Eye on Extremism: May 4, 2026
Top Stories
Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy issued a new map of the area of the Strait of Hormuz under its control on Monday, state media reported. The area starts in the west with a line between the westernmost tip of Iran's Qeshm island to the United Arab Emirates' Umm al Quwain emirate. In the east, the area stops at a line between Iran's Mount Mobarak and the UAE's Emirate of Fujairah.
Negotiations between Hamas and the Board of Peace executive council have reached an impasse, with the terrorist organization refusing to disarm and proceed to phase two of the ceasefire deal, KAN News reported on Sunday.
CEP Mentions
Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, said there was a good argument for raising the threat level earlier. He said the increase in threat level would “free up resources”, adding: “It makes it into an emphasis, the government has also decided to protect Jewish sites. It’s a focusing of the security services’ minds and resources on that issue. People are expecting something else will happen.”
The Counter Extremism Project’s senior director, Hans-Jakob Schindler, tells the Sun that social media platforms are effectively building the pipeline themselves.“With the introduction of the modern algorithms on social media that focus on maximizing engagement, radicalization has accelerated,” Mr. Schindler explains. “At the same time, unfortunately, content moderation concerning extremist content, including violent content and content promoting violence, has decreased.”
WELT TV: "Back door left open to launch another military attack at any time"
The situation at the Strait of Hormuz remains tense. The US and Iran are blocking each other: "Both sides assume that the other side will have to give in first for economic and political reasons," says Middle East expert Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler.
Berliner Morgenpost: Iran's "rocket cities": What's stored in the mullahs' secret arsenal
An Iranian missile launch from underground can be carried out quickly. "The trucks only drive briefly out of the 'missile city,' the missile is launched, and then they go back underground," Hans-Jakob Schindler, head of the Berlin-based think tank Counter Extremism Project, told our editorial team.
Wed.de: New threat from the terrorist group HAYI
The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) is warning of further attacks by the new terrorist group HAYI in Europe. Expert Hans-Jakob Schindler suspects that these attacks are being carried out by Iran and warns of escalation.
What do we know about the alleged attack? What does this mean for the agreed-upon ceasefire? How will the US react? ZDFheute live discusses this with Moritz Brake, maritime security expert, and Iran expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.
Analysis
Jerusalem Post: UK government does all but admit Iran is behind attacks on British soil – analysis
The British government and law enforcement agencies have all but conceded that the Islamic Republic of Iran is behind a spate of recent attacks against Jewish, Israeli, and Iranian dissident sites in the country. However, they have skirted around directly attributing the attacks to Iran or even saying the regime’s name.
United States
A surge of tornadoes tore across a large swath of the country in April, carving a path of destruction. Over 200 tornadoes hit over 20 states, closely clustered in the last couple of weeks. And hurricane season is just around the corner.
Homeland Security Today: PERIL Launches Tool to Track Rising Wave of Nihilistic Violent Extremism
Researchers, policymakers, and public safety professionals now have a new tool aimed at understanding and preventing one of the fastest-growing forms of violence affecting young people in the U.S. and globally. Created by the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University, the Nihilistic Violent Extremism (NVE) Tracker is the first publicly available platform dedicated to monitoring threats targeting youth who may be vulnerable to manipulation. It focuses on tracking extreme, grievance-driven violence that often lacks a clear ideology or identifiable motive.
Times of Israel: Sesame Street post honoring US Jews draws intense wave of antisemitic hate
A Sesame Street social media post on Friday marking Jewish American Heritage Month drew a wave of hateful antisemitic comments, accusing the decades-old children’s show of spewing “Jewish supremacy” and “propaganda.” The comments followed a post by Sesame Street’s X account that reshared a preview of a segment that originally aired in May 2023, showing Jewish actress Kat Graham and the puppet Abby Cadabby asking viewers to join them in marking JAHM.
