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.

Archeology

Tiny First Temple seal impression found with name of Bible-era royal steward

A minuscule 7th century BCE clay sealing reading “Belonging to Adoniyahu, the Royal Steward,” was recently discovered in the City of David’s sifting project.

In earth excavated from the foundations of the Western Wall under Robinson’s Arch in 2013, a national service volunteer some three weeks ago unearthed the one-centimeter inscribed letter...

Jerusalem

JERUSALEM TO REMEMBER 9/11 TWIN TOWERS ATTACK

Israel will hold a ceremony to commemorate the 9/11 Twin Tower attacks on Tuesday afternoon at the Jerusalem Park.

As a tribute to the Tribute in Lights representing the Twin Towers, Jerusalem's skies will be lighten up – reaching up to 300 meters.

The Tribute in Light is an art installation of 88 searchlights six blocks south of the World Trade...

Hamas

Netanyahu warns Hamas after weekend of deadly escalation

PM says Israel will respond forcefully to any attempt to harm citizens, soldiers after drone attack, rocket fire from Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Palestinian terror group Hamas on Saturday that Israel would respond forcefully to any attempt to harm its citizens and soldiers, following two days of violent incidents on and near...

Palestinian Authority

PA said to raise salaries of bomb makers behind deadly 2003 attacks

(September 9, 2019 / JNS) The Palestinian Authority has raised the “salaries” of two of the terrorists responsible for deadly twin suicide bombings in Israel in 2003, according to Israeli NGO Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).

The monthly payments were increased from NIS 6,000 ($1,703) to NIS 7,000 ($1,982) in accordance with P.A. law, according to...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF strikes Hamas targets in response to armed drone attack from Gaza

(September 8, 2019 / JNS) Israeli jets hit a Hamas naval-equipment depot and two aerial operations “military centers” on Saturday after an armed drone entered Israeli airspace from the Gaza Strip earlier in the day, according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces. The cell responsible for launching the drone was also targeted, according to...

Terrorism

ROCKET FIRED ON ISRAEL, LANDS WITHIN GAZA STRIP

IDF reports claim a rocket fell near the Gaza Security fence, on the Gazan side. No injuries or casualties reported.

Gaza border communities were notified of a rocket attack on Sunday evening, though no rockets hit Israeli territory.

Early unconfirmed reports suggest two rockets were fired from Rafah, one from Jabaliyah and one from Khan Younis....

Antisemitism

New York police say there’s been a surge in anti-Semitic hate crimes

(CNN)More than half the hate crimes reported in New York City so far this year are anti-Semitic, New York Police Department officials said on Wednesday.

The incidents reported are mostly acts of vandalism, with graffiti or swastikas being scrawled on places that include synagogues, according to New York City Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea. The...

Iran

Iran uses advanced centrifuges, threatens higher enrichment

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Saturday said it now uses arrays of advanced centrifuges prohibited by its 2015 nuclear deal and can enrich uranium “much more beyond” current levels to weapons-grade material, taking a third step away from the accord while warning Europe has little time to offer it new terms.

While insisting Iran doesn’t seek a nuclear...

Israeli Technology

Negev Desert hosting Israel’s largest solar project to date

A private Israeli company on Tuesday inaugurated the largest solar project in the country, the Israeli financial daily Globes reported.

Located in the Negev in southern Israel, the Ashalim solar-energy project is the size of a small town and is currently producing enough energy to power an estimated 70,000 households, according to the report.
...

US-Israel Relationship

US nixes Security Council statement that fails to condemn Hezbollah

Washington rejects text that puts terror group and Israel on equal footing following exchanges of fire along border, diplomatic sources say.

The US on Thursday blocked a UN Security Council statement on tensions between Israel and Hezbollah that did not single out violence by the Lebanese terror group, forcing the text to be scrapped, according...

