Eye on Extremism: September 1, 2026
Top Stories
Wall Street Journal: Washington’s Deadly New Headache: An al Qaeda-Houthi Terrorist Alliance
The airstrike was an opening shot in the American effort to disrupt the unlikely alliance between two implacable U.S. foes: al-Shabaab militants who have been fighting in Somalia for two decades, and the Houthi rebels, longtime beneficiaries of weapons and training from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Times of Israel: Foreign Ministry hosts global Jewish leaders to affirm anti-Zionism is antisemitism
A central objective of the Forum was to advance a joint declaration by Jewish leaders affirming that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, the ministry says. “Against the global tide of antisemitism and the attempts to isolate and delegitimize Israel, the message from Jerusalem is clear: united, we are stronger,” Sa’ar says. The forum was organized by Israel’s Foreign Ministry and chaired by William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and the heads of Jewish organizations from Europe, North and South America, Australia and South Africa.
CEP Mentions
TV INTER: Germany has become a target for Russian sabotage
Hans-Jakob Schindler speaks on the attack against Leipzig airport and Russian hybrid warfare against Germany.
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler—Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project and former coordinator of the UN Security Council’s ISIL/Al-Qaida/Taliban Monitoring Team—about a topic that has shaped his entire career.
Analysis
GNET: ‘From the Belly of the Beast!’: Militant Accelerationists and the Iran War
Against the backdrop of the 2026 Iran War, a strand of militant accelerationism has rallied—with varying sincerity—behind the Islamic Republic. Some actors have expressed admiration for Iranian resistance; others remain indifferent, viewing both Washington and Tehran as enemies of the white ethno-state they seek to construct from the ruins of liberal order. What unites these positions is not affinity for the Islamic Republic but a shared anti-systemic logic, whereby war between the United States, Iran, and Israel is cast as a productive force to undermine the supposed ‘Zionist Occupied Government’ (ZOG).
Homeland Security Today: UK Extremist Threat Landscape Grows More Complex as Ideologies Converge
The United Kingdom’s extremist landscape is entering a period of significant transformation, characterized not only by the persistence of long-established ideological movements, but also by the emergence of increasingly fluid, hybridized, and networked forms of radicalization.
“Tomorrow is the day of retribution, the day in which I will have my revenge against humanity, against all of you.” These were the words of Elliot Rodger in a YouTube video he uploaded the day before he carried out the 2014 Isla Vista killings, murdering six people and injuring fourteen others. Driven by a deep hatred of women, Rodger wrote in his 141-page manifesto: “They denied me a happy life, and in return I will take away all of their lives. It is only fair.” More than a decade later, Rodger has been glorified as “The Supreme Gentleman” within incel, or “involuntary celibate,” communities, where subsequent attackers invoke his manifesto and videos as ideological inspiration.
Jerusalem Post: An enemy from within: How Gazan militias became Hamas’s new nightmare -analysis
The activity of Gazan militias opposed to Hamas, which took place Tuesday morning deep inside the Gaza Strip, demonstrates not only the area’s volatility but also the deep concern among Hamas’s leadership.
United States
Jewish Insider: Huckabee calls out Qatar, Muslim Brotherhood for influencing U.S. universities
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference on Monday, condemned Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood for their spending to influence U.S. education with anti-Israel sentiment.
The judge who recently threw out a confession by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, previously argued that the U.S. military had a growing domestic extremism problem fueled in part by “conservative tendencies” reinforced by “extreme right-wing groups.”
Vice President JD Vance left a positive impression after his highly anticipated appearance before the Republican Jewish Coalition on Monday, assuaging some skeptical attendees of his commitment to Jewish Americans and the U.S. alliance with Israel while stopping short of disavowing his association with controversial figures like Tucker Carlson.
New York Times: Can JD Vance Win Over Skeptical Jewish Voters?
“People are concerned about the Tucker Carlson relationship and the question about whether the vice president’s support for Israel and opposition to antisemitism will be as strong as what we’ve seen from President Trump,” said Kenneth L. Marcus, a former Trump administration official who attended the coalition meeting.
