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

Iran’s US victims need more than just applause

Last night, as President Trump’s guest in the House gallery, I had the singular honor of representing more than a thousand families of fallen and wounded service members for a portion of the State of the Union that briefly bridged our deep political divide.
I watched Republicans and Democrats recognize the sacrifice of the many Americans whose...

In The News

IDF says navy thwarted weapons smuggling attempt to Hamas commandos from Sinai

Israel some three months ago thwarted an attempt to smuggle weapons from Sinai into the Gaza Strip via the sea, the military announced Tuesday.

The army said the navy, aided by the Shin Bet security agency, stopped weapons intended for Hamas as they were being ferried in on a boat.

It did not provide a date for the operation or details on what...

In The News

Iran to execute Amir Rahimpour, convicted of spying for the CIA

Iran’s top court has confirmed a death sentence for a man convicted of spying for the CIA and trying to pass on information about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said Amir Rahimpour would be executed soon.

“Amir Rahimpour, who was a CIA spy and got big pay and tried to present part of Iran’s...

In The News

Netanyahu meets Sudan’s leader, countries to move toward normalization

Israel and Sudan will work to upgrade their diplomatic relations, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Uganda on Monday.

The prime minister and Sudan’s leader, Chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met on Monday for two hours in Entebbe, Uganda, at the invitation of Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta...

In The News

Israel’s flag flies on the International Space Station

The Israeli flag is now a fixture on the International Space Station (ISS) thanks to a new anti-radiation suit developed in Israel that finally touched down on the ISS last week along with its wearer, American astronaut Jessica Meir, whose father is Israeli.

The suit, which was developed by the American-Israeli company StemRad in collaboration...

In The News

Israeli counter-drone company to provide system to FBI and US military

D-Fend Solutions, an Israeli counter-drone solution provider, has been selected by the United States’ Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to provide the EnforceAir c-UAS system as the core Radio Frequency system to be integrated into a counter-drone system.EnforceAir c-UAS is an advanced autonomous system that automatically and passively detects,...

In The News

Senior commander in Iran’s Quds Force reported killed in Aleppo battle

A top commander in Iran’s Quds Force who was close to its slain leader, Qassem Soleimani, has died in battle in Syria, according to multiple reports in Iranian and Arab media.

Asghar Pashapour, a senior member of the Revolutionary Guards’ extraterritorial force, was killed Sunday in battle with Syrian opposition forces in Aleppo, the reports...

In The News

IDF reinforces Iron Dome batteries in the South

The IDF will reinforce Iron Dome batteries in Israel’s southern region over concerns that terror groups in the Gaza Strip will continue to launch rockets.According to Walla News, the defense establishment is concerned that under pressure from Iran, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) will exploit the situation in the Gaza Strip and continue to fire...

In The News

Revealed: In First Temple era, another massive temple was in use near Jerusalem

Solomon’s Temple on the Jerusalem Temple Mount was likely not the only site of centralized worship in the Holy Land region of Judah, according to research newly published in the Biblical Archaeology Review by a team of archaeologists from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority.

A massive Iron Age II temple complex, which stood...

In The News

Iran’s Quds Force to work with Hamas, Islamic Jihad against Trump deal

The new leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Forces phoned Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s Ziad Nakhaleh to stress Iran’s support for opposition to the American “Deal of the Century” plan. The plan was announced on January 28 and Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani is now moving to bolster Palestinian...

In The News

Mom tells of moment she fell with baby when rushing for shelter in rocket attack

A mother has told of how she used her body to protect her newborn baby as she fell while rushing to a bomb shelter during a rocket attack on Sderot last week.

The three-week-old girl was hospitalized with moderate head injuries after the incident on the stairs in the family home.

“I realized within seconds that I was going to fall forward with...

In The News

Arab League foreign ministers reject Trump peace plan

The foreign ministers of the member states of the Arab League unanimously adopted a resolution on Saturday rejecting the Trump Israeli-Palestinian peace plan and said that "it does not satisfy the minimum of the rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people."
Why it matters: The Trump administration was counting on a coalition of Arab countries...

Archeology

Ancient ‘royal estate’ that served biblical kings unearthed in Israel

Archaeologists uncovered a gigantic complex in northern Israel that they think once served as a rural estate for ancient kings of biblical fame.
The stunning building is in Horvat Tevet, an ancient site just outside modern-day Afula. About 2,900 years ago, archaeologists say, the structure served as a key place for Israelite officials to collect...

In The News Iran

Iran’s Quds Force vows to oppose Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century

Palestinian Islamic Jihad is seeking to play a major role against US President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century.” At the same time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force has issued a message calling for resistance against the plan and praising the Palestinians for “standing alone” against it.Iranian media reported on a speech by PIJ...

Terrorism

Rocket sirens sound in south for second time in 24 hours

Rocket sirens sounded in an Israeli town just north of the Gaza Strip on Thursday afternoon, sending hundreds of people rushing to bomb shelters.

The military said the alarms, which were heard in the community of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in the Hof Ashkelon region of southern Israel, were not caused by a rocket launch.

The Israel Defense Forces did...

Holocaust

Holocaust survivor delivers US House prayer noting 75th year of Auschwitz liberation

A 90-year-old rabbi who survived the Holocaust delivered the opening prayer in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

“As a young boy of 13 years, I was condemned to be dead, to be murdered, along with my entire family, and including my 3-year-old little sister, by one evil man, may his name be erased forever,” said Rabbi Avraham Hakohen...

Iran

Iran, imagery suggest preparation for satellite launch despite US criticism, past failures

Fox News National Security and Foreign Policy expert Walid Phares weighs in.

Iran is apparently trying to launch a satellite into space despite a string of failures last year and U.S. concerns that the program is acting as a front for ballistic missile development.
Images taken from space Sunday appear to show an increase in activity at...

Iran

50 US troops suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran strike, Pentagon now says

At least 50 US service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries resulting from Iran’s missile attack on an Iraqi air base earlier this month, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

The number is an increase of 16 from Friday, when the Pentagon said that 34 troops had been hurt.

A little over a week after the Jan. 8 attack, the military said...

Terrorism

Energy minister: Israel stopped ‘very serious’ cyber attack on power plant

Israel detected and prevented a "very serious cyber attack" on one of the country's power plants, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Wednesday.Addressing the Cybertech Global Tel Aviv 2020 conference, Steinitz said the attempted attack was detected "a few months ago," and represented one of only a few serious cyber attacks on Israeli energy...

Antisemitism

US attorney general says there will be ‘zero tolerance’ on anti-Semitism

US Attorney General William Barr ordered federal prosecutors across the US to step up their efforts to combat anti-Semitic hate crimes as he met with Jewish leaders in Brooklyn, New York, on Tuesday.

Barr said he has been “extremely distressed by the upsurge in violence” in Jewish communities, including in New York City, which saw a string of...