Radicalism and Extremism

As a Jewish, female refugee from Libya, I know all too well the consequences for women and girls in a society that takes religious dogma to the nth degree. Since the American “exit” from Afghanistan, I feel, by osmosis, that I can relate to every Afghan woman and girl who is stuck now in what can be only described as a hellish nightmare.

Education is the root of the problem. Before a young man decides to become a member of a terrorist organization and then targets the civilian population of Israel, using his Palestinian neighbors as human shields, he receives an injection of radicalism and hatred at school. We have a lot of evidence for that. Why is European taxpayers' money being used to indoctrinate Palestinians with jihadist ideology and feed them with hatred? It is also the money of Polish taxpayers. The Polish authorities should take a clear position on this matter - there is no consent to finance an education system that that educates children in the spirit of admiration for terrorism.

Hamas has territorial ambitions on Israel. In fact, that's putting it mildly: It would like to replace Israel in its entirety with a Muslim Brotherhood-ruled, Sharia-based state. Israel has no territorial ambitions on Hamas-ruled Gaza. To the contrary, Israel left it totally in 2005 to govern itself, something previous rulers, including Egypt and Ottoman Turkey, never remotely did. Israel hoped never to return.

The recent beheading of Samuel Paty by an Islamist extremist has sent shock waves throughout France. Learn more about France’s fight against extremism in the name of Islam and all forms of hate with Caroline Fourest, a leading French journalist and filmmaker in conversation with AJC Europe Director, Simone Rodan-Benzaquen.

Join us for a conversation with Matthew Levitt, Director of the Washington Institute's Counter Terrorism & Intelligence Program, on his recently launched "Hezbollah Worldwide Activity Map," the largest database of open-source information about Hezbollah's illicit activities worldwide.

As antisemitism is surging across the country, and politically-motivated violence is seen in some American cities, it has perhaps never been more important for us to understand the dangers of extremism in our nation. Join us to analyze the state of extremism in America today.

France must join its European partners in calling for Hezbollah to be placed on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations if it wants to be comprehensive in its fight against terrorism. France could very well become the next European hotspot for the organization once it is driven out of Germany.

We have the remarkable situation that the U.S., Canada, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, the Arab League, and the GCC, joined most recently by Argentina and the United Kingdom, all agree on the true nature of Hezbollah, yet the EU stands oddly apart.

For years, the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, and other countries have called all of Hezbollah what it really is: a terrorist organization. The group’s self-portrayal as a legitimate Lebanese political party notwithstanding, no amount of spin or reorganization can overshadow Hezbollah’s destructive and lethal organized crime operation around the world.

A quarter-century after the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, the president of Argentina has added Hezbollah to a registry of terrorist organizations and has frozen its assets.

The upcoming anniversary presents an unparalleled opportunity for all countries in Latin America to openly denounce Hezbollah for what it is: a terrorist organization  

The Leonard Greenberg Forum for Domestic Policy Issues at AJC Global Forum 2019 will feature a panel discussing how best to confront the rise of white supremacy, as its propaganda and rhetoric emerge from the shadows and enter the mainstream.

Recent investigations and trials in EU countries have confirmed what has long been a consensus amongst terrorism experts: Hezbollah is using Europe to secure its financing.

U.S. government and civil society friends of Sri Lanka gathered at the U.S. Capitol to express sorrow and solidarity with the people of the island nation after the Easter Sunday terrorist bombings of churches and hotels that claimed more than 250 lives and wounded hundreds more.

“Recognition of the IRGC as a key arm of Iran’s global terrorism strategy is vitally important to the U.S., which first designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1984,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “We applaud President Trump for taking this highly significant step.”

Few countries are as resistant to listing Hezbollah as terrorist organization in its entirety as Germany.

On the afternoon of March 17, 1992, Israel’s embassy in Argentina was reduced to rubble by a blast that killed 29 people – four Israelis and 25 Argentinians – and injured nearly 250. A group tied to Hezbollah, a proxy for Iran, claimed responsibility.

Violent terrorism, targeting a faith group has struck again, this time in normally placid New Zealand.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is appalled by the murderous assaults on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised British Home Secretary Sajid Javid for initiating action today that will designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in its entirety.

Dr. Matthew Levitt, the Fromer-Wexler fellow and director of the Reinhard program on counterterrorism and intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, details the worldwide operations of the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah since the organization was partially designated a terrorist organization.

