• Countering Domestic Violent Extremism in the Ranks: Barriers to Recruitment Screening

    There an uncomfortably high number of Jan. 6 cases involving connections to military, law enforcement, and veteran personnel. These cases echo trends that have existed throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Carrie Cordero and Katherine L. Kuzminski write that these most recent cases once again raise the question of whether the United States has a problem with domestic violent extremism (DVE) in the military, veteran, and law enforcement ranks.

  • Cryptocurrency Tech Firm Blocks Terrorists’ Access to Cash

    Could Israel eradicate Hamas and other terrorist networks without a single person killed and without any boots on the ground or planes in the sky? For one technology firm, fighting terror doesn’t involve killing people, only killing the transfer of funds.

  • The Cross-Platform Evasion Toolbox of Islamic State Supporters

    Extremists exploiting platforms for their own ends and learning along the way is a tale as old as the internet and one that has become even more pronounced in the era of ubiquitous access to social media. Moustafa Ayad writes that over the past three years, a set of exploitation and evasion tactics have become central for Islamic State supporters online, and they are only getting more elaborate.

  • Can Hamas Really Be Completely “Eliminated”?

    The short answer, military analysts say, is “no.” The long answer is more complex. Israel’s campaign may degrade the group’s capabilities but defeating its ideology is likely impossible without a political solution.

  • Israelis and Palestinians Warring Over a Homeland Is Far from Unique

    Seen from the perspective of territorial conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is far from unique. Ultimately, the tragedy of deep attachment to a homeland territory lies in the fact that while it can create a sense of belonging for one group, it too often comes at the expense of another.

  • Preventing Armed Insurrection: Firearms in Political Spaces Threaten Public Health, Safety, and Democracy

    A new report by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examines the increased threat of armed insurrection to both public health and the functioning of democracy. The report highlights recommendations and policies to help prevent political violence.

  • Holocaust Comparisons Are Overused – but in the Case of Hamas’s Oct. 7 Attack on Israel, Such Comparisons May Reflect More Than Just the Emotional Response of a Traumatized People

    The horrors of Oct. 7 echo the brutal tactics Nazis used during the Holocaust, including not only murder but cruel humiliation of the victims. The testimonies of Oct. 7 survivors reveal the torture of parents and children, sometimes in front of each other, including rape and sexual violence and mutiliation, mocking and lingering in the murder process as the terrorists relished – and recorded — the atrocities they committed. Hamas also shares the Nazi ideological commitment to the annihilation of the Jews. But Oct. 7 is not the same as the Holocaust.

  • Anti-Semitism on U.S. College Campuses

    A new survey asked students whether they have experienced any adverse academic, social, or other consequences as a direct result of 10/7 and its aftermath, as well as their opinions about their university’s response to the Hamas attacks on Israel and the resulting conflict. The results were sobering.

  • How Cryptocurrency Fueled Hamas' Terror Attack on Israel

    A crackdown on cryptocurrency accounts linked to Hamas has reignited scrutiny of digital assets after the terrorist group attacked Israel. Criminal and terrorist organizations use crypto to bypass laws and sanctions.

  • Terrorist Use of Cryptocurrencies

    Are terrorist groups currently using cryptocurrencies to support their activities? If not, why? What properties of new and potential future cryptocurrencies would make them more viable for terrorist use?

  • The Road to October 7: Hamas’ Long Game, Clarified

    When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip by force of arms in 2007, it faced an ideological crisis. It could focus on governing Gaza and addressing the needs of the Palestinian people, or it could use the Gaza Strip as a springboard from which to attack Israel. Even then, Hamas understood these two goals were mutually exclusive. And while some anticipated Hamas would moderate, or at least be co-opted by the demands of governing, it did not. Instead, Hamas invested in efforts to radicalize society and build the militant infrastructure necessary to someday launch the kind of attack that in its view could contribute to the destruction of Israel. The road from Hamas’ 2007 takeover of Gaza to the October 2023 massacre offers insights about the organization and its goals.

  • Labeling Hamas as a Terrorist Organization

    Since October 7, 2023, top news sources have published thousands of reports, articles, and stories covering the Israel and Hamas conflict. These sources vary in the terminology they use to describe Hamas, which affects how audiences view the conflict. Different news organizations use different terms to describe Hamas, and the use of these terms and descriptors can be misleading and inaccurate.

  • German Domestic Intelligence: Heightened Terror Risk

    Germany’s domestic intelligence agency says the danger of a terror attack in the country is “higher than it has been for a long time.” It cited the October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war as factors.

  • Global Shipping Rattled After Houthis Seize Israeli Vessels

    Since Houthis seized a ship owned by an Israeli businessman last week in the Red Sea, global shipping has been taking stock of potentially rising risks.

  • The Path to Peace in Gaza Lies in Defeating Hamas

    Israel cannot continue living with a Hamas-controlled Gaza. The untenability of having Hamas on Israel’s border has long been clear. However, to dismantle and disarm the group was always going to involve grievous civilian bloodshed and the inflaming of anti-Israeli opinion—a prohibitive proposition for Israel prior to 7 October. Yet now Israel finds itself facing this task anyway, which is a reminder to the world that tolerating the intolerable—even grudgingly, because the alternatives are too difficult—is never sustainable in the long term. This was demonstrated on 7 October.