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

Former Iran Hostage Announces Hunger Strike: ‘No Deal Unless Hostages Are Free’

One of the victims of the Iran hostage crisis is launching a hunger strike this week to pressure Washington and its allies to make the return of current hostages held by the Islamic Republic a precondition to any nuclear deal.

Talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers are currently ongoing in Vienna. Former...

In The News

UK police arrest 2 teens over Texas synagogue attack, reportedly gunman’s sons

The UK’s counter-terrorism police said it detained two teenagers on Sunday evening in connection with the hostage-taking incident by a British national in a Texas synagogue over the weekend, as a US report said the detainees are the sons of the attacker.

“Two teenagers were detained in South Manchester this evening. They remain in custody for...

In The News

Bennett offers UAE ‘security and intelligence support’ following Abu Dhabi attack

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemns the Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi yesterday, in a letter he sent to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.

“I strongly condemn the terrorist attacks in Abu Dhabi carried out by the Iranian-backed Houthis and send condolences to the families of the innocent victims,” Bennett says. “Israel stands with the...

In The News

1,000-strong multifaith crowd rallies around Jewish community at post-standoff vigil

Roughly one thousand people of various faiths and backgrounds gathered for a vigil at a church five miles north of Colleyville, Texas, on Monday evening, showing solidarity with the nearby Jewish community as it began to heal from the hostage standoff at Congregation Beth Israel 48 hours earlier.

“While very few of us are doing okay right now,...

In The News

‘We can never let guard down,’ says Jewish security official, urging congregant training drills

The Jewish community “must be ready” and stay “vigilant and strong” to respond to any anti-Semitic incidents, emphasized Michael Masters, CEO and national director of the Secure Community Network, the security arm of the organized Jewish community.

“We are just 2 percent of the U.S. population, but 58 percent of religiously motivated hate...

In The News

Pro-Israel groups fearful that Iron Dome funding may end up blocked long-term

With a deadline to fund the U.S. government past the temporary Continuing Resolution (CR) passed last month set to expire mid-February, pro-Israel organizations have been pushing to bring supplemental funding of Iron Dome interceptor missiles back to the forefront.

Since September, senators have tried four times to bring a standalone...

In The News

‘Calm, collected’ synagogue rabbi wowed FBI through 10-hour Texas hostage crisis

Local and federal law enforcement credited Congregation Beth Israel Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker’s “calm and collected” demeanor for helping bring about a miraculous end to the ten-hour hostage crisis at his northern Texas synagogue on Saturday night.

Cytron-Walker and the three other worshipers who made it to Sabbath morning services in the...

In The News

Three killed in drone attack on Abu Dhabi

Three people were killed and six were injured after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed responsibility for an alleged drone attack on the United Arab Emirates that occurred Monday morning, state media reported.

Shortly afterward, the Saudi-led coalition claimed that it had managed to down eight drones launched in the direction of Saudi...

In The News

IDF: Palestinian tries to stab troops at West Bank bus stop

“The assailant got out of a car, armed with a knife, and tried to stab an IDF soldier,” the military said.

The soldier opened fire at the man, killing him, according to the IDF. The knife was recovered at the scene.

Troops launched a search to find the car that transported the assailant to the scene, setting up roadblocks in the area.

The...

In The News

UK citizen named as Texas synagogue attacker, two teens arrested

Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen, was named as the perpetrator in Saturday's hostage-taking incident at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, the FBI announced on Sunday. Akram died as police stormed the building.

There is no indication that other individuals are involved in the case, the FBI said....

In The News

Texas synagogue hostage crisis is a terrorism-related matter,’ FBI says

Malik Faisal Akram, the British national who was killed Saturday night after allegedly taking four people hostage inside a Texas synagogue, spoke "repeatedly" about a convicted terrorist during negotiations with law enforcement, according to an FBI statement obtained by Fox News.

The statement, which was released late Sunday, does not identify...

In The News

German City of Munich Launches Year-Long Tribute to Israeli Athletes Murdered by Palestinian Terrorists at 1972 Olympics

The city of Munich has held the first of 150 events this year that will commemorate the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games there fifty years ago.

On Thursday, a visual installation in memory of one of the murdered athletes, David Berger, illuminated the facade of the Amerikahaus, an institution in Munich that works to enhance...

In The News

ISIS conducted 2,700-plus attacks worldwide in 2021

The Islamic States (ISIS) terror organization conducted 2,705 attacks worldwide in 2021, roughly the same number it conducted in 2020 (2,781), according to a new report by an Israeli research center.

The Meir Amit Terrorism and Intelligence Information Center said that the role of ISIS in Afghanistan increased substantially in 2021 following...

In The News

US: Only ‘a few weeks left’ to save Iran nuclear deal, we’re eyeing ‘other options’

There are only “a few weeks left” to save the Iran nuclear deal, and the United States is ready to look at “other options” if negotiations fail, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.

Talks to restore the 2015 accord between Tehran and world powers — United States, France, Britain, Russia, China, and Germany — began last year but...

In The News

China’s shift toward Iran can harm Israel, pro-US countries in Middle East

Iranian media is trumpeting the visit of Iran’s foreign minister to China this week and Beijing has recently done outreach and important meetings with a number of countries in the region.

However, the increasing tensions between China and the US, as well as American concerns about Chinese investment in Israel and other pro-Western countries...

In The News

ISIS bot army adapts to survive online cyberslaughter

ISIS’s digital presence is under constant attack by the West, Iranian proxies and others, but its army of bots is learning to adapt even to aggressive attempts to shut it down, a new report by the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University said.

Authored by ICT researcher Danielle Haberfeld and Research Director...

In The News

Explosion reported at Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon

A large explosion was heard between Deir El Zahrani and Houmine El Faouqa in southern Lebanon early Thursday morning, according to Lebanese media.

Video reportedly from the scene showed a blaze with smoke rising from the site. The explosion reportedly took place in an uninhabited area. The cause of the explosion is still unclear.

According...

In The News

Syrian surface-to-surface missile site exposed, ‘threatens most of Israel’

A fortified compound north of Palmyra in eastern Syria is equipped with medium-range and long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, a new report by the Israeli Alma Research and Education Center said on Wednesday.

The site is in use by the radical Shi’ite axis led by Iran, said the report.

“In our estimation, the medium-range missiles...

In The News

EEOC Commissioner says Stanford antisemitism “deeply troubling”

The Brandeis Center’s complaint of antisemitism at Stanford University highlighted “deeply troubling” accusations of antisemitism, Commissioner Andrea Lucas of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a Wednesday panel on rising antisemitism.

The EEOC administers and enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination....

In The News

Two Israeli military officers killed in friendly fire incident

Two Israeli military officers were killed on Wednesday night in a friendly fire incident at a base in the Jordan Valley, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday.
They were identified as Maj. Itamar Elharar, 26, and Maj. Ofek Aharon, 28.
The company commanders in the Oz Brigade’s Egoz Unit had just finished a drill in the firing zone of...