Eye on Extremism: October 21, 2026
Top Stories
Europe’s far-right leaders have jumped on the violence that rocked numerous cities last weekend, framing it as the inevitable consequence of failed liberal governance and open-border policies and insisting only they can restore law and order.
Sky News: Report reveals vast scale of antisemitism in English schools
A landmark report details the vast scale of antisemitism in English schools and colleges, Sky News can reveal. The review, conducted by former schools inspector Sir David Bell, will sets out 27 recommendations to create change, which the government is poised to accept in full.
CEP Mentions
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler weighs in on the current status of the war against Iran and Israeli and US elections.
CEP Senior Advisor Jacek Purski calls for a systemic solution to the problem of extremist radicalization.
Analysis
Columbia Political Review: Pakistan Built the Taliban’s Comeback. Now It’s Bombing Kabul.
In June 2026, Pakistan launched an air strike along its border with Afghanistan that the government says killed 26 militants. Afghanistan’s Taliban government tells a different story: 13 dead, including 11 children, whom they classified as non-combatant civilians, and 14 others wounded in a residential area. Such a discrepancy in casualty counts has almost become routine, with each country narrating the same strikes as either counterterrorism or civilian slaughter. The strikes themselves have also become routine. This recent air strike is just the latest in a war that has been building for over a year between two governments, which, five years ago, were allies.
Iran International: IRGC threatens undersea cables, but can it disrupt global internet?
The Revolutionary Guards' threat to target undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz raises questions about its feasibility, as the waterway carries a fraction of global bandwidth and damaging its cables would not shut down the world's internet.
United States
Reuters: US invokes rarely used torture law in revamped case against Maduro
Nicolas Maduro is one of just a handful of people to be charged in the US with violating a federal law criminalizing torture committed overseas, a Reuters review of court records found, as prosecutors seek to broaden their criminal case against the ousted Venezuelan president.
eJewishPhilanthropy: JFNA announces $35 million, 100-person initiative to combat antisemitism
Jewish federations across North America will be hiring 100 new employees focused on combating antisemitism through frontline advocacy and community relations, the Jewish Federations of North America announced on Wednesday.
White nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes called Tucker Carlson a “true Jew hater” and urged US Vice President JD Vance to condemn him in a video clip shared online on October 20.
NBC 12 News: Records: Chandler man accused of planning 'mass attack' with bombs and guns
A Chandler man was arrested on Oct. 16 after the FBI received a tip about a possible imminent terror-related threat, court records show. Matthew Bjornholt, 27, was arrested by law enforcement after he allegedly told someone he was planning on carrying out a “mass attack” on a “Jewish or Muslim location” using bombs and firearms, court records show.
Authorities have identified two suspects connected to an August bomb threat at Marion High School, including a 13-year-old from New York and an 18-year-old from Maryland. According to an update released Tuesday, Oct. 20, by the Marion Police Department, investigators identified the suspects with assistance from New York State Police and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland.
Jewish Insider: El-Sayed letter to Jewish community on antisemitism fails to reassure skeptics
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed made his case to Jewish voters in a new mailer this week in which he pledged to combat antisemitism — but Jewish Democrats skeptical of El-Sayed said the letter only reinforced their concerns that he’s not prepared to acknowledge or address contemporary drivers and manifestations of antisemitism.
Oregon Public Broadcasting: Investigators probe Bend gunman’s connection to violent extremist groups
Federal and state law enforcement are investigating connections between violent online extremist groups and the 16-year-old gunman who killed three children and a teacher at an elementary school in Bend last week, multiple sources tell OPB.
CBS News: Baltimore County man pleads guilty to vandalizing Jewish cemetery with antisemitic symbols
A Baltimore County man pleaded guilty to federal charges after vandalizing a Jewish cemetery in Dundalk in 2023, federal prosecutors said. George Horn, 36, of Dundalk, admitted to spray-painting swastikas and other symbols on multiple headstones at Ohr Knesseth Israel Anshe Sfard Cemetery in July 2023.
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law has filed a federal Title VI complaint on Monday against Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland, alleging that the district failed to protect a visibly Jewish student from severe antisemitic harassment, online targeting, and death threats at Montgomery Blair High School.
George Horn, of Dundalk, Md., faces three years in prison after pleading guilty to defacing Jewish tombstones at Ohr Knesseth Israel Anshe Sfard Cemetery in Baltimore County with antisemitic symbols, including Nazi swastikas, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.
France
What happened in that apartment in Raqqa, the Syrian capital of the Islamic State group (IS), in the spring of 2014, when Vanessa B., a mother of two young children, fired point-blank at her jihadist husband with the shotgun he had given her as a wedding gift? Mohamed S. was rushed to the hospital and nearly died from his injuries. As for Vanessa B., she narrowly escaped execution by a gunshot to the head, as prescribed by the law in force in IS's self-proclaimed caliphate.
Afghanistan International: France Confirms Taliban Talks On Return Of ‘Dangerous’ Afghans
France says it has begun technical talks with the Taliban to facilitate the direct return of some Afghan nationals, including people without legal residency and those considered dangerous.
