Haaretz Israel News
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 11:24:26 +02:00JNF deputy chair slams organization's plans to formalize settlement expansion
Rift in the organization over policy to expand remit into West Bank intensified after deputy chair Alon Tal spoke to Defense Minister Benny Gantz, whose Kahol Lavan party opposes the move
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 10:57:49 +02:00Turkey says finds bodies of 13 killed by militants in Iraq
Turkey's Operation Claw-Eagle 2 previously led to the deaths of 48 PKK militants, including three senior members, and the capture of two insurgents
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 09:36:35 +02:00Coronavirus Israel live: As COVID cases decline, Israel to debate reopening street shops, hotels
Israel and Cyprus to announce mutual tourism exemption, following last week's announcement with Greece ■ 41.5 percent of Israelis have received at least one COVID vaccine dose
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 09:07:17 +02:00Inside Israel's war room combating COVID vaccine fake news
Israeli Health Ministry's operation center, dedicated to tracking and countering false reports and forgeries about the coronavirus vaccine, has its sights set on those hesitant to inoculate
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 06:05:48 +02:00Netanyahu rivals started strong in election polls, but petered out. What's their next game plan?
According to Haaretz’s averaged polls, Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope stands to gain 13.5 Knesset seats and Naftali Bennett's Yamina is projected to win 11.5 in Israel's March election, a far cry from the 20+ they both dream of
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 01:02:29 +02:00Blatman, you’re in bad company
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 00:23:35 +02:00Israel Pension Protection Forces
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 00:00:12 +02:00Israel's COVID infection data takes turn for better – but remains far from good
The number of new coronavirus cases and patients in critical condition reflect a drop, but it is still much too early for hospitals in Israel to celebrate
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 23:33:54 +02:00Haaretz Cartoon
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 23:21:15 +02:00Trump acquitted as impeachment bid fails to muster two-thirds majority
The Senate voted 57-43 to charge the former president with incitement of insurrection for the deadly riot on Capitol Hill in January ■ Trump: trial is 'greatest witch hunt in the history of our country'
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 23:19:46 +02:00Israeli children have been forsaken in the COVID crisis? Tell it to the Palestinians
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 23:17:11 +02:00Israel has fewer rainy days a year, but it’s not getting drier – for now
Although the research didn't point to less rain as a result of climate change, scientific models estimate that the Eastern Mediterranean will see a 25 to 35 percent decrease in rainfall later this century
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 22:55:52 +02:00Israel, Cyprus to announce COVID vaccine certificate agreement and renewal of tourism
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to visit Israel Sunday and expected to announce a mutual coronavirus quarantine exemption if flights resume
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 20:03:39 +02:00First batch of Pfizer COVID vaccines arrive in Lebanon
Lebanon succeeded in containing the virus during the pandemic’s early months, but the numbers began to increase following a massive blast in the capital’s port in August
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 19:36:17 +02:00As election campaign kicks off, anti-Netanyahu protesters around Israel face violence
Four detained for attacks on protesters; demonstrators threatened at gun point, pelted with stones and assaulted amid weekly rallies calling for Netanyahu's resignation
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 18:42:19 +02:00Can Israel force people to get vaccinated for COVID? Legal experts weigh in
Israel has precedents for enforcing coronavirus vaccination, but attempts to compel citizens to get the jab or to impose sanctions will encounter hurdles, experts say
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 16:23:08 +02:00Fuel tanker blast causes massive fire at Afghan-Iran border
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the blast, which injured at least seven people and caused a massive fire that consumed more than 500 trucks carrying natural gas and fuel
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 14:43:33 +02:00Trump impeachment trial could wrap up today, conviction seen unlikely
As many as 10 Republicans could find Trump guilty, according to a Senate aide, which would still be short of the 67 votes needed for conviction
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 09:21:28 +02:00Fruit flies in space ruin dreams of colonizing Mars
As the UAE spacecraft orbits around Mars – mazel tov – it’s a good time to revisit how plausible life in outer space really is
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 07:55:03 +02:00COVID-19 restrictions are driving libertarians up the wall
'What is this nonsense about telling us we can’t gather in the street, or we can’t have a party in our house, or we can’t go to a restaurant?'
