10 November 2025 – At The Car Wall / Nova Memorial and more on The Israel Brief.
11 November 2025 – The late Hadar Goldin laid to rest after 11 years and more on The Israel Brief.
12 November 2025 – President Trump requests pardon for Prime Minister Netanyahu and your headlines inThe Israel Brief.
12 November 2025 – Former hostages testify at the UN. Warning: Sensitive content. This and headlines in The Israel Brief.
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).
Israel’s extreme-right leadership is failing not only this generation but future generations.
By Peter Bailey
The foremost responsibility of every government is to act as the guardian of future generations by ensuring the long-term viability and security of the state. The major concerns of the government of the State of Israel seem to be directed at the short-term future of the governing coalition, rather than the long-term future of the country. Since the October 7 attack, with barbaric atrocities committed by Hamas, followed by Israel’s predictable subsequent military retaliation, a multitude of complex emotions have been unleashed in Israel, as well as within the Jewish world globally. Amidst the fog of war and an ever-increasing concern about the fate of the hostages, another kind of hostage drama sees Israel’s prime minister voluntarily held hostage by politicians on the extreme right of his coalition, inhibiting his ability to effectively govern Israel.
The inevitable decision to invade Gaza had the full and unequivocal support of the Israeli public, but as the war against Hamas in Gaza unfolded over almost two years, elements of doubt and disquiet began to surface in many minds. While several hostage recovery deals have taken place, elements within the governing coalition began latching on to United States President Donald Trump’s fanciful idea of turning Gaza into a Riviera-type holiday resort. Trump’s plan meant that the residents of Gaza would have to be temporarily housed elsewhere, while his unlikely plan unfolded. The hard right in the governing coalition immediately read occupation and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza into Trump’s outlandish proposal. Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party leader Ben-Gvir was very quick to ensure that his prized prime ministerial hostage, Benjamin Netanyahu understood clearly that any deal to end the war would end the coalition, forcing an election. The reality here is a strong likelihood that Netanyahu would no longer be the prime minister, reducing his court appearances to be like those of any other accused in a criminal case, sans the deference and special treatment accorded to him as prime minister. The bizarre determination to keep the war in Gaza on the boil with the Knesset Members of Netanyahu’s Likud Party continuing to support him, while he caves in to the demands of the far right, sets the scene for the dilemma of conscience with regard to morals, ethics and loyalty affecting many Israeli citizens.
While 47 hostages, 20 or 22 alive and at least 25 are confirmed dead, the stakes for releasing the hostages, even if it means ending the war, have never been higher for most Israelis. Similarly, for prized political hostage Benjamin Netanyahu, the stakes are at an all-time high. He has to stay in power to retain his VIP accused status, with the kid glove treatment that goes along with it. His personal political lifeline is to keep the war going, with an ever-increasing number of troops facing a deadly urban terrorist foe, while the living hostages remain subject to the whims of their cruel captors, who have no respect for the captives’ lives or wellbeing. Keeping the war going creates all kinds of challenges for Netanyahu, least of all being an outward show of being committed to the endless hostage negotiations being moderated by Qatar, Egypt and to a lesser extent the United States. The hostage families and other critics within Israel believe the government is not showing sufficient flexibility in the negotiations in an effort not to reach an equitable conclusion, freedom for the hostage captives and an end to the war. The reality is that Netanyahu, taking his own hostage status into account, does not have the political maneuverability to be flexible in the hostage negotiations.
Groping in the Dark. Alienating his country and causing divisions within, what is Benjamin Netanyahu really after?
The Trump Administration has been placing an ever-increasing degree of pressure on Israel to commit to a cease fire agreement, while the coalition government is doing its utmost to delay such an eventuality. The current deal on the table, presented by the U.S., puts Netanyahu on the spot. Refusal to negotiate will anger his friend and ally Donald Trump, negotiating in good faith and bending to Trump’s demands will alienate his political captors, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, leaving him very little wiggle room. It would seem that the creative solution he, or his advisers, came up with had the potential to kill two birds with one stone. Give flesh to Trump’s threats of “all hell breaking loose” on Hamas by taking a calculated risk with a precision military strike on the Hamas leadership in their safe haven in Qatar. The prize, a potential breakdown in negotiations without angering the U.S. looked inviting, while a collapse of the negotiations would keep Ben Gvir and company smiling. The jury is still out on the end result of the attack
Being a former South African who lived through the 40 years of National Party rule with government politicians judging loyalty on the degree of support given to the ‘Nats’, despite all the attendant dangers. The identical situation is unfolding in Israel, with those not supporting the right-wing government line being labelled as “traitors”, so similar to South Africa between 1960 and 1990. Zionist identity is being redefined in that those who question the extreme Revisionist line being taken, are declared to be unpatriotic at best, and anti-Zionist anti-Israel leftists at worst. The original Left Right political divide where the left-wing traditionally favoured progressive social policies through government intervention, while the right-wing sought individual liberty through limited government intervention, has become totally blurred in Israel. Israelis who favour some form of accommodation with the Palestinians, not necessarily two states, are labelled as leftists. Those who call for the annexation of Gaza, Judea and Samaria (West Bank) are the new right wing, who also see civil liberties as being discretionary and subject to government intervention, the exact opposite of classic right-wing beliefs.
Many Israeli citizens, myself included, have spent countless hours writing articles, answering criticism in foreign media and defending Israel however and wherever possible. We consider ourselves ardent Zionists and defenders of the State of Israel. The reality that more and more of these ardent traditional Zionists are questioning their determination to defend an Israel that is becoming increasingly indefensible. The majority of Israeli citizens accept that there is no widespread deliberate starvation in Gaza, but at the same time, many are beginning to understand that there is a hunger and potential human rights problem, which requires honest acknowledgement and intervention. With the viciously barbaric Hamas terrorist attacks on 7 October in the background making this exceedingly difficult, Jews and Israelis must never allow themselves to be lowered to imitate the inhuman and inhumane standards of the terrorist. We must continually bear in mind that Hamas are vicious terrorist murderers and not freedom fighters, while striving to maintain our own high Jewish ethical and moral values. This does not make those who maintain Jewish standards traitors, but rather labels those who call for the halting of aid and enforced starvation as Jews who do not fully subscribe to Jewish laws and morals as to how we are expected to treat our enemies.
Added to the disquiet over the way the war is being waged is the manner in which the hostage negotiations are being conducted, as well as the attempts at partisan appointment of officials to critical senior positions in the Judiciary and the Security Establishments. There is thus great concern about many aspects of life in Israel, from the attacks on the judiciary to an unequal military draft system with financial rewards to Yeshiva students for not doing military service, while reservists are expected to serve ever-increasing periods fighting in Gaza or elsewhere, causing long-periods of separation from their families, many with young children adding thus adding unbearable strain as well as financial concerns. Here again, any criticism of the unfair and unjust systems in place, labels the critics as “unpatriotic leftists” and even “traitors” to Israel.
Having said all this, let me clarify that criticism of the current right-wing government is not criticism of Israel, but rather the democratic right of the citizens of Israel to object to what they find abhorrent and totally unacceptable in everyday government policies.
*Feature picture: Troubling Triumvirate. Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich, Minister in the Defense Ministry.
