Eye on Extremism: July 17, 2025
Top Stories
Associated Press: Syrian forces withdraw from Sweida after ceasefire goes into effect
Syrian forces largely withdrew from the southern province of Sweida on Thursday following days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority. While the truce between Druze armed groups and government forces appeared to be largely holding, state media reported that Druze militants had launched revenge attacks on communities of Sunni Bedouins, leading to a wave of displacement.
Reuters: French court backs release of Lebanese militant jailed for US, Israeli diplomat murders
A French court on Thursday ruled in favour of releasing Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah from prison, after he served almost 40 years of a life sentence for attacks on U.S. and Israeli diplomats in France. The Paris Appeals court agreed to Abdallah's release on July 25 on the condition he leaves France, a judicial source said. A second source familiar with the case said he would be deported to Lebanon.
Analysis
Jewish News Syndicate: Hamas leaders rattled by emergence of clans against them in Gaza
Israel is reportedly actively arming and supporting multiple local, anti-Hamas clans and militias in the Gaza Strip as part of a broader effort to cultivate a new source of local power for the “day after” the war. According to assessments in Israel, Hamas has been significantly shaken by these efforts.
Syria's security forces enter the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 15, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (Sam HARIRI / AFP)
Only last week, optimism was swirling over the prospects of a formal truce agreement between longtime enemies Israel and Syria, designed to put an end to the strikes Israel had been carrying out on military assets of the new regime.
The Hill: The president is fueling antisemitism with his attacks on higher education
President Trump is attacking universities across the nation, threatening their federal funding for what his administration calls inadequate action to combat antisemitism. His arguments are that many universities have not protected Jewish students on their campuses from protests and writings supporting Palestinians in response to the nearly two-year Israel-Gaza conflict. The president cites Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as the foundation for his actions, which bars discrimination against race, color or national origin. However, these views conflate antisemitism, anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian positions. Trump also appears to believe that using antisemitism is a strong lever to redirect university policies around his broader attack on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or DEI policies.
United Nations
Jewish News Syndicate: Palestinian ‘refugees’ can’t be removed from UN lists, UNRWA admits
Mo Ghaoui told JNS that he went into a UNRWA office in Beirut and said his “cousin” wanted to be taken off the refugee rolls but was told the latter should stay listed, with “nothing to lose.”
United States
President Donald Trump hosted a pair of Arab Gulf leaders at the White House on Wednesday as violence between Israel and Syria renewed doubts about his pledge to impose peace on the Middle East. Trump held a meeting in the Oval Office with Bahrain’s crown prince and dined privately with Qatar’s prime minister.
The number of antisemitic assaults and acts of vandalism on college campuses fell sharply in the last school year, according to Hillel International. And the pro-Palestinian encampments that ignited fear among many Jewish college students in early 2024 effectively disappeared in the year since, with just nine encampments taking place in the last school year, the Jewish campus group said in its annual tally of antisemitic incidents, released Thursday.
The family of a 20-year-old Palestinian-American man they say was beaten to death Friday by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has called on the U.S. State Department to investigate the incident. “This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face,” the family of Sayafollah Musallet, also known as Saif, said in a statement. “We demand the U.S. State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes.”
Colorado Newsline: Colorado committee hears testimony in Auraria Campus antisemitism probe
A committee probing alleged antisemitism at Denver’s Auraria Campus heard Wednesday from First Amendment and civil rights scholars, as well as the Anti-Defamation League and members of the public. The 10-member Colorado Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights oversees an investigation into the Auraria Campus, site of the University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver and Metropolitan State University of Denver.
U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) on Wednesday questioned the Trump administration’s lack of focus on preventing domestic terrorism and politically motivated violence, while also expressing concern that a 22-year-old with – little experience in counterterrorism – was hired to lead a key task force. In a letter sent Wednesday to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Stevens said recent events, like the assasination of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband, show a broader pattern of political violence across the nation. Stevens’ main concern was Noem’s department recently made significant cuts to staff and is no longer working to counter violent homegrown extremism.
A crowd gathered at the Wreath of Honor memorial Wednesday morning. Some were seated quietly in folding chairs. Others stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the back, and dozens more watched from the pine-straw covered hill nearby. The cicadas made the speakers harder to hear in the thick July air, and the heat was the kind that melted hairspray and dampened collars, but members of the Fallen Five families stayed long after the event ended.
