IDF units and civil defense organizations stationed near the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip were on high alert Wednesday morning following an overnight barrage of 45 rockets fired at Israeli communities from inside the Strip. Three of the rockets landed inside the Strip, seven were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system and three landed in border communities, causing damage to buildings and vehicles but no casualties. The IDF launched strikes on Hamas targets in response, and schools, businesses and government offices in the border communities operated on their regular schedule Wednesday morning.

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a joint press conference Tuesday evening in which they announced that the US is withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council, citing its institutional bias against Israel and its habit of ignoring serious human rights abuses in other countries around the world.

The Knesset passed a new law this week allowing Israeli citizens who are not religiously observant to refuse to work on Shabbat. “The Sabbath belongs to everyone,” said Miki Zohar (Likud), who co-sponsored the legislation with MK Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid). “There is no law that is more democratic and Jewish than this.”

Israel’s National Insurance Institute published a report this week which includes data showing 10.2% of Israeli children live in poverty, the highest rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It added that those living below the poverty line include many families where both parents work full time. “Our demography is totally different from that of other OECD countries. We have a population with low human capital and large households,” Haim Bleikh, a researcher at the Taub Center, told The Media Line.

The movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel suffered another defeat this week as a delegation of hi-tech business leaders, accompanied by Hollywood actor Jean Claude Van Damme, touched down in Tel Aviv for a tour of the country’s booming technology sector. The Trans – Tasman Business Circle’s group included leaders of companies from Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

General Mohammad Ali Jafari, chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, issued a statement Tuesday blasting Iranian dissidents for requesting that the clerical regime enter into talks with the US aimed at solving long-standing tensions between the two countries. The dissidents have “sided with the U.S., the enemy of the people,” he declared. “Striking an understanding with the US means the death of the Islamic republic.” These sentiments were echoed by other regime officials. Also on Tuesday, Iranian officials rejected a proposal by Saudi Arabia and Russia to increase oil production and stabilize rising global energy prices.

Hamas’s kite terrorism may not pose an existential threat, but by turning thousands of hectares of farmland into a wilderness and undermining Israel’s ability to provide peace and security for its frontier residents, it poses a threat that must be removed without delay.

You’ve never met a group of soldiers like the ones from the “Nahshon” Platoon at the Michve Alon training base. The platoon consists of 24 Arabic-speaking Christians who volunteered to join the IDF for one collective cause: acceptance to significant positions  in order to contribute to the State of Israel.

The ICEJ is currently working to provide: Fire fighting trailers to help combat Hamas’ kite Jihad, bomb shelters to communities in need• Funding for treatment of PTSD, support for a wide-range of educational and curative programs that help rebuild communities throughout the land of Israel that have been affected by terror and life-saving vests for first responders and city personnel. Your support can make a real difference in the lives of Israelis under attack.