tax system favors the wealthy.

Peddling Power. Stepping up for a day of lobbying at the Capital building, Washington, DC. (Photo: Melanie Stetson Freeman / Staff)

In January 1981, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th American president. He promised to lower taxes, increase defense spending, and balance the budget. When asked how he was going to do this, he laughed and went to play golf. He lowered taxes and increased defense spending and ten months later, for the first time in American history, the federal deficit exceeded $1 trillion. It had taken nearly 200 years to reach a deficit of this magnitude. Fifty-five years later the federal deficit now stands at a staggering $40 trillion. The last American president to balance the budget was Bill Clinton between 1998 to 2001. Under President Trump, the federal deficit has increased by over $2 trillion in one year. This is unprecedented.  What this means is that on average, the American government is now spending over $151 billion more than the revenue it collects every month. Clearly this is unsustainable.

The US defense budget for 2026 is over $960 billion. Interest on the federal debt is now even greater than the defense budget and will exceed $1 trillion for 2026. The implications are staggering. If we divide the present Federal debt by the population of the country, we get a debt of over $117,000 per person. This is just the federal debt. If we add state debt, mortgage debt, credit card debt, corporate and individual debt, we are looking at a debt of well over $200,000 per person. Clearly Americans are living on borrowed money.   

Compounding the debt problem is the fact that life expectancy has increased.  The result is that social security, Medicaid and government pension funds are all actuarially bankrupt, and will require huge additional funding to sustain them in the future. America is locked into a system of entitlements that are unaffordable and unsustainable. The rising cost of living and especially health insurance costs, are causing even working families to be unable to save enough for retirement. This does not augur well for the future. Clearly Americans are living in debt, and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening at an alarming rate. Corporate and individual greed has become a way of life. Today, the top 1% of the richest people in America own 30% of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 50% own 2.5% of the nation’s wealth.   

For years, scientists have sounded the alarm about the rise of greenhouse gases and climate change. In the past year, record high temperatures have led to wildfires that have devastated tens of thousands of acres of forests, and caused billions of dollars in damage across the world. In Greenland, the ice is melting, and in Europe, glaciers are shrinking at an alarming rate. The temperature of the oceans is increasing. The American population is less than 4.2% of the world’s population, yet it produces between 11 to 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Per capita, Americans are the world’s worst climate offenders. President Trump is in denial that human behavior has contributed to climate change. He has withdrawn America from the Paris Climate Agreement and has promoted policies that adversely affect the environment. Global warming is a global problem that requires a global solution. America needs to be part of the solution to climate change.

Global Warming to Global Warning. Requiring a global solution, the US needs to be part of the solution to climate change.

Unfortunately, there is very little common ground between Republicans and Democrats at the moment. The fact that America needs to raise the federal debt ceiling over and over again, contradicts President Trump’s claim that the American economy is in great shape. The American economy is facing a mountain of entitlements and debt that every serious economist should be warning about. The big question is how much longer will the world continue to place its trust in the value of the dollar?  If this trust falls, investors are unlikely to buy US government bonds. This could lead to a situation in which America defaults on a debt payment. The repercussions of such a move will be catastrophic. The world’s financial system will collapse on a scale that will make the financial crash of 1929 seem like child’s play. There is an old adage that states “when America sneezes the world catches a cold.”

Debt Clock Ticking. A view of a bus shelter at Independence Avenue and 9th St’s SW where an electronic billboard and a poster display the current U.S. National debt per person and as a nation at 40 trillion dollars on August 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

America needs to confront the unsustainable debt burden that threatens to devastate the country, and plunge the world into a depression. At a minimum, the American government needs to raise taxes, reduce expenses, and balance the budget. America cannot continue on its present path without bringing upon itself and the world a catastrophic situation. The writing is now on the wall. America needs responsible leadership that will retain the world’s trust in the dollar. One thing that appears inevitable is that “a house divided cannot stand.”  



About the writer:

Accountant Neville Berman had an illustrious sporting career in South Africa, being twice awarded the South African State Presidents Award for Sport and was a three times winner of the South African Maccabi Sportsman of the Year Award.  In 1978 he immigrated to the USA  to coach the United States men’s field hockey team, whereafter, in 1981 he immigrated to Israel where he practiced as an accountant and then for 20 years was the Admin Manager at the American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel.  He is married with two children and one granddaughter.








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

WORD HAS IT

Orwell at the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81) – Decoding the anti-Israel Diplomatic Bias.

By Yoram Blumstein

In the aftermath of October 7th, an alarming new reality has gripped global Jewry: a wave of antisemitism and anti-Israel animus. This has been fueled by the overlapping efforts of states, non-state actors, and multilateral organisations (the UN, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and other agencies). The 81st Session of UNGA bore testimony to the lies, manipulation of political language and distortion of truth for pure emotional intimidation, as leader after leader took to the UN rostrum to accuse Israel of “genocide”, “war crimes”, “mass starvation”, and creating conditions resembling a “concentration camp.” George Orwell, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, would have characterised the speeches of world leaders or their representatives (especially those of Brazil, Ireland, Spain, Turkey, Iran, Jordan, Qatar, France, Malaysia, the Palestinian Authority,and South Africa) as corrupt language designed to obscure their real intentions using metaphors and imagery about Israel’s purported “genocidal” conduct in Gaza. Orwell’s written masterpieces (like Nineteen Eighty-Four) were prescient. In his 1946 essay, ‘Politics and the English Language’, Orwell aptly stated:
 “Political language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”

War of Words. George Orwell recognized that political power is sustained not just through physical force, but through the deliberate corruption of words, a stratagem in the armory of Israel’s multifarious enemies.

This article applies an Orwellian diagnostic approach to dissect the diplomatic rhetoric which was nonchalantly employed by anti-Israel delegates at UNGA 81, where calumnies about the only Jewish state were employed as political weapons to manipulate public perception, while distorting the facts and the objective reality in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), as well as Gaza. Such mendacities, especially if spewed from the rostrum of the world’s premier international organisation, against the Jewish state carry enormous weight in the court of public opinion and have real-world impact on the Israeli government and Jews.  In using Orwellian tools, this article seeks to decode the speech of the main state sponsor of Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood terrorism and genocidaire-in-chief, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. While other world leaders used similar anti-Israel canards, the singular honour must go to Erdoğan (who stands as one of Israel’s most vocal critics) since his speech was laden with political lies, devoid of legality, and nothing more than pretentious diction.  By deconstructing Erdoğan’s speech as pre-packaged lies, the article will extract specific speech acts used by the Turkish president in his invective against the State of Israel and juxtapose them with real-world facts grounded in legality and empirical observation.

Master of Malevolence.  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has a long history of severe verbal attacks against Israel, frequently labeling the country a “terrorist state” and comparing its leadership to the Nazi regime. (Photo: Adem ALTAN / AFP via Getty Images)

DECYPHERING TURKEY’S LIES ABOUT ISRAEL

Instead of using the general debate to promote international peace and security initiatives (especially in the Middle East), Erdoğan devoted a large portion of his speech to spreading lies about Israel and promoting a clear domestic and international agenda.  In Orwellian terminology, Erdoğan’s speech was littered with metaphors, imagery, political theatrics, selective moral outrage, and terminology, while obscuring the truth to fill political bandwidth. Yet, the Turkish leader is guilty of the very baseless charges he levels against Israel and thus deflects self-scrutiny.

“Gaza is the most inhuman concentration camp of our time…” and “the world’s largest graveyard for children…”

This was a high-octane and emotionally charged statement by Erdoğan. As such, it was designed for maximum impact. It is palpable that references to “concentration camp” and “graveyard” are insensitive and invoke historical analogies with the Holocaust, when the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (commonly known as the Nazi Party) killed more than six million Jews through gassing, summary execution and starvation. This is historical inversion and an affront to the Jewish people, the remaining Holocaust survivors and their families. Turkey is clearly creating a simplified good-versus-evil dichotomy, while purposefully ignoring geopolitical complexities and concealing Erdoğan’s hideous policies against the Kurds in northern Syria and Iraq.

How would Orwell relate to the above? Erdoğan is known for his double standards. He portrays himself as the leader of the Muslim world. Yet, he has:

– committed genocide against the Kurds in northern Syria and Iraq, as he will not countenance the creation of a Kurdish corridor or crescent (straddling northern Syria, Turkey, northern Iraq, and western Iran)

– armed and sponsored the former leader of the now-disbanded terrorist outfit Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and now president of Syria, Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (formerly known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Julani), as a proxy against the Syrian Kurds

– supports Islamist movements in Libya and Sudan, and

– hosts Hamas leaders.

Hence, Erdoğan lacks the moral authority to lecture Israel on morality, and he should be treated as a diabolical, homicidal creature. The Turkish president’s specific utterance was not based on facts, but on weaponising language for political gain. The truth speaks for itself. Gaza is not a “concentration camp” or “graveyard” for children. It is an active combat zone; Hamas terrorists are doing the fighting, and Israel has taken extraordinary steps to minimise civilian casualties. In fact, the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) Coordinator for the Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has assisted Israeli, regional and international aid agencies with the erection of temporary tents. At the same time, what government, bent on confining people to a “concentration camp”, would coordinate with international agencies to launch a polio vaccination campaign, if the intention is to kill them? By using and inverting the Holocaust analogy of “concentration camps”, Israel did not put policies and resources in place to confine Gazans to a specific location to eventually kill Palestinians. Conversely, this is exactly what Adolf Hitler and his henchmen did against Jews in major concentration camps in Germany, Poland, Austria, France, Estonia, Latvia, and the Czech Republic. They intended to exterminate all Jews as part of Hitler’s “Final Solution”, which was carried out by Adolf Eichmann, Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich.  It is inaccurate to portray Israel as having created a “graveyard for children”, as the IDF has taken reasonable measures, in line with international humanitarian law, to protect children in Gaza. The faux sultan, Erdoğan, willfully neglected to inform the General Assembly that Hamas used hospitals, schools and public facilities in Gaza as shields and weapons storage facilities in its terrorist campaign against the IDF and Gazans. Tragically, children died in the war, yet Turkey, which, along with Qatar, has enabled Hamas to build its own open-air prison, from which it launched its murderous campaign against Jews and Israelis on October 7th. Erdogan also omitted the fact that COGAT continues to coordinate with Israeli humanitarian agencies to distribute vital baby formula to Gazans, as Hamas has intercepted aid supplies. The double standard is clear: There is no condemnation that Hamas started the war against Israel and should bear responsibility for all fatalities in Gaza. Israel was under attack and responded in self-defense. Check your facts, Erdoğan!  

“Insatiable genocidal mindset…” and “state terrorism”

Erdoğan’s arsenal of egregious statements against Israel includes references to the Israeli government as inherently “genocidal” and engaging in “state terrorism.” He further asserted that:

 “There is no war in Gaza; there are no two sides. This is an invasion, a massacre, a genocide, a policy of mass destruction.”

