CEP Mentions
NE Global: The New Face Of An Old Enemy: The Renewed Dangers Of ISIS And Al-Qaeda
“A dangerous cocktail of indifference and complacency enabled al-Qaeda to evolve from a shadowy fringe network in the early 1990s into one of the most destructive and infamous terrorist organizations the world has ever known. Early warning signs – including attacks on U.S. embassies in East Africa and on the USS Cole – were dismissed as distant dangers, failing to provoke a coordinated decisive response in Western capitals. This complacency paved the way for the tragedy of 9/11. As the several attacks in Europe and the recent tragedy in New Orleans have shown, history is starting to repeat itself, except now the scale of the problem is larger, the geography more expansive and the consequences equally dire. In the 90s, the threat of terrorism emanated from isolated bases in Afghanistan, set against the backdrop of a relatively subdued Middle East. The Oslo Accords, flawed as they were, reflected an era of tentative de-escalation in the region. Fast forward to today, and the geopolitical landscape has drastically shifted.”
History Hit: Inside Infamous Camp Commander’s House
“Dan Snow & History Hit were given unique access to the house formerly home to the Commandant of the camp, Rudolf Höss. Inside Dan uncovers chilling evidence of the horrors that unfolded 80 years ago and learns what life was like for the family whilst living there. Special thanks to the Counter Extremism Project and the Auschwitz-Birkinau State Museum. Additional thanks to Thomas Harding and Dr Schindler for speaking with us.”
BR24: Social Media: How IS Radicalizes Youth
“... One person who analyses this propaganda is Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the international non-profit organisation Counter Extremism Project. IS is planning for the long term, for example by threatening an attack on the Oktoberfest, says Schindler. The terrorists want to stir up fear and show strength in order to gain followers. IS is hoping for widespread dissemination through various media. According to Schindler, IS is very professional when it comes to spreading propaganda. The entire range of social networks popular with young people is used - in addition to "TikTok", also "Telegram" and the communication platform "Rocket.Chat".”
The Algemeiner: How The Auschwitz Commandant’s Infamous Home Has Been Turned Into A Center Against Antisemitism
“... Enter Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, who founded the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) in 2014. Recognizing the urgent need to push back against the normalization of Jew-hatred, he enlisted my good friend Elliott Broidy and fellow philanthropist Dr. Thomas Kaplan. Together they purchased Rudolf Höss’s former home in Oświęcim, just outside the Auschwitz compound, the very setting of “The Zone of Interest” — and created the Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism, and Radicalization (ARCHER) at House 88, whose goal is not just to remember the victims of the Holocaust but also to find the best ways to combat the spread of antisemitism and advocate for them.”
The Globe And Mail: Auschwitz, Beyond The Zone Of Interest
“[…] Mr. Höss was a leading figure in Hitler’s plan to exterminate all Jews and he transformed Auschwitz-Birkenau into a sprawling complex. He tried to shield his children from the horror of the camps by clouding the glass in their top-floor bedrooms. But any open window would have brought the sounds of prisoners screaming and the smell of a nearby crematorium, said Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, which acquired the house last year. “There is no way that anyone who’s lived in this house would not understand what’s going on,” he added. The CEP has bought a neighbouring property as well and plans to establish the Auschwitz Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization. Dr. Schindler said the centre will host regular conferences, seminars and events. “We hope, of course, that the centre will be another draw for the town,” he said.”
The New Zealand Herald: UFC And Bryce Mitchell: Fighter’s Nazi Support Deserves More Than Dana White’s Condemnation
“Many of us might have thought the debate about whether Adolf Hitler was a good bloke had been definitively settled long before the Allies took Berlin in 1945. Yet it seems the matter is still up for debate in some circles. UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell this week said the Nazi dictator was “a good guy”… “Several groups are enjoying fascism being in the public sphere and what they view as liberal and leftwing panic and distress over Musk’s salute,” said Joshua Fisher Birch, a terrorism analyst with the New York-based Counter Extremism Project. Like Musk, White and other UFC luminaries were among the supporters at Trump’s inauguration.”
