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

Iran says it has nearly doubled its stockpile of highly enriched uranium

Iran said Thursday it has significantly increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, weeks before talks resume to return to the 2015 deal that limited its nuclear program.
Tehran has gradually abandoned its main commitments made in this agreement one year after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States in 2018 from this pact followed...

In The News

Israel participates in Cyprus oil rig drills amid Turkey tensions

Israel on Wednesday took part in annual drills off the southern coast of Cyprus to increase the security and safety of oil rigs and vessels amid continuing tensions with Turkey over competing claims to hydrocarbon reserves.
The United States, France, Italy, Britain and Egypt also participated in the "Nemesis" exercise in the waters around the...

In The News

US ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides confirmed by Senate

The US Senate on Wednesday confirmed Thomas R. Nides to serve as the next Ambassador to Israel. He was confirmed by a voice vote. He previously served as deputy secretary of state for management and resources under Hillary Clinton from 2011 to 2013.

He was also awarded the secretary of state’s Distinguished Service Award in January 2013. Nides...

In The News

American, Israeli flags burned as Iran marks 1979 takeover of US Embassy

Thousands of Iranians gathered on Tehran streets Thursday for the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US Embassy, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” and burning American and Israeli flags. The embassy takeover triggered a 444-day hostage crisis and break in diplomatic relations that continues to this day.

The...

In The News

Negotiations around a return to the Iran nuclear deal to resume on Nov. 29

Talks on reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, will resume on Nov. 29 in Vienna, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator said on Wednesday, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

“We agreed to start the negotiations aiming at removal of unlawful & inhumane sanctions on 29 November in...

In The News

Saudi rift with Lebanon growing amid discontent over Hezbollah’s dominance

If Lebanon, mired in a financial and political crisis, didn’t have enough problems, it has angered Saudi Arabia, an important economic patron. The Saudis have taken umbrage at comments made by Lebanon’s information minister. Some analysts, however, tell JNS that the comments were just a pretext—a way for the Saudis to express their long-simmering...

In The News

Alleged Israeli airstrike targets Iranian militia weapons depot – report

An alleged Israeli airstrike targeted a site in the Zakya area, southwest of Damascus, on Tuesday night, causing material damage, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. Opposition-affiliated media reported that the airstrikes targeted sites belonging to Iranian militias.

The SANA report added that the airstrike was carried out from the...

In The News

‘Heil Hitler’ Sign Outside San Antonio Automotive Repair Shop Causes Distress in Local Community

Residents of south side of San Antonio, Texas, have expressed distress over a bizarre sign outside a local garage that includes the words “Heil Hitler” and the Nazi swastika.

The sign, in large red letters on a white banner, has been on display at the entrance to the Budget Automotive Repair shop on Quintana Road.

Annette Orta, a local...

In The News

IDF holding amphibious drill in Eilat with US NAVCENT forces

The IDF have begun a joint, bilateral amphibious exercise with the US Naval Forces Central Command’s (NAVCENT) 5th Fleet in Eilat for the second time in less than a month.

NAVCENT’s 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade is leading the American participation in the drill which will also see some 500 troops from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit,...

In The News

Israel prepares to launch giant missile-detecting balloon over north

Israel is preparing to launch a massive new balloon equipped with an advanced missile and aircraft detection system into the northern sky, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The deployment of the radar-based system, set to take place at an unspecified date shortly, comes as part of a general effort by the Israeli Air Force to improve the...

In The News

Hundreds march at George Washington University to take stand against anti-Semitism

Chanting “Am Yisrael Chai”—the Jewish people live—hundreds of students at George Washington University marched from the building that houses the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity to the center of campus to stand against anti-Semitism.

The “Torah Procession and Solidarity Rally” was a response to the desecration of a paper Torah in the fraternity...

In The News

Biden’s Approach to Turkey has Washington Treading Water

Turkey's slide toward authoritarian rule, support for jihadists and warming relationship with Russia have been a source of bipartisan concern for the better part of the last decade. Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has undermined its relationship with the U.S. and the strength of NATO, earned U.S. sanctions for...

In The News

Syrian bunker full of weapons from Six Day War uncovered

A huge Syrian bunker full of ammunition from the Six Day War has been uncovered in the Golan Heights by the Defense Ministry’s Mine Action Authority.

The bunker was discovered laden with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, mortar bombs of various diameters,  pyrotechnics, explosives, and more. All were found in bulk and in their original...

In The News

Holocaust survivor publishes PhD dissertation on ‘serendipity’ of Balfour

Paul Goldstein is not the oldest person to receive a PhD, but he comes pretty close. In September 2020, Goldstein earned a doctorate in political science from Israel’s Ariel University at age 87.

In September 2021, Goldstein’s dissertation on the Balfour Declaration was published as a book by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, another achievement...

In The News

Fire set outside Austin, Texas synagogue follows spate of antisemitic acts

A fire set outside a synagogue in Austin, Texas follows a series of antisemitic incidents in the city in recent weeks.

Police are investigating Sunday night’s fire at Congregation Beth Israel as a possible case of arson. The fire was discovered just one week after banners with the words “Vax the Jews” were hung by a neo-Nazi group from an...

In The News

For Israeli startups, ‘7 trillion’ reasons to develop climate solutions

The current Israeli government led by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is taking the issue of climate change more seriously than ever before. Israel has brought a delegation of 140 members to the 26th U.N. Climate Change Convention (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.

Bennett pledged this week that Israel will no longer burn coal for electricity...

In The News

‘Unprecedented’ IDF Simulation Preps for Full-Scale War Scenario Along Northern Border With Lebanon, Syria

The Israeli army’s Home Front Command together with the Defense Ministry’s National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) on Sunday embarked on a five-day training exercise along the country’s northern border, to simulate responses to war scenarios and improve the readiness of emergency bodies.

The exercise, dubbed “national home front,” will...

In The News

EU refuses to outlaw the entire Hezbollah terrorist entity

Amid complaints by European Jewish leaders that the European Union does not have a serious plan to fight rising antisemitism on the continent, a spokesman for the EU told The Jerusalem Post that the EU will not ban the  entire terrorist movement Hezbollah and declines to say if the Islamic Republic is an antisemitic regime.

When the Post asked...

In The News

Crisis with Lebanon rooted in Hezbollah dominance – Saudi minister

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Saturday the latest crisis with Lebanon has its origins in a Lebanese political setup that reinforces the dominance of the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group and continues to allow endemic instability.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries expelled Lebanese envoys in a diplomatic spat that risks adding to...

In The News

For first time in 20 months, Israel welcomes back tourists

Israel on Monday opened its borders for the first time since March 2020 to tourists who are vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from the disease.

The vast majority of tourists have effectively been banned from entering Israel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The reopening of borders has been delayed numerous times...