Israel never committed genocide and only acted in self-defense. The IDF launched “Operation Swords of Iron” to rescue the hostages and target those responsible for the October 7th massacre. This was a legitimate response, in line with the law of armed conflict. Regrettably, Erdoğan seems to be inspired by South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. The threshold to prove genocide is exceedingly high, as it is often referred to as the “crime of crimes.” The 1948 Genocide Convention defines genocide as “the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a protected national, ethnic, racial, or religious group as such.” The accuser or the plaintiff must prove specific intent (dolus specialis) and the mental element (mens rea). Therefore, it is not enough to demonstrate massive civilian casualties, widespread destruction, or severe human suffering. In fact, Hamas is responsible for the implosion of Gaza, as it launched an unjustified attack on Israel. Erdoğan and his ally, the avaricious African National Congress (ANC), rely excessively on individual statements by a few senior Israeli politicians to prove “genocidal intent.” Israel’s legal team cogently argued that individual Israeli politicians’ statements were taken out of context and expressed in anger at the surprise October 7th attacks (the deadliest in Israel’s history since the Holocaust). The ICJ requires proof that political statements translated into official government policy that directed IDF commanders and soldiers to carry out “genocidal actions” in Gaza. This is a no-brainer since Israel did not display intent to kill and displace Palestinians. It is a figment of Erdoğan and South Africa’s imagination. The IDF’s actions were aimed at targeting Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure and leadership, and it put measures in place to ensure the safety of civilians in Gaza.  

In Orwellian terms, Erdoğan has failed to separate rhetoric from facts. As a matter of fact, Erdoğan should be hauled before the ICC and ICJ for war crimes and genocide committed against the Kurds, as his campaign was intentional and specific. He unleashed the full might of the Turkish army, intelligence and its proxies in northern Syria and Iraq to exterminate the Kurds, who rightfully deserve a state of their own. The Turkish government does not distinguish between Kurdish fighters (who have been instrumental in the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – ISIS) and civilians. Additionally, Erdoğan has exported his brand of Islamist fundamentalism to radical Islamists in Libya, Sudan and part of the Horn of Africa with political and material support, which continues to undermine regional stability and the peacemaking efforts of the African Union, Gulf countries and the international community.

BUILDING A RESILIENT, OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE ECOSYSTEM IN DEFENSE OF ISRAEL

As lies and propaganda against Israel and the Jewish people will continue unabated, it is important to reclaim the narrative battlespace. By its own admission, the Israeli government has done a terrible job in promoting Israel’s international image since October 7th. In his address to UNGA 81, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu correctly pointed out that Israel is fighting a battle on the eighth front: the battle for the truth.  Erdoğan and those of his ilk are the chief purveyors of false claims of genocide. The Turkish leader’s anti-Israel missive is nothing more than bullshit. In an entertaining little book, ‘On Bullshit’ (2005), Harry G. Frankfurt remarked that, “A person who undertakes bullshit his way through has much more freedom. His focus is panoramic rather than particular. He does not limit himself to inserting a certain falsehood at a specific point, and thus he is not constrained by the truths surrounding that point or intersecting it. He is prepared, so far as required, to fake the context as well.”

Rousing Rhetoric. Erdoğan speaks of the “ murderous ideology called Zionism” and said that “the genocide network has turned Gaza into the world’s largest cemetery for children.”

As Israel is central to Jewish identity, it behoves Jews to act as citizen-diplomats for the State of Israel and disabuse the liars of maligning the only Jewish state. The South African Jewish community, although Lilliputian in size (52 300, according to a recent study by the Kaplan Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Cape Town) compared to other diaspora communities, is the most Zionist in orientation, as evidenced by the indefatigable spirit of the leadership and volunteers of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) and Zionist Federation (SAZF), which continue to engage with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the South African Presidency whenever unwarranted policies and statements are made against Israel. This is active citizen diplomacy, as South African Jews accept constructive criticism of Israel, but not when it pivots towards antisemitism, extremism and lies. The South African Jewish community, of which I am a proud member, has built an effective ecosystem in defense of Israel. Other diaspora communities should take a page from the South African Jewish community’s commendable pro-Israel efforts.



About the writer:

Editor’s Note: Yoram Blumstein is a nom de plume the author uses to protect their identity because of previous security threats.





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

THE ISRAELI POLITICAL STALEMATE

Two alternatives to forming an Israeli government

By Neville Berman

Every Israeli citizen over the age of 18, irrespective of race, religion or sex, is entitled to vote in the next Israeli election on October 27. As there is no postal voting in Israel, you need to be present in Israel to exercise your right to vote.  As no political party in the State of Israel has ever won an outright majority of  61 seats, every government in Israel has been a coalition government.

All the polls concerning the Israeli elections on October 27 indicate that neither of the two leading parties will be able to form a coalition government of 61 seats. The most likely result is another stalemate, and another election or series of elections to follow. Elections themselves cost billions of shekels. Israel simply cannot afford to have another series of elections. Judging by the polls, the Likud under Bibi Netanyahu, together with all the religious parties will not achieve 61 seats. The other leading party, the Yashir party led by Gadi Eisenkot, will also not be able to form a government of 61 seats. If the Arab party called Ra’am led by Mansour Abbas, wants to join Eisenkot in forming a coalition, then Avigdor Liberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party will withdraw from supporting Eisenkot. This is a catch 22 situation. Fortunately, there does appear to be two alternatives to what transpired in the past.

Firstly, a minority government can legally be formed. This can be done by one or more of the political parties agreeing not to vote in the Knesset to bring down the government. Let us assume that the coalition of Gadi Eisenkot has 56 seats and the Arab parties have 14 seats. If the Arab parties agree not to vote against the government in a no confidence vote, then the President can decide to call upon a coalition of less than a majority of 61 seats to form a minority government. The Likud and their partners do not have sufficient votes to stop the government from being formed. In the current situation, this is a distinct possibility. The coalition of 56 seats can survive as long as the Arab parties refuse to join a vote of no-confidence in the government.

The elephant in the room is this election is none other than the longest serving Israeli Prime Minister, namely Bibi Netanyahu. He has become an extremely divisive figure in Israeli politics and around the world. His judgement in certain areas is questionable. After the last election, he appointed Aryeh Deri, the head of the Shas party, to be deputy prime minister and rotating finance minister after Bezalel Smotrich would serve the first 2 years as finance minister.  Aryeh Deri was previously convicted for financial impropriety and fraud and served time in jail.

The Supreme Court ruled that it was totally unreasonable to appoint such a person to be deputy prime minister or finance minister.

Defying Deadlock. The “Catch-22” in modern Israeli coalition politics lies in a structural deadlock where neither major bloc can reach a governing majority, yet the resulting political paralysis inadvertently keeps the current leadership in power. (Photo: Christophe Gateau/ via Getty Images)

What was Bibi thinking when he appointed Deri?  Netanyahu has refused to appoint an independent commission of enquiry into the failure of the government to protect the citizens of Israel on October 7, 2023 while he was Prime Minister.  In addition, he has not supported the demand that tens of thousands of draft age yeshiva students be drafted into the army. Netanyahu seems to be seeking dictatorial powers by supporting legislation that will allow decisions of the Supreme Court to be overruled by a simple majority in the Knesset. Israel is now faced with the situation that a number of political parties have stated that they will not sit in a government led by Netanyahu. Most of these parties have not stated that they will not sit with the Likud party. Over the years, some members of the Likud left the party and went on to form political parties that now refuse to sit with Netanyahu.

Coming ‘Home’ – to Vote.  Recognizing that this election could alter the course of the country in profound ways with consequences for the global Jewish diaspora no less than local Israelis, expats living abroad are expected return “home” in record number to exercise their democratic right.  (AI-generated illustration)

The answer to preventing a left of center government from being formed, is for the Likud itself to force Netanyahu to resign. The Likud without Netanyahu as its leader, will change the entire political landscape in Israel. A center right wing government can then be formed without any of the religious, Arab or left-wing parties in the current election. Obviously, some of the Likud members are very much beholden to Netanyahu and they will not support this. The choice that they will face is either a left of center Israeli government or a right of center government without Netanyahu. The irony is that the best chance of a center right wing government being formed in Israel, is for Netanyahu to resign. As long as Netanyahu is head of the Likud it seems like another stalemate in Israeli politics is about to occur.

For the good of the country, Bibi needs to resign.



About the writer:

Accountant Neville Berman had an illustrious sporting career in South Africa, being twice awarded the South African State Presidents Award for Sport and was a three times winner of the South African Maccabi Sportsman of the Year Award.  In 1978 he immigrated to the USA  to coach the United States men’s field hockey team, whereafter, in 1981 he immigrated to Israel where he practiced as an accountant and then for 20 years was the Admin Manager at the American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel.  He is married with two children and one granddaughter.






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

PRETORIA’S HOUSE OF CARDS AT THE HAGUE

While creating a fine photo-op, 21 national  flags do not a verdict make.

By Shaun Schutte

On 22 September 2026, the International Court of Justice confirmed that Colombia had withdrawn its intervention from South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. President Abelardo De La Espriella’s government has also restored diplomatic relations with Israel and reversed other decisions taken by the previous administration, while  Nicaragua had already withdrawn its separate application to intervene in April 2025.

Colombia’s decision matters because it exposes something the ANC government has been allowed to blur since it filed the case on 29 December 2023. Pretoria repeatedly creates the impression that every country appearing in the proceedings has joined South Africa, supports its accusation and accepts that Israel committed genocide.

That is not what the court record shows.

South Africa is the applicant making the accusation. Israel is the respondent denying it. The other countries are interveners, and intervention does not automatically mean joining South Africa’s side or accepting that its allegation has been proven.

Under Article 63 of the ICJ Statute, any state party to the Genocide Convention may intervene when the interpretation of that Convention is in dispute. A country may explain how it believes genocide, genocidal intent and the duties of states should be interpreted without presenting new factual evidence, endorsing South Africa’s allegations or declaring Israel guilty.

Palestine and Belize also invoked Article 62, claiming a specific legal interest that may be affected by the eventual judgment. That gives them a different basis for requesting participation, but it still does not transform every government appearing in the courtroom into an independent witness for Pretoria.

“We continue to work closely with Türkiye……Türkiye has made its support for the case very clear,” said Ronald Lamola, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation to reporters on the ICJ genocide case against Israel at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Kruger National Park, South Africa, May 24, 2026.  (Photo: AA)   
 

THE COURTROOM ANALOGY

Imagine a prosecutor bringing twenty-one people into a courtroom and then walking outside to tell the public that all twenty-one are witnesses supporting the prosecution.

