Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tues. 24 April 2018 that his country would attack Russian S-300 air defense systems in Syria if they were used against Israeli targets. His remarks came a day after Russian media outlets reported that Moscow could soon start to deliver S-300 systems to its ally Damascus, and cited a source as warning of "catastrophic" consequences if they were attacked. "What's important to us is that the defensive weapons the Russians are giving Syria won't be used against us," said Lieberman. "If they're used against us, we'll act against them." Russia and Syria signed an accord in 2010 for the S-300 system but the missiles have not been delivered because of Israeli pressure, according to Russian sources.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month that no decision had yet been taken on the S-300 missiles. The Russians have deployed the S-300 around their own Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean coast and the more advanced S-400 at their Hmeimim air base in western Syria. Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the armistice line on the sector of the Golan Heights which the Jewish state seized from its Arab neighbor in 1967 was largely quiet for decades until the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011. The Israeli side of the Golan has since seen regular spillover fire, and Israel has allegedly carried out dozens of air strikes on Syrian armed forces and their allies. Israel says its strikes aim to stop advanced weapons deliveries to Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist group allied to the Syrian government and with which the Jewish state fought a devastating war in 2006. (Arutz-7) [Comment]

Canada had a record number of anti-Semitic incidents in 2017, B’nai Brith Canada reported in its annual audit. There were 752 incidents of harassment, vandalism and violence, a 1.4 percent increase over the record 1,728 last year, according to the Audit of Antisemitic Incidents released 24 April 2018.The vast majority of the incidents took place in Canada’s two largest provinces. Ontario recorded nearly half the total, with 808, while Quebec had 474. The rest were scattered among the nation’s eight other provinces. Acts of anti-Semitic vandalism doubled to 322 from 158 — the audit called it a "whopping national increase.” It also saw as a "disturbing anti-Semitic trend” a rise in anti-Semitism from both the far right and far left of the political spectrum. (INN) [Comment]

Representatives of Britain’s Jewish community emerged on Tues. evening, 24 April 2018, frustrated with their long-awaited meeting with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn over repeated incidents of anti-Semitism in the party. The talks between Corbyn and the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council, which lasted more than two hours, focused on their requests to take action against anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. "Our meeting with Jeremy Corbyn today was a disappointing missed opportunity regarding the problem of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party,” said a joint statement issued by the groups. "Words in letters and newspaper articles will never be enough,” they added. "We welcome the fact that Mr. Corbyn’s words have changed, but it is action by which the Jewish community will judge him and the Labour Party.” According to a report, the Jewish groups’ demands for strong Labour action against members accused of anti-Semitism received a bland response about the need to follow due process. "We will see whether he and the Labour Party have committed to the action we need against anti-Semitism,” the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council said in a joint statement. Last week, British members of Parliament from both sides of the Conservative-Labour political divide directed their anger at Corbyn in a highly charged debate on anti-Semitism – the first of its kind in the House of Commons. Much of the fiercest criticism regarding Corbyn’s leadership came from his own party’s benches. (J.Post) Pray that Jeremy Corbyn’s repeated anti-Semitic actions and words, along with members of like mind in the Labour party, will continue to be exposed, resulting in either a sincere change of actions or complete loss of political power. [Comment]

 Some 250 people will join a USA delegation to Israel’s capital for the opening of the new embassy in Jerusalem next month, including dozens of lawmakers, senior advisers to President Donald Trump, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Mnuchin will lead the American delegation to Jerusalem, where the USA is slated to open its new embassy on 14 May 2018 coinciding with Israel’s 70th Independence Day. Among the other roughly 250 members of the delegation will be some 40 senators and members of the House of Representatives, as well as American Jewish leaders. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner will also join the delegation. The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, will also likely attend. (Arutz-7) [Comment]

