BRIDGE THE GULF

The Persian Gulf – Past, Present and Future

By Marziyeh Amirizadeh

Recently there have been rumors of President Trump changing the name of the Persian Gulf to the “Arabian Gulf”, causing great concern and even anger among millions of Iranians. At the same time, there are ongoing reports about the US making a deal with the evil Iranian Islamic regime, concerning Israelis, Iranians, and Americans alike. As Trump visits the Middle East and will overfly the body of water separating Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, it is important to look at what this means today, historically, and the long-term implications for the future.

While I applaud any effort to undermine, weaken, and eliminate the Islamic regime which should be a US priority, the idea of renaming the Persian Gulf and negotiating with the ayatollahs are contradictory, and in the end strengthen the regime.

**A Gulf Apart**. Ahead of his trip to the Middle East, President Trump floated changing the name of the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Gulf, infuriating Iran and its people. The body of water has been called the Persian Gulf since at least 550 B.C.

The Persian Gulf is a body of water that separates Persia (Iran) from the hub of the Arab world. Indeed, changing the name of the Persian Gulf will be a slap in the face to the Islamic Republic, but one they will use to rally support against the US, with renewed chants of “Death to America”, and perpetuate suffering of the Iranian people.

It will cause anger among average Iranians, as it is one of the few physical reminders in the world of the name Persia, and its rich culture which they yearn to restore, free from the atrocities of the Islamic Republic which most Iranians reject. The term Persian connects Iranians with their national identity beginning with King Cyrus, the first king of the Persian Empire, considered the father of the Iranian people, from the sixth century BCE.

Iranians also know that Arabs have tried many times to destroy Persian culture and its heritage, starting in the seventh century when Arabs conquered Persia. Persia was forced into the Islamic world, and Islam was forced on the Persian people. The rise of Islam in Persia and forced conversion of Persians still feels like a foreign ideology where Islam was not indigenous. Throughout history, Persians – today Iranians – fought to restore their culture and national inheritance.

The 1979 Islamic Revolution was another invasion of Iran by extremist Muslims like Ayatollah Khomeini and others, whose origin and ideology were not Persian, but Arab. Iran has been occupied and ruled by evil ayatollahs whose intention is to erase Persian history, purging Iranians’ identity and culture, while forcing them to extremist Islam. They initiated a system of hate and brainwashing to build walls around their own brutal illegitimate rule. There is no religious freedom, and anyone who converts to any other religion would face prison, torture, and even execution.

Miraculously, I was spared death by hanging because of my faith. Millions of others have not been so lucky.

Further purging Persian culture and history, Iranians are forbidden to visit the tombs of Biblical giants such as King Cyrus, Daniel, Esther, and Mordecai, among other pillars of Persian history.

**Intimidated by History**. For at least a decade, authorities have restricted access to Cyrus’s tomb at Pasargadae, deploying security forces to prevent large gatherings due to concerns that these might escalate into anti-state protests. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the state has increasingly suppressed celebrations of pre-Islamic heritage, viewing them as potential threats to the Islamic state’s authority.

There’s been an awaking among young Iranians who understand that Islam is the root of their problem, and the ayatollahs are their true enemies; that Iran has been occupied by Islamic extremists with no respect for Persian culture and history.

King Cyrus is a great example to many. He did not bring peace and stability by undermining the history of other nations. Instead, he helped Persians, and other great nations like the Jewish people, rebuild their history and culture. He facilitated the return of the Jewish people to the Land of their fathers after 70 years of exile, rebuilding the Temple, and restoring their ancient prosperity.

King Cyrus is also recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics, and military strategy. The Cyrus Cylinder is the world’s first charter of human rights, providing the basis for the first four articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and translated into all six official languages of the United Nations.

**Ancient ‘Bill of Rights’**. When the Cyrus Cylinder, which dates from the 6th century BC was loaned by the British Museum on a ‘traveling exhibition” to the USA in 2013, Museum director Neil MacGregor declared that “the cylinder, often referred to “as the first bill of human rights”- must be shared as widely as possible.”

Iranians have compared President Trump to King Cyrus. I have always supported and admired President Trump and his great leadership. I hope he is not deceived by malicious advice of the Islamic regime’s agents who have infiltrated America. I pray he does not try to build his own legacy by undermining the proud identity of millions of Iranians.

**Suppression of Women**. Photos taken in western Tehran capture the presence of black clad women and armed men confronting women who did not wear a headscarf.

As an ordinary woman who lived under the tyranny of the evil Ayatollahs for 33 years and experienced many brutalities and misogyny under the harsh rules of Islam, I have never stopped warning my fellow Americans about the Islamic regime and its intentions and tactics to destroy America from within. Through NewPersia.org I educate Americans about Islam, and the Iranian people about their true history, and the importance of restoring our historic friendship with the Jewish people.

**Angered Iranians**. Women have been at the forefront of protests in Iran. (Photo: Hawar News Agency via AP)

President Trump can truly be the next Cyrus to help Iranians who have suffered under the ayatollahs, to restore their freedom and national honor. We must embolden the people, not erase pillars of their national pride by changing the name of the Persian Gulf.

And certainly not by negotiating with the evil Islamic Republic.

About the writer:

Marzi also is the founder and president of NEW PERSIA whose mission is to be the voice of persecuted Christians and oppressed women under Islam, expose the lies of the Iranian Islamic regime, and restore the relationships between Persians, Jews, and Christians. www.NewPersia.org.

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).

IRAN, IRAQ AND OPEC

How successive American Presidents – Democratic and Republican – have misread the Middle East.

By Neville Berman

This article aims to briefly touch on how three events in 1979 profoundly weakened the West. The first was the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, the second was Saddam Hussein seizing control of Iraq, and the third was the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) unilaterally raising the price of a barrel of oil ten-fold over the price before 1973. These three changes, all left unchallenged by the impotent West, enriched and emboldened the Islamists and changed the world.

Carter was the American President in 1979. He aimed to promote the western concept of democracy and human rights across the world. With the exception of Israel, democracy and human rights are completely foreign to the Middle East. Carter saw the Shah of Iran as an abuser of human rights and promoted his overthrow. Instead of democracy and human rights, Khomeini turned Iran into an Islamic autocracy with no rights for women, and brutal punishment for those that opposed his rule. Carter got it completely wrong.

**World Over a Barrel**. This 1979 TIME magazine cover captures the “Oil Shock” of that year when by mid-1979, oil prices began to rise rapidly more than doubling between April 1979 and April 1980.

President Bush, decided after 9/11, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and had supported Al Qaeda. He decided to overthrow Saddam and get rid of the Baath Party. The war cost America both blood and treasure. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found. America had no idea what to do with Iraq after the war ended. With Iraq neutralized by America, Iran was given a green light to pursue its policy of hegemony over the middle east and to try to eliminate Israel. America wanted to promote a stable Middle East, instead it got Islamism, terrorism, death and destruction. President Bush got it completely wrong.

**Message Loud and Clear**. In the presence of senior Iranian officials, including then President Ebrahim Raisi, tens of thousands of Iranians, some chanting “death to America” and “death to Israel,” marched in the capital of Tehran April 14, 2023 to mark “Jerusalem Day”. Banners raised by demonstrators read “the destruction of Israel is near” and “Palestine is the axis of unity of the Muslim world”. (Photo: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

There are six words that Iran has used for decades. The words are not in Farci but in English. For some reason, no American President seems able to understand them. The words are Death to America and Death to Israel. Very few believed Hitler when he declared that he wanted a Jew-free Europe. Words need to be taken seriously. President Obama decided that the six words were an invitation to negotiate. The initial idea was to end Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, and then to remove sanctions and release all the frozen Iranian money in western banks. Despite holding all the cards, America caved in to Iranian demands. All the frozen money was released, sanctions were lifted, and Iran continued to enrich uranium and develop its missile program. Flush with cash, Iran immediately increased funding of terrorist proxies throughout the middle east. Inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency became farcical when Iran refused to allow inspectors into certain facilities and turned off cameras that were meant to monitor the situation. President Obama got it completely wrong.