Jewish Insider: New School rejects student government vote to cut ties, defund Hillel
The New School rejected a student government vote on Saturday to defund and sever ties with the private New York City university’s Hillel chapter, a vote that prompted condemnation from local lawmakers and Jewish groups, while drawing praise from a controversial Muslim advocacy organization.
Philadelphia State Rep. Chris Rabb, who is locked in a tight campaign for a seat in Congress, is disavowing a December post on his Instagram account that promoted an antisemitic conspiracy theory about the deadly Hannukah massacre in Australia’s Bondi Beach, saying a former staffer was responsible.
Jewish Insider: Maryland county executive denies request for security grants for Jewish institutions
A Maryland Jewish group is “not taking no for an answer” after the Anne Arundel County executive repeatedly declined to include funding for security grants requested by Jewish institutions in his proposed budget.
The University of Michigan apologized after the outgoing chair of the faculty senate, who has a history of anti-Israel advocacy, delivered an unapproved jab at Israel at a commencement ceremony on Saturday. Derek Peterson, a tenured professor of history and African studies, praised “the pro-Palestinian student activists who have over these past two years opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza,” during his campus-wide commencement address to loud cheering from students.
The CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York is calling on city and state human rights commissions to investigate what he said was “textbook antisemitism” at a recent meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop. The coop has long been a frontier for clashes over Israel among progressives in the Brooklyn neighborhood, with efforts to ban Israeli products sparking conflicts repeatedly since well before the war in Gaza.
Jerusalem Post: Pennsylvania's Swarthmore College sees 'hundreds of acts' of anti-Israel vandalism
Swarthmore College suffered hundreds of acts of vandalism across its campus on Friday, according to the administration and the local Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, as anti-Israel activists continued a campaign against the institution’s leadership.
Bucks County Beacon: White Nationalist Group’s Recruitment Flyer Found in Quakertown
Emily Wood considers herself news savvy. She stays on top of current events and is an active member of the Bucks County subreddit. Yet on her walk to the local library, the 34-year-old Quakertown resident did not recognize the white nationalist recruitment poster stapled to a telephone pole. Quakertown is the latest Bucks County borough to receive recruitment flyers from Patriot Front, one of the country’s most active white nationalist hate groups, drawing concern from residents and local advocates.
Post Millennial: DOJ launches investigation into Portland Antifa assault on Katie Daviscourt
The Department of Justice confirmed it has launched an investigation after The Post Millennial reporter Katie Daviscourt was assaulted by an antifa mob while covering an anti-ICE “May Day” riot in Portland.
Canada
The Canadian opposition has accused the government of bypassing its own rules after Iran International reported that an IRGC-linked Iranian football official was granted special permission to enter the country despite being inadmissible.
Retired Toronto homicide inspector Hank Idsinga’s new memoir about the systemic problems inside Canada’s largest police force contains disturbing allegations about the force’s persistent in-house discrimination and racism, including antisemitism. He also spells out for the first time his own family’s Jewish and Holocaust roots – a history he kept private while he oversaw some of the most high profile and gruesome murder cases in recent Canadian history.
NDTV: Canada Declares Khalistani Extremists "National Security Threat"
Canada's intelligence agency has declared Khalistani extremists a "national security threat", adding that the group uses institutions to promote its "violent extremist agenda" in the country. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, in its 2025 Public Report, highlighted that the involvement of Canada-based Khalistani extremist (CBKE) in violent activities "continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and to Canadian interests."
Germany
German Chancellor Frederich Merz visited the Chabad Lubavich Berlin brass along with several high-profile German officials on Monday and expressed a message of solidarity with the Jewish community, after a recent rise in antisemitism in the country.
Deutsche Welle: Is the far-right AfD misusing its parliamentary questions?
There are more and more reports of alleged attempts by the AfD to use parliamentary questions to intimidate people. Refugee support workers, for example, said they had the feeling the AfD was "breathing down their necks," according public broadcaster NDR. Across the country, researchers, associations, churches and parties are warning that the AfD is misusing its right to ask official questions to intimidate political opponents.