Viory: 'Social Media Promotes Edges Of Society' - Hoss House Counter-Extremism Project Warns Of Rising Sectarian Violence In Europe, US
“The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) commemorated the 80th Holocaust Memorial Day in Poland with the opening of 'House 88' to the public - and warnings that sectarian violence and antisemitism were on the rise in Europe and the US. Footage captured on Tuesday shows the property, which was home to Auschwitz concentration camp commander SS Officer Rudolf Hoss and his family next to the former camp, which now serves as a museum. Now known as 'House 88', the property was bought by the CEP as a tribute to those murdered during the Holocaust and to raise awareness. "This was the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and death camp," explained Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project, noting that it would be one of the last opportunities for witnesses to the Holocaust to attend due to the advancing years of survivors.”
Welt: “This Has Nothing To Do With Debate, It Is Simply Illegal”
“Demonstrations in front of offices must be accepted, says Hans-Jakob Schindler, an expert on political extremism, with regard to the protest in front of the CDU party headquarters. But storming offices and threatening employees is beyond a political debate.”
United States
Associated Press: Trump’s Aid Freeze Shocks A Syria Camp Holding Families Linked To The Islamic State Group
“Ahmad Abdullah Hammoud was lucky to have some food stored to feed his family after a U.S.-funded organization abruptly suspended its aid activities at the sprawling tent camp in northeastern Syria where they have been forced to stay for nearly six years. His family is among 37,000 people, mostly women and children, with alleged ties to the Islamic State group at the bleak, trash-strewn al-Hol camp, where the Trump administration’s unprecedented freeze on foreign aid caused chaos and uncertainty and worsened the dire humanitarian conditions.”
CBS: Trump Says He Ordered Precision Military Air Strikes On ISIS Leaders In Somalia
“The U.S. military conducted coordinated airstrikes against ISIS operatives in Somalia, the first attacks in the African nation during President Trump's second term. Mr. Trump said Saturday in a post on Truth Social that he ordered "precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia." "These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies," the post continued. "The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians." On Saturday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes by U.S. Africa Command were directed by Mr. Trump and coordinated with Somalia's government.”
Syria
Reuters: Car Bomb Kills 15 In Northern Syria, Deadliest Since Assad Toppled
“A car bomb killed at least 15 people in the Syrian city of Manbij on Monday, the second attack there in three days and Syria's deadliest since Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power in December. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack in Manbij, located some 30 km (19 miles) from the Turkish border. The civil defence rescue service identified the dead as 14 women and one man, and said another 15 women were wounded. The victims were agricultural workers and the death toll was likely to increase, a civil defence official told Reuters.”
Turkey
Reuters: Turkey Hopes Trump Will End US Cooperation With Syrian Kurdish Militia
“Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday he hoped President Donald Trump would end U.S. cooperation with the Syrian Kurdish YPG, as Turkey continued its military campaign against the group, killing 23 of its fighters. The Turkish Defence Ministry said the 23 militants killed by Turkey's armed forces in northern Syria belonged to the YPG militia and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. Turkey regards the PKK and YPG as identical, while the United States views them as separate groups, having banned the PKK as terrorists but recruited the YPG as its main ally in Syria in the campaign against Islamic State.”
Afghanistan
Associated Press: The Taliban Take Over Afghanistan’s Only Luxury Hotel, More Than A Decade After Attacking It
“The Taliban are taking over the operations of Afghanistan’s only luxury hotel in Kabul, more than a decade after they launched a deadly attack there that killed nine people. The Serena Hotel said Friday it was closing its operations in the Afghan capital on Feb. 1, with the Hotel State Owned Corporation taking over. The corporation is overseen by the finance ministry. The finance ministry wasn’t immediately available for comment. Neither the Serena nor the government clarified the terms under which the hotel was changing hands.”
Associated Press: The Taliban Have No Legal Right To Multibillion Dollar Afghan Fund, Says Us Watchdog
“The watchdog for U.S. assistance to Afghanistan said the Taliban have no legal right to billions of dollars in funding set aside for the country because they are not recognized as its government and are under sanctions. In its latest report issued Friday, the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, also said President Donald Trump’s administration and Congress may want to examine returning nearly $4 billion earmarked for Afghanistan to the “custody and control” of the U.S. government. In 2022, the U.S. transferred $3.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets previously frozen in America to the Swiss-based Fund for the Afghan People.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: A Police Officer Working On Pakistan’s First Polio Drive Of The Year Is Killed By Gunmen
“A police officer working on Pakistan’s first polio vaccination drive of the year was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen Monday, police said. Pakistan deployed thousands of police officers to protect health workers who go house-to-house to inoculate children and are targeted by militants who falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children. The police officer was killed in Jamrud, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, local police official Jamshed Khan said. More than 200 polio workers and police assigned for their protection have been killed in Pakistan since the 1990s, according to health officials and authorities.”
