At Gili’s Goodies, Lag BaOmer means time to make the cheesecakes. Shavuot is in just 17 days. Get your orders in today. You can order whatever you want and add a cheesecake to give it a little extra Shavuot flavor. Order now.

Israel will be running a large-scale military drill at the end of this month in which they’ll be simulating an attack on Iran. The US is set to participate in that drill as a complementary force. The exercise dubbed, “Chariots of Fire”, will involve nearly all IDF units and is to prepare for fighting in the north and protecting our northern borders from Hezbollah.

Speaking of Hezbollah, the Shi’ite Muslim movement and it’s factions have lost their parliamentary majority in Lebanon. The group lost 9 seats from 71 to 62 and lost their majority. It’s Lebanon’s first election since Lebanon’s economic collapse and port explosion in 2020. A new political party formed to reform the government and won about a dozen seats. How does all this affect Israel? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We are entering the fire season in Israel, where wildfires have become a near yearly occurrence. The fire chief, Eyal Cohen, lamented that even though there was an audit done after last year’s devastating fires, the recommendations have fallen on deaf ears. We pray that these communities will get their act together to implement the recommendations but ultimately that they won’t be necessary.

Your next flight to Israel should be more comfortable. That’s because the requirement to wear a mask on international flights will be lifted on May 23rd. Israel lifted it’s mask requirement on the Motzai Shabbat following Pesach and it’s been joyous since. Nothing makes us feel like we’re going back to normal like taking our masks off. The airplane seemed to be the last hurdle but as of May 23rd, that requirement will be dropped. Let’s hope it’ll last a century or longer.