US-Israel Relationship

At CUFI, we believe a strong, secure, and sovereign Israel is key to a strong and secure United States. Israel needs America, and America needs Israel. We are two nations with shared values, defending the same principles, and thus engaged in the same fight against common enemies. On May 14, 1948, the US was the first country to recognize the nascent State of Israel just eleven minutes after Israel declared its independence. Since then, the US has been a friend to Israel, our most critical ally in the Middle East. One of CUFI’s core concerns is to shape and strengthen the US-Israel relationship to the safety and security of both our nations.

US reps introduce bipartisan bill to purchase Iron Dome air-defense system

(June 11, 2019 / JNS) U.S. Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Representative Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) introduced on Monday the U.S.-Israel Indirect Fire Protection Act of 2019 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to procure for the U.S. military two Iron Dome short-range air-defense-system batteries.

“Iron Dome is a proven defense system that will…

US Embassy in Israel will hold annual July 4th celebration for the first time in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The U.S. Embassy in Israel will hold its annual Fourth of July celebration for the first time in Jerusalem.

The event traditionally has been held at the home of the U.S. ambassador in Herzliya. In March, Ambassador David Friedman moved into a residence in a building in western Jerusalem that formerly functioned as a consulate….

New York Gov. Cuomo plans summer trip to Israel

(June 3, 2019 / JNS) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that he will visit Israel this summer.

“As a sign of solidarity, at this time of crisis for the Jewish people, I’m going to be doing another trip to Israel as a trip in solidarity right after the legislative session, and I invite my Jewish colleagues to join us as a sign of…

Tens of thousands join annual Israel solidarity march along New York’s 5th Ave

Some 40,000 Israel supporters marched down New York City’s Fifth Avenue Sunday as part of the annual Celebrate Israel Parade.

Hundreds of thousands of onlookers lined the parade route on late Sunday afternoon, many waving Israeli flags.

Among those who participated in the event were Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, Mayor of New York…

U.S. Military cadets visit Israel for educational tour

40 cadets from the United States military landed in Israel on Thursday for the Israel Strategy and Policy Tour (I-SAP), running through June 11. The cadets are from West Point Military Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Virginia Military Institute, and will meet with high level Israeli decision-makers from the IDF and police in order to gain a…

American and Israeli college presidents unite to oppose academic boycotts

(May 29, 2019 / JNS) Professor Melvin L. Oliver, president of Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., who defied pressure to boycott Israeli academia by vetoing the vote by a Pitzer governance body to suspend the college’s study-abroad exchange with University of Haifa, gave the keynote lecture at University of Haifa’s 47th annual board of governors…

Israel to host ‘unprecedented’ US-Russia security summit on Middle East

The United States and Israel confirmed on Thursday that a US-Russia security summit on the Middle East will be held in Jerusalem next month.
“In June, United States National Security Adviser Ambassador John Bolton, Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, and Russian Secretary of the Security Council Nikolay Patrushev will meet in…

Florida cabinet meets in Israel, brushing off threat of legal action

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) — Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida cabinet met in Israel on Wednesday, waving away complaints that the setting was illegal. They presented a proclamation of support for Israel and heard from Israelis on several issues important to Florida.

The Republican governor then signed a bill that prohibits anti-Semitism in…

Kushner, Greenblatt arrive in Israel on third stop of Middle East tour

Jared Kushner arrived in Israel, on a third and final stop of a Middle-East tour to garner support for the Deal of the Century.
Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt were meant to meet the prime minister on Thursday at noon, but the meeting was now uncertain, after Netanyahu lost a battle to form a coalition – and the Jewish State was headed to…

US-Israel Relationship

As it sets diversity record, West Point quietly graduates 1,000th Jewish student

WEST POINT, New York — When West Point graduated its 1,000th Jewish cadet Saturday, it was more than a historical moment.

For the 12 Jewish cadets graduating this year out of a class of 980, and the hundreds of Jewish alumni before them, this milestone shows how much Jewish life has grown here since the military academy’s 1802 founding.

The…

Florida governor, Cabinet sued over plans to meet in Israel

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) — An open-government watchdog group and several news outlets sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of the Cabinet on Tuesday in an effort to stop them from holding a Cabinet meeting while on a trade mission in Israel.

The lawsuit argues that the meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, violates the state’s constitution and…

Florida governor forges new ties, makes history on Israel visit

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding between Florida State University and Ariel University on Monday, becoming the first sitting governor to establish a relationship between a U.S. state and an Israeli university in Judea and Samaria.

The majority of the international community considers Israel’s presence in…

Israel prepares to break ground on new ‘Trump city’

U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights sparked considerable excitement in Israel, leading to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call for the founding of a new community in the northern region to be named after the U.S. president.

The community – which is still in its early stages – will house 97…

Kushner to visit Israel ahead of US peace plan rollout — report

US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is planning to visit Israel ahead of US peace conference in Bahrain next month, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

US and Israeli officials are in advanced stages of the planning of the visit, that could come as early as next week.

Kan says Kushner will meet with Prime…

US embassy move has produced lasting gains

The first anniversary of the U.S. embassy’s move to Jerusalem sparked multiple articles in the Israeli press declaring it a failure for both U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. From the left-wing Haaretz to the centrist Times of Israel, headlines trumpeted the fact that only one minor country, Guatemala, has followed…

US and Israel call for end of UNRWA, the UN agency that oversees Palestinians

(May 22, 2019 / JNS) The United States and Israel on Wednesday called for UNRWA, the U.N. agency that oversees the Palestinian refugees, to cease operations.

“We need an additional $1.2 billion for our activities in 2019. We don’t believe the future of Palestine refugees should be framed in decades of UNRWA,” said Pierre Krähenbühl, the UNRWA…

San Diego State center apologizes for using photo of Palestinian terrorist

(JTA) — The Women’s Resource Center at San Diego State University has apologized for including on its weekly newsletter an image of a female Palestinian terrorist holding a gun.

The image was part of the May 8 newsletter sent to the center’s email list, according to the university’s student newspaper, The Daily Aztec. The apology was sent May 14…

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said he supports move of US Embassy to Jerusalem. Pro-Palestinian groups are calling him out.

(JTA) — Pro-Palestinian groups have called on Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to retract his statement saying he supports the move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Garcetti, a Democrat, made the statement last week in Jerusalem while leading a delegation from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, sponsored by the American Jewish Committee Project…