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-backed rocket attacks on US increase in Iraq

05/04/2021

On Tuesday two rockets landed at Ain Al-Asad air base in western Iraq. On Monday three to six rockets fell near Balad Air Base in Iraq according to various reports. The base houses US contractors and has been targeted numerous times in the past by pro-Iranian militias targeting Americans.

This appears to be the third attack in...

In The News

Biden informs that US is far from returning to Iran deal: report

05/04/2021
Cohen told Biden that it would be a mistake for the US to return to the deal without making improvements first

US President Joe Biden reportedly told the Mossad chief Yossi Cohen that the US far from returning to the nuclear deal with Iran, according to a report on Sunday from Walla News, which cited a senior Israeli official....

In The News

Hamas director: ‘To hell with the worthless scum who normalized relations with Israel’

05/04/2021

Hamas diaspora director Khaled Mashaal said in a recent interview that those who normalize relations with Israel are “worthless scum” and are no longer considered part of the Islamic nation.

In the interview, which aired on Hamas’s Al Aqsa TV on April 26, Mashal said Hamas no longer looks to those nations that normalize relations...

In The News

Biden informs Mossad chief that US is far from returning to Iran deal: report

05/04/2021
Cohen told Biden that it would be a mistake for the US to return to the deal without making improvements first

US President Joe Biden reportedly told the Mossad chief Yossi Cohen that the US far from returning to the nuclear deal with Iran, according to a report on Sunday from Walla News, which cited a senior Israeli official....

In The News

Iran’s regime threatens to execute brother of wrestler Navid Afkari

05/04/2021

Iran has announced it may execute Vahid Afkari, the brother of champion wrestler Navid Afkari, who was the victim of an extrajudicial killing by Iran’s judiciary for his protesting against Iranian regime corruption.

The founder of the United for Navid campaign, Masih Alinejad, on Saturday tweeted:  “After executing the innocent...

In The News

Iran sought nuclear weapons, technology for weapons of mass destruction last year, reports find

05/03/2021
The Islamic Republic of Iran made multiple attempts in 2020 to obtain technology for its weapons of mass destruction program and has not stopped its drive to develop atomic weapons, intelligence agencies from the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany recently reported.
The Netherland’s General Intelligence and Security Service "investigated...

In The News

Rockets hit Iraq base housing US contractors

05/03/2021
It is the second attack targeting US interests in under 24 hours

Three rockets were fired Monday evening towards Iraq's Balad airbase north of Baghdad, a security source told AFP, but without causing US casualties or damage, the Pentagon said, citing initial reports.
The rockets fell in an area where US company Sallyport -- the...

In The News

IDF Records Zero Positive Coronavirus Cases for First Time Since Onset of Pandemic

05/03/2021

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday that for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic reached Israel in March 2020, not a single soldier had tested positive for the virus.

The military credited its widespread vaccination program for the achievement, adding that more than 80 percent of IDF personnel have been...

Briefings

Hezbollah and The Persecution of Christians in Lebanon

Lebanon is home to the second largest Christian population in any country in the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity. Though Lebanon was once considered a Christian country, it has a Muslim majority today. While Lebanon has been a haven for Christians, including many Syrian Christians, in the Middle East in the past, presently Lebanon’s...

In The News

Jerusalem, Tel Aviv landmarks light up in memory of Mt Meron victims

05/02/2021
Victims of the deadly stampede included children and teenagers

The walls of Jerusalem's Old City and the Tel Aviv City Hall lit up Saturday night with the Israeli flag and memorial candles, lamenting the victims of the Mount Meron disaster.
Described as one of Israel's worst ever civil disasters, the deadly stampede took place...

In The News

With 0.1% positivity rate, Israel records lowest COVID cases since start of pandemic

05/02/2021
Israel's Health Ministry said on Sunday that only 13 new cases of the coronavirus were identified on Saturday, out of 9,236 tests carried out.
These results resulted in a positivity rate of 0.1 percent, a record-low number since the start of the pandemic last March.
According to the ministry's latest toll, there are currently 102...

In The News

Two Israelis critically hurt in shooting, IDF searches for attacker

05/02/2021

Three Israelis in their 20s were injured on Sunday evening in a shooting incident at the Tapuah Junction in the Samaria region of the West Bank.

The incident occurred near a bus stop and hitch-hiking post at the junction. Two of the victims were rendered unconscious and were critically and seriously injured, while one suffered...

Iran

Biden’s $90 Billion Bailout to Iran

05/01/2021

Rushing back into the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also called the Iran nuclear deal, would be a singularly seismic event leading to chaos and instability in the Middle East.

U.S. President Joe Biden has inherited a relatively peaceful Middle East—not without its challenges—but one marked by historic peace...

In The News

U.S. Navy fires warning shots at Iranian gunboats in Persian Gulf

04/27/2021
The U.S. Navy fired warning shots at Iranian military boats in the northern Persian Gulf on Monday, the first such escalation in nearly four years, the Pentagon announced.
The incident marks the second known occurrence this month of Iranian vessels harassing U.S. ships, after a group of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy...

In The News

Attempted stabbing attack in West Bank, suspect ‘neutralized’

04/20/2021
The suspect attempted to stab a police officer and IDF soldier at Efrat Junction with a 'sharp object'

A suspected terrorist was shot and wounded in the West Bank settlement of Efrat following an attempted stabbing attack, Hebrew media reported on Friday.
The suspect was reportedly "neutralized" before injuring any...

In The News

EU Parliament passes resolution censuring UNRWA for teaching hate in schools

04/29/2021

The European Union Parliament passed a resolution on Wednesday that targeted the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for teaching “hate speech and violence” in its schools.

The resolution demanded that hateful material be “removed immediately” from UNRWA-run schools and insisted that E.U....

In The News

45 crushed to death, over 150 hurt in stampede at mass Lag B’Omer event in Meron

04/29/2021

At least 45 people were crushed to death and more than 150 people hurt, including many in critical condition, in a stampede after midnight Thursday at a mass gathering to celebrate the Lag B’Omer holiday at Mount Meron, medics said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident “a terrible disaster,” promised a thorough...

Iran

Iran rattled as Israel repeatedly strikes key targets

04/22/2021
In less than nine months, an assassin on a motorbike fatally shot an Al Qaeda commander given refuge in Tehran, Iran’s chief nuclear scientist was machine-gunned on a country road, and two separate, mysterious explosions rocked a key Iranian nuclear facility in the desert, striking the heart of the country’s efforts to enrich uranium....

In The News

Israel’s warplanes can reach Iran, minister warns amid nuclear talks

04/29/2021

JERUSALEM - An Israeli cabinet minister sharpened his country's warnings against what it would deem a bad new nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, saying war with Tehran would be sure to follow.

As President Joe Biden explores a possible US return to the 2015 deal to contain Iran's nuclear program that his predecessor...

In The News

Idaho, West Virginia enact anti-BDS law; Alabama furthers Holocaust education

04/29/2021

The governors of Idaho and West Virginia signed into law this week anti-BDS legislation, while the Alabama State Senate passed a resolution promoting Holocaust education.

Idaho’s Anti-Boycott Against Israel Act, signed by Gov. Brad Little, said a public entity in the state may not enter into a large-scale contract with a company...