Eye on Extremism: October 16, 2026
Top Stories
Voice of America: EU concerned about terrorist groups in Afghanistan
The European Union says it is concerned about the presence and activities of terrorist groups with regional and potentially global reach, including the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K) in Afghanistan.
Times of Israel: Online antisemitism hits record high three years after October 7, study finds
Online antisemitism has reached record levels three years after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, with none of the major social media platforms monitored returning to their prewar baselines, according to a new report by an Australian research institute.
CEP Mentions
Radio Judaica: Hamas terrorist network in Europe: revelations regarding weapons caches and plots
CEP Senior Director Hans-Jakob Schindler discusses Hamas’s terror networks in Europe.
Analysis
Reuters: How the Houthis are helping Iran turn Saudi Arabia into a pressure point
The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are about more than Yemen. By targeting infrastructure and disrupting investment events central to Saudi Arabia's economic ambitions, they aim to pressure Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to both meet Houthi demands in Yemen and persuade US President Donald Trump to ease the US blockade choking Iran's economy, according to Saudi, Iranian and regional sources.
As hate manifestoes go, this one was terse: “Nuke Jews, Save Lives.” Our security team at the Center for Jewish History, where I serve as president, recently discovered a notecard bearing this hateful message by our front entrance, just blocks from Union Square in Manhattan.
United States
Le Monde: Omar al-Bayoumi, the Saudi ‘guardian angel’ of two 9/11 terrorists
Omar al-Bayoumi denied being an extremist and a spy. Yet the jovial Saudi civil servant, who lived in the US before the attacks, was ever-present in the American journey of two of the terrorists. He even sometimes played paintball with a future leader of Al-Qaeda.
A Nigerian man forced to cook thousands of meals for the Unknown Gunmen, a militant group linked to political violence in Nigeria, is at the center of a Supreme Court showdown that could determine how broadly immigration authorities can apply a terrorism-related bar to asylum and how far the Trump administration can go in deporting immigrants accused of supporting terrorism.
A transgender 19-year-old who authorities say identified himself as a neo-Nazi allegedly plotted a mass shooting at a Hindu temple outside Chicago, but a tip from a coworker helped authorities thwart the attack, according to police.
Survivors of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre praised President Donald Trump's decision not to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, after warning that broadcasting his death could turn the execution into a spectacle and hand terrorist groups a propaganda tool.
Fox News: Trump rules out livestream for Nidal Hasan firing squad execution
President Donald Trump announced that the planned firing squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will not be livestreamed, reversing an earlier Pentagon announcement that the public would be able to watch the convicted mass killer's final moments.
Iran International: US alert puts Iran’s overseas religious finance networks under scrutiny
The US Treasury’s latest warning over Iran’s alleged abuse of religious charities puts renewed attention on religious and charitable organizations outside Iran that have separately faced criminal, regulatory or government scrutiny over financial or institutional links to Tehran.
Palatine police released more details Thursday about a man accused of planning a mass shooting. A 19-year-old suspect is facing terrorism charges after authorities uncovered a planned attack targeting the Balaji Temple in Aurora. Officials at Balaji Temple confirmed Thursday it was their location targeted Sunday, on the first day of an important Hindu festival.
A 19-year-old US man who allegedly told co-workers he “couldn’t wait to kill Indian people” was arrested over a suspected mass shooting plot targeting a Hindu temple in Aurora, near Chicago. Police say he had shared a racist manifesto and visited the temple on the day investigators believe he planned to attack.
In a manifesto, Alexandros Paporakis identified as “a sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day,” according to court records. Prosecutors say Paporakis, 19, spent two years planning a mass shooting and had been targeting a Hindu worship center in Aurora for two months.
BBC: Tip-off foiled US teen's plot to attack Hindu temple, police say
A Taco Bell cashier's alleged plot for a mass shooting at a Hindu temple near Chicago was thwarted by a tip-off from one of his colleagues, investigators say. Alexandros Paporakis, 19, from Palatine, Illinois, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with one count of making a terrorist threat and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon.
Washington Post: El-Sayed again denies ties to Muslim Brotherhood
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed again denied accusations that he has personal or family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, dismissing past social media posts from his half sister as “hearsay.”
