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 ambassador ‘confident’ Trump will move embassy to Jerusalem

The US ambassador to Israel said he is “pretty confident” the US embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during US President Donald Trump’s current term in office.

Trump has so far balked at moving the mission to Israel’s capital, despite initial anticipation among many Israeli and American Jews that he would make good on an election...

Israeli Society

Thousands of Ethiopian Jews gather in Jerusalem for Sigd

Thousands of Ethiopian Jews gathered in Jerusalem Thursday to celebrate the festival of Sigd, marking the community’s centuries-old aspirations to return to the holy city.

On a sunny, warm winter’s day, busloads of people came from all over the country to participate in ancient prayers led by the kessim, the religious leaders of the community,...

US-Israel Relationship

House committee unanimously passes measure that targets Palestinian terror payments

“Since 2003, it has been Palestinian law to reward Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails with a monthly paycheck,” Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “Palestinian leadership also pays the families of Palestinian prisoners and suicide bombers. These policies incentivize terrorism.”

The...

Incitement

US House committee unanimously passes Taylor Force Act

WASHINGTON — The US House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed the Taylor Force Act on Wednesday, legislation that would cut US funding to the Palestinian Authority unless it discontinues its practice of paying monthly stipends to the families of terrorists who kill Israelis.

The legislation includes three exceptions, allowing for US...

Incitement

Group of Americans strive to see PLO held responsible for terrorism that maimed and killed their loved ones

Lawmakers are still waiting on the Trump administration to advise the Supreme Court on a case that, if taken up, would potentially allow American victims of Palestinian terrorism to collect a reversed multimillion dollar judgment, sources on and off Capitol Hill told TWS.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority...

Hamas

Netanyahu warns terror groups: Don’t even think about it

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that the country would respond harshly to any attack against it no matter where it comes from.

Netanyahu’s comments appeared to be prompted by blustery statements from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Gaza, which is threatening Israel with retaliation for the destruction of a terror tunnel...

US-Israel Relationship

Amb. John Bolton: America’s embassy in Israel should be moved to Jerusalem – NOW

Whether to move America’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has long been a subject of political debate in the U.S. and abroad. It’s time now to resolve the debate by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city and relocating our embassy there on incontestably Israeli sovereign territory.

This relocation would be sensible, prudent...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF deploys Iron Dome, raises alert amid Gaza terror threat

A number of Iron Dome missile defense batteries were deployed in central Israel on Monday, the military said, amid heightened tensions with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad since the army demolished the terrorist group’s border-crossing attack tunnel last month.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the anti-missile systems had been installed in...

US-Israel Relationship

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell: America’s Support for Israel Has Never Wavered and Never Will

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell was honored on Wednesday by the World Jewish Congress with its annual Theodor Herzl award at a dinner in New York City.

“The vision and prophecy of Theodor Herzl has become real so many years after his death,” the 80-year-old Powell — a retired four-star general who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs...

Iran

Iran building a permanent military base in Syria — report

Iran is building a permanent military base in Syria just south of Damascus, the BBC reported Friday, citing a Western intelligence official. The British broadcaster commissioned a series of satellite pictures that indicate widespread construction at the site.

Israel has long warned that Iran is trying to establish a presence in Syria as part of...

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Grandson of famous Jewish WWII partisans makes resistance meaningful today

NEW YORK — For Matthew Bielski his saba and savta (grandfather and grandmother) were nothing short of modern day Maccabees.

As the grandson of Jewish partisans Sonia and Zus Bielski, Mattthew Bielski, 33, frequently heard stories about surviving frigid winters deep in the Nalibaki forest, in northwestern Belarus. He also heard about what it was...

Incitement

Taylor Force Act Ending US Funding for PA Terror Payments Set for Congressional Markup

A signature piece of US anti-terrorism legislation is scheduled to be “marked up” by the House Foreign Affairs Committee next Wednesday, after several months of debate.

The Taylor Force Act – named after the former US army officer and war veteran murdered in a Palestinian stabbing attack in Tel Aviv nearly two years ago – conditions American...

Event Recaps

November 3 Providence, RI Spanish Stand with Israel

Event Recaps

November 1 South River, NJ Spanish Stand with Israel

Hamas

Israel Delivering Emergency Assistance to Madagascar as African Island Nation Copes With Worst ‘Black Death’ Plague Outbreak in 50 Years

Israel is sending aid to Madagascar as the Indian Ocean island nation copes with its worst “Black Death” plague outbreak in half a century.

At least 1,800 people in Madagascar have been infected with the disease and 127 have died.

According to the African Independent, the Israeli assistance shipment was organized by the Jewish state’s Foreign...

Talking Points

Congress hears testimony on expanding definition of anti-Semitism

 

WASHINGTON — The US House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday heard testimony about increased anti-Semitism on US college campuses, as lawmakers mulled advancing a 2016 bill that would require the Department of Education to adopt theState Department’s working definition of anti-Semitism.

The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (ASAA) would require...

Hamas

John Hagee Ministries donates more than $2.1 million to Israeli charities

Started in 1981, Pastor John Hagee’s Night to Honor Israel is one of the country’s longest-running Christian Zionist events, and has amassed donations of more than $100 million to Israeli and Jewish charities. At this year’s event, Hagee focused a significant portion of his comments on the Iran nuclear deal.

“Every American…should be applauding...

Event Recaps

October 25 Kenosha, Wisconsin Bilingual Stand With Israel

US-Israel Relationship

Bringing Israel and the US together through science

In an attempt to strengthen ties between Israel and the United States through science, the Zuckerman Institute will host the first annual Zuckerman US-Israel Symposium at the Tel Aviv University on Tuesday.

Going into its third year, the Zuckerman Institute is focused on enhancing scientific collaborations between Israel and the United States...

US-Israel Relationship

Joint Israeli-US fund invests $4.8 million in clean energy

A public fund – supported by the Energy Ministry, the US Depart- ment of Energy, and the Israel Innovation Authority – announced on Sunday that it would finance five joint clean energy projects to the tune of $4.8 million.

The projects include helping to install a smart electrical grid in New York, transforming how we get ethanol from corn,...