About the writer: The writer, Peter Bailey, a military history buff, was a Major in the South African Army Reserve before making aliyah in 2013. He is the author of two books: Street Names in Israel; and Men of Valor: Israel’s Latter Day Heroes.
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).
Women’s groups champion the rights of all victims of gender-based violence…. unless they are Jews!
By Grant Gochin
As a gay Jewish immigrant from South Africa, raised by three extraordinary women – my grandmother, Bee Smollan, my biological mother, Sandra Gochin, and my aunt, Valerie Smollan – I write this with great hesitancy as a man. In our household, the lines of motherhood blurred – each was equally and fully my mother. Growing up in a misogynistic, paternalistic society, these women were unyielding in their strength, instilling in me an unshakable belief in feminism as a lived truth. To me, women’s excellence in intellect, resilience, and compassion was self-evident, save for brute strength. I reject any claim to the contrary. Yet, I feel compelled to speak out because women’s groups, entrusted to champion the rights of all victims of gender-based violence, have let everyone down. By failing to unequivocally condemn the horrific sexual violence against Israeli women and men during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, these groups have effectively abandoned current and future victims of sexual violence, undermining the very principles they claim to uphold.
outRAGE. Protesters hold placards and wave Israeli flags as they take part in a “Rape is not resistance” demonstration in London on Feb. 4. (Photo: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
Feminism was as natural as breathing, yet its history revealed the profound role of Jewish activists. My Jewish friends shared my instinctive support for women’s rights, unlike some non-Jewish peers. Jews built feminism’s foundation, pioneering equality in secular, religious, and scientific spheres, only to see Jewish feminists especially betrayed, kicked when they were down by feminist movements, the United Nations, and global NGOs aligning with narratives that vilify Israel, attack Jews, and dismiss their suffering. The British All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on UK-Israel’s 7 October Parliamentary Commission Report, chaired by Lord Andrew Roberts and released on March 18, 2025, meticulously documents these atrocities, including sexual violence against both women and men, yet global feminist organizations remain silent. By prioritizing virtue signaling for Islamist ideals over condemning gender-based violence, these organizations undermine the progress Jewish feminists fought for, erasing their legacy. This article celebrates the Jewish legacy in feminism, highlights Israel’s strides toward gender equality, laments the antisemitic betrayal of Jewish feminists and male victims, and calls for accountability.
Selective Morality. Exposing the racism of the MeToo movement, if you are Jewish, and you are sexually assaulted, it’s acceptable because you are Jewish!
JEWISH PIONEERS OF FEMINISM
The feminist movement is inseparable from Jewish contributions, driven by a tradition of justice and tikkun olam – repairing the world. Jews were among the first to champion women’s equality, breaking ground in government, science, religious leadership, and anti-apartheid activism, setting precedents that feminist organizations later betrayed by ignoring Jewish victims and aligning with anti-Israel narratives.
In government, Jewish women were trailblazers. Bella Abzug, a U.S. Representative in the 1960s and 1970s, known as “Battling Bella”, fiercely advocated for women’s and civil rights, instrumental in establishing Women’s Equality Day. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a Supreme Court Justice, reshaped gender equality law, ruling on landmark cases like Obergefell v. Hodges for same-sex marriage. Elena Kagan, appointed in 2010, became the fourth woman and eighth Jewish Supreme Court Justice, marking a historic moment with three female justices on the Court. Their leadership transformed American governance, advancing justice for all.
In science, Jewish women outpaced their peers. Vera Rubin discovered dark matter, revealing it constitutes 27% of the universe. Rosalind Franklin’s work on DNA’s molecular structure laid the foundation for the double helix model, though her male colleagues took credit. Ruth Arnon, with Michael Sela, synthesized the first synthetic antigen, revolutionizing immunology.
Jews also led in religious equality. Rabbi Regina Jonas, ordained in 1935 in Germany, argued for gender equality in Jewish law with her thesis, “Can a Woman Hold Rabbinical Office?” She served Berlin’s Jewish community under Nazi persecution and in Theresienstadt before her murder in Auschwitz in 1944, setting a precedent for female clergy that feminist groups later ignored.
The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, killing 146 mostly Jewish and Italian immigrant women, was a turning point. Jewish union organizer Clara Lemlich rallied for better wages and safety. Rose Schneiderman’s speech – “We have tried you good people and found you wanting” – spurred labor and feminist reforms. Ernestine Rose, a Polish-Jewish immigrant educated in Talmud by her rabbi father, won a legal battle at 16 to secure her inheritance, rejecting an arranged marriage. Arriving in America in 1836, she advocated for women’s suffrage and abolition, declaring, “It is not enough to assert a right; we must exercise it.” Betty Friedan’s 1963 The Feminine Mystique ignited second-wave feminism, while Gloria Steinem, influenced by her Jewish father, co-founded Ms. magazine. Emily Gross, a Jewish philanthropist, supported Susan B. Anthony’s suffrage campaigns. Hannah Greenebaum Solomon, founder of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) in 1893, accompanied Anthony to the 1904 International Council of Women in Berlin, advancing global women’s rights. Fannie Rosenberg Bigelow, president of the Rochester NCJW, bolstered Anthony’s local efforts. Jewish men like Herbert Marcuse critiqued capitalist patriarchy, and Saul Alinsky’s strategies empowered feminist groups. Scholars like Nehama Leibowitz and Blu Greenberg aligned Jewish practice with equality. Yet, modern organizations like the NCJW, which now align with anti-Israel narratives, betray the legacies of Rose, Solomon, and Bigelow, ignoring Jewish victims’ suffering.
HELEN SUZMAN: A FEMINIST FORCE AGAINST APARTHEID
Helen Suzman, a Jewish South African MP from 1953 to 1989, was a feminist icon who fought apartheid’s racial and gender injustices. As the sole Progressive Party MP for 13 years, she opposed discriminatory laws, including those restricting black women’s rights, and advocated for gender equality through prison visits exposing brutal conditions and support for abortion rights. Her relentless criticism of apartheid, including the Sharpeville massacre, and visits to prisoners like Nelson Mandela were pivotal to black liberation, galvanizing global sanctions and aiding the ANC’s 1994 victory. Her Jewish feminist principles of tikkun olam made her indispensable, yet feminist organizations betray her legacy by ignoring Jewish victims.
JEWISH FEMINISM’S GLOBAL IMPACT
Jewish feminists shaped global feminism, especially in Israel, where Zionist ideals embraced equality. The Yishuv granted women voting rights in 1919, second only to New Zealand. Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi and Hannah Maisel-Shohat organized agricultural collectives, promoting women’s economic independence. Marcia Freedman brought second-wave feminism to Israel, challenging sexist laws. Mizrahi feminism, led by Henriette Dahan-Kalev, addressed ethnic discrimination. Women in Black, founded by Jewish and Palestinian women, championed peace and equality. Hadassah built hospitals in Israel, empowering women through healthcare. These efforts redefined feminism as a universal fight for justice, making the betrayal by global movements – prioritizing Islamist ideals over Jewish feminists’ suffering – all the more painful.
