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NYC Sees 182% Surge in Antisemitic Hate Crimes · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We're launching
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic Today, with focused coverage from New York,
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  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region. You can find
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  Speaker 1: out more at clockworkmedia.org slash M-A. We begin today with
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  Speaker 1: alarming statistics from New York City, where despite a general
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  Speaker 1: drop in major crimes, antisemitic hate crimes have seen a
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  Speaker 1: dramatic surge. According to NYPD data released on October 6th,
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic hate crimes rose by 182% in Mayor Zoran Mamdani's
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  Speaker 1: first month. Jewish New Yorkers constituted 53% of confirmed hate
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  Speaker 1: crime victims in the city during the first nine months
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  Speaker 1: of 2026, totaling 245 incidents out of 463. Rabbi Avraham
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  Speaker 1: Hecht described this targeting of visibly Jewish people as pure antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: distinct from anti-Zionism, and noted it affects Holocaust survivors and
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  Speaker 1: frail elders. The Anti-Defamation League's regional director, Scott Richman, called
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  Speaker 1: the disproportionate number of anti-Jewish incidents a critical concern for
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  Speaker 1: the community. Mitchell Silber of the Community Security Initiative highlighted
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  Speaker 1: that while the city may be safer overall, Jewish New
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  Speaker 1: Yorkers do not necessarily feel safer as Jews. This surge
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  Speaker 1: includes incidents like swastikas found on bus stops in Canarsie,
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  Speaker 1: objects thrown at synagogues, and bomb scares at schools in
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  Speaker 1: Flatbush and Williamsburg. In Maryland, a man has pleaded guilty
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  Speaker 1: to federal charges for a hate-filled act of vandalism. On
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  Speaker 1: October 20, George Horn admitted in federal court to deliberately
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  Speaker 1: targeting the Ower Nesseth Israel Anche Esvard Cemetery in Baltimore
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  Speaker 1: County in July 2023, driven by anti-Semitic beliefs, evidence of
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  Speaker 1: which included a copy of Main Kampf on his phone
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  Speaker 1: and a journal referencing Nazism and white supremacy. horn-spray-painted swastikas
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  Speaker 1: and other symbols on 12 gravestones. He faces up to
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  Speaker 1: three years in federal prison when sentenced in January. This
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  Speaker 1: incident underscores the persistence of antisemitic animus and its manifestation
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  Speaker 1: in violence against sacred spaces. Turning to the United Kingdom,
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  Speaker 1: a significant government-backed review into antisemitism in schools and colleges
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  Speaker 1: has resulted in concrete policy changes. The independent review, led
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  Speaker 1: by Sir David Bell, found that three out of five
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  Speaker 1: Jewish students had experienced prejudice. Education Secretary Lucy Powell announced
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  Speaker 1: that the government has accepted all 27 recommendations. This means
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  Speaker 1: schools will be required to recognize antisemitism as a distinct
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  Speaker 1: category of harm, treating it as a specific safeguarding risk
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  Speaker 1: rather than under broader racism policies. The review also calls
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  Speaker 1: for strengthened Holocaust education and encourages the adoption of the
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  Speaker 1: International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. or IHRA, working definition of antisemitism. However,
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  Speaker 1: the National Education Union, or NEU, has voiced concerns, with
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  Speaker 1: General Secretary Daniel Kebed arguing that the IHRA definition risks
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  Speaker 1: worsening the problem by conflating legitimate criticism of Israeli actions
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  Speaker 1: with antisemitism, thereby undermining classroom discussions on sensitive topics. Despite
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  Speaker 1: this dissent, The UK government is moving forward with these
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  Speaker 1: measures to foster safer educational environments. In New York, Mayor
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  Speaker 1: Zoran Mamdani has again levelled accusations of genocide against Israel.
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  Speaker 1: This time, he reiterated the claim following the detention of
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  Speaker 1: Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander and other activists by the
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  Speaker 1: IDF during an olive harvest in the West Bank. Lander
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  Speaker 1: himself also accused Israel of genocide. Mayor Mamdani stated that
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  Speaker 1: the Israeli government has committed a horrific genocide against Palestinians,
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  Speaker 1: killing more than 74,000 people over the last few years alone.
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  Speaker 1: Jewish leaders have expressed concern that such rhetoric from public
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  Speaker 1: officials can endanger Jewish communities. Meanwhile, reports highlight how anti-Israel
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  Speaker 1: ideology is being instilled from a young age in the
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  Speaker 1: Palestinian Authority. Palestinian Authority schoolchildren are reportedly taught to free
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  Speaker 1: Palestine by erasing Israel from maps and denying its right
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  Speaker 1: to exist. This ideology is disseminated daily through slogans and
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  Speaker 1: visual representations that depict Palestine encompassing all of Israel, effectively
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  Speaker 1: denying its sovereignty and right to exist within any borders.
