Against a background of reports that the Islamic State (IS) terror militia has been decisively routed in Syria and Israel’s retaliatory strike on an Assad regime anti-aircraft missile battery on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Jerusalem on Tuesday. The ongoing situation in Syria was high on the agenda of the meetings, with Netanyahu telling his guest, that Israel “will not allow” Kremlin ally Iran to establish a permanent military presence on Israel’s northern border.

In yet another blow to the ongoing campaign to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel, Israel Medical Association chairman Prof. Leonid Eidelman, who manages the anesthesiology department at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva, was elected to serve as president of the World Medical Association (WMA) at a recent conference in Chicago. Eidelman expressed gratitude that the WMA had selected him while also noting the side-benefit that his election could have for Israel’s relationship with the rest of the world.

A meeting of European Union foreign ministers held in Luxembourg resulted in a joint statement Monday saying, among other things, “at a time of acute nuclear threat the EU is determined to preserve the JCPOA as a key pillar of the international nonproliferation architecture.” Several EU officials added solemn declarations that the actions and rhetoric of the Trump Administration in the US towards the nuclear deal with Iran was increasing the risk of failure in efforts to deal with the threat of North Korea’s nuclear program.

Israel’s Antiquities Authority announced this week that archaeologists working in Jerusalem’s Old City have uncovered parts of the Western Wall which had been buried for centuries under 8 meters of soil and stone. Remnants of a 200 seat Roman theater, referenced in ancient writings describing Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period, were also uncovered during the recent excavations.

Zionist Union party chairman Avi Gabbay was forced to issue a clarification Monday evening after an interview he gave to the Channel 2 news program that included a statement he made that no Jewish settlers would need to be evacuated as part of his plans to achieve a peace deal with the Palestinians. The reactions of members of Knesset and activists from Israel’s political Left ranged from stunned disbelief to outrage, prompting Gabbay to issue a statement implying that his words had been taken out of context by the media.

NATO’s founding principles set out “to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of [member states’] peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.” In other words, the alliance exists to defend Western civilization. Until the USSR collapsed in 1991, this meant containing and defeating the Warsaw Pact. Today, it means containing and defeating Russia and Islamism.

Israeli inventions have found solutions to many of the most vexing problems in the world, including water and food shortages, desertification and the need to increase agricultural yields. This short video shows ways that Israel is blessing the whole world.