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.

In The News

Lapid: 2022 will see intense effort to paint Israel as apartheid state

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid warned on Monday that Israel will face intense campaigns to label it an apartheid state in 2022.

“We think that in the coming year, there will be debate that is unprecedented in its venom and in its radioactivity around the words ‘Israel as an apartheid state,'” Lapid said during a Zoom briefing with Israeli...

In The News

Jerusalem Post website hacked with Iran warning on anniversary of Soleimani killing

Two Israeli media outlets were hacked early Monday with warnings from an Iranian propaganda video linked to the second anniversary of the assassination of top general Qassem Soleimani.

The website of The Jerusalem Post showed a scene from an Iranian missile drill last month in which Tehran destroyed a mock-up of Israel’s nuclear reactor in...

In The News

Armed drones targeting Baghdad compound shot down on anniversary of Soleimani death

The US-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq on Monday shot down two armed drones targeting a compound at Baghdad airport hosting its personnel, a coalition official said.

The incident, which was not claimed by any group, came two years after a US drone strike near the airport killed Iran’s revered General Qassem Soleimani and...

In The News

Palestinian rockets explode off Tel Aviv coast, military says

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets toward the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday which exploded off the coast of Tel Aviv and prompted retaliatory strikes, Israel said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from Gaza militants for the rocket firing or comment from Hamas, the Islamist armed group that rules the coastal Palestinian...

In The News

Israeli researchers extract electricity from seaweed

Researchers in Israel devised a new method to extract electrical current from seaweed without harming the environment.
Yaniv Shlosberg, a Ph.D. student, hatched the concept while swimming in the Meditteranean Sea.
It was later developed by a group of researchers from three Technion-Israel Institute of Technology faculties, along with a...

In The News

Soccer fans in Belgium do Nazi salutes, chant about killing Jews, Hamas

Dozens of soccer fans in Antwerp, Belgium, were filmed giving Nazi salutes while chanting about Hamas and gassing and burning Jews.

Police are investigating the videos, which appeared on social media earlier this week. The incident appeared to have taken place at or outside Café Stadion, a restaurant near a soccer stadium.

The men chanted:...

In The News

Israel, US sign deal for 12 helicopters and refueling aircraft

Israel’s Defense Ministry has signed an agreement with the US government to acquire 12 Lockheed Martin CH-53K helicopters and two additional Boeing KC-46 refueling aircraft.

The  US Defense Department’s Procurement Delegation signed the letters of acceptance (LOAs) with Israel on Thursday evening to replace the Israel Air Force’s CH-53 Yasur...

In The News

Jerusalem resident charged with aiding Hezbollah terror group

Prosecutors filed an indictment in Jerusalem’s District Court on Friday against a resident of the city, accusing him of aiding the Hezbollah terror group.

Ahmad Zahra, 32, is charged with contact with a foreign agent and providing information to the enemy in order to harm state security.

Prosecutors say Zahra contacted a man in Lebanon nine...

In The News

West Bank: Attempted stabbing attack thwarted

An attempted stabbing attack adjacent to Gitai Avisar Junction in the West Bank was thwarted on Friday, Israel’s army (IDF) reported.
According to the initial report, Palestinian suspects drove and stopped adjacent to a military post on the Gitai Avisar Junction.
The assailant exited the vehicle, armed with a knife, and ran towards a bus station...

In The News

US Navy seizes $4 million worth of heroin in Arabian Sea

United States navy vessels seized 385 kilograms (849 pounds) of heroin in the Arabian Sea worth some $4 million, in a major bust by the international maritime operation in the region, officials said Thursday.
The USS Tempest and USS Typhoon seized the drugs hidden aboard a stateless fishing vessel plying Mideast waters, the international task...

In The News

Swastikas Graffitied at Borough Park Playground, as Antisemitic Hate Crimes Surge in NYC

New York City police are investigating the graffitiing of two swastikas at a playground in Borough Park, amid a surge in antisemitic hate crimes this year.

The offensive symbols were discovered Sunday afternoon on a structure at Gravesend Park and reported to the voluntary neighborhood patrol group Boro Park Shomrim, who contacted the NYPD,...

In The News

Israel approaches 9.5 million residents on eve of 2022

Israel has close to 9.5 million residents, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said in data released Thursday to mark the end of 2021.

According to the statistics, 9.449 million people live in Israel at the end of 2021. Of those, 6.982 million (74 percent) are Jewish, 1.99 million (21%) are Arab and 472,000 (5%) are neither.

The...

In The News

Iran claims to have launched rocket with satellite carrier into space

Iran said Thursday it launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three research devices into space, though it’s unclear if any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth.

The state TV report, as well as others by semiofficial news agencies, did not say when the launch was conducted nor what devices the carrier brought with it....

In The News

Abbas said to warn Gantz changes on Temple Mt. could lead to ‘unstoppable’ violence

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly warned Defense Minister Benny Gantz that while he was committed to stopping violence in the West Bank, he was concerned that changes to the religious status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem could lead to an “unstoppable” escalation, Hebrew media reported Wednesday.

Abbas was hosted by...

In The News

Palestinian workers in Israel’s high-tech industry

Israel’s high-tech industry is seeing a growing number of Palestinians from the West Bank making the commute to contribute to the sector.
Considered as a major player in the world’s tech industry - with record levels of foreign investments in 2021 - Israel is home to major high-tech firms like Microsoft and Intel.
It comes as no surprise that...

In The News

Hezbollah deploys air defense systems north of Damascus, Syria

Hezbollah is reportedly deploying air defense systems in Syria, where it would be able to defend against Israeli airstrikes there as well as Lebanon.

According to the ALMA Research Center, the group is deploying the systems to the Qalmoun Mountains region northwest of Damascus which borders Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, home to Hezbollah’s logistical...

In The News

Jewish man punched, given black eye in Brooklyn for wearing IDF shirt

Two Jewish men, one of whom was wearing an IDF sweatshirt, were attacked in Brooklyn on Sunday, the New York Post reported.

Blake Zavadsky and Ilan Kaganovich were in a shoe shop in the city when two attackers accosted them.

"They asked us what we were doing in their neighborhood," Zavadsky told the Post.

Zavadsky was the one wearing...

In The News

Lawmakers urge Biden administration to impose sanctions on Hamas, Hezbollah for use of human shields

A bipartisan group of 20 members of Congress is calling for the Biden administration to apply provisions of a law passed unanimously in 2019 to punish organizations that engage in the use of human shields, such as the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.

Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) co-authored a letter to U.S....

In The News

Israeli civilian injured by gunfire from Gaza; IDF shells Hamas posts in response

An Israeli civilian was injured from gunfire Wednesday near the border with Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said, drawing retaliatory strikes in the Strip.

Several Hebrew media outlets reported that the Israeli was injured by sniper fire originating in Gaza.

The man was taken to Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon with light injuries to his leg,...

Event Recaps

December 13 – Why Israel – Bradenton, FL

I was invited to do a Why Israel presentation at a Pastors and Leaders conference. The event was attended by more than 60 pastors and leaders from different states, as well as 2 pastors from South Korea. Most of the attendees were very interested in partnering with CUFI.  At this event, doors also opened for me to do Pastors meetings in Wisconsin...