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.

Iran

Ukrainian airliner goes down in Tehran, killing 176

(January 8, 2020 / JNS) A Ukranian Boeing 737 passenger jet crashed shortly after takeoff in Tehran, Iran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people aboard. Though a spokesman for Iran’s Road and Transportation Ministry claimed that the crash was caused by “technical difficulties,” at least two Kazakh airlines announced that they were considering...

Holocaust

Record 2.3 million people visited Auschwitz in 2019

A record 2.3 million visitors toured former Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau last year, the museum said on Tuesday, as the site gears up to mark 75 years since its last prisoners were liberated.

The figure was an increase of 170,000 on the visitor numbers from 2018, the previous record year.

Almost 400,000 Poles toured the complex in 2019,...

Iran

US confirms over a dozen Iranian missiles fired at Iraq bases housing its troops

Iran struck back at the United States early Wednesday for the killing of a top Iranian general last week, firing a series of surface-to-surface missiles at an Iraqi air base housing US troops and warning the United States and its allies in the region not to retaliate.

The Pentagon confirmed the strike at Ain Assad as well as another at a separate...

Antisemitism

Across the US, police and locals rally in wake of rise in anti-Semitic attacks

JTA — New York City held a huge rally this past weekend, but it wasn’t the only place to protest against a recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks. Police and locals in cities around the United States have pledged to support and protect their Jewish communities over the past week.

In South Carolina, religious leaders gathered in the state capital on...

United Nations (UN)

Ukraine leaves UN committee on Palestinians

Ukraine has quit the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

The decision was authorized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Founded in 1975, the 25-country committee seeks "to enable Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination...

Antisemitism

Anti-Semitic vandalism strikes Jewish sites in France, Greece and Ukraine

Anti-Jewish vandalism has struck France, Greece and Ukraine within the past week.

About a dozen graves were vandalized in the Jewish cemetery of Bayonne, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques area, in southwest France.

The damage was sighted by Déborah Loupien-Suares, president of the Jewish community in Biarritz and Bayonne, while visiting her...

Event Recaps

December 21 – El Paso, TX – Spanish Pastors Meeting

Event Recaps

December 20 – Houston, TX – Spanish Why Israel

Event Recaps

December 11 – Fort Myers, FL – Why Israel

Event Recaps

December 8 – Reno, NV – Why Israel

Event Recaps

December 8 – Bridgeport, CT – Why Israel

Event Recaps

December 8 – Memphis, TN – Friends of Israel

Event Recaps

December 7 – Lubbock, TX – Spanish Pastors Meeting

Event Recaps

December 6 – Newark, NJ – Spanish Why Israel

Event Recaps

December 1 – Greenly, CO – Night To Honor Israel

Israeli Society

Record 4.9 million people visited Israel in 2019, 12% more than 2018

Israel saw a record number of 4.9 million entries into the country last year, of which 4.6 million were tourists who stayed at least one night, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The tourism figures for 2019, published Monday, showed an increase of 12 percent in the number of entries compared to 2018.

Most visitors, over...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Iron Dome defense system notes 85% success rate in 2019, IDF says

The Israeli military on Thursday released data on operational activity on all fronts in 2019, showing that its "campaign between the wars" – an ongoing Israeli military and intelligence effort to disrupt the force buildup of the Iranian-Shiite axis throughout the Middle East – is nowhere near winding down.

The Gaza Strip sector continued to be...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF data shows rocket attacks up, terror attacks down in 2019

(January 6, 2020 / JNS) The Israel Defense Forces released a report on Sunday summarizing Israel’s military activity in 2019.

According to the report, terrorist acts declined in 2019, while rocket fire at Israeli population centers rose—1,295 rockets were launched from Gaza, with 729 landing in open areas and 478 being intercepted by the Iron...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

Court upholds anti-BDS law in state of Arizona

(January 6, 2020 / JNS) The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Arizona’s anti-BDS law on Monday, vacating the preliminary injunction against the 2016 measure, which underwent changes in early 2019, making the plaintiff’s suit moot.

The original law was blocked by a federal court in September 2018, citing a possible violation of the First...

Hezbollah

Honduras designates Hezbollah as a terrorist organization

(January 7, 2020 / Israel Hayom) Honduras announced on Monday that it is officially designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

The office of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández released a statement saying, “Honduras joins Guatemala and other countries in announcing that Hezbollah will be declared an international terrorist...