**Fired up** .A drop in oil production in the wake of the 1979 Iranian revolution (see above) led to an energy crisis and although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four percent, the oil markets’ reaction raised the price of crude oil drastically over the next 12 months, more than doubling it to $39.50 per barrel.

One of the bedrock axioms of economics is that demand and supply determines the price. OPEC formed a cartel to limit the supply of oil in order to increase the price. The world never formed an opposing cartel to limit the price of oil. What followed was the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world. The money flowed straight into the treasuries of the few oil exporting countries. There has never been a shortage of oil. The world has over a hundred years of known oil deposits to satisfy the current demand for oil. The money from oil sales at massively increased prices, effectively transformed some of the poorest countries on earth into fabulously wealthy countries. Almost all the oil importing countries are now facing deficits and inflation. From the above it is clear that both Democrat and Republican Presidents have made decisions that have emboldened and enriched anti-western leaders in the Middle East for decades. They all totally caved in to OPEC.

**‘Fuel’ing Fear**. Cars line up outside a filling station on the first day of gas rationing in May 9, 1979 imposed on nine California counties following the revolution in Iran that caused a shortage of crude oil. (Photo: Bettmann/Bettmann/Getty Image)

Most western countries are democracies. Democratic elections are usually won by one party receiving a few percentage points of votes more than the opposition. If one political party loses 5% and the opposition party gains 5% there is a 10% change in the election result. Qatar is led by one family known as the House of Thani. Qatar has used its massive wealth to finance the building of Middle Eastern Study Centers on all the campuses of the top universities in the US. All the lecturers hired are anti-Israel and against Western values. Qatar aims to cause at least a 5% change in the election process and bring about the subjugation of America. They have joined forces with the radical left in an attempt to bring chaos to America. Qatar has approximately 320,000 citizens. Despite its small size it has decided to use its wealth and the American constitutional right of free speech to attack America and cause chaos across the country. The aim is to remove American support for Israel and then to subjugate America to Islamic rule. Successive American Presidents have allowed this to happen.

**Campus Chaos**. More than just a display of a Palestinian flag at Harvard University by these graduating students is the display of Qatar’s grip on US education that caused an explosion of campus antisemitism. (Photo credit: Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Saudi Arabia has been paying for the construction of large mosques all over the world. The Imans in these mosques come from Saudi Arabia. They promote Islamic views of domination and subjugation, and have radicalized many of their followers around the world. They pose a direct threat to the liberal western rules- based world. Both Qatar and Saudi Arabia aim to bring about the fall of the West. What is really amazing is that America sees Qatar and Saudi Arabia as allies. America seems to be totally ignorant as to what is actually taking place. Money and greed have replaced morality and ethics. President Trump has clearly demonstrated that he wants to make deals. Democracy and common values are no longer part of the conversation.

**Sign of the Times**. Due to memories of the oil shortage in 1973, motorists soon began panic buying as they had six years earlier until gas stations ran out!

Politicians in democracies need to face elections. It is clear that a change in the composition of the citizens will inevitably affect the number of votes for a candidate. The massive surge of immigrants into the West is dramatically changing election priorities throughout the West. There is no doubt that Islam is on the rise in the West and that an enormous amount of funding has been provided by Middle Eastern countries to promote Islamic ideals across the world. Indifference as to what is going on is not a policy. It is a strategic error that will lead to massive confrontation and chaos.

It is also clear that Israel also operated under the misguided policy of thinking that economic prosperity would bring about a peaceful resolution to the situation in Gaza. Without a doubt, successive Israel governments got it all wrong. After the shock of the atrocities of October 7, 2023, Israel quickly changed its policies. More than one and a half years later, the war is still ongoing. From the above, it is clear that leaders in the West also need to come to terms with what is happening. The elephant in the room is Islamic fundamentalism. It can no longer be ignored.

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.

LESSONS FROM MY FRIEND’S EXECUTION IN IRAN’S EVIN PRISON

Nearly executed like her cellmate affords understanding of the depravity and dangers of the Teheran regime.

By Marziyeh Amirizadeh

This year, more than ever, it’s impossible not to think about the execution of my best friend, Shirin Alamhooli on May 9, 2010. I met Shirin in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison where I had been arrested and sentenced to death by hanging because of converting to Christianity, a “crime” the Islamic regime calls “apostasy” and which carries a death penalty. I was arrested in March 2009. Shirin had already been in prison for some time as a political Kurdish prisoner.

**Iranian Injustice**. This photo of Shirin Alamhooli was taken by the writer while in Evin Prisonm Teheran. Shiran was executed on May 9, 2010. (Photo: Marziyeh Amirizadeh)

As a Christian, I had many people advocating for my freedom from the first day, and miraculously, I was released that November, and then came to America where I have become a proud citizen. Unfortunately, neither the world nor the terrorist Islamic regime cared about the life of a 28-year-old Kurdish woman. Shirin spent months being brutally tortured: repeatedly kicked in her stomach, bashing her head against the wall until she passed out, hanging her from the ceiling for hours on end, and beating her with a cable. They would only stop the torture for the Islamic prayer, to dedicate their savage acts to Allah. To satisfy him.

For months Shirin could not walk because the skin was torn from the bottom of her feet during the torture. Most of the time we would sit together and from a small window looked at the mountains beyond the walls of prison. She would sing a beautiful Kurdish song. She wished just to walk to the mountains freely, to fly away like a bird one more time.

**At The Mercy Of Evil Men**. Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish political prisoner and former aid worker, faces the confirmation of her death sentence by the Iranian Supreme Court.

We ate and talked together almost daily. She asked me to promise her that if I got released and she didn’t, to never stop fighting against the evil Islamic regime.

From the first day of my release, I started fighting for her release, even though I remained in mortal danger myself. I will never forget that horrific day I got a call from one of my cellmates still in prison:

“Marzi, Shirin was executed.”

…. then uncontrollable crying.

I felt like I died. I hung up the phone, and for a few hours I felt as if all my internal organs had frozen. My whole body froze. I could not move, talk, or think.

Along with my roommate, Maryam, with whom I had also been arrested and sentenced to death and then released, we went outside the prison with Shirin’s brother, pleading just to get her body to bury her with dignity. The prison authorities lied. They told us her body had been sent to the cemetery. We rushed there and they said they never received Shirin’s body. We returned to Evin Prison, begging them to give us her body. They refused, mocking us. Today, nobody knows her burial place, if she even has one.

Even 15 years later, Shirin’s execution is one of the most painful things in my life. Growing up in the Islamic Republic, there were many. This year we must take a lesson from her murder, as the Islamic regime remains the greatest threat to the US, and the world. I am pained that those leaders in my adopted country, which I love and am so grateful for, are being deceived by the notion that the ayatollahs can be rationalized with, that negotiation is anything more than a fool’s errand.

Indeed, the Iranian Islamic Republic cannot be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon – ever, under any circumstances. Negotiation will only give them time to bury their centrifuge deeper, and to hide the enriched uranium that has no civilian purpose. To be clear: if the Islamic Republic is able to acquire a nuclear weapon, they will use it. They will threaten the US and Israel, the “Great Satan,” and the “Little Satan.” They will establish a nuclear umbrella that will let them blackmail and terrorize the rest of the world. There is no doubt about this, yet too many in the West don’t realize it.

While all this is horrible, and is threatening, and cause enough to do everything possible to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, no less horrible is the cancerous threat of spreading of their evil, extremist Islamic ideology: in the US and the rest of the world. A nuclear bomb can kill millions instantaneously, but their dangerous ideology infects the whole world, spreading like a virus, and destroying and threatening millions from within over decades.

**Condemned to Die**. For 46 years, the gallows of the Islamic Republic have claimed countless women’s lives.

My friend Shirin is evidence of that. Arrested, tortured, and executed, she was one of millions of Iranians alone who are victims of this extremist ideology. While no level of torture is out of bounds in the Islamic Republic, according to their strict following of Islamic laws, it’s not allowed to execute a virgin. It is a known practice for women like Shirin, and others, that before being executed they are brutally raped, taking the level of obscenity beyond imagination. That’s another example of why negotiations are futile, and they can never be trusted.

