Eye on Extremism: October 23, 2026
Top Stories
Wall Street Journal: Gunman Kills One Near Paris in Suspected Attack on Immigrant Communities
A gunman killed one person and wounded four more on Friday in what authorities suspect was a terrorist attack targeting an ethnically diverse area outside the French capital. French officials said the gunman was in a car and used an automatic firearm at three different sites in the towns of Trappes and La Verrière. The towns, around 20 miles southwest of Paris, are lower-income areas with housing projects, mosques and large immigrant and Muslim populations. They said a man was detained and remains in police custody.
Times of Israel: Sacha Baron Cohen: Backlash to new Ali G film part of trend to silence Jews
British Jewish actor Sacha Baron Cohen, whose “Ali G: Who Iz I?” debuts Friday, has suggested that calls to boycott the film about the wannabe Black rapper he plays are an example of how “Jews are being targeted.”
CEP Mentions
NTV: Hans-Jakob Schindler: Russia plays “the whole keyboard” when it comes to espionage
In Brandenburg, security forces arrested a man suspected of spying on behalf of Moscow. “This case shows that Russia is engaged in all forms of espionage in Germany,” says security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler. In an interview with ntv, he explains how agents are recruited.
BR24: Interactive map: Here’s where hybrid attacks occurred in Europe
Security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler discusses Russian hybrid warfare in Europe.
Analysis
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung: Why extremism requires new categories and prevention approaches
Extremist violence is evolving: ideologies are blending, traditional categories are becoming less distinct, and new hybrid milieus are emerging. The article examines how bridging narratives connect diverse extremist currents and the challenges this poses for security agencies, researchers, and prevention efforts. It highlights the necessity of cross-phenomenon analytical approaches and flexible prevention structures for the early detection of future radicalization dynamics.
United States
12News: Arizona candidate for District 4 says she is receiving death and antisemitic threats
The Democratic candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives in District 4 says she has received death threats and antisemitic threats aimed at her and her family.
Jewish Insider: Hasan Piker event in Minnesota with Ilhan Omar faces growing backlash
A planned event in Minneapolis featuring antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and far-left state Sen. Omar Fateh, set to take place days before the midterm election, is facing growing backlash inside the state.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers and allies including President Donald Trump are escalating their efforts to tie Democratic rival Abdul El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms, with Trump falsely branding him a “jihadist.”
Newsradio Wood: FBI: Oregon School Shooter May Have Been Radicalized Online
The FBI is investigating whether the 16-year-old shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, was radicalized online by extremist groups. Last Thursday (October 15), the teenager killed three children and a teacher before being shot by a parent at the school. According to The Oregonian, law enforcement sources say the teen may have been influenced by the extremist group 764, known for using threats and blackmail to coerce young people into violence.
Jewish Insider: Man arrested in Boca Raton for making death threat against Rep. Jared Moskowitz
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said on Thursday that a constituent had been arrested in Boca Raton for making a death threat directed at the Florida congressman, the second such arrest since 2024.
Oakland Press: Man facing felony charge for alleged terrorism threat at 7-Eleven store
A 54-year-old man is facing a charge of false report or threat of terrorism for a recent incident at a 7-Eleven store in Bloomfield Township, officials said. Ramzi Braham was reportedly acting erratically, stole a pack of cigarettes and yelled at customers — claiming he was a terrorist and referenced explosions — while at the 7-Eleven at 4890 West Maple Road, on Oct. 19. He then reportedly fled. An employee called police at around 9:45 a.m. that day to report the incident, officials said.
Skyler AJ Rose, 22, of Ogden, Utah, was indicted on Wednesday on five federal counts, including attempting to commit a hate crime, after investigators allegedly linked him to threats against a synagogue and found six functional pipe bombs in his home.
JNS: Florida man accused of threatening to ‘hunt’ Jews ordered held pending trial
A federal magistrate judge ordered on Thursday that Duncan Fraser MacDonald, a Florida man indicted for allegedly threatening to kill Jews, be held in custody pending trial.
Canada
The case of a Yorkton-area youth facing terrorism charges following an investigation into a violent online extremist network underscores how these communities can reach children in virtually any community, Saskatchewan researchers say.
Albania
Deutsche Welle: Albania’s student protests are only getting bigger
As police try to suppress anti-corruption protests by young Albanians, Prime Minister Edi Rama is claiming that “antifa” is behind the unrest. Few are buying that explanation.
France
Reuters: France mounts major security operation for fresh wave of protests
France will deploy 70,000 police backed by specialist units for protests on Saturday, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday, accusing ultra-left groups of encouraging violence and looting after unrest shocked the country last weekend.
