A confrontation this past weekend in Syria has turned up the heat between Israel and Iran. The episode began on February 10, when an Israeli F-16 was shot down in Syrian airspace by the Syrian military. Both pilots managed to eject and were collected in northern Israel and taken to the hospital. The jet had been targeting Iranian facilities within Syria after an unmanned Iranian drone was shot down after purportedly breaching Israeli airspace around the occupied Golan Heights. Following the downing of the F-16, which was the first time Israel has lost a jet in decades, the Israeli government responded with a new wave of attacks on Iranian military assets in the vicinity of Damascus. Jewish Federations of North America released a detailed brief of the recent escalations between Israel and Iran. More >