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.

US-Israel Relationship

US officials: Iran seems to be moving ballistic missiles by boat to Persian Gulf

(May 8, 2019 / JNS) Iran appears to be moving short-range ballistic missiles aboard boats in the Persian Gulf in response to United States moving an aircraft strike group to the Middle East, several U.S. officials told CNN, in response to the threat from Tehran.

U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Bill Urban said on Tuesday that they had seen...

Iran

Netanyahu on Iran: We will not let them get nuclear arms

Israel will not let Iran attain nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday just hours after Iran announced that it will continue its nuclear program.

Netanyahu's comments came at the government's central Remembrance Day ceremony at the Mount Herzl military cemetery honoring the country's 23,741 fallen soldiers.

“This...

Iran

Iran pulls out of parts of nuclear deal, sets 60-day deadline to renegotiate terms

Iran’s president said Wednesday the country will stop complying with parts of an Obama-era nuclear deal and set a 60-day deadline for new terms of the landmark pact before resuming higher uranium enrichment.
Hassan Rouhani’s national address comes a year after President Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 agreement. He said he wanted to...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israel commemorates 23,741 fallen soldiers, 3,150 terror victims

Israelis will pay tribute to the country’s fallen soldiers and terror victims starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday, bowing their heads for a minute of silence as sirens will sound around the country, kicking off Memorial Day.

In all, 95 new names were added over the past year to the roster of 23,741 soldiers who died defending the country. They include 40...

Israeli Society

Somber Memorial Day events begin with siren and ceremony at Western Wall

Israelis paid tribute Tuesday evening to the country’s fallen soldiers and terror victims, bowing their heads at 8 p.m. for a minute of silence as sirens sounded nationwide, marking Memorial Day.

In all, 95 new names were added over the past year to the roster of 23,741 soldiers who died defending the country. They include 40 disabled veterans...

Terrorism

Islamic Jihad admits baby, pregnant woman killed by their own rockets

The Islamic Jihad, one of the terror organizations responsible for the recent wave of attacks against Israel, admitted that the baby that was killed in Gaza during the latest escalation died as a result of a misfired rocket, TPS reported on Monday.

“A leak from the heroes of the Sarayat al-Quds (Jerusalem Brigades) on the circumstances of the...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Same old anti-Israel media bias follows IDF reprisals on heels of Gaza rocket barrage

(May 6, 2019 / JNS) While Israel absorbed as many as 700 rockets fired by the terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Gaza Strip over the weekend, the media turned the tables on the aggression and launched its usual assault on the Jewish state.

“It’s Israel against Palestinian terrorists, so we always know which side the American media...

Hamas

Responding to Gaza events, Saudis tweet in support of Israel, against Hamas

(May 7, 2019 / MEMRI) The latest round of fighting between Israel and Gaza sparked many reactions from Saudis on Twitter. Noteworthy among these responses were tweets, some by prominent intellectuals and journalists, siding with Israel and expressing hope for its safety and victory, while attacking Hamas and its policy, in particular its firing of...

Terrorism

3,150 civilians killed in hostile acts since Israel’s founding

Since Israel declared its independence 3,150 civilians have been killed in acts of war, according to a statement from Israel's National Insurance organization (Bituach Leumi).

The number includes the four Israelis killed in rocket attacks over the past weekend, in a flare-up of violence between Israel and the terror groups Hamas and Islamic...

Israeli Society

Israeli population to soar to 15.2 million by 100th anniversary

Israel’s population is expected to soar to 15.2 million by the time the state celebrates its centenary in 2048, according to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics ahead of the country’s 71st Independence Day.

A mere 806,000 citizens resided in the State of Israel when David Ben-Gurion declared independence on May 14, 1948.

Today,...

Hamas

Ilhan Omar’s tweet on Israel-Gaza violence sparks condemnation from Republicans

Republicans were harsh to condemn freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who tweeted Sunday night about this weekend’s violence in Israel, the worst in a string of flare-ups since a 2014 war.

“How many more protesters must be shot, rockets must be fired, and little kids must be killed until the endless cycle of violence ends?” Omar tweeted. “The...

Hamas

President visits bereaved families of Israelis killed by rocket fire

President Reuven Rivlin on Monday paid condolence visits to the families of three Israeli men killed a day earlier by rockets fired at southern Israel by Gaza terror groups.

The three were Moshe Agadi, 58, killed when a rocket hit his home in the southern city of Ashkelon early Sunday morning; Ziad al-Hamamda, 47, killed in a separate rocket...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF chief: Israel destroyed hundreds of ‘terror targets’ in Gaza

IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi said Monday that the Israeli military destroyed “hundreds of military targets” in the Gaza Strip during two days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian terror groups.

“The terrorist army operating in the Gaza Strip, hiding among its own citizens, did not predict the strength of the IDF and the security...

Hamas

As ceasefire goes into effect, Netanyahu says Gaza campaign not over

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday commented on reports of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza, after two days of fighting in which four Israelis were killed, saying that Israel was readying for further confrontations with terrorist groups in the coastal enclave.

“Over the past two days, we have hit Hamas and Islamic Jihad with...

US-Israel Relationship

Amid Gaza violence, Trump says US supports Israel 100% in defending its citizens

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States supports Israel “100%” as it protects its people from an onslaught of rockets fire from Gaza.

“Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” Trump tweeted Sunday evening in his first remarks since the surge in...

US-Israel Relationship

US anti-Semitism envoy: We may reconsider ties with countries deemed anti-Israel

The US may reconsider its relationships with countries it deems to be anti-Israel, the Trump administration’s envoy for anti-Semitism said in an interview published Sunday.

“The United States is willing to review its relationship with any country, and certainly anti-Semitism on the part of a country with whom we have relations is a deep concern,”...

US-Israel Relationship

US sends reinforcements to Middle East, warns Iran of ‘unrelenting force’

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Trump administration is deploying air and sea strike forces to the Middle East in response to what it described as “troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran.

It’s not clear what Iranian escalations National Security Adviser John Bolton was referring to Sunday evening in a statement. Israel blames a...

Hamas

NYU department votes to boycott school’s campus in Israel

NEW YORK (JTA) — New York University’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis voted to boycott NYU’s own satellite campus in Tel Aviv.

The vote by department members pledging “non-cooperation” occurred Thursday. In a statement, the department said it is boycotting the campus because of Israel’s policy of barring entry to people who support...

Hamas

Student government at Williams College rejects formation of pro-Israel group

(May 3, 2019 / JNS) The student government at Williams College has rejected a pro-Israel group from being formed on campus, reported the student newspaper on Wednesday.

The tally of the anonymous vote was 13 in favor and eight against with one abstention.

Apparently, it’s the first time in more than a decade that the College Council voted...

US-Israel Relationship

Israel, U.S. issue $40m. call for energy collaborations

The Energy Ministry, Israel Innovation Authority and US Department of Energy have issued a $40 million call for proposals for the newly-established US-Israel Center of Excellence in Energy, Engineering and Water Technology.

The joint energy center, managed by the BIRD Foundation, aims to promote the energy security and economic development of...