Eye on Extremism: August 26, 2026
Top Stories
The National: German military ends Iraq mission as US-led anti-ISIS coalition prepares to leave
Germany’s military mission to Iraq formally ended on Wednesday, in the first major departure from the Kurdistan Region as part of the US-led, anti-ISIS coalition’s broader withdrawal from the country by September 30, Iraqi authorities announced.
Commissioner Virginia Bell says she will delay – by four days – handing down her final report into antisemitism and social cohesion, in order not to distract from commemorations of the Bondi terror attack. On Wednesday, the last day of public hearings of the royal commission, Bell resisted a public push to extend the commission’s work.
CEP Mentions
In this insightful discussion, Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director at the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), examines Germany’s experience with Islamist extremism, radicalisation, integration, immigration, and the broader European security landscape.
Dennikn: Scenes from a spy thriller. Traces of a secret weapons depot near Berlin lead to Moscow
Hans-Jakob Schindler of the transatlantic think tank Counter Extremism Project also thinks so, according to whom it is very likely that a state actor is behind the incident. And according to Schindler, Russia is the number one suspect, he told the BR24 portal.
Analysis
JNS: The Islamic Shia theocracy is preparing for the next uprising—and next crackdown
The language of Iran’s rulers reveals a regime preparing not to resolve the causes of unrest, but to survive the moment when Iranian society erupts again.
Christian Post: 3 reasons antisemitism is back — and why it matters to Christians
One reason this demon has returned is that history has moved on. The memory of the Holocaust is fading, and the world is less familiar with names like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Nearly everyone who was involved — victim, villain, or liberator — is now dead. Without the power of eyewitness testimony, the lessons of “Never Again!” are lost.
United States
The Telegraph: Trump to declare Palestine Action a global terror group
Palestine Action is to be declared a global terrorist organisation by the US, The Telegraph can reveal. The protest group will be added to a list that includes Hamas, al-Qaeda and Islamic State in a move that will leave supporters facing a lifetime ban from entering the US.
A State Department memo reveals that an international technology collective, now under a U.S. global terrorism designation, provided services to overseas terrorist groups and violent far-left agitators causing chaos in American cities, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital.
U.S. Southern Command announced another strike on “narco-terrorists,” killing four in the Caribbean, bringing the roughly one-year total to at least 227 dead among the 68 reported strikes, including back-to-back days after months of calm in the area.
After antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker tried to blame Jewish supporters of Israel for worsening antisemitism, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) called on House Republican leaders on Tuesday to allow a vote on his bipartisan resolution condemning such voices in both parties. “Hatred is hatred. Period,” stated Gottheimer, who is Jewish. “Let’s bring the vote to the floor.”
Dolly Parton’s Wikipedia page was allegedly targeted by vandals with antisemitic content and offensive modifications within an hour of the public announcement of her death at age 80 on Tuesday.
More than a dozen donors to the Hitler-praising, neo-Nazi congressional campaign of Dan Bilzerian have also contributed to Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed—in many cases spreading thousands of dollars between the two candidates, the Washington Free Beacon found.
Haim Saban, Teddy Schwarzman and Lawrence Bender are among a group of industry figures who have put their names to a statement condemning “antisemitic theories” in Mark Ruffalo’s Paramount discourse.
Times of Israel: Study: Genocide claims on US campuses largely grew out of preexisting BDS activism
Claims of genocide against Israel that became prominent on US college campuses after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack were largely concentrated among academics and speakers who had already supported the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, according to a Wednesday report.
Arkansas Advocate: Group behind whites-only community sues Arkansas, federal agencies
The founders of a whites-only community in northeast Arkansas have filed a lawsuit against several state and federal agencies claiming their constitutional rights are being violated by investigations into the housing development. Return to the Land, a white nationalist organization that describes itself as a “private membership association” promoting “European heritage communities” and “traditional views,” filed the lawsuit in federal court in Arkansas on Friday.
KOB 4: Eye on the FBI: Nihilistic Violent Extremism
The FBI is warning parents, teachers, caregivers, and children about the dangers of Nihilistic Violent Extremism. FBI describes NVE as a form of violence motivated by a hatred of society or a drive to cause chaos. Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Kurt Mininger, said another term to describe it is sadistic online extremism. They use it as a category to describe a series of cases and threats where they say people promote violence.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Tuesday that her office will not file felony riot charges against far-right activist Jake Lang and others over Lang’s latest confrontation in Minneapolis, citing “prior communication” between police and Lang’s security detail.
