UNITED STATES: Republicans went down to the wire in naming or renaming by Wednesday commissioners to the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

ISRAEL: Before the ceremony marking the move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem took place Monday, Israeli Defense Forces killed at least 41 people in clashes at the Gaza border.

ISRAEL finds itself at the center of several storms—with a landmark week ahead. Attacks and counterattacks with Iranian and Syrian forces to the north may be on the rise, while Hamas leaders in Gaza to the south threaten to storm the border. Sunday is Jerusalem Day, a rallying holiday for Israelis marking victory in the 1967 Six-Day War.

IRAN: Contrary to the nightmare scenarios rushed to print since U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—the 2015 deal negotiated by U.S.

TURKEY: Jailed American pastor Andrew Brunson went on trial again Monday. After nearly 12 hours of courtroom proceedings, Turkish judges for a second time sent him back to prison, pending a July 18 continuation. Sunday night I attended an overnight vigil at Brunson’s home church in Black Mountain, N.C., where about 25 people—including Brunson’s 75-year-old mother, Pam—gathered to pray starting at 2 a.m. EDT to coincide with the beginning of the trial in Izmir.

IRELAND: This week Irish rockers U2 went all-out to proclaim their support for repealing Ireland’s Eighth Amendment in a May 25 initiative that would legalize abortion on demand.

SYRIA: Turkey is now home to nearly 4 million Syrian refugees. That’s like setting down sprawling Los Angeles in a more densely populated Texas. But that didn’t stop Turkey from launching an offensive into Syria two months ago, something that represents a land grab and mass expulsion of Christians, Kurds, and Yazidis. In the latest issue of WORLD Magazine, I report on how a migrant deal with the European Union is giving Turkey inordinate power over the West.