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.

Terrorism

2 Israeli Arabs indicted for allegedly planning ISIS-inspired terrorist attack

Cleared for publication: Two Israeli-Arab residents of the northern city of Tamra have been arrested for allegedly planning an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack, the Shin Bet security agency said Thursday.

Twenty-two-year-old medical student Amin Yassin and 28-year-old Ali al-Aroush, who had previously been arrested for alleged affiliation...

Iran

Iran-backed militia walks back accusation that Israel, US behind Iraq strikes

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The head of Iraq’s paramilitary Shiite forces, supported by Iran, appeared Thursday to walk back a statement made by his deputy, who blamed Israeli drones and said the US was responsible for a series of attacks on bases run by the militia.

Faleh al-Fayyadh said that the Wednesday statement by his deputy, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis,...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF’s Shayetet 13, US Special Forces complete joint exercise – watch

A joint drill between the IDF’s elite Shayetet 13 navy commandos and US Army Special Forces ended last week, Israel’s military announced on Tuesday.

Dubbed “Noble Rose,” the drill simulated various scenarios in which troops had to take over a hijacked ship vessel and extract troops from enemy territory.

The exercise was led and commanded in the...

Hamas

Israel, South Korea ink ‘historic’ free trade deal

Israel and South Korea signed a free trade agreement on Wednesday that promises to reduce customs after three years of negotiations.
"The free trade agreement with South Korea is an historic agreement, the first to be signed with an East Asian country that is one of the leading economies in the world,” announced Israel’s economy minister Eli...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF strikes fresh Hamas targets after 2nd rocket fired from Gaza Strip

The latest tit-for-tat fighting between Hamas and Israel continued throughout the night Thursday with Israeli planes striking a round of fresh targets in the Gaza Strip belonging to the terror group after a second rocket was fired from the coastal enclave toward Israeli towns.

The IDF confirmed that it has struck several “terror bases” in the...

US-Israel Relationship

Australia signs on to US-led mission to protect Hormuz shipping

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia has joined Britain and Bahrain in signing onto a US-led maritime security mission to protect international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz amid tensions with Iran, the country’s prime minister said Wednesday.

Australia will contribute troops, a surveillance plane and a Navy frigate to protect the shipping lanes...

Iran

Explosion rocks arms depot of Iran-backed militia near Baghdad

A large explosion hit an arms depot belonging to an Iranian-backed militia faction north of Baghdad on Tuesday, the latest in a series of mysterious blasts at military bases and munitions depots around the country in the past few weeks.

The explosions have occurred in bases and warehouses belonging to militia groups under the umbrella of the...

Hamas

World military leaders visiting Israel for security briefing

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An organization that introduces military and political leaders from around the world to Israeli military officials is hosting legal, international relations and military leaders from around the world in Israel.

The 42 participants in the Our Soldier’s Speak mission to Israel have spent 10 days being briefed on Israel’s security...

Iran

Report: US, Russia gave Israel green light to strike Iran in Syria, Iraq

Israel has conducted several strikes on Iranian-controlled bases in Syria and Iraq in recent weeks with permission from the United States and Russia, a Western diplomatic source told a Saudi-owned newspaper Wednesday.

Moscow and Washington agreed that the Jewish state could conduct these attacks on Iranian targets in order to “ensure Israel’s...

Hamas

Danon to UNSC: Ramallah following Tehran in seeking Israel’s destruction

The Palestinian Authority is following Tehran in seeking to destroy the Jewish state, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.

“As Tehran openly calls for Israel’s destruction, Ramallah uses other means to undermine the Jewish State’s right to exist,” Danon said.

He referred to a statement...

Hezbollah

Paraguay labels Hezbollah a terror group, Brazil may follow

Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised Paraguay for its decision announced on Monday to designate Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorists organizations. Paraguay has now joined a list of countries including the United States, Argentina, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, and others that have recognized Hezbollah as a terror organization.

“This decision...

Hamas

In ultimatum, Hamas tells Israelis to ease blockade or face renewed violence

Hamas has reportedly issued a direct threat to escalate the violence along the Gaza-Israel border if Israel hinders the entry of Qatari cash into the Gaza Strip and fails to increase the supply of electricity.
The threat, published in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar on Tuesday morning, follows outbursts of violence and tension along the border...

Syria

Turkey Threatens New Tensions With Russia and Iran in Syria As It Tries to Make a Deal with U.S.

Turkey has defied warnings from Russia, Iran and their local allies in Syria by seeking a deal with the United States and continuing to support insurgents as they clashed with government forces in the restive northwestern province of Idlib.

A demilitarized zone deal struck nearly a year ago by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian...

Iran

Iranian supertanker that US tried to seize is now heading toward Greece

An Iranian supertanker with $130 million worth of light crude oil that the U.S. suspects is tied to a sanctioned organization has left Gibraltar and was heading Monday east into the Mediterranean Sea, with its next destination reported to be Greece.
The Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, set course for Kalamata, Greece, with an...

Hamas

Netanyahu hints Israel behind strikes on Iraq, says Iran not immune anywhere

KYIV, Ukraine — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday hinted that Israel was behind recent airstrikes on Iranian targets in Iraq, stressing that the Jewish state will continue to act militarily whenever and wherever there is a need to do so.

“Iran has no immunity, anywhere,” he told reporters during a briefing in his Kyiv hotel, responding...

US-Israel Relationship

New York Governor Cuomo plans to bolster economic ties with Israel

The Empire State does the most business with Israel than any other state

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has plans to bolster economic ties with Israel despite already being its top trade partner, in order to make it a hi-tech capital akin to Silicon Valley.

Cuomo recently held a two-day trade mission to the Jewish state, where he said he would...

Terrorism

2 Israeli teens injured in car-ramming attack in West Bank

Two Israelis were hit by a car and injured on Friday while standing at a bus stop outside Elazar in the central West Bank, just south of Jerusalem, in what the military said was a terror attack.

A 17-year-old teenager was very seriously wounded and a woman, 19, was moderately hurt, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said.

The two were...

Terrorism

Cop injured in Jerusalem stabbing attack; 2 assailants shot

Two teenage assailants stabbed a police officer, moderately injuring him, in a terror attack in Jerusalem’s Old City on Thursday, officials said.

The assailants were shot by security forces at the scene. One of them was pronounced dead at the scene, the second was critically wounded and taken to the hospital, a police spokesperson said.

Graphic...

Antisemitism

Jewish millennials address ways to counter anti-Semitism online

A panel organized by the Israeli-American Council of New York brought four millennial leaders together in Manhattan to grapple with anti-Semitism on the mode they use most often: social media.

The event, which took place on Aug. 7, included opening remarks from Chelsea Mandel, JNFuture New York board member, and Almog Elijis, spokesperson and...

Antisemitism

San Francisco-area synagogue fire destroys building

A San Francisco-area synagogue went up in flames, with the back half of the building incinerated, Chabad.org reported.

According to the Hasidic movement’s website, Rabbi Raleigh Resnick of Chabad of the Tri-Valley in Pleasanton, was awakened by a call from the police at 1 a.m. and rushed to the synagogue to save the Torah scrolls housed there.
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