Eye on Extremism: August 20, 2026
Top Stories
IranWire: IRGC Threatens More Destructive Weapons in Potential Conflict
Hossein Mohebbi, spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has threatened that the Islamic Republic will deploy “more precise and more destructive” weaponry in the event of another war. In an interview with Mehr News Agency on Thursday, August 20, Mohebbi stated, “If a new war breaks out, our weapons will certainly be different from the past.”
JNS: ‘Tsunami of hate’ against Jews in medicine and hospitals, researchers say
At the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Jews were labeled as oppressors. Patients were afraid to be identified as Jews at the University of California, San Francisco, and protesters targeted medical schools in New York City and demanded the destruction of the State of Israel. These are some of the antisemitic incidents that erupted in hospitals, dental schools, psychology conferences and elsewhere since Oct. 7, according to a new study published in the Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal.
CEP Mentions
ZDFheute Live: Trump wants Strait of Hormuz as US territory; Iran objects | ZDFheute live
Who controls the Strait of Hormuz? And how are the crews faring who have been stranded in the Persian Gulf for months? Carsten Rüger discusses this on ZDFheute live with Martin Kröger, CEO of the German Shipowners' Association, and Middle East expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.
Analysis
Foreign Policy: The Taliban’s Next Five Years
The brutish group has been surprisingly stable since snatching power in 2021. Rockier times may lie ahead.
Five days before Florida’s Republican primary, congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian posted a campaign video that depicted his Jewish opponent with horns, called him “Shylock” and praised Adolf Hitler. In the governor’s race, Republican candidate James Fishback openly courted the young, online far right, interviewed with antisemitic podcasters and has used the antisemitic term “goyslop” in addition to racist rhetoric against his Black opponent. He is a staunch opponent and vocal critic of Israel, as is Bilzerian.
United States
GPAHE: Neo-Nazi Active Clubs Increasingly Recruiting Teenage Boys And Girls
Since 2025, the number of neo-Nazi Active Clubs has increased by 28 percent, with many dedicated to training white supremacist teenage boys and girls. Youth Clubs have seen their chapter numbers increase by 142 percent.
New York Jewish Week: Manhattan Central Synagogue attacker faces federal hate crime charges
The man accused of disrupting Shabbat services at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue last week now faces federal hate crimes charges in addition to the state ones leveled against him immediately after the attack.
A suspect who allegedly disrupted a Shabbat service at New York City’s Central Synagogue both insulted Jews and “identified as Jewish,” according to a federal criminal complaint released on Tuesday. Larry Montes, 46, from the Bronx, was charged with hate crimes in a New York City court last week. Tuesday’s complaint added federal hate crime charges against Montes and provided more detail about the incident, but also raised questions about the suspect.
CBS News: Member of online extremist network “764” gets record 77 years in prison
A member of the online extremist network “764” was sentenced to 77 years in prison for producing and distributing material involving child sexual exploitation and animal cruelty, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Jerusalem Post: Democratic Senate candidate El-Sayed’s mother worked for Hamas, Taliban-linked group
The birth mother of Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed worked for a designated terror group that financed Hamas and the Taliban, the Midwesterner first revealed on Tuesday. The information in the report was separately verified by The Jerusalem Post.
Detroit Free Press: Dearborn police arrest 22 at anti-Muslim protest and counterprotests
Dearborn police said they made 22 arrests during the tumultuous protests in the city on Tuesday, Aug. 18, that sparked religious tensions and fear among residents. Police added there were no injuries among protesters, police or the general public.
WXYZ: KKK flyers found in Dearborn Heights and Melvindale after anti-Muslim protest
Police in Dearborn Heights and Melvindale are investigating and reviewing evidence after fliers and business cards tied to the Ku Klux Klan were found scattered across both cities Tuesday evening.
KTLA: Threats toward SoCal Islamic center condemned by civil rights leaders, officials
A civil rights group and a local state representative are condemning online threats towards an Islamic center in Orange County. The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) issued a statement on the matter earlier this week, one they called “an online anti-Muslim smear campaign.”
