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.

Antisemitism

UN releases ‘unprecedented’ report linking anti-Semitism to BDS movement

(September 23, 2019 / JNS) Israeli, Jewish and pro-Israel groups all applauded the publication of an ‘unprecedented’ United Nations report on anti-Semitism, that, among other issues, links anti-Semitism to criticism of Israel and the BDS movement.

“This report marks one of the first times the U.N. has addressed the issue of anti-Semitism in any...

Israeli Society

Israeli baseball team qualifies for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

(September 23, 2019 / JNS) For the first time, Israel’s national baseball team will vie for gold at the Olympic Games, having qualified in a match against South Africa on Sunday, just days after Israeli gymnast Linoy Ashram secured a place in the Olympics rhythmic gymnastics contest.

Former major-leaguer Danny Valencia hit a three-run home run in...

Iran

Meeting with Rouhani at UN unlikely, says Trump

(September 23, 2019 / JNS) As U.S. President Donald Trump left the White House on Sunday for the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York on Tuesday, he expressed doubt that a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would happen at the event. Neither he nor Rouhani was “ready yet,” he said, adding however that he is a “flexible person” and...

Iran

US sanctions Central Bank of Iran, going after suspected funding linked to terror groups

(September 20, 2019 / JNS) The United States has sanctioned the Central Bank of Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, almost a week after the Islamic Republic attacked two Saudi Aramco facilities in which the president this instructed the U.S. Treasury Department to “substantially” increase sanctions on the...

Israeli Society

Israel congratulates Saudi Arabia on its 89th national day

The State of Israel this week congratulated Saudi Arabia on its national day, showering the Gulf kingdom with warm wishes for peace and security, despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Arabic-language Twitter accounts run by the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on Sunday and Monday issued at least three...

Antisemitism

Khamenei’s Close Ally Says Israel Can Be ‘Wiped Out In Half A Day’

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative to Khorassan Province and the Friday Prayer Imam of Mashhad, firebrand cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda says "Iran is no longer limited to its borders."

In a sermon Alamolhoda said, "Iraqi Hashd al-Sha'bi, Lebanese Hezbollah, Yemeni Ansarallah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas in Palestine and the...

Antisemitism

CALL TO DESTROY ISRAEL AT ISLAMIST CONFERENCE IN ANKARA

Ankara hosted a pro-Palestinian conference last week that featured radical Islamists who urged the obliteration of the Jewish state and advocated the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign targeting Israel.

“Israel must be dissolved and destroyed,” said one speaker, according to a report in the German daily Die Welt.

Speakers also urged...

Iran

Report: Pentagon to present military options to retaliate for Iran strike on Saudi oil

(September 20, 2019 / JNS) The Pentagon will reportedly present U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday military options to retaliate in the aftermath of Iran attacking two Saudi Aramco facilities on Sept. 14.

The options include airstrike targets in Iran, though the president will be warned that a military response could provoke war, U.S....

Israeli Society

ARMENIA ANNOUNCES IT WILL OPEN EMBASSY IN ISRAEL

Armenia announced on Thursday that it intends to open an embassy in Tel Aviv, a move expected to bring the once cool ties between the two countries to a different level.

“Israel is an important player in the Middle East,” Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan was quoted as saying in a cabinet meeting. “The opening of the embassy will contribute to...

Terrorism

IDF officer hit by rock while driving in West Bank, moderately hurt

An Israeli military officer on leave was moderately wounded Friday afternoon after being hit in the face with a rock while driving in the northern West Bank.

The 23-year-old was hit when the rock flew through the windshield of his car near the settlement of Ma’aleh Shomron, west of Nablus. The officer’s father was with him in the car at the time....

Iran

Treasury Sanctions Iran’s Central Bank and National Development Fund

WASHINGTON- Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the National Development Fund of Iran (NDF), and Etemad Tejarate Pars Co. under its counterterrorism authority, Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. Iran’s Central Bank has provided billions of dollars to...

Hezbollah

Hezbollah member arrested for scouting possible terror sites in New York, Boston

(September 19, 2019 / JNS) A man suspected of being an operative in New York for the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hezbollah was recently arrested.

Alexei Saab, 42, of Morristown, N.J., has been in federal custody since July, facing charges for scouting dozens of targets for the terrorist entity, including the Empire State Building, the Statue...

Iran

Pompeo: Iranian attack on Saudi oil field an ‘act of war’

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said the Iranian attack on a Saudi oil field, which halved the kingdom’s output and sent energy prices skyrocketing, could be considered an “act of war.”

Speaking with reporters just before his plane touched down in Saudi Arabia, where he is set to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to...

Hamas

Jewish, pro-Israel community react to national security pick

(September 18, 2019 / JNS) The Jewish and pro-Israel community immediately reacted to the selection of Robert O’Brien as U.S. President Donald Trump’s fourth national security advisor, replacing John Bolton, who was ousted on Sept. 10.

“We congratulate Mr. O’Brien on his appointment, and we look forward to working with him to further strengthen...

Iran

Trump announces he will ‘substantially’ increase sanctions on Iran

(September 18, 2019 / JNS) U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has ordered U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to “substantially increase” sanctions on Iran.

“I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase Sanctions on the country of Iran!” tweeted the president, without specifying what or...

Terrorism

Rockets fired at Israel fall in Gaza, injuring 7

(September 19, 2019 / JNS) Seven people were injured in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday when three rockets fired at Israel from the coastal territory landed in the Hamas-controlled enclave.

According to eyewitnesses, two of the rockets exploded near a house in Rafah city, while third fell in open territory near the Gaza-Israel border fence.

The Gaza...

Archeology

ISRAELI RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY BIBLICAL KINGDOM OF EDOM

The biblical kingdom of Edom has always been a significant puzzle for biblical archaeology. Although evidence is supplied in the Bible, the archaeological record has always had trouble interpreting the text, which said that it existed as a kingdom long before the kings of Israel.

But research has uncovered the untold story of a thriving and...

US-Israel Relationship

Saudi Arabia joins US-led maritime coalition after attack on its oil production

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it joined a US-led coalition to secure the Mideast’s waterways amid threats from Iran after an attack targeting its crucial oil industry.

The kingdom’s decision to enter the International Maritime Security Construct came ahead of a planned visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo....

Iran

Iran’s Rouhani says Yemenis attacked Saudi oil sites as ‘warning’

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Yemenis targeted Saudi oil installations as a “warning” about a possible wider war in response to the kingdom’s US-backed intervention in their conflict-ravaged country.

“The Yemenis… haven’t hit a hospital, they haven’t hit a school, they haven’t hit Sanaa bazaar. They just hit an industrial...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israel ‘well-prepared’ for any spill-over from attack on Saudi oil plant, PM says

Israel is prepared for the possibility it might be drawn into any U.S.-Iranian confrontation over a strike on a Saudi oil plant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.

"I am taking care of our security on a 360 degree basis, and I can tell you that we are well-prepared," Netanyahu, who hopes for reelection in a national vote on...