A US professor has been suspended following comments publicly calling for Iran to carry out a "symbolic strike" on a US military base in response to recent attacks on the country’s main nuclear facilities. "I’m not an expert, but I assume Iran could still get a bomb easily. I hope Iran does some symbolic strike on a base, then everyone stops,” Dr. Jonathan Brown, the chair of Islamic Civilization at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, posted on X in June after the US struck Iran's three main nuclear sites.
Canada
Canadian Affairs: Jewish and Christian leaders unite to combat antisemitism
Jewish and Christian leaders from across Canada are partnering to build the Simeon Initiative, a national movement to build relationships between members of the two communities in order to combat antisemitism. The decision to work together was made June 24 to 25 at the inaugural Simeon Initiative Summit, which brought together about 100 Jewish and Christian leaders in Toronto.
Toronto Sun: B'nai Brith, Jewish Security Network form intelligence partnership
Canada’s ongoing battle against antisemitism has prompted a partnership between two Canadian Jewish organizations. On Thursday, B’nai Birth Canada announced what they described as a strategic partnership with the Jewish Security Network — a Toronto-based agency charged with monitoring and responding to the security needs of the city’s Jewish population.
A major new survey on antisemitism in Ontario schools offers empirical data on the alarming rise of antisemitic incidents, many of which have no direct link to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The findings highlight incidents such as a six-year-old Ottawa student, with one Jewish parent, being told she was “half human.” Support of Hitler, a rise of Nazi rhetoric, and rampant dehumanization of Jews have become increasingly prominent in Ontario schools, the report warns.
National Review: Jews Fleeing Canada for the United States amid Explosion of Antisemitism
Among those who’ve left the U.S. for Canada are Yale University professors Marci Shore, Timothy Snyder, and Jason Stanley. In a video essay for the New York Times titled “We Study Fascism, and We’re Leaving the US,” Shore appeared to compare Trump’s America to Nazi Germany, saying “The lesson of 1933 is: You get out sooner rather than later.” But while American liberals are convinced they’ll find a safe haven from “fascism” north of the border, many Jewish Canadians, alarmed by the recent explosion of antisemitism, have drawn the opposite conclusion.
Argentina
Ambassador Mariano A. Caucino has stated that Argentina is standing with India on the need to prevent and combat Terrorism. “Argentina was among the first countries to convey our message of support to the Indian Government and the Indian People on the atrocious terrorist attack that took place on April 22 in Pahalgam (Kashmir),” Caucino said while speaking during the Argentina’s National Day Celebration in New Delhi on Tuesday.
France
Reuters: French town withdraws Rock-En-Seine music festival funding over Kneecap booking
The municipal authority for the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud, which hosts the annual Rock-en-Seine music festival, has decided to withdraw a 40,000 euro ($46,000) subsidy for the event due to its booking of Irish rap band Kneecap, it said on Thursday. The Belfast-based Kneecap, which raps in Irish and English, has drawn criticism because it has displayed pro-Palestine messages during gigs. It is scheduled to play on the final day of the Rock-en-Seine festival, which takes place from August 21 to August 24.
Associated Press: Pro-Palestinian protester takes issue with Israeli team at Tour de France
A man protesting the participation of an Israel-based team in the Tour de France ran onto the course as the leaders raced for the finish line on Wednesday. Norwegian rider Jonas Abrahamsen won the 11th stage in a photo finish just ahead of Swiss rider Mauro Schmid, but their final sprint was accompanied by a man running alongside who wore a T-shirt saying, “Israel out of the Tour,” and who waved a keffiyeh, the black-and-white checkered headscarf that has become a potent symbol of the Palestinian cause.
Germany
Berlin judges have approved a Jewish student's request to go to trial against the Free University of Berlin (FU) over its alleged failure to combat antisemitism. Lahav Shapira was attacked and wounded by another student in February 2024, and subsequently accused FU of not preventing antisemitic discrimination, thus violating the Berlin Higher Education Act. Section 5b (2) of the act says that universities are obliged to prevent discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnic origin, racist or antisemitic attribution, and to eliminate existing discrimination.
