Israel Officially Outlaws the Islamist State as ‘Unauthorized Organization’

An armoured vehicle belonging to Iraqi security forces is in flames after hundreds of militants from the Islamic State launched a major assault on the security forces in Mosul. Image by Getty Images
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon officially outlawed the Islamic State jihadist group.
Yaalon signed a statement Wednesday designating IS as an “unauthorized organization.”
He also signed a statement outlawing the Abdullah al-Azzam Brigades, a Sunni jihadist group linked to al-Qaida.
An unauthorized organization is a group of people that “suggests, incites or encourages” terrorism against Israel. The statement allows Israel to seize the assets of such an organization, as well as to stop it from meeting, recruiting or fundraising.
The move comes a day after the Islamic State released a video on the internet showing the beheading of Jewish-American journalist Steven Sotloff.
Israel reportedly believes it could discover an IS cell in the West Bank.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
