Eye on Extremism: June 26, 2026
Top Stories
Afghanistan International: Inside The Taliban’s Bid To Rebuild Its Military With Russian Support
Nearly five years after taking power, the Taliban are seeking to transform their fighters into a regular army by finding new ways to equip armoured units, artillery, an air force and logistical networks.
Fox News: IRGC forces tankers to turnaround in Strait of Hormuz as Trump insists waterway is open
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forced three foreign oil tankers to turn around in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported Friday, citing Iranian state media. Turkish state-affiliated broadcaster Anadolu corroborated the reports, also citing Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
CEP Mentions
The senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler, tells the Sun that the impasse reflects a classic policy bind. “The role of Rwanda in supporting M23 in the DRC is a negative and destructive one; on the other hand, its military support in Mozambique is constructive and needed,” Mr. Schindler says.
HPN: Bureaucratic blind flight
Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) , spoke from New York about financial aid in crisis and war zones. The challenge posed by multiple conflict zones and the continuous destabilization of entire regions presents an enormous challenge for aid organizations.
NTV: Schindler: "The 'last wave of defense' is very dangerous"
German authorities have arrested two suspected members of the far-right terrorist organization "Last Wave of Defense." Security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler explains the group and examines the phenomenon of increasingly younger perpetrators.
Analysis
New York Post: Antisemitism: From New York to LA, a new political scourge
Supporters of the “democratic socialists” who won three congressional primaries in New York on anti-Israel platforms have pushed back on claims that the campaigns were antisemitic. After all, they note, one of the victorious candidates, Brad Lander, is Jewish himself. So, why should Jews feel threatened — as many do? Lander is a critic of Israel, but, they say, it’s absurd to think he hates Jews.
Hudson Institute: Russia-Taliban Relations Are Growing: Implications for US Policy
Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Moscow has pursued increasingly close ties with the extremist Islamist organization. Russia is now the only country that formally recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Even neighboring countries such as China, Iran, India, and Pakistan have refused to do so. Earlier this year, Moscow signed a military and security cooperation agreement with the Taliban.
United States
Jewish Insider: Vance says U.S. military, IRGC to ‘hang out’ together in Doha
Vice President JD Vance said this week that U.S. military officials are working directly with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The vice president made the comments after departing Switzerland following the conclusion of talks with Iran that lasted until Monday.
The Guardian: Supreme court conservatives accused of advancing ‘white-supremacist agenda’
Lawmakers and immigration advocacy groups on Thursday sharply denounced two US supreme court rulings that allowed the Trump administration to strip certain immigration protections and fundamentally reshape the asylum system. Dozens of groups, advocates and members of Congress called the court’s decisions “disastrous” and “cruel”, while the Trump administration, Republican lawmakers and anti-immigrant groups celebrated the rulings.
The Guardian: Alarm over ‘extreme’ sentences for anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism
The decades-long prison sentences for a group of Texas activists convicted of terrorism and other charges in connection to a Fourth of July protest last year has caused widespread alarm, given their unusually punitive length and for the apparent harsh criminalization of protest activity under Donald Trump’s justice department.
Jewish Insider: House committee advances three bills to combat campus antisemitism
The House Education & Workforce Committee advanced three bills to combat antisemitism on college campuses, with little support from Democrats, at a markup on Thursday.
A religious 75-year-old grandfather mysteriously gunned down by a Queens lake last month may have been the victim of an antisemitic hate crime, the victim’s shattered family said Thursday as detectives continue to hunt for clues and a clear motive in the killing. Albert Itzkowtiz was enjoying a warm Spring day by Kissena Lake in Kissena Park on the afternoon of May 18 — a bucolic spot where his family said he spent many afternoons — when someone shot him to death, police said.
Times of Israel: Over 700 rabbis denounce Mamdani’s AIPAC ‘monsters’ speech as ‘dangerous’ to Jews
More than 700 rabbis on Friday released an open letter denouncing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s speech last week that likened AIPAC to “monsters,” saying the comments endangered American Jews and demanding an apology.
Ex-deputy NYC mayor Randy Mastro and investigative journalist Richard Behar have filed a suit against NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the state Supreme Court. The petition was viewed by The Jerusalem Post. The action stems from the mayor’s alleged “pattern of obstruction” regarding Behar’s two Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests for all records pertaining to his mayoral actions relating to antisemitism and Israel.
