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

Iranian oil tankers set to arrive in Syria on Friday

06/10/2021

Two Iranian oil tankers carrying about 1.4 million barrels of Iranian crude oil are set to arrive in Baniyas, Syria on Friday, Tanker Trackers reported on Thursday.

Another about 300,000 barrels of oil are on a third tanker waiting in the Suez Canal, according to the report.

Iran has reportedly shipped about five million...

In The News

Blinken dodges questions on Iran negotiations during Senate hearings

06/10/2021

Secretary of State Tony Blinken was grilled on a range of aspects of the administration’s plans for dealing with Iran during his second consecutive day of back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, this time facing the Senate Appropriations and Foreign Relations Committees.

During Tuesday’s hearings, Blinken was pressed for...

In The News

Reopening Palestinian Missions Would Violate Law, Senators Say

06/09/2021

The Biden administration's efforts to elevate diplomatic relations with the Palestinians violate the law and will undermine America's historic recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital city, according to a group of Republican senators.

In the weeks since Israel went to war with the Iranian-backed Hamas terror group, the Biden...

In The News

Israelis Fare Well In US Army Counter Drone Tests

06/09/2021

TEL AVIV: Three Israeli companies are finalists in the U.S Army’s contest to find the most effective systems to neutralize hostile drones, with only one US company still in the mix.

ELTA, teamed with Iron Drone, and XTEND recently demonstrated their systems at Yuma Proving Grounds. The demos are part of the Army’s effort to select...

In The News

U.S. warns Venezuela, Cuba to turn away Iranian ships believed to be carrying arms

06/09/2021
The Biden administration is privately urging the governments of Venezuela and Cuba to turn away two Iranian naval ships believed to be carrying arms intended for transfer to Caracas, as the vessels make their way across the Atlantic Ocean this week, according to three people briefed on the situation.
A weapons transfer from the...

In The News

I Worked on the Abraham Accords. It’s Time to Free the Palestinians from Hamas—and Iran | Opinion

06/09/2021

Last August, we entered a new era: A 70-year stalemate was exchanged for an era of greater coexistence. The signing of the Abraham Accords between the United Arab Emirates and Israel that I helped broker was a bold, courageous move which promised to finally make progress where everything else had failed.

After the recent conflict...

In The News

Senate antisemitism task force relaunches with 56 members

06/09/2021

The Senate’s Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism relaunched with 56 members, divided equally between Democrats and Republicans, co-chairs Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK) announced Tuesday afternoon.

The group — the first of its kind in the Senate — was founded in 2019 by Rosen and Lankford with 38...

In The News

EU study finds incitement in Palestinian textbooks, kept from public

06/09/2021

Palestinian Authority textbooks encourage violence against Israelis and include antisemitic messages, according to an unpublished report commissioned by the European Union in 2019 and obtained by The Jerusalem Post.

The European Commission kept the report under wraps after receiving it from the Georg Eckert Institute for...

In The News

US working on more normalization between Israel, Arab states – Ashkenazi

06/09/2021

The Biden administration is actively involved in encouraging more Arab states to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said Tuesday.

“They fully adopted the Abraham Accords and are eager to expand them,” he said. “There is going to be someone appointed to be responsible for doing so.”

The...

Hezbollah

Hezbollah founder dies of coronavirus

06/08/2021

Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, a Shiite cleric who is considered a founder of Hezbollah, died Monday of the coronavirus.

Mohtashamipour died at a northern Tehran hospital after becoming ill with COVID-19, according to the state-run IRNA news agency, cited by The Associated Press.

Mohtashamipour established alliances with Muslim...

Iran

Blinken: Iran not close to returning to 2015 nuke compliance

06/08/2021

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Iran has not given indications that it’s willing to return to compliance of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

In a wide-ranging hearing at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Blinken said that the sides are “not even at the stage of returning to compliance for...

In The News

State Department shuns term ‘Abraham Accords’

06/07/2021

The Biden State Department discourages employees from referring to the historic peace agreements signed by Israel and its Arab neighbors by its official name, the Abraham Accords, according to one source with direct knowledge of the Biden administration’s internal decision-making process and emails reviewed by the Washington Free...

In The News

Palestinian Authority pays $42,000 to family of terrorist who killed 2 Israelis

06/07/2021

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday ordered that the family of a Palestinian terrorist who murdered two Israelis be paid more than $40,000 and be given new housing, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam, an Abbas appointee, met with the family of Muhannad Halabi and gave them some...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israel Air Force kicks off first F-35 fighter jet drill abroad with US, Britain and Italy

06/06/2021

The Israeli Air Force’s F-35 stealth fighter jets will for the first time be deployed in a drill exercise outside of the country’s borders, flying alongside F-35 jets from three other countries. The drill abroad will take place in Italy starting Sunday together with the US Air Force, the Royal Air Force, and the Italian Air Force.
...

In The News

David Dushman, last surviving Auschwitz liberator, dies aged 98

06/07/2021
'As the "Hero of Auschwitz" he was one of the liberators of the concentration camp and saved countless lives'

David Dushman, the last surviving soldier who took part in the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in 1945, has died at the age of 98.
Dushman, a Red Army soldier who later became an international fencer, died...

In The News

Fatah, PLO factions continue social-media call for intifada

06/07/2021

Fatah and various Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) factions have continued their calls for an intifada through social media, following a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza that ended 11 days of violent hostilities, as highlighted in a press release from Palestinian Media Watch on Wednesday.

One commentator, Bassem Barhoum,...

Iran

Iran’s proxies in Iraq increase drone war against US forces

06/07/2021

US forces in Iraq face increasing drone threats linked to Iran. This has been known for months since drones first began appearing among pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.

Initially used by Kataib Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian groups in Iraq to threaten Saudi Arabia, they have now been turned on the US.

Two drones were intercepted...

In The News

UNRWA finds attack tunnel under one of its Gaza schools

06/07/2021

A tunnel used by Palestinian militants in Gaza was discovered under one of the schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency last month.

The UNRWA Zaitoun Preparatory Boys’ School “A” and Elementary Boys’ School “A” was one of two of the organization’s facilities damaged during the 11-day Gaza war that ended on May 21....

In The News

UN suspends Iran’s voting rights over $16 million in lapsed dues

06/03/2021
The United Nations suspended General Assembly voting rights for Iran and four other countries Thursday in response to outstanding dues spanning two years, according to the New York Times.
Secretary-General António Guterres said in a letter to the president of the General Assembly that Iran, along with the Central African Republic,...

Hamas

Hagerty: Biden Admin Awarding Hamas with U.S. Taxpayer Dollars

06/03/2021

The Biden administration's decision to award the Palestinian government with millions of dollars in U.S. aid violates the law and will directly benefit Hamas, the Iranian-backed terror group that recently launched a 12-day war against Israel, according to Sen. Bill Hagerty (R., Tenn.).

In an interview with the Washington Free...