Welcome to the latest and greatest newsletter about what’s happening in Israel.

The U.S. and Israel kicked off a massive war simulation exercise they call Juniper Oak 2023. The training will run from Jan. 23-27 and involve 180,000 pounds of live munitions and 6,400 U.S. personnel, 450 of which will be on the ground in Israel. Of the 142 aircraft participating, 100 are American, including four Air Force B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers to four Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. The U.S.’s robust air presence includes specialized airborne early warning planes, surveillance assets, and electronic warfare aircraft, such as an Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane, Navy E-2D Hawkeyes, and EA-18 Growlers. In addition, the George H.W. Bush carrier strike group will also support six EA-18s, five E-2Ds, and 45 F/A-18s. The U.S. Air Force is also sending four fifth-generation F-35s, which are not generally based in the region, joining six F-35s from the Israel Defense Forces.

That’s not even the full list. This is a big deal!!

The new government is committed to reducing the power of the judiciary. There is a robust political divide on this, which could be very confusing from the outside. It’s even confusing from the inside. I’ll include a jpost interview with Knesset Member and architect of the proposed changes to the judiciary, Simcha Rothman. I thoroughly enjoyed an interview he gave in Hebrew with Kan 11. He’s very well-spoken and clear. On the flip side, Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman was interviewed by the Marker and expressed sincere fears about the new legislation. Personally, I’m not sure what to think. What do you think? I’d love to know.

McKinsey & Co. has acquired Israeli real-time analytics startup Iguazio for an undisclosed sum of money. It’s the global consultancy firm’s first acquisition in Israel. The idea behind the investment is that by integrating real-time data with Artificial intelligence, they’ll be able to execute marketing optimizations automatically. Cool stuff.