A Tennessee man tied to the extremist group 764 was sentenced Wednesday to 77 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material and helping distribute videos depicting animal abuse.
After Pennsylvania parents contacted advocacy groups about an antisemitism definition in the state’s guide for schools that replaced the approved International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, the Pennsylvania Department of Education has removed the guide.
WDSU: Jewish leaders seek safeguards ahead of Ye concert at Caesars Superdome
Jewish organizations and synagogue leaders in New Orleans are coordinating with Caesars Superdome management and local law enforcement ahead of Ye’s scheduled concert Friday, Aug. 28. The response follows longstanding concerns about antisemitic statements, songs and merchandise associated with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. Community leaders said the artist’s rhetoric has caused continuing harm and has been embraced by extremist groups and some fans, despite apologies he has made.
Canada
CBC: Surge in vandalism, anti-Muslim rhetoric prompts vigilance at Quebec mosques
Boufeldja Benabdallah says for the past year and a half, he’s witnessed a rise in vandalism and anti-Muslim rhetoric targeting mosques and cultural centres around Quebec — but he doesn't understand why. Still, the spokesperson and co-founder of Quebec City’s Islamic Cultural Centre says his community is responding the best way they can — with vigilance.
Argentina
JNS: Argentinian judge who called Jews ‘rats and vipers’ dismissed
An Argentinian judicial body removed a federal judge from office on Tuesday following a series of antisemitic messages and hostile posts targeting both the Jewish community and Israel, including calling Jews “rats and vipers.”
Belgium
Belga News Agency: Belgian security service warns against nihilistic extremism
The Coordination Body for Threat Analysis (OCAD) has warned on Thursday about nihilistic extremism, a relatively new phenomenon that primarily develops online and targets vulnerable children, adolescents, and young adults. OCAD aims to raise awareness among professionals in education, youth work, the welfare sector, and healthcare with a brochure, so they can recognise forms of nihilistic extremism.
Germany
AFP: Far-right suspect identified in 1970 Munich arson that killed 7 Holocaust survivors
German investigators said Thursday they had identified a far-right suspect who allegedly carried out a notorious 1970 arson attack on a Jewish center in Munich that killed seven Holocaust survivors.
Deutsche Welle: Munich prosecutors close fatal 1970 antisemitic arson case
Prosecutors and police in Munich believe they have identified the man who set a 1970 fire at a Jewish community center and old people's home that killed seven people. But he died in 2020, so prosecution is not possible.
United Kingdom
The Telegraph: Iraqi man charged in connection with Manchester synagogue attack
An Iraqi man has been charged in connection with the Manchester synagogue attack. Hekmat Omar Ali Hakim, 49, has been charged with failing to disclose information regarding terrorist activity, Counter Terrorism Policing North West said.
The Telegraph: Anti-Zionist activist joins Greens’ ruling body
Eleanora Folan has been elected to the Greens’ internal party council, which makes key decisions on policy and political strategy. Folan is believed to post under the name Stats for Lefties on X, and the account regularly publishes attacks on Israel. In a post in June this year, the account posted a photograph of the Iranian flag with the caption: “Glory to the Iranian resistance, whose courageous fight against the imperialist dogs of the USA has utterly humiliated the Great Satan. Inshallah Iran will fully repel US imperialism, Palestine will be freed from the bloodthirsty Zionist entity and Israel will be abolished.”
Dorset Eye: Two More Right Wing Extremists Jailed
Two more right-wing extremists have been jailed for their roles in violent anti-migrant protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping, Essex. Charlie Land, 24, and Jonathan Glover, 48, were convicted of violent disorder following a 10-day trial at Chelmsford Crown Court. Land was also convicted of criminal damage.
Jerusalem Post: UK court hears Jewish anti-Zionist activist invited support for Hamas after Oct. 7
A UK court was told during trial proceedings at Kingston Crown Court that Tony Greenstein, a prominent Jewish anti-Zionist activist and founding member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, issued a rallying cry inviting support for Hamas.