Eitan Israelov, 34, was noshing on bagels and coffee at a co-working space in downtown Tulsa when he met the city’s mayor, Monroe Nichols. Israelov and his family — wife, Nicole, 31, and their two children, Liam, 10, and Melody, 8 — were among nearly 50 Canadian Jews who traveled to Oklahoma in February, part of an audacious recruitment trip to lure Jews worried about rising and often violent antisemitism north of the border to leave Canada and move to the U.S.
ABC 4: Man charged with terrorism after allegedly threatening to destroy missile factory
A Cedar City man has been charged with terrorism after he allegedly threatened to destroy a missile factory while on the phone with a suicide hotline. Kristian Berry, 40, is charged with terrorism with the intent to interrupt or occupy a building, public area, or transport (a third-degree felony) and terrorism with the intent to cause an emergency agency to act (a class B misdemeanor).
New York Times: Teen Is Charged With Murder After Livestreaming San Diego Mosque Shooting
A 17-year-old North Carolina girl was charged with murder after she coordinated with gunmen to livestream a fatal shooting at a San Diego mosque this year, the authorities said Monday.
JNS: Attack on Lander shows extremists ‘don’t distinguish between Jews,’ Israeli envoy says
Ofir Akunis, the Israeli consul general in New York, decried the antisemitic confrontation involving Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, a former city comptroller, at a protest outside Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Lander, who is Jewish and who has accused Israel of “genocide,” defeated Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), the incumbent, for the Democratic nomination in New York’s 10th Congressional District.
JTA: John Galliano bows out of Met exhibition as backlash over antisemitism mounts
John Galliano withdrew from a planned exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in response to a rapidly escalating controversy over the museum’s decision to honor the fashion designer despite his history of antisemitic and racist remarks. Galliano said Monday that, after discussions with the Met and others involved in the exhibition, he had decided that it was best for the show not to take place “at this time.” He said he remained accountable for the pain caused by his past words, particularly to Jews and Asians, and recognized that an exhibition honoring his work could be painful for some. The Met said it agreed with his decision.
When former Fox News host Steve Hilton visited the Hillel at University of California, Los Angeles a few months ago, he was “shocked” at the stories he heard from students at the public school and local high schools and from local leaders about “what the daily reality is.”
SILive: Signs promoting white supremacist group found in NYC
The Advance/SILive.com identified at least two signs in New Dorp on Monday promoting the white supremacist Patriot Front group.
Patch: Masked ‘Keep New Jersey White’ Protesters March Through Affluent NJ Town
Princeton police are investigating a march held Saturday by a group of about a dozen people carrying flags associated with white supremacist organizations, a police spokesperson confirmed.
Fox 35 Orlando: Antisemitic symbols, gestures displayed during boxing event at Orlando’s Kia Center
Antisemitic symbols and gestures were displayed during a boxing event at Orlando’s Kia Center over the weekend, drawing condemnation from members of Central Florida's Jewish community and people who attended the event.
Bowling Green Daily News: Ramic asks U.S. Supreme Court to hear appeal in terror case
A Bowling Green man convicted of crimes stemming from his membership in ISIS has formally petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal. Mirsad Ramic, 36, was sentenced to 101 months in prison in 2025 after being found guilty in U.S. District Court of providing material support and resources to ISIS, conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and receiving military-type training from a designated terrorist organization.
Federal officials say a Portland group uses an overseas terror network to target ICE agents locally. The U.S. State and Treasury departments have officially labeled an Italian group a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” What’s more they say Portland’s Rose City ANTIFA has relied on that group’s digital tools to organize and incite violent and criminal acts, including an attack on Customs and Border Protection helicopters that led to a federal indictment.
Canada
JNS: Canadians moving to Israel find Jewish future, worry about those left behind
“I think day-to-day, we felt safe,” Yael Eis, 40, told JNS. “We were in a bubble, part of a really nice, comfortable, easy Jewish community.” That bubble required security around Jewish schools and an increased police presence, she told JNS. Their synagogue was among three in the Toronto area struck by gunfire in March. In June, Toronto police said a terrorist criminal-for-hire network was recruiting young people via encrypted apps and paying them to film shootings at synagogues, schools and the U.S. consulate. A Hezbollah commander has been indicted in the United States on charges linked to the shootings.
