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.
Issues
US-Israel Relationship
US-Israel Relationship
Taylor Force act passes Senate hurdle, on path to become law
WASHINGTON – A Senate bill that would force the Palestinian Authority to end its program of compensating convicted murderers and terrorists in Israel passed through a critical committee markup and vote on Thursday.
The Taylor Force Act – originally drafted exclusively by Republicans – earned support from Democratic senators and several Israel…
US-Israel Relationship
PA payments to prisoners, ‘martyr’ families now equal half its foreign aid
The Palestinian Authority’s 2017 budget for payments to inmates in Israeli prisons and so-called “families of martyrs” is equal in sum to about half of the foreign aid Ramallah expects to receive this year, a recently published Israeli report shows.
According to the PA Finance Ministry’s 2017 budget, published on its website earlier in July,…
US-Israel Relationship
Expert: $3K Per Month PA Salary for Halamish Killer Will Give ‘Momentum’ to Taylor Force Act
The e monthly salary of approximately $3,000 that the Palestinian Authority will pay to terrorist Omar al-Abed could be a powerful spur to a pending US legislative bill that would slash aid to the PA over its “martyr payments” policy, a leading Middle East expert told The Algemeiner on Tuesday.
“This is definitely going to put wind in the sails…
US-Israel Relationship
House passes bill that includes $705m. for US-Israel missile defense cooperation
WASHINGTON — The US House of Representatives passed a massive $696 billion defense policy bill on Friday that designates $705 million for US-Israel missile defense cooperation.
The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which passed 344 to 81, increases spending on these programs by $105 million more than in last year’s budget. The total figure…
US-Israel Relationship
Decrying ‘Abominable’ PA ‘Martyr Payments’ Policy, Former US Officials Pledge Support for Taylor Force Act at Senate Hearing
Former top US diplomatic official Elliott Abrams told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that Washington should suspend payments that directly benefit the Palestinian Authority (PA) until it ends its policy of “martyr payments” to the families of convicted Palestinian terrorists — a practice deemed “abominable” by former US…
US-Israel Relationship
From the Land of the Free to the Holy Land
Most Americans don’t know it, but the United States has been involved in the Holy Land for a long, long time.
Starting in the early 19th century, as travel to the region became safer — in the wake of the wars fought by the US and Europe against the Barbary Pirates (1801–1805 and 1815–1816), and the 1830 French conquest of Algeria — North…
US-Israel Relationship
Haley calls UNESCO Hebron motion ‘an affront to history,’ says US to review ties
WASHINGTON — Hours after UNESCO declared the Tomb of the Patriarchs, in the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank, an endangered Palestinian world heritage site, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the move was both “tragic” and an “affront to history,” and that the US would review its ties with the world body as a result of the…
US-Israel Relationship
US warship visit marks ‘deepening cooperation’ on regional threats, top officer says
The docking of a US Navy supercarrier on the Haifa coast this week signifies deepening ties between Israel and the United States in confronting threats posed by “the global Jihad axis,” according to a top IDF officer responsible for cooperation between the two militaries.
The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, which has been a leading part of…
US-Israel Relationship
World’s largest warship docks at Haifa
The Nimitz-class aircraft supercarrier left its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia on January 21 and has been in the region since February as a base for airstrikes against the Islamic State group. It operates mainly in the Persian Gulf.
Commissioned in 2009, the 333m-long nuclear-powered ship can carry a crew of over 5,000 people, as well as around 90…
US-Israel Relationship
US pilots reunite with Israeli ‘brothers in arms’ from Yom Kippur War
TEL AVIV (JTA) – The arrival of US fighter jets in Israel, as part of a month-long arms drop, was critical to turning the tide of the Yom Kippur War in favor of the Jewish state.
But for the American pilots who volunteered to deliver the aircraft, it was just another mission. Alan Chesterman, part of a US Navy squadron that flew a handful of the…
US-Israel Relationship
Trump admin unveils cyber pact with Israel
The Trump administration announced a new bilateral working group between the United States and Israel on cybersecurity.
Tom Bossert, White House homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, disclosed the new partnership to combat cyberattacks during remarks at an annual cybersecurity conference in Tel Aviv.
“These high-level meetings…
US-Israel Relationship
Group of Top Ex-Israeli Security Officials Back US Legislation to Cut Funding of Palestinian Authority Over Terror Payments
A group of former top Israeli security officials are speaking out in favor of a proposed congressional bill that would cut off American funding of the Palestinian Authority if it continues to pay monetary rewards to terrorists and their families.
In a letter that was seen by The Algemeiner, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Yosef Kuperwasser wrote that a failure…
US-Israel Relationship
Jared Kushner lands in Israel, rushes to visit Malka family
While Kushner arrived in Israel in a bid to restart a new peace initiative and negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians under the direction of the new administration, he immediately paid the visit to the Malka family in Givat Ezer as they continue to mourn their fallen daughter. He was joined by US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.
A…
Issues
US-Israel Relationship
Vice President Mike Pence to Keynote CUFI Washington Summit on July 17, 2017
US-Israel Relationship
Donald Trump Jr. calls out BBC over Jerusalem attack headline
US President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Jr., on Saturday called out the BBC for a headline on the Jerusalem terror attack that neglected to mention the Israeli Border Police officer stabbed to death, and focused only on the three Palestinians killed without noting that they were the assailants.
“Three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing in…
US-Israel Relationship
Condemning Virginia shooting, Netanyahu says Israel stands with US
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday sent wishes for a fast recovery to the victims of the Virginia shooting attack, saying Israel stands with the US on this “difficult day.”
A rifle-wielding critic of US President Donald Trump opened fire Wednesday on US lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game, seriously wounding a top…
US-Israel Relationship
Haley slams UN human rights report for ‘singling out Israel’
WASHINGTON — US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley on Tuesday slammed a report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for its “unfair bias” in “singling out Israel.”
The US envoy condemned a report released just a day earlier that accused both Israel and the Palestinians for failing to probe war crimes. but focused heavily on Israel’s…