I was supposed to be one of its victims too. Outside Iran, through its terrorist proxies around the world including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, the Syrian Assad regime, Kataib Hezbollah, and more, millions of others have been killed and maimed. Vast “no-go” neighborhoods of major European cities have become dangerous cesspools of Islamic hate.

The US and the world must be saved from this threat. But there’s another reason as well. For more than 46 years, 85 million Iranians have been held captive, hostage to the ayatollahs -victims of their lies. They have been repeatedly let down by the West looking to make a deal. The worst of these examples was President Obama who, while I was in prison, not only abandoned the Iranian people during the Green Movement, but sent billions of dollars to Iran, thinking that he could pay off the ayatollahs. Still today, Iranians consider Obama as having betrayed them.

**Revelations from the Inside**. In *Captive in Iran*, two courageous Iranian women – the writer and a former cellmate on death row in Evin Prison who made it out alive – recount their experiences in one of the world’s darkest places.

There have been reports of Islamic Republic, today, offering the US billions in contracts to rebuild Iran, but that is nothing more than extortion. In fact, the US can achieve unlimited potential and billions in contracts rebuilding Iran by doing everything possible to bring down the Islamic regime, making Iran and Iranians free, and eliminating the world’s greatest source of terror and war.

This is what needs to be done. While it cannot bring back Shirin, it will at least fulfill her wishes for a free Iran, and those of so many others who have suffered their brutality.

*Feature picture: Shirin Alam Holi, born in 1981 in a small village near Maku, executed in Evin Prison on May 9th 2010 after passing one year and nine months in prison. She was charged for cooperating with Pajak (Iranian branch of PKK) on Nov. 29th 2009 and sentenced to death. (Photos: Marziyeh Amirizadeh)

About the writer:

Marziyeh Amirizadeh is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity. She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation. She is author of two books (the latest, A Love Journey with God), public speaker, and columnist. She has shared her inspiring story throughout the United States and around the world, to bring awareness about the ongoing human rights violations and persecution of women and religious minorities in Iran, www.MarzisJourney.com. Marzi also is the founder and president of NEW PERSIA whose mission is to be the voice of persecuted Christians and oppressed women under Islam, expose the lies of the Iranian Islamic regime, and restore the relationships between Persians, Jews, and Christians. www.NewPersia.org

GLOBALISATION RAVAGED BRITAIN’S JEWISH COMMUNITY

Uncertain how Trump’s tariffs might shake up the world in the future, but sure know what globalisation did to my UK city and its Jewish community.

By Jonny Gould

Credits: http://jonnygould.substack.com

It was never explained why Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow’s Jewish populations declined so fast because as a community, we surfed the free-trade revolution in the name of self-improvement.

I reflect back to Jack Rosenthal’s Bar Mitzvah Boy, a BBC ‘Play for Today’ in 1976:

“At this moment, on their way, are a hundred and seventeen guests. Sitting on the train, in cars, queuing for buses – all on their way. At half past six, Victor, a hundred and seventeen people from Bournemouth, from Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow, from Birmingham, everywhere… are going to turn up at the Reuben Shulman Hall expecting a dinner dance. All dressed up. Your Uncle Zalman, my cousin Freda. Your brother we don’t talk about from Cardiff.

That dialogue by Maria Charles playing harassed mother Rita Green is a verbal time capsule of the age. Elliot, the bar mitzvah boy, had bolted from synagogue just before his call up to read his portion of the Torah. They found him in the playground soon after.

**Bygone Era**. Today a period piece, the BBC’s “**Bar Mitzvah Boy**” told the story of a young Jewish boy, Eliott Green in a lower-middle class family living in suburban North East London of the 1970s, and the apprehensions over his forthcoming Bar Mitzvah, while his family prepares for the ‘Big Occasion’.

Anyway.

I pick out those words from the television play because it really was like that. There were prosperous, longstanding Jewish communities spread right across the UK.

Because being British and Jewish was a distinct and robust identity, anchored as it was in the culture of the nation and unlike most of mainland Europe, unsullied by European persecution and destruction.

But these days the Anglo-Jewish community is increasingly polarised and relocated to one corner of the country. Three quarters of Britain’s Jews – numbering just over 300,000 according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research – live in London and its suburbs.

As well as Jewish communities moving into the capital from other cities, a huge influx of young professionals from across the world were attracted by London’s preeminence as the leading financial centre post 9/11.

Sephardim left France for London at the start of the 21st century from the rise of Le Pen and Islamism, prompted by their parent’s North African stories of political uncertainty in the Arab countries they’d left a generation before.

The emergent cultural power of Israel has reduced Anglo-Jewish identity in favour of an international Israeli one and that’s sharpened even more since October 7th.

Yet from Wolverhampton to Westcliff, Bournemouth to Bristol, Merthyr Tydfil to Middlesbrough and Stoke-on-Trent to St Anne’s-on-Sea, British towns had their own synagogues with character and ambition.

Up to 40 years ago, the north boasted communities numbering five-figure populations in Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow. There were four-figure strongholds in Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle, Cardiff, Brighton and Hove and my city, Birmingham.

**When Synagogues become Museums**. The Manchester Jewish Museum was formally a synagogue designed by renowned Victorian architect Edward Salomons, who was inspired by the Portuguese and Spanish origins of the local Jewish community of the 1870s. Today it relates the history of Manchester’s Jewish community – today numbering 30,000 – which is the second largest in Britain; the first being in Greater London.

Household retail names were Jewish businesses in the regions like Marks and Spencer’s out of Leeds, Goldbergs of Glasgow, Burton’s Menswear of Chesterfield, Viner’s Cutlery from the Steel City, Sheffield, NEMS in Liverpool and Odeon Cinemas, founded by Jewish British entrepreneur Oscar Deutsch out of the “workshop of the world” -Birmingham. Plus, literally thousands of other self-starter businesses everywhere.

I’ll take this opportunity to pay tribute to our own “J. Gould, the smart man’s tailor”, at its height the family had dozens of shops across the Midlands. Clearly a commercial barrier to other big players, my grandfather and his brothers rejected a six-figure offer from Montague Burton to consolidate the menswear market in the early sixties.

Not to mention the emerging white-collar class of eminent professionals in medicine, law, accounting and banking, the children of immigrants and the first in their families to go to university.

The 1970’s was the last time being Jewish in the UK felt mainstream.

Who even remembers ‘12 Hours for Israel’, an actual celebration of Anglo-Jewish life staged at Earls Court?

Back then, you could publicly enjoy being Jewish and Israeli without baying antisemitic wolves at the door.

It seemed the whole country converged on London to see exhibitors from El Al to Nefesh B’nefesh, youth groups and even a live stage show. There was Moshe Dayan, Israel’s foreign minister opening it and Eurovision celebrity, Esther Ofarim (born in Safed to a Syrian Jewish family), was the star attraction.

**Entertaining Israelis.** The year following the Six Day War, Israeli singer Esther Ofarim on a BBC Show in London in 1968.

I remember Larry Adler warbling his harmonica through some kind of Fiddler on the Roof tribute.

🎶“When things are not so good, when things are not so nice, I write a little letter to the rabbi for advice!”

Bar Mitzvah Boy heralded a host of stereotypical characters, played mostly in comedies, of East End tailors and the like.

Robin’s Nest, set in a restaurant in the London suburbs took a booking from a local Jewish family.

Richard O’Sullivan playing Robin, sourced salt beef for his customers in a frenzied panic of British tolerance. As if Shirley and Irving would take their family out for what they could have at home! What those diners demanded or the kitchen staff prepared for in terms of Kashrut wasn’t covered in the storyline.

“My boy”, “my life” and “oy vey” have been thrown at me as banter from older non-Jewish colleagues who mean no harm by it, but no one in my family spoke remotely like that being descended as I am from Viennese and Brummie (Birmingham) Jewish stock.

