Eye on Extremism: May 8, 2026
Top Stories
Naharnet: Rubio says U.S. won't negotiate with Hezbollah but with Lebanese state
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed Hezbollah Friday for the situation in Lebanon, accusing the group of being fully dependent on Iranian support. "The reason why Lebanon faces bombings, the reason why Lebanon faces violence, is because of Hezbollah. It is Hezbollah that’s imposing this on them," Rubio told reporters during a visit to Rome.
NPR: What's driving an increase in antisemitism in the United Kingdom?
The number of antisemitic incidents is on the rise in the UK. What is driving it, and – how is the British government trying to combat it? The United Kingdom faces an antisemitism emergency.
CEP Mentions
Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler speaks on the raids against two right-wing extremist groups in Germany.
Hate Comes to Main Street: Extremism Expert Warns of Plan to 'Build a Neo-Nazi Militia'
Alexander Ritzmann warns about the Active Clubs popping up around the world. “This is not just a nationalist sports club. It’s the strategy to build a neo-Nazi militia.”
United States
Reuters: Palestinian American developer asks US judge to dismiss lawsuit alleging he aided Hamas
A prominent Palestinian-American developer asked a U.S. judge on Friday to throw out a lawsuit accusing him of supporting Hamas through his Gaza projects, arguing it equates participating in Gaza's economy with terrorism. Bashar Masri, who built luxury hotels in Gaza and the Palestinians' first planned city in the West Bank, was sued last year by U.S. families of victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks who alleged his Gaza properties concealed tunnels the militant group used to stage its assault.
Fox News: Kash Patel reveals the chilling holiday terror plots FBI federal agents quietly stopped
FBI Director Kash Patel revealed federal agents successfully disrupted four major terrorist plots over the holiday season, but warned that despite these wins, the constant pressure to "not miss anything" keeps him "up at night." Speaking on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast, Patel said the bureau is using new technology to prevent attacks, warning a future 9/11-style attack remains a concern.
The FBI and the NYPD's top counterterrorism official warn parents about "Nihilistic Violent Extremism" groups online, like "764" which groom children leading to self-harm, violence and even school shootings.
Fox News: Largest teachers' union accused of antisemitism in federal civil rights complaint
The National Education Association (NEA) faces allegations of antisemitism and discrimination against Jewish members in a federal civil rights complaint.
The leader of the Southern Poverty Law Center pleaded not guilty Thursday on behalf of the organization to charges that the civil rights group defrauded donors by failing to disclose that money would be paid to informants inside extremist groups.
Detroit Free Press: Westland bombmaker gets 20 years in prison for terrorism crimes
A Westland man who prosecutors say became radicalized in his 20s, watched videos of beheadings, turned his basement into a bomb-making lab and plotted to support overseas terrorists was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in federal prison.
Jerusalem Post: GW University investigates possible chemical attack on student-led Israel festival
US authorities on Thursday investigated a potential chemical attack that took place during a pro-Israel festival at George Washington University, Washington, DC, on Tuesday. GW students were celebrating Israel Fest when individuals dropped vials containing an unknown substance into the crowd.
A US man accused of lobbing gasoline bombs at a rally for Israeli hostages last year in Boulder, Colorado — an incident that killed an 82-year-old woman and wounded more than a dozen other people — was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday after pleading guilty to all state-level charges against him.
New York Jewish Week: At Jewish forum, NY-12 candidates wrestle with anti-Zionism and antisemitism
Just across town from an anti-Israel protest the night before, Democratic candidates for Congress gathered in an Upper West Side synagogue were grappling with the connection between antisemitism and anti-Zionism. “I think there is a very real connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. They are not precisely the same thing but often when you see one you see the other,” said Micah Lasher, one of several candidates in New York’s 12th Congressional District to participate in a forum held Wednesday at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue.
