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Belleville Synagogue Shooting · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. Today we're
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  Speaker 1: also launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, providing focused coverage from New York,
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  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region. Find us at clockworkmedia.org
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  Speaker 1: slash m, a we begin with a violent incident in Canada.
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  Speaker 1: On September 20th, during Yom Kippur services at the Sons
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  Speaker 1: of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, gunfire erupted outside the
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  Speaker 1: place of worship. According to reporting from the National Post,
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  Speaker 1: the shooter, 29-year-old Sean Ward, reportedly expressed anti-Semitic statements regularly.
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  Speaker 1: As police officers Jeff Smith and Michael McCurdy protected the congregation,
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  Speaker 1: Ward reportedly yelled, You are going to die for the Jews.
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  Speaker 1: Officer Smith was gravely wounded, while Ward died from his
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  Speaker 1: injuries the next day. The incident has left survivors questioning
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  Speaker 1: their safety in Canada. On college campuses, rhetoric continues to
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  Speaker 1: draw concern. according to reporting from WFMD and Fox News Digital.
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  Speaker 1: The Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter at Manhattan's Stuyvesant
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  Speaker 1: High School shared an Instagram statement declaring intifada until victory
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  Speaker 1: on the third anniversary of the October 7th attacks. Advocacy
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  Speaker 1: group number NJU Hatred urged accountability from school officials, with
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  Speaker 1: director Michelle Adut stating the phrase, Intifada invokes Palestinian uprisings
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  Speaker 1: that included suicide bombings and deliberate attacks on civilians. And,
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  Speaker 1: in this context, Intifada until victory is a call for
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  Speaker 1: violence against Jews. The NYC chapter of Democratic Socialists of
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  Speaker 1: America denied involvement. This incident occurs amid a broader context.
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  Speaker 1: United Jewish Teachers documented 250 anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incidents across
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  Speaker 1: New York City's public schools between October 2023 and July 2026.
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  Speaker 1: In Philadelphia, activists scheduled a bicycle boycott ride targeting Jewish-owned
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  Speaker 1: businesses on November 8, the eve of Kristallnacht. The Jerusalem
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  Speaker 1: Post reports organizers posted calls such as no business for Zionists,
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  Speaker 1: and these Zionist establishments must go. Local leaders and organizations
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  Speaker 1: including the ADL Philadelphia and the Jewish Federation of Greater
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  Speaker 1: Philadelphia condemned the event as antisemitism and Jew hatred, urging
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  Speaker 1: elected officials to speak out. Looking at broader trends, Germany's
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  Speaker 1: Federal Criminal Police Office, the BKA, recorded 670 Islamist-motivated antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: offences in 2025, a 6% increase from the previous year,
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  Speaker 1: according to the JC. This follows a dramatic surge after
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  Speaker 1: the October 7th attacks, from 33 offences in the first
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  Speaker 1: 10 months of 2023 to 300, and 31 in the
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  Speaker 1: period that followed. Joseph Schuster, president of the Central Council
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  Speaker 1: of Jews in Germany, warned that Islamist-influenced hatred is now
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  Speaker 1: being unleashed quite openly on the streets, at universities, and
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  Speaker 1: on the internet. In analysis of the recent 2026 midterm elections,
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  Speaker 1: the ADL issued a statement warning that the election season
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  Speaker 1: underscored the dangers of portraying Jews as disloyal or responsible
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  Speaker 1: for societal problems. and of the fixation on and demonization
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  Speaker 1: of Israel. The ADL states that such rhetoric fuels hatred
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  Speaker 1: and can lead to harassment, threats, and violence, calling on
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  Speaker 1: leaders to confront antisemitism within their own ranks. At the BBC,
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  Speaker 1: Deputy Director General Rodri Talfen Davies met with the broadcaster's
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  Speaker 1: Jewish staff network following allegations of antisemitism by former producer
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  Speaker 1: Lucy Kahn, who received a £ 400, 000 payout. Kahn stated, The
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  Speaker 1: BBC isn't full of antisemites, but it does have a
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  Speaker 1: problem with antisemitism. The BBC's internal processes did not uphold
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  Speaker 1: her claims, but acknowledged shortcomings. Davies said there is no
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  Speaker 1: evidence of systemic issues, but acknowledged instances of discrimination occur
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  Speaker 1: in any large organisation, noting mandatory staff training and culture
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  Speaker 1: reviews are ongoing. From the Palestinian Authority, events commemorating the
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  Speaker 1: Balfour Declaration anniversary promoted the destruction of Israel, according to
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  Speaker 1: reporting from the Al-Jameena. Messaging from PA leadership and classrooms
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  Speaker 1: stated Jewish national rights are illegitimate and all land is Palestine.
