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CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed on the situation with Hamas and antisemitism.
[CEP Senior Director] Hans-Jakob Schindler, security expert and long-time observer of extremist groups in the Middle East, talks in an interview about the current negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Egypt. Trump's peace plan already shows promising signs, even if further hurdles remain.
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed at 30:09 regarding Hamas strategy and tactics, for WELT TV documentary on the 7th of October: Two years after the Hamas massacre, Constantin Schreiber returns to Israel. He meets survivors, hostages, and politicians—and discovers a country searching for answers amid grief, protest, and hope.
An article at the Counter Extremism Project, “Eyes of the Regime: How the Houthi Security and Intelligence Service Ensures Political Domination in Yemen,” described Marani as a key figure in the Houthi intelligence system. “As early as 2017, Hassan al-Marrani was appointed director of the Intelligence Department in the National Security Bureau. In 2018, al-Marrani was also serving in the ostensibly benign role of director general at the Yemeni Economic Corporation. In this capacity, according to a leaked document, he worked to promote Houthi recruitment by calling ‘for the speedy preparation of lists of the names of employees who are ready to participate in the war and submitting them to administrative affairs for qualification, within three days.’”
The UN further stated that the greatest danger comes from IS-KP, which has around 2,000 fighters and, in recent years, has carried out deadly attacks in Russia, Iran, and Pakistan, showing the group’s capability across borders. Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former coordinator of a UN committee monitoring armed groups, told AFP on Thursday, “The risk is very high that IS-KP will see these newly returned Afghan citizens as an opportunity for recruitment.” According to Schindler, “Since August 2021, the group has continued to recruit not only disgruntled Taliban members but also Afghans who feel excluded from the new government.”
"Drone flights over critical infrastructure, military installations, and military transport are clearly intended to gather information and intelligence about these facilities, as well as about German response patterns," security expert [CEP Senior Director] Hans-Jakob Schindler told Lusa.
Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, Director of the Counter Extremism Project, describes the arrests of the Hamas cell in 2023 as a "turning point". "Its members had already deposited weapons in Europe years before. Anyone storing weapons in Poland or Bulgaria is certainly not doing so for use in the Gaza Strip," Schindler told WELT AM SONNTAG. This points to an overarching strategy that could be activated if necessary. The connection to criminal gangs follows a well-known logic. "The relationships between organized crime and terrorist organizations are often structural," explains Schindler. Such connections are not atypical, especially when it comes to procuring weapons. In most cases, terrorist organizations rely on criminal networks to obtain weapons - whether through smuggling or the black market.
Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed regarding drones in Germany, this time at the Munich Airport [starting at 09:28].
But what about the protection of synagogues in the UK? Terrorism expert Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project explains that some protective measures did work in Manchester - for example, the attacker was unable to enter the synagogue and the police were probably "extremely quick on the scene". However, what did not work and now needs to be investigated is the lack of barriers around the synagogue, especially for traffic, explained Schindler. Given the large Jewish community in Manchester, it would have been natural to assume that significantly more worshippers would come to the synagogue on Yom Kippur than on normal days, says Schindler.
The Counter Extremism Project Presents
Enduring Music: Compositions from the Holocaust
Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Counter Extremism Project's ARCHER at House 88 presents a landmark concert of music composed in ghettos and death camps, performed in defiance of resurgent antisemitism. Curated with world renowned composer, conductor, and musicologist Francesco Lotoro, the program restores classical, folk, and popular works, many written on scraps of paper or recalled from memory, to public consciousness. Featuring world and U.S. premieres from Lotoro's archive, this concert honors a repertoire that endured against unimaginable evil.