Jewish Insider: DSA-aligned Brooklyn Democratic leader promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories
An activist that two politicians from the Democratic Socialists of America helped elevate to a leadership position in the Brooklyn Democratic Party on Tuesday posted a vitriolic antisemitic screed to her Instagram last year — declaring as “the truth” a notorious work beloved by Adolf Hitler that describes a Jewish world conspiracy.
JTA: Massachusetts principal under fire for apologizing for antisemitism discussion
A lesson on antisemitism went awry after the principal of a Boston-area middle school sent an obliquely worded apology letter to parents this week. The incident at William Diamond Middle School in Lexington, Massachusetts, initially prompted some Jewish social media accounts and conservative news outlets to conclude the principal, Dr. Johnny Cole, was apologizing for teaching about the Holocaust.
Albania
The massive daily street protests rocking this Balkan capital began May 31 as a public outpouring of anger against a $4 billion coastal resort proposed by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — and quickly snowballed into demands for the resignation of longtime Prime Minister Edi Rama.
France
Le Monde: French tolerance remains strong, but racism and antisemitism still run deep, report finds
French people’s tolerance toward others remains strong. This remains the case despite a context marked by a high number of racist, antisemitic and antireligious acts in 2025 (2,489 incidents recorded according to the Interior Ministry), polarized debates, especially over migration, and the electoral momentum of the far-right Rassemblement National party. These are the findings of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) in its annual report on the fight against racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, published on Thursday, June 25.
Germany
Politico: Far-right German lawmaker faces scrutiny after photo appears to show Nazi salute
A senior lawmaker in the far-right Alternative for Germany party is under mounting pressure after a newly surfaced photograph appears to show him making a Nazi salute — an allegation he denies, insisting the gesture was intended as a joke.
Deutsche Welle: German lawyers: Ban on far-right AfD 'likely successful'
The debate over banning Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) gained new impetus this week when the Society for Civil Rights (GFF) presented a legal assessment which concluded that the party was "demonstrably unconstitutional" and that an attempt to ban it could be successful.
Deutsche Welle: Magdeburg Christmas market attacker sentenced to life
Magdeburg's Regional Court has found a 51-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia guilty of murder for driving a rental car into a crowd at the Christmas market in the eastern city in 2024. The judge sentenced Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen to life in prison and said that the German equivalent of a first-degree murder charge in the US — known in German as particular severity of guilt — had been established. This makes the possibilty of early parole less likely.
Deutsche Welle: Racism is almost a daily reality for Muslims
Insults, discrimination, violence, deaths: Experts warn of growing anti-Muslim racism in Germany — and criticize policymakers.
Italy
Reuters: End of an era? Salvini's decline undermines Meloni's re-election bid
Matteo Salvini once earned the nickname "the captain" after steering his far-right League party to the forefront of Italian politics. Now, with support sliding, his grip is weakening — a shift that could erode Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's chances of re-election in a vote due next year. The League, part of the governing right-wing coalition, is polling at 6%, a far cry from the 34% it captured at the 2019 European elections.
Sweden
Reuters: Swedish man sentenced for involvement in neo-Nazi group
A Swedish court on Friday convicted a 20-year-old man of participation in a terrorist organisation for his involvement in neo-Nazi group Maniac Murder Cult (MKY), sentencing him to 1-1/2 years in prison.
United Kingdom
The Times: ‘Lovely family home’ listing removed over Nazi memorabilia
A “lovely semi-detached family home” has been removed from Rightmove after a virtual tour showed rooms that appeared to be filled with memorabilia glorifying Nazi Germany. The three-bedroom property in Spilsby, a Lincolnshire village of about 3,000 people, described as a “sought-after” location had been listed by Purplebricks for offers in the region of £190,000. However, the 3D walkthrough showed a study containing Wehrmacht helmets, wall-mounted guns, Waffen-SS posters, bayonets and Nazi eagle insignia. The collection also included what appeared to be a bronze eagle embossed with a swastika.
The Times: Reform UK MP says minorities should not fear party’s ‘revolution’
Muslims, immigrants and transgender people have nothing to fear from the “revolution” being prepared by Reform UK, the head of the party’s preparations for government team has said. Danny Kruger called for “a turning back” to Britain’s Judeo-Christian historical values, and multicultural society to be “reconciled in common allegiance”.