France 24: Prosecutors search European Parliament offices of far-right Patriots bloc in graft probe
EU prosecutors on Wednesday searched offices belonging to the far-right Patriots parliamentary group as part of a graft probe into the bloc’s dissolved predecessor, Identity and Democracy, which brought together several European far-right parties including French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
Germany
JNS: Germany summons Iran envoy over plot to kill Jewish leader
Following the conviction in Germany of two men who’d planned to murder a Jewish community leader for Iran, Berlin on Monday summoned that country’s ambassador for a dressing-down. The German Foreign Ministry announced the summons for Majid Nili Ahmadabadi on X on Monday, four days after a court in Hamburg had sentenced the two men, both of Afghan descent, to prison terms of 8.5 years and 4.5 years for plotting to murder Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, president of the German-Israel Society.
Reuters: Germany's military warns of ‘significant’ Russian sabotage threat
Germany's armed forces classified the threat of Russian sabotage against their own troops and facilities as “significant” for the first time, the second-highest level on their internal threat scale, according to a Bundeswehr assessment reported by German broadcasters WDR and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday.
Greece
Reuters: Explosion injures four in Greek capital
Two police officers and two members of the public were injured in an explosion at a building in central Athens, Greek police said on Wednesday. All four were taken away in ambulances, police said in a statement.
Romania
The chief prosecutor of the Bistrița-Năsăud Tribunal, Adrian Briciu, said on Tuesday, October 21, that the seventh-grade student who attacked a teacher and several children at a school in Bistrița with a knife had “extremist, Legionary-extremist, far-right symbols” on him and that he premeditated the attack.
United Kingdom
Independent: Antisemitism review settles debate over banning pro-Palestine badges in schools
Schools and colleges should be places where the conflict between Israel and Hamas can be discussed openly, without pupils or teachers facing “prejudice or hatred,” according to the leader of a review into antisemitism in education. The independent review, led by Sir David Bell, is due to be presented to Parliament on Wednesday. The government is poised to accept its 27 recommendations as part of its formal response.
A new report into antisemitism in schools has revealed the “shocking scale” of the issue in Britain, the education secretary has said as she vowed that “change will come.” Addressing the Commons, Lucy Powell confirmed the government plans to accept all 27 recommendations, warning that all children and teachers should be able to go to school or college “free from fear” and insisting that tackling antisemitism is a “generational challenge.”
BBC: Man in court after three Jewish women assaulted
A 33-year-old man accused of assaulting three Jewish women in north-east London allegedly attacked one of the victims while she was pushing her baby in a pram, a court has heard.
BBC: Teenager arrested aged 16 jailed after terror conviction
A teenager who was 16 when he was arrested at Heathrow Airport has been jailed after being convicted of providing cyber-security support to groups including al-Qaeda. Yusuf Shah, from Ilford, was also found to have downloaded documents including instructions on how to make explosives and how to use different types of weapons.
Jewish leaders have called for community sites to be protected as protesters plan a massive demonstration in London next month following riots in France. The Board of Deputies says it is “engaging with the UK police and other authorities to ask for action to prevent the disruption seen in France and elsewhere.”
Asia
Dig.Watch: UN expands initiatives to prevent violent extremism in Southeast Asia
The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) completed the first phase of its Checkpoint Game Jam 2026 on 16 October, bringing together video game developers from Southeast Asia with the task to create games aimed at preventing pathways into radicalisation and violent extremism. Organised in coordination with Global Game Jam, the initiative seeks to use gaming to promote critical thinking and strengthen resilience against radicalisation leading to violence in digital environments.
Afghanistan
KabulNow: NRF Confirms Commander Mirwais Khan Killed in Clashes with Taliban
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), an armed group fighting the Taliban, has confirmed that one of its commanders, Mirwais Khan, was killed in clashes with Taliban forces in the Hindu Kush mountains.
A group of Pakistani Shia scholars and Hazara figures in Quetta have expressed concern over forced home evictions, land seizures, and the closure of a religious school and a university in Afghanistan during a meeting with the Taliban’s consul general.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) says its forces attacked a Taliban post in Parwan on Tuesday evening, claiming three Taliban members were killed and two others wounded.
8AM Media: Afghanistan Freedom Front: Three Taliban Members Killed in Parwan
The Afghanistan Freedom Front has announced that three Taliban members were killed and two others wounded in an attack by its forces on a Taliban outpost in Parwan province.
Middle East
Saudi Arabia is turning to foreign allies to fend off Houthi missiles and drones, exposing a military vulnerability that could soon become President Donald Trump's problem. Britain announced Tuesday it would send Typhoon fighter jets to defend Saudi cities and critical infrastructure. Egypt is already assisting the kingdom and Israel has offered to step in to help. Riyadh, meanwhile, is asking Washington for more interceptors, and Trump is weighing whether the U.S. should intervene and strike the Iran-backed Houthis directly.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Hamas Nukhba terrorist Musa Abd Muhammad Hamouda was killed on Sunday in an IDF airstrike in Gaza City, the military announced on Wednesday.