Journal News: Antisemitic symbols found in Nyack High School class, officials say
Nyack school administrators reported that antisemitic symbols were found in a classroom at Nyack High School. The symbols and exact location were not specified. The symbols were found April 7 at the end of the school day at Nyack High School, Nyack schools Superintendent Lizzette Ruiz-Giovinazzi wrote in an April 7 letter to the community.
Canada
JTA: Man charged for two Toronto-area synagogue shootings
Police have arrested a man in connection with two Toronto-area synagogue shootings that occurred on the same night in March. Nobody was injured in either attack, though two maintenance workers were inside Beth Avraham Yoseph when it was struck with bullets on March 6 after Shabbat services.
Denmark
Times of Israel: Antisemitic incidents remain historically high in Denmark, report finds
Antisemitic incidents in Denmark remained at historically high levels for the third consecutive year in 2025, according to a report released yesterday by the Jewish Community in Denmark.
France
Caliber: France stops planned far-right march in Paris
The Administrative Court of Paris on May 8 rejected an appeal by organisers of the far-right group May 9 Committee and upheld a ban imposed by the Paris Police Prefecture on a planned march in the French capital. As a result of the ruling, the planned far-right demonstration will not take place. The court found the authorities’ decision lawful, dismissing a complaint filed by C9M organiser Joséphine de La Chapelle. The ban had been justified on the grounds of potential threats to public order, according to BFM.
Germany
New York Times: German Leaders Clash With Spy Chiefs Over Domestic Threat From Iran
Germany’s national leaders and its state intelligence agencies have privately clashed since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran over how bluntly to warn the public about the rising risk of Iran-sponsored attacks on German soil.
Open letters calling to end cooperation with the Halle Jewish community organization on a counter-antisemitism project because they were ostensibly Zionist were posted at a German university repeatedly for a week, according to the Jewish Community of Halle (JG Halle), the State Association of Jewish Communities of Saxony-Anhalt (JG Saxony-Anhalt), and Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle.
United Kingdom
Times of Israel: UK police make third arrest over arson attempt on London synagogue last month
British counterterrorism police arrested a 19-year-old man on Thursday in connection with an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in north London last month, marking the third arrest in the investigation, which comes amid a wave of antisemitic attacks.
Metropolitan Police: Ninth arrest in investigation into Hatzola ambulances arson
Detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London investigating an arson attack on volunteer-led ambulances run by the Jewish community, have arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson.
National Scot: Four arrests for 'neo-Nazi-linked protest' targeting John Swinney
FOUR men have been arrested after protesters put up a “neo-Nazi” flag at a demonstration which tried and failed to target John Swinney.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Ties Will Not Normalise While Taliban Shelter Militants, Says Pakistan
Tahir Andrabi, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said Taliban support for Pakistani militants is preventing tensions from easing, warning relations will not normalise unless such backing ends. Speaking at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, he said ties with the Taliban administration would not return to normal as long as the group continues to support and shelter militants opposed to Pakistan.
Local sources told Afghanistan International on Friday that Taliban forces clashed with residents in Argo district of Badakhshan over poppy eradication, leaving at least one person dead and three others injured. Sources said the clash began on Friday, May 8, in a village in Argo district when Taliban members moved to destroy poppy fields.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
The United Arab Emirates transferred $100 million to the Board of Peace in recent days to fund a contract for the training of a new Palestinian police force for Gaza, a US official and a Middle Eastern diplomat told The Times of Israel this week.
Israel
Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah launches missiles at northern Israel in violation of ceasefire
Sirens sounded in northern Israel on Friday, as Hezbollah launched missiles toward Israeli territory. The Israeli Air Force intercepted one launch, while the additional launches fell in open areas. No injuries or major damage have been reported as a result.
Reuters: After Beirut strike, Netanyahu says 'no immunity' for militants
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday there was no "immunity" for Israel's enemies, a day after the Israeli military targeted a Hezbollah commander in its first strike on Beirut's southern suburbs since a ceasefire declared last month. Israel said the attack killed the commander of the Iran-backed group’s elite Radwan force.