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 01:11:11 +02:00How a Jewish movement managed to thrive under the antisemitic Vichy regime
To understand the Pétain government's inexplicable support for the continued activities of the Jewish Scouts during World War II, we must abandon our stereotypical views of the Holocaust in France
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 23:45:09 +02:00Britain's Karim Khan elected International Criminal Court prosecutor
Khan will replace Fatou Bensouda on June 16, and is bound to have a decisive role in deciding the future of the investigation she requested into alleged war crimes by Israel and Hamas
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 22:43:21 +02:00Biden launches review of Guantanamo prison, aims to close it before leaving office
The prison came to symbolize the excesses of the U.S. 'war on terror' because of harsh interrogation methods that critics say amounted to torture
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 22:19:07 +02:00Israel has abandoned its children, and their parents too
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 21:15:26 +02:00Iranian official arrested in Istanbul over dissident's killing, sources say
Masoud Molavi Vardanjani was shot dead on an Istanbul street in November 2019, a year after leaving Iran and criticizing what he said was corruption in the Islamic Republic
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 21:11:58 +02:00Residents of this ultra-Orthodox Israeli city were wary of the vaccine. Here’s how that changed overnight
Cholent, a special yummy Shabbat dish, was on offer, but prominent rabbis said everyone should get inoculated, and the Haredi community 'says no to lies,' a local man added
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 19:45:02 +02:00Before the nuclear talks, Iran and U.S. are sparring over who will blink first
Tehran and Washington are indirectly sending messages that are also aimed at the Saudis and Israelis. Any delay could put Biden under pressure at home to block the contacts
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 19:39:46 +02:00Israel briefly reopens its airport for 302 immigrants from Ethiopia
The Ethiopians, among about 8,000 with Jewish ancestry awaiting immigration to Israel, had been tested for COVID-19 prior to arriving
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 19:35:42 +02:00Tel Aviv claimed it wasn’t segregating foreign kids at school. This document proves otherwise
Before reissuing the document, dozens of schools were denoted for ‘the foreign community’ in the field for type of school, alongside state schools, ultra-Orthodox schools and Arab schools
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 19:33:36 +02:00After backlash, Israel Police won't reinstate cop embroiled in Black teen's death
The officer who shot dead Ethiopian Israeli Solomon Teka in 2019 was initially reinstated behind the back of police commissioner, sources say, but following public outrage, he was instead given a job in the Fire and Rescue Service
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 18:20:07 +02:00U.S. Reform group condemns Jewish National Fund plan to expand Israeli settlements
Union for Reform Judaism says JNF plan would 'endanger the possibility of a two-state solution,' adding they will work to mobilize the Jewish community against the proposal, which they claim could harm Israel-U.S. ties
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:48:04 +02:00Israel Air Force will get its new weapons. But an entire year was squandered
Netanyahu obstructed things and the military stalled, but the IDF chief finally has some good news
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:06:43 +02:00Over 9,000 virus patients sent into NY nursing homes
Figure raises new questions as to whether a March 25 directive from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration helped spread sickness and death among residents, a charge the state disputes
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:59:15 +02:00Twitter suspends Project Veritas account over privacy violations
The social media company also temporarily locked the account of the group's founder, James O'Keefe, for violating the same policy, a Twitter spokeswoman said in a statement
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:32:11 +02:00GOP split? Anti-Trump Republicans face major challenge in launching third party
A more likely outcome of an anti-Trump movement would be for centrist Republicans to try to purge Trumpism from within its own ranks, said David Jolly, a former Republican congressman from Florida
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 13:31:01 +02:00Trump trial: Fact-checking the controversy over the senator and Trump’s misdialed phone call
The House prosecutors produced a number of public statements by Trump as he openly stirred the anger of his supporters over the Congress’s action to affirm Biden’s election victory
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:54:45 +02:00Guardian columnist says he was fired because of ‘joke’ about U.S. aid to Israel
Nathan Robinson, 30, wrote Wednesday on his website Current Affairs that the editor of the British daily’s U.S. edition had decided not to use his pieces following two tweets
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:37:51 +02:00How leading anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project ignored a crisis in its ranks
Lincoln Project to launch outside probe amid new revelations
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 11:13:55 +02:00Explosion heard in Quneitra province, Syrian state media reports
Report gives no further information about cause of explosion or source or whether it left any casualties
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 06:10:45 +02:00A month after U.S. Capitol attack, five charged with Proud Boys conspiracy
More than 200 people have been charged with federal offences in the bloody assault on Congress, which claimed the lives of five people and led to Trump's impeachment trial this week
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 06:09:49 +02:00Israel finally sees drop in COVID cases – no thanks to lockdown
Meanwhile, as the election nears, Israel's government turns its COVID failures into a pat on the back, though Netanyahu can forget about a New Zealand moment