Lebanon
Reuters: Exclusive: US Seeks To Block Hezbollah Ally From Naming Lebanon Finance Minister
“Washington is pressuring top Lebanese officials not to allow Hezbollah or its allies to nominate the country's next finance minister, five people with knowledge of the matter said, in an attempt to limit the Iran-backed group's sway over the state. The unusually direct U.S. intervention in Lebanon's sectarian politics appears aimed at capitalizing on shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Iran-backed Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year's war with Israel and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad ousted from power. Like all of Lebanon's main factions, the armed group Hezbollah has long named ministers to government, in coordination with its Shi'ite ally the Amal Movement, which has picked all of Lebanon's finance ministers since 2014.”
Qatar
Reuters: Qatar's Prime Minister Calls On Hamas, Israel To Begin Immediate Talks On Gaza Ceasefire Phase Two
“Qatar's prime minister on Sunday called on Israel and Hamas to immediately begin negotiating phase two of the Gaza ceasefire, adding that there is no clear plan for when talks will begin. "We demand (Hamas and Israel) to engage immediately as stipulated in the agreement," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a press conference held jointly with Turkey's foreign minister in the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday. According to the ceasefire agreement, negotiations on implementing the second phase of the deal should begin before the 16th day of phase one of the ceasefire, which is Monday.”
Middle East
Associated Press: Israel’s Netanyahu Heads To US To Discuss ‘Victory Over Hamas’ With Trump
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will discuss “victory over Hamas,” countering Iran and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries in his meeting with President Donald Trump. Tuesday’s meeting at the White House will be Trump’s first with a foreign leader since returning to office. It comes as U.S. and Arab mediators begin the daunting work of brokering the next phase of a ceasefire agreement to wind down the 15-month war in Gaza. Hamas, which has reasserted control over Gaza since the ceasefire began last month, has said it will not release hostages in the second phase without an end to the war and Israeli forces’ full withdrawal.”
Europe
Reuters: Russia's Supreme Court Refuses To Consider Nationalist Girkin's Appeal, TASS Reports
“Russia's Supreme Court refused to consider supervisory appeal of prominent nationalist and former militia commander Igor Girkin against his four-year jail term, TASS agency reported early on Monday. Girkin accused President Vladimir Putin and the army of failures in the war in Ukraine and was convicted a year ago of inciting extremism, a charge he denied. "The panel of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation decided to refuse to consider Igor Strelkov's supervisory appeal," TASS cited the court as saying. Girkin, who used the nom de guerre Igor Strelkov when he was a separatist commander in east Ukraine a decade ago, has filed several unsuccessful appeals against his sentence. A supervisory appeal in Russia's judiciary system is an appeal to the Supreme Court against a ruling or a court decision that has already entered into legal force, according to information provided on websites of Russian courts.”
Australia
SCMP: Australia Follows US, Britain In Sanctioning ‘Terrorgram’ Extremist Network
“Australia on Monday imposed sanctions on extreme right-wing online network “Terrorgram” as part of its efforts to combat a rise in antisemitism and online extremism, following similar moves by Britain and the United States. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government’s action would make it a criminal offence to engage with “Terrorgram” and help prevent children from becoming caught up in far-right extremism. “Terrorgram is an online network that promotes white supremacy and racially-motivated violence,” Wong said in a statement. “It is the first time any Australian government has imposed counterterrorism financing sanctions on an entity based entirely online.” Offenders will face up to 10 years in jail and heavy fines, she said.”
Technology
The Guardian: Labor Imposes Counter-Terrorism Sanctions On Online Neo-Nazi Network Terrorgram
“An online network for neo-Nazis that openly advocates for acts of violence has been hit with counter-terrorism sanctions in an escalation of the federal response to the spate of antisemitic attacks in Australia. The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, announced the sanctions on Terrogram, a network of groups that use encrypted platforms such as Telegram to share radical white supremacist content. The group promotes militant accelerationism, which calls for violent acts to destabilise society.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