When their statements are examined, the picture changes. Some openly support the accusation. Others are merely explaining how they believe the law should be interpreted. One specifically avoids deciding the disputed facts, while four warn that the prosecution may be attempting to lower the standard required to prove the crime.

The prosecutor nevertheless points towards everyone inside the courtroom and presents them as one united group standing behind the accusation.

That is the impression Pretoria has created, and it is misleading.

THE COUNTRIES LEANING TOWARDS PRETORIA

Libya intervened on 10 May 2024 and left very little room for doubt about its position. It alleges that Israel’s acts and omissions are genocidal and were committed with the required specific intention to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.

Libya is not simply discussing the meaning of the Convention. It has aligned itself directly with South Africa’s accusation.

Mexico followed on 24 May 2024, concentrating on the obstruction of humanitarian assistance, destruction of civilian and cultural infrastructure and the cumulative consequences of Israel’s military campaign.

Its submission advances a broader method of inferring genocidal intent and materially assists Pretoria, but it does not provide an independent judicial finding that Israel entered Gaza intending to destroy the Palestinian people.

Palestine intervened on 31 May 2024 under both Articles 62 and 63, claiming a direct legal interest in the eventual outcome. Its position openly supports the allegation that Palestinians in Gaza are being subjected to genocide.

Palestine is directly affected by the war and has an obvious reason to place its case before the Court, but it cannot simultaneously be presented as an independent and neutral confirmation of South Africa’s accusation.

Spain entered on 28 June 2024 and argued that killing, serious bodily or mental harm, forced displacement and deprivation must be assessed collectively when determining whether genocidal acts and intent exist.

That interpretation could make Pretoria’s allegation easier to establish, but Spain is still presenting a legal argument about how evidence should be assessed. It is not arriving with proof that the final legal threshold has already been crossed.

Türkiye intervened on 7 August 2024 and strongly supports South Africa’s position, arguing that Israel’s conduct must be considered as a complete pattern rather than as isolated events.

That stance is consistent with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s openly hostile political posture towards Israel, and it is reasonable to ask how much of Türkiye’s involvement arises from independently assessed evidence and how much reflects an established geopolitical position.

Consistently hostile towards Israel and frequently seen at political rallies adorning a Palestinian keffiyeh over his shoulders, one questions whether Türkiye president Erdoğan’s position in supporting South Africa’s case against Israel is motivated by law or politics? (Photo: Reuters)

Chile filed its declaration on 12 September 2024, arguing that genocidal intent may be inferred from a consistent pattern of conduct and the surrounding circumstances.

This assists Pretoria’s legal argument, but it still does not establish the central fact that must eventually be proven:

that Israel’s purpose was to destroy Palestinians as a people rather than to destroy Hamas as a military organisation.

The Maldives intervened on 1 October 2024 and focused on civilian deaths, displacement, deprivation of essential supplies and living conditions allegedly calculated to cause physical destruction.

These are grave matters that must be examined, but the consequences of war and the specific intention to destroy a protected group remain separate legal questions.

Bolivia followed on 8 October 2024 and has openly supported South Africa’s case. Its government has also been politically aligned with the anti-Israel bloc for years.

Political alignment does not automatically invalidate its submission, but neither can that alignment be displayed as independent proof that genocide occurred.

Ireland entered the proceedings on 6 January 2025, concentrating on humanitarian assistance, collective punishment, civilian protection and the interpretation of the prohibited acts listed in the Convention.

Its arguments may assist South Africa, but Ireland did not arrive carrying a judgment that genocide had already been proven. It supplied legal interpretation, not a verdict.

Cuba intervened four days later, on 10 January 2025, and openly supports both the Palestinian position and Pretoria’s use of the Genocide Convention against Israel.

Cuba’s longstanding alignment against Israel and the United States is part of the political context and cannot simply be ignored. That alignment may explain its position, but it is not evidence of genocidal intent.

Belize filed on 30 January 2025 under both Articles 62 and 63, claiming a legal interest in the proceedings while supporting a broader interpretation of the Convention.

Its participation adds another flag to the coalition Pretoria displays, but an application to intervene remains neither evidence nor a finding of guilt.

Brazil intervened on 17 September 2025 and argues that the cumulative effects of Israel’s military operations must be examined when determining whether the Convention has been violated.

That is a legitimate legal argument for the Court to consider, but the Court must still distinguish between political condemnation, possible violations of humanitarian law and the very specific crime of genocide.

Comoros followed on 29 October 2025, supporting South Africa’s position and a broader interpretation of destructive conditions, deprivation and genocidal intent.

Comoros is also a member of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. That does not disqualify its submission, but it forms part of the political background when its flag is presented as supposedly independent confirmation of Pretoria’s claim.

Belgium entered on 23 December 2025 and supports judicial scrutiny of Israel’s conduct while advancing interpretations that could broaden the circumstances from which prohibited acts and genocidal intent may be inferred.

Once again, the submission may assist Pretoria, but it does not establish the one element South Africa must ultimately prove:

Israel’s specific intention to destroy Palestinians as a protected group.

Iceland intervened on 11 March 2026 and leans towards a broader interpretation involving displacement, deprivation, civilian harm and the circumstances from which intent may be inferred.

It is an argument about how the Court should examine the evidence. It is not independent factual confirmation that the evidence already proves genocide.

Namibia entered on 12 March 2026 and clearly supports South Africa, arguing that genocidal intent must be assessed through the complete context and combined pattern of conduct.

Namibia’s own history of genocide gives its voice moral significance, but historical experience cannot replace the evidentiary requirement to prove Israel’s intention in this particular war.

THE COUNTRY THAT HAS NOT PRETENDED TO DECIDE THE FACTS

The Netherlands intervened on 11 March 2026 and made an important distinction. Its government explicitly stated that its declaration does not determine the disputed facts or conditions on the ground. It confines itself to explaining how parts of the Genocide Convention should be interpreted.

The Netherlands argues that the available evidence should be considered comprehensively and that forced displacement or deprivation of humanitarian assistance may, in certain circumstances, contribute to proving prohibited acts or genocidal intent.

Parts of that interpretation may assist South Africa, but the Netherlands has not declared Israel guilty and cannot honestly be displayed as a country that confirmed Pretoria’s accusation.

THE COUNTRIES RESISTING PRETORIA’S APPROACH

Paraguay intervened on 3 March 2026 to defend the original, narrow meaning of genocide. It insists that the crime requires proof of a specific intention to destroy a protected group and warns against weakening that requirement.

Paraguay is formally involved in the same proceedings, but no honest account could count it as part of South Africa’s coalition.

The United States entered on 12 March 2026 and explicitly rejected the genocide accusation as false. Its submission argues that widespread civilian casualties, even on a horrific scale, do not automatically establish genocidal intent, particularly during urban warfare against an armed organisation operating from within civilian areas.

Its intervention warns that lowering the threshold would transform genocide from a precisely defined crime into a political label applied to any destructive war.

Hungary intervened on the same day and also insists upon a high evidentiary threshold. Its position warns against taking possible violations of international humanitarian law and simply re-labelling them as genocide without proving the additional and very specific intention required by the Convention.

Hungary is inside the same courtroom, but it is there to challenge Pretoria’s legal approach — not to support it.

Fiji’s intervention also demands strong proof of both the prohibited acts and the intention to destroy the protected group. It raises concerns about relying uncritically upon politically contested reports from international organisations and advocacy groups.

Fiji is involved in the case, but it is not there to endorse South Africa.

WHAT THE NUMBERS ACTUALLY SHOW

There are now 21 states formally involved as interveners. Sixteen broadly support, lean towards or legally assist parts of Pretoria’s approach. The Netherlands restricts itself to legal interpretation without deciding the facts. Paraguay, the United States, Hungary and Fiji defend a stricter interpretation that challenges South Africa’s case.

That is not an international verdict. It is not 21 independent bodies of evidence, 21 witnesses confirming genocidal intent or 21 governments arriving at the same legal conclusion.

South Africa is entitled to bring its case, and every state party is entitled to offer its interpretation of the Genocide Convention. What Pretoria is not entitled to do is convert legal participation into political endorsement and then present the number of flags surrounding the proceedings as proof that the accusation has already been established.

The International Court of Justice has not found Israel guilty of genocide. Its provisional orders were issued to preserve possible rights and prevent irreparable harm while the case continues. They were not a final judgment that genocide had occurred, yet that distinction has repeatedly disappeared from the political narrative.

THE WAR DID NOT BEGIN INSIDE A COURTROOM

On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led forces crossed into Israel and deliberately attacked civilian communities. Approximately 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were abducted and taken into Gaza.

Those civilians were not accidentally caught between two armies. Civilians were among the intended targets.

Hamas then returned to one of the most densely populated territories on earth with the hostages. It continued operating through an extensive military system built within and beneath civilian areas, with fighters, weapons, command facilities and tunnel entrances positioned in or near locations protected by their civilian function.

This did not remove Israel’s duty to distinguish between combatants and civilians. Civilian casualties are never irrelevant, and every credible allegation of unlawful conduct must be investigated.

It did, however, create a battlefield in which reaching Hamas would inevitably place civilians at risk, while every civilian casualty could be turned into political and strategic pressure against Israel. Hamas had constructed a war in which it could benefit from either outcome:

survive beneath the civilian population, or gain international support from the destruction caused when Israel came underground to find it.

The suffering in Gaza is real and devastating. Acknowledging that suffering does not require us to erase the organisation that started the war, murdered civilians, retained hostages and embedded its military machinery within the civilian environment upon which the war would be fought.

War crimes, disproportionate force and genocide are not interchangeable terms. Genocide requires proof of a specific intention to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group because it is that group.

Civilian deaths alone do not prove that intention. Destruction alone does not prove it. Political speeches, operational failures and even serious violations of the laws of war cannot simply be stacked together until they automatically become genocide.

The required intention must still be proven.

THE FLAGS CAN NO LONGER HIDE THE DIFFERENCES

Colombia has changed course and withdrawn. Nicaragua stepped back before it. Their decisions do not determine the case, but they prove that intervention is neither permanent nor beyond reconsideration.

The remaining governments must now clarify what their flags represent. If they possess independently verified evidence that Israel intended to destroy the Palestinian people, they must produce that evidence and stand openly behind the accusation.

If they intervened only to explain how the Genocide Convention should be interpreted, they must publicly reject any attempt by Pretoria to use their participation as proof that they endorsed South Africa’s factual claims.

If their involvement was driven primarily by ideological alignment, diplomatic pressure or bloc politics rather than independently assessed evidence, they should follow Colombia and withdraw.

The ANC government may possess the executive authority to conduct South Africa’s foreign policy, but it does not own the conscience of every South African whose name it carried into that courtroom. Neither does it own the flags of other governments merely because they entered the proceedings to speak about the law.

Pretoria cannot have it both ways.

It cannot count every intervention as support when addressing its political audience and then retreat behind legal technicalities when asked what those countries actually proved.

