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.

Holocaust

Holocaust survivor is named 2019 ‘Texan of the Year’

(December 31, 2019 / JNS) Max Glauben, a longtime Dallas resident and Holocaust survivor, was declared the 2019 “Texan of the Year” by The Dallas Morning News on Sunday.

Glauben, 91, and his family survived the Warsaw Ghetto only to be taken to the Majdanek concentration camp, where his mother, father and younger brother died. By 1943, he was...

US-Israel Relationship

US deploys 750 troops to the Middle East following embassy attack in Iraq

(January 1, 2020 / JNS) U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday that 750 troops are being deployed to the Middle East immediately in response to Iraqi riots at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Esper said in a statement that an infantry battalion from the Immediate Response Force (IRF) of the 82nd Airborne...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israeli military unveils its first combined-arms unit

(January 2, 2020 / Israel Hayom) The Israeli military on Wednesday unveiled its first combined-arms combat unit.

Formed on the orders of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the Shiloah Unit will combine infantry, combat engineers, armor and air power. One of its primary missions will be to test new war-fighting techniques,...

US-Israel Relationship

US officials call attack on Iraq and Syria ‘successful’

(December 30, 2019 / JNS) U.S. officials said on Sunday that airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia were successful and warned about additional possible action, reported Reuters.

The strikes were in response to the killing of a U.S. civilian contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base, officials...

Antisemitism

Germany: Over 40 gravestones vandalized at Jewish cemetery

Two suspects, aged 21 and 33, apprehended by the police, said to be known as far-right activists

More than 40 gravestones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in the German town of Geilenkirchen, Bild reported on Monday.

According to the accounts in the German media, two masked men arrived at the Jewish cemetery early on Monday, at around 3...

Archeology

2,000-year-old Hasmonean coins unearthed in Shiloh over Hanukkah

A wet sifting project in ancient Shiloh has led to the discovery of some 20 ancient coins this week as the world marked the final days of Hanukkah.

The find was made by the Associates for Biblical Research, directed by archaeologist Dr. Scott Stripling. It was announced on Monday.

According to Stripling, more than half of the coins date back to...

Antisemitism

Anti-Semitic vandalism found at synagogue and other areas in London

(December 30, 2019 / JNS) Anti-Semitic vandalism has been discovered at a synagogue and other areas in London.

Police are investigating the development as a possible hate crime.

Images of the Star of David and messages apparently blaming the Jews for the Sept. 11 terror attacks were found on various buildings, including South Hampstead Synagogue...

Iran

Iraqi supporters of Iran-backed militia break into US embassy in Baghdad

Ambassador evacuated; with cries of ‘Death to Israel,’ protesters vent their anger over US attacks on Kataeb Hezbollah group, seen as violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

Dozens of angry Iraqi Shiite militia supporters broke into the US Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday after smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting...

Israeli Society

Israeli exports soared by almost 70% over past decade

Israeli exports of services and goods are forecast to break another annual record in 2019 as full-year revenues climb toward $114 billion, the Foreign Trade Administration said on Monday.
The predicted export value represents a 4.5% increase compared to 2018, and some 68% higher than 2009, when Israeli exports totaled approximately $67.7b. Over...

Terrorism

Suspect arraigned after 5 stabbed during Monsey Hanukkah celebration

MONSEY, New York (WABC) -- A knife-wielding man stormed into a rabbi's home and stabbed five people as they celebrated Hanukkah in an Orthodox Jewish community north of New York City, an ambush the governor said Sunday was an act of domestic terrorism fueled by intolerance and a "cancer" of growing hatred in America.

Police tracked a fleeing...

US-Israel Relationship

Israel to acquire 50 F-35 jets, examining deal for third squadron

The Israeli Air Force currently has 20 F-35 stealth fighter jets in its possession and is on the way to acquiring 50 aircraft—two squadrons—a senior executive from Lockheed Martin, the defense corporation that manufactures the jet, has said.

On a recent visit to Israel, Gary North, vice president for customer requirements at Lockheed Martin, who...

Antisemitism

For second time this month, tombstones vandalized in Jewish cemetery in Slovakia

(December 26, 2019 / JNS) For the second time this month, tombstones at a Jewish cemetery in Slovakia were vandalized.

At the one in the northern town of Rajec, 22 gravestones were desecrated, a week after 59 tombstones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in town of Namestovo, almost two hours from Rajec.

When the incident in Rajec, which is...

Antisemitism

Trump condemns ‘horrific’ Monsey attack, blames ‘evil scourge of anti-Semitism’

After almost a day of silence, US President Donald Trump commented Sunday on the stabbing spree at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, the night before that left five injured, calling it “horrific” and wishing the victims a full recovery.

“The anti-Semitic attack in Monsey, New York, on the 7th night of Hanukkah last night is horrific,” Trump...

In The News

CUFI Statement on New York Attack

The spate of attacks against our Jewish neighbors are both horrifying and sickening. Our heartfelt prayers are with the victims and the families of last night’s senseless attack in New York.

As Christians, we must ensure that our Jewish brothers and sisters are protected against this terrorism.

We must ensure that law enforcement is engaged in...

Israeli Society

Beirut floodwaters sweep away Jewish graves

BEIRUT — Flooding at Beirut’s only Jewish cemetery has swept away entire graves after heavy rainfall hit the Lebanese capital.

The floodwater destroyed a retaining wall at the graveyard in the Ras al-Nabaa district overnight into Thursday, dragging sarcophagi and large chunks of rubble onto the pavement below.

Nagi Georges Zeidan, an expert on...

Antisemitism

Man charged in anti-Semitic assault amid spate of attacks in New York

(December 26, 2019 / JNS) A 28-year-old man from Miami has been arrested and charged with assaulting a 65-year-old in Manhattan on Monday, announced New York Police Sgt. Lee Jones.

Steven Jorge has been accused of punching the 65-year-old male, who was kicked after he fell onto the ground, said Jones, who added that the victim was treated at the...

Israeli Society

Israel’s Christian population grows to 177,000 citizens

The Christian population of Israel currently stands at approximately 177,000 citizens, or 2% of the overall population, according to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) ahead of Christmas.

Last year, the population grew by 1.5%, compared to 2.2% in 2017. Over three-quarters (77.5%) of Christians living in Israel are Arabs,...

Israeli Society

Jewish Agency: 250,000 immigrants in past decade

In 2019 alone, 34,000 immigrants have come to Israel, up 18% from last year and one of the best years over the past decade.

More than 250,000 immigrants reached Israel from 150 countries in the past decade, the Jewish Agency reports. Russia, the Ukraine, France the US and Ethiopia were the leading countries in terms of providing immigrants to...

Jerusalem

Georgia set to open cultural center in Jerusalem

(December 27, 2019 / JNS) Georgia is set to open a cultural center in Jerusalem, becoming the eighth country to do so, its Israel embassy confirmed on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the Georgian Embassy said it has not been decided yet when or where the center will open, and that details are still being discussed.

“We welcome the center’s...

Terrorism

IAF strikes Hamas in the Gaza Strip, after rocket forces PM offstage

IDF fighter jets and helicopters attacked several Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including the organization’s military complexes, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said on Thursday. The attack was in response to rocket fire from Gaza at Israel on Wednesday night. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding an event in Ashkelon as the rocket...