Israel was hit by a massive winter storm on Thursday evening, with high winds, frigid temperatures  and torrential rains. Between 30 and 60 cm of snow was also predicted on Mount Hermon and the level of the Sea of Galilee was noticeably higher already on Friday morning. The high levels of precipitation are a welcome relief from the chronic drought the region has been grappling with for most of the last decade, but forecasters are warning the rains could cause flooding in several areas before the storm ends sometime Saturday afternoon.

The US Treasury Department announced on Thursday that it is issuing new economic sanctions on five Iranian-based entities for their involvement in the Islamic Republic’s renegade ballistic missile program and will pursue sanctions efforts on other entities over their participation in the brutal crackdown on protesters in that country. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that the administration “will continue to decisively counter the Iranian regime’s malign activity, including additional sanctions targeting human rights abuses.”

The Israeli Knesset passed preliminary legislation Wednesday to empower judges to hand down the death penalty for murder in cases connected with terrorist activity. The European Union was quick to issue a statement saying it is “opposed to the death penalty under all circumstances” and implying that it expects Israel to take that into account as the legislation continues to be debated and voted on in subsequent rounds of parliamentary procedure.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced this week that he is approving plans for the construction of hundreds of new living units in West Bank settlement communities, following up on the presentation of plans for a large increase in the budget allocated for security operations in the region. Settler leaders are reportedly very encouraged by the recent moves.

US President Donald Trump has ordered a review of all aid the US government gives to the Palestinians and international institutions that are involved in providing any kind of assistance to them as part of what analysts believe is an effort to try and force them to enter into serious negotiations with Israel. However, reports indicate that Israeli officials are quietly urging Washington not to move forward with threats to cut aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency, which supports Palestinian refugees.

Iran has emerged as the big winner of the so-called “Arab Spring.” Russia also benefited greatly – it achieved its aims in Syria by helping to preserve the Assad regime, and in the process, became the key broker of the post-war settlement – but Tehran made major gains not only in Syria but in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon as well.

Even though Christianity is an offshoot of the Jewish faith, the gulf between the two belief systems is great, and there is no reason for us to pretend otherwise. Judaism and Christianity have a lot in common, to be sure, but the stumbling point is most certainly Jesus and His mission to the world, including the Jewish world.