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.

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israel shuts off fuel supplies to Gaza after spate of arson attacks

Israel announced Tuesday morning that it would cut supplies of fuel to the Gaza Strip after a rash of cross-border arson attacks.

At least 13 brush fires were sparked in southern Israel on Monday by balloon-borne incendiary devices launched from the coastal Palestinian territory, the local fire service said.

“In the wake of the uptick of...

Iran

At Jerusalem summit, Bolton says Iran has ‘open door’ for negotiations

(June 25, 2019 / JNS) As a historic tripartite summit between top Israeli, American and Russian security officials got underway in Jerusalem on Tuesday, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton assured Iran that U.S. President Donald Trump is ready to enter negotiations.

Despite a spike in tensions between the United States and Iran in recent...

Israeli Technology

Israelis shaping future of agriculture attract international attention

From fruit-picking drones to pollination intelligence, Israeli agricultural innovation has continued breaking down barriers ever since Netafim first pioneered drip irrigation over five decades ago at Kibbutz Hatzerim.
Initially born out of necessity in the resource-scare state's early days, cutting-edge Israeli agricultural innovation has forged...

Antisemitism

Arming synagogues? Jewish leaders grapple with balancing safety and accessibility

(June 21, 2019 / JNS) In the aftermath of two synagogue shootings exactly six months apart, in addition to arson incidents at Chabad Houses in Massachusetts and an attempted arson attempt at a Chicago synagogue last month, the issue of security, specifically armed personnel, has been in the spotlight. Some have called for supporting the idea,...

Israeli Technology

Israel to build sewage pipeline to reroute waste from Gaza

Since the collapse of the Gazan sewage treatment plant, Palestinians in the vicinity have been dumping their waste into the Hanoun River. In response to the waste flowing into Israeli territory, Israel is planning to build a new sewage pipeline to divert waste from Gaza, according to Israeli media

The solution was approved by Regional Committee...

Hamas

Jewish graves vandalized in South Africa

(June 24, 2019 / Israel Hayom) The Jewish community in Strand, South Africa, filed a police complaint recently after four gravestones in the local Jewish cemetery were vandalized. Last week, two other Jewish cemeteries in the same district of Western Cape were also the target of vandalism. Police fear it may be the work of a neo-Nazi cell.

Deputy...

Palestinian Authority

Testimonies of Palestinians tortured by the PA to be shown at The Hague

(June 24, 2019 / Israel Hayom) The testimonies of Palestinians who suffered torture at the hands of the Palestinian Authority because they collaborated or were suspected of collaborating with Israel are due to be presented to the International Criminal Court at The Hague today.

Two years ago, Jerusalem District Court Judge Moshe Drori ruled...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF said to increase alert amid Iran tensions

The IDF has stepped up its alert status amid concerns that Iran could try and harm Israel as tensions between Tehran and Washington spiral, Channel 12 reported Sunday.

According to the report, which did not cite any sources, the defense establishment has completed a series of steps in recent days to ensure that it can respond to any developments,...

Hezbollah

Hezbollah is now giving orders to Syria’s army – and using it to spy on Israel

Earlier this month, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, reported that Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah positions on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. There was no Israeli comment on the claim.

The report said one of the targets was a post on Tel al-Harra, a mountain that is considered a strategic point...

US-Israel Relationship

Patriots owner Kraft pledges $20 million to battle anti-Semitism, BDS

AP — The owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, accepted Israel’s prestigious Genesis Prize at a lavish ceremony on Thursday, where he pledged $20 million to establish a foundation dedicated to combating anti-Semitism and the Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel.

In his keynote address, Kraft told the audience of Israeli and...

US-Israel Relationship

NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson says he’s wowed by Israel

Houston Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson toured Jerusalem Thursday and said that while he’d had no expectations before his first trip to Israel, after only a few days the visit already had a major impact on him.

“It’s definitely a life-changing experience for you to really feel the energy of Israel and especially Jerusalem,” Watson said...

Israeli Society

Israel approves $40.4 million to help Ethiopian students in higher education

The Council for Higher Education in Israel has approved a $40.4-million plan to encourage academic excellence and leadership among Ethiopian-Israeli students.

The multi-year plan to help the students is part of Israel’s 2015 Government Policy for Advancing the Integration of Israel Citizens of Ethiopian Descent into Israeli Society. It includes...

Iran

After drone downed, Trump says ‘Iran made a big mistake’; PM backs him

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Tehran had made a “very big mistake” in shooting down a US spy drone near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“They made a very big mistake,” Trump told reporters at the White House following the strike in the strait. “This country will not stand for it, that I can tell you.”

Asked by a...

Israeli Society

49% of Israelis fear anti-Semitism while traveling abroad

Half of Israelis surveyed say they worry about encountering anti-Semitism while vacationing abroad, this according to a new survey commissioned by the European Conference of Rabbis, which represents hundreds of Jewish communities across the continent.

The Sapio Research and Strategy firm carried out the poll of 502 Israelis about their concerns...

ISIS

2 Chicago-area men convicted of providing support to ISIS

Two Chicago-area men were found guilty on Thursday of supporting Islamic State in a federal case in which one of them was accused of saying he hoped to see the jihadist group's flag over the White House, local media reported.
Edward Schimenti and Joseph Jones, both 37, were convicted for providing material support and resources to terrorists in a...

US-Israel Relationship

Trump’s UN pick vows to fight anti-Israel bias, anti-Semitism

(June 19, 2019 / JNS) Nearly four months after being nominated, Kelly Craft—U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Nikki Haley as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations—vowed on Wednesday to fight the international body’s anti-Israel bias, in addition to calling out anti-Semitism.

“Without U.S. leadership, our partners and allies would be...

Israeli Technology

Number of businesses in Judea and Samaria doubled over the past decade

(June 20, 2019 / Israel Hayom) No fewer than 1,982 small and medium-sized businesses operate in Judea and Samaria, a 100 percent increase over the past decade. Relative to population size, the average rate of entrepreneurship in Judea and Samaria in 2018 was 20 percent higher than in Tel Aviv.

The data—from the Israel’s Central Bureau of Statics...

Antisemitism

American Jewish tourist beaten in Berlin

(June 19, 2019 / JNS) An American Jewish tourist was injured in an anti-Semitic assault in Berlin, police announced on Wednesday.

The unnamed 23-year-old man was in the Steglitz district when three men confronted him, according to a police statement.

“The 23-year-old suffered a hematoma on the eye due to blows in the face,” said police, who...

US-Israel Relationship

Department of Education to probe anti-Israel bias at North Carolina conference on Gaza

(JTA) — The U.S. Department of Education will investigate a Middle East conference on Gaza co-sponsored by two North Carolina universities over allegations that it had an anti-Israel bias.

Rep. George Holding, R-N.C., called on the department to check into the late March conference co-sponsored by Duke University and the University of North...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

Christians who stand with Israel combat BDS

Among Christians who stand with Israel, none comes so close to being monolithic in their support than evangelicals. A 2017 poll by Lifeway Research revealed that 67 percent of evangelical Christians have a positive perception of the Jewish state.

That is a lot of people. According to France’s Sébastien Fath, there are about 630 million...