Eye on Extremism: March 13, 2026
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New York Times: Attack on Synagogue Comes Amid Significant Rise in Antisemitic Incidents
Officials have not yet offered a motive for the attack at the synagogue outside Detroit on Thursday. But the case is the latest in a series of assaults and threats against synagogues and Jews in recent months, with tensions accelerating in the wake of Israel and America’s new war in Iran.
Pro-Iranian hackers are targeting sites in the Middle East and starting to stretch into the United States during the war, raising the risk of American defense contractors, power stations and water plants being swept into a wave of digital chaos that could expand if Tehran’s allies join the fray.
CEP Mentions
ZDF Maybritt Illner: War in Iran – a limitless threat?
Hans-Jakob Schindler, Middle East and terrorism expert, director of the Counter-Extremism Project (CEP) think tank, speaks on possible outcomes of the war.
Suddeutsche Zeitung: "You probably need a psychiatrist for that."
The most intriguing presentation of Thursday evening was reserved for Hans-Jakob Schindler. The security expert was addressed directly by Illner, who directed her hands at him, subtly gesturing with them to resemble pistols. Schindler, in any case, presented himself as a cool observer: the current regime must go, not least because it would exact incredible revenge on the Iranians if it remained in power.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: "There is a risk of a wildfire breaking out."
But can the American-Israeli airstrikes truly bring about a democratic change of power? Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler emphasized that no attempt has ever been made to effect regime change solely from the air. One would then have to hope that enough people within the system would switch sides to the opposition.
Whether the current strategy will achieve the first goal in particular is doubted by Middle East and terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler. He believes the current aim is to bring about regime change through airstrikes, thereby compelling a sufficient number of people from the security apparatus to defect to the opposition.
T-Online: "In Germany, they're particularly ripping people off."
According to terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, bringing about regime change solely through airstrikes is an extremely risky undertaking. The airstrikes would have to continue until a sufficient number of security apparatus employees defected to the opposition.
Expert Hans-Jakob Schindler assumes that Ahmadinejad is still alive. And there must be a reason for that. “For right on the very first day, the U.S. and Israel succeeded—100 percent—in killing those individuals who had been identified as priority targets,” says the Senior Director at the international Counter Extremism Project (CEP) in Berlin. Ahmadinejad, it seems, was likely not among them.
New Jersey Jewish Standard: Working around the blare of sirens
CEP senior research analyst Josh Lipowsky told the Jewish Standard: “Over the past week or two we have seen a significant blow to the Iranian influence on the region,” Mr. Lipowsky said. “Look at Lebanon. The Lebanese prime minister, Nawaf Salam, declared last week that all of Hezbollah’s military activity was illegal. A few days after that, he called for the arrest of all IRCG officers operating in Lebanon.” The IRCG is the Iranian Islamic Military Guard. “These are steps that would have been unthinkable just last year.”
Analysis
Foreign Policy: How the Iran War Could Usher in a New Era of Global Shiite Extremism
Washington was at war with Sunni jihadis for two decades during the global war on terrorism. Now, with both the United States and Israel embroiled in a major conflict with Iran, the end of the Islamic regime could be in sight.
United States
The Times: A new wave of young men are threatening America in the name of Isis
The latest plots on American soil are a worrying sign that Isis is regaining its power and appeal among young men in the West radicalised online, in part, by the war in Gaza and now Iran, terrorism experts told the Times.
A former Army National Guard member who had spent eight years in prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State opened fire on a classroom at Virginia’s Old Dominion University on Thursday before ROTC students subdued and killed him, authorities said.
New York Times: Army Officer Killed in University Attack That Is Being Investigated as Terrorism
An Army officer who led the R.O.T.C. program at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., was killed on Thursday when a man stormed a classroom and opened fire in an attack the authorities said was being investigated as an act of terrorism. The gunman, who the authorities said was subdued and killed by students during his attack, had been released from federal prison in 2024, after serving seven years on terrorism-related charges.
The madman who opened fire at Old Dominion University on Thursday, killing a retired military officer instructing an ROTC class, has been identified as an ex-National Guard soldier convicted of trying to support ISIS, The Post has learned. Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, stormed into a classroom inside ODU’s Constant Hall and asked if it was an ROTC class. When someone confirmed that it was, he launched the suspected terror attack, shooting the professor several times, law enforcement sources said.
NBC News: What we know about the car ramming attack on a Michigan synagogue
The FBI is investigating a car ramming attack on a large Detroit-area synagogue Thursday as a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community," the special agent in charge for the region said. The Department of Homeland Security said the driver was Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon.
The armed man who rammed his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues Thursday has been identified as a 41-year-old naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials. Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was fatally shot by security officers after driving through a hallway at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit, Michigan, in a vehicle that then caught fire, authorities said.