The choice facing every government involved is now clear:

● Stand behind the genocide accusation and produce the evidence.

● Clarify publicly that your intervention concerns legal interpretation and does not endorse Pretoria’s factual claims.

● If your flag is there only because political alignment placed it there, withdraw it.

Twenty-one flags may create an impressive photograph. They do not create evidence, they do not establish intent, and they do not amount to a verdict.



About the writer:

Shaun Schutte is a South African security professional, independent writer and founder of Black Knight Bodyguards. He served for eight years in the South African Defence Force before spending seventeen years in international close protection and security operations across conflict environments including Iraq, Afghanistan, Angola and Somalia. His writing draws on this operational background to examine asymmetric warfare, terrorism, protective security and the political narratives surrounding modern conflict. He writes from the perspective of a practitioner rather than an academic, combining publicly available evidence with lessons gained through direct experience in unstable and hostile environments.





SOURCES

International Court of Justice—declarations of intervention:
https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192/intervention

ICJ confirmation of Colombia’s withdrawal and current list of intervening states:
https://www.un.org/unispal/document/icj-press-release-22sep26

International Court of Justice—complete case record:
https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192







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

THE FORGOTTEN PEOPLE OF THE WORLD

The time has come to re-evaluate why more aid is given to some refugees than others in need.

By Neville Berman

Today there are between 30-45 million Kurds in the world. They are mainly Sunni Muslims. They are the largest ethnic group in the world without a sovereign country. The Kurds live across a vast area of mountainous regions spanning Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran. They are indigenous to the regions that they have inhabited for thousands of years. Depending where they live, they speak Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic and Persian. They are pro Western in political ideology, and helped to defeat ISIS. The Kurds have never fully united under one leadership. In 2017, the Kurds in Iraq organized a referendum. 92% voted for Kurdish Statehood. All attempts to form a Kurdish State have been brutally suppressed and never recognized by the United Nations. The Kurds have been attacked in every country that they live in, and have been robbed of their rights to the profits from oil produced in places that they once occupied in Iraq and Iran.

Robbed of their Rights. Never galvanizing the massive support like the Palestinians, a small number of the Kurdish diaspora gather on 2026/01/28 in Leicester Square to protest and call on the UK government to take action against the Syrian military’s offensive in Kurdish-held areas of northeast Syria. (Photo: Krisztian Elek/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has ordered the killing and imprisonment of thousands of Kurds in Turkey and in Syria. All his actions have been ignored by the western world, the liberal press and human rights organizations.

The Kurds are undoubtedly one of the forgotten people of the world. The irony is that the Kurds have all the attributes of a State. They have land, their own language and culture, and are completely viable if they had control of the oil that is under their land.

Unfortunately, the world has never supported statehood for the Kurds. 

Free Pass. While President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration has conducted extensive military campaigns and a severe political crackdown against armed Kurdish separatist groups and affiliated politicians,  there are few international protests in support of the Kurds against the Turkish president.

Another group of people who have never been recognized as a State, are the Baloch people. There are over 12 million Baloch people in the world. The Baloch people are ethnic Iranian people, who are indigenous to the Balochi regions spanning Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. The areas that the Baloch people occupy in Iran and Pakistan are contiguous. They speak Baluchi and the language of the country in which they live.  Over eight million Balochi people live in Pakistan and between 2-4 million live in south eastern Iran. The Baloch also have a long history in Oman dating back centuries. Today over 1 million Baloch people live in Oman. Over 380,000 Baloch live in the United Arab Emirates. Despite having land, a unique language and culture, they have never been offered a State of their own. They have been brutally suppressed by the Iranian regime. Pictures have emerged of Baloch leaders hanging from cranes in public squares in areas that the Baloch occupy. The hangings are a warning to the Baloch people not to protest against the regime.

Baloch leader Executed. While mostly escaping global attention, protests break out in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi against the hanging in Iran of a militant leader Abdolmalek Rigi who was “… fighting for the rights of the Baloch in Iran.”

The world totally ignores the Baloch people.   

The Rohingya people lived in Myanmar for generations. They are a Muslim minority group living in a Buddhist-majority country.  In 1982, the Rohingya were denied recognition in Myanmar as an ethnic group, and faced persecution. Decades of discrimination boiled over in August 2017. Armed attacks and serious human rights violations forced hundreds of thousands to flee. Today more than 1 million Rohingya live in poverty in Bangladesh. The majority are living in the Cox Bazaar region that is now the home to the world’s largest refugee camp. The United Nations has described the Rohingya as “the most persecuted minority in the world.”  Obviously, the Jews are the most persecuted minority in the history of mankind, but the UN is never going to acknowledge this fact. The Rohingya refugees receive help from the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations. The help is minimal and the Rohingya are barely surviving. They face ethnic cleansing, and are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Their lives are total misery.  Not one wealthy Muslim country has offered to help their fellow Muslims.

The Rohingya are another of the world’s forgotten people. 

Rohingya on the Run. Where was the outrage for these dead refugee Rohingya adults and children killed after a boat capsized off Teknaf, Bangladesh on August 31, 2017 while trying to escape ongoing violence in Myanmars Rakhine state? (Photo: Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

In 1962 Rwanda gained independence from Belgian colonial administration. In 1973 Juvenal Habyarimana became the second Hutu President of Rwanda. From October 1, 1990 a major Rwandan Civil war erupted between the government’s Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). On April 6, 1994 President Habyarimana was assassinated when his plane was shot down by the Tutsis. The assassination triggered the Tutsi genocide and in 1994 between 800,000 to 1 million Tutsis in Rwanda were killed by the Hutu majority in savage fighting. Approximately 75% of the Tutsi population were slaughtered in the course of 100 days. While France did not hold colonial rule over Rwanda, it maintained significant political involvement in the country during the 1990’s and armed and trained the Hutu army.  At the start of the genocide, France deployed troops to Rwanda to evacuate foreign nationals, and then left the Tutsis to their fate.  In 2021, President Macron of France acknowledged French responsibility for being “blind” to what was happening during the Rwanda genocide, and asked Rwanda to forgive France for its past behaviour. The Tutsis are without doubt one of the forgotten peoples of the world.

Blind to Barbarism. Visiting Rwanda in 2021, French President Macron acknowledged responsibility for being “blind” to what occurred during the Rwanda genocide when Tutsis were slaughtered in their thousands and the world and its institutions stood by. (Photo:Ludovic Marin / AFP)

In 2003, a catastrophic war in Sudan started when two rebel groups known as the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) launched a war against the government of Sudan. The Sudanese government responded by forming an armed Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, to crush the rebellion. The Janjaweed, together with the Sudanese Army, massacred between 200,000 to 300,000 non-Arab ethnic Sudanese. They created a massive humanitarian catastrophe by implementing a scorched earth policy that forced millions to flee. Tens of thousands of women were raped. An estimated 2.7 million people lost their homes between 2003 to 2005.

In 2023 the war in Sudan reignited. The war continues to this day.  The UN now estimates that over 14 million Sudanese have been displaced. Approximately 10 million have been displaced internally and 4 million have fled to neighbouring Chad, South Sudan, Egypt and other neighbouring countries. Widespread famine, lack of adequate health facilities, and basic human requirements, are now threatening the lives of ten million displaced people in Sudan. In 2025, the US Secretary of State, determined that members of the Sudanese government forces known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are committing genocide in Darfur.  No end to the war is in sight, with aerial and drone attacks becoming more common. The world has ignored the catastrophe in Sudan.

Slaughter in Sudan. This photo taken during a rally against genocide in the Sudan outside the embassy of Sudan in Washington, DC, captures the boredom and disinterest of much of the world.(Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Basically, the world does not care about civil wars in Africa that have displaced and killed millions of people.

According to the United Nations (UN), there are 117 million people in the world in 2026, who have been uprooted by conflict, violence, or persecution. Instead of concentrating on the problems caused by the 117 million displaced people who are facing ethnic cleansing, widespread famine, and massive displacement all over the world, the world continues to invest more effort and financial aid to the Palestinian refugees than on any other refugees in the world. The one thing that is remarkable about this help, is how little it has improved the lives of the Palestinian people. What it has done is to make Palestinian leaders into either multi-millionaires or billionaires.

Selective Concern. Despite the over 117 million displaced people facing ethnic cleansing, widespread famine, and massive displacement all over the world,the ongoing situation with the Palestinians continues to command global attention as evidenced in the media and public protests. Seen here is a Palestine Action Group’s March in Sydney. (Photo:  Flavio Brancaleone/AAP)

The Palestinians have mastered the art of depicting themselves as victims, and the western liberal world, which is mainly in massive debt, continues to pour money into the Palestinian coffers. It is time for the world to re-evaluate its support for the Palestinians. Jordan is the name of a river. It was never a state.  In 1922, the British hived off 76% of the mandated area of Palestine and renamed it Transjordan. They then offered Transjordan to the Hashemites who had been kicked out of Arabia by Abdul Aziz, the head of the House of Saud. Transjordan was renamed as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Hashemites are not from Jordan. The Palestinians are the majority of the Kingdom of Jordan’s population. By both location and by being the majority of the population, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is in reality a Palestinian State. What the world should be looking at is why Palestinian refugee camps still exist in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and especially in Gaza. The whole question of why the world has ignored the plight of over a hundred million displaced people, and why the Palestinian refugees have not received citizenship in any of the 22 Arab states in the Middle East needs to re-evaluated.



About the writer:

Accountant Neville Berman had an illustrious sporting career in South Africa, being twice awarded the South African State Presidents Award for Sport and was a three times winner of the South African Maccabi Sportsman of the Year Award.  In 1978 he immigrated to the USA  to coach the United States men’s field hockey team, whereafter, in 1981 he immigrated to Israel where he practiced as an accountant and then for 20 years was the Admin Manager at the American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel.  He is married with two children and one granddaughter.








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

MAHSA’S MURDER

Why Mahsa Amini’s death still matters – especially this year.

By Marziyeh Amirizadeh

This week’s anniversary of the arrest, beating, and murder of Mahsa Amini in 2022 is more important to be remembered – than perhaps more than ever before. Mahsa’s murder triggered one of the most widespread and enduring protests within Iran and overseas against the Islamic Republic under the banner of “Women, Life, Freedom.” Mahsa’s murder represents the widespread suffering of the Iranian people and misogyny that has victimized Iranian women and girls over nearly half a century. Mahsa’s murder is relevant still today, emblematic of the threats the Islamic Republic on America and the world.

Call for Justice. Protestors outside of the United Nations on Sept. 21, 2022 in New York City in support of Masha Amini. (Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

None of this suffering is new, not from my childhood, and not from Mahsa’s brutal murder four years ago. But this year, if the world ever needed evidence of this brutality and suffering of millions of Iranians, the ayatollahs put their evil on center stage with the massacre of tens of thousands of Iranians, as many as 60,000 in just two days in January, and thousands more since. Just this year alone.

