Syria War Continues Unabated as Casualties Soar

Troops loyal to Syria’s Assad regime, supported Russian aircraft and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias and the Lebanese terror militia Hezbollah, made progress this week in their campaign to reestablish control of rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo. The campaign has been marked by indiscriminate bombing raids by regime and Russian aircraft which have been characterized by several Western governments as war crimes.

World Jewish Congress chief Dr. Ronald Lauder led a delegation of Jewish leaders to the Vatican on Monday as guest of Pope Francis, ahead of the Jewish High Holy Days. Francis welcomed his guests and urged them to assist Europe in integrating large numbers of immigrants who have recently arrived from the Middle East and Africa, as well as re-iterating his firm position that a good Christian “cannot be an anti-Semite” while adding his good wishes for the holidays. Lauder thanked Francis for his kindness and hospitality.

In another blow to the effort to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel, AgriVest, a large international conference was held in Rehovote this week to showcase agricultural technology developed in the Jewish State, attracting industry heavyweights from around the world who came to learn and network with Israeli companies and entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, the annual DLD Innovation Festival was also attracting attention from around the world to its many exhibits of Israeli technology with applications in virtually every field.

The Central Bureau of Statistics issued its numbers ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the new year according to the Jewish Calendar, on Tuesday. According to the report, Israel now has 8.585 million citizens, including 6.419 million Jews (74.8%) and 1.786 Arabs (20.8%). Another 380,000 (4.4%) are classified as non-Arab Christians or people of other religions, as well as those with no religious affiliation categorized as “other.” The numbers represent a growth rate of 2% over 2015.

In the 30 years that I have known Shimon Peres, I have seen him model himself on modern Israel’s founding father, David Ben-Gurion – to think strategically, to imagine where Israel needed to be in the future, to embrace change, and to never fear making decisions.