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

Using DNA Technology, Israeli Researchers Discern New Clues to Piece Together Dead Sea Scrolls

Using DNA technology, Israeli researchers have uncovered new clues about the origins of the Dead Sea Scrolls, providing a new glimpse into Jewish life during the final days of the Second Temple period.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University, led by Professor Oded Rechavi of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Professor Noam Mizrahi of...

Incitement

Report: Jordan Arrests Five Over West Bank Suicide Attack Plot

Jordan is holding a trial for five suspects involved in an alleged plot to conduct suicide attacks against Israeli targets in the West Bank, AFP reported Tuesday.
According to a judiciary source cited by the agency, the trial began recently at the state security court, a military tribunal that usually deals with terrorism-related cases.
The...

Iran

Iran Cyberattack on Israel’s Water Supply Could Have Sickened Hundreds – Report

Iran tried to increase chlorine levels in the water flowing to residential areas during April’s cyberattack against Israel’s water systems, a Western intelligence official has told the Financial Times.

The official told the British newspaper in a report published Monday that hundreds of people would have been at risk of getting sick and that the...

Iran

US Warns Governments, Firms Against Aiding Iran Fuel Shipments to Venezuela

Seeking to deter further shipments of Iranian fuel to Venezuela, the Trump administration has quietly warned foreign governments, seaports, shipping companies and insurers that they could face stiff US sanctions if they aid the tanker flotilla, the US envoy on Venezuela told Reuters on Friday.

Elliott Abrams, Washington's special representative...

Antisemitism

Munich Bans Yellow Stars at Protests After Jewish Groups Raise Concerns

Germany has seen several protests in cities across the country over the government’s strict coronavirus lockdown, and at some, demonstrators have worn yellow Stars of David meant to resemble the ones that Nazis forced Jews to wear during the Holocaust.

These stars often say “not vaccinated” or “vaccination will set you free,” a play on the ironic...

Archeology

DNA Study Supports Bible: Canaanites Homogeneous Group, Lived in Israel

A newly published study has shed light on the genomic features of the Canaanites, confirming that the biblical people were indeed a clear and homogeneous group and supporting archaeological findings.

Moreover, the research showed that many present-day populations of the area have ancestries from groups whose ancient proxy can be related to the...

US-Israel Relationship

US: Pompeo Hints at Incoming Actions Against International Criminal Court

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo strongly hinted Monday at an upcoming US pushback against the "corrupt" International Criminal Court (ICC).
In an interview to a podcast by the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, Pompeo said the action will not just be taken by the State Department -- instead, a multi-agency pressure campaign...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

BDS Co-Founder Says Goal of Movement is End of Israel

While Israel’s supporters claim that the BDS movement is aimed at the Jewish state and is a form of new anti-Semitism, its supporters in Western countries say it’s merely a tool to change Israeli policies.

However, in a newly recorded interview on May 21 with the Gazan Voice Podcast, co-founder of the BDS movement Omar Barghouti explains that...

Holocaust

Veteran Affairs: Nazis ‘Don’t Have a Place’ Next to Fallen American Heroes

Following the discovery of three German POW tombstones found in military cemeteries across the United States, inscribed with Nazi symbols and sentiments - two at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas and one at Fort Douglas Post Cemetery in Utah - ABC News' Johnathan Elias decided to sit down with the Secretary of Veteran Affairs Robert...

Iran

Report: Iran Attempted to Raise Chlorine in Israel’s Water Supply to Dangerous Levels

Iranian hackers tried to trick Israeli computers into raising the chlorine content in the country’s water supply to dangerous levels, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

The report refers to the April 24 cyber attack on an Israeli pumping station, widely attributed to the regime in Tehran.

According to the Financial Times, Israeli and...

Syria

Report: Syria Strike Kills 5 Iran-Backed Militants

An air strike in eastern Syria on Sunday killed five non-Syrian fighters backed by Iran, a Britain-based war monitor said.

The strike targeted three military vehicles belonging to Iran-backed paramilitary fighters near the Iraqi border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The monitor said that "Israel was likely responsible" for the...

Syria

Report: Russia Building New Military Base in Northeast Syria

Russia is building a new military base in the Kurdish enclave in northeast Syria, a UK-based monitoring group reported today.
Russian forces are making the base in Qeser Dib, a village outside of al-Malikiyah near the Turkish border. The troops installed radar and brought 12 armored vehicles to the area, according to the Syrian Observatory for...

Israeli Technology

The New Israeli State-Owned Company Developing Secret Rocket Technology

On paper, it sounds like just another startup. A young company developing advanced technology, being managed with great secrecy. In fact, Tomer is a company owned by the government of Israel that is meant to act as a center of national expertise in the field of rocket propulsion.

Tomer was set up in advance of the privatization of state-owned...

Antisemitism

Synagogue Defaced With Antisemitic Graffiti Amid Los Angeles Riots

A synagogue was defaced with antisemitic graffiti in Los Angeles over the weekend as the city faced violent riots and looting following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Congregation Beth Israel in the Fairfax District of the city was spray-painted with the phrases “F*** Israel” and “Free Palestine,”...

Iran

Senior US Official: America Doubles Down on ‘Maximum Pressure’ Campaign in Iran

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has shown no signs that it is easing up on its “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran as the United States seeks to ramp up pressure on the international community to extend the arms embargo on Tehran.

“The Iranian regime is weaker today than when we took office three years ago, and so are its proxies. The...

In The News

Trump Signs the Never Again Education Act Into Law

US President Donald Trump signed the Never Again Education Act, which seeks to expand Holocaust education in the United States, into law on Friday.

The House of Representatives passed the legislation in January, while the Senate did so on May 13.

The new law expands the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM)’s education programming to teachers...

Antisemitism

As Twitter Checks Trump, Khamenei Account Left Alone, Despite Plea From Israel

Twitter sparked a row with US President Donald Trump this week by flagging two of his tweets for misinformation, but the social media firm appears to have left alone Iran’s supreme leader, despite an appeal from Israel to suspend his account over its “anti-Semitic and genocidal” messages.

Strategic Affairs Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen sent a...

In The News

Cameraman Who Criticized Palestinian Authority Fired from Associated Press

Eyad Hamad, a veteran Palestinian cameraman, said on Wednesday that he was fired from the Associated Press (AP) after the Palestinian Authority filed a “complaint” against him.

 Hamad, 63, a resident of Bethlehem, told The Jerusalem Post that the complaint was filed against him because he had criticized the Palestinian security forces for...

Antisemitism

Qatar’s Al Jazeera Network Broadcasts Islamist Cleric’s Appeal to ‘Kill Jews’

The Qatar-owned satellite network Al Jazeera broadcast a crudely antisemitic interview with a leading Muslim cleric who called for the violent conquest of the State of Israel.

“Victory will not come on a golden platter. Victory is achieved through the blood of martyrs and over the skulls of the enemies. Victory is achieved by sacrificing money,...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF Chief Gives Award to Soldier Who Lost Leg in West Bank Ramming

IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi presented a soldier who lost his leg in a car ramming attack earlier this month with an award of excellence on Wednesday, the military said.

Staff Sgt. Shadi Ibrahim, from the Druze town of Sajur in northern Israel, sustained serious injuries when a Palestinian man rammed his car into him outside the Negohot...