Religion is playing an increasingly pervasive role, threatening Indonesia’s national ideology, a tradition of pluralism, inclusiveness, moderation, and tolerance that is known as Pancasila. This trend is displayed most dramatically when terrorists strike at churches, but has been manifest in the political realm for some time, and very clearly in the important 2017 Jakarta local election.

The signing of the Taylor Force Act into law last week should have come as no surprise to the Palestinian leadership.

AJC welcomes passage of the Taylor Force Act, bipartisan legislation that aims to end the Palestinian Authority’s abhorrent practice of rewarding terrorists. The legislation is included in the omnibus appropriations bill adopted by the House and Senate.

In 2017, far-right parties rode a wave of anti-immigrant and xenophobic sentiment to new electoral heights across Europe.

While the European Union’s soft power can’t stop conflicts, it could help prevent the outbreak of a new one—between Israel and Iran, aided by its proxy Hezbollah.

AJC praised the U.S. House of Representatives for overwhelmingly passing the Taylor Force Act, legislation that will penalize the Palestinian Authority (PA) for diverting foreign aid to reward Palestinian terrorists.

The worst terror atrocity in Egyptian history and among the bloodiest worldwide in the last decade was carried out during Friday prayers on November 24 at the Sufi mosque of al-Rawdah near Bir al-'Abd in northern Sinai.

For years, it has been nearly impossible to speak about French Muslim antisemitism.

AJC is urging the Polish government to speak out clearly against rising hatred inspired by the country's far right.

Imagine terrorists who have killed hundreds of people in Europe and the U.S. receiving generous rewards for their crimes.

The same terrorist methods developed and used by the Palestinians against Israeli civilians for years are now being employed by ISIS against Europeans: car-rammings, stabbings, and suicide bombings in public spaces.

The Palestinians have long taken for granted the financial assistance from the United States, as well as the European Union.

AJC is urging the Polish government to use all available resources to apprehend and bring to justice the individuals responsible for violently attacking members of an Israeli soccer team.

AJC condemned the murderous terror attack on a group of Coptic Christians in Egypt, which left at least 28 dead today on a road south of Cairo.

AJC is appalled by the fatal attack on a Canada mosque that took place during evening prayers at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center.

A review of the organization’s increasing military and political strength and the consequences for the region and Europe.

Unlike the EU's approach to the ETA and IRA, full designation will not close off diplomatic and political engagement with Lebanon. The United States, the Netherlands, and Canada all designated Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization while simultaneously supporting the strengthening of government institutions, maintaining trade relations, and providing humanitarian aid for the refugee problem in Lebanon.

Why the EU must designate all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Full designation of the complex group is possible and beneficial to Lebanon. Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon into violent maelstroms that led to the destruction of infrastructure, damage to the Lebanese economy and the loss of human life, in complete contradiction to the interests of the Lebanese government.

Hezbollah's evolution to a hybrid organization makes it more dangerous today than the terrorist revolutionary organization it was during the 1980s.

Despite banning the organization's military wing, Hezbollah has continued its involvement in criminal activities, gathering intelligence, and building an infrastructure to carry out terror attacks.

AJC urges the European Union, and other responsible state and non-State actors, to designate the Iranian-sponsored terrorist group Hezbollah, in its entirety, as a terrorist entity.

Although Hezbollah has tried to obscure its real relationship with Iran over the years, many statements by its leaders alongside other publications have attested to the depth of the ties between the organization and Iran.

How much more havoc must Hezbollah wreak before the EU stands on the right side of history?  

Hezbollah, which is part of the Lebanese government but operates primarily above the law, is involved in corruption on a particularly large scale. Full designation would enable the Lebanese government to contain the Hezbollah's corruption, reclaim control of the country, and implement Lebanese sovereignty.

Hezbollah has well-established infrastructure in several European countries that could include hundreds or thousands of operatives.

Despite claims to the contrary, shutting out Hezbollah in its entirety will not destabilize the Lebanese government, and does nothing to combat ISIS.

Hezbollah has adopted the anti-Zionist rhetoric of modern-day antisemitism. Antisemitism in and of itself constitutes a violation of human rights that Europe has committed to combat under the European Convention on Human Rights.

What happens in the Middle East doesn't stay in the Middle East. Hezbollah has established a terrorist infrastructure in Europe and executes terrorist attacks against non-European targets on European soil.