FEMALE EQUALITY IN ISRAEL: A NON-SEXIST SOCIETY
Israel is a beacon of gender equality in a region where women’s rights are suppressed. Its 1948 Declaration of Independence promises equality for all, manifested in women’s leadership, military roles, and societal influence, making Israel a non-sexist society despite the betrayal of its feminist allies.
FEMALE LEADERSHIP IN ISRAEL
Golda Meir, prime minister from 1969 to 1974, led with strength. In 2008, women held top roles: Dorit Beinisch as Supreme Court president, Dalia Itzik as Knesset speaker, and Tzipi Livni as Kadima leader. Today, women like Sharren Haskel and Orna Berry shape politics and tech. Women comprise 30% of the Knesset, surpassing many Western democracies.
WOMEN IN THE IDF
Israel, the first nation to conscript women in 1949, integrates them into 90% of IDF roles, including combat since 1995. Female pilots flew bombing missions in the 2025 Iran war. Leaders like Lt. Col. Oshrat Bachar and Maj. Gen. Orna Barbivai broke barriers. Programs like Aluma support religious women’s service.
A FIRM GRIP ON SOCIETY
Israeli women dominate education (70% of teachers), healthcare (over 50% of doctors), and the judiciary (over 40% of judges). Tech leaders like Kira Radinsky drive innovation. The 1951 Women’s Equal Rights Law and anti-discrimination policies cement equality. The 2018 Tel Aviv protest of 30,000 women against domestic violence shows a society confronting gender challenges. Israel’s progress, unparalleled in the region, makes the feminist betrayal – sacrificing Jewish feminists’ progress for Islamist virtue signaling – unconscionable.
ISRAELI MEN: THE FORGOTTEN VICTIMS OF OCTOBER 7 SEXUAL VIOLENCE
The Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, was a calculated assault on human dignity, targeting Israeli civilians with unimaginable cruelty. The 7 October Parliamentary Commission Report, released by the British All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on UK-Israel on March 18, 2025, confirms systematic sexual violence, including rape and mutilation, against men and women across attack sites, corroborated by UN document A/HRC/58/NGO/223. Yet, feminist organizations, the UN, and NGOs have largely ignored male victims, abandoning them to silence that compounds their trauma.
In Gaza, Hamas persecutes gay men, with documented executions, reflecting its misogynistic ideology. Yet, on October 7, Hamas operatives engaged in homosexual sexual violence against Israeli men, using rape and torture to dehumanize victims, as detailed in The Roberts Report. This hypocrisy reveals Hamas’s use of sexual violence as a tool of terror, regardless of gender or orientation. Feminist groups’ failure to condemn these acts sends a devastating message to future male victims: their suffering may be ignored if it misaligns with political agendas, perpetuating a culture of silence and stigma.
Shame on Silence. To shouts of “Shame on you!” at a rally in London against UN women for their silence, actress Maureen Lipman (center), told the over 1,500 rally-goers: “The silence from our sisterhood is just deafening, especially from the UN. They are utterly silent over gang rapes, pelvises being broken. Why? Because Jewish women don’t count.”
THE BETRAYAL: FEMINISM’S ABANDONMENT AFTER OCTOBER 7,2023
The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, was a horrorscape of violence: Israeli women and men were raped, tortured, and murdered. The Roberts Report and UN document A/HRC/58/NGO/223 document “credible” evidence of systematic sexual violence, yet feminist organizations, the UN, and NGOs, built on Jewish contributions like Regina Jonas’s rabbinate, Bella Abzug’s legislative victories, Vera Rubin’s scientific breakthroughs, and Helen Suzman’s fight for justice, have especially betrayed Jewish feminists, kicked when they were down by aligning with narratives that vilify Israel and dismiss Jewish suffering. By failing to condemn this gender-based violence, women’s groups undermine the principle of “believe all women”, prioritizing Islamist ideals with a double standard: “believe all women – unless they are a Jew.”
Blood on the Pants. Standing before the statue of prominent suffragist Millicent Fawcett in London’s Parliament Square, a group of women wearing clothes stained with red paint around the crotch to replicate the images of women who were raped on October 7, hold posters which said “ME TOO UNLESS UR A JEW”.
FRANCESCA ALBANESE’S ANTISEMITISM
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur, embodies this betrayal with antisemitic attacks cloaked in UN legitimacy. She accuses Israel of “genocide” and “apartheid,” endorsing Hamas’s narrative while dismissing its October 7 atrocities. Her rhetoric, condemned by the U.S., France, and Germany, undermines Jewish victims’ testimonies, amplifying feminist abandonment.
UN COMPLICITY
The UN’s response was delayed and inadequate. Despite A/HRC/58/NGO/223 and The Roberts Report documenting sexual violence, a March 2024 UN report confirmed rapes but failed to condemn Hamas unequivocally. Antonio Guterres accused Israel of “misinformation,” undermining Jewish victims. UN Women’s eight-week delay for a tepid statement, contrasted with rapid reports on alleged Israeli violations, betrays Jewish feminists, contradicting “believe all women.”
NGO’S AND FEMINIST COLLUSION
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch fixate on accusing Israel of “genocide” and “war crimes,” ignoring Hamas’s sexual violence. Code Pink uses feminism to spread anti-Jewish hate, excusing Hamas’s atrocities. Women Deliver and the International Women’s Health Coalition (now part of Ipas) failed to condemn October 7. The Women’s March, which ousted Jewish co-founder Vanessa Wruble in 2017 for her perceived Zionism, remained silent. Jewish feminists Elyssa Schmier, who resigned from the DC Abortion Fund for supporting Israel, and Allison Tombros Korman, Senior Operations and Strategy Director at DCAF, who detailed her resignation due to antisemitic treatment in a Tablet Magazine article, exemplify this bigotry. Schmier stated on social media, “Intersectional feminism does not apply to Jewish women.” Korman founded the Red Tent Fund to advance abortion access rooted in Jewish values. Jewish women in reproductive rights coalitions reportedly face an anti-Zionist litmus test, sidelined for raising Israeli victims’ issues, betraying the feminist legacy of Rose, Franklin, Suzman, and Korman.
CALL TO ACTION: REJECT BETRAYERS’ FUNDING
The betrayal by the UN, Amnesty, HRW, Code Pink, Women Deliver, IWHC, Women’s March, Me Too International, V-Day, NWSA, and the Palestinian Feminist Collective demands accountability. These organizations, cloaking anti-Israel bias in feminist rhetoric, have abandoned Jewish feminists, undermining their contributions by prioritizing Islamist ideals. Jews and feminists must scrutinize charitable dollars, research recipients and refuse to fund betrayers who exclude Jewish victims and align with Hamas’s messaging.
CONCLUSION: RECLAIMING TRUE FEMINISM
As a gay man who cares desperately for women’s rights, I feel abandoned by feminist organizations that have forsaken Jewish feminists and male victims of the October 7, 2023, atrocities. Their silence demands a reckoning: Have these groups only ignored Jewish victims, or destroyed their integrity by prioritizing political agendas over justice? An investigation into their funding, leadership, and statements is essential. Jews and feminists must reject these betrayers, ensuring no dollar supports hate, so true feminism – rooted in justice for all – can be reclaimed.
