Unofficial results from the election held in Israel on Tuesday began to be posted after the polls closed at 10 PM and by the early afternoon on Wednesday more official results were posted, including a projection that the Likud Party of incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had received 31 mandates for the 22nd Knesset while the Blue and White Party led by Benny Gantz had received 32. However, the results also showed that neither the Center-Right bloc led by Netanyahu or the Center-Left bloc led by Gantz had received enough support to form a governing coalition, leading to the possibility that the Joint (Arab) List Party, which is traditionally non-aligned and which received between 13-15 seats, might end up with a prominent position in the next government or leading the parliamentary opposition.

US Vice President Mike Pence addressed the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington on Tuesday, saying among other things that the U.S. military is “ready to defend” Washington’s allies and their interests in an obvious reference to the mounting tensions between Iran and US-ally Saudi Arabia. “As the president said yesterday, it’s ‘certainly looking like’ Iran was behind these attacks,” Pence said. “And our intelligence community at this very hour is working diligently to review the evidence.”

An increasingly authoritarian regime in Russia, accompanied by an extended economic downturn and a surge in violent crime has fueled a surge in Jewish emigration (Aliyah) to Israel, according to a recent report from the JTA. The number of Jews immigrating to Israel from Russia since 2015 is greater than in the 2005-2015 period, according to the Israeli government, which projects that over 15,000 will arrive by the end of 2019.

Reports out of Syria Monday evening indicated that a strike by unidentified aircraft on a position occupied by pro-Iranian militias in Albukamal, near the Iraqi border, had killed at least 10 gunmen and wounded several others. The site, operated by the Iranian-backed “Popular Mobilization Forces” was known to be used to stockpile ammunition and other supplies. Some opposition groups claimed the strikes were carried out by Israel while the Assad regime denied that any strikes had occurred.

Israeli sports fans were given yet another reason to celebrate this week as rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram won two gold and two silver medals at the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. In other sports news, Israel’s national gridiron football team departed on Tuesday evening for a match against Turkey in the Black Sea resort city of Samsun. The game, to be played on Thursday, is the opener of the Group B European Championship Qualification competition.

After two elections in the span of five months, it is understandable that people will feel that their opinion doesn’t really matter. That’s what the parties about to start negotiating their entry to the coalition should be addressing: what can they do to restore Israelis’ optimism and enthusiasm? It’s time for the parties to put the betterment of the country ahead of their own narrow interests.

Israelis are now anxiously awaiting the projections coming out of the exit polls, while the final and formal results will emerge in the next few days. The suspense has to do with the notion that this might be outgoing-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s most difficult electoral challenge, following thirteen years at the helm of the Jewish State. A panel of experts weighs in.

Right in the heart of Jerusalem, ICEJ President Jürgen Bühler, addresses the destructive issue of the Church separating from the word of God. He goes on to explain how Jesus Himself related to the word of God.