In response to an Iranian lawsuit against the US at a UN-sponsored International Court of Justice (ICJ) that cited a little-known “Treat of Amity” between the two countries, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that the US is pulling out of the treaty. Pompeo added that the decision was “39 years overdue” and accused Tehran of “abusing the ICJ for political and propaganda purposes.” while the clerical regime which rules Iran blasted the Trump Administration as an “outlaw regime.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel landed in Israel Wednesday evening and had dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Early Thursday morning and gave an address while accepting an honorary degree at the University of Haifa, saying among other things that “we must do everything for Iran not to have nuclear weapons…the threat to Israel is greater due to what is happening in Syria now.” Later on Thursday, she visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Jerusalem.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced Thursday morning that reinforcements have been sent to the Gaza border region amidst ongoing riots and attempts to breach the border fence between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. “The IDF is prepared for a variety of scenarios and sees Hamas as responsible for everything that happens in the Gaza Strip and out of the Gaza Strip,” read the statement.

Israel’s travel industry received a black eye this week when the airline industry website Flightstats listed national carrier El Al in 39th place on a list of 41 major global airlines for punctuality. The website added that 34.5% of EL Al’s flights landed at least 15 minutes later than they were scheduled to. Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport also got poor reviews by the website, ranked 351st out of 370 airports for flights taking off and landing at the times they were scheduled.

Three young Israeli athletes collected gold medals this week at the Acro Cup for trio pyramid acrobatics in Budapest, besting teams from traditional gymnastics powerhouses. The team of Shai Horesh, Shir Edri and Leah Curcus, all fifteen, expressed joy at their victory while Israeli sporting officials congratulated them.

The downing of the Russian plane requires Israel to reevaluate the continued relevance of its years-long air campaign in Syria. While the struggle to prevent the entrenchment of Iranian forces in Syria and the arming of Hezbollah with “tie-breaking” strategic weapons must continue, the nature and format of the campaign need to be adjusted to the new strategic reality that is being created by Moscow.

Pastor Chad Holland of King of Kings Jerusalem, the largest international church in Israel’s capital city, gives a message on the recently concluded Biblical Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) and its enduring significance for Christians.

The 2018 ICEJ Feast of Tabernacles celebration in Jerusalem was a great blessing to the more than 6,000 pilgrims who came from around the world to worship the Lord and fellowship with each other. Come watch the videos our TV crew produced of the events.