*Feature picture: Sounds of Silence. Israeli women protest outside UN Headquarters in Jerusalem, in November. Finally, yet months too late, a UN team investigating the sexual violence against women in Israel on October 7 found “reasonable grounds” to believe that such violence did indeed occur. (credit: FLASH90)
DEDICATION
Schelly Talalay Dardashti, my cherished friend, advisor, and mentor, passed away on August 16, 2025. She was a woman of profound significance, whose wisdom and warmth touched countless lives. It was my immense honor to know her and call her my friend. I bow my head in deep respect and reverence, grappling with the unbearable truth that one of the greatest among us is gone. We remain but a shadow of her brilliance, forever inspired by her legacy. This article is written in her honor and memory.
About the writer:
Grant Arthur Gochin currently serves as the Honorary Consul for the Republic of Togo. He is the Emeritus Special Envoy for Diaspora Affairs for the African Union, which represents the fifty-five African nations, and Emeritus Vice Dean of the Los Angeles Consular Corps, the second largest Consular Corps in the world. Gochin is actively involved in Jewish affairs, focusing on historical justice. He has spent the past twenty five years documenting and restoring signs of Jewish life in Lithuania. He has served as the Chair of the Maceva Project in Lithuania, which mapped / inventoried / documented / restored over fifty abandoned and neglected Jewish cemeteries. Gochin is the author of “Malice, Murder and Manipulation”, published in 2013. His book documents his family history of oppression in Lithuania. He is presently working on a project to expose the current Holocaust revisionism within the Lithuanian government. Professionally, Gochin is a Certified Financial Planner and practices as a Wealth Advisor in California, where he lives with his family. Personal site: https://www.grantgochin.com/
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
Succumbing to Hamas propaganda, South Africa’s government is part of an immoral minority on the wrong side of history
By Derek Arnolds
(recently retired senior intelligence analyst in South Africa’s Secret Service)
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7th, 2023, South Africa has emerged as the most vitriolic opponent of Israel over the latter’s military actions in Gaza. This article posits that Hamas’s propaganda war has fundamentally shaped South Africa’s policy vis-à-vis Israel. Employing discourse and deconstruction techniques, it unpacks the motivations for this negative trajectory trend. Despite a less-than-sanguine prognosis in resetting Israel-South Africa bilateral relations, renewed hope is possible if the South African government withdraws the International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case against Israel in The Hague.
Dressed to Kill. The war between Israel and Hamas has exposed deep divisions in South Africa, with the government’s one-sided support for the terrorist group as reflected by President Ramaphosa and his ANC collogues attired in Palestinian headscarf’s and colours.
Pretoria, then under the leadership of Hamas’ acolyte, the rapacious and morally bankrupt African National Congress (ANC), took the Kafkaesque step to charge the only Jewish state with genocide in the ICJ. Apart from the genocide case being meritless, it is the timing that reveals the extent of Hamas’ influence on South Africa’s foreign policy viz-a-viz Israel. Shortly after Hamas’ genocidal attacks on Israeli border communities, the South African government, under the direction of Naledi Pandor, former minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), used various platforms to issue the vilest statements against the Israeli government for purported “genocidal actions”, while providing moral succour to Hamas leaders such as the late Ismail Haniyeh. Pandor initially denied engaging with Hamas leaders, only to admit it later. Most disturbingly, Pandor and the ANC leadership failed to immediately condemn the perpetrator of the October 7th massacre despite Israel exercising its right to self-defence according to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
Pandor pandering to Terrorists. Ten days after Hamas launched its deadly attack resulting in a massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, did not call Israel’s leaders to offer condolences for the mass killings but phoned instead the leader of Hamas to offer support.
South Africa’s cabinet then took the reckless decision to close its embassy in Tel Aviv, disrespecting officials of the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, which prompted Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recall Ambassador Eliav Belotserkovsky, and laid a genocide case against the Jewish state just a few months after October 7. This is not isolated and fits a familiar pattern:
Hamas and its principal patron, Iran, have gradually captured South Africa’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Hamas and Iran have done this through disinformation campaigns, messaging, imagery, symbols, and media narratives, thereby controlling the narrative ecosystem in South Africa. This predates October 7. Pandor’s successor, Ronald Lamola and the puerile Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, minister in the presidency, continue to spew anti-Israel venom to the delight of Hamas and Iran supporters in South Africa.
South Africa’s AND government support for Hamas goes back in time as seen here of Hamas officials, Khaled Mashaal (left) and Moussa Abu-Marzouk (right) at a press conference with officials of South Africa’s ANC party, in Pretoria on Monday, October 19, 2015 (screen capture: YouTube)
It is abundantly clear why Israel views the South African government as the most antisemitic following the genocide case. Since the war, South Africa has intensified its hackneyed broadside against Israel in international forums. This also resonates in statements, speech acts and policy positions of the South African government. The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, were influenced by South Africa’s hostile anti-Israel policy. Subsequent threats by Israel’s staunchest allies, France, Canada and the United Kingdom, to recognise a Palestinian state in September 2025 if no solution to the Gaza war is found, are a corollary of South Africa’s extremist anti-Israel policy. The timing of the genocide case warrants special scrutiny. The threshold for proving genocide is high, yet it took South Africa’s legal team less than four months to present its initial charge in The Hague. A case not in South Africa’s national interest, Israel’s allies in South Africa’s coalition government should pose the following necessitating an appropriate reply:
– When, where, and why was the egregious decision taken to charge Israel with genocide?
– Was it a coterie of ministers or a whole cabinet that deliberated on the matter? If so, was it a closed meeting? If it were not a closed meeting, then the minutes of that meeting should be made available to the South African public as per Section 32 of the South African Constitution, which guarantees the right of access to information. This is apposite since, in terms of the law of armed conflict, Israel has taken reasonable steps to prevent genocide during the initial stages of the conflict. The genocide case does not advance peace between Israel and Palestine, and only emboldens Israel’s enemies, like Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Yemen’s Houthis and the homicidal Iranian regime.
Hamas at home in South Africa. Chief of Hamas Politburo, Khaled Mashaal addressing the media following bilateral meeting with ANC leadership in South Africa in 2015.
While historically, Hamas maintained close ties with the ANC under the pretext of being fraternal liberation movements, Hamas is not a liberation movement but an armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood hellbent on obliterating the State of Israel. Although Hamas’s military capabilities and senior leadership have been eliminated, it remains intact relying on – as Netanel Flamer masterfully explains in his new book, The Hamas Intelligence War Against Israel – geospatial, human, open-source, signals intelligence and cyber warfare against Israel. This was laid bare on October 7th.
Another dimension – although not addressed by Flamer – is Hamas’ influence on countries like Algeria, South Africa, Qatar and Türkiye. It is known that Hamas has ‘declared’ and ‘undeclared’ officials abroad, who promote the organisation’s extremist ideology as defender of the Palestinian resistance. According to open-source information, the movement has no official representation in South Africa. However, since October 7th, ANC officials and senior government members have openly met with senior Hamas leaders. In addition, Hamas’ propaganda war against Israel has emboldened extremism in some circles in South Africa. On a casual drive through some of Cape Town’s Muslim suburbs, one would be astounded by the sheer number of mosques festooned in the colours of the Palestinian flag as well as the flags of terrorist organisations – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. Pro-Palestine groups like Africa4Palestine have been leading the campaign to delegitimise the Jewish state, impose sanctions and prosecute South Africans who serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Social media is abuzz with imams glorifying the October 7th attacks, and one useful idiot even uttering:
“We are all Hamas”.
