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.

Antisemitism

US Names Deputy Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism

David Peyman has been tapped as the U.S. State Department’s deputy special envoy to combat anti-Semitism for BDS, Eurasia and special projects.

“We are pleased to announce that David Peyman joined the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism (SEAS) as the Assistant Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs and Strategic Projects,”...

In The News

In First, Direct Commercial Flight from UAE Lands in Tel Aviv

United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Airways made history on Tuesday, flying a plane loaded with virus aid for Palestinians on a direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv, marking the first known direct commercial flight between Israel and the UAE.

The Etihad cargo jet, painted in all white and missing any marking, landed at Ben-Gurion Airport just...

Israeli Society

Coronavirus Crisis Turned Israelis, Palestinians to Faith in God

Palestinians and Israelis have more faith in God as a result of the coronavirus crisis, a new study by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and Keevoon Global Research revealed.

The survey measured the attitudes of Israelis, Palestinians, Germans, Americans, Brits, Italian and Poles about the novel coronavirus.

Around 500 people from each country were...

Iran

Iran’s Supreme Leader Releases Anti-Israel ‘Final Solution’ Poster

BERLIN – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Khamenei published an antisemitic poster on Tuesday evoking Nazi Germany’s “final solution” that destroyed European Jewry, in order to advance Tehran's quest to abolish Israel.

The poster’s language reads: "Palestine will be free. The final solution. Resistance is referendum."

Khamenei...

Iran

Iran’s Threats Against Israel – Unprecedented in International Community

Iran is the only country in the world that systematically and consistently threatens the destruction of another country. It’s threats against Israelcontinue every year via its official statements by its leaders, army commanders and media. In recent days the crescendo of threats have increased. No other country in the world has such a systematic...

US-Israel Relationship

Ashkenazi: Trump Middle East Peace Plan a ‘Historic Opportunity’ for Israel

Newly appointed Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi called U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace plan a “historic opportunity.”

However, he said on Monday, the U.S. plan would be advanced “responsibly, with full coordination with the United States and maintaining all of the State of Israel’s peace agreements and strategic interests,”...

Antisemitism

Colluding with Terror-Affiliated NGOs, ICC Becomes ‘Tool of War’ Against Israel

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is in the hot seat. In response to reports that her office is collaborating with anti-Israel NGOs affiliated with terror groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, she tweeted, “Misinformation and smear campaigns do not change facts about the conduct of my Office’s...

Iran

Iran’s Khamenei: ‘West Bank Must be Armed, Just as Gaza’

The West Bank must arm itself just like Gaza did, Iran's supreme leader said Tuesday, claiming that the Palestinian hardships can only be resolved through power.
On his Twitter account, Ali Khamenei warned against compromises and alleged that the US Middle East peace plan, dubbed by President Donald Trump "Deal of the Century," alleging it was...

Israeli Technology

Report: Israel Beefs up Cyber Defenses at Key Sites to Repel Possible Iranian Attacks

Israel is beefing up cyber defenses on key sites as it braces for possible attacks from Tehran, Walla! reported Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and National Cyber Directorate have stepped up their preparedness level, anticipating attacks of various complexity levels coming from Iranian and pro-Iranian hacker crews....

US-Israel Relationship

Medical Supplies From Israel Arrives in San Antonio as Part of Three-Day Humanitarian Cargo Mission

SAN ANTONIO - The pandemic has continued to spotlight the arduous work San Antonians do and The San Antonio International Airport (SAT) showed us their hard work with their role in a humanitarian cargo mission.

According to a press release, SAT is the the epicenter of a three-day humanitarian cargo mission, where four international cargo flights...

Archeology

Archaeologists Discover 2000-Year-Old Unique Complex by the Western Wall

A unique system of underground rooms dating back to 2000 years ago were discovered by a group of archaeologists just adjacent to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, under the lobby of the Western Wall tunnels in the “Beit Straus” complex.

The rare discovery sheds light on Jewish life in the holy city ahead of the destruction of the...

Iran

Iran to Mark Annual Anti-Israel Al Quds Rally with Vehicles, Online

Iran is slated to mark next week’s annual antisemitic Quds Day rally, calling for the obliteration of  Israel. by permitting people to drive in vehicles and  participate in an online event rather than march through the streets, so as to avoid the spread of coronavirus.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced the vehicle protest on...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

George Washington University Stands by Interim Dean Who Backs BDS

George Washington University is standing by an interim dean at its foreign policy school who has come under fire for past actions supporting the boycott Israel movement.

A campus group, GW for Israel, launched a petition this week calling for the university to reconsider its recent naming of Ilana Feldman as the interim dean of the Elliott School...

US-Israel Relationship

Pompeo, Friedman ‘Warmly Welcome’ New Israeli Government

Top American diplomats took to social media on Sunday evening to congratulate Israel on the swearing-in of its 35th government.

Following the televised swearing-in ceremony, which was preceded by five-minute speeches from each party leader, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman offered words of praise on...

Iran

Holy Jewish Site of Esther and Mordechai Set Ablaze in Iran – Reports

BERLIN - National Director of Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Jonathan Greenblatt announced Friday on Twitter that the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Iran was torched.

"Disturbing reports from Iran that the tomb of Esther & Mordechai, a holy Jewish site, was set afire overnight. We hope that the authorities bring the perpetrators of this...

Incitement

EU Parliament Raises Alarm Over Hate Speech and Incitement in Palestinian Textbooks

The European Parliament passed three resolutions on Thursday expressing concern that Palestinian educational materials contained hate speech and incitement to violence.

The resolutions noted “the need to guarantee that no Union funds … are used to finance textbooks and educational material which incite religious radicalization, intolerance,...

Holocaust

Man Who Spent His Life Hunting Down Stolen Nazi Art Dies From COVID-19

David Toren, 94, a retired patent lawyer who made it his life's mission to recover stolen art looted from his family by the Nazis, died from complications surrounding the novel coronavirus.

 In 2014, Toren sued Germany and the state of Bavaria, with a court in Washington DC Bavaria’s Justice Ministry, for the return of paintings he says were...

US-Israel Relationship

House Members Introduce Bill to Enhance US-Israel Efforts Against COVID-19

A bipartisan bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday that would authorize a new partnership program to enhance cooperation between the United States and Israel to develop innovative approaches for treating and potentially curing COVID-19.

Reps. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and...

Iran

U.S. Accuses Iran of Defying UN Nuclear Deal Resolution

The United States accused Tehran on Wednesday of defying the UN resolution endorsing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with a satellite launch last month and also argued it is continuing to violate a UN arms embargo.

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations made the allegations at an informal meeting of experts from the Security Council committee that...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

US: Missouri Lawmakers Approve Anti-BDS Bill

Lawmakers in Missouri passed a bill on Thursday to ban the state from doing business with companies who boycott Israel, The Associated Press reports.
Missouri’s "Anti-Discrimination Against Israel Act" will require companies to sign a contract vowing not to boycott Israel in order to business with Missouri. It wouldn’t apply to contracts worth...