Eye on Extremism: April 21, 2026
Top Stories
Times of Israel: Over 40% of European Jews experienced antisemitism last year, survey finds
More than two out of five European Jews experienced antisemitism personally or within the family last year, and only 45 percent of European Jews say they feel safe within their countries, according to a report published Sunday by the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). French Jews feel the least secure, with only 22% of respondents saying they feel safe in their country.
Reuters: Trump says he does not want to extend truce as expiry nears, US seizes tanker
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he did not want to extend a rapidly expiring ceasefire in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and that the U.S. military was "raring to go" if negotiations were not successful. He spoke shortly after the U.S. military announced it had boarded a huge Iranian oil tanker at sea in international waters, the first such move against Iran's crude exports. That could make it more difficult to revive peace talks with Iran, which has said it will not negotiate while Washington enforces a blockade of its ports.
CEP Mentions
Cicero: "The cracks in the regime are becoming increasingly visible."
For Iran, the Strait of Hormuz has transformed from a tool of leverage into its Achilles' heel. Hans-Jakob Schindler explains how Tehran is putting pressure on shipping and markets, why the US is now intervening more forcefully – and whether failed negotiations will lead to a new military escalation.
Analysis
Iran International: The politics of pink: how Iran uses cuteness to rebrand violence
Pink missiles, pink drones and pink firearms. Women with uncovered hair—braids, ponytails, short bobs—stood beside weapons, waved flags and smiled for cameras in scenes broadcast across Iranian media. Tehran appears willing to try almost anything to preserve power.
United States
Times of Israel: Videos show harassment of Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn
Two videos show apparent harassment of Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers. One of the clips, released by the Boro Park Shomrim neighborhood watch group, shows a white SUV pulling onto a crosswalk. The passengers call outto a Jewish man, before one of the car’s occupants gets out and chases the man down the street, shouting, “Come here!” while the other occupants cheer.
Fox News: America should not be a safe haven for those who promote terrorism: Activist
Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad assesses the arrest of an Iranian national who is accused of weapons dealing on ‘The Story.’
Mohamed Abdou, a former Columbia University professor terminated for praising Hamas and advocating for jihad following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, is scheduled to speak at an event organized by New York University students on Tuesday.
WTNH: Report finds 91% of American Jews feel less safe amid rise in antisemitism
Alarming new data is shedding light on the growing impact of antisemitism across the United States, prompting state lawmakers and Jewish leaders to call for stronger education efforts and action to combat hate. A 2025 report from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) details the experiences of American Jews and highlights a sharp rise in concern about personal safety.
School district leaders in Scarsdale, New York, are investigating what the superintendent called "unacceptable antisemitic conduct." The situation has raised concerns in a community with many Jewish residents.
AL.com: SPLC says it is being targeted by Trump’s DOJ, denies wrongdoing in federal investigation
Alabama’s Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit established as a public interest law firm, released a statement Tuesday morning responding to a criminal investigation recently launched by the Justice Department over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.
The Skokie Police Department is actively investigating two separate incidents involving antisemitic language that occurred at parks in the village over the weekend, both of which included groups of early teen and pre-teen youth, according to reports from the Village of Skokie and the Skokie Police Department.
CBS News: Two teens arrested for antisemitic graffiti in Sterling Heights, police say
Two teenagers are behind bars for allegedly vandalizing a fence with antisemitic graffiti in Sterling Heights, police say. The incident happened near Shetland Court. Neighbors say the discovery was shocking.
Canada
Global News: ISIS recruiter being released from prison still holds ‘extremist views’
An ISIS recruiter who is being released from prison remains radicalized and poses a danger to the public, according to a Parole Board of Canada decision. The ruling obtained by Global News said that while Ashton Larmond was now eligible for statutory release, special conditions were needed to protect public safety.
Mexico
Associated Press: Gunman shoots several tourists at historic pyramids in Mexico, killing a Canadian
An armed man standing atop one of the historic Teotihuacan pyramids opened fire on tourists Monday, killing one Canadian and leaving at least 13 people injured at the archaeological site north of Mexico’s capital, authorities said.
Argentina
Jerusalem Post: Argentinian union talk with two Palestinian terrorists canceled after police action
A talk on Friday by two Palestinian terrorists released in ransom deals for the hostages of the October 7 massacre at the San Lorenzo headquarters of Argentina’s State Workers Association (ATE) was canceled following police action and legal action against the event.
European Union
JTA: Ye concerts scrapped in Poland, Switzerland as backlash over antisemitic remarks continues
Concerts by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, have now been called off in Poland and Switzerland amid growing backlash over his past antisemitic comments, further disrupting plans for his upcoming international tour.
Afghanistan International: EU Plans Brussels Talks With Taliban On Deportation Of Afghan Migrants
Diplomatic sources say the EU plans to invite a Taliban delegation to Brussels to discuss the return of Afghan migrants, though no formal invitation has yet been issued. The visit had initially been planned for late March but has now been postponed to the coming weeks.
