The US Embassy in Jerusalem on Friday issued the first passport to an American citizen born in Jerusalem with the place of birth designated as “Israel.”

The passport was issued to Menachem Zivotofsky, who first applied 18 years ago and litigated twice before the US Supreme Court and lost.

However, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday that consistent with President Donald Trump’s Jerusalem Proclamation of December 6, 2017, and the historic opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, US citizens born in Jerusalem can now elect to list their place of birth as either “Jerusalem” or “Israel” on their passports.

“We remain committed to lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” he added.

“Menachem Zivotofsky, it is my honor to present you with the very first passport issued to an American citizen born in Jerusalem with ‘Israel’ designated as the place of birth,” said US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.

Thanking Pompeo for “his leadership,” Friedman noted that “it’s no secret that under prior stewardship the State Department would not alter the passport designation even after Jerusalem was recognized as Israel’s capital. Secretary Pompeo cut through that bureaucracy and brought our passport policy in line with our foreign policy and common sense.”

“Finally, I would like to thank President Donald Trump who set this course in motion. In moving our Embassy to Jerusalem, President Trump kept a sacred promise and reinforced our commitment to stand with our friends and to never flinch in the face of groundless opposition or threats. Our stature as a nation has been greatly enhanced by President Trump’s courage and determination,” he added.

“A great honor, Mazal Tov,” he told Zivotofsky.

Israel marked on Wednesday the 55th anniversary of the “Nostra Aetate” Declaration, adopted by the Second Vatican Council, published on October 28, 1965.

Nostra Aetate is the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions.

In regards to the Jewish people, the declaration rescinds the common teaching of the time that the Jews were guilty of deicide for the death of Jesus. It ruled out anti-Semitism for Christians and called God’s covenant with the Hebrew people eternal.

“This historic document marked a profound change in the Catholic Church’s attitude towards Jews and laid the foundation for the reconciliation and cooperation between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

This significant theological turning point paved the way for a political change and the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the Holy See in 1994.

“55 years after Nostra Aetate, the Jewish-Catholic dialogue is open, honest, and warm, Jewish and Catholic delegations meet regularly and our mutual understanding, fraternity and bonds have grown closer and stronger. The three Papal visits to Israel have been further confirmation of this fact,” Israel stated.

“Today, as we witness the horrific resurgence of anti-Semitism throughout the world, we appreciate the strong and unambiguous condemnations by three Popes of this evil as a sin against God and man and cannot understate the importance and necessity of spreading the message of Nostra Aetate throughout the world,” it concluded.

An examination conducted by Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs (MSA) has found that at least 21% of posts on an International Criminal Courts (ICC) investigation against Israel and ones pertaining to Israel’s sovereignty in Judea and Samaria from inauthentic Twitter accounts had 180% greater engagement rates than real users.

Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen’s released on Tuesday its first-ever periodic report on inauthentic social media profiles and networks against the State of Israel. The study examined 250 suspicious accounts, finding 170, or 70% of them to be inauthentic profiles trying to stir anti-Israel sentiment online and manipulate discourse against Israel.

The study was conducted between June and August when the ICC began deliberating about investigating Israel for alleged war crimes and there were talks of expanding Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

At the height of their activities surrounding the ICC decision on Israel, over 15,000 tweets were posted under the hashtag “#ICC4Israel”, with just 39 accounts creating at least 21% of the posts and reaching 180 times the engagement rates of normal accounts.

The report also identified two large networks of over 30 users each of fictitious profiles, which maintained strikingly similar behavior patterns and consisted of profile pictures of young females, while claiming to be volunteers in one of two Gazan NGOs.

“The findings indicate an organized and coordinated effort to influence public opinion against Israel,” the MSA said in its report. “As part of their campaign, anti-Israel activists are artificially inflating anti-Israel discourse on social media to instill the appearance of widespread popular support for their cause.”

Farkash-Hacohen called on Twitter in a letter to remove the problematic accounts and conduct an in-depth examination of the manipulative use of the platform.

The MSA intends to conduct periodic research on the issue to detect inauthentic activity on other social networks and examine legal steps that may be taken on the matter.

Since taking up her new role a few weeks ago, Farkash-Hacohen identified online incitement against Israel as a major strategic challenge to be dealt with.

“Social media holds a key place in the ‘war of minds’, which recently has become a breeding ground of fake news, misinformation and hate-speech aimed at undermining Israel’s right to exist. Inauthentic accounts are spreading incitement, libels and antisemitism with the express purpose of hurting Israel and its citizens,” she said.

“Delegitimization networks are constantly working behind the scenes with organizations and officials in the international arena to besmirch and isolate Israel. We have now revealed that alongside their efforts to influence the ICC offline, this past summer they identified a special opportunity to provoke anti-Israel discourse online as well,” she added.

Israeli forces were successful in thwarting a shooting attack in Rosh Ha’ayin in the center of the country last month, the Shin Bet security service revealed Monday.

The Shin Bet stated that a joint investigation with the Israel Police led to an indictment that was filed in the military court in Samaria on Sunday evening against Ma’atez Musa Hussein, a resident of Qalqilya who planned to carry out an attack in Rosh Ha’ayin on September 20.

Following information received by the police, it deployed forces in the city and located the would-be-terrorist and apprehended him.

He was carrying a loaded gun, cartridges and a box of bullets.

At the end of his interrogation, the defendant admitted that he had planned to carry out an attack.

Israel is sending $5 million worth of wheat “immediately to our new friends in Sudan” as Israel “looks forward to a warm peace,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday, a day after the two countries announced the normalization of ties.

“Today we are expanding the circle of peace. Additional countries will yet join only if we consistently adhere to this policy. It has brought us results that we could only dream about, and I dream about much more,” he stated.

The aid a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced $81 million in emergency aid to Sudan, which will include food, medicine, water purification systems, tents and more.

An Israeli delegation will meet in Sudan with a Sudanese team in the coming weeks to discuss cooperation in many fields including migration and the possible return of tens of thousands of illegal Sundanese migrants in Israel to their country.