Israel helped 30 countries foil terrorist attacks in 2017. Israeli technology helped identify the terrorists on the overwhelming output of the surveillance cameras at the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. 90% of our wastewater is recycled. Spain is No. 2 with 20%. Some 93% of Israeli homes use solar energy for water heating, the highest percentage in the world. Israel has the largest percentage of vegans per capita in the world - 5% of the population. Over 500 million birds migrate through the skies of Israel twice a year, but a researcher, using radar, a motorized glider, drones and a network of birdwatchers, planned alternate commercial air routes, reducing bird-plane collisions by 76%. Israelis have more children than any other Western democracy. According to Startup Genome, Tel Aviv has more start-ups per capita than anywhere else, and it has 61 companies on NASDAQ. That's more than Europe, Japan, Korea and China combined. Israel has the highest percentage of start-ups in the world and is second only to the USA in absolute terms. (J. Post) "Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.” Isa. 27:6 [Comment]

Leaders around the world sent letters of congratulations to President Reuven Rivlin on Israel's 70th anniversary Thurs. 19 April, 2018. Among the leaders who greeted the president and the state were presidents of the United States, Russia, Germany and Croatia, as well as the Queen of England and the UN Secretary-General. USA President Donald Trump wrote to Rivlin, "President Harry Truman spoke a lot about the pride he felt when he supported the establishment of the State of Israel. As I have stated in the past, I announced the transfer of the USA Embassy to Jerusalem one of my proudest moments as President of the United States. Our commitment to the security of Israel is strong and unwavering, and we will continue to stand by you as we have done in the past seven decades. I hope to deepen our historic friendship and witness Israel's prosperity.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote to the President of Israel, "The United Nations is enriched by the diversity of its members and our mission is strengthened when we unite to strengthen the values that are the anchor of our foundation."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a letter to the President's Residence: "Israel celebrates 70 years of independence and we celebrate with it. The reconciliation and partnership with Israel that bridges the abyss that opened up in our history is a wonderful thing. For us Germans, it is a gift on one hand and a responsibility on the other. We will not forget this and will do our fair share to ensure a good future to Israel and trust between Germans and Israelis. To you, Mr. President, your wife and all the citizens and citizens of Israel. I send my heartfelt greetings, also on behalf of my countrymen." The Queen of England wrote to President Rivlin, "It is my pleasure to congratulate you warmly on the occasion of the Independence Day celebrations, and warm wishes for the happiness and well-being of all the citizens of Israel in the coming year." Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote: "I wish to note the excellent relations that exist between our two countries, and I am confident that together we will continue to develop bilateral dialogue and fruitful cooperation in economics, science, technology and humanitarian assistance for the sake of our people, and in order to strengthen peace, stability and security in the Middle East." (Arutz-7)

 Moscow lashed out at Washington, London and Paris in the wake of Allied airstrikes on military facilities connected to Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles. "We are being threatened,” said a statement from the Kremlin. "We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences. All responsibility for them rests with Washington, London and Paris.” The Kremlin took personal offense that President Trump called out Russian strongman Vladimir Putin for failing to control Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his use of chemical weapons against his own people. "Insulting the President of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissible,” the Kremlin said. The USA didn’t notify Moscow of the 14 April 2018, Saturday morning attacks on Russia’s ally Syria. (J.Post) We continue to ask our readers and intercessors to pray against any retaliatory strikes from Russia, especially against American vessels in the area. Pray also for the safety of Israel during these times of intense conflict and multiple threats taking place across her northern borders. [Comment]

Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt have called on terrorist organization Hamas to end the annual weekly protests it is holding for the "Great March of Return," according to an Egyptian source. An Egyptian Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying that, in exchange for halting the protests, Egypt would ensure that the Rafah border crossing, which Egypt controls, would be regularly opened. The source said that the agreement had come under the direction of the Saudis. "The situation in Gaza is nearing an explosion towards anyone blockading the Strip," the source said, "and therefore there is a fear that Palestinian anger will turn toward Egypt in the coming weeks." Last Friday's protests marked the second week of the "Great March of Return" in Gaza. Crowds of approximately 20,000 turned out to protest on the border between Gaza and Israel. Ten Gazans were killed in the clashes, while estimates of the number of protesters injured vary. The protests are expected to continue each Friday for the next several weeks. (J.Post) [Comment]