Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among the first foreign leaders to receive a phone call from incoming US President Donald Trump on Sunday. According to reports released by the White House the call lasted less than 30 minutes and included an invitation for Netanyahu to visit Washington in early February. Also discussed was the ongoing relationship with the Palestinians and Iran’s renegade nuclear program.

London’s Jewish community was rocked by a spree of violent attacks over the weekend, with vandalism against Jewish-owned homes and businesses as well as an incident Friday evening in which a group of Jewish people walking home from Shabbat evening services were pelted with eggs. “These attacks are intended to instill fear in London’s Jews,” said one community leader to the Jewish Chronicle newspaper. “The best response to these disgusting acts is to ensure that the perpetrators are caught.”

Negotiations between the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and its opponents, minus the Islamic State (IS) terror militia and similar jihadist groups, convened on Monday in the Kazakh capital Astana, under the auspices of Russia and with participation by Iran, Turkey and the US, but not Saudi Arabia or  other regional powers which are participating in the multi-faceted conflict.

ACOM, an Israel lobby group that works to combat BDS in Spain, won two important legal victories over the weekend in court cases involving the municipal governments in Madrid and Barcelona. Courts in both cities annulled the decision by local councils to officially join the campaign to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel.

The American-Israeli-led team at Gigawatt Global, a firm specializing in solar energy development, broke ground on another mega-project in East Africa over the weekend, this time in Mubuga, Burundi. According to a company statement, the field will increase the supply of electricity to the country by 15%. “Empowering economic and social development is at the heart of our green energy business,” said Michael Fichtenberg, vice president for finance and business development of Gigawatt Global.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recorded a conciliatory message to the people of Iran. In a video uploaded to his Facebook page Saturday, he addresses the people of Iran in English, with Farsi subtitles.