Last week and back-to-back, Netanyahu and Erdogan made day trips to the Russian capital for personal meetings with Vladimir Putin. Polite to both, he also dismissed the worries that brought his guests to Moscow. Why?

Like the setup for a volleyball slam, Putin launched an easy serve with greetings for the Jewish holiday of Purim. Netanyahu returned the volley by comparing today's would-be Persian empire to yesterday's enemy of biblical lore, Haman. With a smile on his face, that's when Putin spiked the ball. That happened "in the 5th century BC," he said. "We now live in a different world."

As the US sends B-52 nuclear bombers to South Korea, North Korea must decide whether or not it wants to go to war. Because of North Korea's close ties with Iran, supplying missile and nuclear technology, conflict there could light a short fuse to the Middle East.

The shortage of available water for Israel's needs is the largest the country has seen in 100 years.

Under the amended law, no visa or residency permit of any kind will be granted to persons who knowingly and publicly calls to boycott Israel or who participates in a boycott against Israel.