• President Medvedev made the first-ever visit of a Russian head of state to Damascus, where he and President Assad discussed denuclearizing the Mideast (hint, hint). [Ynet]
• But the International Atomic Energy Agency does not plan to tie Iran’s nuclear weapons program to Israel’s. [Haaretz]
• One economist warns that Israel’s bottom-heavy welfare system—where large numbers of able-bodied Orthodox and Arab men do not work—will topple the economy as those demographics grow. [LAT]
• An Israeli minister clarified that, despite rumors to the contrary and restraint in certain neighborhoods, Jewish building in East Jerusalem will generally continue. [JPost]
• A posh resort is being built just inside Lebanon on the Israeli border, a few miles from the Golan Heights. [NYT]
• President Obama will host a reception in honor of Jewish Heritage Month on May 27. Talk about a hot ticket! [JTA]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.