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.

Central Synagogue in Manhattan. (Michael Horowitz)
In The News

Assailant who attacked congregant, guard at NYC Shabbat services charged with hate crimes

Police have charged Larry Montes, 46, of the Bronx, with hate crimes, accusing him of attacking a congregant and a security guard at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue during Friday night Shabbat services, the New York City police commissioner said.

Read More...Jewish Telegraphic Agency

In The News

Judge in Harvard Antisemitism Case Was Anti-Israel, Anti-War Activist, McGovern Campaign Aide

The federal judge who has dismissed a series of antisemitism cases—by the Trump administration against Harvard, by Jewish students at MIT, and by a Harvard Business School student, Yoav Segev, who was assaulted by anti-Israel protesters—turns out to have his own history as a student anti-Israel and anti-war activist.

Read More...The Washington...

U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner met first with Hamas in Cairo. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, File)
In The News

Kushner gives Hamas stark ultimatum: Disarm or Israel gets US backing to ‘finish the job’

U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner delivered a stark ultimatum to Hamas on Monday, warning that the terrorist group must honor its commitments to disarm in Gaza or face an Israeli military operation to "finish the job."

Read More...Fox News

Digging tools and buckets sit inside a shaft excavated near the Jerusalem security barrier that authorities say was part of an infiltration tunnel plot. Credit: Israel Police.
In The News

Suspect detained in Jerusalem tunnel-infiltration plot

(Aug. 18, 2026 / JNS)
A 36-year-old Palestinian arrested near the Jerusalem security barrier admitted to digging a tunnel in an attempt to infiltrate Israeli territory, police told JNS on Tuesday.

Read More...JNS

Central Synagogue in Manhattan. (Michael Horowitz)
In The News

Jewish watchdog urges NYPD to increase officers in hot spots after synagogue attack

A Jewish security watchdog is doubling down on safety measures in the wake of a Friday night attack against worshipers at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, calling on police to identify cutting edge tactics to identify hot spots for potential hate crimes and to place more officers in those areas.

Read More...Jewish Telegraphic Agency 

People attend a rally organised by "End Jew Hatred" in opposition to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York City, US, July 26, 2026. (photo credit: Reuters/Adam Gray)
In The News

Mamdani fans flames of antisemitism by pairing false allyship with anti-Israel rhetoric – editorial

As long as the mayor continues to spew his accusations of “horrific genocide” against Israel and refuses to condemn phrases like “globalize the intifada,” he’s part of the problem, not the solution.
Read More...The Jerusalem Post

In The News

Exclusive: Israel seizes vast Iran terror axis arsenal with surprising foreign origins

JERUSALEM — Fox News Digital gained rare access to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Tzrifin Base in Central Israel, where a vast number of confiscated rockets, grenades, drones, sniper rifles, automated weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers, mortars and other military firepower used by Hezbollah and Hamas are stored.

Read More...Fox News 

President Donald Trump gave an exclusive interview to Fox News' Trey Yingst on Monday morning, confirming reports of the backchannel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps amid fractured Iranian political leadership. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
In The News

Trump confirms IRGC backchannel, but calls for Iran’s ‘white flag of surrender’

The 60-day ceasefire deadline is expiring Monday, but President Donald Trump's resolve on ending Iran's nuclear weapons aspirations is not, he told Fox News on Monday morning, where he confirmed there is a backchannel for peace talks with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Read More...Fox News 

President Donald Trump talks to reporters after arriving on Air Force One, August 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
In The News

Trump says US to maintain blockade, as Iran vows to keep Hormuz closed until demands met

Tehran denies reports of ceasefire extension, saying there’s ‘nothing to extend’; 30 countries condemn Islamic Republic’s executions, say they’re used to ‘silence dissent’
Read More...The Times of Israel

Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets Mike Huckabee (not pictured), U.S. ambassador to Israel, in the latter’s office on July 2, 2026. Credit: David Azagury/U.S. embassy Jerusalem.
In The News

Herzog marks Abraham Accords anniversary, calls to expand ‘circle of peace’

