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

Israeli Couple Aged 90, 87 Recover From COVID -19 in Ashkelon

Happy scenes unfolded Sunday at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, as an elderly couple was sent home after both recovered from COVID-19.

Rahamim Bracha, 90, and his wife of 69 years, Shoshana, 87, thanked doctors as well as God as they were released.

“Goodbye and may we not come here again,” said Rahamim, who had been in serious condition and...

Hamas

Amnesty International Employee Denounced For Getting Gaza Peace Activists Arrested by Hamas For Virtual Meeting With Israelis

An employee of Amnesty International has been denounced for getting a Gaza peace activist arrested by Hamas authorities for holding a virtual meeting with Israeli counterparts.

Journalist Rami Aman of the Gaza Youth Committee held the conference with the Israelis via the Zoom app, which has become popular as a means of maintaining social ties...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF Naval Commandos Give Israeli Coronavirus Patients a Hand

Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 naval commandos are doing their bit to contribute to the country’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic: Aside from sending some of its personnel to help distribute food and medicine at nursing homes in northern Israel, the commandos are now making medical oxygen tanks out of their own diving equipment.

Shayetet 13...

Medical Advancement

Israeli Researchers at Hebrew U Develop Faster, Cheaper COVID-19 Test

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced on Sunday that they have developed a new method of testing for COVID-19 which is not only 4-10 times faster than the tests most commonly used today, but also significantly cheaper, while supplying the same level of accuracy.

Moreover, most of the materials required to perform the new...

Antisemitism

Germany Imposes Four-Year Travel Ban on Senior Palestinian Terrorist

BERLIN - The German government has issued a four-year travel ban against a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who allegedly supports terrorism and Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the Jewish state.

The Palestinian journalist and alleged PFLP terrorist Khaled Barakat, who is based in...

Iran

Threat From Iran to US Forces Remains ‘Significant’

Iranian-backed militia pose a "significant" threat to US forces in Iraq, the State Department's top diplomat for the Middle East said on Thursday, about a week after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of an attack by Iran or its proxies.

David Schenker, assistant secretary of Near Eastern Affairs, did not give details about the threat, but told...

Iran

Iran Murdered 36 Prisoners Over Coronavirus Protest

BERLIN — Security forces for the Islamic Republic of Iran murdered 36 prisoners who rebelled in connection with coronavirus safety.

The human rights organization Amnesty International tweeted on Thursday: “We have learned that around 36 prisoners in Iran are feared to have been killed by security forces after use of lethal force to control...

In The News

US Government Agency Calls For Release of Baha’i Falsely Accused as Israeli Spy

BERLIN — The Washington-based United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged on Thursday that the Iranian regime allied Houthi authorities in Yemen comply with their March 25 public commitment to release Baha’i religious prisoner of conscience Hamid bin Haydara, along with 24 other detained Baha’is.

“Enough of the...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

German Politician Urges Festival to Disinvite BDS Academic

BERLIN — The Free Democratic Party (FDP) politician in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lorenz Deutsch, urged the director of the music and cultural festival Ruhrtriennale to pull the plug on an appearance from an academic supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel who has also trivialized the...

Hamas

Hamas Arrests Gaza Peace Activists After Zoom Call With Israelis

Hamas-run security forces have arrested several peace activists in the Gaza Strip on treason charges after they took part in a web conference with Israeli activists, officials said Thursday.

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said the activists were accused of “holding a normalization activity with the Israeli occupation.”

“Holding any activity or...

Israeli Society

‘Adopt A Doc’: Israelis Looking Out For Overworked Healthcare Professionals

While hunkering down at home and keeping three young children entertained in coronavirus isolation, Adi Karmon Scope had a thought: How much harder was it for those on the front lines of the pandemic?

So Karmon Scope, a 44-year-old startup entrepreneur, took to Facebook to ask Israelis to assist both the health care professionals who are saving...

In The News Medical Advancement

Israeli COVID-19 treatment shows 100% survival rate – preliminary data

Six critically ill coronavirus patients in Israel who are considered high-risk for mortality have been treated with Pluristem’s placenta-based cell-therapy product and survived, according to preliminary data provided by the Haifa-based company.

The patients were treated at three different Israeli medical centers for one week under the country’s...

In The News

Experts: Israel Ahead of Curve on Coronavirus

Israel’s battle to stop the spread of coronavirus appears to be bearing fruit and is leading many experts to express cautious optimism about these efforts.

There are more than 9,000 confirmed cases in the country, and as of Tuesday evening local time, 61 people were dead. However, the rate of new cases seems to have slowed following weeks of...

Antisemitism

Boston-Area Chabad Center Vandalized With Anti-Semitic Graffiti in Russian

Police in Brookline, Mass., are looking for a man caught on camera vandalizing the Chabad Israeli Center with a swastika and anti-Semitic graffiti written in Russian.

The act was caught on video surveillance at 1:42 a.m. on Monday

The footage showed a man sporting both dark clothing and glasses and a beanie.

The Anti-Defamation League of New...

ISIS

Rockets Hit US Air Base in Afghanistan; No Casualties

Five rockets hit a US air base in Afghanistan on Thursday, but there were no casualties, two senior security officials said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a report released by Reuters. 

The attack comes as the Afghan government has launched the release of Taliban prisoners from a jail near the Bagram base, as...

Holocaust

Uber Eats Helps Deliver Passover Food to Holocaust Survivors in New York

The Met Council for Jewish Poverty and Uber Eats have teamed up to deliver kosher-for-Passover food to Holocaust survivors in New York who are staying home amid fears of contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Uber Eats delivery staff picked up 500 seder boxes on Monday and Tuesday from the Met Council distribution center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and...

Iran

Iran Urged to Declare Newly Revealed Nuclear Weapons Site to IAEI

BERLIN—The prestigious Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security published on Wednesday a jaw-dropping report on its website outlining a newly revealed Iranian regime nuclear weapons plantthat was discovered by Israel.

The authors of the report indicate that “Iran should declare this site to the International Atomic Energy...

In The News Iran

Iran Deploys Missiles Covering The Strait Of Hormuz

Evidence suggests that Iran has deployed an array of anti-ship missiles and large rockets overlooking Strait of Hormuz, which is vital for the supply of oil from the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The waterway is being patrolled by U.S. Navy and its allies to protect vessels from Iranian action.
Multiple amateur videos and photos of the weapons...

Israeli Technology

Israeli Medtech Startup Kahun Harnesses AI to Provide Doctors With Real-Time Covid-19 Data

Though coronavirus (Covid-19) has only been in our lives for a few months, according to online medical library PubMed more than 2,500 research papers have already been published on the virus, more than any time-pressed physician can hope to catch up on between caring for patients and worrying about protecting themselves and their families. Enter...

Medical Advancement

2,000 Israeli Medical Students Fighting Coronavirus Without Pay

With the Israeli health system under massive pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic, some 2,000 medical students are volunteering to help in the relief efforts, working long hours without pay and risking infection themselves.

The Israeli news site N12 quoted one of the students, identified only as “A.,” as saying, “We didn’t think about money...