The Netherlands
Jewish News Syndicate: Amsterdam concert hall offers a show to anti-Israel duo Bob Vylan
Paradiso, a feted concert hall in Amsterdam, announced on Wednesday it had offered a solo show to Bob Vylan, a British duo that recently highlighted the chant “Death to the IDF.” The duo was originally scheduled to perform at the Paradiso with another band as part of a joint European tour that also included Germany, but the German venues cancelled the show because of the “Death to the IDF!” chants led by Bob Vylan at the Glastonbury festival last month, Paradiso wrote in a statement.
United Kingdom
BBC: Labour looking into Abbott's comments about racism
The Labour Party has said it is taking "incredibly seriously" an interview by Diane Abbott in which she stood by comments she made about racism that led to a year-long suspension from the Labour Party. In an interview with the BBC's James Naughtie, she was asked about the controversy that was sparked by a letter she wrote to the Observer in April 2023. In the letter, she wrote that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people "undoubtedly experience prejudice" that is "similar to racism".
BBC: Prevent missed chances with Southport killer, says review
The Prevent counter-terrorism scheme missed an opportunity to intervene in the life of the Southport killer, a major review has concluded. Axel Rudakubana could have been monitored, treated and potentially turned away from violence by the programme, said Lord David Anderson KC. He said the government programme must focus on changing people obsessed with extreme violence, even if counter-terrorism police find no evidence of an ideological motive.
BBC: Cordon set up as police make terror-related arrest
A sixth person has been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation in which 18 people have been charged with numerous terror-related offences. Members of the recently proscribed group Palestine Action are accused of breaking into the Elbit Systems UK site near Bristol on 6 August last year.
BBC: Defence secretary 'unable to say' if anyone killed after Afghan data breach
The defence secretary has said he was "unable to say for sure" whether anyone had been killed as a result of the data breach that revealed the details of thousands of Afghans who had supported British forces. John Healey told the BBC it was "highly unlikely" being on the list would now increase the risk of being targeted by the Taliban.
The Telegraph: BBC executive told staff ‘Hamas government different to its military’
The BBC’s head of news has told staff that the Hamas government of Gaza and the organisation’s military wing are “different”. Deborah Turness made the comments in a meeting intended to reassure staff after the “catastrophic failure” of broadcasting the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.
Iran International: Iran among top state backers of life-threatening plots in UK, police say
Iran alongside Russia and China is behind a growing number of life-threatening operations on UK soil including assassination and kidnapping plots carried out by criminal proxies and even teenagers, senior British counter terrorism officers said on Tuesday. “We are increasingly seeing these three states ... undertaking threat-to-life operations in the United Kingdom,” said Dominic Murphy, who heads London’s Counter Terrorism Command.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Afghan Man Sentenced To Death By Taliban Court Over Alleged Blasphemy
A Taliban court in Afghanistan’s Paktika province has sentenced a man to death on charges of blasphemy, according to a spokesperson for the group. Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, announced on Thursday that a man identified as Abdul Alim Khamoosh, a resident of Janikhel district, was arrested and sentenced by a primary court for allegedly insulting the Prophet of Islam and Islamic sanctities.
Iran
Iran International: Khamenei threatens harsher blows to US, Israel in first post-war speech
Iran could strike Israel and the United States even harder than it did during last month’s conflict, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday in his first public speech since a June 24 ceasefire. Speaking before judiciary officials in Tehran, Khamenei said the extent of the damage inflicted—on a US base in Qatar—would become clear once media restrictions were lifted.
Iraq
Associated Press: Drone attacks on oil fields in Iraq’s Kurdish region shut down facilities
Drones targeted oil fields in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region Wednesday, the latest in a series of attacks in recent days that have put several oil facilities out of commission. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have exacerbated tensions between the central government in Baghdad and Kurdish authorities.
Iran International: Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei's website depicts Jews as rats in AI image
The official website of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday published an AI-generated cartoon appearing to depict Jews and Israeli soldiers as frightened rats fleeing Iranian missiles on an American flag-draped vessel at sea. The caption to the cartoon cites part of a speech Khamenei made the previous day in which he said Iranian attacks forced Israel to seek US intervention.
Iran International: Tehran names street after Nasrallah, replacing Sadat's assassin
Tehran has renamed a street honoring the assassin of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat after slain Hezbollah leader, a move that both commemorates Hassan Nasrallah and eliminates a long-standing obstacle to improved ties with Egypt. “Tehran, as the beating heart of the Islamic world, must reflect its identity in the city’s face,” said Mohammad Hassan Akhtari, head of the Committee to Support the Islamic Revolution of the Palestinian People.
