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.

Bipartisan US lawmakers urge EU to fully label Hezbollah a terror group

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a resolution on Monday to urge the European Union “to fully designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization.”

According to Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism, the EU currently includes only Hezbollah’s...

New Olympic medalist Semberg gets hero’s welcome upon return to Israel

Israel’s only medalist so far in the Tokyo Olympics, taekwondo athlete Avishag Semberg, returned to Israel on Tuesday to a hero’s welcome at Ben Gurion Airport and in her hometown of Gedera, sending a message to girls and boys that “anything is possible.”
Semberg, 19, who had not been considered a medal favorite ahead of the contest, won the...

Blinken Voices Outrage After Swastika Etched at State Department

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday voiced outrage and promised renewed efforts to combat antisemitism after a swastika was found etched in an elevator at the State Department.
Officials said they had launched an investigation into how the symbol of Nazi Germany was scraped into the wood paneling of an elevator in the Harry S. Truman...

Secret Iran hacking plans against West revealed – report

Five secret documents allegedly showing Iranian plans to hack infrastructure in Western countries', including in Europe, were publicized by Sky News late Monday.

Although there are reports of such hacks by Iran and others in the past, it is unusual for a media organization to obtain actual internal planning documents for Unit 13, the cyber unit...

With new national record, swimmer Gorbenko makes history to reach Olympic final

Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko made history and set a national record in the 100-meter backstroke Monday, on her way to clinching a chance to compete for an Olympic medal in the event. She also qualified for the semifinals in the 200-meter individual medley — her strongest event.
Gorbenko, 17, raced in with a time of 59.30 seconds, enough to...

Iran protests spread to Tehran: ‘Death to the Dictator!’

Dozens of Iranians marched down a major street in Tehran on Monday, online videos show, amid ongoing protests over water shortages in southwestern Iran.
The demonstrators are seen in the videos marching down Jomhuri Islami Avenue — or “Islamic Republic Avenue” in Farsi — and calling on police to support them. Men on motorbikes and those in cars...

Palestinian who saved Jewish family granted permanent residency

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked granted this week permanent residency to A., a Palestinian man who saved the lives of three members of the Ettinger family who were shot at by terrorists on a highway in Judea and Samaria in 2016.

The father of the family, Mark, lost his life in the attack, but wife Chava, son Pedaya and daughter Tehila survived...

Bennett aides to travel to DC for meetings with Biden staff ahead of PM’s visit

Senior aides to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will fly to Washington next week for meetings with their American counterparts in preparation for the premier’s visit to DC, an official in the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to The Times of Israel Monday.
National Security Council chairman Eyal Hulata and Bennett’s diplomatic adviser Shimrit Meir...

At CUFI gathering, Christians and Jews alike vow to fight BDS ‘economic anti-Semitism’

If day one of the Christians United for Israel 2021 summit was about honoring Israel, the next day’s focus at the organization’s annual conference held this year in Dallas was a call to action.
The more than 700 invited CUFI leaders and donors at the two-day conference on July 18-19 arrived early in the morning for the start of the marathon...

Radical Exchange: How Turkey and Iran Infiltrate Young American Minds

On June 29, during a conference at the Gaza Strip’s Al-Quds Open University titled “The Zionist Narrative Between Cassation and Dismantlement,” Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas stated: “There have become convictions and shifts in the world’s public opinion and at the level of parliaments towards reconsidering the Palestinian...

Palestinians accuse Hamas of storing weapons in residential areas

Palestinian factions and human rights organizations have called on Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups to stop  storing weapons in residential areas following another explosion, which killed one person and injured 14 others on Thursday.

They also demanded a thorough investigation into the explosion in order to hold those responsible...

Lapid and Gantz said to warn US: Iran is close to nuclear threshold

Israeli authorities have warned US officials in recent days that Iran is closer than ever to attaining nuclear weapons, according to the Kan public broadcaster.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and other Israeli officials have addressed the issue with their American counterparts recently, issuing an “unusual warning,”...

Reports: Hezbollah Commander, IRGC Senior Official Killed in Israeli Strikes

Israeli strikes reportedly killed a Hezbollah military commander and an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) senior official.
The Kan public broadcaster reported that Hezbollah military commander Imad al-Amin was killed in western Syria and the Lebanese terrorist group confirmed his death.
Saudi outlet Al-Arabiya had originally...

Direct Israel-Morocco flights launched, months after ties normalized

The first direct commercial flights between Israel and Morocco landed in Marrakesh on Sunday, more than seven months after the countries normalized diplomatic relations in a US-brokered deal.
Passengers from Tel Aviv arrived on an Israir flight early Sunday afternoon and were met with dates, cakes, and mint tea, at a welcoming ceremony organized...

IDF strikes Gaza after incendiary balloons spark fires in south

Israel Defense Forces jets struck a series of targets in Gaza late Sunday night, hours after incendiary balloons launched from the Strip sparked several fires in southern Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes hit several buildings in a Hamas military base, as well as unspecified “infrastructure and utilities used for activities” of the...

New York Times Opinion Writer Was Paid Iranian Propagandist, Prosecutor Says

A frequent New York Times opinion writer facing criminal charges for allegedly being a paid foreign agent of the Iranian government appeared virtually this month before the federal judge hearing the case, as a prosecutor told the judge that the writer’s crime was not only “lobbying” for the regime in Tehran but also “the dissemination of...

Palestinian Authority official says PA ready for direct talks with Israel

Civil Affairs Minister Hussein Al-Sheikh is one of the leading figures in the Palestinian Authority hierarchy and is one of President Mahmoud Abbas’ closest advisers. Al-Sheikh is the point person to Israel in all security matters and chairs the dialogue between the Palestinian government and the United States administration.

Al-Sheikh, who...

Hezbollah’s notorious Unit 133 is back in business

Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Force and Israel Police announced that they had thwarted a significant weapons-smuggling attempt from Lebanon into Israel. A total of 43 firearms worth millions of shekels were confiscated near the area of the village of Ghajar on July 9, said security forces, after IDF observation troops spotted smuggling...

1 killed, 10 injured in explosion at Gaza City market

One person was killed and 10 others were injured after a weapons storage belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist movement at the Al-Zawiya market in Gaza City exploded on Thursday morning, IDF spokesperson for Arab media Avichay Adraee reported on Twitter.

"This explosion is another evidence of the way the interests of terrorist...

Algerian judoka said to quit Olympics in order to not face Israeli opponent

A day before the Tokyo Olympics are set to officially open, Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine reportedly pulled out of the games on Thursday in order to avoid the possibility of facing an Israeli competitor.
According to Hebrew media reports, Nourine made the decision after he was drawn earlier Thursday to face Tohar Butbul in the second round of the...