Germany
BBC: Germany says Russia behind Leipzig airport drone attack
Germany has said Russia was responsible for last month’s drone attack at Leipzig's airport.
A drone carrying an explosive device was discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany, close to Ukrainian cargo planes, on 4 August.
Poland
TVP World: Polish student indicted over alleged ISIS-inspired Christmas market attack
A Polish student suspected of planning an attack on a Christmas market has been indicted on terrorism charges. Officials announced on Monday that charges had been filed against the 20-year-old, named by the authorities only as Mateusz W. due to Polish privacy laws, on August 13.
United Kingdom
The Guardian: Almost half of terrorism arrests in Great Britain since 9/11 have been in past year
Almost half of all terrorism arrests in Great Britain since the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers in 2001 have come in the past year, official data shows. There have been 6,539 arrests for terror-related activity in Great Britain since the 2001 attacks and 3,021 of those arrests were in the year ending 31 March 2026, according to the Home Office.
BBC: Fake bomb vest teen jailed for terrorism offences
A 19-year-old man who shared an online video of himself wearing a fake bomb vest has been jailed for nine years and six months for terrorism offences. Mohammed Khalil Nadir, from Middlesborough, was found guilty of possessing articles for a terrorist purpose and disseminating terrorist publications after a trial at Leeds Crown Court in June.
TellMama: Street Based Anti-Muslim Hate Continues to Rise
Tell MAMA continues to pick up a rise in street based anti-Muslim hate that is taking place and which is reported in by British Muslims. In particular, comments that are made by passing vehicles and against individuals waiting at bus stops, seem to come up again and again in cases of anti-Muslim hatred reported to Tell MAMA.
JNS: Hundreds remember victims of Manchester synagogue attack
Several hundred people gathered at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, the United Kingdom on Monday to commemorate the victims of the Oct. 2, 2025 jihadist attack on that house of worship. British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Angela Rayner, the British government’s Communities Secretary, were among those in attendance at the memorial service for Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, who died as a result of the assault.
Russia
Six Jehovah’s Witnesses have been convicted of “extremist” activity in Russia after being entrapped by an informant of the FSB security service who posed as a bereaved woman seeking comfort in religion, a spokesperson for the faith group said on Tuesday. Two of the accused, Zaur Murtuzov and Darya Petrochenko, were sentenced last week to five years each in a penal colony. Four other women received compulsory labour sentences of up to four years.
Middle East
Naharnet: Netanyahu: Defeating Iran could lead to end of Hamas, Hezbollah
Victory over Iran could bring about the elimination of Hamas and Hezbollah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday night. “It is clear that if this regime is defeated, the path to the final elimination of Hamas and the elimination of Hezbollah is not far off, and we will complete it,” Netanyahu told Channel 14.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Taliban’s 11-Year Insurgency ‘Left 40,000 Civilians Dead’
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has released a report on victims of armed conflict, documenting 40,000 civilian deaths and more than 77,000 injuries between January 2009 and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. UNAMA said the report presents findings from research conducted in 2024 and 2025 by its Human Rights Service to understand the experiences and needs of victims of armed conflict in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan International: 43 Operations Against Taliban In One Month, Says Afghanistan United Front
The Afghanistan United Front says it carried out at least 43 operations against the Taliban in 14 provinces over the past month, claiming 74 Taliban members were killed and 35 others wounded.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Steps Up Security Measures In Kandahar After Reported Attacks
The Taliban administration in Kandahar said on Monday that Governor Mullah Shirin, a close associate of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s leader, had ordered police commanders in 11 districts to tighten security and increase patrols. Mullah Shirin instructed police commanders to step up round-the-clock patrols to maintain security and to improve coordination with other security and administrative bodies.
