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.

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.
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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,...

Iran

Israel-Gaza conflict spurs bitcoin donations to Hamas

06/02/2021

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has seen a surge in cryptocurrency donations since the start of the armed conflict with Israel last month, a senior official with the group said, exploiting a trend in online fundraising that has enabled it to circumvent international sanctions to fund its military operations.

The international...

Iran

Disaster for Iran as its largest naval ship sinks

06/02/2021

Iran suffered another humiliating disaster after its largest naval ship, which it calls a naval training support vessel, was destroyed in a fire. The fire happened near the port of Jask and rumors circulated throughout the night. 

The disaster was confirmed in the morning at Tasnim News in Iran and other sources reported the same....

Iran

Iran rearming Hamas with ‘thousands of new rockets’

06/01/2021

"With the end of the Israeli regime’s latest aggression, the Palestinian resistance has resumed the process of rocket production," Fathi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s politburo, was quoted as saying over the Memorial Day weekend by Iran’s state-run Fars News Agency. "Our factories and workshops have restarted producing thousands of...

In The News

Netanyahu to Biden: We’ll fight Iran relentlessly with, without nuke deal

06/01/2021

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz clashed on Tuesday in their messages about US-Iran issues.

“Our greatest threat is the existential threat posed by Iran’s efforts to arm itself with nuclear weapons, whether to threaten us directly – with atomic weapons – with the destruction of a small state, or...

In The News

Iran fails to explain uranium traces found at several sites -IAEA report

05/31/2021
Iran has failed to explain traces of uranium found at several undeclared sites, a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog showed on Monday, possibly setting up a fresh diplomatic clash between Tehran and the West that could derail wider nuclear talks.
Three months ago Britain, France and Germany scrapped a U.S.-backed planfor the...