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Antisemitism Watch - August 9, 2026, 09 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. Today we
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  Speaker 1: examine how hate speech can spill into physical violence, and
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  Speaker 1: how official rhetoric continues to raise security concerns. In late July,
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  Speaker 1: a Florida man Brayton Laskinger, threw a brick through the
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  Speaker 1: window of a Hobbard house in Sarasota, according to investigators.
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  Speaker 1: As reported by World Israel News staff, Laskinger cited anti
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  Speaker 1: Israel's social media propaganda as his motivation. Sarasota police detective
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  Speaker 1: Frank Castro stated Laskinger admitted he deliberately targeted the synagogue
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  Speaker 1: because it was a Jewish temple and that he was
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  Speaker 1: anti Israel. Laskinger reported being driven to violence after watching
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  Speaker 1: a social media video accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaniahu
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  Speaker 1: of genocide against Palestinians, which made him want to fight back.
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  Speaker 1: Investigators noted Laskinger had re posted a video featuring New
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  Speaker 1: York City Mayor Zorin Mamdani in which Mamdani called Netaniahu
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  Speaker 1: a war criminal. Laskinger now faces a felony hate crime charge,
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  Speaker 1: with authorities citing his stated views and the attack circumstances
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  Speaker 1: as evidence of antisemitic motive. This incident highlights a dangerous
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  Speaker 1: pathway from online rhetoric that demonizes Israeli leadership to acts
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  Speaker 1: of vandalism targeting Jewish institutions. This pattern of rhetoric spilling
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  Speaker 1: into tangible threats is echoed in law enforcement warnings regarding
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  Speaker 1: New York City Mayor zorin Mamdani's public statements. NYPD officials
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  Speaker 1: are alerting that Mamdani's rhetoric targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netaniahu
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  Speaker 1: is escalating security risks for Netaniahu's planned visit to the
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  Speaker 1: city next month for the United Nations General Assembly. According
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  Speaker 1: to law enforcement sources cited by v and News, Mamdani's
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  Speaker 1: repeated criticisms of Netaniahu, his calls for his arrest, and
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  Speaker 1: his encouragement of protests could turn an annual security event
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  Speaker 1: into a significant challenge. Mamdani had previously explored whether city
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  Speaker 1: authorities could enforce an international Criminal Court warrant and urged
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  Speaker 1: supporters to take to the streets. Sources expressed concern that
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  Speaker 1: such statements could embolden agitators, potentially leading to violence against
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  Speaker 1: the Prime Minister, officers or the public detective's Endowment Association
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  Speaker 1: President Scott Munroe stated that the mayor's comments only fan
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  Speaker 1: the flames, making protection of dignitaries more difficult. An NYPD
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  Speaker 1: spokesperson confirmed that the department will base security measures on
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  Speaker 1: threat assessments. Moving to accountability, Arnold Roth, whose daughter was
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  Speaker 1: killed in the Espiro bombing twenty five years ago, shared
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  Speaker 1: his perspective in an opinion piece for the Times of Israel.
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  Speaker 1: Roth states that the confessed terrorist responsible for the attack
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  Speaker 1: is now free and reportedly protected by a U s Ally,
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  Speaker 1: a situation he describes as a mockery of justice. This
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  Speaker 1: commentary brings attention to the persistent community pain and the
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  Speaker 1: perceived lack of justice surrounding terrorism targeting Jewish civilians. We
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  Speaker 1: also turn to a reflection on the historical mechanisms of antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: An essay published by World Israel News discusses the author's
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  Speaker 1: family history, including name changes during periods of heightened anti
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  Speaker 1: German sentiment, and the arbitrary nature of racial classification. The
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  Speaker 1: piece contrasts this with how Nazi Germany's Nuremberg laws would
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  Speaker 1: have applied classification based on heritage, noting that antisemitism as gene.
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  Speaker 1: Paul Sardur famously observed, is driven by the needs of
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  Speaker 1: the antisemite rather than the beliefs or actions of the
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  Speaker 1: targeted group. While this piece does not report a contemporary
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  Speaker 1: instance of Holocaust denial or distortion, it serves as a
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  Speaker 1: reflection on the historical foundations of antisemitism, particularly the arbitrary
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  Speaker 1: nature of identity classification and prejudice. Finally, the provided evidence
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  Speaker 1: for the category of anti Zionism and IHRA qualifying Israel
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  Speaker 1: rhetoric was examined. The article excerpt reportedly from CNN and
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  Speaker 1: World Israel News discusses General Dan Kane of the Joint
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  Speaker 1: Chiefs of Staff advocating for diplomatic solutions to the Iran
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  Speaker 1: conflict and warning of potential escalation from airstrikes. Based on
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  Speaker 1: the text provided. This report does not contain rhetoric or
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  Speaker 1: actions meeting the IHR definition of antisemitism or qualifying anti
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  Speaker 1: Zionist rhetoric concerning Israel, and therefore cannot be substantively covered
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  Speaker 1: within the show's editorial guidelines for this segment. That's our
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  Speaker 1: report for today. I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for joining
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated with AI assistance and
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  Speaker 1: May contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.