Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 16, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 16, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. Tonight, we
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  Speaker 1: begin with a jarring incident of antisemitic violence that unfolded
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  Speaker 1: Friday night at Manhattan's Central Synagogue. Police say forty six
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  Speaker 1: year old Larry Montes from the Bronx disrupted a Shabbat's service,
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  Speaker 1: attacking a congregant and security personnel. According to authorities, Montes
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  Speaker 1: struck a sixty three year old woman, knocking her to
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  Speaker 1: the ground, and spat on and head butded a security guard.
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  Speaker 1: He also allegedly damaged synagogue property, including candleholders reportedly valued
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  Speaker 1: at ten thousand dollars each. Prosecutor stated Mantes made antisemitic remarks,
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  Speaker 1: calling Jews swine and fake Jews after his arrest. According
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  Speaker 1: to The New York Post, NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tish
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  Speaker 1: called the event horrifying, stating that a place of worship
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  Speaker 1: should never be a crime scene and that the NYPD's
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  Speaker 1: recorded three hundred and sixty eight crimes since the start
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  Speaker 1: of August, with two hundred and five targeting Jewish people.
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Zorn Mamdani and Governor Cathy Hotchell also condemned the attack. However,
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  Speaker 1: some leaders, including the Consul General of Israel in New
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  Speaker 1: York Offir Akuni's criticized Mayor Mamdani, blaming his rhetoric on
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  Speaker 1: Israel for contributing to incidents like this and pointing to
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  Speaker 1: his earlier revocation of the IHRA definition of antisemitism as
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  Speaker 1: a failure to protect Jewish New Yorkers. Despite the attack,
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  Speaker 1: services continued Saturday, with congregants expressing resilience, according to reporting
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  Speaker 1: by NBC New York and the Associated Press. In Florida's
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  Speaker 1: congressional race, challenger Dan Bulzirian has employed deeply disturbing antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: tactics in a campaign video attacking his Jewish opponent, Representative
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  Speaker 1: Randy Fine. The Antisemitism Research Center or ARC, found that
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  Speaker 1: thirty three percent of Bilsyrian's campaign content on x over
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  Speaker 1: the past three months constituted antisemitic hate speech, reaching an
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  Speaker 1: estimated twenty three point six million people, according to reporting
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  Speaker 1: by CAM. Reports from the Times of Israel and other
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  Speaker 1: outlets described the video as featuring tropes like Shylock, the
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  Speaker 1: greedy and filthy jew, Jewish bloodlust, and Jews as satanic,
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  Speaker 1: even celebrating Adolf Hitler. Experts have labeled this approach gutter
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism now being used as a campaign strategy, highlighting how
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  Speaker 1: such rhetoric is appearing in mainstream political contests. On the
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  Speaker 1: legal front, a perpetrator in a violent antisemitic hate crime
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  Speaker 1: on DePaul University's campus has received a prison sentence. Casum Nauboni,
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  Speaker 1: twenty four, was sentenced to three hundred days in the
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  Speaker 1: Cook County Jail after pleading guilty to hate crime charges.
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  Speaker 1: The premeditated attack on November six, twenty twenty four, left
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  Speaker 1: two Jewish students severely injured. One, an IDF reservist, suffered
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  Speaker 1: a brain injury, including a severe Concutrussian and hematoma, while
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  Speaker 1: his friends sustained a broken wrist requiring surgery. Now Bonnie's accomplice,
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  Speaker 1: Adam Arkin, received a lighter sentence of two years of
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  Speaker 1: probation for misdemeanor battery charges, drawing criticism from Jewish organizations
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  Speaker 1: in Chicago. The victims have also filed a civil lawsuit
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  Speaker 1: against DePaul University, alleging negligence and a failure to protect them.
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  Speaker 1: Acclaim the university disputes, according to The Jerusalem Post. Internationally,
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  Speaker 1: concerns are mounting in Canada over the importation of foreign
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  Speaker 1: conflict and hatred into communities. A recent analysis in The
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  Speaker 1: National Post draws parallels between the nineteen thirty three Christie
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  Speaker 1: Pits riot, where Nazi swastikas and Hyle Hitler shouts incited violence,
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  Speaker 1: and contemporary threats. Reports indicate that foreign entities, possibly including Iran,
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  Speaker 1: may be funding criminal networks targeting Jewish sites and diplomatic locations.
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  Speaker 1: Police Chief Myron Demku has noted a common modus operandi
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  Speaker 1: involving criminals for hire targeting these sites, leading to the
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  Speaker 1: deployment of heavily armed anti terrorism units near synagogues and
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  Speaker 1: public spaces. This trend is seen by analysts as a
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  Speaker 1: deliberate effort to divide Canadians, intimidate minorities, and undermine national values,
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  Speaker 1: with a parallel tolerance for anti Israel and anti Jewish hate,
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  Speaker 1: often disguised as anti Zionism. Finally, we turn to institutional responses.
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  Speaker 1: The Muslim Association of Canada or MAC, has issued an
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  Speaker 1: apology for the phrase jew Free appearing in an anonymous
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  Speaker 1: word cloud exercise at its May twenty twenty six convention.
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  Speaker 1: MAC stated the phrase was offensive and hurtful and does
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  Speaker 1: not represent its values. Attributing it to a bad faith
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  Speaker 1: actor and promising to implement better controls for future sessions. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: controversy surrounds the Metropolitan Museum of Arts upcoming Costume Institute
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  Speaker 1: exhibition featuring designer John Galliano. Galliano was convicted in France
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  Speaker 1: for annas to Semitic and racist abuse. Critics argue that
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  Speaker 1: featuring him in a prestigious exhibition confers institutional recognition and
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  Speaker 1: risks sending a message that hatred of Jews is treated
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  Speaker 1: differently from other forms of prejudice. Despite the met statement
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  Speaker 1: that the exhibition will address his misconduct, this decision is
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  Speaker 1: seen by some as a double standard, especially when compared
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  Speaker 1: to how other forms of hate speech are viewed by institutions.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
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  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.