Month: December 2023

Government & Politics

Germany’s CDU redefines stance on Islam in new manifesto Under Friedrich Merz, Germany's Christian Democratic Union is revising its manifesto, sparking controversy with its new stance on Islam and migration. The party's new direction marks a departure from the Merkel era.

December 12, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) The new color scheme a few months back was only a cosmetic step. Now, Germany’s center-right Christian Democrats are going under the hood. For the first time since 2007, the party that ruled Germany for most of the republic’s young […]

Legal

Russian-speaking man accused of ‘hostile reconnaissance’ for TV station terror attack told police he was sightseeing in London Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev told security guards outside Iran International's former headquarters in Chiswick that he was in the area to visit a friend and to go sightseeing in London.

December 12, 2023   

(Sky News) A Russian-speaking man accused of conducting hostile reconnaissance for a terrorist attack on a dissident Iranian TV station in West London told police he was on a weekend sightseeing visit in the capital, a court has heard. Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, 31, […]

Children & Teens

Calgary youth suspected of terrorism activity to enter into 12-month peace bond As well as anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, the teen's material also included references to Black Lives Matter and showed a synagogue blowing up

December 11, 2023   

(Calgary Herald) The Calgary teen who will be placed on a 12-month terrorism peace bond believed Sharia law dictated that gay people should be executed, court was told Monday. And among the materials found on the now-17-year-old’s electronic devices were videos of […]

Academics & Education

In San Diego, controversy surrounds an antisemitic imam and his wife Imam Taha Hassane has justified Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, while Lallia Allali posted an image of a Star of David decapitating babies.

December 11, 2023   

(JNS) On Dec. 8, the Palestine, Arab and Muslim Caucus of the California Faculty Association hosted an event — listed with the California State University, San Bernardino, logo — titled “Endangered Education: Teaching Palestine in Liberated K-12 Ethnic Studies.” Among the speakers […]

Demonstrations

Denmark’s Quran-burning ban draws sharp criticism Denmark now bows to the demands of dictatorial Middle Eastern regimes, Danish People’s Party MP Mikkel Bjørn Sørensen said.

December 11, 2023   

(European Conservative) The decision taken by the left-liberal majority in the Danish parliament, the Folketing, late last week to ban public Quran burning has garnered sharp criticism from both domestic politicians and political leaders in neighboring Scandinavian countries, with many arguing the […]

Children & Teens

Austria arrests 16-year-old on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack The teenager was allegedly planning an attack against a synagogue in Vienna, authorities have said.

December 11, 2023   

(Local) Austrian authorities have arrested a 16-year-old boy from Upper Austria on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack against a synagogue in Vienna. The arrest was made last Thursday, December 7th, and the teenager is in custody. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) […]

Legal

Man ‘spied on HQ of London-based TV channel Iran International to help terror plotters’ Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, 31, told security guards outside the channel's headquarters that he was in the area to visit a friend. But he was later arrested by police after he was seen filming the building on his mobile phone, a court was told.

December 11, 2023   

(Sky News) An Austrian man is on trial accused of carrying out “hostile reconnaissance” of a TV station in London that was potentially being targeted for a terrorist attack. Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev is said to have tried to covertly film security arrangements outside […]

Interfaith

Planned attack against Jews in Cyprus thwarted The recent arrest of two Iranians in [Cyprus] highlight[s] vulnerabilities and diplomatic challenges for the Republic

December 10, 2023   

(Kathimerini) The Cypriot police arrested two Iranians last month, alleging their connection to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards of Iran (IRGC), targeting Jewish citizens in Cyprus. The individuals are currently in custody, with a deportation warrant. This marks the third incident in the […]

Crime

Pro-Palestine group who confronted Starmer in Scotland praised Hamas’ 7 October atrocities Two people were charged after the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign urged activists to confront Labour leader in Glasgow on Thursday

December 8, 2023   

(Jewish News) A pro-Palestine group who confronted Keir Starmer as he arrived in Glasgow for a speaking event issued a statement on the day of the 7 October Hamas terror attacks in Israel praising them as “remarkable gains made by the Palestinian […]

Academics & Education

Paty murder trial shines a light on France’s democracy Six minors are standing trial in Paris for their alleged role in the killing of a teacher. But some feel the authorities are missing this opportunity to examine the state of freedom of expression in France.

December 7, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) The killing of French history teacher Samuel Paty on October 16, 2020, left the country in deep shock. And yet, some feel the first court case on the alleged role of six minors in the attack is failing to bring about […]

Academics & Education

Sweden shuts down publicly funded school over jihad links The shutdown comes amid a longstanding debate on scrapping all faith-based schools in Sweden.