Sweden
Jerusalem Post: 'Blood libel repackaged': Israeli ambr. condemns Stockholm mock slaughter protest
Israel's ambassador to Sweden has condemned the weekly anti-Israel protests in Stockholm, claiming they feature "open acts of antisemitism." "It's the same centuries-old stereotypes and blood libels, repackaged by replacing ' Jews' with 'Zionists," said Ambassador Ziv Nevo Kulman. "Authorities tolerate 'freedom of expression' being abused to promote hate and incitement against a national minority."
United Kingdom
Reuters: Teenage boy charged after London synagogue arson attack, police say
British police said on Tuesday that a 17-year-old boy had been charged in connection with a counter-terrorism investigation into an arson attack on a synagogue in north London over the weekend. The boy, a British national, was charged with arson not endangering life and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on April 21, police said in the statement.
Reuters: Eight arrested as UK police probe suspected antisemitic arson attacks
British counter-terrorism police said on Tuesday they had arrested eight people in an investigation into a series of suspected arson attacks in London, including an alleged plot targeting a venue linked to the Jewish community. Seven of the arrests were made within the past 48 hours as part of a probe into a suspected conspiracy to commit arson, the police statement said.
Independent: PM pledges unrelenting fight against antisemitism as seven more arrested
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged an unrelenting fight against antisemitism after seven more people were arrested amid a spate of arson attacks on Jewish sites. The Metropolitan Police said the suspects were arrested within the past 48 hours over an alleged conspiracy to commit a further arson attack although the specific target is not yet known.
British Jews feel under siege and worry about their children displaying religious symbols in public, community leaders have said. There have been a series of attempted arson attacks at Jewish sites over the past week, including incidents at two synagogues in London and one at a building used by the charity Jewish Futures. Four Jewish community ambulances were also set on fire in north London in the early hours of 23 March.
Following his suspension from the Green Party, anti-Zionist Jewish activist Tony Greenstein told The Jerusalem Post that he will “fight the spurious allegations” and seek to retain his membership.
The UK government has barred Valentina Gómez, a U.S.-based Latina anti-Islam influencer, from entering the country, revoking a previously granted travel authorization ahead of a planned appearance at a far-right rally, in a decision officials said was based on concerns that her presence "would not be conducive to the public good."
Ynet: London Tube driver suspended after saying Jews not safe on his line
A London Underground driver has been suspended after being filmed telling protesters that Jews are not safe traveling on his line, remarks that come amid a surge in antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom. The driver, who operates trains on the Bakerloo line, was recorded during a railway workers’ protest on Saturday when he was asked whether it was safe for Jews to travel on his route.
A TERRORIST who was jailed for planning to bomb the London Stock Exchange was allowed to stay in the UK on human rights grounds. Shah Rahman was one of four al-Qaeda-inspired extremists locked up in 2012 over the sick plot to bomb the capital.
Russia
Moscow Times: CEO of Russia’s Largest Book Publisher Detained in LGBTQ+ ‘Extremism’ Probe
Law enforcement authorities have detained the CEO of Russia’s largest publishing house for questioning in connection with an ongoing investigation into LGBTQ+ “extremism,” Russian media reported Tuesday. Yevgeny Kapyev, head of the publishing giant Eksmo, was taken in by police following a search of the company’s Moscow office.
Middle East
A second round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place on Thursday, an Israeli and a US official tell The Times of Israel on Monday. The meeting, the official said, will take place at the State Department in Washington, and will include staffers from the Israeli, Lebanese, and US sides. Israel will be represented by its envoy to the US, and Lebanon by its former ambassador to Washington, Simon Karam.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Times of Israel: ‘They’re not easy’: Board of Peace envoy admits Hamas disarmament talks stalled
The Board of Peace’s lead envoy for Gaza admitted Monday that talks with Hamas on disarmament were going to take more time, even though the ultimatum he gave for the terror group to accept his proposal on handing over its weapons expired nine days earlier.
Reuters: Two Palestinians killed in West Bank village attacked by Israeli settlers, witnesses say
Two Palestinians, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday after Israeli settlers and soldiers opened fire, witnesses said, while in Gaza health officials said two Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said two Palestinians were killed and four others were wounded by Israeli settler gunfire in al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah. The Palestinian health ministry said the two killed were aged 14 and 32.
Iran
Associated Press: Iran says it hangs 2 convicts claimed by opposition group
Iran said Monday it hanged two men it accused of setting fire to buildings on behalf of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad. An Iranian exiled opposition group earlier claimed the men as members and alleged their charges stemmed from events that happened after they already had been detained.
Iran International: Iran condemns UAE arrests, rejects allegations of links to attacks
Iran on Tuesday condemned the United Arab Emirates over the arrest of individuals accused by Abu Dhabi of links to Tehran, calling the allegations “baseless” and politically motivated. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the detentions were carried out under “unfounded pretexts.”