AFP: A year into Merz government, German far right stronger than ever
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office a year ago vowing to revive the political center, but the far-right AfD party has risen to the top of the polls while his own coalition’s popularity is falling.
Norway
All mainstream Jewish organizations in Norway have come together to collectively condemn the Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities for what they say is “Holocaust revitalization.”
United Kingdom
The Times: Ex-marines hired to protect synagogues after spate of attacks
Former Royal Marines and veterans of the Parachute Regiment have been hired to protect synagogues and Jewish schools as Britain braces for further antisemitic violence. The deployment of elite ex-troops for security patrols can be revealed for the first time after the stabbing of two Jewish men in a suspected terrorist attack in Golders Green, northwest London, and a recent spate of fire bombings in the surrounding area.
JTA: British Green Party candidate posted about killing Zionists from Anne Frank parody account
A candidate in the United Kingdom’s Green Party is under fire after posting under the social media handle “thereal.anne.frank” that “every single Zionist” should be killed, marking the latest antisemitism scandal to hit the party in a matter of days. Two other candidates have been charged with spreading hate online in relation to anti-Israel social media posts, while the party’s Jewish leader, Zack Polanski, is fending off allegations of deep-seated antisemitism.
Reuters: UK PM Starmer says there could be new powers to ban pro-Palestinian marches
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government could ban pro-Palestinian marches in some circumstances because of the "cumulative effect" the demonstrations had on the Jewish community after two Jewish men were stabbed in London on Wednesday. Starmer told the BBC that he would always defend freedom of expression and peaceful protest, but chants like "Globalise the Intifada" during demonstrations were "completely off limits" and those voicing them should be prosecuted.
BBC: Teen charged with terror offences appears in court
A 17-year-old facing terror charges and allegations he cooked up explosives and created a homemade gun has appeared in court and denied 16 charges. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested at home in south Norfolk in April last year and faces charges including making explosives, having a firearm, possessing and distributing terror manuals and stirring up racial hatred.
Belarus
Belsat: Swedish foundation designated "extremist" in Belarus
In Belarus, the "Swedish International Liberal Center Foundation" was recognized as an "extremist organization", reports the Human Rights Center "Viasna". The corresponding decision was made by the Supreme Court of Belarus on April 23.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Taliban Omits ‘Freedom’, Exclude Women From Press Day Event
Local sources said that on World Press Freedom Day, the Taliban’s Interior Ministry announced a meeting with journalists but omitted the word “freedom” from the official name, referring to it instead as “World Press Day.” Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Interior Ministry, also released images from the meeting in which no female journalists were visible among the participants.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Deploy Hundreds Of Fighters To Kandahar Border Districts
Local sources in Kandahar told Afghanistan International that over the past three days the Taliban have deployed hundreds of fighters and dozens of military vehicles to the districts of Spin Boldak, Shorabak and Registan along the Pakistan border. The decision to send additional forces to the border districts was made following Pakistani attacks on Spin Boldak and Kunar.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Media Line: Report: Hamas Gaza Members Elect Khaled Mashal as Leader
Members of Hamas in the Gaza Strip have elected Khaled Mashal as the organization’s leader, according to a report by the Hezbollah-linked Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which said the outcome reflects voting in Gaza only.
The European Union passed several resolutions condemning Palestinian Authority educational materials containing antisemitism and glorification of jihad, the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) has reported.
Iran
Reuters: Iran prevents entry of U.S. warships into Strait of Hormuz, Navy says
Iran's navy said on Monday it had prevented the entry of enemy warships into the Strait of Hormuz by issuing a "swift and decisive warning",according to state TV. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the U.S. would start an effort on Monday morning to free ships, opens new tab stranded in the strait as a "humanitarian gesture" to aid neutral countries inthe U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Iran International: IRGC says Hormuz rules unchanged, warns non-compliant ships
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said there had been no change in the management of the Strait of Hormuz, adding that civilian and commercial vessels would remain safe if they follow transit protocols issued by the IRGC Navy.