WDET: The Metro: Why ‘the last vestige of acceptable racism’ is intensifying
A week ago, the Dearborn City Council moved its meeting to the public library because they expected a crowd. Police were outside in riot gear. Wayne County sent officers on horses. By the next morning, 22 people had been arrested from across Michigan, and from as far as New York and Tennessee.
A Baltimore County school board member apologized Tuesday for a social media post that some critics accused of “promoting anti-Muslim stereotypes.” Board member Maggie Litz Domanowski apologized at Tuesday’s school board meeting after posting a meme on Facebook over the weekend with a Charlie Brown character holding a sign saying, “If you fear MAGA will take away women’s rights, then you should learn about Sharia law,” a reference to the legal system for Islam.
The New Berlin Common Council has passed a resolution condemning Mayor Dave Ament's social media activity after he reposted content on his personal Facebook page that community groups have called anti-Muslim, anti-Black, and misogynistic.
Canada
CBC: Venue cancels anti-immigration group’s conference booking in Hamilton, police say
Hamilton police say a venue that had rented space to an anti-immigration group for its national conference later this week has cancelled the booking. Dominion Society of Canada’s website says its DomCon conference featuring Canadian and international speakers is taking place Aug. 29 in the “Hamilton area.” On Aug. 13, the group said a venue in Hamilton had been booked.
Hamilton is preparing for a controversial nationalist conference scheduled for this weekend, with police developing an operational plan, the mayor warning local venues, and anti-racism groups urging businesses and institutions to shut their doors to organizers.
Germany
The Atlantic: The German Far Right Is Poised for a Breakthrough
The AfD could do something next month that would mark a first in the country’s postwar history.
Reuters: Ulrich Siegmund, sunny face of the AfD, bids for power in German state election
When Ulrich Siegmund was studying Business Psychology around a decade ago, he learned a lesson about messaging that has served him well in his quest to become the first member of the far-right AfD party to lead a state government in Germany.
Greece
Balkan Insight: Greek Neo-Nazi Casts Himself as Political Martyr Ahead of Prison Release
Up for release from prison in September, Ilias Kasidiaris of the now defunct Golden Dawn party has been trying to cast himself as a political martyr, with an eye on elections early next year.
United Kingdom
The Times: Five Eyes extremism hub in UK to stop Southport-style atrocities
Britain is to host an international counterterrorism hub to identify and catch ultra-violent extremists across the world as part of efforts to stop a repeat of the Southport attack, The Times can reveal.
JNS: London police seek man seen wearing anti-Jewish shirt
Police in London on Monday said they were looking for a man who was seen in northern London this month wearing a shirt with an English-language transliteration of the Arabic-language slogan “Khaybar Khaybar yaa Yahud.”
Middle East
Reuters: Iran and Oman reach accord on Strait of Hormuz, Revolutionary Guards say
Iran and Oman have reached agreement on their share of the Strait of Hormuz and its revenues, but the vital waterway will not be reopened if the U.S. does not accept their conditions, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: 10 Taliban Members Killed In Badakhshan, Says Anti-Taliban Group
The Afghanistan Freedom Front said at least 10 Taliban members were killed and six wounded in clashes on Tuesday in Zebak district, Badakhshan, adding that foreign militants were among the casualties.
Afghanistan International: Teacher Who Criticised Taliban ‘Detained’ In Herat
Sources told Afghanistan International that Nawidullah Fitrat, a teacher and Taliban critic, was detained by the Taliban in Herat on Wednesday after recently speaking out against the group’s policies and actions.
Afghanistan International: Islamabad Rejects Taliban Claim Of Pakistani Troops In Badakhshan Clashes
Pakistan’s Information Ministry has rejected as “baseless” a claim by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid that Pakistani military personnel were involved in recent fighting in Badakhshan.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Times of Israel: IDF: Palestinian woman arrested for allegedly planning West Bank stabbing attack
A Palestinian woman who allegedly planned a stabbing attack was apprehended by Israeli troops in the West Bank today, the military says. The IDF says troops caught the woman at a junction near the settlement of Shavei Shomron, after receiving intelligence from the Shin Bet indicating that she planned an attack.
An official from the US-backed Board of Peace made a rare call on Tuesday for Israel to comply with the ceasefire in Gaza and limit strikes to “immediate” threats, even as IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir vowed that targeted killings of October 7 terrorists will continue until they are all “eliminated.”
