Eye on Extremism: May 7, 2026
Top Stories
The destruction of Islamist terror groups is one of the main priorities of US Counterterrorism, according to the newly released United States Counterterrorism Strategy 2026 (hereon referred to as the CTS). The CTS laid out the three major types of terror groups as: Narcoterrorists and Transnational Gangs; Legacy Islamist Terrorists; and Violent Left-Wing Extremists, including Anarchists and Anti-Fascists.
Axios: Exclusive: U.S. and Iran closing in on one-page memo to end war, officials say
The White House believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, according to two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue.
CEP Mentions
WELT TV: "Iran is important for China because it supplies huge amounts of cheap oil."
Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler assesses the current negotiations between the US and Iran. Disunity within the Iranian regime, economic pressure, and international interests are making an agreement difficult.
ZDF Heute: Raid against right-wing extremist youth groups
Extremism expert Alexander Ritzman analyzes a series of raids on two right wing extremist organizations in Germany.
Analysis
Jerusalem Post: After killing Hezbollah Radwan commander, will the terror group weaken? –analysis
On the evening of May 6, the Israel Defense Forces eliminated the commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, according to the IDF. The commander was identified as Ahmed Ali Balout. The precision strike was one of many recent Israeli operations. The pace of these operations has changed since the ceasefire in Lebanon in early April. However, Israel has continued to act against Hezbollah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure.
The Kurdish leadership in the Kurdistan Regional Government of northern Iraq are seeking to work with the new prime minister of Iraq.
JNS: Iran’s IRGC takes over real power from the supreme leader
Israel’s intelligence agencies have assembled a comprehensive assessment of who truly controls Iran, senior security officials say. Evidently, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains hidden at an undisclosed location, known only to a select few, due to fears he could be targeted by Israel.
United States
NPR: Trump's counterterrorism strategy makes targeting drug cartels the top priority
President Donald Trump has signed off on a new U.S. counterterrorism strategy that sets eliminating drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere as the administration's highest priority, the White House announced Wednesday.
Fox News: 'Left-wing extremists,' cartels move into crosshairs in Trump terror shift beyond ISIS
The Trump administration’s new counterterrorism strategy expands the scope of U.S. national security policy to include drug cartels and domestic extremist groups alongside traditional jihadist threats — a shift that could widen how counterterrorism tools are deployed at home and abroad.
Jewish Insider: Milken crowd sees dangerous convergence of populism and antisemitism
The country’s consummate insiders gathered at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills this week. But far away from the five-star hotels where attendees closed business deals and mingled over salmon bento boxes, there is concern over an anti-elite sentiment that is dominating American politics.
Trib Live: Appeal dismissed in Squirrel Hill antisemitic flyer littering case
A Zanesville, Ohio, man fined nearly $50,000 for throwing dozens of antisemitic flyers out of a moving car in Squirrel Hill failed to appear for his appeal hearing Wednesday. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Thomas E. Flaherty, therefore, dismissed the appeal, and the fine will stand.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is calling on a local school district in Maryland to adopt a “zero tolerance policy” toward antisemitism following what it described as a recent wave of anti-Jewish incidents across its schools.
JTA: Casey Putsch, candidate who asked Grok to praise Hitler, loses in Ohio GOP primary
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Casey Putsch, whose rhetoric has included antisemitic dogwhistles, did not come close to winning the Republican primary on Tuesday. But he was not swept aside by the electorate, either: Nearly 150,000 Ohio Republicans voted for him, making up 17.5% of voters.
Bergen Record: Is antisemitism becoming 'normalized' in NJ? What anti-hate group says
Bergen County was the No. 1 hotspot in New Jersey for antisemitic incidents in 2025, according to an alarming new report. Of the statewide incidents targeting visibly Jewish individuals in the state last year, 28% of them occurred in Bergen County, according to the Anti DefamationLeague's annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents released on May 6.
Fayetteville Observer: Swastikas lead to charges of property damage for Fayetteville teen
An 18-year-old was arrested recently for allegedly spray painting swastikas on a building and government property in Fayetteville. Taquon Jameek Vereen is charged with two counts of misdemeanor damage to real property and one count of second-degree trespassing after a witness reported seeing him painting a swastika on the side of a convenience store in the 100 block of South Reilly Road over the weekend.
A man is facing multiple criminal charges after Miami-Dade deputies said he attacked another man over a seemingly minor car crash in a hospital parking lot, then threatened to kill a deputy trying to take him into custody.