Sources in Kabul say that the head of the Taliban’s regional control unit in the city’s Eighth Security District was killed in an internal clash among Taliban fighters. The sources told The Hashte Subh Daily on Tuesday, September 1, that Samiullah Badr, head of the Taliban’s regional control unit in Kabul’s Eighth Security District, was shot dead by a Taliban fighter in the Kart-e- Naw area of Kabul.
8AM Media: Attack on Taliban Security Command Center in Ghor
The Afghanistan United Front has claimed that its forces attacked the Taliban’s security command center in central Ghor on Monday afternoon. The front said on Monday, August 31, that its forces used a hand grenade against the entrance of the command center during the attack.
The Diplomatic Insight: No Taliban At SCO As Afghanistan Security Remains Key Concern
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit opened in Bishkek on Monday without representation from Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, with regional security, terrorism and drug trafficking remain key issues during the gathering.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
The Israeli military carried out heavy strikes in Gaza City on Tuesday morning, reportedly in support of a Palestinian militia attempting to abduct an official in the Hamas terror group.
Police announced Tuesday that they had arrested eight suspects allegedly involved in a series of arson attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, hours after yet another mosque was reportedly burned by settlers in a Palestinian village in a separate incident.
Iraq
The National News: Iraq to put thousands of ISIS suspects transferred from Syria on trial
Iraq has finished interrogating thousands of ISIS suspects transferred from Syria and is preparing to put them on trial, the Supreme Judicial Council said. The First Karkh Investigation Court, which specialises in terrorism cases, has “completed the interrogation phase” for the 5,704 suspects, the council said in a statement. The cases are to be moved to the next judicial stage, with defendants referred to trial courts “according to the evidence and facts collected in his case”.
Israel
Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insinuated without evidence in an interview aired Monday that left-wing politician Yair Golan had advance notice of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught, drawing a furious response from the latter’s party. Golan said he would sue her.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Report: Most of Hezbollah members in Ali al-Taher ‘have been killed’
Israel is “dissatisfied” with the Lebanese Army’s performance so far in the so-called “pilot zones” in south Lebanon – a U.S.-backed mechanism that began about a month and a half ago, Israel’s public broadcaster reported. It quoted a senior U.S. official as saying that Lebanese Army officers have informed Washington that they “oppose a rapid Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon at this stage, fearing Hezbollah would return to the same positions.” The official added that work is underway with both sides to reach a future arrangement, but that it “will take time.”
Syria
AFP: 10 Syrian security personnel reported wounded in clashes in Sweida
Clashes with local armed groups in Syria’s Druze-majority province of Sweida left 10 government security personnel wounded, state media reported Tuesday. The unrest, which took place on Monday, came after two civilians were killed in similar clashes west of Sweida city, according to two local security sources.
Israel’s defense establishment is increasingly concerned about developments in Syria and the processes Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is leading as he seeks to rebuild the country, a senior defense official told Walla on Tuesday.
Yemen
The internationally recognized Yemeni government's counterterrorism force, known as “Task Force 22,” killed Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari, the chief spokesperson of Islamic State and the reported head of the terror group’s Yemen cells, Yemen’s Central State Security Agency said on Tuesday.
South Korea
Yonhap: 4 Uzbek men nabbed in S. Korea over alleged support to terrorist group in Syria
Four Uzbek men have been apprehended in South Korea on charges of violating the counter-terrorism financing law over their alleged roles in sending money and vehicles to a terrorist group in Syria, police said Tuesday.
Australia
A teenage boy has told a Sydney court he was considering carrying out a mass terror attack motivated by Islamic extremism in the CBD after being radicalised on social media. He was 14 years old when federal police arrested him in August 2024 at his Western Sydney home, where officers found more than 40 videos on his computer featuring extremist content.
Technology
Quartz: House Intelligence Committee warned AI could help terrorists build far deadlier weapons
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence warned Monday that artificial intelligence could make it easier for terrorists and other bad actors to develop and carry out more destructive attacks, urging the intelligence community to accelerate its adoption of AI tools to stay ahead of adversaries.
The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) has released its 2025 Annual Report, highlighting a year in which terrorism and violent extremism continued to evolve amid growing concerns over youth radicalization, emerging technologies, hybrid threats and renewed ISIS activity.
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