**Where have all the Jews gone?** The writer’s city of Birmingham in the 1930s of S Lesser Jeweller and Clothier – a typical Jewish retail establishment.

Not to mention my colourful post-Holocaust surviving family who jetted in for my own barmitzvah from Vancouver, Chicago, Haifa, Sunderland and Nottingham.

And heading up to Liverpool for barmitzvahs and staying in kosher hotels was a near annual event.

After the service, everyone would go back to the family home down Queens Drive for a Shabbos lunch of chopped liver, lockshen and kneidlach soup, roast chicken and apple strudel.

Go back still further and there were synagogue communities in scores of far-flung British outposts, reflecting the long and continuous Jewish presence in Britain. Count in Llandudno, Worcester, Blackpool, Reading and Swansea among them. Burnley synagogue is now a Dial-a-Pizza.

Some of those communities survived into the 1970s and 80s.

I’m still a member in Eastbourne, which despite the sale of the synagogue building shortly after its post-Covid centenary, they still hold Shabbat and High Holiday services in rented rooms in town. The Exeter synagogue located in Synagogue Place in the old city built in 1763 by Dutch Sephardi traders, still exists to this day. In the 19th century, there was a marriage between two members of Walsall’s community. Walsall is a market town in the West Midlands 9 miles north-west of Birmingham.

**Shapiro’s Shop**. The dawn of the Jewish community in Birmingham is believed to have been around 1730 with early Jewish settlers including peddlers using Birmingham as a base. The first known glass furnace was set up by Meyer Opperheim in or about 1760 on the road to Wolverhampton. Above is Mrs. Shapiro’s shop.

So why the demise of Anglo-Jewry beyond London? Why did the nation’s capital become such a honeypot for smaller communities?

The untold reality of the demise of every Jewish community in the UK but for one is economic.

It’s globalisation.

Globalisation affected every single one of us born in the sixties and beyond. Everyone. Our parents have been forced into change in their older age too.

Jews accepted the prevailing orthodoxy of globalisation imposed on us because it matched our longing for respectability and progress, to shift from peddlers and market traders to become doctors and lawyers.

Globalisation shut down industries for good and obliterated support businesses around them. It triggered mass Jewish migration, not just across the UK but right around the world too.

I discuss living through this revolution as a teenage Birmingham school leaver at the beginning of this article.

Most of us Jews emerged winners out of the total upheaval.

Some who lost out, assimilated into the non-Jewish working class of their towns, assimilated and intermarried. Yet many have consolidated into smaller-scale, well-organised Jewish life.

We’re unclear how Donald Trump’s protectionist tariffs might shake up the world in future, but I sure know what globalisation did to my city – and by extension my Jewish community.

It ravaged it.

So next time you’re soaked in the prevailing narrative of Trump’s “self-injury”, reflect on why you might agree with it.

Is it because you were born and brought up in prosperous London which completely rode the 80s recession – or were sheltered from it as part of your parent’s professional class or the financial comforts and social bubble you bounced around?

It’s a tough old world out there and I fear fewer of us are free of the consequences of the big economic and societal changes which are coming this time around.

About the writer:

Jonny Gould is a television and radio presenter on Talk and host and producer of Jonny Gould’s Jewish State podcast.
At the end of 2018, he launched a podcast in response to the unchecked and sudden rise of UK antisemitism. In a short time, “Jonny Gould’s Jewish State” (on Apple, Spotify and elsewhere) has grown into both a snapshot and library of the changing temperature for one of the west’s oldest and continuous Jewish communities.
As a board member of the Israel Diaspora Trust, Jonny’s also regularly briefed off-the-record by influencers and decision-makers across the US, Israel and the UK.

MAXIMUM PRESSURE NOT ONLY PROTECTS AMERICA – IT EMPOWERS IRANIANS

A plea by a survivor of the Iranian regime to the US to apply maximum pressure.

By Iranian American Marziyeh Amirizadeh

As an Iranian-born Christian who survived the brutality of Iran’s Evin Prison, I’ve witnessed and suffered the Islamic regime’s cruelty firsthand: their lies, their oppression, their unrelenting hatred for, and repression of any freedom. When I hear about the United States negotiating with Iran’s Islamic leaders, my heart aches for both my homeland and my adopted country, America. Negotiation with this regime is not just futile – it is dangerous. Those who champion an “America First” approach, yet shy away from maximum pressure on Iran are mistaken, either avoiding or ignorant of the truth that the regime’s very survival threatens us all. The only solution for Iran, for America, and for the world is a regime change – a new Iran, free from misogynist Islamic extremism, that will align with the values of liberty and peace for which America stands and should be supporting.

**Insights from the Inside**. Footage from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison leaked out in 2021. The writer was imprisoned here in the women’s section where she was tortured and her cell mate and best friend was executed.

Negotiating with Iran’s Islamic regime is like bargaining with a scorpion. Death is inevitable. For over four decades, the Islamic Republic has proven it cannot be trusted. They brainwash children to chant “Death to America” while smiling at and deceiving diplomats. They are the largest global funder of terrorism through its tentacles such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and more, all while pretending to want peace. They violate every international agreement, from the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal to basic human rights treaties, with impunity.

**Inciting Hate**. The US can expect no genuine compromise from an Iran that holds conferences entitled “**Long Live Death to America**” as it did here on 3 November 2015, at Teheran University.

I have seen their deception up close. In 2009, I was arrested because of my Christian faith. They tortured me and my cellmates, and executed my best friend. The U.S. cannot afford to repeat the mistake of tried negotiations that only strengthens the regime’s hand, giving them time to advance their nuclear ambitions, oppress their people, and destabilize the Middle East. Let the world not be deceived: for the ayatollahs, negotiation is a tactic to reach their goal of a nuclear weapon. And to be clear, if they achieve a nuclear weapon, they will use it.

Some argue that diplomacy saves American lives and resources, avoiding costly conflicts. But this ignores reality. Appeasement emboldens Iran. When the U.S. eased sanctions, Iran didn’t moderate – it funneled billions into Syria’s war, Yemen’s chaos, and terrorist proxies targeting America and its allies. The regime’s ballistic missile program grew, threatening Israel, global shipping, and beyond. Negotiation doesn’t de-escalate; it escalates, tying America’s hands while Iran grows stronger. A stronger Iran means a greater threat to U.S. security – whether through terrorism, cyberattacks, or, God forbid, a nuclear weapon. Protecting American interests means recognizing that a regime built on anti-Americanism can never be a partner.

I understand the “America First” instinct to avoid foreign entanglements. Many who wave this banner argue that maximum pressure – crippling sanctions, military deterrence, and diplomatic isolation – drains U.S. resources or risks war. But they’re wrong. Maximum pressure isn’t reckless; it’s strategic. It’s essential. It’s the only language the regime understands. When President Trump withdrew from the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal and imposed harsh sanctions, Iran’s economy buckled. Protests erupted across the country – not just for bread, but for freedom. The regime’s grip weakened, exposing its fragility.

**Iran’s Proxy**. The slogan on the flag of the Houthis in Yemen reads, “**Allah is the greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. A curse upon the Jews. Victory to Islam**“.

Today, with the Islamic regime’s air defenses crippled, it’s critical to finish the job, for America’s interests and for the world. Maximum pressure doesn’t just protect America; it empowers Iranians to demand change. To abandon it now, as some ‘America First’ voices suggest, snatches hope from the Iranian people, and security from the U.S. and the world.

Regime change is not a fantasy, it’s a necessity. The Islamic Republic is not Iran. It’s a cancer on a nation of 85 million people who yearn for dignity and democracy. I’ve met countless Iranians, from taxi drivers to students, who despise the mullahs. The 2022 uprising, sparked by Mahsa Amini’s murder, showed the world their courage. Women burned hijabs; men faced bullets. They weren’t begging for reform -they were demanding change. Supporting their fight isn’t meddling; it’s justice.