Israeli security officers carried out an anti-terror operation on Monday in Bethlehem focused on a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative who worked as a taxi driver in the city, the military announced on Wednesday.
Iran
Iran International: IRGC says Iran shifting to asymmetric warfare, vows ‘offensive retaliation’
Iran will launch offensive operations against any country that attacks it as part of a shift toward asymmetric warfare, Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said.
Iraq
Reuters: Iraq closes Sheeb border crossing with Iran to review security, sources say
Iraq has closed the busy Sheeb border crossing with Iran to review security and install detection equipment to stop the smuggling of prohibited materials, an Iraqi border official said on Wednesday.
Arab News: Iraq buries dozens of security personnel killed by Daesh
Iraq held a mass funeral on Tuesday for 47 members of the security forces who were executed by the Daesh group a decade ago and whose remains were found in a mass grave.
Shafaq News: ISIS attacks in Kirkuk test Iraq’s post-coalition security
A series of ISIS attacks in and around Kirkuk between October 5 and 14 has renewed concern over the ability of small cells to exploit rugged terrain and gaps between Iraqi forces, in the first weeks after the US-led Coalition ended its military mission in Iraq.
Israel
Times of Israel: Israel bars United pilot from its airspace over alleged support for Iran, Hezbollah
Israel has barred a United Airlines pilot from serving as a crew member on flights entering Israeli airspace, Channel 12 reported Wednesday. The move was largely a formality, as the man is not qualified to pilot such flights anyway.
Naharnet: Netanyahu says toppling Iran’s regime would lead to Hezbollah’s elimination
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is “committed” to bringing down the Iranian regime, which will in turn topple Hezbollah in Lebanon. Speaking at the newly-built Tel Hai University in Kiryat Shmona, next to the Lebanese border, Netanyahu said while the Israeli army has made major progress in pushing back Hezbollah, he is “committed to finishing the job.”
Lebanon
Naharnet: Cabinet to discuss referring Hezbollah explosives case to Judicial Council
Cabinet will hold a session at 3:00 PM Thursday at the Presidential Palace to discuss a number of vital issues covering financial, judicial and administrative matters. The agenda also includes a request from the Ministry of Justice to refer the case of explosives seized in Dahr al-Baidar, as well as those seized in the al-Qasr area, to the Judicial Council – the country’s highest criminal court that deals with national security issues.
Naharnet: Lebanese Army refutes Israel’s claims on Kafra’s Hezbollah site
The Lebanese Army has accused the Israeli army of voicing “false claims” regarding the Lebanese military's operations in the area south of the Litani River in an attempt to “cast doubt on its ability to carry out its assigned tasks.”
Syria
20 October marks nine years since the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the International Coalition, ended ISIS control of Al-Raqqah, the Syrian capital of its self-declared “caliphate”.
Yemen
Reuters: Yemen’s Houthis deny launching drones towards Saudi Arabia's Medina
Yemen's Houthis said that they had neither launched drones towards the Saudi holy city of Medina on Wednesday nor conducted military operations towards Saudi Arabia, refuting earlier comments from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
Yemen Online: Yemeni Gov’t Forces Report Major Operations Amid Intensifying Clashes with Houthi
Military confrontations between Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led Coalition supporting legitimacy, and the Houthi movement continued to escalate across several fronts on Tuesday, as heavy fighting raged in Taiz, Marib, and the Kahboub area near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Yemen Online: Houthi Shelling Targets Civilian Homes in Taiz's Bir Basha District
Houthi militia forces launched indiscriminate shelling on residential neighborhoods in the Bir Basha area of Yemen's southwestern province of Taiz, local sources reported, causing fear and concern among residents amid the continuing conflict.
Ghana
Reuters: Ghana president: anybody committed to fighting terrorism is welcome in West Africa
Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama said on Wednesday he was not concerned about Russian security assistance in the Sahel and that anyone committed to fighting terrorism is welcome in the region.
Australia
New Age: Australia police warn of online extremism after MP attacked
Australia’s federal police chief warned on Wednesday of growing extremism online fuelling political polarisation after an attack on lawmaker Helen Haines. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said there is ‘a growing sort of level of extremist views, and particularly in the online space’.
Independent: Who is Brendan Nugent? Suspect charged over attack on Australian MP Helen Haines
The man charged with deliberately driving into Australian lawmaker Helen Haines has been identified as an environmental campaigner from nearby Tarrawingee whose family had been friends with the MP for years.
Guardian: Brendan Nugent stares in silence as a court hears about his alleged attack on Helen Haines
There were no family or friends inside the Wangaratta magistrates court to support the accused, a 43-year-old from Tarrawingee
UPI: Australian MP Helen Haines loses both legs after ramming attack
Australian independent Member of Parliament Helen Haines has had both legs amputated after she was struck by an SUV outside her office earlier this week, her husband said Wednesday.
Technology
CyberWell released new guidance for social media companies earlier this month on improving artificial intelligence content moderation to better target antisemitism, while protecting free expression.
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