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.

Iran

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards: The Supreme Leader’s Military-Industrial Complex

President Trump’s declaration that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a foreign terrorist organization is the first time the United States government has designated a part of another country’s military as that type of threat. In doing so, Mr. Trump took broad aim at a pillar of the Iranian state, which exerts enormous influence in...

Hamas

Rivlin’s consultations with party heads to be broadcast live for first time

Beit Hanassi will allow live broadcasts of the consultations between President Reuven Rivlin and party leaders for the first time when they take place next week.

The meetings will begin next week, after there are final, certified election results. Basic Law: Government states that the president must meet with representatives of all the factions...

Hamas

Erdogan says Russian S-400s delivery could be brought forward

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the delivery of Turkey’s disputed Russian S-400 missile defense systems could be earlier than initially planned, Hurriyet daily reported on Wednesday.

Ankara’s purchase of the S-400s risks US sanctions and has further strained already tense relations with Washington.

US officials are...

United Nations (UN)

Foreign Investment in Israel Jumped 30 Percent Between Years of 2015-17

JNS.org – Foreign investment in Israel jumped 30 percent in two years, according to a new report from the Central Bureau of Statistics, released on Sunday.

The report stated that foreign investments in Israel totaled $129.1 billion for 2017, a 20.2 percent increase compared to 2016 and 30 percent higher than 2015, which saw foreign investment of...

Iran

After Guard blacklisted, Iran president says US is ‘leader of world terrorism’

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that the United States was the real “leader of world terrorism” after Washington blacklisted Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a “foreign terrorist organization.”

“Who are you to label revolutionary institutions as terrorists?” Rouhani asked in a speech broadcast live by state television.
...

Terrorism

Man charged for posting plans on Facebook to kill Jews in mass shooting

(JTA) — A Washington state man was charged with two felonies for posting plans on Facebook to commit a mass shooting against Jewish targets and selfies of Nazi salutes.

Dakota Reed, 20, was arrested in December, weeks after the Anti-Defamation League tipped off the FBI about social media posts threatening to kill Jews praying in a synagogue or...

Terrorism

Iranian lawmakers wear IRGC uniforms, chant ‘Death to America’

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian lawmakers convened an open session of parliament Tuesday with chants of “Death to America,” following the White House’s decision to designate Iran’s elite paramilitary Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organization.

Iranian media said many of the lawmakers wore the uniform of the guard in a show of support for the...

Israeli Society

Israelis head out into the sunshine in celebration of democracy – comment

After the seamy campaign we just witnessed, it would be understandable to expect most of the eligible voters in Israel to stay in bed, hide under the covers and wait for Election Day to pass.

And nobody would throw blame for that. To say that the 40-odd parties running for the Knesset ran underwhelming campaigns – which avoided the issues as much...

Event Recaps

April 7 – Dilley, TX – Why Israel

Event Recaps

April 6 – Chambersburg, PA – Spanish Why Israel

Event Recaps

April 7 – Panama City, FL – Night To Honor Israel

Event Recaps

April 3 – Clemmons, NC – Night To Honor Israel

Iran

Iran threatens U.S. troops in Mideast if IRGC designated as terror group

Iranian Major General Mohammed Ali Jafari warned that US troops could be targets in response to reports that the US would list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a designated terrorist organization. Jafari is the head of the IRGC.

Jafari made the threat on Sunday, stating that the US forces in “West Asia” by which he meant parts of the...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israel jails French consulate worker for Gaza gun smuggling

The Beersheba District Court on Monday sentenced a former French consulate worker to seven years in prison for smuggling guns from the Gaza Strip after a plea bargain.

Romain Franck, who worked as a driver for the consulate, went on trial after being accused of exploiting reduced security checks for diplomats to smuggle 70 pistols and two...

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

BDS promoter sentenced to 6 months in prison for racist rant on flight

(JTA) - A British activist promoting boycotts against Israel was sentenced to six months in jail for her drunken racist tirade on an Air India flight.

Simone O’Broin was filmed on the flight last November threatening to organize a boycott against Air India unless flight attendants served her more wine on the flight, that ended with her arrest.
...

US-Israel Relationship

US designates Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a foreign terror organization

US President Donald Trump officially designates Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization.

“Today, I am formally announcing my Administration’s plan to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including its Quds Force, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the...

Israeli Technology

Beresheet spacecraft succeeds in latest maneuver, bringing it closer to moon

After entering lunar orbit last week, Israeli spacecraft Beresheet on Monday morning successfully performed another maneuver as it entered ever-tighter orbits around the moon, before attempting to land on April 11 in the Sea of Serenity.

The maneuver reduced the maximum distance of the spacecraft’s elliptical path around the moon from 750...

US-Israel Relationship

Officials confirm US to name Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terror group Monday

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a “foreign terrorist organization,” an unprecedented move against a national armed force that could have widespread implications for US personnel and policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Officials informed of the step said an announcement was expected...

Micro-History

After 37 years, Baumel buried in funeral touching ‘deepest part of our identity’

Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel was laid to rest in Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery on Thursday evening, nearly 37 years after his death in the First Lebanon War’s battle of Sultan Yacoub in 1982, at the age of 21.

Thousands turned out for the ceremony, where Baumel — whose remains were returned to Israel days ago after a complex IDF...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israel Apartheid Week flyer at Columbia U. depicts IDF soldier with horns

Students Supporting Israel at Columbia University is calling on the public to reach out to the office of the president of Columbia University and take a stance against what the organization is calling “blatant antisemitism from the dark ages of Europe” on campus.

Earlier this week, Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia University Apartheid...