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, 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...

In The News

Israel: 162 Ethiopian Jews Immigrate to Israel

01/15/2021

'I am extremely excited to see these new arrivals in Israel,' Minister for Aliyah and Integration says

On Thursday morning, Israel welcomed another 162 Ethiopian Jews, members of the Falash Mura community, who landed in the Jewish state to make their aliyah -- immigration.

The newly-made Israelis made their way into the Jewish...

In The News

West Bank: Two Palestinian Terrorists Arrested Over Roadside Shooting

01/15/2021
Arresting officers found many firearms and munitions in the suspects' houses

Israeli security forces on Friday arrested two suspected Palestinian terrorists who last month opened fire on an Israel Defense Forces vehicle in the West Bank.
No one was hurt in the December 19 incident that saw the suspects flee after shooting at an...

In The News

Operation Pillar of Defense

01/13/2021
Coffee Break
Lesson 49
On November 14, 2012, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense in response to a barrage of more than 150 rockets fired into Israel by terrorist organizations in Gaza in one day.

Israel’s main goal for the operation was to decrease the number of rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.

The operation began...

In The News

Israel, UAE Sign Visa-Free Travel Agreement

01/13/2021

Israel and the United Arab Emirates will allow visa-free travel between the countries, after the UAE ratified an agreement on the matter on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said “the ratification of the agreement is a central element of the full and quick implementation of the many agreements being worked on these days...

US-Israel Relationship

Jerusalem Approves Expanded US Embassy

01/13/2021

The Jerusalem Municipality’s Building and Planning committee approved plans for a new US embassy building in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion called it a “historic and exciting moment,” and that he thinks it will inspire other countries to move to the capital.

“After two years, we’re thrilled the local...

In The News

Israel, Slovakia To Ink Defense Deal Worth Over $182 Million

01/14/2021
'Israel’s defense industry is at the forefront of global technology,' Gantz says, hailing agreement

Israel and Slovakia are set to sign a defense agreement worth some €150 million, or over $182 million, Israel's Defense Ministry said Thursday.
In a press release, the ministry said that the Slovakian government has approved a...

In The News

IHRA Definition Is Useful – Antisemitism Must Be Fought On All Forms

01/13/2021

"Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

That is the International Holocaust...

Iran

Iran Is Assembling Gear Able To Produce Key Nuclear-Weapons Material

01/13/2021

Iran has taken a significant new step toward possible atomic-weapons production, starting work on an assembly line to manufacture a key material used at the core of nuclear warheads, the United Nations atomic agency said in a confidential report Wednesday, raising the stakes in Tehran’s standoff with Washington ahead of...

Syria

‘Israeli Airstrikes Near Syria-Iraq Border Targeted Iranian Weapons’

01/13/2021

The Israeli airstrikes against Iranian weapons and targets along the Syrian-Iraq border were based on intelligence provided by the United States, an American intelligence source told the Associated Press on Wednesday morning. 

According to Syrian news reports, Israeli planes struck targets in the Deir Ezzor region of eastern Syria...

In The News

Israel Thwarts Stabbing Attack At Tomb Of The Patriarchs

01/12/2021
Incident comes after Palestinian man pulls out a screwdriver at an Israeli checkpoint outside of Jerusalem

Israeli Border Police shot a terrorist attempting a stabbing attack at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron early Wednesday, Israel Police said.
The 22-year-old Palestinian suffered moderate injury to the lower body and was...

In The News

IDF: Shots Fired At Troops Working On Israel-Gaza Security Fence

01/12/2021
Israeli tank returns fire at Hamas military post, military spokesperson says

Two rounds of sniper shots from the Gaza Strip were fired at an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit operating on the Israel-Gaza security barrier on Wednesday.
The force was operating since the early morning hours near Kibbutz Kissufim adjacent to the...

Iran

EU ‘Concerned’ Over Iran Increased Uranium Enrichment

01/12/2021

EU member states are united in their concern over Iran’s announcement that it will begin enriching uranium up to 20%, they said in a statement released Tuesday.

“We deeply regret the worrying steps taken by Iran over the last two years,” the EU said. “The initiation of uranium enrichment to up to 20% by Iran at the underground...

Iran

Iran Is Al Qaeda’s New Home Base, Pompeo Says

01/12/2021

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed Tuesday that al Qaeda's number-two leader was killed last year in Iran, which Pompeo said has become the terror group's primary base of operations in recent years.

"Al Qaeda has a new home base: the Islamic Republic of Iran," Pompeo said during a small gathering at the National Press Club...

In The News

Palestinian Suspect Arrested After Failing To Stab Israeli Security Guard

01/12/2021
The assailant, 51, pulled out a screwdriver after was prevented from entering Israel

A Palestinian suspect was apprehended Tuesday after attempting to stab a security guard at a checkpoint in the West Bank, approximately eight miles north of Jerusalem, Hebrew media reported.
The man, a 51-year-old Nablus resident, tried to cross...

In The News

Netanyahu Planning Future UAE, Bahrain Trip

01/11/2021

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to visit the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain as soon as possible after the current coronavirus lockdown ends, hopefully in late January or early February, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

If that happens, his trip to the first two countries to join the Abraham Accords...