Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz warned during an interview with YNet TVbroadcast Sunday evening that Israel could be targeted by missiles from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or it’s terror proxies in Lebanon and/or the Gaza Strip if the escalating war of words between Teheran and Washington enters a kinetic stage. “Things are undoubtedly heating up, and Iran – over the last few weeks – has come under ‘atomic’ pressure,” he said. “The economic sanctions are breaking the neck of the Iranian economy…we are starting to see the Iranians lose their balance.”

Delegations from 41 European counties (plus Israel and Australia) participated in the opening ceremonies of the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv over the weekend, despite a vigorous effort by members of the campaign to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel, led by former Pink Floyd front man and fierce Israel critic Roger Waters.  Waters has been pointedly ignored by several international celebrities who plan on participating in the contest, and some, including Former Miss Iraq, Sarah Idan, have publicly criticized him and the BDS movement in general.

Reports emerged this week that research conducted by Prof. Dan Aderka from Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer has shown promising results in the treatment of Colorectal Cancer. “We thought that applying one treatment was suitable for all patients,” Aderka said. “If the right combination of drugs was applied, the patient’s life expectancy would be extended.”

Israel’s team at the Asian Physics Olympiad collected gold, silver and bronze medals, along with a merit award, at the week-long event which wrapped up in Australia on Monday. Israel will be hosting the events next tournament next summer.

Amidst heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf region, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih announced on Monday that two Saudi-flagged oil tankers sustained heavy damage from what he called a “sabotage attack” as they sailed in waters near the coast of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Sunday evening. The announcement followed a similar statement by the UAE earlier in the day. In related news, late last week the US State Department announced its approval for the sale of 24 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and related equipment to Qatar in a deal valued at over $3 billion.

Any attempt to view the Kushner plan through the prism of past diplomacy misses its real innovation. In my view, it is far more instructive to view Kushner and his colleagues as developers applying to the Middle East lessons from the New York real estate market than as diplomats trying to solve a thorny, longstanding international dispute. Anyone who knows the Middle East knows that the analogy between the peace process and a New York real estate transaction quickly breaks down.

A year after the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, tensions are steadily rising between Washington and Tehran. And as the Islamic Republic is about to implement counter-measures challenging the Trump Administration’s policy, the Persian gulf could become a cauldron-of-conflict. A panel of experts weighs in.

The Prophet Ezekiel Calls it an “Ancient Hatred” (Ezekiel 35:5). This hatred takes pleasure in the shedding of blood and is driven by demonic forces that want to annihilate the Jewish people. It is directed against the purposes of God. As these acts of terror and violence are not likely to cease, our ministry to the Jewish people must adapt to the needs each new wave of terror brings.