Despite some claims to the contrary, the riots were not antisemitic in nature, with French Jewish groups stressing that even though some Jewish-owned businesses and institutions were damaged, they did not appear to have been targeted because they were Jewish. However, leaders in the already anxious French community warn that this mob violence — fueled by antisemitic conspiracy theories — could swiftly be turned against the Jewish community, and local institutions are having to prepare their security protocols and infrastructure accordingly.
Germany
Deutsche Welle: Germany’s civil society alliance takes on the far right
Trade unions, churches and human rights activists are worried about the rise of the far-right AfD. How can civil society protect people who are threatened by far-right extremism?
Deutsche Welle: Massive data breach targets Germany’s AfD
Germany may use a massive hack of the far-right AfD in its investigation of the party. Hundreds of thousands of emails were leaked. Authorities are already probing the AfD over suspected right-wing extremism.
Rudaw: German state leaders call for faster deportations, tougher action against extremism
German state leaders on Thursday called for faster deportations of people considered security threats and tougher measures against political extremism, as the heads of the country's 16 federal states met in Berlin to discuss security and other domestic challenges.
DPA: German conservatives closing gap with far-right AfD, poll shows
A new poll shows Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc closing the gap with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), though his coalition would still fall short of a majority if an election were held.
Italy
Nova.Now: Rome: A minor has been located for posting videos praising Nazism on social media.
The investigation was carried out by the Rome Digos and the Lazio Cyber Security Centre, and led to the discovery, in the teenager's home, of military-style clothing, accessories attributable to extremist models, handwritten sheets containing neo-Nazi symbols and a switchblade.
United Kingdom
BBC: Teen who ‘made terrorism manifesto’ admits charges
A teenager who wrote his own terrorism manifesto and is accused of stirring up racial hatred against Jewish people and foreigners has pleaded guilty to 12 terrorism offences. Damien Woolfenden, 18, formerly of Bury, admitted posting Christchurch attacker Brenton Tarrant's live-streamed video of the 2019 killings on to the self-described “pro-white” platform White Pilled TV.
Reuters: Iranian men to go on trial next year over alleged plot to target UK Jewish community
Two Iranian nationals are due to go on trial next year charged over an alleged plot to use a homemade bomb to attack the Jewish community in northern England at the behest of a figure believed to be based in Iran, a London court was told on Friday.
The National: UK study highlights anti-Muslim hate crimes
An alarming picture of the physical violence, intimidation and discrimination faced by many of Britain’s two million Muslims on a daily basis, was portrayed yesterday in new academic research.
A London jury Thursday heard prosecutors challenge Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the name Tommy Robinson, over his account of messages and social media posts directed at two MailOnline journalists who revealed where he was staying on a family vacation.
Vatican
Jewish Insider: Pope Leo affirms commitment to fighting antisemitism in meeting with AJC leaders
In a meeting at the Vatican with American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch and other AJC leaders from around the country on Thursday, Pope Leo XIV pledged to combat antisemitism.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Rocket Attack on Bagram Airbase Causes Taliban Casualties, says AFF
The Afghanistan Freedom Front says its forces carried out a rocket attack on Taliban military and training facilities at Bagram airbase, causing casualties and damage. In a statement, the group said the attack took place on Thursday evening, 22 October, and was based on intelligence it had gathered about the military base.
Keith Kellogg, a former Trump national security adviser and US envoy for Ukraine, has urged Washington to engage Afghan political figures seeking to build a legitimate alternative to Taliban rule.
The New York Times reports that Pakistani military and intelligence officials have met leaders of armed anti-Taliban groups in recent months and discussed possible support.
KabulNow: UN Experts Warn EU Against Afghan Deportations and Normalization of Taliban Rule
United Nations human rights experts expressed concern on Thursday over reports that European Union member states are deporting Afghan nationals to Afghanistan, saying the country remains unsafe for forced returns and that such actions could violate international law.
Middle East
Reuters: Egypt calls for Yemen talks as parliament weighs military support to Saudi Arabia
Egypt advocates exploring “every opportunity” to resolve the Yemen conflict diplomatically, its foreign minister said, ahead of a parliamentary vote next week on authorising the armed forces to support Saudi Arabia against the Iran-aligned Houthis.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Times of Israel: 2 soldiers killed in West Bank shooting; IDF believes gunmen planned larger attack
Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a military checkpoint near the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, killing two soldiers and wounding three in a gunfight that lasted for more than 20 minutes, before soldiers killed both attackers.
Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu orders Hebron sealed off, full West Bank closure after Hamas terror attack
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the city of Hebron to be cordoned off and for the entire West Bank to be blocked from entry and exit starting on Friday morning, after five people were wounded in a terror attack in the area carried out by Hamas terrorists.