**Terrorizing the region to terrorizing its own People.** Demonstrators march during a protest for Mahsa Amini who died in custody of Iran’s morality police, in front of the Los Angeles City Hall, Los Angeles, California, Oct. 1, 2022 (Photo: Apu Gomes/AFP)

For Iran, regime change means a chance to rebuild, to restore a proud civilization hijacked by Islamic extremism. Some fear a regime change will lead to chaos, pointing to Iraq or Libya. But Iran is different. It has a rich history, a strong national identity, and a population educated, ready, and begging for self-governance. The U.S. doesn’t need to invade – it needs to amplify Iranian voices. Sanctions can starve the regime’s coffers. Cyber tools can disrupt their propaganda. Diplomatic support can legitimize the opposition. And yes, the U.S. must empower and partner with its allies to do so, foremost Israel which is in the ayatollah’s crosshairs. America must lead by isolating the regime, not legitimizing it with negotiation.

Iranians dream of a free Iran where one can worship as they wish, where women walk unveiled without threats of arrest and torture, where children aren’t indoctrinated to hate. But Iranians are fearful that the negotiations will betray them, again, as was done by Presidents Obama and Biden. If it’s true that negotiations will only limit Iranian uranium enrichment rather than eliminating every element of the Iranian nuclear program, and leave the regime in place not just to continue to lie and take advantage of western naiveté, but to rebuild and continue to oppress them, it will be a disastrous failure. The pursuit of a democratic Iran would be an essential partner against extremism, a market for trade and a beacon of stability but requires courage, not compromise. Negotiation prolongs the regime’s life, and threatens Iranians and the world.

**Menacing Message**. The Jewish Star of David, the Swastika and the US flag are integrated in public imagery at this protest in Teheran. (Photo: Majid Saeedi / Getty Images).

The economy is crumbling, and the Supreme Leader is old and ill. The time is now to end the evil ayatollah’s regime, restore Iran to its people, and keep America and the world safe.

I’ve seen the cost of tyranny in Evin Prison. America needs to stand with Iran’s people, not their oppressors. End the illusion of diplomacy. Embrace the power of pressure. Together, we can topple a regime and build a future where Iran and America thrive as friends, not enemies.

About the writer:

Marziyeh Amirizadeh is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity. She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation. She is author of two books (the latest, ‘A Love Journey with God’), public speaker, and activist for religious freedom. She has shared her inspiring story throughout the United States and around the world, to bring awareness about the ongoing human rights violations and persecution of women and religious minorities in Iran.

http://www.MarzisJourney.com.

POOR DECISION-MAKING HARMS SOUTH AFRICA’S POOR

An obsession with undermining Israel is undermining the very wellbeing of South Africa’s people

By Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe

In a rapidly changing world, South Africa’s foreign policy has failed to prioritize its national interest. This is in contrast to most other countries, including such allies as China, Russia, and India, which use their foreign policies to serve their interests, not those of other countries.

The late US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, who is reputed to have largely shaped his country’s foreign policy, once said:

“The test of policy is how it ends, not how it begins. Foreign policy is the art of establishing priorities. Demonisation is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one. The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction.”

Kissinger further argued that “a country that demands moral perfection in its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security.”

It seems that it has not yet dawned on South Africa’s foreign affairs minister, Ronald Lamola, that the US has taken a hard stance against South Africa for its position on the Israel-Palestine question. It was a given that there would be – with the new US administration – political, economic, and social implications for South Africa’s decision to launch a lawfare campaign against the State of Israel. It is, however, myopic on the ANC’s part to have expected to have it both ways, that is, to maintain their relationships with the East and the West while aggressively harassing Israel, which aligns with the latter.

**Aiming to Displease**. President Ramaphosa’s policies against Israel (seen here with the iconic Palestinian keffiyeh) has according to the writer, mostly harmed South Africa. The latest Trump tariffs are the latest example.

There is no doubt that the South African government fails to see its poor people – those who are without water, housing, roads, food, and other vital facilities – when they decide on the direction of the country’s foreign policy. It is not Lamola, Cyril Ramaphosa, or other rich politicians from the ANC who are going to suffer the economic and political consequences of South Africa’s actions against the national interest of the US. Rather, it is South Africa’s poor who are already paying the price. For example, the withdrawal of various US funding programmes to South Africa has already started to impede HIV/TB research projects, which is expected to undo all the gains that have been made over the years.

**At Loggerheads**. Trump has also threatened to cut aid to South Africa in response to the country’s land expropriation policies, which Trump claims involve land confiscation.

In its bid to advance its foreign policy, the SA government failed to conduct a risk analysis of the implications its actions might have on NGOs that rely heavily on US funding. The withdrawal of this funding could ultimately lead to NGOs shutting down or downscaling, which in turn means putting more strain on the public sector as the many beneficiaries of these organisations could be left without essential services. It would also see an increase in unemployment rates.

“Charity begins at home” should be a stance which guides our foreign policy. It is incomprehensible that South Africa would want to assume the position of being hailed as a saviour and hero within the international community while its people are at risk of dying of poverty, hunger and a lack of sufficient medications for those suffering from chronic conditions.

Akin to the sentiments that Kissinger would later articulate, US president John F. Kennedy said,
“Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us”. What South Africa is currently doing – meddling – in the Middle East region can only worsen the state of the declining economy because of poor decision making. That powerful Arab countries in the Middle East and Africa have been careful about what they say and what they do should have signaled to South Africa not to have dragged Israel into the International Court of Justice (ICJ). So, while Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan endeavor to play an active role alongside the US to find a long-lasting solution to the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine, South Africa saw fit to play the spoiler.

Clearly, South Africa like Iran, is not interested in finding a solution to the Israel-Palestine impasse. Its ill-considered direction was so evident when it decided to terminate all diplomatic and political channels with Israel. South Africa now has access only to Hamas and Iran, which shows how they are not committed to bringing an end to this conflict.

**Trump’s Tariffs**. A truck loaded with a container at a depo, in Johannesburg, South Africa may well be on the decrease as the new 30% tariffs set to be imposed on South Africa by the Trump administration will threaten 35,000 jobs in the country’s citrus-growing sector and the economies of entire towns, said a farmers group earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

The ANC’s leadership has a lot to learn from Qatar, a small country in the Middle East region, on how they have come to be respected as peacemakers and good negotiators in the international arena. In 2020, Qatar was able to convince the US to withdraw from Afghanistan with the extremist Taliban group. Qatar negotiated the release of the Americans held in Iran, Afghanistan, and Venezuela. They also helped to bring Ukrainian children to their parents after they were taken to Russia.

Through agreement with the US, Qatar allowed Hamas to have offices in Doha, and they maintain a relationship and communication channels with the Israeli government that helps to bring these two warring parties to the table whenever there is a need. Alongside other players, Qatar helped broker a ceasefire and hostage deal in 2023 between Israel and Hamas. There was another ceasefire and hostage deal in 2025 in which Qatar was centrally involved. Qatar plays this essential role by not siding with anyone but rather striving towards peace and stability in the Middle East; the returns beneficial to all in the region.

Trump Punishes South Africa With 31% Tariff Placing R250 Billion Worth Of Exports In Jeopardy.

It doesn’t end there. Qatar facilitated the brokering of peace between Sudan and Chad and Eritrea and Djibouti and helped to reach a peace deal in Darfur in 2011. At present, it is mediating peace between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

If South Africa wants to gain an international reputation as peacemakers and negotiators, there are, therefore, valuable lessons to be learnt from Qatar.

The ICJ court case will not improve the lives of ordinary South Africans, whose plight has been so neglected over the 30-year rule of the ANC. It is not only a waste of time but also money, and is aimed at appeasing Iran, who is behind the ICJ case and is implacable enemy of Israel. As China, Russia and India are doing, the SA government needs to take an inward approach, where we focus on improving the lives of our people and building our economy from what it is to what it should be.

About the writer:

Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe is a political writer and researcher based at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

STOP THE ROT

Bibi, if you don’t or can’t stop the rot, it will consume all – is this what you want as your legacy?

