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.

Iran

US Refuses To Share Intel With Qatar Due To Its Support For Iran

12/17/2020

British MP Ian Paisley Jr. delivered a shocking presentation last week during a House of Commons debate, saying the American government does not share military intelligence with Qatar, where the US has a huge military base, because the Gulf monarchy is aligned with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“Some of the reading in that report...

Iran

Iran Arrests Father And Brother Of Executed Wrestler While Cleaning Grave

12/17/2020

Iranian regime intelligence agents arrested the brother and father of Navid Afkari, the champion Greco-Roman wrestler who was illegally executed by the regime in September for his participation in a protest against the clerical system of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

According to a Thursday report on the website of IranWire, “A...

In The News

Israel’s Historic Missile Test: A Message To Iran, Hezbollah, Allies

12/15/2020

Israel’s Missile Defense Organization and the US Missile Defense Agency have successfully completed an unprecedented, historic test designed to confront multiple threats using a multitiered system. Nothing like this has ever been reported to have been done before, and it represents a response to the latest threats emerging in the...

In The News

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange And Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Sign MOU

12/16/2020

Abu Dhabi Securities exchange (ADX) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday, the ADX and TASE announced in a joint statement.

This is the first time an Arab exchange has entered into a commercial relationship with the State of Israel, according to the statement. The MOU aims to...

Antisemitism

Long Island Jewish Day School’s Website Hacked With Antisemitic Messages, Nazi Imagery

12/15/2020

Parents and students at a Jewish school in Long Island, New York, were left deeply shaken on Monday after hackers using the name “K-ke Slayer” defaced the institution’s website with Nazi imagery and antisemitic invective.

Shortly after 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon, visitors to the website of the Great Neck North Shore Hebrew Academy...

Turkey

Turkish Media Vows To Take Over Tel Aviv, Calls Opposition ‘Terrorists’

12/16/2020

Turkey has in the last few weeks sought to use media connections abroad to push narratives about how it wants reconciliation with Israel, even as its own media pushes extremist anti-Israel comments. One commentator, according to T24 Turkish media, said that Turkey could “enter Tel Aviv in 48 hours.” He claimed, “we are not like the...

US-Israel Relationship

Israel, US Successfully Complete Series Of Advanced Version David’s Sling Missile Tests

12/15/2020
Iron Dome system upgrade not only includes short-range rockets and mortars but also drones, cruise missiles.

Israel's Defense Ministry in conjunction with the United States Missile Defense Agency (USMDA) announced Tuesday a successful series of intercept tests of an advanced version of the David's Sling Weapon System.
The Israel...

Morocco To Become First Arab Nation To Teach Jewish History, Culture In Schools

12/13/2020

Trailblazing change, Morocco on Sunday announced that its schools will soon begin teaching Jewish history and culture as part of the official curriculum — a first in the region and in the North African country, where Islam is the state religion.

The decision follows King Mohammed VI of Morocco’s decision to normalize relations...

Iran

US Accuses Iran For ‘Probable Death’ Of Former FBI Agent

12/14/2020
Iranian intelligence officers were involved in Bob Levinson's abduction and detention,' FBI director says

The United States for the first time accused Iran of direct involvement in the "probable death" of former FBI agent Bob Levinson, who vanished 13 years ago, and imposed sanctions on two intelligence agents.
Releasing the...

In The News

UAE, Bahrain Delegations Take Part In Western Wall Hanukkah Lighting Ceremony

12/14/2020

A delegation from both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain took part Monday evening in the central menorah lighting at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, in a ceremony described by the site’s chief rabbi as a “Hanukkah miracle.”

The group was made up of social activists and opinion leaders from the Gulf countries, visiting Israel as...

In The News

Israeli Airlines Plan Daily Flights To Morocco

12/13/2020

Israeli airline El Al is planning to operate at least one daily flight to Morocco, Israeli business daily Globes reported on Friday.

The report came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announcedthat the North African country had agreed to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel.

Until now, Israelis have had to...

In The News

Jerusalem’s Archeological Tunneling Efforts Win Top Award

12/14/2020

Jerusalem’s Old City can now add another global feather to its cap: The archeological tunneling to explore and excavate its history has just won worldwide recognition by the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association (ITA).

Coming in at first place in the “Oddities of the Underground” category in the ITA’s sixth...

Turkey

US Sanctions Turkey Over Acquiring Russian Missile-Defense System

12/14/2020

The Trump administration announced on Monday that it has imposed sanctions on Turkey for acquiring a Russian missile-defense system.

The United States sanctioned Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) in accordance with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) of 2017 for receiving the S-400...

In The News

Congress Votes To Maintain Security Assistance To Israel

12/14/2020

The U.S. Congress passed a $741 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2021 fiscal year last week that includes the continuation of American assistance to Israel for missile-defense programs and other initiatives.

The Pentagon blueprint, which will need an appropriations bill to fund it, passed the U.S. House of...

Iran

Netanyahu Meets With US NSA O’Brien, Warns Of Iran’s ‘Threat To World Peace’

12/13/2020
The visit comes just weeks ahead of US VP Mike Pence's trip to the Jewish state on January 13

"We shouldn't go back to business as usual with Iran," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted in a press briefing with US National Security Adviser Robert C. O'Brien that was held in Jerusalem on Sunday.
As US President-elect...

Iran

Iran’s Khamenei Awards Military Medal To Slain Nuclear Scientist

12/13/2020
Fakhrizadeh was killed on a major road outside Tehran in late November in a bomb and gun attack

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday posthumously awarded a prestigious military decoration to top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated last month, state television reported.
Fakhrizadeh was...

Iran

Iran Executes Dissident Journalist Accused Of Inciting Unrest

12/13/2020

Iran has executed a dissident journalist, a year after he was seized by the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards in Iraq and forcibly repatriated to face trial.

Ruhollah Zam, 47, was hanged early on Saturday morning, Iranian state media reported. His family visited him the previous day, but prison and judicial authorities had not...

In The News

Israel Inks Deal Establishing Diplomatic Relations With Bhutan

12/12/2020

Israel has established full diplomatic ties with Bhutan, a small, majority-Buddhist landlocked kingdom in the Himalayas neighboring India and China.

The agreement was signed on Saturday at a ceremony held at the residence of Israel’s Ambassador to India Ron Malka, with the ambassador of Bhutan to India Major General Vetsop...

In The News

Oman, Indonesia Likely Next Countries To Forge Ties With Israel

12/13/2020

Oman and Indonesia could be next in line to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in the coming weeks, a diplomatic source said Sunday.

The Trump administration is continuing in its efforts to bring more Arab and Muslim countries into the Abraham Accords. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco have agreed to...

US-Israel Relationship

Congress Passes 2021 Defense Funding Bill, Including $3.3 Billion In Aid To Israel

12/11/2020

The Senate on Friday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2021, a massive bill which provides $740 billion in funding for a range of defense-related issues for the next fiscal year, including at least $3.3 billion that will go to Israel security assistance.

The Senate voted 84 to 13 in favor of the NDAA. The...