Israel’s Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit issued a statement late Thursday apparently rejecting a request from lawyers representing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a decision on whether or not to pursue corruption charges against Netanyahu be delayed until after elections scheduled for 9 April. Most political analysts agree that it is likely an indictment pending a hearing will be announced sometime in February.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abu al-Gheith recently gave an interview to an Egyptian TV news analysis program in which he said, among other things, that following several years of regional turmoil which has seen several Arab governments fall, Turkey and Iran becoming more assertive and the re-entry of Russia, the decades long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has become less of a priority. However, he added, “it is still a pressing circumstance that we [Arab states] must strive to resist.”  Some Arab commentators denounced the statement as part of a “conspiracy” to normalize relations with Israel.

The campaign to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel suffered another defeat on Thursday when National Security Council chief Meir Ben-Shabbat returned to Israel from a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on an Air India flight which overflew Saudi air space. The meetings were favorably covered in Indian media, giving a strong indication of the close ties between the two countries.

The Women’s March  scheduled for this Saturday will happen without many of its most enthusiastic initial supporters, including Rachel Druck, who helped organize the 2017 event held in Tel Aviv. “I could not justify participating as a Jewish woman or asking other Jewish women to come out for something that has become so dismissive of Jewish women and the Jewish experience generally and it has become really painful,” Druck told The Jerusalem Post. These sentiments were echoed by other Israeli women who said they would be participating in alternative events Saturday not connected to the main event in the US.

Reports emerged this week that the US Army has moved to acquire two batteries of the battle-proven and Israeli produced Iron Dome air defense system and hope to have them ready for action by the end of 2020. “The Iron Dome system provides the best value for the US military in terms of the timetable for its acquisition and deployment,” according to media reports.

The fight against anti-Semitism on the international level continues to be characterized by restraint combined with ignorance – a potentially deadly combination. European hand-wringing and the spouting of clichés will never suffice; the extent of the rot must be acknowledged if it is to be effectively confronted.

On January 13, 2019, Israel announced the completion of Operation Northern Shield, carried out to locate and neutralize Hezbollah tunnels penetrating into Israeli territory from Lebanon. According to the announcement, all the tunnels crossing the border had been exposed. Therefore according to the IDF spokesman, the threat of tunnels in Israel’s north had been lifted. The entire operation was carried out inside Israeli territory. The IDF announced it was monitoring a number of sites in Lebanon from which Hezbollah is digging tunnels that have not yet crossed the Israel-Lebanon border. (PDF)

Over the years, God planted a vision within the ICEJ: A massive prayer wave moving over the face of the earth from East to West. Every hour. Every day. As the sun rises over the face of the earth, men and women welcome the new day with praise and intercession for Israel and the nations of the world.