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

Iran has begun 60% uranium enrichment – Chief nuclear negotiator

04/13/2021

In a potentially unprecedented escalation, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi announced on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic has begun 60% uranium enrichment, according to state media, Reuters reported.

In order for uranium to be weaponized, it must be enriched to 90%.

Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran had to stay...

In The News

Iran vows ‘revenge against Zionists’

08/12/2021

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Israel on Monday of being behind the electrical “incident” at the Natanz uranium-enrichment facility the previous day.

Iranian state television quoted Zarif as saying, “The Zionists want to take revenge because of our progress on the way to lift sanctions … they have publicly...

In The News

Israeli hospital signs ‘breakthrough’ deal to provide diabetic care in UAE

04/12/2021

Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer has signed a “breakthrough” agreement to provide treatment to diabetics in Dubai, The Jerusalem Post has confirmed.

The deal, the first of its kind signed under the “Sheba BEYOND” program, was closed on Monday in Dubai with the Al Tadawi Healthcare group. The medical centers had agreed on a...

In The News

‘Israel will continue to defend itself from Iran’s aggression,’ Netanyahu vows

04/12/2021
PM affirms importance of US-Israeli ties at joint presser with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin

"Israel will continue to defend itself from Iran's aggression," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday's joint press conference with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The Israeli PM lashed out at the "fanatical regime in Iran,"...

Iran

Iran accuses Israel of attack on Natanz nuclear facility, vows ‘to take revenge’

04/12/2021
Iranian authorities described the incident a day earlier as an act of 'nuclear terrorism'

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif openly accused Israel on Monday of launching an attack on the Natanz nuclear facility, where a power failure occurred on Sunday, and vowed "to take revenge," state TV quoted him as saying on...

Iran

‘Battling Iran is a colossal mission,’ Netanyahu says following blackout at Iranian nuclear plant

04/11/2021
The shadow war against Iran has seen Israel become a global power, Netanyahu says

Battling Iran is a colossal mission, yet one that saw Israel grow in stature into a global power, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday amid reports that the Mossad intelligence agency was behind the blackout at an Iranian nuclear plant....

US-Israel Relationship

U.S. Secretary of Defense arrives in Israel amid Iran tensions

04/11/2021

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin touched down in Israel on Sunday for his first official visit to the country. The visit comes in the shadow of growing military tensions between Israel and Iran, and amid attempts by Washington to engage Tehran in negotiations over its nuclear program.

At a joint press conference following a...

In The News

Republican Senators oppose Palestinian aid in letter

04/10/2021

A group of Republican senators sent a letter to the Biden administration urging it to halt aid to the Palestinians until several conditions can be met to ensure the support isn’t going to terrorists. “We call on you to halt these expenditures until the State Department accounts for statutory restrictions and remedies known...

In The News

Iran breaches nuclear deal with advanced centrifuges

04/09/2021
The development comes as the IAEA said Iran had breached the terms of the deal in a separate case

Iran announced Saturday it has started up advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium more quickly, in a new breach of its undertakings under a troubled 2015 nuclear agreement.
President Hassan Rouhani officially inaugurated the...

In The News

Israel may have achieved immunity against Covid-19

04/07/2021

Israel may have reached herd immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, say experts from its largest hospital, Sheba Medical Center.

Herd immunity happens when a sufficient percentage of a population has immunity – through vaccination or having recovered from the disease — and gives indirect protection to those who aren’t...

In The News

Former Lebanese justice minister: ‘Hezbollah is an enemy of the state’

04/08/2021

Former Lebanese justice minister Maj. Gen. (ret.) Ashraf Rifi said on Monday that Hezbollah was an enemy of the Lebanese State.

Rifi, who is also the former director-general of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (the national police), told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya the Shi’ite militia was a collaborator of Iran, which he likened...

In The News

Biden cannot allow Iran to keep its weapons program

04/08/2021

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, could not have been more clear after the first round of talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal concluded this week in Vienna: We’re not making any concessions until America does.

The U.S. must first lift sanctions, he said. Then and only then will Iran be “fully ready to stop...

In The News

Republicans delay Biden administration’s funds to Palestinians

04/08/2021

Congressional Republicans put a hold on $75 million of the newly reinstatedUS aid to the Palestinians, two sources in Washington confirmed on Thursday. 

On March 26, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) sent Congress a “program narrative” of about $75m. in Economic Support Funds (ESF) for programs in the West Bank...

Iran

Iran testing nuclear-capable missiles, Israeli envoy warns: report

04/09/2021
Israel's US, UN envoy Erdan warns of Iran's violations amid renewed push for revitalizing 2015 deal

Israel warned the global community that Iran is testing nuclear-capable missiles amid the efforts to revitalize the 2015 nuclear accord, Israel Hayom reported on Friday.
The newspaper cited a letter penned by Israel's envoy to the...

In The News

Iran frees South Korean tanker seized in bid to access frozen assets in Seoul

04/09/2021
Hankuk Chemi, seized in January by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said heading for Strait of Hormuz

Iran freed South Korea-flagged Hankuk Chemi oil tanker it seized in January,  Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The ministry specified that the ship's captain has been released, and that the tanker has been able...

In The News

UAE hosts first-ever official Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies in Arab state

04/07/2021

Jews and Muslims in the Gulf hold ceremonies to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day yesterday and today, concurrently with Yom Hashoah being held in Israel.

A ceremony was held in Dubai yesterday with a delegation of Jewish and Arab Israelis. Several dozen social media influencers in the Gulf joined them and organizers hoped they would...

In The News

GOP Puts Biden Admin on Notice: Congress Not Bound By New Iran Deal

04/08/2021

Republican foreign policy leaders in Congress officially informed the Biden administration late Wednesday that they will not be bound to any new agreement with Iran that promises relief from harsh economic sanctions, according to a copy of that communication exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The letter is a sign...

Syria

Reports: Israeli air strike triggers Syrian missile defense near Damascus

04/07/2021
Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli airstrike in the Damascus area, according to the Syrian state-run SANA early Thursday.
The report said the Israeli attack came from the Golan Heights and Lebanese airspace. According to media reports, the air defense systems successfully shot down a number of missiles.
A military source...

In The News

UAE to host first-ever official Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies in Arab state

04/07/2021
Ceremony will be held in Dubai tonight with a delegation of Jewish and Arab Israelis

As Israel prepares to mark Yom Hashoah - the national Holocaust Remembrance Day - Jews and Muslims in the Gulf will hold ceremonies to also commemorate the occasion.
According to Channel 12 News, it will be the first time Yom Hashoah has...

In The News

Israel responds to ICC: You have no jurisdiction over us

04/07/2021

The International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction to investigate Israel for alleged war crimes, is what the government plans to respond in a letter to the Hague, top ministers decided on Thursday.

The response is consistent with Israel’s longstanding position on the matter.

Israel is not a member of the ICC, and has a policy...