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

US Charges Political Scientist For Acting As Unregistered Agent Of Iranian Government

01/20/2021

A political scientist has been charged with acting and conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the Iranian government.

A criminal complaint charging Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi, also known as Lotfolah Kaveh Afrasiabi, was unsealed on Tuesday. He was arrested a day earlier, on Monday, at his home in Watertown, Mass.

“For over...

Iran

US, UK Officials Urge EU And Olympics To Stop Execution Of Iran Wrestler

01/20/2021

Mounting pressure from British and American officials along with Iranianhuman rights groups on the International Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling has on Tuesday sparked a reaction from the powerful sports organizations after days of silence about the pending execution of a second decorated Iranian wrestler.

"The...

Iran

Major European Powers Rebuke Iran Over Uranium Metal Plans

01/20/2021
Three European powers on Saturday warned Iran against starting work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, saying it contravened the 2015 nuclear deal and had serious military implications.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, and Tehran said on Wednesday that Iran had started the work, the latest breach of its...

In The News

‘Christ Born Of Mary’: 1st Proof Of Early Christianity Found In Galilee Village

01/20/2021

With the words, “Christ born of Mary,” archaeologists have discovered the first evidence of an early Christian settlement from 1,500 years ago in what is today the location of a small Arab village near Nazareth.

According to Israel Antiquities Authority researchers, a recently discovered Greek inscription dedicated to the...

Hamas

IDF Strikes Hamas Targets After Rocket Attack From Gaza

01/20/2021
Projectile launched from coastal enclave lands in open terrain

Israeli military targeted terror sites in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, hours after Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into Israel.
In a tweet, the Israeli military said that IDF tanks fired at the group's positions in retaliation for the attack....

US-Israel Relationship

Pentagon Moves Israel Into Central Command To Boost Cooperation With Arab States

01/16/2021

With a nod to Israel’s increasingly normalized relations with the Arab world, the Pentagon is reorganizing its global command structure to include the Jewish state in the military sphere managed by US Central Command, which includes other Middle East countries.

The move will allow for greater collaboration against Iran, the...

Iran

Iran To Execute 2nd Wrestler, Sparking Outrage From US State Department

01/10/2021
A top U.S. State Department official came out swinging Sunday against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s plan to execute another wrestler, after Tehran’s rulers publicly hanged the champion wrestler Navid Afkari in September on widely criticized, trumped-up charges.
“The Iranian regime must be held to account for their vile human rights...

In The News

Netanyahu Proposes International Vaccine Initiative For Future Pandemics

01/19/2021

Israel and several other countries should start an international vaccine corporation to research and manufacture vaccines in future pandemics, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed in a meeting with leaders of six other countries on Monday.

“We will encounter more viruses,” Netanyahu warned. “We must unite forces and start to...

Iran

Iran Loses UN Voting Rights Over Unpaid Dues, Blames US Sanctions

01/18/2021

Iran and six other countries lost their right to vote in the UN General Assembly, because they have not paid their dues, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.

Iran blamed US sanctions for blocking the Islamic Republic from paying its required contribution to the UN.

Guterres wrote a letter to General Assembly...

In The News

Morocco Jews ‘Already Packing’ For Direct Israel Flights

01/17/2021
Morocco, home to North Africa's biggest Jewish community and the ancestral homeland of some 700,000 Israelis, is also hoping for an influx of Israeli tourists when the COVID-19 pandemic eases.
"I'm very happy" that the five-hour route will be served by direct flights, said Mergui, a Moroccan Jew who lives in Casablanca. "It's a true...

In The News

City of David Recognized As ‘Testament’ To US Judeo-Christian Heritage

01/18/2021

The City of David was recognized as a "testament to America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and founding principles" by the US Embassy in Jerusalem and the US Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad at a special ceremony on Monday.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Chairman of the Commission for the...

Hamas

IDF Strikes Hamas In Response To Rocket Attack

01/18/2021

Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets toward the southern Israeli city of Ashdod before dawn on Monday, which landed in the sea just off the coast of the city, the army said.

The projectiles did not trigger warning sirens, the Israel Defense Forces said. There were no injuries or damage reported.

In...

In The News

US Says Bahrain, UAE Are ‘Major Security Partners’ After Normalizing Israel Ties

01/16/2021

The United States called Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates “major security partners” early Saturday, a previously unheard of designation for the two countries home to major American military operations.

A White House statement tied the designation to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates normalizing ties to Israel, saying it...

In The News

Israel In ‘Final Stages’ Of COVID, Showing World An Exit Strategy, Says Top Official

01/15/2021

Israel is in the “final stages” of the coronavirus pandemic, a senior health official said Friday after data showed the country was seeing clear results of its massive vaccination drive.

“We are in the final stages of the coronavirus. Israel, with the scale of its vaccine drive, is showing the world that there is an exit...

In The News

Massive Iran Missile Drill Is Message To US, Gulf and Israel

01/16/2021

A massive Iranian missile drill showcasing long range missiles, drones and other weapons is taking place this weekend and serves as a message to Gulf countries, the US and Israel.

It comes a year after Iran launched ballistic missiles at US forces in Iraq and follows Tehran’s sending of missile technology to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon...

In The News

US, Moroccan NGO Sign Deal To Fight All Forms Of Antisemitism

01/16/2021

The US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism signed a groundbreaking agreement with the NGO Association Mimouna of Morocco on Friday to jointly combat antisemitism and efforts to strip Israel of its legitimacy.

Ellie Cohanim, the Deputy Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism for the State Department, told The...

Iran

Reports Say Iran Has Expanded Drone Base In Yemen

01/14/2021

Iran has sent drones to Yemen, enabling the creation of a base for so-called “suicide drones” or what are known as loitering munitions, according to Newsweek. The report claims that “Shahed-136” drones are now based in Al-Jawf. These are supposedly “advanced UAVs.” 

The report is unclear regarding most of the details, only noting...

In The News

UNRWA Admits Educational Materials Rife With Anti-Israel Racism And Incitement

01/14/2021

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which serves Palestinian refugees, admitted on Thursday that its educational materials contain exhortations to violence, hate speech, and terrorism that violate UN regulations.

In a statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini one day after the release of a report...

Iran

Iran Tests Ballistic Missiles, Drones In Military Exercise, State TV Says

01/15/2021

Iran‘s Revolutionary Guards fired “abundant” surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and tested locally manufactured new drones in a military exercise on Friday, state television reported.

The drill, which it said was overseen by Guards commander Major General Hossein Salamiin the central desert region, came in the waning days of...

Iran

Report: IDF Drawing Up Plans To Strike Iran’s Nuclear Program

01/14/2021

The Israel Defense Forces is drawing up plans for an attack on Iran’s nuclear program, the Israel Hayom daily reported Thursday in a front-page article.

The newspaper said that IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi has asked for three alternate proposals to derail Tehran’s program, without elaborating on them. It only indicated one of...