Iran International: Iranian police official vows revenge against Trump
An Iranian police official said on Tuesday that Tehran would not back down until it had taken revenge on US President Donald Trump over the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Ali Shirazi, head of the ideological-political organization of Iran’s law enforcement command, said Trump had committed an act no other US president had dared by ordering the killing.
As President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to decide whether to extend a two-week ceasefire between the countries approaches, attention is increasingly turning not to Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, but to a shadowy Revolutionary Guard commander with a long record of terror, repression and hardline ideology.
Israel
The next legal front for victims of terrorism, including those affected by Hamas’s October 7 massacre, may lie not only in proving who carried out an attack, but in tracing the money that made it possible. For attorney Gideon Fisher, that is the heart of the matter.
A haredi extremist defaced an image of Ronit Elimelech, a United Hatzalah volunteer who was killed during Operation Rising Lion, in Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet, Ynet reported on Tuesday. Elimelech was killed along with her mother and seven others when an Iranian missile struck a synagogue in the neighborhood.
Lebanon
Associated Press: Hezbollah claims explosives destroyed Israeli tanks
Hezbollah said it detonated explosives Sunday afternoon in an attack against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. The group said in a statement Monday that bombs planted by Hezbollah fighters exploded and destroyed four tanks in a convoy of eight tanks that was passing the village of Deir Siryan.
Reuters: Israel will face resistance if troops stay in Lebanon, Speaker Berri says
Lebanon’s parliament speaker warned on Tuesday that Israeli forces occupying parts of the country's south would face resistance if they fail to withdraw, signalling a risk of renewed confrontation ahead of U.S.-mediated talks this week. A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah mediated by Washington has largely held since last Thursday, but Israeli forces remain deployed in a belt of Lebanese land 5-10 km deep along the entire border. Israel has said it aims to create a buffer zone to shield northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim group.
Israel’s military says a militant was killed after crossing into an area in southern Lebanon that Israeli forces continue to occupy as a tense ceasefire holds in the Israel-Hezbollah war. The military did not elaborate or identify the killed person. Earlier Sunday, Israel’s army released a map showing a “forward defensive line” behind which Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon.
AFP: UN Sec. Council condemns killing of French peacekeeper in Lebanon
The U.N. Security Council on Monday condemned the recent killing of a French peacekeeper in Lebanon, whose death France has blamed on Hezbollah. The Frenchman was killed and three others wounded when their unit was ambushed on Saturday as it headed to a U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) outpost cut off from the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
Turkey
Arab Weekly: Turkey confronts legacy of ISIS expansion in Syria and Iraq
Turkish authorities have detained 90 people suspected of links to the militant group Islamic State, in a sweeping nationwide operation that underscores persistent security concerns just weeks after a shooting outside the Israeli consulate in the city.
United Arab Emirates
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday emphasised the UAE's determination to combat “terrorism and extremism in all its forms” after authorities thwarted a clandestine plot that posed a threat to national unity and security.
Arab Weekly: UAE dismantles Hezbollah-Iran linked terrorist network, makes arrests
The United Arab Emirates State Security Apparatus (SSA) announced the dismantling of a “terrorist network funded and operated by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran, and the arrest of its members”. The network, added SSA, had been operating in the UAE “under a fictitious commercial cover and sought to infiltrate the national economy and carry out external schemes threatening the country’s financial stability”.
Yemen
Jerusalem Post: Houthi official threw 13-year-old girl down well, killing her, after marital dispute
A Houthi official murdered his 13-year-old daughter on Tuesday last week, throwing her down a well following a dispute with his ex-wife, Yemeni and Arab media reported this week.
Yemen Online: Teacher Killed by Houthi Landmine Explosion in Yemen’s Al‑Dhalea
A schoolteacher was killed Sunday when a landmine left behind by Houthi militias exploded in the Murais area, north of Al‑Dhalea province. Local sources identified the victim as Ayoub Saleh Yahya, an English language teacher. The device detonated while he was working inside a farm in the village of Sa’da, killing him instantly.
Georgia
Caspian Post: Georgian citizen detained Over ISIS Connection
Georgia's State Security Service announced the detention of two individuals-a Georgian and a foreign national-on suspicion of links to the terrorist group Islamic State. The suspects were detained in Batumi as part of a special operation conducted across multiple regions of the country, The Caspian Post reports, citing Georgian media.
Kyrgyzstan
Jerusalem Post: Outrage after Kyrgyz hotel displays antisemitic 'Jews not allowed' sign
Israel's Embassy to the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic has condemned a Kyrgyz hotel for a sign with the words "Jews and animals are not allowed." The sign appeared on the Villa Hotel in the city of Osh. The hotel opened just three weeks ago.
Africa
Reuters: At Senegal forum, Niger and Mali say neighbours sponsor terrorism
The foreign ministers of Niger and Mali have accused neighbouring countries of sponsoring terrorism, but said they were willing to cooperate on some matters with the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, from which they formally split last year.
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