The Guardian: Suspect in Michigan synagogue attack had lost family in Israeli strike on Lebanon
The armed suspect who drove a vehicle into the hallway of a large Michigan synagogue complex that includes a school had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon just last week, an official said on Friday. A potential mass-casualty event was averted when security guards already in place at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township on the outskirts of Detroit killed the driver before any harm could come to the synagogue’s staff, teachers and 140 children at the early childhood center there on Thursday afternoon.
A shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security since Feb. 14 is halting the review of millions of dollars in security funding for nonprofits, leaving Jewish institutions and other vulnerable groups in limbo at a moment of heightened concern about antisemitic threats. The most recent threat came Thursday when an armed assailant rammed his vehicle into a large synagogue in suburban Detroit, where trained security forces shot at him and he was killed before he could injure anyone.
After a vehicle-ramming and shooting attack at a Michigan synagogue, Jewish advocacy groups are pressing Congress to resolve a funding impasse they say is delaying critical security support for vulnerable nonprofits.
A large school district serving Oakland, California, is effectively defying state efforts to make it address antisemitism on its campuses, according to a lawsuit filed this week by the California Department of Education. In January, the department ordered the Oakland Unified School District to send letters to families and staff condemning antisemitism and take several other steps. The lawsuit says the district failed to carry out any of them by the March 1 deadline.
Jewish Insider: Democratic divide over antisemitism erupts in clash between Third Way and Ro Khanna
Following a Republican convening this week focused on combating right-wing antisemitism, a prominent moderate Democratic group urged fellow Democrats to follow the lead of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in calling out antisemitism within their own party.
WACH: SC attorney general warns of terrorism threat after attacks in two states
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson is urging vigilance after attacks reported in two U.S. cities amid the war in Iran. In a statement, Wilson referenced violence on Thursday at Old Dominion University and at a synagogue in Michigan, saying the incidents show the continuing threat of terrorism.
Algemeiner: Trump Endorses Congressional Candidate Who Made Light of Holocaust, Nazis
US President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera in Texas, a move drawing renewed attention to controversial past videos in which the firearms influencer discussed owning Adolf Hitler’s antisemitic manifesto Mein Kampf and participated in satirical skits referencing Nazi imagery.
Canada
Over the weekend, two Toronto synagogues were attacked by gunfire. Several days earlier, another synagogue was hit by around twenty gunshots on the Jewish holiday of Purim. Though the three attacks caused no injuries, many in the Jewish community are demanding concrete action from Prime Minister Mark Carney — not just words of comfort that have typically followed such antisemitic incidents.
Fox News: Trump warns of Iranian 'sleeper cells' as Canada is accused of harboring regime operatives
After President Donald Trump warned recently about Iranian "sleeper cells" potentially operating in North America, Canadian opposition lawmakers are accusing their government of allowing operatives linked to Tehran’s regime to remain in the country. Trump said Wednesday U.S. authorities were monitoring Iranian networks believed to have entered the United States in recent years.
France
Le Monde: France's far right sets measured ambitions for local elections
Six hundred and fifty, according to Jordan Bardella; 750, claims Marine Le Pen. As the municipal elections on March 15 and 22 approach, the two leaders of the Rassemblement National (RN) boasted about the number of cities in which the far-right party is fielding candidates. Their estimates, and their claim of a "record," are inaccurate. According to a count by Le Monde, the RN and its proxies will field candidates in nearly 550 towns with more than 3,500 residents – fewer than they hoped. And in towns with over 10,000 residents, the RN will have fewer candidates than in 2014 or 1995.
Germany
A district council in eastern Germany has taken what appears to be an unprecedented step, petitioning a court to strip a convicted neo-Nazi of his registered female gender identity after he used the country's self-identification law to secure a place in a women's prison.
United Kingdom
The Guardian: Rabbi vows to defy far-right harassment of Jewish-based refugee support work
A leading Jewish refugee advocate has vowed that solidarity work with asylum seekers will continue despite growing harassment from far-right activists targeting Jewish organisations supporting refugees. Rabbi David Mason, the executive director of the UK Jewish refugee charity HIAS+JCORE, said groups such as theirs had increasingly faced antisemitic abuse and conspiracy theories from far-right activists, most notably online.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Pakistani Shelling Kills 4 In Khost Province, Says Taliban
The Taliban says a Pakistani rocket strike on a village in Afghanistan’s Khost province killed four members of one family and wounded three others. Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy Taliban spokpesrson, said the attack struck Sadaqah village in the Ali Shir district early on Thursday, March 12. He wrote on X that the victims were civilians, including a woman, a man, a boy and a girl.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Footage circulating on social media shows armed settlers inside the Palestinian village of Sa’ir near the southern West Bank city of. Two are seen pointing their weapons toward Palestinians, and one of them is seen firing. No injuries have been reported.