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 06:07:48 +02:00Netanyahu worries that star witness Milchan will drop bombshell
Prosecution may call key witness in Netanyahu's trial, Arnon Milchan, earlier than planned to prevent his being ‘influenced’
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 06:00:31 +02:00On the Israeli left, tussling twins are locked in a death match
When Labor and Meretz compete over which one is more leftist, one of them is liable to find itself alone in Israel's March election
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 01:58:21 +02:00Was Stonehenge moved? Monoliths may have come from older stone circle in Wales
Neolithic farmers built one of the earliest stone circles in Britain in the mountains of Wales. When they moved, they apparently brought their ancestral monuments along for the ride
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 00:20:02 +02:00If Netanyahu is convicted, the 'second' Israel will be dethroned
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 00:18:11 +02:00Joint List or the worst of all evils
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 00:04:55 +02:00In the bitter fight for the truth over aspects of Holocaust, authorities in Poland have lost their bearings
This week’s Polish court ruling in favor of the family of a wartime village mayor is just one more sign that politicians and courts need to be excluded from involvement in scholarly historical debates
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 23:59:44 +02:00How Israelis came to be the kings of New York’s locksmithing trade
They account for some 30% of the profession, and these days they
are prospering like never before after a coronavirus-led surge in crime
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 23:47:14 +02:00New coronavirus cases in Israel hit 5-week low
This comes as Israel continues to exit its third lockdown, while the coronavirus vaccination drive shows positive results, but slows down
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 23:37:50 +02:00The Palestinian Rosa Parks
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 23:34:31 +02:00Haaretz cartoon
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 23:24:31 +02:00An unarmed Palestinian is shot dead at a settler outpost. The Israeli army's conclusion? He was a terrorist
What was an accountant from the Palestinian Finance Ministry doing late at night near an unauthorized outpost, where a settler shot him to death?
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 22:47:49 +02:00'I'm moving to France for a good reason, but Israel is home. It’s crap here, but it’s my crap'
Conversations at the Tel Aviv airport: A production manager leaves Israel for his country of birth, while a land assessor considers moving to Singapore, where COVID is under control
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 22:38:52 +02:00Yad Vashem on Polish libel verdict: Blow to academic freedom in Holocaust research
The verdict handed down by a Warsaw court this week ruled that two senior historians must apologize for allegations in their book that a Polish mayor had turned Jews over to the Nazis
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 22:23:14 +02:00Will 200 rich Arab men save the world from the climate crisis?
Poised on the cusp between economic and climate disaster, and an amazing commercial opportunity, Gulf-based petroleum giants realize today that the golden age of oil is about to end, Dan Rabinowitz asserts in his new book. Is the era of green on the ...
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 21:19:10 +02:00Illegal missile sale to 'Asian Country' could harm Israel-U.S. ties
The criminal case revealed Thursday, involving more than 20 Israelis, some former defense officials, will mandate full transparency in Israel’s dealings with the already-suspicious Biden administration
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 20:59:30 +02:00Antisemitic flyer in German tram blames Jews for the COVID pandemic
'Do we really have a Corona problem? Or do we have a Jewish problem?' the flyers read
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 20:44:13 +02:00Why Netanyahu chose racist Jewish supremacists over his oldest political allies
There was a time when Netanyahu was entirely unwilling to cooperate with the Kahanists. Now, in his desperation, he’s rescuing them from political oblivion, no matter what it takes
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 20:39:50 +02:00Oman says content with current relationship with Israel
Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi added that Oman is committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians based on a two-state solution
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 19:47:53 +02:00What do Chinese media outlets say about the Middle East? Depends which language you’re reading
China’s efforts to sway international public opinion have been going on for far longer than the COVID-19 crisis – an attempt especially evident if you speak Arabic
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 19:44:24 +02:00Jewish National Fund aims to officially work to expand West Bank settlements
The Israeli organization has until now operated in the West Bank through a subsidiary, and is set to discuss a proposal to allow it to officially purchase land in and near settlement blocs
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 19:12:30 +02:00BBC World News barred from airing in China, regulator says
National Radio and Television Administration says BBC 'seriously violated' relegations that reports should be 'truthful and fair' and that it harmed China's national interests and undermined national unity
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 18:47:07 +02:00Gaza burn victims get 3D-printer face masks made close to home
In the past, burn patients had to travel to Jordan for reconstructive surgery. Due to COVID travel restrictions, a local business is now providing masks to help Gazans heal and prepare for reconstructive surgery
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 18:14:20 +02:00The not-so-mysterious death of the Israeli left, six weeks to the election. LISTEN
Labor was on the brink of extinction only a couple of weeks ago. Now it’s Meretz’s turn to signal polling distress. Why are Israel’s old parties of the left, once in power, now on life-support?
