ISSUES

At CUFI, we are focused on several key issues with the goal of defending Israel’s strength, security, and sovereignty.

If you want to keep up with all things Israel, sign up for CUFI’s Daily Briefing – our daily news roundup created exclusively for CUFI members. Every morning, Monday through Friday, receive an email with some of the top headlines in the news so you are always informed and ready to debunk lies with the truth.

Israeli Society

International Space Station makes rare visit to Holy Land’s skies

The International Space Station has been spotted over Israeli skies and will reappear for another 10 days.

The flyby took place overnight on Friday and Saturday, where a bright dot that astronomers confirmed was the ISS streaked across the Jerusalem night sky. It was seen over the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City.

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US-Israel Relationship

Pentagon chief: US preparing response to attack on Saudi oil facility

WASHINGTON — United States Defense Secretary Mike Esper said Monday that the US military is preparing a response to the attack on major Saudi Arabia oil facilities.

After briefing US President Donald Trump in the White House, Esper singled out Iran as undermining international order, without directly pinning blame on Tehran for the attack.

“The...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

American diplomats press lawmakers in Germany, Ireland to oppose BDS

(September 16, 2019 / JNS) U.S. diplomats pressed lawmakers and officials in Ireland and Germany to oppose the anti-Israel BDS movement, according to a U.S. State Department report delivered last week to Congress.

In Ireland, the diplomats interacted with top government officials and party leaders to “strongly urging them to drop their support”...

Iran

Iran’s supreme leader: There will be no talks with US at any level

Iran's supreme leader announced on Tuesday that "there will be no talks with the US at any level" – remarks apparently meant to end all speculation about a possible US-Iran meeting between the two countries' presidents at the UN later this month.

Iranian state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying this is the position of the entire...

Iran

The US should up the pressure to contain and confront Iran

Foreign policy circles in recent weeks have been abuzz with talk of a potential life line being extended to Iran in advance of, or during, the upcoming meeting of world leaders at the United Nations. The genesis of this discussion was French President Emanuel Macron’s unilateral decision to invite Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif to the G7...

Antisemitism

Anti-Semitic graffiti found on 9/11 at University of Tennessee-Knoxville

(September 13, 2019 / JNS) Anti-Semitic graffiti was found on “The Rock,” an iconic structure at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

The words “Jews did 9-11” and “Google: Dancing Israelis” were found etched on “The Rock” on Wednesday, the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

“Google: Dancing Israelis” refers to the...

Antisemitism

HAND-DRAWN SWASTIKA FOUND IN DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HEADQUARTERS

A hand-drawn swastika was found inside the Washington D.C. headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security.

The Nazi symbol was discovered on the building’s third floor on Friday. CNN first reported the incident.

Staff members were informed of the incident in an email from Brian Murphy, principal deputy undersecretary for the Office of...

Israeli Technology

Israeli companies, investors meet in New York for first-ever ‘Cannabis Investment Symposium’

(September 15, 2019 / JNS) About 150 entrepreneurs and investors gathered in New York City last week to learn about Israel’s innovative medical cannabis industry at the first-ever “Cannabis Investment Symposium.”

“We are thrilled to introduce the best Israeli cannabis entrepreneurs and their companies to New York’s vibrant investment community...

Antisemitism

Anti-Semitism envoy reveals new US ‘inter-agency process’ to tackle growing Jew-hatred

(September 13, 2019 / JNS) Amid growing concerns over global anti-Semitism, a panel of experts convened at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on New York’s Upper East Side to discuss the “weaponization of anti-Semitism” and ways to combat it.

At the event, which was hosted by the Bnai Zion Foundation, panelists began by discussed the sources of...

Iran

Iran fired cruise missiles in attack on Saudi oil facility: Senior US official

The attack on the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco also included more than 20 drones, the official said.

Iran has denied responsibility for the attack, accusing Pompeo of "max deceit," as the country's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted Saturday.

In a Sunday evening tweet, Trump did not share the definitive accusation against...

Israeli Society

From green to black: Incendiary balloons leave Israeli farmers with heavy hearts

The hot summer days are especially tense for farmers living in the Israeli towns around the Gaza Strip. The cause of their troubles: incendiary balloons.

These devices, launched from Gaza, have been drifting over the border since the situation escalated almost two years ago.

These airborne incendiary devices often land on farmers’ fields, which...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

LA synagogue vandalized with ‘Free Palestine’ graffiti on 9/11 anniversary

(September 12, 2019 / JNS) A synagogue in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles was spray-painted with anti-Semitic graffiti on early Wednesday, which marked the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Rabbi Yonah Bookstein of the Babe Sale Congregation posted on Twitter an image of the graffiti, which read “FREE PALESTINE.” He wrote...

Antisemitism

Florida man apprehended for threatening to shoot Jews

(September 12, 2019 / JNS) A Florida man who threatened to shoot up a local synagogue and has said publicly that he hates Jews was apprehended on Friday by the FBI.

Hanson Larkin, 25, was in an Orlando federal court the same day, charged with making threats through interstate communication to, according to police, a Jewish man that included: “If...

Holocaust

US State Department announces special envoy for Holocaust issues

(September 12, 2019 / JNS) The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that Cherrie Daniels has been tapped to be its Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues.

Founded in 1999, the Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues “develops and implements U.S. policy to return Holocaust-era assets to their rightful owners, secure compensation for...

Iran

Trump administration assures ‘maximum pressure’ campaign on Iran in force

(September 12, 2019 / JNS) The Trump administration assured on Thursday that its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran will continue, said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin amid mixed signals that U.S. President Donald Trump could meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani without preconditions and could even relax some sanctions in...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

University of Toronto student group hosts alleged former member of the PFLP

(September 11, 2019 / JNS) A University of Toronto student group hosted an alleged former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Issam Al-Yamani, on Tuesday.

Hosted by the school’s Students Against Israeli Apartheid UofT student group and sponsored by Independent Jewish Voices-UofT, Al-Yamani spoke at a building...

Israeli Technology

Amazon to officially launch in Israel after Sept. 17 elections

(September 11, 2019 / JNS) Amazon will officially launch its service in the Jewish state next week after the Sept. 17 national election, several sources in the retail industry told Calcalist, the Israel business daily.

Sources said the American company prefers not to start its services then to lessen expenses associated with the media campaign.
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Jerusalem

Ceremony at Living Memorial site in Jerusalem pays tribute to 9/11 victims

 

(September 11, 2019 / JNS) An annual ceremony was held at the 9/11 Living Memorial site in Jerusalem on Tuesday night to honor victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

The “Tribute in Light” event included the illumination of two beams that shined up 300 meters over Jerusalem, similar to that of Ground Zero in New York...

Hamas

Israel strikes Hamas targets after second day of rockets from Gaza

(September 12, 2019 / Israel Hayom) The Israel Defense Forces struck Hamas military installations in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night in retaliation for rocket fire from the coastal enclave earlier in the day, one of which struck a home in Moshav Netiv Ha’asara.

Three rockets were fired at Israeli communities north of Gaza on Wednesday...

Hamas

Gaza-based jihadi group calls on Taliban to increase attacks on US

The leader of a Gaza-based jihadi group called on the Taliban to increase its attacks on America after US President Donald Trump broke off talks with the Taliban, according to a report by the Middle East Media Research Institute, shared exclusively with Jewish News Syndicate.

Abu Hafs Al-Maqdisi, the leader of the Gaza-based Jaysh al-Ummah...