‘Gunning’ for Jews. Jewish-owned businesses are being targeted by BDS SA for purported links to the Israeli government and the IDF such as this branch in Cape Town of Cape Union Mart, an outdoor gear retail chain founded in 1933.
Jewish-owned businesses are being targeted for purported links to the Israeli government and the IDF. Hamas’s messaging is clear: Most Jewish-owned companies aid and abet the “genocide” in Gaza. This is a fallacy since South African Jews are part of our society and have made a remarkable contribution to the Republic. It has always been recognised in South Africa that Israel, as the ancestral home of the Jewish people, is central to Jewish identity. However, useful idiots under the direction of Hamas and Iran have turned the Israel-Palestine conflict, which is a political conflict over territories, into a religious conflict. Scornful terms, notably, “apartheid”, “baby killers”, “occupiers”, “war criminals” and “genocidaires” are bandied about and have been normalized resulting in the “New Antisemitism”. Despite several countries taking steps to designate Hamas as a terrorist organisation, the movement nevertheless enjoys strong support in South Africa. This threatens South Africa’s Jewish community as well as the country’s national security. Recent findings by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering watchdog, reveal that South Africa is a central regional hub for terror financing. It should be noted that South Africa remains on the FATF grey list pending progress in compliance. However, the relevant South African authorities have been ineffective in combating this scourge. It behooves law enforcement and the civilian intelligence agencies to monitor suspected Hamas financiers, institutions and their modus operandi. More importantly, the State Security Agency, a once rarefied institution, turned into a Potemkin agency by the feckless Ntshavheni, who is also responsible for state security, should immediately investigate if there are links between DIRCO officials and Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood members in South Africa and abroad. In this context, the South African government often deploys ANC loyalists and demagogues to key postings, instead of career diplomats. In April 2017, Ambassador Ashraf Suleiman, then South Africa’s head of the Ramallah Liaison Office, met Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders in Gaza. The meeting took place in the same year that the ANC passed a resolution to downgrade the South African embassy in Tel Aviv to a liaison office. Suleiman’s meeting with Hamas terrorists drew condemnation from Jerusalem. The liaison office’s riposte was that the mission is mandated to meet with all Palestinian political entities. The same ambassador is now serving as South Africa’s Head of Diplomatic Mission in Syria, which is governed by génocidaires and terrorists. South Africa’s ambassador Ebrahim Rasool’s expulsion in March 2025 from Washington, DC, was hardly surprising when, over and above his public antipathy towards Israel, it was revealed that Rasool had expressed during a webinar that Trump was “mobilising a supremacism” and trying to “project white victimhood as a dog whistle” as the white population faced becoming a minority in the US. Hardly an astute choice of words for a prospective diplomat to Washinton, DC!
Talking Heads. Former South African President, Jacob Zuma (left) engages in conversation with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. (Photo: Reuters/S.Sibeko)
It is palpable that Hamas is ascendant in the information operations domain, as antisemitism across the globe has increased dramatically, as evidenced by the magnitude of violent attacks against Jews. The South African government is now part of an immoral minority on the wrong side of history. It chose to pursue a case that elicited opprobrium from the American administration, its second-largest trading partner. This is the unintended consequence of siding with extremist entities such as Hamas and Iran. The best South Africa can do to extricate itself from an unfavourable situation – both morally and financially – is to withdraw its genocide case against Israel which is anyway grounded on fallacious reasoning. In the main, most South Africans have an affinity for Israel, and let it be known that the ANC’s position on Israel does not represent all South Africans. It is a position that reeks of “ideological necrophilia” – blind fixation with dead ideas. In a related vein, the media landscape is seemingly dominated by leftists or liberals who have abandoned classical liberalism to direct hateful scorn against the Jewish state. Contrarian or alternative perspectives are deemed as Zionist and pro-Israel. A Derridean approach of recent analyses by so-called pundits fits this pattern. On August 4th, 2025, Ziad Motala, professor of law at Howard University in the United States, penned an article in the Sunday Independent, titled “Propaganda masquerading as strategic realism”, wherein he took broadsides against the Sunday Times, a venerable South African newspaper. The central plank of Motala’s thesis is that the Sunday Times’s editorial integrity and journalistic objectivity had been compromised through its overt support for Israel and America and the Sunday Times had always welcomed diverse opinions. Motala further took umbrage at the newspaper’s journalists, who have advocated for improved bilateral relations between Israel and South Africa. Scornfully, Motala highlights a recent trip to Israel – sponsored by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) – by one of the newspaper’s staffers. The newspaper initially did not disclose the fact that the SAJBD sponsored its staffer’s trip; it later acknowledged the omission. Motala remained unforgiving and insisted that the paper’s editorial integrity had been captured by pro-Israel and pro-American apologists. What Motala failed to mention was that the SAJBD paid for the staffer’s trip to observe the objective reality on the ground, without fear of favour. Liberals who share Motala’s perspective have forsaken classical liberalism.
Situation at Knife’s Edge. Addressing a rally in Hamas’ honor in Cape Town, South Africa in 2015, Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal told a crowd of several hundred supporters waving Hamas’s white-and-green flags that the wave of knife attacks against Israelis would continue “until freedom is achieved and the land is for Palestine ….” (Photo: AFP/Rodger Bosch)
The renowned American political scientist, Francis Fukuyama, deftly defends classical liberalism, based on limited government, the rule of law, and individual rights, and criticizes those on the political right and left that have pushed its core tenets to the extreme. In essence, the crisis of liberalism is not a failure of the classic variant, but rather the tolerance of authoritarianism, ethno-nationalism, extremism and bigotry under the guise of liberalism.
At the time of writing, Israel is about to launch a major offensive on Gaza City to eliminate any vestige of Hamas, ensure a steady supply of humanitarian aid to Gazans, and allow the enclave to be rebuilt and governed by a non-Hamas entity. Despite the entreaties of its sponsors, Hamas refuses to disarm and leave the Strip. As Hamas will eventually be eliminated in Gaza, it still poses threats abroad. Qatar and Türkiye continue to host Hamas leaders, who, by extension, were complicit in the October 7th attacks on Israel. These leaders, including Khaled Meshaal, Bassem Naim, Mousa Abu Marzouk and Khalil al-Hayya, should be brought to justice as designated terrorists. South Africa should take a noble step to designate Hamas and its parent, the Muslim Brotherhood, as terrorist organisations. Several countries, like Switzerland and Britain, have banned Hamas activities in their territories. While Hamas’s military capabilities have been degraded, it is almost a Sisyphean task to destroy its extremist ideology, which permeates the globe. Therefore, its activities in South Africa should be closely monitored.