By David E. Kaplan

If the ‘reason’ Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu presents for the firing of the country’s Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar is “a lack of trust”, then he should take cognizance that more than half the country feels the same way about him. A majority of Israelis, many of whom who voted for him, feel today of their prime minister – “a lack of trust”

By the same token as the fate befalling the internal security chief, should the prime minister not follow suit and exit office so that another can – not only lead – but restore a trust with the people of Israel, especially during a time of war that requires of its people unity not division and discord. This is not a right or left issue – it is a right and wrong issue!

**Facing Off**. Instead of fighting the enemy, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar (l) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (r) are now fighting each other with conflicting narratives. (Photos: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Like a lighthouse with its beam of light and loud foghorn warning of the danger to ships, Israel’s former esteemed Supreme Court justice, Aharon Barak, warns of the danger to the ship of state – Israel.

He fears his country is heading “to civil war.”

Who cannot fail to see and understand what is happening. The issues behind the groundswell of people out on the streets protesting during an existential war is being ignored by this government with a dismissive Marie-Antonette arrogance.

‘Lighthouse’ Barak asserts that “…the rift in the people is immense, with no effort made to heal it,” adding that if he were still chief justice, he would block the PM’s moves to fire the Shin Bet chief and attorney general which are pushing the country “toward civil war.”

The move by the prime minister by the way, marks the first time in Israeli history that the government has fired the head of the domestic security agency. His reasons for doing so are immersed not in the nation’s security but in this government’s insecurity. They are trying to avert an embarrassing enquiry called “Qatargate”, where it is alleged that close political advisors of the PM and a lieutenant colonel in the reserves, were involved in paid jobs for promoting the interests of the government of Qatar, an ally and financial supporter of Hamas. Irking the PM is that the Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, is investigating the affair, which he described as “complex and multi-faceted.” No doubt; and what is also ‘no doubt’ is that these allegations – if proven to be true – reflects on the porous nature of the country’s national security. Have ‘fences’ of a different kind been breached, not the variety on the Gaza border but from within the very inner sanctums of Israel’s highest political echelon?

No less irksome to Bibi has been Bar pushing for a state commission of inquiry into October 7, a powerhouse probe to be led by a retired Supreme Court justice. This Bibi, unsurprisingly, has rejected. The urgent national need for such an investigation, “cannot be subordinated,” says Bar “to the personal considerations of those involved in the matter, as it is the only way to ensure that such a multi-system failure will not occur again.”

Again, this is not a right or left issue – it is a right and wrong issue!

Speaking to Ynet news shortly before Netanyahu convened the cabinet to vote on firing Bar, Aharon Barak, who served as a Supreme Court justice from 1978 to 1995 and then elected as the court’s president retiring in 2006, said:

“…the main problem in Israeli society is… the severe rift between Israelis.”

This rift now has momentum and is accelerating “and in the end,” said Barak, “I fear, it will be like a train that goes off the tracks and plunges into a chasm, causing a civil war.”

**Anxious Aharon**. Former Chief Justice of Israel’s Supreme Court, Aharon Barak warns of deepening internal divisions, criticizing government’s moves on judiciary and opposes dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar – urging compromise to prevent further democratic erosion. (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

Instead of toning down the temperature, the PM and his cabinet ministers – notably the high-profilers and moral defilers of the likes of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich – are by their conduct and rhetoric, inflaming tensions. Not only do they ignore the most respected and revered justice in Israel’s history but they dismiss him with such comments like from fellow MK and coalition partner, Almog Cohen of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party who said that Barak is “a reckless and irresponsible man,” who was “sent to issue a Sicilian mafia-style threat of blood in the streets and civil war.”

With mounting protests, who are in the words of Almog Cohen being “reckless” and “irresponsible”?

With the constant concern and trauma of our remaining hostages in captivity, where is the responsible leadership to stop this downward spiral into the abyss?

Even President Trump’s Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, says Netanyahu’s methods in Gaza are against Israeli public opinion:

“I think Bibi believes that he’s doing the right thing. [However],I think he goes up against public opinion ’cause the public opinion [in Israel] wants those hostages home.”

Bibi looks for false support of the “will of the People” though the last election in 2022. Hardly persuasive when this supposed “will” is a result of a deviously concocted coalition, where his religious coalition partners that so enable him with vital votes, do not believe in the state of Israel nor serve in its defense and extort sizable chunks of the national budget for their causes that are at odds with the country’s national interest. Some “will of the People” the PM relies on to support his increasingly unpopular positions! Clutching at straws, he usurps Trump rhetoric of a “deep state” but there is no “deep state” only deep trouble this government is finding itself emersed in. As the former chief justice says:

“We’re not the United States; we don’t have a deep state here. We have loyal public servants here, and they do things according to the law.”

**Nation on the Edge**. “I think he goes up against public opinion,” says US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff (l) of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu(r). (Photo collage: Lior Segev, Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein,Reuters/Nathan Howard)

According to a Channel 12 opinion poll, 51% of Israelis oppose the firing of Bar, compared to 32% who back his dismissal, while 46% say they trust Bar more than they trust the prime minister.

These polls are hardly surprising and may explain why “Today there are demonstrations,” continues Barak, who warns of the societal fragility in the current climate and unforeseen incidents that can spark matters out of control. He refers to the car that drove into an anti-Netanyahu protest in Jerusalem when a driver rammed into a protester, injuring him. If this trajectory continues, Barak cautions:

“… tomorrow there will be shootings, and the day after that there will be bloodshed… ”

If warnings about October 7 were ignored, what is the excuse of this government to warnings of a people’s growing discontent to bulldozing policies that are anathema to this country’s DNA? With turmoil on our streets amidst an existential war on multiple fronts, editor Zvika Klein of The Jerusalem Post writes:

“With a war on seven fronts that appears to have no end in sight, a growing social split of historic proportions, and a rising cost of living, it can feel now as if it will never get any better, that we will never get past this point.”

It must and it will.

Israel needs now – more than ever – is a responsible leadership that is ready to run and not ruin the country!

AFRICA, TURN YOUR EYES TO THE REAL GENOCIDE IN SUDAN

African governments focus energy on global issues while failing to address urgent crises on their own continent

By Kenneth Mokgatlhe wa Kgwadi

The lack of response to the 1994 Rwandan genocide by the international community continues to be scrutinized. In April 1994, an estimated 800,000 Tutsis – members of the minority ethnic group in Rwanda – were slaughtered by the majority Hutu ethnic group. At the same time, the world seemed to pay more attention to the FIFA World Cup, hosted in Brazil, and the historic democratic elections in South Africa, which marked its gaining freedom from apartheid. The global community’s failure to intervene in this horrific genocide remains one of the most tragic examples of international indifference.

Sadly, we are witnessing a similar scenario today in Sudan, where an ongoing genocide is being largely ignored by African governments and multilateral organizations. In Sudan, Arab militias have been systematically targeting black African populations, engaging in mass killings, rapes, and other brutal atrocities. Despite the scale of this crisis, Africa’s political leadership has remained largely silent, while the international community – particularly the United States under the Biden administration – has voiced its concern. The contrast between Africa’s response to this genocide and its responses to other international conflicts, such as the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war, reveals a troubling pattern:

African governments often focus their energies on global issues while failing to address urgent crises on their own continent.

**Escaping Global Concern**. “Where are my parents?” Musa remembers screaming after a military device he was playing with explodes in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. He recounts the event at a camp for displaced people on Dec. 10, 2023. (Photo: Faiz Abubakr)

This lack of action by African leaders is nothing new. African governments have consistently failed to take meaningful steps to address human rights violations and protect their own citizens from violent conflict. For example, the silence surrounding the ongoing violence in Sudan echoes the indifference seen during previous crises in Africa, such as in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, where deteriorating political conditions have forced many people to flee their countries in search of safety. In both of these countries, instability has led to widespread human suffering, but the African Union (AU) and other regional bodies have done little to intervene.

It is worth noting that international media and Western democracies have been vocal in their condemnation of the Sudanese crisis. However, Africa’s political leadership has largely remained passive, continuing to focus on external conflicts and geopolitical issues rather than on the well-being of their own citizens. This is particularly evident in the way African leaders have responded to the Israel-Hamas conflict. In recent years, South Africa has been outspoken in its criticism of Israel, often siding with Hamas in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the same time, South Africa and other African countries have shown support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, likely due to their alliance within the BRICS framework.