Iran
A large explosion rocked an area of Iran’s capital where thousands were gathered Friday for an annual state-organized rally to support the Palestinians and call for Israel’s demise. Israel had warned that it would target the area in central Tehran.
Iran International: Clerics question Khamenei Jr’s leadership role
Iran new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s physical condition and inability to maintain regular communication with officials have prompted criticism and political maneuvering among some ruling clerics, according to information received by Iran International.
Iran International: IRGC threatens harsher crackdown if protests return
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps warned on Thursday that opponents could face a blow “even stronger than January 8,” signaling the possibility of a renewed and harsher crackdown if street protests resume.
Iran International: Desertions, shortages and army-IRGC rift strain Iran’s military
Iran’s armed forces are facing acute supply shortages, rising desertions and deepening friction between the regular army (Artesh) and the Revolutionary Guards, according to informed sources who described a military system under growing strain as the war intensifies.
Israel
An Iranian ballistic missile attack on the northern Israeli town of Zarzir moderately wounded a 34-year-old woman and lightly wounded dozens more in the early hours of Friday. The incident came as Iran continued to fire barrages at both Israel and neighboring Gulf countries, while Israel carried out hundreds of strikes on regime targets across the Islamic Republic, including on an underground weapons site, as the war that began with US-Israeli strikes on February 28 neared the two-week mark.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday threatened the Lebanese government that Israel would destroy the country’s national infrastructure used by Hezbollah if the terror group isn’t disarmed, after the Israel Defense Forces struck a bridge that it described as a “key crossing” for the group.
Lebanon
Three Hezbollah operatives were killed in an Israeli strike in the Bint Jbeil area of southern Lebanon yesterday, the military says. The IDF says operatives had been identified by the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division’s 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit, and a short while later, they were struck and killed.
Naharnet: Iranian charge d'affaires summoned to Foreign Ministry, handed protest letter
The Iranian Chargé d'Affaires in Lebanon, Tawfiq Samadi, appeared Friday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the summons of Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji. He was met by the Secretary-General of the Ministry, Ambassador Abdel Sattar Issa, who raised "a series of serious questions regarding statements issued by the Iranian Embassy in Lebanon and Iran's representative to the United Nations," a Ministry statement said.
Naharnet: Israel expands strikes on Lebanon, cuts bridge over Litani river
Israel expanded its strikes in Lebanon on Friday, targeting multiple areas including a bridge over the Litani river that it said Hezbollah had been using as a passageway for its fighters. The raids came after Israel threatened to also carry out a ground operation to disarm Hezbollah if the Lebanese government does not do so.
Pakistan
Afghanistan International: Military Operations Against Taliban Continue, Says Pakistan
Pakistan’s state radio says the country’s military destroyed several Taliban posts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border during its ongoing operation “Ghazab-ul-Haq”. Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday, March 12, that Pakistan’s army targeted and destroyed several Afghan Taliban positions along the frontier.
Arab News: Blast kills six policemen in northwest Pakistan amid Afghanistan operation
At least six policemen were killed in an explosion in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the interior ministry said on Friday, amid Pakistan’s continuing strikes against alleged militant hideouts in Afghanistan.
Burkina Faso
Jurist News: Rights group raises alerts to rising Islamist groups armed-violence in Burkina Faso
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Thursday that recent attacks by Islamist armed groups in Burkina Faso have resulted in civilian deaths and significant infrastructure destruction, constituting war crimes. The rights organization called on authorities to investigate these crimes and urged the international community to provide necessary support to Burkina Faso.
Morocco
Arab Weekly: Morocco plans repatriation of ISIS-linked nationals from Iraq
Morocco is developing plans to repatriate its nationals who fought for Islamic State (ISIS) extremist in Syria and were transferred by the United States into Iraqi detention, a senior security official told Reuters on Thursday.
Australia
A halal certifier wrongly accused a rival of being connected to Islamic extremism to secure the business of a major meat supplier, a Victorian court has found. The Victorian county court ruled that the Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria (ICCV) suffered from malicious or injurious falsehood when Midfield Meats cancelled a lucrative halal certification contract primarily because its managing director was told the Australian federal police were investigating the certifier for financing terrorism.
The Australian: Neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant out of jail after Nazi salute sentence
Melbourne neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant has said he’s glad to be out of jail after serving a month-long sentence for the public performance of a Nazi salute. The 26-year-old became the first Australian jailed for the banned act last month after losing an appeal against his conviction and sentence in the County Court of Victoria.
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