Canada
JTA: Canadian Jewish groups call on government to designate Palestine Action as ‘terrorist entity’
Prominent Jewish groups in Canada have called on its government to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist entity after the activist group published a “target map” identifying locations across Canada, Europe and the United States as possible targets for “direct action.”
Belgium
Politico: Belgian PM slaps down Trump’s ambassador over ‘nonsense’ antisemitism jab
Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever has pushed back forcefully against criticism from U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White, who accused the country of being antisemitic. White had reacted strongly to an Antwerp prosecutor’s recommendation that two Jewish men be prosecuted following an investigation into alleged illegal circumcisions. Several Belgian politicians have reproached White for getting involved in Belgian domestic affairs.
Germany
Deutsche Welle: Germany cracks down on neo-Nazi networks
With names like "Deutsche Jugend Voran" (German Youth Lead the Way ) or "Jung und Stark" (Young and Strong): far-right extremists are banding together across Germany to spread hatred and violence. For the past two years, security agencies and experts have been monitoring mounting acts of violence and far-right propaganda from within these circles.
Ireland
Ireland Live: Boy, 15, and two adults arrested in Lurgan car bomb probe
A teenage boy, a man and a woman have been arrested by police investigating an attempted car bomb attempt on Lurgan police station. The dissident republican group the New IRA claimed responsibility for the incident in March that saw a food delivery driver hijacked in Kilwilkie and forced to drive a “crude but viable” device to the station.
United Kingdom
Britons heading to polls in local elections on Thursday will deliver an answer to the question of whether their country’s legacy parties still hold wide appeal. They will also illuminate just how willing British voters are to overlook antisemitism accusations around a rising left-wing party party — and potentially propel its leader, a 43-year-old Jewish activist who describes himself as “certainly not a Zionist,” into the upper echelon of British politics.
The United Kingdom is initiating a “complete step change” in protecting Jewish communities and cracking down on antisemitism, says British Ambassador Simon Walters. The first step is the security of Jewish communities, through funding Jewish community security and increased police presence, he says.
The Telegraph: ‘White supremacist’ former soldier hoarded guns and bombs in Nazi man cave
A former soldier who amassed a haul of weapons and explosive substances in a Nazi-themed “man cave” has been jailed. Anti-terror police raided Paul Page’s wooden hut to find more than 600 weapons, including land mines, grenades, swords and rifles.
The Church of Ireland’s Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland has hit out at those responsible for violence against migrants. The Most Reverend John McDowell said people who come to live in Northern Ireland should be welcomed, not vilified. He laid the blame at the hands of the extreme right, saying there is “no organised conspiracy” as they claim.
Russia
TVP World: Russia seizes UK children’s books, citing ‘extremist’ content
Customs officers in St. Petersburg seized a shipment of children’s books in English and German after identifying what they called “extremist literature.” The consignment from the UK contained 28 books published in English and German, including titles such as “The Dinosaurs Who Met Santa Claus,” “My First Story Writing Book” and “Space Puzzles,” officials said.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Taliban, Iran Working On Surveillance App For Afghan Users, Say Sources
Sources familiar with the matter told Afghanistan International that the Taliban and Iran have cooperated on developing a mobile phone application capable of monitoring users in Afghanistan. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the application contains surveillance capabilities that could expose users’ smartphones and internet-connected devices to Taliban intelligence monitoring systems.
Afghanistan International: Head Of Local Radio In Logar Freed After Two Weeks In Taliban Custody
Afghanistan Media Support Organization said Farhad Ghafori, head of Radio Etihad in Logar, has been released after 15 days in Taliban detention. Five other journalists remain held with no information on their fate. The organisation said in a statement on Wednesday, May 6, that it had received information indicating the Taliban obtain forced confessions from journalists during detention.
Bahrain
Middle East Eye: Bahrain says suspects linked to IRGC arrested
Bahrain’s interior ministry said authorities have arrested an unspecified number of people alleged to have “close links” to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with some facing espionage-related accusations.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Reuters: Israeli attack kills son of Hamas leader negotiating with Trump-led board
An Israeli airstrike has killed the son of Hamas' chief negotiator in U.S.-mediated talks over Gaza's future, a senior Hamas official said on Thursday, as leaders of the militant group held talks in Cairo aimed at safeguarding their truce with Israel. Azzam Al-Hayya, son of Khalil Al-Hayya, succumbed to his wounds on Thursday after being struck in an Israeli attack on Wednesday night, senior Hamas official Basim Naim said. He is the fourth son of Hamas' exiled Gaza chief to have been killed in Israeli attacks.
