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.

Russia’s new ‘Checkmate’ stealth jet expected to arrive in Mideast

As soon as it can enter into operations, the new Russian single-engine stealth fighter jet will likely arrive in the Middle East through future arms sales to local countries, though this does not form a severe threat to Israel’s security, a former Israeli defense official has assessed.

Russia is due to unveil its Checkmate jet at the MAKS...

Report: Israeli premier calls for ‘global defense shield’ against cyber threats

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called on Wednesday for the creation of a “global defense shield” against cyber attacks.

Speaking at the annual Cyber Week conference at Tel Aviv University, said Bennet, “We have already signed agreements with a dozen countries—instead of each country or company being alone the defense will be integrated....

After Ben & Jerry’s snub, Herzog calls Israel boycotts a ‘new kind of terrorism’

President Isaac Herzog called boycotts of Israel “a new kind of terrorism” on Wednesday, joining a chorus of Israeli officials who have ripped into Ben & Jerry’s over its decision to cease ice cream sales in West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem.
“The boycott against Israel is a new type of terrorism — economic terrorism. Terrorism that...

Lapid to CUFI conference: Israel grateful for unequivocal support during Gaza conflict

In a video address to the 2021 summit of Christians United for Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday expressed his appreciation to the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States for their ongoing support—most recently, during and after the 11-day conflict with Hamas in Gaza in May.

While its base is American...

Israeli jets said to strike inside Syria for second time in days

Israeli planes carried out airstrikes Syria for the second night this week, Damascus said early Thursday, while claiming that most missiles were shot down.
The state-run SANA broadcaster reported that Syrian air defenses were confronted “Israeli aggression” in the skies near Homs.
It said Israeli jets fired missiles from north of Beirut at...

CUFI: Reports of waning evangelical support for Israel are ‘fallacy’

Speaking at Christian’s United for Israel’s 2021 summit in Dallas on Monday, Sandra Hagee Parker, chair of the CUFI Action Fund and daughter of CUFI founder Pastor John Hagee, the organization’s advocacy wing, said with some force that the multiple polls indicating waning support for Israel among evangelicals are false.

Parker said she...

Has Iran launched a new stealth missile boat?

Iran has launched one of its new stealthy catamaran “missile corvettes” according to open-source intelligence analyzed by expert H.I. Sutton, who runs the Cover Shores website. He noted that this took place as many have been distracted by monitoring the Iranian Makran warship which is sailing close to the UK this week.

Meanwhile, a new boat was...

Ben & Jerry’s melts under BDS pressure, to stop selling in settlements

Well-known ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s announced Monday it plans to boycott West Bank settlements and Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem by refusing to allow its products to be sold in those areas.

“We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory...

Israeli airstrikes reported south of Aleppo – Syrian media

Air defense systems in Syria were activated in response to Israeli airstrikes south of the city of Aleppo on Tuesday, according to Syrian state TV and news agency SANA.

A Syrian army source told the Syrian news agency that the air defenses intercepted most of the missiles, which were launched towards the Al-Safirah area in the northwest of the...

IDF shells Lebanon after two rockets fired at northern Israel

One of the rockets was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, while the second projectile fell in an open area near the coast, the IDF said.
There were no reports of injuries or damage, and the army said there were currently no special instructions for residents of the region.
The attack came some four hours after Syrian state...

Arabs clash with police on Temple Mount during Tisha B’Av

Arabs hurled stones at Israeli security forces and shouted nationalist slogans on the Temple Mount on Sunday, hours before Jews began to visit the site to mark the fast day of Tisha B’Av.

The burst of violence, which according to Israel’s s Channel 12 began at around 5 a.m., was quickly dispersed by Border Police.
Israeli Prime Minister...

Video shows Iranian police opening fire during water protest

Iranian police opened fire late Sunday night amid protests against water shortages in southwestern Iran, a video showed, the latest unrest after days of demonstrations that have seen at least one person killed.
The video from the Human Rights Activists News Agency by Human Rights Activists in Iran showed the shooting in Susangerd, which has been...

Gaza Strip resident arrested for crossing into Israel

A suspect has been arrested by IDF soldiers after crossing into Israel from the southern Gaza Strip on Monday morning, according to the IDF Spokesperson.

The suspect was not found to have any weapons on him, and is being questioned at the scene of the infiltration.

Read More: Jerusalem Post

Erdan: We’ll defend our right to Jerusalem against Hamas lies

Israel will continue to defend its rights to Jerusalem against the falsehoods spread by the terror group Hamas, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations and the United States Gilad Erdan (Likud) told a visiting delegation of foreign envoys that he brought to the Old City on Friday.

“As a former minister of public security, I know firsthand...

Jewish Organizations Mark Anniversary of 1994 AMIA Bombing in Buenos Aires

Jewish organizations on Sunday marked the 27th anniversary of the bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.
The 1994 bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) was orchestrated by Iran and carried out by the terrorist group Hezbollah.
Despite decades of efforts by the Jewish community, the...

Biden administration rips Iran over delay in prisoner exchange talks

A spokesman for the State Department slammed Iran in response to claims that the U.S. and UK were linking a humanitarian exchange with the Iran Nuclear Deal, calling the allegations “outrageous.”
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, in a tweet on Saturday, accused the U.S. and British governments of holding a proposed prisoner swap “hostage” over...

US gives $135M to UNRWA after agency finally agrees to condemn antisemitism

The Biden administration paid $135 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Saturday after an agreement was signed last week that for the first time condemns anti-Israel hatred.
"The signing of the US-UNRWA Framework and additional support demonstrates we once again have an ongoing partner in the...

Iran in Syria and Israeli strategy choices – analysis

Israel may face a crossroads in its Syria policy in the next year as countries in the region seek to bring Syria back into the fold of Arab states and prefer that the instability and chaos that has underpinned the Syrian civil war for a decade, end with the Syrian regime cemented in power.

This is not a simple process because the United States...

Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi named IDF’s next top lawyer, 2nd female major general

Brig. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi was named the Israel Defense Forces’ next military advocate general and the second female major general in the country’s history on Thursday.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved her nomination by IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was also consulted about the appointment,...

Facebook: Iran-based spies targeted US, European defense workers

Facebook said on Thursday that it has disrupted an Iran-based espionage operation targeting defense and aerospace workers in Europe and the United States.
Fake accounts posing as company job recruiters or employees were used to dupe targets, according to head of cyber espionage investigations Mike Dvilyanski.
“This effort was highly targeted,”...