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  Speaker 1: This pattern has been exposed by Palestinian Media Watch. In Brooklyn,
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  Speaker 1: a lack of transparency from the district attorney's office is
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  Speaker 1: raising concerns about accountability. The office of district attorney Eric
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  Speaker 1: Gonzalez has refused to share or summarize findings from an
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  Speaker 1: independent investigation into anti-Semitism complaints. After a Freedom of Information
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  Speaker 1: Law request, a 58-page report was released entirely blacked out.
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  Speaker 1: The DA's office cited exemptions including attorney-client privilege and employee privacy.
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  Speaker 1: The New York Coalition for Open Government has criticized this response,
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  Speaker 1: stating that taxpayers deserve to understand how their government is
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  Speaker 1: investigating and responding to such serious allegations. This follows earlier
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  Speaker 1: accusations of antisemitic remarks and alleged office tolerance of such behavior.
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  Speaker 1: In Canada, the government's messaging on antisemitism is facing scrutiny.
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  Speaker 1: Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasingheri sent a letter clarifying that
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism includes anti-Zionism. However, the author of a report on
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  Speaker 1: the matter argues this clarification is misleading. suggesting the government
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  Speaker 1: has not adequately defined how anti-Zionist expressions may be antisemitic,
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  Speaker 1: rendering the guidance non-prescriptive. Separately, in Ireland, reports suggest a
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  Speaker 1: hotel in Dublin, the Herbert Park Hotel, allegedly rejected a
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  Speaker 1: booking for an antisemitism conference after its general manager inquired
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  Speaker 1: about the involvement of the Israel Defense Forces. Maurice Cohen,
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  Speaker 1: chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, Called this
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  Speaker 1: a disgraceful example of the very antisemitism, the conference was
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  Speaker 1: organized to combat. Noting that Jewish attendees should not have
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  Speaker 1: to account for the actions of a foreign government. Globally,
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  Speaker 1: analysts are drawing parallels to a dark historical period. An
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  Speaker 1: analysis by The Economist indicates that in European democracies, the
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  Speaker 1: combined vote share of far-right and far-left parties has reached 30%.
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  Speaker 1: This figure closely mirrors the political climate of the 1930s,
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  Speaker 1: which preceded widespread havoc and the Holocaust, serving as a
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  Speaker 1: stark warning about contemporary polarized politics. Closer to home for some,
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  Speaker 1: threatening social media posts targeting Albania's only synagogue have emerged
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  Speaker 1: amidst anti-government protests. These posts have raised significant concern for
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  Speaker 1: the country's Jewish community, prompting Chief Rabbi Yoel Kaplan to
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  Speaker 1: invoke Albanians' historical protection of Jews during the Holocaust, urging
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  Speaker 1: continued public support. In Tunisia, judicial authorities have increased sentences
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  Speaker 1: for four defendants involved in the deadly 2023 Jihriba Synagogue attack.
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  Speaker 1: The Tunis Court of Appeal revisited the case, reversing a
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  Speaker 1: previous decision for one defendant and increasing prison terms for others,
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  Speaker 1: including the perpetrator's fiancé, to up to 10 years. This
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  Speaker 1: action follows an earlier conviction of five individuals for the
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  Speaker 1: attack that killed five people. Back in the UK, the
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  Speaker 1: J7 Global Task Force, representing major diaspora Jewish communities, convened
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  Speaker 1: to address the surge in antisemitism. While the group issued
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  Speaker 1: a statement of serious concern and resolved to host a
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  Speaker 1: future meeting, critics argue this response lacks concrete action. One
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  Speaker 1: analysis suggests that concern is not a policy and that
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  Speaker 1: meetings alone do not provide protection, advocating instead for practical,
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  Speaker 1: actionable measures. On a more hopeful note, Jewish Federations of
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  Speaker 1: North America, or JFNA, has announced a significant initiative to
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  Speaker 1: combat antisemitism. The Frontline Initiative is a $ 35 million venture
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  Speaker 1: that will fund the hiring of 100 new employees across
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  Speaker 1: local federations, dedicated to frontline advocacy, community relations, and training.
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  Speaker 1: This expansion aims to strengthen efforts to push back against
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  Speaker 1: rising hate. In Boulder, Colorado, a two-day conference drawing 450 attendees,
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  Speaker 1: most of whom were not Jewish, aimed to combat antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: and preserve democracy, with efforts informed by a local attack.
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  Speaker 1: These initiatives demonstrate a community and broader society committed to
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  Speaker 1: addressing this pervasive challenge. I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage from New York,
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  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org slash MA. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your
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  Speaker 1: report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
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  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.