JNS: NYPD says major crimes are down in 2026, but Jewish New Yorkers still feel unsafe
Bus stops in Canarsie, a neighborhood in the southeastern part of Brooklyn, have been defaced with Nazi swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti “right before Shabbos,” and there have been objects thrown at synagogues and bomb scares recently at a Modern Orthodox school in Flatbush and a Satmar school in Williamsburg, according to Rabbi Avrohom Hecht, executive director of the Jewish Community Council of Canarsie.
In 2016, there was a wave of young men from Minnesota who pledged allegiance to ISIS. Some were tried and convicted. One was killed in Syria while fighting for the terror group. The prosecutor for the case was former U.S. Attorney Andy Luger, who served from 2014 to 2017, and again from 2022 to 2025. Luger says ISIS is still recruiting in Minnesota, though not as aggressively as it was 10 years ago.
More than a dozen local leaders hold a "stand against hate" rally Friday in the arrest of a man accused of plotting a mass shooting. The suspect in the plot, Alexandros Paporakis is from Palatine. Police said his focus was allegedly on a Hindu temple in Aurora.
Bloomberg Law: Judge Steps Aside in DeSantis Muslim ‘Terrorist’ Label Case
A federal district court judge recused himself from a lawsuit challenging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)'s designation of several Muslim civil rights groups as terrorist organizations.
Canada
Police forces in Edmonton and Toronto announced charges this week following separate criminal incidents tied to anti-Israel hostility, including a knife attack at a festival pavilion and a violent assault during a demonstration.
CBC: Hamilton mayor, council candidates decry white nationalist group targeting Ward 14 candidate
Hamilton mayor and council candidates are pushing back against hate after a white nationalist group targeted targeted Ward 14 councillor candidate Kojo Damptey on social media.
Paraguay
JNS: Paraguay to join International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
Paraguay said on Thursday that it intends to become a full member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the group that issues the widely used working definition of Jew-hatred.
Germany
Reuters: German court sentences two for plotting to kill leader of German Jewish community for Iran
A German court on Thursday handed two men prison sentences of up to 8-1/2 years for planning to kill the leader of a Jewish organisation in Germany, saying one man had been steered by Iran's intelligence service.
Deutsche Welle: Who makes financial donations to Islamist terrorist groups?
Extremist networks are financed in part by donations from Germany but finding evidence proves difficult.
Ireland
New York Times: Dublin Hotel Accused of Revoking Bookings for an Event to Combat Antisemitism
A Dublin hotel recently canceled a large booking after management learned that guests in the 70 rooms would be attending a conference on combating antisemitism, according to a leader of the Jewish community in Ireland.
JTA: Irish Jewish leader ‘shocked’ after hotel cancels over 70 rooms for antisemitism conference
An Irish Jewish leader said a Dublin hotel canceled rooms reserved for European delegates after learning that they were visiting for an antisemitism conference.
Italy
JNS: Italian mayor walks back attempt to have Jewish educators sign anti-Israel declaration
An Italian mayor has walked back an attempt by municipal officials to get Jewish-American and Israeli educators to sign a declaration criticizing Israel, the U.S. government’s top envoy for fighting antisemitism said on Wednesday.
Spain
Sky News: Spain punished by FIFA for Islamophobic chants
The Spanish Federation has been fined $20,000 and their next FIFA-organised match will have part of the stadium closed.
United Kingdom
A Norwegian teenager convicted of traveling to Britain to carry out a contract killing on behalf of an international crime gang linked to Iran was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison.
A nine-year-old Jewish pupil at a north London state primary school says his teacher told him Jews were to blame for the October 7 massacre, the JC can reveal. The appalled family reacted asking for antisemitism training to be given but claimed they were told that staff “can’t be forced into politics.”
BBC: Equality watchdog writes to Greens over 'Zionism is racism' motion
The equality watchdog has written to the Green Party asking for more information about a controversial “Zionism is racism” motion passed by members. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it recognised that “many Jewish people will be feeling vulnerable” following the motion, passed at the party's conference earlier this month.
