Eye on Extremism: May 19, 2026
Top Stories
Associated Press: Teenage gunmen open fire on San Diego mosque, killing 3 men and then themselves
Two teenage shooters opened fire at a San Diego mosque on Monday and killed three men — then killed themselves a few blocks away — in an attack police are investigating as a hate crime.
Iran International: IRGC-linked propaganda posts targeted across platforms, Europol says
Europol said on Monday that 14,200 posts and links tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had been targeted in a coordinated operation against online terrorist material.
CEP Mentions
Welt TV: "Militarily, the US can launch attacks on Iran at any time."
US President Donald Trump has abruptly halted a planned attack on Iran. The domestic and foreign policy hurdles for a new military operation are high, says security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.
Analysis
Today’s primaries in Kentucky and Pennsylvania may well serve as an early test over which party is more effectively dealing with its own antisemitism problems. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the few remaining anti-Israel Republicans in Congress, has been spewing antisemitic tropes in the closing days of the campaign, portraying Congress as Israel-occupied territory and caricaturing wealthy Jewish donors as the fuel behind his opponent’s support, as he tries to fend off a serious challenge from Ed Gallrein, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump.
The Guardian: How rampant violence made Nigeria an insecurity hotspot in the Sahel – mapped
Data lays bare the extent and geographical spread of attacks in Africa’s most populous country.
United States
New York Post: San Diego mosque shooter Cain Clark identified as former high school wrestler
The alleged gunmen in a shooting rampage that left three people dead outside a San Diego mosque have been identified as 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Velasquez, according to a law enforcement source. At least one of the suspects took a weapon from his parents’ home and left a suicide note that talked about racial pride, a law enforcement source told The Post.
NBC News: ‘Heroic’ security guard killed protecting children and staff in San Diego mosque shooting
More than $1.4 million has been raised for the family of Amin Abdullah, the security guard fatally shot on Monday at a San Diego mosque while protecting the lives of more than a dozen children and staff at a school inside.
BBC: Hate rhetoric definitely involved, police chief says
The San Diego police chief is now taking questions from the media. Wahl says that officers are only five hours into their work, and they are actively investigating this shooting as a hate crime.
Jewish groups are denouncing a fatal shooting at a mosque in San Diego in which three people, including a security guard, were killed. They are also saying the incident, which follows attacks on synagogues, underscores a need for more federal funding for security at houses of worship.
Fox News: Iraqi national charged with coordinating terror attacks worldwide
FBI Director Kash Patel touts the takedown of an Iraqi national, accused of coordinating at least 20 terror attacks in Europe and Canada. This high-profile arrest, linked to Iran-backed networks, intensifies the debate over reauthorizing FISA surveillance powers, essential for identifying and preventing threats. The Mauro Institute President Ryan Mauro discusses the implications for national security.
JTA: Rep. Jared Moskowitz becomes latest Jewish lawmaker to reveal antisemitic threats
The messages that Rep. Jared Moskowitz said he received at his office were filled with obscenities, calls to “kill Jews” and warnings that the Florida Democrat would be “going down.”
Moskowitz played the voicemails during an interview with CNN’s Sara Sidner on Friday as he described a sharp rise in antisemitic hostility against Jewish lawmakers since Oct. 7, a trend he said reflected a broader normalization of antisemitic rhetoric in American public life.
New York Times: The Far Right Is Dividing College Republicans
When students invited a self-described “white advocate” to a Maryland campus last month, it opened a rift among college Republicans in the state. The state’s college Republican group welcomed the speaker, Jared Taylor, to Salisbury University, where he warned that white people face extinction. College Republicans elsewhere were appalled.
JTA: Orthodox rabbi at ‘Redicate 250’ rally: ‘Antisemitism is un-American’
The only non-Christian speaker at a mass prayer rally on the National Mall on Sunday was an Orthodox rabbi who got the crowd applauding against antisemitism. Rabbi Meir Soloveichik leads New York City’s Congregation Shearith Israel and is a senior fellow at Tikvah, the conservative Jewish think tank. He also sits on the Religious Liberty Commission that President Donald Trump convened last year.
Harvard Crimson: Harvard Asks Judge to Toss DOJ Antisemitism Suit, Calling Claims Outdated
Harvard asked a federal judge Monday to dismiss the Department of Justice’s lawsuit accusing the University of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students, arguing that the Trump administration’s claims are outdated and legally deficient.
Jewish Insider: Nevada GOP candidate Marty O’Donnell hosted neo-Nazi influencer on podcast
Marty O’Donnell, a Republican candidate in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District recently endorsed by President Donald Trump, hosted a Nazi supporter on his podcast last year, months after filing to run for Congress.