For me, Mahsa’s murder is very personal, and something that cannot be stated enough. It unavoidably triggers many traumas I will always bear. But it’s not just her memory, suffering, and horrible murder that cause me trauma.

 In 2009, I was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging simply for converting to Christianity, a “crime” in the Islamic Republic called “apostacy”. Thank God I was saved, but in nine months of imprisonment, I suffered tremendous physical and psychological hardships, witnessing rape, torture, and the execution of innocents like my dear friend and cellmate Shirin Alamhooli, who suffered unspeakable torture and whose body was never returned to her family.

Shirin, like Mahsa Amini, was a young Kurdish woman. Her crime? Daring to dream of freedom. So, when I think of Mahsa Amini’s murder, it’s not as a distant observer, but as a sister in suffering. Mahsa, was a vibrant 22-year-old Kurdish woman, arrested in September 2022 by the so-called “morality police” for an improperly worn hijab. She was savagely beaten into a coma and died days later in custody. Her murder wasn’t an isolated incident — it was just another example of the regime’s savage war on women, on dignity, on humanity itself. Mahsa’s story remains a blazing torch that we all must carry, illuminating the unyielding evil of the ayatollahs and demanding justice with the prayer that soon their tyranny will be extinguished.

Why does Mahsa’s murder still echo so powerfully today? Because the savagery hasn’t stopped; it has only intensified. On top of the massacre of tens of thousands of Iranians yearning for freedom and the restoration of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the Islamic Republic continues to execute protesters, journalists, and dissidents at a horrifying rate, They hang innocent victims many for vague charges like “enmity against God” or “corruption on earth” not with any pretense of justice, but to instill fear and brutalize Iranians daily. Women are dragged from the streets for defying medieval hijab laws, beaten and raped in detention centers, and victimized through deep seeded misogyny that brainwashes men to think that women are worth only half of a man.

Hair–raising. A demonstrator holds hair during a protest in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 23, 2022.(Photo: Christian Mang/Reuters)

The regime’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” crackdown lingers like a poison in the air, with underground resistance simmering despite the bullets and beatings. This year, the bullets came with an added price, not just gunning down and murdering tens of thousands, but injuring and disfiguring many more times that. Families of victims who were killed were forced to pay thousands of dollars in a crumbling economy for the “cost” of the bullets used to kill their loved ones, before they could retrieve the bodies for burial.

These are not anomalies; they are the regime’s very blueprint for exerting control. Brainwashed from childhood to chant “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” Iranians are hostages in their own land. The ayatollahs fund global terrorism through proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, exporting their hatred while starving their people. In the once thriving nation of my birth, simple things like water and electricity are scarce.

Mahsa’s death ignited uprisings where women burned their hijabs and men faced gunfire, proving that the spirit of freedom endures. This year tens of thousands of people turned the murder of their loved ones into acts of defiance against the regime demonstrating that the yearning for freedom cannot and will not be extinguished. Mahsa’s murder is relevant still because it remains an open wound that needs healing.  As the regime’s grip weakens, it clings on through instilling fear, brutalizing any resistance, and foreign appeasement.

Sights of Solidarity. An Iranian woman living in Turkey, reacts after she cut her hair during a protest outside the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on Sept. 21, 2022. (Photo: Murad Sezer/Reuters)

The savagery of the Islamic Republic knows no bounds. This is a regime that hijacked a proud Persian civilization in 1979, imposing Sharia law that treats women as property and minorities as expendable. I lived it: in Evin Prison I saw political prisoners tortured, Christians like me branded filthy apostates, and Kurds like Mahsa marginalized, tortured, and murdered. Beyond Iran’s borders, the ayatollahs arm terrorists who slaughter innocents, from Israeli civilians to American troops. They pursue nuclear weapons not for energy, but for domination, the tools to carry out their intent to wipe Israel off the map. Their ideology is a cancer, spreading antisemitism, misogyny, and Islamic extremism worldwide.

Negotiations with and appeasement of the regime are a fool’s errand. These only embolden them, as it did under Obama and Biden, allowing them to rebuild to repress. The regime isn’t reformable; it’s rotten to its core, built on lies and its victims’ blood.

Rage in Rome. People shout slogans and hold signs during a demonstration organized by “Woman Life Freedom” (Donna, Vita, Libertà) movement to mark the first death anniversary of Mahsa Amini, on September 16, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Photo: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

The only solution to end this nightmare is to bring down the ayatollahs – regime change, swift and decisive. Iranians aren’t calling for tweaks or talks; they’re demanding the end of this evil theocracy. Today, with their air defenses crippled, the economy crumbling, and not even water or electricity in many places, the time is ripe.

It’s essential to support the Iranian people – amplify their voices, strengthen their resistance, and isolate the mullahs globally. Back leaders like Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who represents the hope of millions yearning for a secular, democratic Iran, not fake reformists or MEK/NCRI cultists who betray us.

This isn’t just Iran’s fight – it’s in America’s vital interest. Yes, even if it costs more to fill up your tank. The Islamic Republic is America’s sworn enemy, funding attacks on U.S. soil, against Americans, and our allies. Their “Death to America” isn’t rhetoric; it’s policy, manifested in cyberattacks, assassinations, and nuclear threats. A nuclear-armed Iran would destabilize the Middle East, empower terrorists, and endanger global security. It’s a goal from which they will not back down, no matter how beaten or how much they beat Iranians. It can never be allowed to happen, at any cost.

Paris Protests.  Protestors take to the streets in Paris, France in a demonstration organized by the “Women’s Life Freedom” movement to mark Mahsa Amini’s first death anniversary on September 16, 2023. (Photo: Ameer Alhalbi/Getty Images)

Regime change eliminates this threat, opening the door to a stable partner in Iran. Regime change aligns with American values of liberty and human rights, preventing the spread of extremism that could flood our shores. As an American citizen, I urge: don’t negotiate with scorpions. Stand with Iranians, apply unrelenting pressure, and watch a new Persia rise.

Freedom for Iran means security for the world. In God’s name, in memory of Mahsa, Shirin, and countless other victims of the regime, now is the time to end the ayatollahs’ reign forever.



*Feature picture:A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini at a demonstration in Istanbul, Turkey.  (Photo: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images)



About the writer:

Marziyeh (Marzi) Amirizadeh is an Iranian American author, public speaker, human rights advocate, and President of Newpersia.org. She has written two books “Captive in Iran,” and “A Love Journey with God” which are available on www.marzisjourney.com. She is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death by hanging in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity. She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation in Evin prison- one of the most brutal prisons in the world. 








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).

MR. PRESIDENT, YOU ASKED WHEN THE IRANIAN PEOPLE WILL RISE UP. THEY NEVER STOPPED FIGHTING

The blood of Iranians nationwide attest to endless defiance and resilience.

By Marziyeh Amirizadeh

On September 1, President Trump posted a message asking a question that deserves a direct answer:

“When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”

Mr. President, the answer is:

 the Iranian people have been fighting for 47 years. They never stopped.

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the people of Iran have repeatedly risen against a regime that seized their country, destroyed their freedoms, persecuted religious minorities, imprisoned political opponents, and used misogyny, terror, torture and executions to maintain power.

What has changed is not the courage of the Iranian people. What has changed is whether the world chooses to hear them.

Again and again, Iranians have filled the streets. Again and again, they have paid an enormous price. And again and again, Western governments have looked away, often choosing negotiations, appeasement, or political convenience over standing with the people of Iran.

The Iranian people have been fighting alone for decades.

Here are only some of the chapters of that long struggle.

1981–1982:THE REIGN OF TERROR  

During the early years of the Islamic Republic, the new regime launched a brutal campaign against political opponents and religious and ethnic minorities.

Thousands upon thousands were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and executed as the clerical regime consolidated its power. Christians, Baha’is, political opponents, Kurds, Baluchis, and others experienced persecution and repression.

The message from the new regime was clear: anyone who challenged its ideology or authority could become a target.

Fueled by the Iranian Cultural Revolution decreed by Ruhollah Khomeini, the 1981–1982 Iran massacres were a state-sponsored campaign aimed at exterminating political and religious adversaries. Children and women were among those executed.

1988: THE PRISON MASSACRES

In 1988, one of the darkest crimes in the history of the Islamic Republic took place. Following an order from Ayatollah Khomeini, thousands of prisoners were executed over several months.

Victims were buried in secret mass graves.

Families were denied information about their loved ones.

The world moved on.

An informational Board at Whitehall, London draws attention to the 1988 Massacre of the Political Prisoners in Iran. (Photo: Loredana Sangiuliano/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

1999: THE STUDENT UPRISING

In July 1999, Iranian students rose against the regime following the closure of the reformist newspaper Salam. I witnessed those protests myself. I saw students being attacked by regime forces. I saw Basij members chasing protesters and, beating them, throwing people from buildings, shooting at them in the streets. I remember the terror of watching what was happening from the rooftop of my home. The crackdown became one of the defining moments of my generation.

I will never forget those days. And I will never forget how quickly the world forgot them.

Witnessed by the writer, the Iranian Student Protests of July 1999, also known as 18th of Tir was one the most widespread public protests to occur in Iran since Iranian Revolution.(Photo: Hassan Sarbakhsian)

2009:  THE GREEN MOVEMENT

In June 2009, millions of Iranians took to the streets after the disputed presidential election. I witnessed this too, from inside Evin Prison. The demonstrations became known as the Green Movement. People marched peacefully and demanded that their voices be heard. The regime responded with violence, mass arrests, torture, and killings.

At the time, I was imprisoned because of my faith in Jesus. From inside prison, I witnessed the consequences of the regime’s crackdown. The women’s ward swelled with hundreds of new prisoners, many displaying signs of the brutality they suffered on the streets where they were arrested.

I also watched the international community fail to stand decisively with the Iranian people. President Obama’s silence was a devastating betrayal.

Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi in Tehran before the presidential election of 2009, when the Green Movement rose out of massive street protests. (Photo: Ben Curtis/AP)

2011: KHUZESTAN AND AHVAZ     

In April 2011, protests erupted in Khuzestan, as part of the broader wave of uprisings sweeping the Middle East. Iranian forces again responded with violence. Reports of deaths, injuries, and mass arrests followed.

Once again, Iranian protesters paid the price.

2017–2018: THE NATIONWIDE PROTESTS 

Beginning in December 2017, protests on political reform quickly spread across more than 100 cities, challenging the entire system. People shouted against corruption, economic misery, and the Islamic Republic itself. The regime once again responded with force.

The world, once again, was silent.

2018: WATER PROTESTS 

Protests in 2018 in southern Iran for lack of water.

