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

OU Hillel Paints Messages of Love Over Anti-Semitic, Racist Graffiti

Sarah Livingston, Hillel at Ohio University director, found out via text from friend and dean of students Jenny Hall-Jones that the graffiti wall near Baker University Center “had some hate on it,” on April 27.

That hate, Livingston would discover, was 11 spray-painted swastikas, a depiction of Adolf Hitler and a racial slur on the student...

Antisemitism

International Scapegoating of Israel and Jews for Spreading COVID-19

As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, examples of those seeking a scapegoat for the virus continue to proliferate. As ADL and other groups have explored, there have been numerous cases of xenophobia in the US related to the virus, particularly attacks against Asian individuals and groups. Internationally, there have...

Antisemitism

Iran’s Hispan TV Follows Press TV’s Footsteps With Live Stream On YouTube

Hispan TV, the Iranian government’s Spanish-language satellite news network, began a live stream of its network on YouTube one week ago. Like its English-language sister station Press TV, Hispan TV regularly broadcasts anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist conspiracy theories.

Hispan TV’s use of YouTube to live stream its broadcast, which originates...

Antisemitism

French Far-Right Local Election Candidate Posts Antisemitic Video

Alain Mondino, head of the far-right RN list in municipal elections in the Paris suburb of Villepinte posted a video on social media linking Jews to the spread of the coronavirus.

The video, titled “Corona virus for Goy”, espouses a theory that the virus was “put in place by Jews” in order to “assert their supremacy”.

Mondino said he had “found...

Antisemitism

DeWine Calls Anti-Semitic Sign at Protest ‘Disgusting’

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has responded to photos showing anti-Semitic signs during an April 18 stay-at-home order protest outside the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.

"I didn’t see it in person, but I saw it on the internet. It was disgusting. It was vile," DeWine said April 22 at a press conference at the Ohio Department of Public Safety on COVID-19...

Antisemitism

Iran’s Regime Pushes Antisemitic Conspiracies About Coronavirus

Iran’s Press TV, which represents the regime’s English-language propaganda, has been pushing antisemitic conspiracies about the coronavirus to distract from the mullah regime’s mishandling of the pandemic.

On Sunday, Iran’s Health Ministry reported 49 new coronavirus deaths, the highest single-day toll of those killed by COVID-19 in the country...

In The News

Israeli Professor Accepted to Prestigious US Academy of Arts and Sciences

Wendy Sandler, a distinguished professor of linguistics at the University of Haifa and Founding Director of the norther Israeli institution's Sign Language Research Lab was inducted into the prestigious American of Arts and Sciences this week.

Members of the academy are selected as people recognized for discovering advanced knowledge, and those...

Hezbollah

US Intelligence Director Urges France to Ban Hezbollah

BERLIN – US acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has conveyed to France’s government the pressing need to outlaw the Lebanese terrorist movement Hezbollah.

 “Grenell, in his capacity as acting director of national intelligence, spoke with Emmanuel Bonne, the foreign policy adviser to the president of France, to press him on...

Iran

US ‘Hopeful’ UN Will Extend Iran Arms Embargo

The United States is “hopeful” the UN Security Council will extend an arms embargo on Iran before it expires in October, a top US State Department envoy said on Thursday, despite a key Russian official signaling that Moscow opposed such a move.

Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, said the United States had drafted a Security...

In The News

Sharansky Donates $1 Million Genesis Prize to Alleviate COVID-19 Suffering

The Genesis Prize Foundation (GPF) today announced the names of the 15 recipients of this year’s Genesis Prize grants.  The majority of the funding for the grants came from the $1 million Genesis Prize, which was awarded to human rights activist Natan Sharansky this past December. Sharansky chose to direct these funds to organizations fighting the...

Hezbollah

Antisemitic al-Quds Rally Cancelled in Berlin Following Ban of Hezbollah

BERLIN — The organizer of the annual anti-Israel al-Quds Day rally, which is attended by Hezbollah operatives, pulled the plug on its mid-May event in the heart of Berlin after the German government banned all Hezbollah activities within the territory of the federal republic.

The office of the Berlin Senator of the Interior, Andreas Geisel,...

Iran

Top Iran Official Threatens to Destroy Israeli Cities Amid Simmering Row with US

Tehran will "raze Israeli cities to the ground" if Jerusalem or Washington dares to take any preemptive military action against the Islamic Republic, a top Iranian official told Al Jazeera during an interview late last month.
“If the Zionist entity takes even the slightest initiative, you may rest assured that we will raze the Israeli cities to...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Some 270 Lone Soldiers Begin IDF Service as Israel Turns 72

Nearly 270 lone soldiers were drafted into the Israel Defense Forces on Thursday, following Israel’s 72nd Independence Day.

The new recruits included Jewish men and women, ages 18 to 22, from the United States, Canada, Russia, France, Australia, Latin America, Ukraine, England, South Africa, Thailand, Germany, Italy, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia,...

In The News

16-Year-Old Israeli Girl Wins World Bible Quiz in Jerusalem

A 16-year-old girl from Israel won the World Bible Quiz for Jewish Youth on Wednesday.

The Quiz is held in Jerusalem each year for young people aged 14-18 from around the world. It is broadcast live on Israeli television every Independence Day. Sixteen contestants from seven different countries participated in the 2020 Quiz.

The winner was Ruth...

In The News

Trump Marks Jewish US Heritage Month, Vows to Combat Antisemitic Bigotry

US President Donald Trump marked the start of Jewish American Heritage Month with a proclamation this week in which he vowed to “vigorously confront antisemitic discrimination and violence against members.”

America’s Ambassador to Israel David Friedman tweeted that message on Friday, with his own statement.

“Today begins Jewish American Heritage...

Hezbollah

Germany Designates Hezbollah a Terrorist Group, Outlaws All its Activities

Germany designated Iran-backed Hezbollah a terrorist organization on Thursday and banned all activity by the group on its soil, a move long urged by Israel and the United States.

Police conducted early-morning raids on mosques across Germany linked with the group, according to Reuters. Following the ruling, Hezbollah symbols and flags are now...

Iran

Report: Majority of US House Wants Trump, Allies to Extend UN Arms Embargo on Iran

As many as 90 percent of members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed a letter calling on the Trump administration to work with U.S. allies in extending the U.N. arms embargo on Iran, reported Reuters on Thursday, citing congressional sources.

According to the outlet, which saw the letter, at least 382 members signed it, addressed to...

Antisemitism

Bipartisan Group of Senators Calls for Increased Funding for State Department Anti-Semitism Envoy

A bipartisan group of 28 senators have called on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs to increase funding for the U.S. State Department’s office that develops and implements policies and projects to combat global anti-Semitism.

The letter to the subcommittee, dated April 24, was...

US-Israel Relationship

Israeli Humanitarian Group Joins Efforts to Combat Coronavirus-Related Hunger in California

IsraAID is expanding its reach from international disaster relief to helping in the United States as the COVID-19 outbreak has seen requests at food banks skyrocket.

“What happened now is an unprecedented disaster in the United States,” said Seth Davis, executive director of the nongovernmental group IsraAID U.S. “We felt it was important to...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Ethiopian-Israeli Soldiers Receive Independence Day Letters From Relatives Left Behind

Ethiopian-Israeli IDF soldiers received a pleasant and moving surprise on Independence Day this year, with relatives left behind in Ethiopia writing them letters marking the occasion.

Ethiopian Jews largely came in a wave of aliyah in the 1980s and 90s, and now serve across all levels of the IDF. Many of their relatives, however, remained in the...