Israel
Jewish News Syndicate: Two rockets fired at Israel from northern Gaza
The Israeli Air Force on Thursday afternoon intercepted two rockets fired at the Jewish state by terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip. Air-raid sirens sounded in the border villages of Kibbutz Mefalsim, Kibbutz Nir Am and Ibim, as well as in the nearby city of Sderot, sending tens and thousands of civilians running for shelter.
Reuters: Israel to raise defence spending to meet security challenges
Israel will raise defence spending by 42 billion shekels ($12.5 billion) in 2025 and 2026, the finance and defence ministries said on Thursday, citing the country's security challenges. The budget agreement will allow the Defence Ministry to "advance urgent and essential procurement deals critical to national security," the ministries said in a statement.
The International Criminal Court, an independent court in The Hague that is not part of the United Nations, said on Wednesday that it rejected Israel’s request that it withdraw or vacate the arrest warrants it sought for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
Jewish News Syndicate: IDF probing strike said to have hit Gaza City church
The Israel Defense Forces is investigating claims that several people were injured at the Gaza Strip’s only Catholic church following airstrikes near the site, the military said on Thursday. “The IDF is aware of reports regarding damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene,” the army said.
Times of Israel: Bedouin teacher, IDF soldier latest to be charged with spying for Iran
Prosecutors charged two Israeli citizens, a Bedouin teacher and an IDF soldier, with spying for Iran, the police and Shin Bet said in joint statements on Thursday in the latest of a string of cases of Tehran tempting Israelis into performing tasks for payment. According to law enforcement, 33-year-old Tahani Abu Samhan, from the Bedouin village of Abu Queider in the Negev, had been in contact with an Iranian agent for a year, including amid Israel’s recent war against the Islamic Republic.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Report: Lebanon to shut down Al-Qard Al-Hasan, Hezbollah-linked money changers
Lebanese authorities intend to shut down all money exchange firms that deal with Hezbollah and the Central Bank intends to shut down Al-Qard Al-Hasan’s branches across Lebanon, Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel quoted unnamed sources as saying on Thursday. “Lebanon’s measures against Al-Qard Al-Hasan come to meet demands presented by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack,” the sources added.
Naharnet: Druze spiritual leader urges Sweida armed groups and Hezbollah to disarm
Druze spiritual leader in Lebanon Sheikh Sami Abi al-Mona has expressed his fear of sectarian tensions in Lebanon against the backdrop of Syria's Sweida events. In an interview, published Thursday in local An-Nahar newspaper, Abi al-Mona warned against transferring the conflict to Lebanon and urged both Sweida armed groups and Lebanese Hezbollah to hand over their arms to the state.
Naharnet: Hezbollah hands over all armed Ashoura men to authorities, report says
All armed men who appeared in a video carrying machine guns during a Ashoura procession in Zoqaq al-Blat have been handed out to Lebanese security agencies, media reports said. Change MP Ibrahim Mneimneh had published a video on his X platform showing young men with machine guns in Beirut during Ashoura. The video sparked widespread criticism.
Syria
Reuters: Syria's Sharaa vows to protect Druze rights as ceasefire holds
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority on Thursday, after U.S. intervention helped end deadly fighting between government forces and Druze fighters in the south. Overnight, the Islamist-led government's troops withdrew from the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, where scores of people have been killed in days of conflict.
Reuters: Explainer: Who are the Druze and why does Israel say it is hitting Syria for their sake?
Violence in Syria pitting the Islamist-led government against members of the Druze community has put a spotlight on the small but influential minority. Straddling Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Druze occupy a special niche in the region's complex politics. Israel has cited protecting the Druze as a reason for attacking forces from the Islamist-led government this week.
Reuters: Israel's attacks on Damascus hinder chemical weapons search, Syrian official says
Israeli airstrikes on Damascus are hampering Syria's efforts to find and destroy chemical weapons stockpiled during the rule of toppled ruler Bashar al-Assad, a government adviser said on Thursday. A planned visit by inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has already had to be postponed, adviser Ibrahim Olabi said.
The interim president of Syria, Ahmed al-Shaara, accused Israel on Thursday of attempting to sow “chaos and destruction” following the Israeli army’s intervention in his country’s sectarian violence. Much remains murky about the situation that has flared this week in the Sweida province of Syria. But it is clear that one result may be a retreat from the warming of relations between Israel and Syria that leaders of both countries were recently indicating could be on the way.