Israel should not abandon South Africa, as the country cannot be blamed for a venal ANC that is on life support and afflicted with political atrophy. Despite strained diplomatic relations, South Africa remains Israel’s largest trading partner in Africa. Thus, Israel must intensify a sustainedstrategic communications campaignto counter Hamas and Iran’s grey zone operations in South Africa and beyond. David Saranga, Israel’s special envoy and seasoned diplomat, recently undertook an outreach and fact-finding mission to South Africa to open a dialogue channel between the two countries. This Israeli initiative is commendable, yet the biggest obstacle is the ICJ genocide case. The Israeli government can rest assured that it has allies in South Africa’s coalition government, who should exert pressure on the ANC, which initiated the ICJ case, to withdraw the lawsuit. Article 88 of the Rules of the ICJ makes provision for parties to withdraw a case “either by jointly notifying the Court of their agreement to discontinue the proceedings or by the applicant state informing the court that it no longer wishes to pursue the case”. The said Court may then direct that the case be removed from the list. Continued lawfare against Israel militates against dialogue between Israel and Palestine, is costly to the South African taxpayer, and only advances the extremist ideologies of Hamas and Iran.
About the writer:
Derek Arnolds is a freelance writer and corporate intelligence specialist. Educated at the universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, he previously held a teaching position in strategic studies at the South African Military Academy. He later served as a senior intelligence analyst for Africa and the Middle East in the South African Secret Service (later the State Security Agency: Foreign Branch). He retired from the Agency in May 2025.
Disclaimer: Although I previously served in the South African defence department and intelligence services, the opinions expressed in this article reflect my independent, open-source research. They are not intended, in any way, to reflect the views of the South African government.
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).
How secure are Jews in Belgium after recent court decision relating to “sharp knife” threat?
By David E. Kaplan
Following this week’s outrageous Belgian court acquittal of hate speech by the country’s novelist, poet, playwright and columnist Herman Brusselmans, chairman of the European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin WARNED in his condemnation of the ruling:
“It legitimizes calls for the murder of Jews without legal consequences.”
The violent verbiage that the case revolved around was Brusselmans’ penning that he wants to:
“…shove a sharp knife into the throat of every Jew.”
The Untouchable. Belgium justice, Herman Brusselmans who wanted to ‘ram a knife down Jews’ throats’ acquitted in Ghent court. (photo: James Arthur Gekiere/Belga MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
One can hardly take issue with the European Jewish Association chairman’s warning considering that only last year, in July 2024, the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) found in a survey that:
97% of Jews in Belgium claimed to have encountered anti-Semitism in their daily lives
68% of Jews in Belgium have encountered online anti-Semitism. This is higher than the EU average of 61%
40% of Jews claimed to have avoided Jewish events due to feelings of insecurity
54% of Jews in Belgium claimed to have avoided certain locations for fear of being attacked
With this frightful scenario for the Jews in a country that saw of its 66,000 Jews in May 1940, around 28,000 murdered during the Holocaust, the Belgian court, not only against Brusselmans dropped charges, it for the Jewish community dropped a bombshell. That “bombshell” is the frightening realization that Jews are not welcome, and their continued stay in Belgium is:
“At your own risk”
Who will protect them? Not the courts!
The case against Brusselmans was that In August 2024, the Belgian novelist published a controversial column in the Dutch-language magazine Humo in relation to the rising tension from the Gaza war , where he threatened:
“I want to ram a sharp knife through the throat of every Jew I meet.”
Note that Brusselmans does not specify any specific Jews that he might have quarrel with but “every” Jew he meets, in other words those within knife-reach. Brusselmans’ column was rightly condemned by the head of the Brussels office of B’nai B’rith International as a “blatant incitement to violence against Jews, in one of Belgium’s largest magazines.”
The concern was justified when only a month later, in September 2024, Belgium’s federal equality agency reported a 1,000% increase in antisemitic incidents in the two months following the outbreak in October 2023 of the Israel-Hamas War when compared to similar periods in previous years. In the wake of these staggering statistics, the issue of education came into play when the International Movement for Peace and Coexistence (IMPAC) raised concerns of bias with regard to how the Palestinian-Israel conflict is presented in Belgian schools.
Condescendingly, the court acknowledged that “certain members of the Jewish community may have been offended by some sentences in a few columns.”
“Some sentences” and “may have” offended!!!! The words of the judge are as dangerous and most certainly as despicable as the words of the accused.
Poison Pen. Arabic for Intifada, this image from the “Knife Intifada” resonates with the words of legally unshackled Belgium writer, Herman Brusselmans.
We are talking about words that amounted to a threat to murder Jews in a manner very popular by Palestinian terrorists – the knife! There was in recent history a period of intense violence against Israelis that was referred to as “The Knife Intifada”. Today, knife attacks are again in Israel on the rise. Nevertheless, the court found the words by Brusselmans that he wants to “…shove a sharp knife into the throat of every Jew” mere “…expressions of opinion,” that are “protected by the right to freedom of expression”.
The court further held that:
“The texts also do not show that the defendant wanted to incite hatred and violence against members of the Jewish community…He only wanted to present an opinion piece or a value judgment in his well-known writing style.”
Defying any other explanation other than a judiciary tainted by antisemitism – hardly an unexpected trait in European history – Michel Kotek, the chairman of the Jewish Information and Documentation Centre, calledthe ruling “a disgrace to the Belgian judiciary.” In this same interview with the European Jewish Press (EJP), European Jewish Association chairman, Rabbi Margolin accurately warned that
“By issuing such a verdict, the Belgian judiciary sends a dangerous message: incitement to murder and hatred can be reinterpreted, excused, and ultimately legitimized — at least when the targets are Jews.”
Brusselmans is now free to continue his vicious verbal attacks against Jews. The “Belgium constitution” is protecting him and now others, so who will protect Belgium’s increasingly vulnerable Jews? This court verdict will amplify the call for antisemites to join the crusade against a terrified community that “70% of them” hide their identity in public. The unprotected Jew has seen this all too often before in Europe – they are, in the single word of Rabbi Margolin, “targets”.
Jaundiced Justice. “It legitimizes calls for the murder of Jews,” responds European Jewish Association chairman, Rabbi Menachem Margolin to the Belgium court acquittal of Herman Brusselmans.
Today’s Israelis are all too familiar with the shrieking and terrifying sound of the ‘AZAKA’ – the siren. It’s a warning to seek immediate protection from incoming missiles. This Belgium court decision is no less a ‘siren’ – a warning to Jews to seek secure shelter in a Europe that is returning to old but nefarious habits.
Herman Brusselmans may be the “most famous writer in the Low Countries” but he is also responsible for bringing his country’s judiciary to one of its lowest point in its history.
One year after October 7th, it is still October 7th. Every day is that horrible day when Gaza invaded and changed everything.
It is a feeling I don’t know if people outside of Israel can understand. So many seem to assume that October 7th is an event that the people of Israel should just “get over” – that time has passed and it is possible to move on.
It’s not possible. Every day will be October 7th until we deal with the problem the Hamas invasion made it impossible to ignore…
It was a few months after the invasion when a visiting American politician asked me how much October 7th affected the people of Israel.
I tried to explain what it’s like to live in a country with one degree of separation. For anyone coming from a large country like America, it is hard to comprehend just how small Israel is and how connected we all are.
My friend’s daughter was murdered at the Nova.
Michal Murdered. A daughter of a friend, the writer had known Michal since she was a child. Then came October 7, “and I was attending her funeral.”