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 18:04:07 +02:00Where did COVID-19 come from? The WHO's 4 theories after the Wuhan probe
The WHO’s leading animal disease expert, said the team conducted scientific investigations into four main scenarios about how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spread into humans
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 17:50:51 +02:00Like a regular guy, Netanyahu sat around and waited for his judges for 20 minutes
The window near him was open. No way he didn’t hear the horns and catcalls of ‘Bibi go home!’ Did he feel any humility as he sat before the trio of judges?
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 17:42:52 +02:00Jerusalem soccer club pulls out of partnership with UAE sheikh
The cancellation comes, among other things, because of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan's failure to present the relevant documentation about his integrity to Israel Football Association
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 17:36:00 +02:00Forget the politicians: This U.S. lawmaker thinks high-tech can bring Israelis and Palestinians together
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna says citizen diplomacy and a focus on innovation can cut through some of the ‘gridlock that has been created by the government-to-government approaches’ in the Middle East
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 17:20:32 +02:00Fox News abruptly cuts off impeachment coverage, Tucker says 'who cares'
Fox’s most popular personality, Tucker Carlson, said he didn’t watch any of the trial’s first day: 'At this point, honestly, who cares?
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 17:15:00 +02:00In Pakistan, talk of Israel and 'Jewish money' is rocking politics (again)
Pakistan's opposition hosts Hamas at mass rallies against a 'Jewish-Indian plot': Illegal funding for Prime Minister Imran Khan's army-backed party, in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. It’s a potent rallying cry
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 17:02:03 +02:00Vaccinated people need not quarantine post COVID-19 exposure, CDC says
Fully vaccinated persons who do not quarantine should still watch for symptoms for 14 days following an exposure
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 16:50:26 +02:00Biden budget nominee grilled from right and left at second hearing
Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden's nominee to head the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, was skewered from both the right and left
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:58:31 +02:00Dozens of former Republican officials in talks to form anti-Trump third party
More than 120 of them held a Zoom call last Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a platform of 'principled conservatism'
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:56:13 +02:00Top Michigan Republican stands by Capitol ‘hoax’ comments
The controversy was the latest involving Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and the GOP more broadly in a battleground state that Joe Biden won by 153,000 votes but where Trump continues to hold grip
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:50:03 +02:00What fires revealed about Egypt's economic disparity
Failings within Egypt's electricity grid and education system demonstrate the enormous gap between the improvement in Egypt’s economic situation and the state of its public services
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:45:53 +02:00Betting on Biden? Reddit fuels fresh surge in cannabis stocks
Reddit-fuelled trading previously squeezed GameStop 'shorts'
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:24:37 +02:00'We were a step away from Italy's COVID crisis. How did Israel allow this?'
Three dead from COVID-19 in one shift, patients who languish for hours in the ambulance, impossible ethical dilemmas that must be resolved daily – a grim chronicle of the life of an Israeli paramedic
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:23:21 +02:00Have the Israeli police locked your computer? It’s a scam
New online scam targeting Israelis and others abroad uses an old trick to make you think you've done something 'illegal'. There is a simple solution
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:56:24 +02:00She was a Jewish QAnon supporter. And she warns it could happen to you
Before her turnaround, Melissa Rein Lively was one of a relatively small group of Jewish acolytes of QAnon, which is undergirded by antisemitic tropes
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:55:01 +02:00Deradicalize Israel's COVID insurgents before they incite a civil war
Israel faces a new terrorist insurgency. This time it’s ultra-Orthodox Jews, armed with COVID, and the government is unwilling, or unable, to safeguard lives or the law
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:34:24 +02:00Steven Spielberg wins 2021 Genesis Prize, the ‘Jewish Nobel’
The Oscar-winning director was selected in part due to his 'extraordinary work to preserve the memory of the Holocaust'
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:29:15 +02:00Israel High Court stops probe of police internal investigations unit
Petitioners argued that Amir Ohana’s measure was a ploy to gain votes from Ethiopian Israelis in the upcoming election
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:01:06 +02:00First Netanyahu embraced the Kahanists. Now it’s the homophobes’ turn
When Benjamin Netanyahu talks in English, he’s keen to embrace the LGBTQ community. As he strikes deals ahead of the election with far-right extremists who blame gay people for ‘destroying family life,’ it looks like it was shameless pinkwashin...