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  Speaker 1: PLO official Ahmad Abuhuli called the Balfour Declaration a historic
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  Speaker 1: colonial crime, while PA schools displayed maps that erased Israel. Online, thejewishstar.com
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  Speaker 1: reports that social media posts are urging attacks against Jews
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  Speaker 1: and justifying these actions, by blaming them for Europe's issues.
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  Speaker 1: In acts of vandalism, four Jewish school buses were defaced
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  Speaker 1: with anti-Semitic graffiti, including swastikas and Free Palestine messages, as
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  Speaker 1: noted by Combatantismitism.org. In the UK, a significant legal case
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  Speaker 1: is proceeding. The Racism.org outlet reports an employment tribunal ruled
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  Speaker 1: that David Miller's anti-Zionist beliefs qualified as a protected belief.
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  Speaker 1: and that Bristol University unlawfully discriminated against him by dismissing him.
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  Speaker 1: Miller had described Israel as a violent, racist, foreign regime
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  Speaker 1: engaged in ethnic cleansing, and accused Jewish students of being
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  Speaker 1: political pawns. The UK government's advisor on antisemitism, Lord John Mann,
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  Speaker 1: called the decision ludicrous, and the judgment is being appealed.
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  Speaker 1: In Providence, Rhode Island, voters approved a ballot measure that
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  Speaker 1: could lead the city to divest public funds from Israel,
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  Speaker 1: as reported by the Jerusalem Post. The ordinance calls for
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  Speaker 1: refraining from investing in foreign countries conducting ethnic cleansing, apartheid,
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  Speaker 1: illegal military occupation, or genocide. While not naming Israel, the
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  Speaker 1: measure was supported by pro-Palestinian groups. International incidents reported by
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  Speaker 1: Fox News Digital include a stabbing of a Jewish man
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  Speaker 1: in Manhattan's Diamond District, investigated as a hate crime. In London,
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  Speaker 1: three Jewish women were assaulted and the incidents were treated
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  Speaker 1: as suspected anti-Semitic hate crimes. In France, protests saw Palestinian flags,
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  Speaker 1: and over 1,000, 300 social media posts blamed Jews, Israel,
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  Speaker 1: or the Mossad for unrest, with both far-right and far-left
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  Speaker 1: accounts targeting Jews. Community security remains a concern. Survivors of
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  Speaker 1: an event in Manchester feel unsafe one year later, requiring
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  Speaker 1: security gates for entry into an Orthodox synagogue. according to
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  Speaker 1: the jewishstar.com. On campus, three Ivy League university presidents resigned
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  Speaker 1: in 2023-24 after being questioned in a hearing about antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: on college campuses, according to the Financial Times. A publicly
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  Speaker 1: funded arts venue is accused of hosting an event involving
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  Speaker 1: vile antisemitism and the appropriation of a controversial slogan, the Times.com reports. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel engaged in a dispute with
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  Speaker 1: Fox & Friends hosts over antisemitism, as covered by Mediate.com.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
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  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch. MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org.ma.
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  Speaker 1: miss the next update. This report was generated with AI
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  Speaker 1: assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with
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  Speaker 1: primary sources.