I’ve since become friends with families of people who were taken hostage and gotten a glimpse of what it is like to walk in their shoes.
On October 7, my younger son’s army unit was called to Nir Oz. He described the kibbutz as being a place of fire and brimstone. Every house was broken into and the cars were on fire. They had to step over bodies to get into the kibbutz to pull survivors out of their homes and take them to a safe place. He guarded them while others searched the kibbutz to see if any terrorists remained in the homes. There wasn’t a lot to do but watch, wait, and listen to the most horrific conversations imaginable:
“Where is my mother/sister/neighbor?”
“Taken to Gaza.”
“Have you seen my husband/brother/friend?”
“Yeah, they murdered him.”
My son’s friend, a boy, he did a year of voluntary service with before enlisting; a boy he lived with in a commune (so they got to know each other very well) – that boy’s brothers, twins, were both killed on October 7. They had seen that our people were being slaughtered, so they took their personal firearms and drove to the south to save whoever they could.
BOTH of them were killed.
Bloodied Bunkbed. This is where the killers from Gaza stood and slaughtered children at a home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
At this point in my description, the American who asked the question stopped me. He couldn’t take in more.
I didn’t tell him about my friend’s family in Be’eri who were slaughtered. Her husband, his sister, and her twin grandchildren. I didn’t describe what it was like to walk in the places where they were murdered. Or tell of their family members who I met after and the trauma they carry.
I didn’t tell him about my friend in Alumim who survived, but carried the burden of those she knows who did not. Of her descriptions of being evacuated from her home. Or about her husband who died not long afterwards. It seems he died of heartache but who can say?
I didn’t speak of my friend Adele who survived the slaughter in Nirim and has spent much of her time since advocating for the hostages, managing her online platform and speaking for Israel abroad. Or of her neighbor Motti Bluestein who showed me some of the damage in their kibbutz and told me the stories of what happened that day.
I didn’t speak of the soldiers whose funerals and shivas I’ve been to – our neighbors, sons of our friends, soldiers who served with our friends’ sons, families we’ve known for years, and families we met for the first time in the worst moments of their lives.
It was before our other son’s very good friend Dor was killed by a Hezbollah drone.
Facing the Faces. Many public places in Israel are now filled with stickers honoring and memorializing the dead, usually with their photo and a sentence or saying that captures the essence of their personality. These are spontaneous displays, a sign of many people motivated in the same way to retain something of people they loved. On this wall in a Tel Aviv train station, I see many faces I know well.
It was before I sat down and talked to my friend’s son, Eitan Halley about what it was like to be in the shelter from which Hersh Goldberg Polin was taken hostage, where Hersh’s best friend Aner stood in between the invaders and the innocents cowering behind him and threw back grenade after grenade until he couldn’t anymore. Eitan, who watched Aner and told himself:
“I have to learn how to do what he is doing because, if something happens to him, I have to step into his shoes”.
And then when Aner died, he saw. And he stepped up and fought back. Miraculously he survived when so many others did not. What is it like to be in his head now?
I didn’t describe our friend who lives in on the northern border who refused to be evacuated and how every time the red alert notifies of missiles being shot at her community, we brace ourselves until we learn that something else blew up and not her house, not her.
Can a stranger to this country understand the experience of talking to someone you don’t know and, in a few minutes, them telling you their trauma from October 7? Of friends who messaged them as they were being killed. Of not knowing if their son or daughter was alive or hostage. How are you? isn’t supposed to be a terrifying question to ask…
My friend’s children who are fighting in Gaza, and friends of our boys are an extended circle to worry about. That tension is always in the background, so much so that it’s not even something we mention. It’s just there. All the time.
As is the horror of there still being hostages in Gaza. People we know, or people we know, they know. People whose stories we connected to through the TV so much so that it feels like we know them – because we do. They are us. Children and grandparents, young people at a party, sons and daughters serving in the army. They are all of us.
Barbarism at Be’eri. The hoards from Gaza came through Kibbutz Be’eri leaving in their wake death and destruction. (Photo: Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)
And that doesn’t even begin to describe the panic of being bombarded by ballistic missiles from Iran, watching the missiles rain down live on TV (or outside as happened to some of my unlucky friends), and seeing the missiles from our air defense system rise up to intercept them – not enough to keep them all away, and incapable of preventing huge pieces of shrapnel falling and smash everything in their path. There are no words to describe how infuriating it is to hear that Iran’s attack, spraying the country with missiles the size of buses “caused no damage” knowing that hundreds of homes were damaged and that the fact that no Israeli was killed was an absolute miracle.
Or the new terror of soldiers, our sons, and fathers, brothers and friends, having to go into Lebanon to remove Hezbollah Radwan commandos from our border – Hezbollah’s highly trained soldiers, a thousand times more deadly than the gleeful murderers of Gaza.
There are not enough words to explain how much October 7 has affected the people of Israel. It is everywhere. With every breath we take.
And even those who ask how we are, don’t really want to hear the answer. It’s too much. Perhaps the real problem is that if you understand the depth of the horror, you cannot look away. You learn what evil looks like and you have to act. You cannot stop until it’s destroyed.
This picture encapsulates a fraction of what it is like to be in October 7th every day. To carry it with us, everywhere. McDonald’s in Israel. While the employees prepare food, while people consider what to order, the faces of the hostages, on after the other, silently watch from the tv screen.
About the writer:
Forest Rain Marcia is an American-born Israeli who lives in northern Israel. She’s a branding expert and storyteller. Her passion is giving voice to the stories of Israel illuminating its profound events, cherished values, and exemplary role models that transcend borders, casting Israel as an eternal wellspring of inspiration and strength for a global audience.
Forest Rain made Aliyah at the age of thirteen. After her IDF service, she co-developed and co-directed a project to aid victims of terrorism and war. These activities gave her extensive first-hand experience with the emotional and psychological processes of civilians, soldiers, and their families, wounded and/or bereaved and traumatized by terrorism and war (grief, guilt, PTSD, etc). Throughout the years, she has continued to voice the stories, pain, and strength of traumatized Israelis to motivate others to provide support and counter the hate that threatens Jews in Israel, around the world, and Western civilization itself through the understanding that what begins with the Jews never ends with Jews.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
Unveiling the contours and contrasts of an ever-changing Middle East landscape Reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond
Also available on YouTube@The Israel Brief – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.
What’s happening in Israel today? See from every Monday – Thursday LOTL’s The Israel Brief broadcasts and on our Facebook page and YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA, broadcasting out of Virginia, USA.
Flames over Yemen Israel strikes back sending powerful message – “We Can Reach You!”
Painful Payload. Yemen’s Hodeidah Port engulfed in flames after Israeli F-15 jets flew over 1,800km (1,118 miles), following Iran’s backed Houthi regime’s drone attack on Tel Aviv on Friday, killing a 50-year-old Israeli.
Articles
Please note there is a facility to comment beneath each article should you wish to express an opinion on the subject addressed.
(1)
What the ICC Gets Wrong about Israel
With modern war increasingly urban, the ICC ruling against Israel has in fact criminalized the very act of war itself in its current manifestation. By Major (Ret) John Spencer
Front Line Up-Close. “Gaza, I think, is the most fiendishly difficult urban setting of any since 1945 and that includes …major urban battles of Vietnam,” says the writer, who is seen here (l) with Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus (r) and Israeli troops in Gaza.