During the May local elections in England, a canvasser was out in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham campaigning for her party. At one doorstep, the occupant asked if she was Muslim. When she said yes, he told her she should be hanged. It is one of dozens of stories that Akeela Ahmed, the head of the British Muslim Trust (BMT), the government’s official partner for monitoring anti-Muslim hatred, has heard in recent weeks.
Middle East
Four IDF soldiers, including two officers, were injured in a clash with a Hezbollah gunman in southern Lebanon on Thursday night, the military said Friday, as Israel and Lebanon were set for another day of direct talks in Washington. It came as the head of the Hezbollah terror group said Israel must leave southern Lebanon, arguing that a US-Iran understanding spelled “defeat” for Israel, and as the cabinet is reportedly divided on how to proceed with the situation, with some calling for the current ceasefire to be scrapped in defiance of the United States.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
The Telegraph: Anti-Hamas ‘revolution’ faces brutal crackdown
Hamas has launched a brutal crackdown before planned protests across the Gaza Strip on Friday to call for an end to the terror group’s rule. Large numbers of Gazans are expected to take to the streets in a demonstration that has been described as “the June 26 revolution” in an effort to end the Gaza war.
Footage circulating on social media shows what appears to be hundreds of Palestinians taking part in protests against against Hamas in multiple locations throughout the Gaza Strip.
One bright morning in October, a dozen soldiers riding in several military jeeps rolled up to the Issa family home in the northern West Bank village of Sanur. The troops hopped out of the vehicles and grabbed Tayir Issa and his son Jamal without explanation, handcuffing and blindfolding them. Soldiers proceeded to kick and shove Issa and his son onto the ground, pushing their heads into the dirt as they showered the pair with insults and epithets.
Iran
Reuters: Iran reasserts its right to control shipping in Strait of Hormuz after ship hit near Oman
Tehran reasserted its right on Friday to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states against siding with the U.S., a day after an attack on a ship near Oman highlighted the fragility of a preliminary deal to end the Iran war. Iran was responding to what it called an "interventionist, irresponsible and provocative" joint statement by the United States and six Gulf states that rejected Iran's insistence that it could charge tolls on vessels transiting the strait.
Israel
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar plans to propose on Sunday a cabinet resolution to officially recognize the genocide against the Armenian people during the final years of the Ottoman Empire, his office announced Thursday, in a move that will no doubt provoke rival Turkey.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Qassem says Israel must 'unconditionally' leave Lebanon
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Friday said Israel has "no option" but to unconditionally withdraw from Lebanese areas it occupies, and he rejected any normalization in ties between Lebanon and Israel.
Naharnet: Israeli army says killed Hezbollah militant after he wounded 3 troops in south Lebanon
The Israeli army confirmed Friday that an officer was moderately injured and an officer and two soldiers were lightly injured in a clash overnight with a Hezbollah militant in south Lebanon. Israeli media reports said the Hezbollah fighter hurled a hand grenade at the Israelis.
Naharnet: Aoun welcomes French, Italian efforts to form coalition to succeed UNIFIL
President Joseph Aoun welcomed on Friday France and Italy's efforts to set up a multinational coalition to succeed the U.N. peacekeeping force in his country, whose mandate expires at the end of the year.
India
The Tribune: Next 3 years crucial for war against narco-terrorism: Shah
Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the next three years would be crucial in India's fight against narco-terrorism, asserting that the strategies devised during this period would go a long way in dismantling the narcotics ecosystem. He also called for a ruthless approach against those involved in drug trafficking.
Africa
BBC: IS’s Africa focus betrays impatience with Arabs ‘shirking’ jihad
Islamic State group (IS) has taken to shaming its Arab supporters for failing to vigorously embark on jihad. It has meanwhile praised its sub-Saharan militants for setting an example in battlefield valour and piety.
Nigeria
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to arraign prominent Fulani cattle-herding magnate Bello Abdullahi Bodejo before a Federal High Court in Abuja on allegations of terrorism financing and money laundering involving $2.5 million in illicit cash, according to Nigerian media reports.
Technology
JTA: Take a look at the antisemitism command center inside Gillette Stadium
For the past five years, a specialty “command center” that researches antisemitism has been operating inside the New England Patriots’ home stadium in this Boston suburb. Wall-sized screens, refreshed every minute, show live updates on public conversation topics related to antisemitism. Tweets featuring antisemitic dog whistles are also blasted onto an enormous dashboard — hand-me-down technology formerly used by the Patriots during team practice to run plays.
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