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.

Palestinian Authority

PA, Fatah ‘Nakba Day’ statements reiterate opposition to Trump’s ‘deal of the century’

(May 19, 2019 / MEMRI) As is the case every year on “Nakba Day,” this May 15 the Palestinian “right of return” dominated the discourse of both the Palestinian Authority and Fatah. However, this year the discourse was doubly important, coming against the backdrop of the official announcement, expected in the next few weeks, of the Trump...

Holocaust

Over 1,000 bodies found in Holocaust-era mass grave in Belarus

In January, memories of the Holocaust were once again brought up when a mass grave was discovered in Brest, Belarus on the construction site of a new luxury apartment block.

Since the discovery, the bones of 1,214 people, most believed to have been Jews, were excavated from the site, tangled with shreds of cloth and the soles of shoes.

Dmitry...

Antisemitism

Chicago synagogue target of arson attacks

(JTA) — An unknown arsonist attempted twice to set on fire a synagogue building in downtown Chicago, while vandals smashed the windows of cars parked outside of a synagogue on the far north side of the city.

Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told reporters on Sunday that Chicago Police Deputy Superintendent Anthony Ricci ordered that...

Hamas

Ukraine’s new president sworn in: ‘We must defend our land like Israelis’

Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky stepped into his new role as Ukrainian president with his inauguration on Monday, launching a new era for the country wracked by war and economic difficulties.

A month after scoring a landslide election victory against incumbent Petro Poroshenko, the 41-year-old became Ukraine’s youngest post-Soviet president.

In a...

Palestinian Authority

Palestinians reject US economic peace summit in Bahrain, say they won’t attend

The Palestinian leadership on Monday pushed back against a plan for an economic conference next month in support of Washington’s Middle East peace plan, saying it was not consulted and no party was entitled to negotiate on its behalf.

The White House announced Sunday it would co-host the June 25-26 conference with Bahrain focusing on economic...

US-Israel Relationship

NASA releases photo of Israeli moonshot’s crash site

JERUSALEM (JTA) — NASA released a photo of what it says is the crash site of Israel’s Beresheet lunar lander.

The image taken some 56 miles from the surface of the moon by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on April 22, 11 days after the crash, shows a dark smudge that indicates the point of impact.

A light halo around the smudge could have...

Palestinian Authority

Greenblatt: PA could finance its hospitals if it stopped paying terrorists

US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt has tweeted that the Palestinian Authority would be able to better finance medical care for its people if it stopped funding terrorists.

"The PA incurred bills @ the hospital & assumed someone else would pay. We want those patients to receive the best care -the PA could easily pay its own bills to the...

Medical Advancement

IDF Medical Innovation: Battlefield surgery of the future

Imagine this: You are a soldier behind enemy lines. A firefight has broken out between your squad and terrorists in the Gaza Strip, and your best friend is hit by gunfire. The paramedic whips out his VR glasses and, with thee help of a doctor in Beersheba's Soroka-University Medical Center, he saves his life.

While that scenario might seem...

US-Israel Relationship

MIT and Israeli universities join forces to research STEM with new fund

The fund will grant awards of up to USD $30,000 and will also support professors with travel costs between Israel and the United States. Faculty from MIT, Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Tel Aviv University, University of Haifa and the Weizmann...

US-Israel Relationship

House Majority Leader Hoyer expects progress on anti-BDS bill in ‘relatively near future’

(May 16, 2019 / JNS) U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Wednesday that legislation to allow state and local governments the right to punish state or local contractors from boycotting Israel will go forwards “in the relatively near future.”

“The is considering this, and I expect to be moving something out of the committee in...

Antisemitism

Germany passes resolution condemning anti-Israel boycott movement as ‘anti-Semitic’

Germany's parliament passed a resolution Friday condemning the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as "anti-Semitic" and urging the government not to fund or support groups or activities that call into question Israel's right to exist and defend itself.
The text states that “all-encompassing calls for boycotts in their...

Hezbollah

Hezbollah member convicted in US for plotting attacks

A US federal court on Thursday indicted a man for procuring weapons and gathering intelligence on targets for terrorist attacks in New York City on behalf of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
Ali Kourani, a 34-year-old American of Lebanese descent, was convicted of eight allegations including conspiracy to use weapons in a violent crime. The...

Hamas

The Gaza Conundrum

On May 14, 2018, at the exact moment that Israel was celebrating the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, I sat across the desk from a senior Israeli official in Tel Aviv. He was in a foul mood. He looked as if he hadn’t slept much. He rubbed his eyes, scratched his stubble, and blurted suddenly, “Gaza is a problem from hell.”

Amid all...

Iran

U.S. State Department: Iran’s IRGC has set up a training base in Lebanon

The US State Department has released a video alleging that Iran has established a military training base in Lebanon in close proximity to Rayak Air Force base near the border with Syria.

The video, released in an Arabic language tweet on Tuesday, said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force training facility near Beit Moubarak on...

Hamas

PayPal among online payment platforms that shut down services to BDS group with terror links

(May 15, 2019 / JNS) PayPal has joined other major online payment systems in shutting down services to the BDS group Samidoun, which has close ties with Palestinian terror groups.

Over the last several weeks, the International Legal Forum, along with the Zionist Advocacy Centre, successfully petitioned PayPal, along with Donorbox and Plaid, to...

Hamas

New England Revolution to play Chelsea FC to highlight hate crimes worldwide

(May 15, 2019 / JNS) The New England Revolution and Chelsea FC soccer teams will play in a friendly match on Wednesday evening titled the “Final Whistle on Hate” to raise awareness about hate crimes worldwide, especially anti-Semitic ones.

The game’s proceeds will be donated to 15 groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Agency...

Israeli Technology

Mayo Clinic and Israeli health companies to create new medical technologies

(May 15, 2019 / JNS) The Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. branch of the Israel Innovation Authority to collaborate with Israeli firms to co-create new medical technologies, announced the two groups.

The MOU was signed on Tuesday at the MIXiii Biomed Conference and Exhibition in Tel Aviv.

“The...

Israeli Society

Earthquake in Israel rocks Haifa

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale was felt throughout Israel.

The temblor at about 8 p.m. Wednesday was centered about 125 miles off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the northern Israeli cities of Haifa and Hadera, according to Israel’s Geophysical Institute.

No injuries or damage have been reported.
...

US-Israel Relationship

US Ambassador to Germany: Anti-Semitism is a ‘human problem’ that must be rooted out

(May 15, 2019 / JNS) U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell marked his first year in the German capital on May 8. In that short time, the ambassador advocated for American interests in Germany, which, in his case, also align with many Israeli interests. He has encouraged German companies to cut ties with Iran, assisted in getting convicted...

US-Israel Relationship

US Republicans launch bid to force House vote on BDS

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Republicans want to force a vote on a controversial bill meant to oppose the anti-Israel boycott.

The bill, which earlier this year passed the Senate, has been held up in part because the Democrats, who control the US House of Representatives, say it poses a threat to First Amendment free speech protections.

The bill would...