JNS: British venue admits discrimination against Jewish comedian
A British venue that had deplatformed a Jewish comedian last year ostensibly over his views on Gaza has accepted that the move was discriminatory against him as a Jewish person, a British magazine reported on Monday.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Four Detained By Taliban After Explosion At Kabul School
Following the deadly explosion at Sham-e Hedayat School in western Kabul that left dozens wounded, the Taliban detained four people, including the school principal, a teacher and the father of two students, while restricting access to the school.
The Green Trend, led by Amrullah Saleh, former VP, said it attacked a Taliban checkpoint in Chah Ab district of Takhar province on Monday, 19 August, claiming its military wing inflicted heavy casualties on Taliban forces. The group released a video of the operation and said its military wing had carried out the attack on the Taliban checkpoint.
Afghanistan International: Four Taliban Members Killed In Faizabad Attack, Says AFF
The Afghanistan Freedom Front confirmed that it targeted the Taliban governor’s office and a nearby security post in Faizabad, Badakhshan, with rockets on Wednesday night, claiming four Taliban members were killed and five wounded.
Amu: Two UNAMA staff released more than a week in Taliban detention in Herat
UNAMA confirmed to Amu on Thursday that two of its employees who were arrested by the Taliban in Herat province have been released after more than a week in detention. The mission said the two staff members appeared to be in good health and that it understood the charges against them had been dropped.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Jerusalem Post: Hamas using Nasser Hospital as interrogation, torture center in Gaza, IDF says
The IDF revealed on Thursday that Hamas is using the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis to carry out interrogations and torture the Palestinians, in a push to retain control of the Gaza Strip through fear. According to the IDF investigation, conducted in cooperation with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Hamas is using the second floor of the hospital's outpatient clinics as an interrogation facility.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warns extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank not to steal property owned by Palestinian Americans, describing such behavior as “a violation of God’s law,” and warning that settlers found to have taken part in a siege of homes in the West Bank village of Qusra, including one belonging to Palestinian American Loui Ridi, could be punished with US sanctions.
Times of Israel: Report: 5 Palestinians injured in settler attack that caused car to overturn
The official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA reports that five Palestinians have been injured in a settler attack in the area of the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah. In footage circulated online, two of the injured are seen receiving treatment at a Palestinian clinic, suffering from minor facial injuries.
Iran
Afghanistan International: Tehran-Kabul Economic Relations Should Expand, Says Iranian President
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered government agencies to address obstacles to trade and transit with Afghanistan, stressing the strategic importance of expanding economic ties between the two countries.
Iran International: A poem hailed as Khamenei’s prophecy is an acrostic: Born of Satan
Days before he was killed, Ali Khamenei gave a poem to a translator, a senior cleric says. Iranian outlets published it as his prophecy of his own martyrdom. Then readers ran down the first letters: I am Ali Khamenei, born of Satan.
Kurdistan24: Mojtaba Khamenei Brings Back Veteran IRGC Figures as Tensions with U.S. Persist
In his first major appointments since becoming Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei has turned to veteran and loyal figures from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), filling key security positions left vacant after officials were killed during the war and signaling a potentially harder line toward Washington.
Nejad Rassad, one of only a few dozen Jews remaining in Hamadan in western Iran, was subjected to antisemitic harassment by an Uzbek national outside the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai, according to footage of the incident circulated by Iranian media this week.
Israel
Ten days after publishing a video to his Instagram account with the challenge “come fight me Zios” in “Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine,” pro-Palestinian influencer Ido Amiaz, also known as “the Salukie,” found himself knocked down three times in a boxing match that ended in a technical knockout after around 40 seconds.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Berri says ending UNIFIL is ‘greatest crime against south’
Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri has emphasized the importance of UNIFIL forces’ presence in southern Lebanon and their assigned role, both in “maintaining security in the south and in supporting the Lebanese Army’s deployment across all Lebanese territory up to the international border, as stipulated in Resolution 1701.”