Israeli president says the landmark agreements are “just the beginning” and urges further normalization across the Middle East.
Read More...JNS

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j5piu0l6e30w0buvpcxsh/Screenshot-2026-08-14-at-10.02.40-AM.png?rlkey=39tyzfg8hzm8bkr3odab4j70l&dl=0
In The News

South Carolina Senator Darline Graham ‘doubles down’ on support for Israel, her office says

“I truly believe we have a moral and religious duty to stand with the Jewish people and the nation of Israel to guard against those who seek to destroy them,” stated the Republican senator, who is the sister of the late senator Lindsey Graham.
Read More...JNS

Palestinians walk among tents and rubble on the coastal road in Gaza City, in the Strip's north, on August 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
In The News

‘Just like before Oct. 7’: Gaza border surveillance troops say they’re seeing terror activity

Kushner and Mladenov to visit Israel next week to lean on Netanyahu to restore halt on strikes, adhere to humanitarian commitments, in bid to advance Hamas disarmament, source says
Read More...The Times of Israel

President Donald Trump talks to reporters after arriving on Air Force One, August 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
In The News

Trump says US to maintain blockade, as Iran vows to keep Hormuz closed until demands met

Tehran denies reports of ceasefire extension, saying there’s ‘nothing to extend’; 30 countries condemn Islamic Republic’s executions, say they’re used to ‘silence dissent’
Read More...The Times of Israel

In The News

US optimistic about ‘trajectory’ of Israel-Lebanon talks, State Dept official says

Last week’s U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome were “constructive and detailed,” according to a U.S. State Department official, despite reported tensions, including a request by Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, to cut negotiations short on the second day of the talks.

Read More: Jewish News Syndicate

In The News

Columbia grad student union officials drop Israel divestment demand: ‘Face the realities’

The student workers union at Columbia University dropped its Israel divestment demand — marking a loss for anti-Israel protesters as their group leader admitted it must “face the realities.”

Read More: New York Post

In The News

Israel-Lebanon talks said to include request to relocate Jewish graves to Israel

Israel has requested the transfer of the remains of Jews buried in cemeteries in Lebanon to Israel as part of negotiations between Jerusalem and Beirut over a permanent agreement, according to a report on Monday.

Read More: The Times of Israel

In The News

Simon & Schuster Vows To Publish Author Who Calls Jews ‘Roaches’: Publisher Still Claims It Opposes Antisemitism

Simon & Schuster is doubling down on publishing a notoriously Jew-hating writer, with a top editor issuing a statement that denounced antisemitism but also said that the publisher's plans to reissue two books by the writer, Susan Abulhawa—who refers to Jews as roaches—would go forward and that Abulhawa's "personal views are her own."

Read...

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks on the third day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 21, 2024. (Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images)
In The News

Michigan rabbis call to protect Jewish delegates at convention after AG, fearing harassment, pulls out of event

Michigan rabbis and other Jewish figures delivered a petition to the head of the state’s Democratic Party Monday urging him to “ensure the safety” of all Jewish delegates at the state party’s upcoming convention, underscoring anxieties about growing antisemitism in the state’s blue coalition.

ReadMore...Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Ground activity by the Israeli Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip. Gaza Strip, Nov 30, 2025. Photo by TPS-IL.
In The News

IDF strikes Hamas commander in northern Gaza

(Aug. 13, 2026 / JNS)
The Israel Defense Forces carried out an airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday targeting a Hamas commander who the military said was planning attacks on troops operating in the area. It was the first reported Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip in more than a week.

Read More...JNS

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani makes an announcement about five new municipal grocery stores, July 27, 2026. Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.
In The News

‘Worried for our brothers and sisters,’ Jews near NYC say of Mamdani’s mayorship

(Aug. 12, 2026 / JNS)
Anecdotal accounts of Jews and Zionists leaving or planning to vacate New York City due to Zohran Mamdani’s anti-Israel policies and rhetoric as mayor and his softness, Jewish groups have said, on rising antisemitism have trickled out. In his first month in office, New York City recorded a 182% surge in Jew-hatred, compared...