December 7, 2023   

(European Conservative) Swedish authorities have shut down a school in Stockholm after the Swedish security police Säpo produced evidence that the students attending the school were at risk of becoming radicalised as several staff members have ties to jihadism. The Swedish Schools […]

Crime

Man is arrested after firing gun near Albany synagogue After firing the shots, the suspect said, 'Free Palestine,' the police said. No one was hurt during the shooting, which occurred hours before the beginning of Hanukkah.

December 7, 2023 and   

(NY Times) A man fired a shotgun into the air outside an Albany, N.Y., synagogue on Thursday afternoon and later said, “Free Palestine,” according to the police, sending the building into lockdown and prompting local and federal investigations hours before the beginning […]

Government & Politics

White House distances itself from CAIR, condemns director’s ‘antisemitic statements’ The White House scrubbed a mention of CAIR from an antisemitism fact sheet and pledged that the group has no involvement in efforts to draft a national Islamophobia strategy

December 7, 2023   

(Jewish Insider) The White House on Thursday distanced itself from the Council on American-Islamic Relations after the leader of the Muslim advocacy organization gave a speech celebrating the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel. “We condemn these shocking, antisemitic statements in […]

Citizenship

Germany: CDU fears Islamist bloc as millions of Turkish migrants to be granted voting rights Progressive plans to naturalise millions of migrants, many of them Turkish, [are] unsettling German conservatives as Turkey continues its collision course with the West.

December 7, 2023   

(European Conservative) New German citizenship laws that expand voting rights to up to 2.5 million recent migrants are unnerving even the usually complacent CDU, with one conservative lawmaker airing fears that the new arrangement could enable a potential Islamist bloc to attain […]

Interfaith

CAIR director says he was ‘happy’ to witness Oct. 7 attacks, Israel ‘does not have right to self-defense’ CAIR co-founder Nihad Awad also stated that Israel had no right to defend itself from Hamas attacks because it is an 'occupying power'

December 7, 2023   

(Fox) One of the top executives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said he was “happy” to witness the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. Nihad Awad, executive director and co-founder of CAIR, expressed his feelings on the terrorist attack at […]

Alcohol & Drugs

Lombard man pleads guilty to trafficking fentanyl and providing support to ISIS Jason Brown, 41, has been in custody since his 2019 arrest. He was accused of shipping fentanyl from California to the suburbs and sending money to the Islamic State of Iraq.

December 6, 2023   

(Chicago Sun-Times) A suburban man pleaded guilty Wednesday to trafficking drugs and attempting to provide materials to the Islamic State of Iraq in 2019. Jason Brown, 41, was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, one count […]

Children & Teens

ISIS propaganda seducing ‘new generation of teenagers’: French domestic intel Security chief warns Islamist ideology is likely to exist for a very long time to come.

December 6, 2023   

(Politico) A new generation of French teenagers is being wooed by the Islamic State terrorist group — infamous for its on-camera immolations of captives in Iraq — and seems ominously susceptible to the group’s propaganda, according to the head of France’s DGSI […]

Children & Teens

Maryland AG reinstates hate crime task force member who claimed Israeli babies murdered by Hamas were ‘fake’ Anti-Israel activist Zainab Chaudry made numerous antisemitic social posts

December 6, 2023   

(Fox) Democrat Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown on Tuesday reinstated a member of his state’s hate crime task force who posted numerous antisemitic social media posts, including a claim that the babies murdered in the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas attack were “fake.” […]

Interfaith

Germany on guard against terrorism Against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war and one-off attacks closer to home, German authorities are confronting a 'complex threat situation.' Some observers warn against exaggerating the danger.

December 5, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) A handful of isolated but high-profile incidents have put politically motivated crime high on Germany’s security agenda. The renewed fears follow a German tourist getting stabbed to death in Paris last weekend, allegedly by a man with a history of criminal […]

Demonstrations

MOT: Russia planned Islamophobic campaigns in Finland, Sweden to delay Nato membership The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) confirms that they were aware of the Russian intelligence service's plans to incite such demonstrations.

December 4, 2023   

(Yle) Russia made plans to disrupt Finland and Sweden’s accession to joining Nato, according to a secret intelligence report obtained by an Yle MOT investigation. The report found that a Russian intelligence service planned to organise disruption campaigns disguised as demonstrations before […]

Government & Politics

More EU countries threaten to close Russian borders amid migrant surge Latvia and Lithuania say they are monitoring the situation, after Finland accused Moscow of ‘cynical’ actions.

December 4, 2023   

(Politico) A growing number of asylum seekers arriving on the EU’s eastern frontier is forcing Baltic countries to consider border closures with Russia, due to fears the Kremlin is weaponizing desperate people to create a migration crisis on the continent. Latvia, Lithuania […]