Antisemitism

Groups call on Cal State to act against professor spreading online anti-Semitism

Eighty Jewish and pro-Israel groups signed a letter sent on Tuesday to the chancellor and general counsel of California State University that demands answers about a professor’s continued use of the school’s name to spread anti-Semitism and false propaganda against the State of Israel.

The AMCHA-coordinated letter drew attention to a post on the...

United Nations (UN)

UN peacekeepers inspect sites of Hezbollah attack

United Nations peacekeepers on Wednesday conducted an independent investigation of Sunday’s Hezbollah missile attack, visiting the areas hit in the strikes, the Israel Defense Forces said.

On Sunday afternoon, the Iran-backed terror group fired three anti-tank guided missiles at Israeli positions near the security fence — two of them at a...

Antisemitism

PALESTINIAN RELIGIOUS LEADER CALLS JEWS IN JERUSALEM ‘COLONIALIST CANCER’

Prominent Palestinian religious leader denounced "Jewish attacks" against Palestinian religious symbols in Jerusalem and referred to the Jewish presence in the land of Israel as a "colonialist cancer," NGO Palestinian Media Watch said on Monday.

According to a report by the Palestinian Authority official daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, as quoted by...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

NETANYAHU: ISRAEL IS PREPARED FOR ALL SCENARIOS WITH HEZBOLLAH

No one was injured in Israel by a number of anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon across the border, prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday evening.

Israel, he said, responded to the fire by firing 100 mortars into Lebanon and attacking from the air.

“We are consulting about the future, are prepared for any scenario, and will decide on...

Archeology

NEW ARCHEOLOGICAL FINDINGS AT GOLIATH’S BIRTHPLACE RECONTEXTUALIZE HISTORY

A new layer to the ancient Philistine city of Gath has been uncovered in an archaeological excavation led by Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University which has the potential to re-contextualize much of biblical history.

Known to historians as part of the Pentapolis of Philistine cities – a group of five cities, consisting of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath,...

Micro-History

In remembering 1929 Hebron massacre, top Israeli leaders visit … and make history

(September 4, 2019 / JNS) “We are not strangers in Hebron, and we will stay here forever!” were the climactic remarks made on Wednesday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an official state ceremony at the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron commemorating the 90th anniversary of the 1929 Jewish massacre.

Netanyahu also...

Iran

Iran’s Rouhani orders abandonment of all nuclear R&D commitments

US Treasury Department slaps more sanctions on Tehran, blacklisting a shipping network of 16 entities

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday ordered all limits on nuclear research and development to be lifted, the country's third step in scaling down its commitments to a 2015 deal with world powers.

His announcement came shortly after the...

Palestinian Authority

PALESTINIAN TEXTBOOKS FULL OF INCITEMENT, STUDY FINDS

Palestinian schoolchildren are exposed to a dramatic amount of incitement and intolerance against Jews and Israel, a research institute based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found.

IMPACT-se describes itself as a “research, policy and advocacy organization that monitors and analyzes education,” according to “international standards on peace...

Israeli Society

Israeli, Jewish organizations provide disaster relief to storm-stricken Bahamas

(September 4, 2019 / JNS) Several Jewish and Israeli humanitarian aid groups are providing aid or relief teams to the Bahamas following the catastrophic devastation unleashed by Hurricane Dorian.

The storm struck the Bahamas as a powerful Category 5 storm on Sunday with wind gusts up to 220 mile per hour and a 23-foot storm surge, then stalled...

Medical Advancement

ISRAELI-MADE INNOVATIVE CANCER TREATMENT GETS FDA STAMP OF APPROVAL

The world’s first drug to prevent proliferation of cancerous cells, established by Israeli scientist Dr. Sharon Shacham, just received FDA approval, kicking off Leukemia Awareness Month.

XPOVIO was developed by Karyopharm Therapeutics, a Newton, Massachusetts company established by Israel’s Dr. Sharon Shacham.

“We believe that our activity at...