Thousands of US troops along with some of the Pentagon’s newest and most sophisticated equipment are in Israel this week for the launching of the 9th semi-annual Juniper Cobra air defense exercise in cooperation with the IDF. The scenarios being gamed out include defending Israel against incoming barrages of rockets and missiles from three fronts, while still maintaining readiness to repel traditional threats such as ground invasions, air raids and terrorist attacks.

Approximately 35,000 runners, including two members of the ICEJ Headquarters staff, participated in the Jerusalem Marathon races on Friday morning, including a 5K, 10K, half and full marathon. The full marathon was won by Shadrack Kipkogey from Kenya, one of around 4,000 runners from abroad who participated.

Shortly after the departure of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who came to Teheran this week to urge the clerical regime to take Western concerns about its ballistic missile program and support for regional terrorist groups seriously, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave another fiery speech declaring that “European countries come [to Tehran] and say we want to negotiate with Iran over its presence in the region. It is none of your business. It is our region. Why are you here?”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrapped up his trip to the US on Thursday with a visit to the United Nations in New York, where he toured an exhibition about the history of Jewish people in Jerusalem and met US Ambassador Nikki Haley. “The best way to prevent the nuclearization of the Middle East is to either fully fix the Iranian deal or to fully nix it. This is the only way to prevent the inevitable spread of nuclear technology and nuclear weapons in the Middle East,” he said. He is scheduled to be back in Israel Friday morning.

Israel was among the first countries to dispatch humaniatarian aid to Papua New Guinea following devastating earthquakes in that country on 26 February. 40 power generators from Israel arrived there on Thursday. “These generators will provide immediate assistance to communities suffering from damage to critical infrastructure,” said Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neill.

Ever since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left the country in the middle of a political crisis, there has been constant speculation about what he wants. No answers will be revealed until Sunday at the earliest, when he convenes the cabinet, speaks to the nation on camera, and then meets behind closed doors with the heads of the parties in the coalition.

Only a small fraction of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims support Islamism’s war against the West. But Islamist ideology is based on mainstream Muslim thinking and behavior, and Islamism is important because of its potential appeal to Muslims, even though many Muslim scholars and thinkers insist that its ideology is not the correct understanding of Islam.

The book of Proverbs declares that “a brother is born for adversity.” It is in times like these our practical work is also even more important than in times of peace. As Israel is facing these strenuous times, it is our responsibility as Christians to care for those who have become victims of this horrendous terror.