In 2018, Iranians protested against severe water shortages, environmental destruction, and government mismanagement. The regime’s forces again brutally confronted protesters. Even protests over something as basic as access to water became a deadly confrontation with the regime.

A crowd of demonstrators gathered during economic protests near the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, in June 2018. Also known as the Dey Protests, the unrest over rising food and commodity prices, high unemployment, and financial mismanagement spread rapidly to over 140 towns and cities in every province of Iran.

2019: BLOODY NOVEMBER 

After the government suddenly increased fuel prices, protests erupted throughout the country. The demonstrations about the price of gas quickly became an uprising against the Islamic Republic. The regime responded with extraordinary brutality. Security forces used live ammunition against protesters.

The exact death toll remains unclear but the message could not have been clearer: The regime was willing to kill its own people to remain in power.

Photos from Iran ‘Bloody November’ in 2019: The State Massacre Hidden by an Internet Blackout.

2022–2023:WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM   

Then came the murder of Mahsa Amini.

Her death in the custody of Iran’s “morality police” ignited one of the largest uprisings in the history of the Islamic Republic. Women removed their compulsory headscarves. Young people confronted security forces. Men and women stood together.

The world heard the cry: Woman. Life. Freedom.

The regime answered with bullets, executions, torture, imprisonment, and intimidation.

Hundreds were killed,

thousands injured, and

tens of thousands arrested.

Iranian women and men demonstrated extraordinary courage. Once again, they were left largely to fight alone.

Men and women protest against the killing of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran. 28 September, 2022. (Photo: IMAGO / Zuma Wire via social media).

2025–2026: ANOTHER GENERATION RISES ( LION AND SUN REVOLUTION)

This year’s protests demonstrated once again that the Iranian people have not surrendered.

Following the bloodshed killing, a hundred thousand of peaceful protesters and repression surrounding the January 2026 protests, many Iranians inside and outside Iran looked to President Trump with hope that this time America might finally stand decisively with them. His promise that “Help is on the way” inspired the protestors but left them to be slaughtered alone.

When the United States and Israel weakened key components of the Islamic Republic’s military and security apparatus, many Iranians expressed gratitude and renewed hope. But tens of thousands had already been massacred. The massacres continue. How many times must the Iranian people be expected to walk into the streets unprotected just to be massacred with no help on the way.

They’ve been to this rodeo before. They know exactly what happens when they come into the streets without the means to defend themselves.

They remember 1979.

They remember 1988.

They remember 1999.

They remember 2009.

They remember 2019.

They remember 2022.

They remember January 2026.

They remember those who never came home.

2026 Iranian protests in Kashmar

So, when President Trump asks, “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”, please understand:

They already have.

The question is not whether Iranians are willing to fight.

The question is whether the free world is willing to stand with them when they do.

WHAT ARE IRANIANS REALLY WAITING FOR?

With hundreds of thousands slaughtered on the Islamic Republic’s evil alter, Iranians are waiting to know that America will not abandon them again.

They are waiting for the United States and its allies to listen to the Iranian people rather than relying on illegitimate voices and organizations that claim to represent them but do not.

They are waiting for Western leaders to understand that the Iranian people, not the Islamic Republic’s lobbyists, apologists, or carefully manufactured “opposition” figures, must determine the future of Iran.

They are waiting for the West to recognize the opposition that millions of Iranians themselves support, including Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, and to engage directly with those who have the support of the Iranian people.

And above all, they are waiting for a clear signal that America will not throw them under the bus once they rise. Again.

MR. PRESIDENT, GIVE THEM A REASON TO TRUST AMERICA

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly demonstrated that it will slaughter its own people to survive. America has the military power, intelligence, diplomatic influence, and international alliances to make it much more difficult for the regime to massacre peaceful protesters with impunity.

The Iranian people do not have those protections.

You have a security detail protecting you because your enemies – including the Islamic Republic – have repeatedly threatened your life and attempted to harm you.

Continuing to go into the streets in the face of these threats shows extraordinary courage. But even courage has limits when facing unrelenting brutality.

DO NOT ASK THEM TO FIGHT ALONE

When one asks “When the Iranian people to rise again?”, help create the conditions in which they can survive once they do. Prevent the regime from shutting down the internet and hiding massacres from the world.

Neutralize the forces deployed specifically to murder peaceful protesters.

Continue putting economic pressure on the regime and dismantling its ability to finance repression and terrorism.

And most importantly, listen directly to the Iranian people. Support the representatives whom the Iranian people themselves recognize. Do not allow the Islamic Republic’s lobbyists or regime-friendly intermediaries to tell you what Iranians want.

Listen to Iran’s streets.

Listen to the mothers who lost their children.

Listen to the fathers who buried their sons.

Listen to the women who removed their hijabs knowing they could be arrested.

Listen to the prisoners who survived torture.

Listen to the families still searching for the graves of the regime’s victims. It’s not hard to do. Iranians have been speaking for 47 years.

IRANIANS ARE NOT WAITING FOR A REVOLUTION – THEY ARE WAITING FOR VICTORY

The Islamic Republic wants the world to believe that Iranians are passive, divided, or unwilling to fight. That is a lie. The Iranian people have demonstrated their desire for freedom again and again.

What they have learned through decades of bloodshed is that courage alone is not enough. They need the free world to stand with them. They need to know that when they rise, America will not negotiate their future away, choosing appeasement over freedom.

They need to know that their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

The Iranian people are ready.

They have been ready for decades.

They are not asking America to fight their battle for them.

They are asking America not to prevent them from winning it.

They are asking for freedom to determine their own future. They are asking for the opportunity to reclaim the country that was stolen from them in 1979.

And they are asking America to stand on the right side of history.

So, when the President asks:

“When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”,

my answer is simple:

They never stopped fighting.

And my question to you Mr. President is: Are you ready to make sure they do not have to fight and win alone?


About the writer:

Marziyeh (Marzi) Amirizadeh is an Iranian American author, public speaker, human rights advocate, and President of Newpersia.org. She has written two books “Captive in Iran,” and “A Love Journey with God” which are available on http://www.marzisjourney.com. She is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death by hanging in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity. She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation in Evin prison – one of the most brutal prisons in the world.









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).

DECODING ISRAEL’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

Why the forthcoming election on October 27 must bring a change of leadership to Israel.

By Neville Berman

In 2001, a book called “Good to Great” was published. Its author was Jim Collins. Jim Collins was intrigued by why some American public companies managed to be more successful than all the other companies competing in the same sector of business. He decided that he wanted to investigate how and why this occurred. Together with 21 researchers, he organized the collection and sorting of data of 1,453 companies that were traded on the American Stock Exchange over the past 40 years.

Guidance for Greatness. Can the question that preyed on the mind of Jim Cillins of whether companies can defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority be a guide to Israeli politics stuck in a quagmire?

They were searching for companies whose stock returns had outperformed the general market by at least three times over a 15-year period. A company that met the criteria would be considered a “Great Company”.  Only 11 companies met the criteria. Jim Collins then decided to interview the Chief Executive Officers of those 11 companies to find out what made them “Great”.  Over 2,000 pages of transcripts of the interviews were recorded.

The book “Good to Great” was the result. The book immediately became one of the most successful business management books ever published. In 2011, Time magazine included the book as one of the 25 Most Influential Business Management Books ever produced.

What became clear from the interviews was that all eleven CEOs agreed that one could not become a great company without taking action based on the following axiom:

“Get the right people on the bus, and get the wrong people off the bus.”

Unfortunately, it appears that in Israeli politics, the exact opposite has occurred. The wrong people are on the bus, and the right people are not on the bus. Let us examine why and how this has occurred.

Israel does not have a constitution. What it has is its Declaration of Independence signed in April 1948. Inter alia it states the following:

 “The State of Israel will be open to the immigration of Jews from all countries of their dispersion; will promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice and peace taught by the Hebrew Prophets; will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed, or sex; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education, and culture; will safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of the shrines and Holy Places of all religions; and will dedicate itself to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

The Israeli political system is a unique form of parliamentary democracy. In accordance with its Declaration of Independence, all Israeli citizens over the age of 18, irrespective of race, religion or sex are entitled to vote. The electorate votes for political parties and not for individual representatives. The Knesset has 120 seats and serves as the Israeli parliament. The Government needs to control a minimum of 61 seats in the Knesset to govern. As no political party has ever obtained a majority of 61 seats needed to govern, every government of Israel since 1948 has been a coalition government.  Membership in the Knesset is based on nationwide elections held every 4 years or after a no confidence motion has forced the government to resign.

Once the vote of the general election is counted, the political parties who contested the election are allocated seats in the Knesset in proportion to the number of votes they received. A political party that receives less than 3.25% of the vote, gets no seats. The minimum number of seats for a political party is 4 seats. In the case of no party being able to form a coalition, new elections are called.

Israel has no senate, upper chamber, or parliamentary constituencies.  After the results of the vote are counted, the President offers the head of the leading political party a 28-day window of opportunity to try to form a coalition government. This can be extended by an additional 14 days at the President’s discretion. Potential coalition partners know that without their support, the political party that got the most votes cannot form a government, and the leader of the party will not become the Prime Minister.

High-Stakes Bazaar. Israeli cartoons frequently feature party leaders bartering ministerial seats, budget exemptions, or policy vetoes like merchants trading goods, which leads them jumping in all directions.

The process that follows the voting in Israel is pure bribery and corruption. Potential coalition partners ask for outrageous benefits, such as exemptions from military service, lifetime financial support for certain sections of society, plus huge budgets for the Ministries that they demand to be appointed to. In the end, unqualified party hacks end up as Ministers in the government. The inevitable result is a government of mediocracy, or one that is dysfunctional. The system that produces an Israeli coalition government is totally rotten. The system ensures that Israel is actually a “reverse democracy” in which the small coalition partners dictate terms and conditions to the leading political party in exchange for their support.  Unfortunately, the system can only be changed by the members of the Knesset, and it is unlikely that they will vote to end their own lucrative positions.

The head of the political party that forms the coalition government becomes the Prime Minister. The President is elected by the Knesset, for a single 7-year term and acts as the ceremonial Head of State. He has no power to veto legislation passed by the Knesset.

On October 27, a general election will be held in Israel. It is crucial that the wrong people who are now in the Knesset get kicked off the bus, and the right people need to be elected, so that they can get on the bus, and govern the country for the benefit of the people and not for their own personal enrichment.  

Blame Game. Resorting to deflect blame, Netanyahu accuses his security officials of deliberately not waking him before Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 attack, reigniting the debate over who was responsible for the massive security failure.

While Netanyahu has enjoyed a long career as Israel’s prime minister marked by major achievements, he has unfortunately failed to acknowledge those of his policies that have caused enormous damage to Israel both internationally and locally. 

