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Haverford Professor Charged in Antisemitic Threats · 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, for focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. Visit clockworkmedia.org slash MA today. We're
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  Speaker 1: tracking a surge in hate crimes across Canada, serious federal
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  Speaker 1: charges against an academic, and continued scrutiny of political rhetoric.
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  Speaker 1: In Canada, the Canadian press reports a dramatic increase in
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic threats, and hate crimes against Jewish Canadians over the
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  Speaker 1: past three years. Since October 7, 2023, police have classified
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  Speaker 1: physical assaults as hate crimes, and incidents include synagogue arson.
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  Speaker 1: The Canadian Security Intelligence Service noted disrupted plots targeting Jewish institutions,
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  Speaker 1: citing a significant rise in religiously motivated violent extremism. Since 2023,
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  Speaker 1: Jewish communities have been the most frequently targeted group in
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  Speaker 1: police-reported hate crimes in the country. Toronto police reported over 1,000,
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  Speaker 1: 300 charges related to demonstrations and hate-motivated offences targeting Jewish communities.
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  Speaker 1: In the US, a Georgia man has been arrested on
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  Speaker 1: federal and state charges, including interstate-threatening communications and terror threats.
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  Speaker 1: According to Anish.org, Jonathan Mark Souser allegedly posted a message
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  Speaker 1: demanding defense, Secretary Pete Hegseth, attack a Hobart house, threatening
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  Speaker 1: Hegseth's family if he refused, and referencing the October 7th attacks.
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  Speaker 1: Authorities traced the post to Souser, who reportedly admitted to
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  Speaker 1: law enforcement that he wrote it. On university campuses, federal
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  Speaker 1: prosecutors have charged Haverford College professor Guangxuan Ha with cyber-stalking
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  Speaker 1: and anti-Semitic harassment, ABC7 Chicago, and 6abc. com report. Investigators allege
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  Speaker 1: he used four anonymous ex-accounts to send dozens of threatening
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  Speaker 1: messages to a coworker and their family, tracing IP addresses
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  Speaker 1: to his home and including threats like a cleansing of
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  Speaker 1: Jewish people. The U.S. Department of Education, as reported by
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  Speaker 1: the Inquirer and jewishexponent.com, is expanding its antisemitism investigation into
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  Speaker 1: Swarthmore College. This follows a student group's reposting of a
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  Speaker 1: video depicting an effigy of an Israeli soldier being burned,
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  Speaker 1: which the department cited as egregious antisemitic propaganda, and potentially
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  Speaker 1: a call to violence, noting the group's affiliation had previously
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  Speaker 1: been revoked by the college. In Canada, nationalpost.com reports that
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  Speaker 1: representatives from 70 institutions met to develop a national strategy
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  Speaker 1: against rising antisemitism on campuses. After a study found 84%
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  Speaker 1: of Jewish students interviewed reported antisemitism. Locally, Belmont Public Schools
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  Speaker 1: in Massachusetts hosted a community forum, according to BelmontVoice.org, to
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  Speaker 1: address recent racist and antisemitic graffiti and racial slurs, with
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  Speaker 1: parents criticizing the district's response and students expressing fear about
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  Speaker 1: discussing their Jewish identity. In New York City politics, Mayor
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  Speaker 1: Zoran Mamdani ignited controversy over with a statement commemorating the
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  Speaker 1: third anniversary of the October 7th massacre, accusing Israel of
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  Speaker 1: an ongoing genocide in Gaza. Aljaminer and NewsCorp.org report Mamdani
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  Speaker 1: acknowledged Hamas's attack, but then claimed Israeli actions had killed
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  Speaker 1: over 74,000 Palestinians, using figures from Hamas-controlled health authorities. His
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  Speaker 1: remarks drew sharp criticism, including a protest targeting him, and
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  Speaker 1: a new poll by JewishPostenNews.com showing 65% of New York
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  Speaker 1: City's Jewish voters disapprove of his handling of antisemitism, compared
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  Speaker 1: to 75% approval for Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Critics and
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  Speaker 1: the combat antisemitism movement have highlighted this rhetoric. Meanwhile, the TimesOfIsrael.com
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  Speaker 1: reports protesters chanting for Intifada outside Columbia University at an
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  Speaker 1: October 7 rally. raising questions about the line between protesting
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  Speaker 1: Israeli policy and marking a massacre. In the UK, jpost.com
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  Speaker 1: critiques Prime Minister Andy Burnham's recent op-eds marking the October
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  Speaker 1: 7th anniversary, arguing Burnham displayed a superficial understanding of antisemitism's
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  Speaker 1: origins and failed to connect it to anti-Israel activism, instead
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  Speaker 1: framing the issue through security and cohesion. On the policy front,
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  Speaker 1: The U.S. Department of Education urged educators and lawmakers to
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  Speaker 1: protect Jewish students from harassment and bullying, citing civil rights
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  Speaker 1: data collection findings that they are the most frequently targeted
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  Speaker 1: group for religion-based bullying, JNS.org reports. In the U.K., Conservative
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  Speaker 1: Shadow Education Minister Joanne Cash expressed concern about antisemitism on campus,
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  Speaker 1: telling TimeshareEducation.com it is going unchallenged by the student body
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  Speaker 1: and the academic body. The Anti-Defamation League reports a spike
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  Speaker 1: in anti-Semitic incidents in Chicago over the past two weeks,
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  Speaker 1: coinciding with the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks,
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  Speaker 1: according to NBCChicago.com. Community members express heightened fear, with one
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  Speaker 1: victim recounting an assault where the attacker yelled, Free Palestine.
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  Speaker 1: The report notes criticism of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, with
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  Speaker 1: local Jewish leaders stating recommendations for a hate crimes division
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  Speaker 1: and antisemitism, awareness curriculum in public schools, have not been implemented. Internationally,
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  Speaker 1: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz marked the third anniversary of October
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  Speaker 1: 7th with a public vow to fight antisemitism, while France's
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  Speaker 1: top diplomat also rejected antisemitism during a visit to Israel, freemalasiataday.com notes. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: in a show of solidarity, the village of Lawrence issued
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  Speaker 1: a statement on the third anniversary of the October 7th attacks.
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  Speaker 1: lowering its flags to half-staff, and emphasizing the ongoing threat
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  Speaker 1: of antisemitism while calling for community unity. The statement declared,
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  Speaker 1: We remember. We stand together. We will never be silent.
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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
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  Speaker 1: slash ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app, so
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  Speaker 1: you don't miss the next update. This report was generated
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  Speaker 1: with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important
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  Speaker 1: details with primary sources.