Iran International: Three more protesters executed in Iran
Iranian state media said three men accused of involvement in unrest in Mashhad and an alleged Israel-linked plot were executed early morning Monday local time. The report identified the men as Mehdi Rasouli and Mohammadreza Miri, who were described as “Mossad elements” involved in what authorities called a “coup” in January 2026, and Ebrahim Dolatabadi, described as a key figure in unrest in the Tabarsi area.
Fox News: 'Killing off the country': Iran executes dozens, arrests 4,000-plus in war crackdown
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday accused Iran’s regime of dramatically intensifying its crackdown on dissent in the wake of the February conflict, warning that Tehran has carried out executions, mass arrests, torture and one of the world’s longest internet shutdowns while invoking national security.
Iraq
Kurdistan24: Yazidi Girl Rescued After 11 Years in ISIS Captivity
The Kidnapped Yazidi Rescue Office announced on Monday the rescue of a Yazidi girl who had been held captive by ISIS for 11 years outside Iraq, Kurdistan24 correspondent Mahir Shingali reported from Duhok province. Per Shingali, the Duhok-based office that reports to the Kurdistan Region Presidency confirmed the release of a young woman identified as Jamila Babir Hajem, originally from the Tel Qasab community in Shingal, also known as "Sinjar."
Israel
Times of Israel: Court extends detention of 2 Gaza flotilla activists accused of Hamas links
The Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court approved a two-day extension to the detention of two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for questioning, a rights group representing them told AFP on Sunday.
Jerusalem Post: IDF captures Palestinian man who murdered son, burned his body, infiltrated Israel
A Palestinian man suspected of murdering his 12-year-old son and burning his body was found in Israel after infiltrating the country, the IDF said on Sunday. According to Palestinian sources that spoke with KAN News, the man had taken his son to the Palestinian village of Beit Ur, near Ramallah, West Bank, and stabbed him near an agricultural area of the town.
Times of Israel: Four Palestinians charged for planning ISIS-inspired attacks across Israel
Three Palestinian men and one minor were indicted on terrorism charges Sunday for allegedly planning Islamic State-inspired terror attacks on civilians and security forces, the State Attorney’s Office announced.
Lebanon
Lebanon's parliament speaker, who is the most senior Shi'ite politician and a close ally of Hezbollah, said on Monday there could be no negotiations with Israel without a halt to the war that has raged on in southern Lebanon in spite of a ceasefire.
Reuters: Hezbollah pays steep price in battle to reverse its fortunes
Hezbollah has paid a heavy price for going to war with Israel on March 2: Israel has occupied a chunk of southern Lebanon, displaced hundreds of thousands of its Shi'ite Muslim constituents and killed as many as several thousand of its fighters, according to previously unreported casualty estimates from within the group. The move has brought severe political consequences, too. In Beirut, opposition has hardened to its status as an armed group, which domestic rivals see as exposing Lebanon to repeated wars with Israel.
Naharnet: Qassem say there are no yellow lines or buffer zones — and won't be
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Monday that he only supports "indirect diplomacy" as he lashed out again at Lebanon's plan for direct talks with Israel. “There is no ceasefire, but rather a continuing Israeli-American aggression," Qassem said, adding that there are no yellow lines or buffer zones — "and there won't be".
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Monday dismissed again the notion of direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, warning that such a step would amount to a political concession benefiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump ahead of elections.
Naharnet: US reportedly tells Israel Lebanon ceasefire to continue, new talks may be held Thursday
Washington has informed Israel that the ceasefire with Lebanon will remain in place regardless of any developments with Iran, Israel's Channel 12 said on Monday. A Lebanese ministerial source meanwhile told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that the U.S. administration is preparing for the third preparatory meeting between Lebanese Ambassador to U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad and her Israeli counterpart Yechiel Leiter, intended to start direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.