Most regrettably:

  • He wants to claim credit for everything good in the country, and blame all the problems that he has caused on others.
  • He has refused to appoint a formal state Commission of Enquiry to investigate the security failures of October 7, 2023. 
  • He has divided the country and can no longer bring the unity that the country now desperately needs.
Presenting a Paradox. While Netanyahu’s official campaign strategy for the upcoming October 2026 elections centers heavily on a “national unity” message, this is directly contradicted by his coalition’s highly divisive and controversial legislative actions.

Netanyahu has passed his sell by date, and has nothing to offer but perpetual war, both externally and internally. 

In the lead up to the forthcoming election, Netanyahu is acting like the captain of the Titanic who ordered the deckchairs to be rearranged while the ship was sinking. The bottom line is that Israel cannot afford four more years of Netanyahu. He needs to get off the bus and retire.



About the writer:

Accountant Neville Berman had an illustrious sporting career in South Africa, being twice awarded the South African State Presidents Award for Sport and was a three times winner of the South African Maccabi Sportsman of the Year Award.  In 1978 he immigrated to the USA  to coach the United States men’s field hockey team, whereafter, in 1981 he immigrated to Israel where he practiced as an accountant and then for 20 years was the Admin Manager at the American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel.  He is married with two children and one granddaughter.







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

TYRE OVER TIME

Lebanon’s UNIFIL Resort Town on the Brink

By Motti Verses

For thousands of years, the port city of Tyre in southern Lebanon was one of the most important cities of the Phoenician world. From here sailed the ships that established colonies across the Mediterranean, including the famous city of Carthage. Today, Tyre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to one of the largest Roman hippodromes in the world, impressive archaeological remains, and a sandy coastline widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in Lebanon.

Remains of Racing. Tyre’s Hippodrome became one of the largest hippodromes ever constructed in the ancient world — second only to Rome itself. Here, chariots once thundered across the arena while thousands gathered in a city that connected continents through trade, culture, and innovation.

On paper, all the ingredients for tourism success are present: history, sea, a Mediterranean climate, heritage attractions, and an authentic atmosphere. Yet for decades, security realities have stood between Tyre and its tourism potential.

In 2026, that reality became dramatically harsher. Renewed fighting brought Israeli airstrikes, evacuation orders and widespread displacement to southern Lebanon, including Tyre. Following the ceasefire reached in June, residents gradually began returning. By early July, restaurants and cafés had reopened and families were once again gathering along Tyre’s beachfront. The recovery remains fragile. Renewed strikes and exchanges of fire in August have demonstrated just how quickly southern Lebanon can move from apparent normality back toward confrontation.

Roman Ruins. Built in the 2nd century CE, likely for the visit of Roman Emperor Hadrian around 130–131 CE, the monumental triumphal arch at the Al Bass archaeological site in Tyre marks the ancient gateway to the city and is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Photo: Matyas Rehak| Dreamstime.com)

For decades, some of the people helping to sustain the city’s hospitality economy have come from countries such as Italy, Spain, France, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Ghana, and Malaysia. Yet they are not tourists at all. They are soldiers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

What began as a temporary peacekeeping mission has become one of the longest-running UN operations in the world. Established in 1978, UNIFIL has brought generations of soldiers, officers and civilian personnel to southern Lebanon, alongside international consultants, contractors, diplomats, aid workers and visiting delegations.

As of August 2026, UNIFIL consisted of approximately 7,460 peacekeepers from 46 countries. Its headquarters is located in Naqoura, south of Tyre, while Sector West operates from Shama’a, placing the international military presence firmly within the economic and social geography of the Tyre region.

Anyone imagining that UNIFIL personnel simply live inside military bases misses an important part of the story. Over nearly five decades, an economic ecosystem has developed around the international presence: hotels, restaurants, transportation services, food suppliers, apartment rentals, contractors and local businesses.

Traditional tourism in Tyre has repeatedly been interrupted by war, political instability and Lebanon’s economic crises. The international presence, meanwhile, has created another stream of demand. One  tied not to holiday seasons, but to peacekeeping operations, diplomatic activity and the organizations operating alongside them.

 Coastal Chaos. A Lebanese woman sits in her house next to the ruins in Tyre – facing the beach (Photo: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

Few places illustrate Tyre’s unusual story better than the Rest House Tyre Hotel & Resort. Opened in its current form in 1995, the hotel occupies one of the city’s most attractive stretches of coastline. With its private beach, palm trees, restaurants, accommodation and event facilities, it represented the kind of Mediterranean resort Tyre might have expected to fill with international holidaymakers in more peaceful circumstances.

Caught in Conflict. The Rest House Tyr Hotel & Resort has been severely impacted over the years by the ongoing regional conflict as seen here 2019. (Photo: Roman Deckert / Wikimedia Commons.)

Instead, over the years, the Rest House also became a familiar venue for members of southern Lebanon’s international community, hosting visitors, meetings and events connected with diplomatic, development and international activity. In this way, the hotel became more than a conventional tourism business. It formed part of the civilian hospitality infrastructure surrounding a region with an unusually large and permanent international presence.

Yet peace never truly arrived.

Back to the Beach. Tyre’s beaches are reopening and rubble is being cleared, even as shelling remains audible. (Photo: Facebook page of the Municipality of Tyre)

The hotel survived years of conflict in southern Lebanon, Israel’s withdrawal in 2000, the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Lebanon’s economic crises and repeated confrontations along the border.

Then came 2019. During Lebanon’s mass protest movement, the Rest House transformed from a tourism symbol into a political one. On October 18, protesters set parts of the property on fire amid widespread anger against Lebanon’s political establishment. The property was publicly associated with Randa Berri, wife of longtime Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, although claims surrounding its ownership and political connections have been contested.

The building survived, and after restoration, the Rest House returned to operation. Another chapter in the remarkable resilience of a hotel that has repeatedly found itself caught between tourism and Lebanon’s turbulent politics. In many ways, the Rest House has become a microcosm of Tyre itself: a Mediterranean city built for visitors that learned to survive with the help of a very different kind of international presence.

There are no authoritative figures documenting the cumulative number of hotel nights generated by UNIFIL and the wider international community in Tyre. After nearly five decades of rotating military contingents, civilian personnel, contractors, diplomats, experts, aid organizations and visiting delegations, their contribution to the region’s hospitality and service economy has undoubtedly been substantial.

This is where one of the most contentious debates surrounding UNIFIL begins. Supporters argue that the force contributes to stability while providing employment, contracts and income to communities in southern Lebanon. Critics counter that money flowing into an area where Hezbollah has exercised deep military, social and political influence inevitably benefits the wider local economy in which the organization operates.

The American think tank JINSA has been particularly critical, arguing that UNIFIL’s presence has helped sustain an economic environment from which Hezbollah benefits.

The United Nations rejects the broader contention that its mission serves Hezbollah. It stresses that UNIFIL operates under a UN Security Council mandate, works with the Lebanese authorities and Lebanese Armed Forces, and maintains relations with local communities as part of its peacekeeping responsibilities.

Yet supporters and critics can probably agree on one point: after almost half a century, southern Lebanon would look economically different without UNIFIL.

And that is no longer a hypothetical question. The UN Security Council has decided that UNIFIL’s current mandate will be its last. Under Resolution 2790, the mission is scheduled to cease its operations on December 31, 2026, followed by an orderly and safe withdrawal of its personnel over a period of up to one year.

The approaching end of UNIFIL therefore represents much more than a change in the security architecture along the Israeli-Lebanese border. It could also mean the gradual disappearance of an economic presence that has existed in southern Lebanon since 1978.

In Israel, UNIFIL has traditionally been viewed almost entirely through a security lens: whether it succeeded in restraining Hezbollah, implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and contributing to stability along the border.

In Tyre, however, the force can also be viewed through an economic lens. For hotel owners, restaurant operators, taxi drivers, landlords, construction companies, suppliers and shopkeepers, UNIFIL has never been merely a peacekeeping force. It has also been a customer.

For nearly fifty years, soldiers, officers, civilian employees and other international personnel connected directly or indirectly with the mission have consumed services, rented properties, eaten in restaurants and injected money into a region repeatedly battered by war, political instability and economic crisis.

Time Out in Tyre. Members of the Korean Battalion in UNIFIL eat at Le Phencien Sea Food Restaurent Tyre Port. (Photo: UNIFIL)

From an Israeli perspective, the scale of such a relationship can seem almost unimaginable. If thousands of international peacekeepers had permanently lived for decades around cities such as Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya or Tiberias – using hotels, renting apartments, dining in restaurants and purchasing services from local businesses – their presence would inevitably have become part of those cities’ economic life.

For many residents and businesses in southern Lebanon, that is part of what UNIFIL has represented. And perhaps that is Tyre’s greatest irony. One of the ancient Mediterranean’s great trading cities, a place that for thousands of years depended on merchants, sailors and foreign visitors, found itself in modern times relying partly on another type of foreign visitor: peacekeepers, UN personnel and the international community surrounding them.

The force tasked with helping maintain security became, at the same time, part of the economic landscape of the population among whom it operated. Now the relationship is approaching its end. UNIFIL is scheduled to cease operations at the end of 2026, although discussions continue over what international mechanism, if any, might eventually succeed it. Meanwhile, southern Lebanon remains dangerously unstable. Even after the June ceasefire allowed families and businesses to return to Tyre, renewed violence has demonstrated how uncertain the recovery remains.

Fishing over Troubled Waters. In war-battered Tyre, fishermen test the waters of the ceasefire. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

When one of the most important sources of livelihood in a city, a question arises that is not merely security-related, political, or economic. It’s a moral one. Can an organization that maintained such a deep economic relationship with its surroundings – and effectively turned this unique destination into its resort town – be a completely neutral peace keeper?



About the writer:

The author, Motti Verses is a seasoned hotel expert, traveler, writer, and videographer, and formerly served as Head of Public Relations for Hilton Hotels & Resorts in Israel. Today, as a travel writer and hospitality trends analyst, his insights and experiences are regularly featured in leading Israeli media outlets.







*Feature picture: UNIFIL peacekeepers overlooking the coastline of Tyre and the Rest House resort, southern Lebanon. AI-generated illustration.





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).

THEY CAME, THEY BUILT, THEY LEFT – JEWS AND ZIMBABWE

How plausible is Matabeleland in present day Zimbabwe –formerly Rhodesia – of ever gaining independence?  How plausible is it for Jews to find genuine acceptance in Africa or anywhere else for that matter? Both questions were addressed – if not answered –  by the founding President of the Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) Mqondisi Moyo in a statement dated 22 August 2026 where in his quest for self-determination of the peoples of Mthwakazi,  laments the loss to  Zimbabwe of its Jewish community.
Unique amongst political leaders anywhere in the world today, Moyo’s core question throughout his statement is in the Matabeleland of the future:
 “How do we persuade the Jews to come back?”
See statement below and imagine a European leader asking the same question with any genuine sincerity.