Two men from Germany were arrested after police said they were caught on surveillance video defacing a bench with antisemitic graffiti in Miami Beach. Authorities said it happened Monday at around 5:34 p.m., when Miami Beach police officers responded to the area of 12th Street and Ocean Drive.
NBC 10 Boston: Racist and antisemitic graffiti found on Natick elementary school
Police in Natick, Massachusetts, are investigating after racist and antisemitic graffiti was found at an elementary school over the weekend. After being informed about the defacement on the exterior of Lilja Elementary School by a parent, a school staff member notified police around 11:45 a.m. Sunday.
Europe
Euractiv: German Intelligence Warns Iran Could Expand Terror Operations in Europe After War
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has warned that Iran could step up operations against targets in Europe once the conflict with Israel and the US subsides, including attacks on Jewish and Israeli institutions, Iranian dissidents and other perceived opponents of the regime.
United Kingdom
The Guardian: Jewish man in hospital after attack by group of men in Golders Green
A Jewish man is being treated in hospital for injuries to his face and body after being attacked by a number of men in north London. Police were called in the early hours of Monday morning following reports that a Jewish man had been assaulted by a number of men outside a property on The Grove in Golders Green.
Police are investigating after a Jewish man in his 20s was attacked in Golders Green, northwest London, in the early hours of Monday. Officers were called at 2.05am following reports a Jewish man had been assaulted by a number of men outside a property on The Grove.
The Telegraph: Nandy ‘must investigate Southbank boss over anti-Semitism claims’
Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, has been urged to investigate the Southbank Centre chairman over claims of anti-Semitism. Nigel Huddleston, the shadow culture secretary, has also called on the Arts Council to review its funding of the institution after social media posts by Misan Harriman.
Iran International: Iran International journalist stabbed at Tehran's behest, UK court told
British prosecutors said on Monday that a team of Romanian men who carried out a 2024 knife attack on Iran International TV presenter Pouria Zeraati in London were acting as proxies for Iran.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Associated Press: Board of Peace will ask the UN Security Council to press Hamas to disarm
The body overseeing the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza will ask the United Nations Security Council to press the Hamas militant group to disarm, according to a report seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
For the past two and a half years, rarely a day has gone by that Bashar Eid has not feared that settler violence would claim his life or his property in Burin, a Palestinian village near Nablus in the northern West Bank. In November, Eid was wounded in the neck and hospitalized after coming under attack from extremist settlers as he tended his olive grove outside the town.
Reuters: Trump's Gaza board reports funding 'gap', urges quicker disbursement
The gap between funding pledges and disbursement for Donald Trump's Gaza rebuilding plan must be closed urgently, the U.S. president's "Board of Peace" has said in a report, identifying a potential cash crunch in a plan estimated to cost $70 billion.
Times of Israel: IDF says it killed Hamas terrorist in Gaza who invaded Israel on October 7
A Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught was killed in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, the military says. According to the IDF, the terrorist crossed the Yellow Line and approached troops of the 188th Armored Brigade, “in a manner that posed an immediate threat.” The Israeli Air Force then struck and “eliminated the terrorist to remove the threat.”
Iran
Euronews: Iranian TV teaches viewers to shoot as IRGC ramps up child recruitment
Iranian state TV has broadcast live weapons training, including simulated shooting at Trump, Netanyahu and the UAE flag, as the IRGC formally recruits children as young as 12 for checkpoints.
AFP: Iran army warns will ‘open new fronts’ against US if attacks resume
Iran’s army warned on Tuesday it would “open new fronts” against the United States if it resumes attacks, after President Donald Trump said he had held off launching a new offensive in hopes of striking a deal. “If the enemy is foolish enough to fall into the Zionist trap again and launches new aggression against our beloved Iran, we will open new fronts against it, with new equipment and new methods,” said army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.
Israel
At least two people were lightly wounded on Tuesday when a drone launched by Hezbollah hit a parked vehicle and exploded in northern Israel without a siren sounding beforehand.
Iranwire: IRGC-Affiliated Media Report Hezbollah Attack on Iron Dome
Media outlets close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including the Tasnim and Fars news agencies, citing Lebanon’s Hezbollah, claimed that forces of the armed group targeted a platform of the Israeli military’s “Iron Dome” defense system in the “Ghabat al-Jalil” camp using a kamikaze drone. These reports further noted that Hezbollah simultaneously targeted a gathering of Israeli military personnel and vehicles in the town of “Rashaf.” To date, no international media outlet or credible independent source has verified these claims.