**Fleeing for their Lives**. Does anyone in the rest of Africa really care for these Sudanese fleeing in August, 2023 the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region? (Photo: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

While it is important for African nations to have their voices heard on global issues, it is equally crucial that African governments prioritize the security, stability, and welfare of their own people. When African nations are embroiled in violent conflict, as we see in Sudan, these crises not only cause untold human suffering but also have far-reaching consequences for the region and the world. As the global economy becomes increasingly interconnected, the instability in one country can ripple across borders, affecting neighboring countries and even distant regions. The situation in Sudan is a clear reminder that Africa cannot afford to ignore the plight of its own people while focusing solely on conflicts far from its borders.

In countries like Nigeria and Mozambique, we are witnessing the rise of extremist terrorism, which threatens the security of millions of people. In northern Mozambique, for instance, extremist groups like al-Shabaab have carried out brutal attacks, killing thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands more. Similarly, in Nigeria, the extremist group Boko Haram continues to wreak havoc, killing civilians, kidnapping children, and destabilizing entire regions. These crises have drawn some attention from international organizations, but there has been a glaring lack of concerted, effective action by African governments and regional bodies like the African Union to curb the spread of extremism and address the root causes of instability.

**Sudan has no appeal to Western protestors**. While world’s attention is riveted to terrorist-run Gaza, escaping international attention is the Sudan, which is reported to have “the largest internally displaced population ever.”

One of the reasons for this inaction is the political and economic influence exerted by foreign powers, particularly Western countries. Many African governments receive significant financial aid, military support, and diplomatic backing from countries like the United States, China, and former colonial powers. This assistance often comes with strings attached, with African leaders prioritizing the interests of foreign powers over the welfare of their own citizens. This dynamic has created a system where African governments are more focused on securing international aid and approval than on addressing the urgent needs of their own people.

At the same time, there is a disturbing trend of African countries ignoring the plight of their own people in favor of engaging in foreign conflicts. Many African leaders have shown more interest in aligning themselves with international powers like the United States, Russia, and China than in standing up for the rights and safety of their own citizens. The situation in Sudan is a glaring example of this. While African leaders continue to focus on issues like the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war, the people of Sudan are being killed, raped, and displaced by the tens of thousands. The genocide unfolding in Sudan is a tragedy that deserves the world’s attention, but the silence from African governments is deafening.

It is essential for Africa to recognize that its own problems are just as pressing as those in other parts of the world. As the saying goes, “charity begins at home.” If African governments truly want to make a meaningful impact on the world stage, they must first ensure that their own countries are stable, secure, and just. Only then can they begin to contribute effectively to global peace and security. The inaction in respect of Sudan and other African countries serves as a powerful reminder that African governments must prioritize the needs of their people above all else.

I recently had the opportunity to meet a Sudanese refugee who had fled his home country due to the violence. He shared with me the despair and hopelessness he felt, knowing that he may never be able to return to his homeland. His plan was to move to Kenya, where most of his family members had already sought refuge. Despite the dire circumstances, he held on to a flicker of hope – hope that one day the world would take action to end the ongoing crisis and allow displaced Sudanese people to return home. His story is one of many, and it underscores the urgency of addressing the genocide in Sudan and the broader security challenges facing Africa.

**Disaster at the Doorstep**. Africa mostly ignores the 11.4 million people now displaced within the Sudan and over 3 million people – mostly women and children – that have fled Sudan to neighboring countries. Seen here is a camp for displaced Sudanese in the city of Wad Madani, on Dec. 10, 2023. (Photo: Faiz Abubakr)

The crisis in Sudan is not just a political or military issue – it is a moral one. It is about human lives, about the dignity and safety of individuals who are being slaughtered because of their ethnicity and social group. In Sudan, the victims are predominantly non-Arab Africans, who are being tortured, raped, mutilated, and subjected to inhumane violence. Their homes are being destroyed, their communities razed to the ground, and their lives wiped out in what can only be described as a systematic, racially motivated genocide.

It is deeply disappointing that the same moral outrage that is often directed at conflicts involving Israel, Western democracies, or other international powers is not being extended to the people of Sudan. In fact, the response to the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, which saw the killing of several black Africans caught in the crossfire, was met with far more outcry than the ongoing genocide in Sudan. This hypocrisy highlights the need for Africans to adopt the principles behind the #BlackLivesMatter movement – not just in the United States, but also in Africa, where black lives are under threat from their own leaders and from armed militias.

**Targeting Medical Institutions**. Where was the media focus when this destroyed medical storage warehouse in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur province was destroyed? (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

We cannot claim to care about the lives of black people around the world if we are complicit in the mass killings and suffering of black Africans in our own countries. Whether in Sudan, Nigeria, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, the DRC, or Burundi, the lives of black Africans must matter – both to the people themselves and to the governments who are meant to protect them.

The African Union (AU) and other regional bodies must take responsibility for these crises and act decisively to end the bloodshed in Sudan and other conflict-ridden African countries. It is time for Africa to turn its eyes toward the real genocide in Sudan and to take a stand against the violence that is plaguing the continent.

The time for inaction is over. African leaders must rise above international political posturing and take the necessary steps to protect their own people. Only then will Africa be able to heal, to thrive, and to show the world what true leadership looks like.

About the writer:

Kenneth Mokgatlhe wa Kgwadi is an independent writer, political analyst and researcher. He is doing his MA in African Studies at the Israeli-based Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

REJECT RASOOL

Trump’s Administration Should Reject Ebrahim Rasool as South Africa’s Ambassador.

By Kenneth Mokgatlhe wa Kgwadi

Ebrahim Rasool, a veteran leader within the African National Congress (ANC), has served as South Africa’s ambassador to Washington for two separate terms. His reappointment last year has sparked significant controversy. The United States should reject Rasool’s continued ambassadorship due to his alleged connections to international terrorism, his explicit support for extremist organizations such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and his historical role in straining U.S.-South Africa relations.

**On a collision course**. Ebrahim Rasool , who is heading back to the US for a second term as South Africa’s ambassador this time to a Trump and not an Obama administration, supports extremist organizations such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Rasool’s tenure as a political figure and diplomat has been marked by his advocacy for causes that align with organizations designated as terrorist groups by many Western nations. His alleged ties to Hamas and PIJ raise serious concerns about his ability to represent South Africa’s interests without compromising the nation’s international standing. Through his influence within the ANC, Rasool has been accused of advancing a narrative that demonizes Israel while promoting the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood – a controversial Islamist organization with global influence. Such actions have alienated significant segments of the global community and South Africa’s diverse population.

During his previous term as ambassador, Rasool’s actions reportedly undermined the historically strong relationship between South Africa and the United States. This relationship, characterized by mutual economic and political benefits, is of paramount importance. The United States is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner after China, and jeopardizing this partnership is ill-advised. Rasool’s divisive rhetoric and controversial affiliations have already strained this relationship, and his reappointment risks further deterioration.

The Biden administration’s patience with South Africa has been notable, especially following the controversial docking of the Russian cargo ship Lady R at Simon’s Town Naval Base, which raised suspicions of South Africa’s support for Russia during its invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, South Africa’s decision to bring Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on allegations of genocide in Gaza has exacerbated tensions with the U.S., a staunch ally of Israel. These developments highlight the precarious nature of U.S.-South Africa relations, which Rasool’s continued ambassadorship could further jeopardize.

**Anti-Israel activist Ambassador**. South Africa’s re-appointed terror-connected Islamist diplomat Ebrahim Rasool as its ambassador to the US, has in more recent years built a reputation for his anti-Israel activism and trumpeting of South Africa’s efforts to persuade the International Court of Justice that Israel wields an “intent to commit genocide.”

Rasool’s political career within South Africa has not been without controversy. As a leader in the ANC, he failed to secure the Western Cape province for the party, which repeatedly lost to the Democratic Alliance (DA) under his watch. The ANC’s hopes that Rasool would consolidate Muslim electoral support in the province proved futile. His inability to deliver politically raises questions about his effectiveness as a representative of South Africa’s interests on the global stage.

