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MCPS Faces Federal Complaint Over Antisemitic Harassment Allegations · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We're also
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  Speaker 1: launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, covering New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. Find us at clockworkmedia.org slash ma today.
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  Speaker 1: We begin with a disturbing federal complaint alleging systemic failures
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  Speaker 1: in protecting a Jewish student. A federal civil rights complaint
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  Speaker 1: has been filed against Montgomery County Public Schools, or MCPS,
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  Speaker 1: by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.
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  Speaker 1: The complaint alleges the school system failed to adequately protect
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  Speaker 1: an Orthodox Jewish student from years of anti-Semitic harassment. Reporting
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  Speaker 1: from WTOP and the Jerusalem Post indicates the harassment occurred
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  Speaker 1: at two high schools and included slurs, social isolation, and
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  Speaker 1: escalation to bomb threats. According to the complaint, students threw
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  Speaker 1: coins and called the student a dirty Jew. while others
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  Speaker 1: made Hitler salutes or called him a Zionist and accused
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  Speaker 1: him of supporting genocide. The harassment intensified after the students'
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  Speaker 1: plans to study in Israel were publicized online. The complaint
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  Speaker 1: alleges that school administrators minimized the severity of these incidents.
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  Speaker 1: The Brandeis Center, led by Chairman and CEO Hunn. Kenneth L.
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  Speaker 1: Marcus is asking federal officials to investigate whether MCPS violated
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  Speaker 1: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. In New York City,
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  Speaker 1: the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating an incident
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  Speaker 1: of vandalism at a Capital One Bank branch on the
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  Speaker 1: Upper East Side. According to Fox 5NY and ABC News 4,
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  Speaker 1: the bank's windows were found shattered and its doors covered
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  Speaker 1: in red spray paint on Monday morning. The graffiti included
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  Speaker 1: the phrases PAL ACTION and DROP ELBIT, with the group
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  Speaker 1: Palestine Action claiming responsibility. They cited alleged financial ties between
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  Speaker 1: the bank and Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer. New
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  Speaker 1: York City Council Speaker Julie Menon condemned the vandalism as
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  Speaker 1: deeply disturbing and unacceptable, and called for a swift investigation.
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  Speaker 1: Authorities are also examining whether this incident is connected to
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  Speaker 1: earlier vandalism targeting OMNY readers at a Brooklyn subway station,
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  Speaker 1: though the NYPD has not yet determined a link. In
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  Speaker 1: policy news, a Public Safety Progress report from Canada has
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  Speaker 1: notably included statements recognizing anti-Zionism as a contemporary manifestation of anti-Semitism.
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  Speaker 1: As outlined in the Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working
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  Speaker 1: Definition of Anti-Semitism, Michaelgeist.ca reports that this stance was reaffirmed
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  Speaker 1: by Minister Gary Anandasingheri, who stated that Canada's position has
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  Speaker 1: not changed and links anti-Zionism to the denial of Jewish self-determination.
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  Speaker 1: The government's position aligns with the IHRA standard that denying
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish people the right to self-determination may be considered antisemitic,
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  Speaker 1: depending on the context, while still allowing for criticism of
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  Speaker 1: Israeli government policies that does not meet IHRA criteria. Internationally,
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  Speaker 1: a diplomatic protest from Israel's foreign ministry has led to
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  Speaker 1: the cancellation of an auction for a Torah scroll looted
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  Speaker 1: by Nazis from a Polish synagogue. UNIT reports that the parchment,
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  Speaker 1: which was used by an SS soldier during the Holocaust,
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  Speaker 1: will now be donated to an organization commemorating the Holocaust
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  Speaker 1: in the United States. Analysis of media coverage in the
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  Speaker 1: United Kingdom reveals framing imbalances regarding the Green Party's vote
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  Speaker 1: on Zionism. According to Newscord.org, an analysis of 447 articles
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  Speaker 1: from 37 national outlets between October 1 and 20, 2026,
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  Speaker 1: found that Israel's government and pro-Israel groups received significantly more
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  Speaker 1: coverage than Palestinians. The report notes that none of the
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  Speaker 1: 89 comment pieces back the motion and none of the
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  Speaker 1: 447 headlines mentioned genocide. The analysis also points to stories
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  Speaker 1: that tied the motion's author to al-Qaeda. Finally, a positive
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  Speaker 1: development in combating antisemitism. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt announced an
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  Speaker 1: expanded partnership with the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, or NHCLC,
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  Speaker 1: at their recent leadership summit. Greenblatt noted that ADL recorded 6,274
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic incidents in 2025, the third highest year since their
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  Speaker 1: record-keeping began in 1979. The expanded partnership aims to urge
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  Speaker 1: Congress to pass bipartisan safe worship legislation, launch a new
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  Speaker 1: Sunday school curriculum celebrating the land of Israel and the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish people, and connect churches with synagogues to foster greater
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  Speaker 1: interfaith solidarity and mutual support. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for 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.ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app
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  Speaker 1: so you don't miss the next update. This report was
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  Speaker 1: generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify
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  Speaker 1: important details with primary sources. Thank you.