Lebanon
The IDF's Northern Command has destroyed 60% of Hezbollah terror infrastructure in Lebanese villages, including areas where the IDF has operational control in southern Lebanon, a senior IDF Northern Command officer told Walla on Monday.
Times of Israel: IDF strikes more than 25 Hezbollah targets in past day, says military
The military says it struck more than 25 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past day. The targets included weapon depots, command centers, rocket launchers used in previous attacks, and other infrastructure used by the terror group to advance attacks, according to the IDF.
Naharnet: Raad warns state's conduct in negotiations will lead country to 'disasters'
MP Mohammad Raad has lamented that "the reality confirmed by the rounds of direct negotiations between Lebanon and the enemy (Israel) is that the ruling authorities have practically adopted the occupation's narrative against the resistance."
Naharnet: Hezbollah will fight any future US-Israeli 'collaborator army', Fadlallah says
Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah warned Tuesday that his group would fight any army unit formed by the U.S. and Israel to counter the resistance. "If Israel and the U.S. manage to form a collaborator army to fight the Resistance, we will fight it just like we fight Israel," Fadlallah said in a press conference, as he warned against free "gifts" to the U.S.
Syria
Reuters: Syrian soldier killed by car bomb near Defence Ministry building in Damascus
One Syrian soldier was killed and a number were wounded by a car bomb that exploded outside a Defence Ministry building in Damascus, the ministry said in a statement carried by state media.
Soldiers had discovered a different bomb near the building in the capital's Bab Sharqi district and were trying to dismantle it when the car bomb went off nearby, the ministry said.
The Media Line: Sleeper Cells Keep ISIS Threat Alive in Syria’s Desert
ISIS is trying to sound alive again in Syria, and Rizik Alabi’s report shows why security officials are taking the noise seriously even if the group is a long way from its 2014 peak. The terrorist organization has released a new propaganda message urging its members and foreign fighters inside Syria to keep fighting, avoid surrender, and join what it calls a “new phase of fighting” against the Syrian state.
Turkey
The National: Turkey arrests 110 people suspected of ISIS links
Turkish police have arrested 110 people over suspected links to ISIS, state news agency Anadolu reported on Tuesday. The suspects are accused of illegally organising classes that were also aimed at children, spreading “radical rhetoric” declaring all non-ISIS members to be “infidels”, and fund-raising and recruitment activities, according to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office
Yemen
A Houthi-controlled court in Yemen has sentenced 19 people to death after their conviction for collaborating with the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the Iranian-backed rebels for over a decade.
Pakistan
Pakistan's Defence Minister on Monday once again referred to the Afghan Taliban as India's proxy force, saying that if the group is unable to confront Pakistan's enemies, it should at the very least refrain from supporting them. Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s Defence Minister, told the Taliban not to befriend Pakistan's enemies.
Nigeria
Reuters: Officials say 39 pupils abducted in Nigeria's Oyo state, one teacher killed
Gunmen abducted at least 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers in Nigeria's southwestern Oyo state, killing one teacher in captivity and wounding security operatives with explosive devices during a rescue attempt, authorities said on Monday. The attack took place on Friday in Ahoro Esinele community in Oriire district, targeting multiple schools, including a secondary school and two primary schools, officials said.
South Sudan
Reuters: MSF accuses all South Sudan forces of exploiting aid for military objectives
French aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres on Tuesday accused South Sudan's government of blocking humanitarian access to opposition-controlled areas and said all parties involved in an ongoing conflict in the impoverished country were exploiting aid for political and military ends.
Deutsche Welle: Next Level Hate — Far Right Extremism on Gaming Platforms
From Hitler memes to swastikas and "Sieg heil" salutes: online gamers can encounter all manner of Nazi content. Most platforms are subject to regulation - but far-right ideology is nonetheless able to spread in associated forums.
Australia
The Australian: Albanese government responds to Bondi royal commission interim report
The Albanese government says it prioritised support for victims and strengthened security for Jewish cultural events following the Bondi Beach terror attack in the first official response to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
Australian Jewish News: Government appoints full-time counter-terrorism coordinator
The federal government has officially accepted all public recommendations relevant to the Commonwealth in the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion’s interim report, announcing immediate implementation of several key measures.
The Guardian: ABC and SBS refuse to adopt antisemitism definition used by royal commission
The ABC has chosen not to adopt the definition of antisemitism used by the royal commission into social cohesion and will use its internal editorial guidance on hate speech instead, in order to maintain its independence. The royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion announced in February that the inquiry would apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
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