South Africa’s participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been a cornerstone of its economic relationship with the United States. This agreement provides South African products, brands, and services with access to one of the world’s largest markets. However, the U.S. has reportedly considered withdrawing South Africa’s AGOA benefits due to recent geopolitical tensions and South Africa’s perceived alignment with authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China.

Rasool’s continued ambassadorship could exacerbate these tensions, potentially leading to economic repercussions for South Africa. His alleged involvement in mobilizing financial support for extremist organizations not only tarnishes South Africa’s reputation but also undermines the economic stability that AGOA provides. It is nonsensical to risk such an important economic relationship over actions that yield no tangible benefits for South Africa.

Rasool’s diplomatic efforts have often appeared to prioritize relationships with autocratic governments and organizations that have little regard for democracy or human rights. His alleged ties to Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, as well as his support for regimes in Iran, China, and Russia, run counter to South Africa’s stated foreign policy pillars of promoting democracy and human rights. These affiliations not only damage South Africa’s international standing but also divert attention from the nation’s pressing domestic challenges.

**Birds of a Feather**. Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool who is proud to reveal that Hamas founder Sheikh Yassin, is “one of the greatest inspirations”, is seen here handing a copy of his book to Turkish Islamist leader President Erdoğan(Photos: Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool’s Facebook page)

South Africa’s role within the BRICS economic bloc has become increasingly controversial with the inclusion of Iran, a nation widely criticized for its human rights abuses and support for terrorism. Rasool’s advocacy for closer ties with Iran and other BRICS members risks alienating South Africa from its traditional allies in the West. While BRICS aims to establish an alternative global economic order, its alignment with authoritarian regimes undermines the principles of democracy and human rights that South Africa purports to uphold.

**The Hamas Connection**. While premier of the Western Cape in 2007, Ebrahim Rasool hosted Mohammed Nazzal (seen above), a senior member of Hamas’s political bureau. In 2024, the U.S. government designated Nazzal, Rasool’s Hamas contact, as one of the “key officials …. who facilitate their terrorist activities,” and coordinates “the transfer of money and goods into Gaza.”

Ebrahim Rasool’s reappointment as South Africa’s ambassador to the United States poses significant risks to both nations. His alleged ties to extremist organizations, divisive political history, and prioritization of autocratic alliances over democratic values make him an unsuitable representative. The United States, as South Africa’s critical trading partner and ally, should reconsider its acceptance of Rasool as ambassador.

For South Africa, the stakes are high. The nation’s economic future, international reputation, and adherence to democratic principles hang in the balance. Appointing a diplomat who embodies these values is essential for preserving South Africa’s relationships with its allies and ensuring a prosperous future for its citizens.

Rasool calls for support for SA’s move to take Israel to ICC

About the writer:

A writer, researcher, and analyst, Kenneth Mokgatlhe wa Kgwadi is reading for his Master of Arts in African Studies at the Israeli-based Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

BAD SPORT

The buying of global influence by investing in high-profile sporting events – Counting the Cost of ‘sportswashing’.

By Allan Wolman

FIFA’s recent announcement crowning Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2034 Men’s World Cup hardly came as a shock. After all, the Middle East, being the ‘centre of the universe’, is the obvious choice for the world’s greatest sporting spectacle. And with FIFA’s impeccable reputation for transparency and integrity, who could possibly raise an eyebrow?

As for the 2026 World Cup, it will generously be shared across Canada, the United States, and Mexico – a mere three countries. But FIFA wasn’t done pushing boundaries: the 2030 tournament will leap even further, spanning not just three nations but two entire continents – Spain and Portugal in Europe, and Morocco in Africa. Truly, no effort is too great for the sake of “the beautiful game.”

**Multiple ‘Goals’**. In December 2010, FIFA awarded the World Cups of 2018 and 2022 to Russia and Qatar respectively in a day that reshaped modern football. Here Putin is cheered on by the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, during an exhibition game in Moscow to mark the start of the tournament. (Photo: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images)

Sports – the acknowledged global unifier – provides the ideal platform for “sportswashing” whereby nations endeavour to enhance their international image while masking human rights violations. Exemplifying this trend, who would accuse Saudi Arabia and Qatar of exploiting their vast oil wealth to utilize high-profile sports to ‘buy’ global influence.

**Uneasy Relationship**. Bayern Munich fans hold up a banner critisizing the club’s relationship with Qatar. (Photo: mage: Imago/B. Fell)

Qatar’s 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup attracted much criticism for its shocking human rights record, that included mistreatment of migrant workers, LGBTQ+ restrictions, and suppressed dissent. Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is equally contentious. On 4th April 2022, 81 people were executed in Saudi Arabia in a single day by decapitation with a sword. According to Human Rights Watch, the majority of these individuals were tortured to obtain confessions. Women’s rights have seen some reforms, such as the lifting of the driving ban, but gender equality remains far from realized. LGBTQ+ individuals face severe persecution, and political dissidents are routinely jailed or silenced. Would it surprise anyone if Qatar or Saudi Arabia were to win a bid to host the Olympic Games in the not-too-distant future.

**Desert Kingdom ‘On Track’**. Jeddah is the second largest city in Saudi Arabia and it was home to the first Saudi Arabian F1 GP in December 2021.

Clearly not!

Hosting global sports events serves as a strategy for these nations to project modernity and openness and divert attention from domestic controversies by associating with celebrated events.

Saudi Arabia has heavily invested in:

Formula 1
boxing,
tennis
golf through its Public Investment Fund (PIF)

Qatar owns:

– Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)

– sponsors major events like the IAAF World Athletics Championships.

Fans across German stadiums call for Qatar World Cup boycott as seen here during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart in Dortmund, Germany October 22, 2022. (Photo: AP/Martin Meissner)

COUNTING THE COST

Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s successful stratagem of ‘sportswashing’ follows their proven paths of massively manoeuvring into Western academia embedding their agendas and narratives into impressionable young minds. Universities in the U.S., U.K., and Europe have eagerly accepted billions in funding, conveniently labelled as “partnerships” to promote research and mutual understanding. The results of these “partnerships” have been all to evident since the October 7 Hamas massacre with student protests at campuses across the US and Europe. A 2022 published reports has revealed that the “generous” infusion from Qatar of significant financial donations amounting to billions of dollars has strengthened antisemitism in higher education institutions in the US, compromised academic ethics and contributed to the erosion of democratic and liberal norms. The report by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) that identifies Qatar as the most significant foreign donor to American universities, revealed that from 2001 to 2021, US higher education institutions received US$13 billion in funding from foreign sources, with Qatar contributing donations totaling $4.7 billion to universities in the United States.

**Abusing Sport**. Decades before the term ‘Sportswashing’ existed, Nazi Germany hosted major sporting events in the 1930s culminating in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The group most negatively affected by Qatar “educating” America are Jewish students whose personal security and safety has been compromised.

Sports-washing, unsurprisingly, raises some thorny ethical dilemmas. By cosying up to these regimes, international organizations, universities, and cultural institutions risk not just normalizing human rights violations but becoming complicit in them. One might think transparency, accountability, and principled decision-making would take precedence, but hey, money talks.

**Menacing Power of Money**. Generously funded by donors promoting radical Islam studies, this past year has seen US student protests across US universities against Israel orchestrated by Qatar-funded groups.

About the writer:

Allan Wolman in 1967 joined 1200 young South Africans to volunteer to work on agricultural settlements in Israel during the Six Day War. After spending a year in Israel, he returned to South Africa where he met and married Jocelyn Lipschitz and would run one of the oldest travel agencies in Johannesburg – Rosebank Travel. He would also literally ‘run’ three times in the “Comrades”, one of the most grueling marathons in the world as well as participate in the “Argus” (Cape Town’s famed international annual cycling race) an impressive eight times. Allan and Jocelyn immigrated to Israel in 2019.

Category: Politics

BRIDGE THE GULF

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