Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas secured assurances from EU leaders in Brussels on Monday that they were in favor of the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem being the capital of a future Palestinian State. The statements came on the same day US Vice President Mike Pence was in Jerusalem, where he made a point of referring to the city as the “capital of Israel.”

The United Nations Security Council met on Monday to discuss the military incursion into Syria’s Afrin region by Turkish forces, as well as the Assad regime’s military campaign in Idlib Province and Eastern Ghouta.. The renewed intensity of military activity in Syria has dashed hopes that the seven-year long war there was winding down, with fresh reports of chemical weapons use and yet another large outflow of refugees from the affected areas. Turkey’s incursion against the US-backed YPG militia has also strained already difficult relations within the NATO alliance.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke out forcefully against Iran’s renegade ballistic missile program on Sunday, telling a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels that “We will also have the opportunity of underlining our firmness on Iran’s compliance with United Nations Resolution 2231, which limits access to ballistic capacity and which Iran does not respect.” He also condemned Iran’s destabilizing conduct throughout the Middle East, citing its support for terrorist groups and rebel factions in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.

The Foundation of Prussian Cultural Heritage reported this week that two museums in the German capital of Berlin recently returned artwork to the descendants of Margarete Oppenheim, a Jewish collector who liquidated her collection in 1936, selling the art at vastly deflated prices under pressure from the Nazi regime. Some of the art pieces were immediately re-purchased by the museums which had been displaying them, allowing for a “fair and just solution” to the situation, according to museum officials.

While the U.S. and Israel already have an extraordinary level of defense integration, there are still important zones of potential improvement.  The Israelis will continue to be the closest allies for the U.S. in the most turbulent and war-torn region of the world.

Many of us wish we could give more to the strategic ministry of the ICEJ, but there are things we can do beyond simply writing a cheque that allow us to give more both now and in the future. With proper planning it is possible to save on taxes, provide for loved ones and also bless Israel in far greater measure than most of us ever imagined.