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

Biden Administration to Allocate $90 Million in Aid to Palestinians

04/01/2021

The Biden administration has allocated $90 million in aid to the Palestinians, with only a portion of the money being publicly announced, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The United States announced last week that it would give $15 million in coronavirus relief to the Palestinians. However, the Biden administration...

In The News

Israel and Bahrain Sign $3 Million ‘First-of-Its-Kind’ Deal to Share Knowledge on Water Technology

03/31/2021

Israel’s state-owned water company Mekorot has inked a $3 million deal to provide Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) with consulting services on water projects and to share knowledge on technologies, in what marks the first “significant” agreement between the Jewish state and the Gulf emirate since the Abraham Accords.
...

In The News

Holocaust survivors who died in Israel’s wars to be honored in ceremony

03/31/2021

A special ceremony commemorating Holocaust survivors will be held at the Ghetto Fighters House Museum near Acre in northern Israel. 

The ceremony, held this year under the title of "Last Survivors," will honor Holocaust survivors who made aliyah after losing their families in WWII, and later died during one of Israel's military...

In The News

Kosovo’s top diplomat calls opening of Jerusalem embassy ‘a done deal’

03/31/2021

Kosovo’s new foreign minister says she considers the opening of the country’s embassy in Jerusalem to be “a done deal.”

Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla is asked during an interview about the pressure Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put on Kosovo’s new government to reconsider the Balkan nation’s recent opening of an...

In The News

Congressional Republicans blast ‘outrageous’ Biden admin offer to roll back Iran sanctions

03/30/2021

Congressional Republicans are calling the Biden administration’s reported plan to roll back sanctions on Iran before it commits to renewed diplomatic talks an unacceptable concession that will only embolden the hardline regime and reward its bad behavior.

As Iran continues to balk at U.S. proposals for direct negotiations on a...

US-Israel Relationship

US report reaffirms support for Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

03/30/2021

The annual United States report on global human rights practices affirmed that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, but reintroduced language that spoke of Israeli occupation of territory, two-states and gave a nod in the direction of Palestinian Authority rights to sections of Jerusalem.

The annual Country Reports on Human Rights...

Iran

EU set to sanction more Iranians for human rights abuses, first since 2013, diplomats say

03/31/2021
The European Union is set to agree to sanction several Iranian individuals on Wednesday for human rights abuses, the first such measures since 2013, three EU diplomats said.

EU envoys are expected to agree to impose travel bans and asset freezes on the individuals, the diplomats said, and their names would be published next week,...

Iran

Iran’s new missile corvette could reshape naval doctrine

03/31/2021

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC-N) is building a new class of warships, as first reported in Naval News last week based on satellite imagery. The catamaran design appears relatively large, modern and capable compared to existing IRGC commercial-based designs.

The sectarian arm of the Iranian military’s move to...

In The News

US to offer Iran new nuclear deal, sanctions relief this week – report

03/30/2021

The United States is trying to break the nuclear deadlock with Iran and is planning a new proposal that would include some sanctions relief for the Islamic Republic, according to a report in Politico.

Biden administration officials plan to put forth a new proposal to restart nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran as soon as...

In The News

Palestinian terrorists issue death threat on American as Biden admin seeks closer ties

03/29/2021

After more than a week of silence in the face of questions, the State Department said it is concerned about the safety of a prominent pro-democracy Palestinian-American who recently received death threats from a terror organization affiliated with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Fadi Elsalameen, a human-rights and...

Iran

Iran rejects US offer to open nuclear talks amid offer to lift sanctions

03/30/2021

Iran has rejected a US offer – revealed in Politico on Tuesday – to launch negotiations over a new nuclear deal in exchange for the lifting of some American sanctions.

Iran said that it will not stop its 20% uranium enrichment before the US lifts all sanctions, Iranian state TV quoted an unnamed official as saying in reaction to...

In The News

Oldest surviving ‘Righteous Among Nations,’ who saved Jewish boy, dies age 101

03/30/2021

The oldest surviving person to bear the title of Righteous Among the Nations, Anna Kozminska, died last week at the age of 101, Poland’s Institute for Remembrance has said.

She was to be buried on Tuesday at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.

Kozminska was believed to be the be oldest living person recognized by...

In The News

Bahrain appoints first-ever ambassador to Israel

03/30/2021

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi approved Bahrain’s first-ever ambassador to Israel on Tuesday, ahead of the Gulf state opening its embassy in the coming weeks.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani appointed Khaled Yousif al-Jalahama to the position on Sunday. Jalahama is the Director of Operations at Bahrain’s...

In The News

Almost all remaining Jews in Yemen deported – Saudi media

03/29/2021

The last three Jewish families in Yemen were deported by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, leaving only four elderly Jews in the country, after heavy pressure by the Houthis, the London-based Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsatreported over the weekend.

The families, totaling 13 people, told Asharq Al-Awsat that they were now searching...

Iran

U.S. senators push for Biden not to return to Iran nuclear pact

03/25/2021
Forty-three U.S. senators, many of whom opposed the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, appealed to President Joe Biden on Thursday to work toward an international agreement that addresses issues beyond just Tehran’s nuclear program.
The letter was released as the Democrat Biden’s administration explores ways to restore the nuclear pact...

In The News

UAE’s ambassador to Israel extends warm Passover wishes to Jewish community

03/29/2021
Mohammad Mahmoud Al Khajah posted his message in Hebrew and English

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ambassador to Israel tweeted a message for the Passover holiday on Sunday evening in which he called for celebrating freedom and new beginnings.
Mohammad Mahmoud Al Khaja, who is currently not in the country, posted his message in...

In The News

Iraq’s Jewish community dwindles to fewer than five

03/28/2021
A turning point for Jewish history in Iraq came with the first pogroms in the mid-20th century

The death of Dhafer Eliyahu hit Iraq hard, not only because the doctor treated the neediest for free, but because with his passing, only four Jews now remain in the country.
At the Habibiya Jewish cemetery in the capital Baghdad, wedged...

In The News

Palestinian arrested after attempting to ram vehicle into IDF soldiers

03/28/2021

A Palestinian driver tried to ram his vehicle into a group of Israel Defense Forces soldiers near the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim on Sunday, the IDF said.

The vehicle instead hit several other Israeli vehicles and the suspect was arrested. There were no injuries reported in the incident, at the parking lot of the Ein...

In The News

‘Iron Sting’: Israel completes testing of ‘groundbreaking’ laser-guided mortar

03/14/2021

A new laser-guided mortar completed trials and will bring greater firepower to smaller units while reducing collateral damage to noncombatants due to its high levels of accuracy, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday.

The Iron Sting 120mm mortar was developed by the ministry along with the Israel Defense Forces and Elbit...

In The News

Iran and China formally sign 25-year cooperation pact

03/27/2021
Iran and China signed a 25-year "strategic cooperation pact" Saturday in the latest expansion of Beijing's flagship trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative as the US rivals move closer together.
Negotiations for the deal, launched five years ago, sparked controversy in Iran last year and virtually no details of its contents have been...