Israel Police officials clarified on Friday that there was no suspicion that a Palestinian photographer working with the French news agency AFP had advance knowledge of a shooting attack near Hebron earlier in the day, Walla learned, following reports that the photographer had prior information about the incident.
Times of Israel: Report: Israel tells US Hamas doesn’t plan to disarm and is rebuilding its forces
Senior Israeli military officials have presented intelligence to their US counterparts that indicates Hamas has no intention of disarming and is instead rebuilding its forces in the Gaza Strip in preparation for possible renewed fighting, the Haaretz daily reported Thursday.
Times of Israel: Rifle-wielding settler extremists filmed dancing at wedding to anti-Zionist anthem
Israeli television on Thursday aired footage from what it said was a wedding held earlier this week, attended by settler extremists in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank. In the clip broadcast by the Kan public broadcaster, the so-called hilltop youth can be seen dancing to a song that has become something of an anthem for the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta sect of ultra-Orthodox Judaism and includes the phrase, “We do not believe in the rule of the heretics.”
Iran
IranWire: IRGC Says Tanker Traffic Halted After Overnight Attacks
Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), quoted an informed source close to the IRGC Navy on Friday, October 23, 2026, claiming that following the “destruction of navigational aid systems used by various vessels,” as well as “strikes on three oil tankers” and the “destruction of one offending tanker” on Thursday, October 22, the movement of vessels deemed “offending” by the Islamic Republic had completely ceased.
Iraq
ANHA: PMF foils ISIS attack on its positions
In a statement issued late Thursday night, the PMF said a force from its 61st Brigade had thwarted an attack carried out by ISIS mercenaries on Thursday evening in the Danadish sector, north of Hawija district in Kirkuk province. The statement said that the attackers targeted a thermal camera in the area before withdrawing from the site. No casualties were reported.
Israel
Dow Jones Risk Journal: Israel Sanctions Coral Oil for Supplying Fuel to Hezbollah
U.K.-registered Coral Oil is owned by Lebanon’s A. Yamin Group and does business through its Lebanese branch.
Jordan
Reuters: At least seven killed in attack at church in Jordan, state-owned outlet says
At least seven people were killed and 10 others injured on Friday when gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate, the state-owned television station Al-Mamlaka reported. Security forces had deployed at the church and were pursuing the suspects, the station reported. It said two gunmen got out of a vehicle and opened fire during a funeral procession at the Hamoud church in Karak.
Lebanon
Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff never intended to be in Beirut in Lebanon, on Oct. 23, 1983, when suicide bombers drove explosive-laden trucks into Marine Corps barracks, killing 241 American service members. But as Resnicoff told Fox News Digital, his presence during that event and advocacy thereafter would bring solace and support for a multitude of American service members, leading to his strong belief that “a coincidence is just God acting anonymously.”
Naharnet: Report: Hezbollah won’t remain silent if warrants issued for its officials
If Cabinet goes all the way in the probe into Hezbollah’s explosives shipment and judicial warrants are issued against Hezbollah officials, the party “will not remain silent,” sources close to Hezbollah said. “Its rejection could escalate into movements on the ground,” the sources told Al-Jadeed television.
Naharnet: Geagea ‘in the same boat’ with Aoun and Salam as Cabinet defers explosives case
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea voiced his support for President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and called for immediate judicial action regarding Hezbollah's confiscated explosives, in an interview on Thursday night on MTV’s Sar El Waqt.
Yemen
New York Times: The Epstein Files Produce an Unlikely Weapon for the Houthi Messaging Wars
The Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen is not only firing missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia, but also waging a propaganda war against the kingdom on social media.
IranWire: Houthi Attacks in Yemen’s Taiz Kill 130 Civilians and Injure 181, Rights Group Reports
The Yemeni Women’s Empowerment Foundation released a report on Friday, October 23, 2026, documenting 491 human rights violations committed over just nine days by the Houthis, an Islamic Republic-backed militia group, in Yemen’s Taiz Governorate. The violations include the killing of civilians, abductions, and attacks on residential areas.
Mali
AllAfrica: Mali Army, Russian Fighters Accused of Civilian Killings
Human Rights Watch has accused Mali’s armed forces and Russia-controlled Africa Corps of committing serious abuses against civilians in the central Mopti region during renewed fighting. The organisation said an apparent military drone strike on September 16 killed eight civilians and injured at least six others in Guélédié village. Witnesses reported that the strike hit an area where residents had gathered to access satellite internet, although armed fighters linked to al-Qaeda were reportedly present in the village.
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