Brandon Marlon, at The Blogs

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Jul 20, 2024, 3:24 PM

Heartland of the Homeland: Judea & Samaria

Map concept by Brandon Marlon. © Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies, 2021.

For the Jewish people, the ancient tribal territories of eastern Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and western Menasheh—also known as “Judea & Samaria”—form the very heartland of the homeland. In the contemporary political climate, ceding these foundational areas remains an ongoing...

Jun 24, 2024, 10:49 AM

Top 7 Lessons of 10/7

"The Cry of the Kidnapped", by artist Benzi Bronfman, painted to raise awareness of the urgency of freeing the hostages. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Solve Problems Sooner When They Are Smaller, or Be Overwhelmed by Them Later When They Are Larger Hamas was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and half a dozen other militant Islamists in 1987 as an offshoot of the Palestinian...

Dec 1, 2023, 7:43 PM

Rafah: A Brief History

Rafah columns sketch by Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria, 1881. Source: Wikimedia Commons

While it does not feature in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Rafah (Arabic; Rafiah in Hebrew; Rapihu in Assyrian; Raphia in Greek) is an ancient seaside town along the Mediterranean coast. Like Gaza, the main site of Rafah was slightly...

Nov 28, 2023, 8:13 PM

Khan Yunis: A Brief History

Khan Yunis inn, western corner facade (1930s). Source: Wikimedia Commons

In 1387/1388 CE, upon the order of Sultan Barquq of the Mameluke Sultanate of Egypt, the wealthy emir and executive secretary Yunus ibn Abdallah an-Nawruzi ad-Dawadar established a roadside inn at the existing village of Salqah (as-Silqa), southwest of...

Nov 16, 2023, 2:54 AM

Gaza: A Brief History

Gaza synagogue mosaic depicting King David of Israel as Orpheus, c. 508/509 CE. Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Ancient Era The lengthy history of the city of Gaza (Greek; Azzah in Hebrew; Ghazzah in Arabic) originates in remotest antiquity. An ancient seaport whose main town originally rested slightly inland upon a low-lying hill along the southern Coastal...

Oct 10, 2023, 10:16 AM

We All Saw It Coming (Or Should Have)

Israel's Black Day Will Live in Infamy.

For at least the last six months, I’ve been seriously concerned that Israel’s archenemies would launch a surprise strike on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War (either secular or Hebrew calendar dates). No prophecy was required, I assure...

Sep 5, 2023, 11:33 AM

18 Remarkable Women in Jewish History

Huldah the Prophetess consulted by Hilkiyahu the high priest on behalf of King Josiah. Print by Caspar Luyken, 1708. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

For many people, thinking of women in Jewish history most readily summons to mind the likes of Hadassah/Esther, Bruryah, Henrietta Szold, Hannah Szenes, Anne Frank, and Golda Meir. Yet many additional worthies, some better known than others, merit as...

Feb 15, 2023, 1:15 PM

Jewish History: The Shabbateans

Shabbtai Tzvi (AMIRAH/Aziz Mehmet Effendi), pseudo-Messiah (1626–1676 CE). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

“Let Messiah come, but let me not see him.” (BT, Sanhedrin 98b) Shabbateanism (Shabta’ut) was a Jewish messianic movement whose widespread influence and profound impact in the 17th and 18th centuries remain difficult to comprehend even today. What made so much...

Jun 28, 2022, 11:36 PM

18 More* Remarkable Facts of the Land of Israel

Mediterranean Coast, Israel. © Brandon Marlon

The Sacred Bridge – The Land of Israel lies in Western Asia/the Near East/the Middle East/the southern Levant/the Fertile Crescent, and is a nexus between the continents of Africa & Asia—literally linking the African (Sinai subplate) & Arabian...

Jun 26, 2022, 5:58 PM

Jewish History: 6 Reasons Why the Jews Did Not Become Major Seafarers

Eilat Harbor on the Red Sea. © Brandon Marlon

Unlike the neighboring Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Carthaginians, the Israelites did not adopt seafaring as a major lifeway over the course of their storied history, despite possessing the Mediterranean Sea as the western border of the Land of Israel. Why...

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About Me

Brandon Marlon is an award-winning Canadian-Israeli author whose writing has appeared in 300+ publications in 33 countries. He is the author of two poetry volumes, Inspirations of Israel: Poetry for a Land and People and Judean Dreams, and two historical reference works, Essentials of Jewish History: Jewish Leadership Across 4,000 Years and its companion volume Essentials of the Land of Israel: A Geographical History.