Turkey
Reuters: Turkey's Erdogan risks alienating voters as PKK peace advances
President Tayyip Erdogan risks losing support among nationalist Turkish voters in making peace with Kurdistan Workers Party militants, whose burning of weapons last week was dismissed by some as a stunt. A backlash to Erdogan's call on Saturday for wide parliamentary support for the process underlines the challenge he faces in balancing nationalist and Kurdish demands, with a failure to do so potentially jeopardising the plan's success.
Reuters: Turkish journalist could face minimum 5 years prison for Erdogan comments
Turkish prosecutors have prepared an indictment seeking a prison sentence of at least five years for independent journalist Fatih Altayli over comments he made about President Tayyip Erdogan’s rule, state broadcaster TRT reported on Thursday. Altayli, who has more than 1.5 million YouTube subscribers, was jailed pending trial last month over the comments in a social media video about a poll that showed most Turks opposed Erdogan ruling for life.
Yemen
Reuters: US military says Yemeni force seized Iranian arms shipment bound for Houthis
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X on Wednesday that a military group known as the Yemeni National Resistance Forces (NRF) seized a 'massive' Iranian weapons shipment bound for Houthi militants. The NRF is an anti-Houthi force in Yemen led by Tarek Saleh, nephew of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and is not formally part of the internationally recognised government.
Pakistan
Associated Press: Gunmen fire on a passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan and kill 3 people
Gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding seven others, police and government officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the Kalat district of Balochistan province, where a number of separatist militant groups are seeking independence from Pakistan’s government.
Africa
Reuters: Rise in al Qaeda attacks revives spectre of West African caliphate
At dawn on June 1, gunfire shattered the stillness of Mali's military base in Boulkessi. Waves of jihadist insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked group stormed the camp, catching newly deployed soldiers off guard. Some troops, unfamiliar with the base, which lies near Mali's southern border with Burkina Faso, scrambled to find cover while others fled into the arid brush, according to one soldier, who spoke to survivors of the attack.
Nigeria
Associated Press: Gunmen kill at least 20 people in an attack in central Nigeria
At least 20 people have been killed in a gun attack on a village in central Nigeria, local authorities said Wednesday. The attack took place in the early hours of Tuesday in Tahoss, in the Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, state assembly member Dewan Gabriel said in a statement.
Nigerian textbooks feature mixed portrayals of Jews, Israel and the Holocaust, with some promoting interfaith respect, while others derogatorily label Jews, according to a study released on Thursday. The report, by the London-based watchdog IMPACT-se, examined over 40 state-approved Nigerian textbooks for Grades 1-12. It paints a mixed picture of UNESCO- derived standards for peace and tolerance in education in Africa’s most populous country.
Myanmar
Associated Press: Myanmar’s military government recaptures strategic town from rebels – report
Myanmar ‘s military has recaptured a strategic gateway town from rebel forces after nearly a year, state-media reported Thursday, marking a rare turnaround in the country’s northeast, where an alliance of ethnic militias seized a large swath of territory in an offensive that began in late 2023. Nawnghkio, which sits on a major highway trading route linking central Myanmar to China, had been under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, a group in the Three Brotherhood Alliance, since July last year.
Technology
Computer Weekly: Terrorist potential of generative AI ‘purely theoretical’
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) systems could assist terrorists in disseminating propaganda and preparing for attacks, according to the UK’s terror advisor, but the level of the threat remains “purely theoretical” without further evidence of its use in practice.
Jewish News Syndicate: Global survey seeks to address antisemitic bias in AI models
A new global survey spearheaded by world-renowned artificial intelligence (AI) expert Maya Ackerman and Israeli President Isaac Herzog is seeking to gather user experiences of antisemitic bias in computer-generated content, the Voice of the People initiative said on Monday.
Broadband Breakfast: Charter Again Classifies Network Vandalism As ‘Domestic Terrorism’
It used to be that if the cable TV screen went dark, it was the fault of a couple of neighborhood squirrels sharpening their teeth on the copper-clad wiring. Today, cable broadband networks that provide Internet access to more Americans than anyone else have a new problem when service goes down. Charter Communications, the No. 2 broadband ISP in the U.S., isn’t blaming furry creatures. It’s pointing to a new cause: Domestic terrorism.
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