Iran
Iran International: Iran’s wartime unity push collides with hijab hardliners
A hardline cleric’s attack on unveiled women, even as Iranian state media showcased them at pro-government rallies to signal broad wartime support, has exposed tensions within the establishment over hijab enforcement. In the northern city of Rasht, Friday prayer leader Rasoul Fallahi delivered a fiery speech during one of the nightly pro-government gatherings held since the outbreak of the recent war.
Israel
Reuters: Israeli suspected of attacking French nun in Jerusalem charged with religious hate crime
An Israeli man suspected of shoving a French Catholic nun to the ground and kicking her in Jerusalem has been charged with assault motivated by religious hostility, Israel's state attorney's office said on Thursday. The April 28 attack was condemned by Christian clergy in Jerusalem and came amid a rise in harassment of religious officials and pilgrims by religious Jews in the walled Old City, home to sites holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews.
The Nahariya Municipality announces the cancellation of a planned night market this evening and a march tomorrow marking VE Day, citing the IDF strike in Beirut yesterday that killed a senior Hezbollah commander.
Lebanon
Reuters: Israel says it killed Hezbollah commander in first strike on Beirut since ceasefire
Israel said on Thursday it had killed a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in an airstrike on Beirut a day earlier, the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital since a ceasefire agreed last month. The Israeli military said the commander was killed when Israel struck the southern suburbs of Beirut. There was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the attack in a joint statement on Wednesday.
Naharnet: Israel says 4 soldiers wounded in Hezbollah drone attack
The Israeli military said in a statement Thursday that an "explosive drone impact" had wounded four of its soldiers -- one severely -- in southern Lebanon the previous day. Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs Wednesday in the first such attack in nearly a month, killing a senior Hezbollah commander from its elite Radwan force.
South Africa
Reuters: African countries warn citizens of xenophobic attacks in South Africa
African countries including Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have warned migrants in South Africa to be cautious and remain indoors due to attacks targeting foreigners, and Ghana has lobbied the African Union regional bloc for action. South Africa has seen a wave of protests against illegal immigration which have been accompanied by instances of violence against migrants from other sub-Saharan African countries in South Africa, which has the largest economy on the continent.
Australia
Reuters: Australian women linked to ISIS arrested, accused of slavery after Syrian return
Three Australian women linked to the extremist group Islamic State were arrested on Thursday after arriving home with their children following years in a camp in Syria, and were expected to be charged with slavery and terrorism offences, police said. The Australian government said on Wednesday that four women and nine children who had been detained in northeast Syria planned to return to Australia, but would receive no government assistance.
Jewish Australians have been told to use “less obviously Jewish” names, felt pressure to resign and been verbally abused by colleagues in the wake of 7 October 2023. On its fourth day of public hearings, the antisemitism royal commission also heard evidence from Australia’s antisemitism envoy, who said hatred towards Jews had become “almost fashionable”, while a Sydney nurse said New South Wales Health was “not safe for Jewish people”.
Jewish Independent: A moment of national reckoning for all Australians
There are times when a nation is forced to look into the mirror and acknowledge the flaws it sees. Up till now, non-Jewish Australians have been able to turn away from that mirror. But after this week’s opening hearings at the Royal Commission, not anymore. The viciousness of words and deeds that witnesses recounted was chilling, yet the power of their testimony lies in the sheer number of experiences brought into the sunlight. These stories of hatred and sometimes violence are all the more shocking because of where they occurred – in the street, on the bus, at sporting events and other public places.
Technology
Recommender algorithms on TikTok and Rumble expose UK minors to antisemitic content, the UK’s Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) revealed in its new Amplifying Antisemitism report.To carry out the report, analysts created 10 TikTok profiles representing 15-year-old users with varied political and cultural interests, including neutral interest in the Israel-Palestine conflict, left- and right-wing political interest, male lifestyle influencer content, far-right content, and two neutral accounts.
JNS: Report exposes network of fake AI ‘rabbis’ promoting antisemitism on TikTok
A coordinated network of AI-generated TikTok accounts posing as Jewish rabbis is systematically spreading antisemitic content, according to a report released Wednesday by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).
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