What’s Cooking? McDonald’s is buying back all of its Israeli restaurants over local franchisee’s public support for Israel or is that truly the reason? The writer seen here at a McDonald’s in Ra’anana, looks beyond the food-giant’s menu to the real meat in this evolving story.
Instead of breathing death, they could breathe in lavender – a rescue solution in the face of unbearable reality By Forest Rain Marcia
Loving Lavender. “Farmer Dan” at home on his moshav ‘Kanaf’ on the Golan Heights with his cultivated lilac lavender. How would this scented evergreen plant help a dire situation created by the horrors of the October 7 massacre?
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).
Instead of breathing death, they could breathe in lavender – a rescue solution in the face of unbearable reality.
By Forest Rain Marcia
I don’t particularly like lavender, but a farm dedicated ONLY to lavender?! I thought that would be something worth seeing. I never imagined I’d hear about lavender saving Israel but then in Israel, you never know what you will discover.
Beauty and the Feast. A visual feast of shrubs and tranquility greets the visitor to moshav Kanaf on the Golan.
Azizo Lavender Farm is located in the community of Kanaf in the Golan Heights. The name “Azizo” is inspired by a Latin inscription discovered on a lintel of the ancient synagogue in Deir Aziz, where modern Kanaf now stands. Farmer Dan and his wife Lilach chose this name to honor the deep historical connection to the land and the water source by the same name that sustained the ancient community and continues to nourish their lavender fields today.
Golan’s Past – Sights & Sounds. Near Kanaf are the ruins of a Jewish village from the Talmudic Period where visitors can walk around an ancient synagogue and imagine the voices of prayer that were heard here 1500 years ago.
The place is beautiful and full of purple accents – and fresh lavender smells much better than the lavender scent used in perfumes and detergents.
Farmer Dan happily explained the history of the business, growing and harvesting lavender. His lavender brought a small but crucial revolution to Israeli households. Everyone used to use moth balls to protect clothes – an effective but terrible-smelling solution. The first Azizo product was small bags of lavender to use instead. They work so well and last so long that some Kanaf residents still use the ones they bought in 1987!!
Farmer Dan and his wife Lilach from moshav Kanaf/ Golan Heights
The farm now sells a large variety of products made with their lavender – everything from chocolate, liqueur, honey, and lavender ice cream to lavender-based toiletries.
Nice, wholesome, and a little boring until suddenly farmer Dan told us about October 7th.
We didn’t know to ask. Who would think that a flower farm in the north of Israel had anything to do with the horrors of the Hamas invasion in the south?
Deep Purple. A floral fragrance lingers above this Lavender field on moshav Kanaf on the Golan Heights.
On October 7th Dan got a phone call from a woman begging for help. Her husband was among those evacuating bodies of the massacred to the Shura Camp near Ramla in central Israel for identification. Within hours, the rooms of the camp were piled to the ceiling with bodies and the smell was unbearable.
The soul could not deal with what they were seeing. The task needed to be done but the workers were becoming physically ill.
“You have to help me!” she pleaded.
The next day the Shura teams received Dan’s solution – small bags of lavender which they inserted inside their face masks and lavender oil they could drip on the masks themselves. Instead of breathing death, they could breathe in lavender.
The invaders massacred Jews to try to disconnect us from our land. Flowers born of the ancient love story between the Jewish People and our ancestral homeland, between this land and her People, saved the day.
Loving Lavender. “Farmer Dan” at home with his lavender on his moshav Kanaf on the Golan Heights overlooking the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).
Flowers protected those doing the unspeakably horrible and deeply sacred work of identifying the massacred. They enabled the families of Israel to get much-needed answers. We used sheer determination and technology too but we needed flowers, a blessing from the land herself to finish the job.
Think about that.
About the writer:
Forest Rain is an American-born Israeli who lives in northern Israel. She’s a branding expert and storyteller. Her passion is giving voice to the stories of Israel illuminating its profound events, cherished values, and exemplary role models that transcend borders, casting Israel as an eternal wellspring of inspiration and strength for a global audience.
Forest Rain made Aliyah at the age of thirteen. After her IDF service, she co-developed and co-directed a project to aid victims of terrorism and war. These activities gave her extensive first-hand experience with the emotional and psychological processes of civilians, soldiers, and their families, wounded and/or bereaved and traumatized by terrorism and war (grief, guilt, PTSD, etc). Throughout the years, she has continued to voice the stories, pain, and strength of traumatized Israelis to motivate others to provide support and counter the hate that threatens Jews in Israel, around the world, and Western civilization itself through the understanding that what begins with the Jews never ends with Jews.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
Unveiling the contours and contrasts of an ever-changing Middle East landscape Reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond
Also available on YouTube@The Israel Brief – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.
What’s happening in Israel today? See from every Monday – Thursday LOTL’s The Israel Brief broadcasts and on our Facebook page and YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA, broadcasting out of Virginia, USA.
Please note there is a facility to comment beneath each article should you wish to express an opinion on the subject addressed.
(1)
AN OPEN LETTER TO NALEDI PANDOR
South Africa’s outgoing foreign minister showed ZERO concern for Israelis that experienced a massacre and whose women were raped and abused by the very people Pandor embraces. By Rolene Marks
If Africa is inept at solving problems on its doorsteps, how does that make it adept at solving the problems of others a continent away? Go figure! ByKenneth Mokgatlhe
It’s not every day that I read headlines at home in Israel and think of classic American folk-rock songs. In fact, it has never happened before. Until recently. By Jonathan Feldstein
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
Unveiling the contours and contrasts of an ever-changing Middle East landscape Reliable reportage and insightful commentary on the Middle East by seasoned journalists from the region and beyond
Also available on YouTube@The Israel Brief – Simply click on the red subscribe button to receive alerts when a new report is posted.
What’s happening in Israel today? See from every Monday – Thursday LOTL’s The Israel Brief broadcasts and on our Facebook page and YouTube by seasoned TV & radio broadcaster, Rolene Marks familiar to Chai FM listeners in South Africa and millions of American listeners to the News/Talk/Sports radio station WINA, broadcasting out of Virginia, USA.
AN OPEN LETTER FROM ISRAEL TO SOUTH AFRICA’S FOREIGN MINISTER NALEDI PANDOR
If you can vote in Ramallah but not in Tel-Aviv, is South Africa ‘stage-managing’ who it wants to vote and not vote? By Kenneth Mokgatlhe
Dangerously Divisive. “Is it possible Minister Pandor to love and support Palestinewithout hating Israel and its people?” asks the writer, an independent columnist studying at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
Obsessed with trying to undermine Israel at every opportunity, South Africa ignores genuine genocides closer to home. By Allan Wolman
Selective Sight. South Africa has only eyes for Palestinians a continent away, while closer to home, counties are ablaze like here in the Sudan on 1 September 2023.
Perspectives and insights of Israel’s current war with Gaza from writers in the Arab media
While many of these articles are heavily slanted against Israel, Lay of the Land views it important for its readers to be exposed to the conversations throughout the Arab world that impact Israel and the Jewish 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).
