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

Hundreds Of Ethiopian Jews Immigrate To Israel On First Day Of The New Year

01/03/2021

The new year is off to a great start for 300 new Ethiopian immigrants, who just made aliyah in the first immigration flights of 2021.

The flights, arriving on the first day of the year, were part of Operation Rock of Israel, the latest airlift to help Jews in Ethiopia make aliyah and were carried out by the Jewish Agency and other...

Antisemitism

Four Brooklyn Synagogues Vandalized, Police Search For Suspect

12/30/2020

New York City police released footage on Wednesday of a man suspected of vandalizing four Brooklyn synagogues last weekend.

In a video published by PIX11 News, the man is seen vandalizing the Young Israel of Midwood, one of a string of similar incidents that took place on Saturday night. The other three synagogues targeted were...

Iran

Iran Tells IAEA It Plans To Enrich Uranium To Up To 20% At Fordow Site

01/02/2021

Iran has told the United Nations nuclear watchdog it plans to enrich uranium to up to 20% purity, a level it achieved before its 2015 accord, at its Fordow site buried inside a mountain, the agency said on Friday.

The move is the latest of several recent announcements by Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans...

Iran

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Chief Vows Strong Blow To ‘Any Action’ From ‘Enemy’ United States

01/02/2021

Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami vowed Saturday to respond to any "action the enemy takes," in a visit to a strategic Gulf island, amid rising tensions with the US.
"We are here today to evaluate and be assured of our powerful capabilities at sea and against enemies who sometimes boast... and threaten," he asserted....

Hezbollah

Hezbollah Aggression Against Israel ‘Increasingly Likely,’ IDF Official Says

01/01/2021
'Chances of a sudden, full-blown escalation are on the increase'

A resumption of aggression by the Shi'ite Lebanese terror group Hezbollah against targets in northern Israel is merely a matter of time, a senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official told the Hebrew-language Israel Hayom news site on Friday.
The official, who was...

Israeli Society

Israel’s minority community

12/30/2020
CUFI Coffee Break
Lesson 47
The State of Israel is fully committed to equality under the law for ALL its citizens, regardless of religion, race or nationality—including its large minority community which makes up roughly one quarter of Israel’s population.

Israel is the only state in the Middle East where Christians and their holy...

Palestinian Authority

Palestinian Authority To Pay Three Months Pay For Slay Salaries To Terrorists

12/30/2020

The Palestinian Authority (PA) intends to pay convicted terrorists three months worth of "salary" before the end of the year, according to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).

The PA holds a practice of paying Palestinians that have committed terrorist acts against Israelis and monthly stipends to the families of the terrorists that...

US-Israel Relationship

First American Woman Graduates Israeli Army’s Pilot Course

12/31/2020

Boston native Lt. O (whose full name cannot be disclosed) recently made history as the first American woman to graduate the prestigious Israel Air Force pilot course.

Lt. O finished the three-year course as a flight engineer. She joins the ranks of the small number of women who have completed the course in the 25 years it has...

In The News

Israel-Gulf Ties To Grow In 2021, Experts Predict

12/31/2020

A dozen experts have predicted a wide range of increasing partnerships and connections between Israel and Gulf countries in the new year. This will cover a spectrum of activity from technology to academic and political developments. The rapid change since the Abraham Accords began in August has led to one of the fastest growing...

In The News

US B-52 Bombers Fly Over Middle East In Show Of Strength Aimed At Iran

12/30/2020
'We are ready and able to respond to any aggression directed at Americans or our interests,' CENTCOM warns

The strategic nuclear-capable US B-52 bombers flew over the Middle East on Wednesday in a show of force aimed at Iran, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
According to the US CENTCOM, the two bombers took...

Iran

Israel Opposes Any And All Versions Of Iran Deal, Says Prime Minister’s Office

12/30/2020

Israel opposes any return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, contrary to the impression recent statements may have given, a senior Prime Minister’s Office official told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

“Israel is unequivocal that under no circumstances should there be a return to that bad deal,” the official said.

The remarks came...

Antisemitism

Anti-Jewish COVID Theories Top List Of Worst Antisemitism Outbreaks

12/30/2020

The human rights organization Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) on Tuesday announced its top ten outbreaks of antisemitism and anti-Israelism for 2020, with various conspiracy theories blaming Jews for the COVID-19 pandemic earning the lead spot.

“From the earliest stages of the pandemic in February 2020, far-right extremists across...

In The News

Israeli Water Tech Sees Opportunities In The United Arab Emirates

12/30/2020

Israeli water treatment technology is being sought after in the United Arab Emirates in the wake of the Abraham Accords.

Thani Al-Shirawi, Deputy Managing Director of Oasis Investments, says that “after normalization, with Israel being advanced in the water filtration business, it was a no-brainer to look for a partner in Israel...

In The News

1 Killed, 3 Injured In Alleged Israeli Airstrike Near Syria-Lebanon Border

12/30/2020

Syrian air defenses responded to an alleged Israeli airstrike near the Syria-Lebanon border on Tuesday night, which has left one soldier dead and three others wounded, according to a Syrian military source, SANA reported. 

The source added that the strike targeted an air defense unit in the area.

The open source intelligence...

In The News

IDF Prevents Several Suspects From Infiltrating Israel Through Lebanon Border

12/29/2020

One of the suspects climbed over security fence, briefly entered Israeli territory

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) prevented several suspects from infiltrating Israel through the border with Lebanon, the army said in a statement.

According to the IDF, several suspects approached the security fencebetween the two countries on...

Hamas

Top Hamas Official Claims Iran’s Soleimani Gave Terror Group $22 Million In 2006

12/29/2020
In January, Soleimani was killed in a targeted US strike on Baghdad's international airport

The terrorist organization Hamas received more than $22 million from slain Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Qassem Soleimani when a delegation from the Palestinian militant group visited Tehran in 2006, a top Hamas...

In The News

Report: Moroccan Team In Israel To Set Up Liaison Office

12/28/2020
Morocco is the third Arab nation this year to normalize ties with the Jewish state under US-brokered deals

Moroccan officials are in Israel laying the groundwork for the opening of a liaison office in the Jewish state, a source familiar with the topic told AFP on Monday.
The Moroccan "technical" team landed on Sunday, days after...

In The News

Gaza Terrorist Groups Fire Rockets, Launch Drones As A Show Of Force And Unity

12/29/2020
Gaza's rulers, Hamas, and other armed Palestinian terrorist groups send 'clear message to Zionist enemy'

Palestinian armed terrorist groups began a large military drill in the Gaza Strip Tuesday morning in a show of strength and apparent unity that was designed to send a "clear message to the Zionist enemy."
“We will not accept...

In The News

Rocket Sirens Blare In Southern Israel As Projectile Fired From Gaza Toward Israel

12/28/2020

Rocket sirens blared in southern Israel early Tuesday morning for the second time in under a week as a projectile fired at Israel from Gaza failed to cross the border.

The alarms went off shortly after midnight in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, near the southern part of the Gaza Strip and Israel’s border with Egypt.

The Israel Defense...

In The News

Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra Records Moroccan National Anthem

12/28/2020

Immediately following the announcement of the Israel-Morocco normalization agreement, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (JSO) recorded the National Anthem of Morocco in honor of the historic agreement.

Arranged for the symphony orchestra and choir by Israeli composer and conductor Nizar El-Khater, the rendition of the anthem was...