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

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...

In The News

UAE becomes first Arab Gulf country to open Holocaust education exhibit

06/04/2021

JNS.org – In a continuing cultural relationship with Israel and the United Arab Emirates as part of the Abraham Accords, a museum in the United Arab Emirates debuted an exhibition about the Holocaust that also aims to raise awareness about antisemitism amid an increase in hate crimes against Jews worldwide.

The “ ‘We...

Hamas

Head of IDF Southern Command: ‘We’re ready for next stage’ of operation against Hamas

06/04/2021

The head of IDF Southern Command told Israel’s Channel 13 on Thursday that the IDF is preparing for “the next stage” of Israel’s latest conflict with Hamas, which ended in a ceasefire on May 21.

Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano said, “The first stage of Operation Guardian of the Walls is over. We are ready for the next stage, because...

In The News

Abraham Accords is not history, it is the future: Dr Ali Al Nuami

06/02/2021

Abraham Accords is not history, it is the future. It is not about any two countries, but for the whole region, said Dr Ali Al Nuami, Member, UAE Federal National Council for the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Chairman Defence Affairs Interior & Foreign Affairs Committee, at the Global Investment Forum 2021 organised by Khaleej Times...

Hamas

Hamas calls for Day of Rage in West Bank amid continued tensions

06/04/2021

Hamas called for a Day of Rage in the West Bank on Friday, encouraging mass rallies by Palestinians against what it termed a "frenzied settlement attack on the West Bank," according to the Palestinian Safa news. 

The call for a day of rage comes a day before Palestinians mark Naksa Day to commemorate the Six-Day War in 1967.
...

US-Israel Relationship

Bipartisan group of 55 US House members support more funds for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense

06/03/2021

A bipartisan group of 55 members of the US House of Representatives wrote to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday in support of more American funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which intercepted hundreds of rockets during the country’s conflict with the Hamas militant group.

“As Members of Congress...

Iran

Iran loses voting rights in UN General Assembly

06/02/2021
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran and the Central African Republic are in arrears on paying their dues to the United Nations’ operating budget and will lose their voting rights in the 193-member General Assembly, the U.N. chief said in a letter circulated Wednesday.
In the letter to General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir, Secretary-General...

Hamas

Israeli forces arrest senior Hamas member in Ramallah

06/02/2021

Israeli security forces arrest a senior Hamas member, Sheikh Jamal Tawil, over his alleged work on behalf of the terror group in the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces says.

According to the military, Tawil was arrested in Ramallah in a predawn raid by the IDF’s elite Duvdevan Unit and the Shin Bet security service.

“Tawil is...

In The News

Another Massive Fire Erupts At An Iranian Oil Refinery, Follows Sinking Of Largest Warship

06/02/2021

A large fire erupted late on Wednesday afternoon at an oil refinery near Iran’s capital, Tehran, which followed news from earlier in the day that the nation’s largest warship sank after it caught fire in the Gulf of Oman.

“The fire struck the state-owned Tondgooyan Petrochemical Co. to the south of Tehran, said Mansour Darajati,...