Jerusalem Post: IDF strikes kill Hamas terrorists, destroy terror ambush point near hospital in Gaza
The IDF struck and destroyed a structure in the Jabalya area of the Gaza Strip that was used as an ambush position for Hamas terrorists and as a storage facility for various types of weapons on Tuesday, the military said on Wednesday.
Le Monde: Attacks by Jewish extremists are increasing in occupied West Bank
Day after day, attacks, arson and destruction by extremist Jewish settlers have multiplied across the occupied West Bank, to the point where keeping track of such incidents has become almost impossible. For many residents, traveling at night is now considered dangerous. Palestinian authorities have reported the situation has deteriorated significantly in recent weeks.
Iran
As the Iranian regime seeks ways to bypass US sanctions, increasing restrictions on Tehran risk extremist elements within the regime gaining power, according to a KAN News report aired on Tuesday that cited an interview with an Iranian political dissident.
Forbes: Iran Condemns War While IRGC Devastates Natural Habitats For Profit
For more than four decades, the Islamic Republic has prioritised ideological goals, militarisation and economic self-sufficiency over environmental protection, treating nature as an expendable resource in pursuit of its political, military and development ambitions. This same approach has extended into Iran’s protected areas, where the IRGC has established military infrastructure with little environmental oversight.
Israel
US Senate Democrats on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rein in a “surge” of violence by West Bank settlers as well as mass arrests of Palestinians by Israeli security forces in the territory. In the letter to Netanyahu, seen by Reuters and signed by 45 of the Senate’s 47-member Democratic caucus, the lawmakers noted increasing levels of “fatal violence by settlers.”
Israeli forces raided the East Jerusalem homes of Palestinian former security prisoners who were freed in exchange for hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and who have been getting “cash benefits from the Palestinian Authority for the terrorist acts they committed,” the police and Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party called for Ra’am chairman MK Mansour Abbas to be disqualified from running for the Knesset following remarks he made on Wednesday morning, saying Arab parties were forced to accept Israel as a Jewish state to avoid being barred from elections.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Israeli army says prefers ‘political course’ that leads to disarming Hezbollah
The battle against Hezbollah has not ended yet and the group suffered major damage but is still present as an organization, an Israeli military source said.
Naharnet: Issa from Dar al-Fatwa: Why do you ask Israel to withdraw, but not Hezbollah to disarm?
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have not stopped because Hezbollah has not surrendered its weapons, American Ambassador Michel Issa said Wednesday as he visited Dar al-Fatwa. “Hezbollah does not want to do anything, so why do we ask Israel to do everything? Why do you only ask Israel to withdraw, and you don’t ask Hezbollah to disarm?” he asked after he met Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian.
Syria
The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on Tuesday announced the official dissolution of the group, which once controlled a de facto autonomous zone in Syria’s northeast.
Mozambique
Mozambican politician Venâncio Mondlane announced on Tuesday that he has been notified by the Supreme Court that he will stand trial in connection with the post-election protests, facing five charges, including disobedience and incitement to terrorism.
Mali
Modern Ghana: JNIM Turns the Camera on Civilians: Inside Mali’s Video War on the Road
In Mali today, a bus ticket can be as dangerous as a battlefield posting. Al-Qaeda’s Sahelian affiliate, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has turned the roads linking Bamako to the rest of the country into a stage one where attacks on ordinary travellers are filmed, branded, and released as propaganda almost as routinely as its strikes on military targets.
Australia
SBS: Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell has been talking about autism. Experts say he's recruiting
“Adolf Hitler, huge autist, massive autist, like all these incredible men, some of the best men that ever lived,” Thomas Sewell tells viewers online. Sewell, a neo-Nazi who led the National Socialist Network (NSN), now White Australia, is 10 minutes into a 22-minute monologue giving his “take” on autism. His argument begins with what he sees as the problem.
In the days after the Bondi attack, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman presided over 10 funerals in three days. The first was that of his son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the father of his five grandchildren. On the day of Schlanger’s funeral, his community made a decision. “On the final night of Hanukah, we would return to Bondi beach, to where the attack had taken place, and we would light the menorah there,” Ulman said.
SBS: What we’ve learnt so far from the Antisemitism Royal Commission
The Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has held its final day of hearings. Over 62 days and nine hearing blocks, the inquiry has heard from 340 witnesses and received more than 20,000 submissions. The commission will now turn to drafting its final report and recommendations, due to be handed down in December.
Technology
Meta on Wednesday reached a landmark settlement with 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, agreeing to pay up to $17.1 billion in penalties and make major changes to its products over claims it endangered children with addictive social media platforms.
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