Naharnet: Has Hezbollah offered to withdraw from Ali al-Taher?
Hezbollah proposed earlier this week to hand over the strategic Ali al-Taher area to the Lebanese Army, amid “the decline of its ability to hold onto it and its attempt to withdraw the fighters and equipment that are present there,” an informed Western diplomatic source said.
Yemen
Iran International: Houthis say they attacked Saudi targets in Najran
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked what they described as a “sensitive” Saudi target at Najran airport and an Aramco facility in Najran. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia.
Iran International: Two IRGC members among three foreign fighters killed in Yemen - Al Arabiya
Two members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were among three foreign fighters killed in Yemen, Al Arabiya English reported on Thursday, citing Yemeni military sources. The third person killed was an Iraqi linked to the IRGC, the sources told the Saudi-owned broadcaster.
Reuters: Tanker off Yemen boarded by armed people, diverted towards Somalia, UKMTO says
A tanker was boarded by six armed people who took control of the vessel and diverted it towards Somalia, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Thursday. UKMTO earlier said it had received a report of an incident 136 nautical miles east of Yemen’s Mukalla, where the tanker, travelling west in the Gulf of Aden, reported being approached by an unauthorised vessel.
Yemen Online: Yemeni Military Sources: 3 Foreign Experts Linked to IRGC Killed
Yemeni military sources reported Thursday that 3 foreign experts allegedly connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in Yemen. The sources said the individuals were operating in support of Houthi forces when they were targeted, without providing further details on the circumstances of their deaths or the location of the incident.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Reuters: Congo's M23 rebels introduce new movement restrictions over Ebola concerns
The AFC/M23 rebel alliance in Democratic Republic of Congo, which has highlighted its ability to tackle the spread of Ebola in territory it controls, has said it will impose new restrictions on people's movements to and from Ebola-affected government-held zones.
Mozambique
Mozambique Information Agency: Islamist terrorists have stepped up recruitment in Cabo Delgado -UN
An United Nations report submitted to the Security Council points out that the Islamist terrorists have stepped up recruitment in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, growing to between 400 and 500 fighters.
Nigeria
The Guardian: Troops neutralise eight ISWAP terrorists in Borno’s Sambisa Forest
Troops of the Northeast Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Hadin, have neutralised eight an Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the Timbuktu Triangle of the Sambisa Forest in Borno state. The military said the two-hour operation, followed a credible intelligence indicating the presence of suspected terrorists at Thethangala village within the Timbuktu Triangle, a known area of insurgents’ activiries.
Agenzia Fides: AFRICA/NIGERIA - Ungushi: The ambiguous face of violence in Northern Nigeria
The attack on the village of Ungushi illustrates the complexity of the violence suffered by Nigerian communities. The targeted community is predominantly Muslim, and the local imam was among the victims. The attackers belong to a recently formed group that operates in the grey area between banditry, organized crime and jihadism.
Philippines
The Philippine Star: Nihilistic extremism eyed in Zamboanga shooting
Nihilistic violent extremism (NVE) may have influenced a junior high school student who shot and killed a classmate before shooting himself dead on Tuesday inside the Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU) campus, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said.
Inquirer: DOJ warns: Extremists targeting minors in violent online games
Law enforcement agencies and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are tracking online networks that target and mentor young Filipinos to engage in violent extremism, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said Thursday.
Philippine News Agency: Gaming community tips seen aiding fight vs online extremism
Members of the gaming community are emerging as potential sources of intelligence against online groups that expose or groom young people toward violent extremism, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said Thursday.
Australia
A witness at the royal commission on antisemitism has questioned the legitimacy of Israel's existence, following a tense exchange over her interpretation of Zionism as a violent extremist belief.
Technology
Arab News: Etidal, Telegram remove more than 34m extremist items
Joint efforts by the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, also known as Etidal, and Telegram have resulted in the removal of 34,290,268 items of extremist content and the shutdown of 1,275 channels used to publish and promote such material during the first half of 2026, as part of their continuing campaign against extremist propaganda online.
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