The City of David archeological park in Jerusalem released a statement Wednesday saying archeologists have unearthed an extremely rare half shekel coin made of stone and dating from the time of the First Temple built by King Solomon. The coin is of a type commonly given as a donation to the Temple as described in Exodus 38:26. “This 3,000-year-old Beka weight, inscribed with ancient Hebrew was likely used in the First Temple, is anchoring once again the deep historical connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem,” said Doron Spielman, vice president of the City of David Foundation.

The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) handed another victory to the movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel on Monday when its leadership voted to affirm a resolution supporting the movement and condemning what it called the “ongoing occupation of Palestine.” The CFS, with half a million members and 64 member unions, is one of the largest organizations of its type to formally endorse BDS, although analysts were mixed in their assessments of the impact Monday’s statement would have.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a statement Tuesday declaring that it is sanctioning six individuals and three entities it accuses of conspiring to provide Iranian oil, via Russian intermediaries, to the Assad regime in Syria in violation of sanctions prompted by the regime’s actions in the nearly 8 year long civil war in Syria. “Today we are acting against a complex scheme Iran and Russia have used to bolster the Assad regime and generate funds for Iranian malign activity,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Nevsu, an Israeli TV show produced by the Reshet company, won the International Emmy Award on Monday evening, beating out competing shows from Mexico, Spain and Canada. The show centers around an Israeli man of Ethiopian heritage and his wife, who is of Ashkenazi (European) descent and the relationship between them and their respective families.

The Advisory Committee for the Appointment of Senior Officials in the Civil Service voted on Tuesday to confirm the appointment of Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi as the next IDF Chief of Staff. The approval of this appointment by the full cabinet is expected on Sunday. “The prime minister, who also serves as defense minister, told the committee that he was accepting the recommendation of former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman to appoint Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi as the 22nd chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces,” the Committee said in a statement.

For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the past week must have felt like an eternity. A two-day escalation with the Islamist Hamas group in Gaza last Monday set off a chain of events that threatened to topple his government. But the long-serving premier staved off early elections for now by outmaneuvering coalition partners and raising the specter of a looming military crisis—without actually describing what that crisis might be.

New findings from the secret Iranian Nuclear Archive: Iran had plans to manufacture five nuclear warheads at 10 kilotons each and had made preparations to carry out an underground nuclear test. It also made attempts to acquire highly enriched uranium (HEU) from abroad and start building infrastructure for a parallel fuel cycle to produce HEU for nuclear weapons. The Supreme Council for Advanced Technologies was overseeing these efforts.

Since 1996, the Nursing Homecare Program has been a significant arm of the ICEJ. Our team in Jerusalem provides basic nursing assistance and physical care to elderly and disabled Russian Jewish immigrants, while also considering their social, and emotional well-being.