A Hezbollah lawmaker on Sunday said that the terror group will be able to “thwart” the objectives of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, as the Iranian proxy fired several rockets and drones at IDF troops operating across the border despite a declared ceasefire. Speaking at an event honoring killed Hezbollah operatives, Hassan Fadlallah said that “these negotiations with all their results do not concern us, and we will not implement them.”
Pakistan
Afghanistan International: Pakistan Accuses Taliban Of Deliberately Targeting Civilians
Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister, accused the Afghan Taliban of deliberately targeting civilians in border districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, calling the attacks “inhumane”. Writing on X on Friday, May 1, Tarar said Taliban attacks on civilian areas reflected weakness and poor moral standards within the group’s leadership.
Afghanistan International: 13 Militants Killed Near Afghan Border, Says Pakistan
Pakistan’s army said it killed 13 militants over the past two days as they tried to cross from Afghanistan into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, amid rising tensions along the border. In a statement on Thursday, Pakistani army said its forces engaged a group of militants in Mohmand district, killing eight of them.
Dawn: YouTuber held for ‘recruiting individuals for al-Qaeda’
The Counter Terrorism Department has arrested a YouTuber for recruiting individuals for a banned outfit and registered a case against him under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The FIR identified the suspect as Muhammad Saad bin Riaz, associated with YouTube channel named Eon News. A case has been registered against him on behalf of the state under Section 11F(2), pertaining to membership and support of a proscribed organisation and Section 11W, which relates to the dissemination of material linked to banned groups.
Mali
Reuters: Mali investigates soldiers over role in coordinated insurgent attacks
Malian authorities are investigating soldiers suspected of involvement in last week's coordinated attacks on army bases across the country by militants linked to al Qaeda and separatist Tuareg rebels, a judicial official said. The list of potential accomplices includes three active duty soldiers, a retired soldier and a soldier who had been "dismissed" and was killed in fightingnear the country's main army base in Kati, 15 km outside the capital Bamako, said the statement from the prosecutor at the military tribunal in Bamako, which was read on state television late on Friday.
Australia
Reuters: Australia begins hearings into Bondi Beach attack and rising antisemitism
Australia began public hearings on Monday in an inquiry into the Bondi Beach mass shooting in December, with Jewish Australians giving evidence of their experience of rising domestic antisemitism. The attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration killed 15, fuelling calls for tougher gun controls and more action to tackle hatred towards Jews, following a spate of antisemitic incidents.
AFP: Australian Jews recount harrowing stories at Bondi massacre inquiry’s 1st public hearing
An Australian inquiry opened public hearings Monday into an antisemitic Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack in which a father and son killed 15 people at a Jewish Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach last year. The federal royal commission — the highest level of government inquiry — was called to probe factors leading to the massacre by the two terrorists on Jewish families at Australia’s most famous beach in December.
Sky News: TV host blasts Labor over entry of ‘antisemitic’ YouTuber Sneako
Sky News host Sharri Markson has criticised the Labor government over the decision to allow “antisemitic” YouTuber Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy, known online as “Sneako,” into Australia. “His ideology seems to be a confused mix of Islamist extremism and Neo-Nazi,” Ms Markson said. "He's been banned from various social media platforms multiple times. These are the kinds of people the Albanese Government is letting into Australia.” Sky News host Sharri Markson has criticised the Labor government over the decision to allow “antisemitic” YouTuber Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy, known online as “Sneako,” into Australia.
Times of Israel: Sydney cancels controversial forum promoting ‘Globalize the intifada’ slogan
The mayor of Sydney, Australia, has canceled a controversial forum promoting the slogan “Globalize the Intifada,” citing concerns that it could inflame tensions and threaten public safety. The event was titled, “Why it is right to say Globalise the Intifida,” and intended to defend the phrase against efforts to ban it.
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