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 13:15:34 +02:00Twenty Israelis suspected of selling advanced missiles to U.S. rival in Asia
The suspects, who include former Israeli defense officials, 'developed, manufactured and tested' the weapons before clandestinely selling them. Sources say case could have led to crisis between superpowers
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 13:11:28 +02:00Road construction in Palestinian town near Nablus damages important archaeological site
Some experts claim the site is home to the biblical altar erected by Joshua; local authorities say contractor damaged ancient stone wall in course of work
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 12:51:20 +02:00How Jewish constituents of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert describe their new congresswomen
Boebert, like Greene, has made headlines for the kind words she’s offered about QAnon, the pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theory with antisemitic overtones
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 12:44:32 +02:00Senior PA official visits jailed Palestinian leader Barghouti with elections planned
Israel allegedly allowed Palestinian minister Hussein al-Sheikh to meet with prisoner Marwan Barghouti on Thursday
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 12:43:25 +02:00The UAE’s Mars mission is more about hype than science
The Emiratis’ Mars strategy is to project the image of scientific prowess and hope the reality one day will catch up. Good luck with that
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 12:29:24 +02:00Larry Flynt, porn publisher and free-speech activist, dead at 78
Flynt died in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, with his wife, Liz, and daughter, Theresa, at his bedside, Gowen said in a statement
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 12:22:44 +02:00Pakistan successfully test fires surface-to-surface missile
In a statement, it said the Babur cruise missile was 'launched from a state-of-the-art Multi Tube Missile Launch Vehicle'
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 12:17:01 +02:00Iran's Guard begins ground forces drill near Iraqi border
The annual Iranian exercise, dubbed the 'great prophet,' is ongoing in the southwest of the country and has aimed at readiness and assessment of forces. Drones and helicopters will be used in the drill
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 12:05:18 +02:00Poll: A third of U.S. adults 'definitely or probably' will not get COVID-19 vaccination
Experts explain why 67% of Americans willing to take the COVID-19 vaccination isn't enough
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 11:39:43 +02:00‘Mandalorian’ actress fired for comparing treatment of Jews during the Holocaust to U.S. political climate
Gina Carano fell under heavy criticism after she posted on social media that 'Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors.... even by children'
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 11:31:02 +02:00Trump trial: Harrowing new footage from inside Capitol and other highlights
'He assembled, inflamed and incited his followers to descend upon the Capitol,' the lead impeachment manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said Wednesday in an emotional and personal speech
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 11:03:10 +02:00'Shameful': Pro-Israel Democratic lobby slams Netanyahu-Kahanist cooperation ahead of election
This is a rare example of the Democratic Majority for Israel publicly responding to domestic Israeli politics, as Netanyahu signs a surplus vote sharing agreement with far-right party ahead of March's election
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 10:51:46 +02:00Meet Fredy Hirsch, the unknown Holocaust hero who saved children at Auschwitz
Fredy Hirsch was a revered, openly gay Jewish youth leader who brightened the lives of kids at Theresienstadt and Auschwitz and saved many from death. Why is he virtually unknown in Israel?
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 10:42:09 +02:003 Turkish soldiers killed in clashes in northern Iraq
Turkey has carried out numerous cross-border ground and aerial offensives against the PKK, which maintains bases in northern Iraq
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 10:32:36 +02:00Prominent Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul released from prison
Al-Hathloul, who pushed to end a ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to almost six years in prison last December
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 09:24:25 +02:00Threats against Iran are futile. Here's what Israel must do
Thu, 11 Feb 2021 06:02:37 +02:00Kahane won: Netanyahu would rather team up with racists than risk one seat
A party head with even a shred of shame, principles and self-respect would have announced that he’d rather risk losing a Knesset seat than cooperate with a gang of dangerous extremists