A man accused of plotting an attack on Iran International journalists told a London court on Thursday that a man he identified as a Revolutionary Guards officer living in Britain threatened to kill him and his mother unless he obeyed.
Afghanistan
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged the Taliban to take practical steps to eliminate terrorist forces in Afghanistan, saying this is necessary for lasting peace and stability.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Rejects UNAMA Report On 443 Arbitrary Detentions, Alleges Bias
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has criticised UNAMA’s latest report, accusing the UN mission of bias and of trying to present a negative image of Afghanistan to the world.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
The allegations of genocide against Israel took more hits this week following the reported admission by a senior member of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Israel that claims had not been independently verified. This comes as the Palestinian Ministry of Health data shows Gaza’s population grew in 2025.
Marking two years since troops killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the IDF on Thursday published a letter it said was written by the terror chief’s son, Ibrahim, at the start of the Gaza war, when he was 10 years old.
No commercial goods have entered the Gaza Strip for two days, Israeli authorities said Thursday, blaming the suspension on Gazan merchants angered by taxes imposed by Hamas — a claim that Palestinian importers and the terrorist group denied.
The IDF killed a Hamas commander who participated in the October 7 massacre and a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist in two separate Thursday strikes, the military confirmed on Friday morning.
Iran
Iran International: Iran speaker says government overstepped on anti-terror finance rules
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has ruled that part of the government’s anti-terror financing regulations violates Iranian law, saying decisions on who is designated as terrorist must remain with the Supreme National Security Council.
Iraq
Iraqi Army Brigadier General Ahat Yasser Khudair Hussein, Commander of the 11th Infantry Division’s Communications Directorate, was killed in a bombing linked to the Islamic State, Iraq’s Ministry of Defense said on October 14. The commander was killed alongside Warrant Officer Mutaz Shahid Abbas, and a third soldier later died of his wounds. Iraqi authorities blamed “a remnant of the terrorist ISIS [Islamic State] gangs” for the blast. The bombing came a day after Iraq announced airstrikes targeting the jihadist group west of the city of Kirkuk.
Israel
Israeli security forces are working to chase down a possibly armed man in an olive grove near Kafr Kara, Israel Police announced on Friday. The man is reportedly wearing a military uniform and carrying a rifle.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Rubio tells Aoun not to return seized explosives to Hezbollah
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told President Joseph Aoun in a phone call that he should not return several hundred kilograms of explosives seized by Lebanese authorities from Hezbollah, a U.S. official said.
Naharnet: Visiting Iranian official calls on Lebanese govt. to ‘arm everyone’
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told Al-Jadeed TV on Friday that he met with a number of Lebanese officials over the past two days to exchange views and positions, describing the atmosphere of the meetings as good. He added that a recent meeting in New York with Lebanese officials addressed the issue of the controversy over the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, noting that there are proposals to choose a path acceptable to both parties.
Yemen
Reuters: Yemen's Houthis hit palace in Aden, coalition details attacks on Saudi infrastructure
Yemen's Houthis fired missiles at the presidential palace complex in the southern city of Aden on Thursday, killing five people, the government said, as the Saudi-led coalition listed dozens of Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure in recent weeks.
AFP: Yemen PM was in presidential palace at time of Houthi attack
A Yemeni minister told AFP on condition of anonymity on Thursday that the country's prime minister was present at the presidential palace in Aden when the Iran-backed Houthis attacked the compound with missiles, though he was not hurt.
Iran-aligned Houthi rebels carried out a deadly attack on the presidential Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden, the headquarters of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, on Thursday, killing five people, including two members of Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani’s security detail.
Sahel
Africanews: Al-Qaeda and IS rivalry sparks fierce fighting across Sahel
Jihadists from rival Al-Qaeda and Islamic State factions in the Sahel have clashed recently on an unprecedented scale in the borderlands spanning Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with claims of hundreds of fighters killed.
Technology
Uncorrected past biased edits remain embedded across Wikipedia’s most-read pages concerning Israel, Zionism, Hamas, and Jewish history, according to a follow-up report published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Center for Technology and Society on Thursday.
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