David E. Kaplan
Editor Lay of the Land



ASK WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOUR COUNTRY

Statement by Mqondisi Moyo

President, Mthwakazi Republic Party

Date: 22 August 2026

Jewish history in this land did not begin with Rhodesia.

Daniel Montague Kisch was in Lobengula’s kingdom in the early 1870s and served as an adviser to King Lobengula, two decades before the colonial state existed. Whatever else may be said about the relationship between Jews and this land, it did not arrive with settlers. It preceded them.

I begin there deliberately, because the rest of this history has too often been filed under somebody else’s story.

There were never many

At its height, the entire Jewish population of this country numbered just over seven thousand people. The national population was then approaching four million. Jews therefore accounted for about two people in every thousand. In Bulawayo, where Jewish life was strongest, the community reached a little more than three thousand at its peak.

And yet consider what they did.

The Bulawayo Hebrew Congregation was established in 1894. Jews became merchants, industrialists, doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, teachers and civic leaders. They established industries. They were prominent in furniture, farming and clothing. They employed people. They built businesses and institutions.

Bulawayo’s first mayor was Jewish. Isidore Hirschler took office on November 25, 1897, serving from 1897 to 1898. Several later mayors were Jewish. Bulawayo’s first newspaper  – The Matabele Times and Mining Journal – was owned and edited by a Jew – William Francis Wallenstein.

Rev. Moses Isaac Cohen, the spiritual leader of the Bulawayo Jewish community, helped shape the development of public education and served as a mediator in industrial disputes.

Jewish families built schools, synagogues, welfare organisations, sporting institutions, businesses and factories. They put down roots, raised families and helped build the place they called home.

Their numbers were tiny.

Their contribution was not.

We should be capable of saying that plainly.

We should also be capable of saying what follows.

I will not romanticise Rhodesia in order to honour them. The colonial order inflicted profound injustice on the indigenous peoples of this land. Honouring what Jewish families built here does not require anyone to forget conquest, racial discrimination or dispossession. A mature country must be capable of holding more than one truth at the same time. We can condemn the injustices of the colonial period. We can condemn the failures and abuses that followed it. We can recognise the ordinary human beings, including a very small Jewish minority, who nevertheless built lives, professions and institutions that became part of the fabric of this country.

There is a harder thing still, and I would rather say it myself than have somebody else say it for me.

In the 1930s, while Jews in Europe were searching desperately for countries willing to receive them, the authorities of Southern Rhodesia placed barriers in their way. People fleeing a catastrophe were treated as an immigration problem.

We know now where that catastrophe led.

There is something painful about remembering that from Bulawayo today. Governments here once asked how many Jews they should allow in.

I want the Matabeleland of the future to ask a different question.

How do we persuade them to come back?

Because we lost them.

Current community estimates suggest that only about eighty Jews remain in Zimbabwe. A community that had been here for more than a century, and that had contributed far beyond its size, has almost disappeared. Families whose names were part of the life of this city are now in South Africa, Israel, Britain, the United States, Australia and elsewhere.

I will not pretend every family left for the same reason. Political instability played its part. War played its part. Economic destruction played its part. Insecurity and uncertainty played their parts. At times there was hostility and antisemitic rhetoric as well. History is more complicated than a single cause – but the result is not complicated.

They are almost gone.

And here is what I want to say to my own people first, before I say anything to anybody else.

We understood that departure as a Jewish story. We treated it as a demographic fact about somebody else. That was a failure of comprehension, and it was ours.

The conditions that make a country unliveable for a small and historically vulnerable minority are usually conditions that will not remain confined to that minority. Scapegoating, arbitrary power, expropriation, lawlessness and the collapse of equal citizenship do not stop at the edge of a minority. What reaches the vulnerable first eventually reaches others.

The country did not decline because its Jews left. Their departure was instead evidence of pressures that would later become impossible for the wider society to ignore.

When Jews begin to ask whether their children have a future in a country, that country should treat the question as an early warning about the condition of its institutions.

We did not treat it that way. We should have.

I do not presume to lecture countries richer, older or more powerful than ours. I have no standing to do so and no intention of trying. I can only tell them what this looks like from the other side, because we have already made that mistake and we are still living inside the result.

We once had a small Jewish community here. We watched it become smaller. We treated that as a Jewish demographic fact.

Only later did we understand that the forces making them uncertain about their future were also damaging ours.

So when Jews begin asking whether their children have a future in your country, do not ask only what is happening to the Jews.

Ask what is happening to your country.

This is not only our history.

Baghdad once had a Jewish community numbered in the tens of thousands. So did Cairo and Alexandria. Jewish communities that had lived for centuries in Tripoli, Algiers and Sana’a are now shadows or memories. They left, fled or were expelled under differing combinations of persecution, dispossession, insecurity and political pressure. Their histories differ, and I do not pretend otherwise.

Governments should notice when an ancient minority concludes that it no longer has a future among them.

I speak about this as the leader of a people whose own mass killing by the state remains unresolved, whose dead still await full accounting, and whose history has too often been treated as an inconvenience to the national story. I do not compare our suffering with the Holocaust. I say only that we know something about what happens when a state decides that memory itself is negotiable.

If we are prepared to be honest about the failures of the past, we must be equally ambitious about the future.

We are trying to recover from decades of bad governance, economic decline and institutions that too often failed the people they were supposed to serve. We do not have the luxury of recreating those failures under a different flag.

A new country has one advantage that an old political system often does not. It can ask, from the beginning: What works?

We should look around the world without embarrassment. Where another country has found a better way to protect property, educate children, encourage enterprise, attract investment, develop technology, administer justice or protect minorities, we should study it. Where an institution works, we should learn from it. Mthwakazi should take the best ideas we can find and adapt them intelligently to our own circumstances.

Mthwakazi should not aspire merely to become another state. It should aspire to become an exceptionally well-governed one.

That is why I am prepared to say now, before we hold power, what a free Matabeleland will guarantee.

A movement that possesses no sovereign state can still declare in advance the terms on which it intends to govern. I would rather be held to a promise made in advance than praised for one made after the fact.

Equal citizenship. Irrespective of ethnicity, religion or language, as a founding constitutional principle and not a later amendment.

Equal protection of religious institutions. The synagogue, the church, the mosque and the traditional sacred place, protected on identical terms, without hierarchy among them.

Rejection of scapegoating. A free Matabeleland will not tolerate the scapegoating of any community for the failures of the state. That includes antisemitism in all its forms, whether expressed as religious hatred or ethnic hostility, or repackaged for political convenience — because a country that permits hatred of its smallest community has already begun permitting hatred of everybody else.

Equal application of self-determination. Mthwakazi cannot demand recognition for itself while declaring the national self-determination of any other people uniquely illegitimate. A standard that applies to us must apply to everybody, and a standard that excludes one people alone is not a standard. It is a prejudice with paperwork.

Heritage and reconnection. The future state will establish a facilitated pathway to residence and citizenship for descendants of families with a documented historic connection to Matabeleland who wish to re-establish that connection, including descendants of the historic Jewish communities of Bulawayo and Matabeleland.

Nobody should have to be ethnically Ndebele to belong fully to Matabeleland.

Nobody should have to belong to the majority religion.

Nobody should have to surrender his history, her language, their faith or their identity in exchange for acceptance.

A Jewish child growing up in Bulawayo should be able to say, without qualification: this is my country too.

That is the standard. A future Matabeleland cannot demand justice for the Mthwakazi people while withholding it from anybody else. That would not be liberation. It would merely change who holds the power to exclude.

Today we possess no sovereign state, no national army, no treasury, no diplomatic service and no seat at the United Nations. But precisely because we are asking the world to judge whether we are capable of statehood, we should say in advance what we intend to do with state power if it is ever entrusted to us.

We intend to use it to protect belonging, not ration it.

I will go further, because a principle that costs nothing is not a principle.

A sovereign Matabeleland will establish full and resident diplomatic relations with the State of Israel from the beginning of its independence, and will apply to the Jewish people the same principle of national self-determination it claims for the people of Mthwakazi.

We do not make that commitment because we expect anything in return. We make it because one standard must mean one standard. A people asking the world to recognise its right to self-determination cannot ask the world to suspend that principle for somebody else.

Departure can tell a country something about itself. Return can tell it something too.

If one day Jewish families who left this country decide that their children once again have a future here, I will regard that not as a favour they have done for us, but as evidence that we have succeeded in changing what this country is.

It will tell us that we have begun to get the country right.

Now the part I have been building toward.

To the Jews whose grandparents lived in Bulawayo. To the families who remember the streets, schools, shops, synagogues and homes of this city. To those now living in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Tel Aviv, London, New York, Sydney and elsewhere.

Come home.

Come and see the city your families helped build. Come and show your children where their grandparents lived. And if we succeed in creating the free, democratic and lawful Matabeleland for which we struggle, come and consider building here again.

We ask you to return because you belong to this history.

We ask you to return because your departure diminished us.

We ask you to return because the country we intend to build must be one in which a small minority never again has to wonder whether there is a place for it.

Bring your children. Bring your traditions. Reopen institutions. Create new ones. Pray here if you wish. Build here if you wish. Teach here. Work here. Retire here. Raise your families here. Or simply come because this was once your family’s home and you wish to make it home again.

We will protect your synagogue as we protect the church, the mosque and the traditional sacred place.

We will protect your property because the law protects everyone’s property.

We will protect your freedom of worship because religious liberty belongs to everyone.

We will protect your equality because citizens do not require the permission of a majority to belong.

If that requires us to humble ourselves before families who once concluded that their future could no longer be here, then we should humble ourselves. If we must ask them to trust us again, then we should ask.

A country’s greatness is not measured by how powerful its majority becomes.

It is measured by how safe its smallest minority feels.

It is measured by whether people want to stay.

It is measured by whether those who left would ever trust us enough to return.

Come home.

Not to the country as it was.

Come home to the country we have learned that we must become.

A free country. A democratic country. A country governed by law. A country secure enough in its own identity that it has no reason to fear anybody else’s.

That is the Matabeleland worth fighting for.

That is the Matabeleland I hope will one day be worthy of welcoming its Jews home.






About the writer:

*Mqondisi Moyo* is the founding President of the Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP), which was formally launched in Bulawayo on 11 January 2014. Born in 1978 and raised at Gwandavale in Matobo, Moyo has spent more than a decade advocating for the political rights and self-determination of the peoples of Mthwakazi. He contested the Matobo North parliamentary constituency as the MRP candidate in Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections. Under his leadership, the MRP pursues the peaceful, democratic and internationally recognized restoration of Mthwakazi and has campaigned on Gukurahundi accountability, political and economic marginalization, cultural and language rights, migration, and regional and international engagement. Moyo advocates resolving Mthwakazi’s political status through lawful and nonviolent means.






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