JNS: Hezbollah fires rockets at Haifa area, Nahariya and Acre
Terrorists in Lebanon fired rockets into Israel on Friday, targeting Nahariya, Acre and the Haifa suburbs, two days after Israel killed a senior Hezbollah terrorist in Beirut. At about 2 p.m. on Friday, the IDF Home Front Command instructed residents in the targeted area to seek shelter.
Lebanon
Naharnet: EU official calls for Hezbollah 'to cease attacks and be disarmed'
More than half of Lebanon's population depends on humanitarian aid, a European Union official said on Friday, as Israel continues its attacks on the country despite a ceasefire in the two-month-long war. "At present, more than three million people, meaning more than half of the population here in Lebanon, depend on humanitarian aid to survive," EU crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib told reporters after meeting President Joseph Aoun in Beirut.
Times of Israel: IDF says it struck Hezbollah rocket launcher used in barrage on northern Israel
The Air Force struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher used in the barrage on the Western Galilee and Haifa Bay area earlier, the IDF says. The military publishes footage of the strike. No injuries were caused in the rocket attack.
Jerusalem Post: Three IDF soldiers moderately, severly wounded in two separate incidents in Lebanon
Two soldiers were moderately wounded, and an additional soldier was severely wounded in two separate incidents involving explosive drones launched by Hezbollah, the IDF confirmed on Friday.
Syria
Shafaq News: ISIS admits fatal bombing of Sayyida Zeinab preacher in Damascus
ISIS on Thursday claimed responsibility for the killing of Sheikh Farhan al-Mansour, the preacher of Syria’s Sayyida Zeinab shrine, days after a bomb exploded in Damascus.
Turkey
Jerusalem Post: Hamas operatives are being trained in Turkey to launch attacks against Israel – KAN
Hamas terrorists have been conducting training in areas of Turkey, Israel's public broadcaster KAN News reported on Thursday.
Mali
Reuters: Insurgents kill dozens, including civilians, in central Mali attacks, sources say
Al Qaeda-linked insurgents attacked two villages in central Mali on Wednesday night, killing around 50 people, including members of pro-government self-defence forces and civilians, three sources told Reuters on Thursday. They are the deadliest known attacks since the al Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) teamed up with the Tuareg-dominated rebel group Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) for a coordinated assault across the West African country in late April. Sporadic fighting has persisted since.
Nigeria
Reuters: Militant attack on Nigeria army base kills at least two soldiers
Fighters suspected of being members of Islamic State West Africa Province attacked a Nigerian army base in the northeastern town of Magumeri, killing at least two soldiers and wounding the commanding officer, security sources and the military said. The assault in Borno state in the early hours of Thursday was the latest deadly attack on troops battling an insurgency that has raged for more than a decade in northeast Nigeria.
Australia
Josh Gomperts became a paramedic because he wanted to help people in distress. But after years of volunteering with Hatzolah, Melbourne’s Jewish volunteer ambulance service, the 31-year-old found himself testifying before Australia’s royal commission into antisemitism about the abuse he endured while serving the public.
SBS News: Five key takeaways from the first week of antisemitism royal commission hearings
Public abuse, schools graffitied and a fear of being visibly Jewish were just some of the testimonies heard during The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion's first week of hearings. Over the past week, which focused on Jewish Australians' everyday experiences of racism and discrimination, Commissioner Virginia Bell heard from dozens of witnesses, many of whom spoke anonymously out of fear for their safety.
The royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion will hold a second block of public hearings – this time to examine the lead-up to December’s Bondi massacre and focus on information known before the attack about the two gunmen, and what action taken by security agencies with it.
Three Australian women were refused bail when they appeared in courts on Friday charged with slavery and terrorism offenses after they arrived home from Syria with another 10 others whom police allege are linked to the Islamic State group.
Four Melbourne men have been charged with possession of violent extremist material for allegedly accessing and distributing ISIS propaganda online.
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