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Mamdani's Rhetoric, PA TV Libels, and Campus Antisemitism · 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, providing focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. Visit clockworkmedia.org slash m a today's
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  Speaker 1: report examines concerning rhetoric from a major city's mayor, official
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  Speaker 1: state media spreading antisemitic libels, and continued threats against Jewish
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  Speaker 1: educational institutions. we begin with troubling rhetoric from New York
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  Speaker 1: City Mayor Zoran Mamdani. According to reporting by the Aljaminer,
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  Speaker 1: Mamdani has been accused of making hostility towards Israel a
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  Speaker 1: central feature of his administration, approximately 11 months into his tenure.
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  Speaker 1: In a recent interview, he reportedly called Israel's war in
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  Speaker 1: Gaza a horrific genocide and suggested he would seek the
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  Speaker 1: arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Aljaminer also
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  Speaker 1: reported that Mamdani's own plan to fight anti-Semitism lacks a
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  Speaker 1: working definition, making it difficult to address the issue effectively.
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  Speaker 1: In another development concerning political rhetoric, official Palestinian authority, TV,
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  Speaker 1: has provided a platform for columnist Hassan Hmaid to air
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  Speaker 1: classic anti-Semitic libels. As reported by the Aljaminer, Hmaid repeated
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  Speaker 1: tropes of Jewish global and financial control, collective cruelty, and
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  Speaker 1: invoked historical European literature to demonize Jews, referencing authors like Goethe, Dickens,
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  Speaker 1: and Shakespeare. Jewish schools in Brooklyn faced a terrifying threat
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  Speaker 1: this past Friday. According to the New York Post, two
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  Speaker 1: Orthodox Jewish schools, Yeshiver of Flatbush and the United Talmudical Academy,
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  Speaker 1: were evacuated after receiving phoned-in bomb threats minutes apart. The
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  Speaker 1: NYPD responded with canine units, but ultimately deemed the threats unfounded.
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  Speaker 1: The Anti-Defamation League noted that this incident followed a similar
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  Speaker 1: threat at a synagogue in Lakewood, New Jersey, highlighting a
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  Speaker 1: pattern of targeting educational and religious institutions. Meanwhile in New Jersey,
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  Speaker 1: an act of antisemitism caused a delay in medical care
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  Speaker 1: for an injured accident victim. I-24 News TV reported that
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  Speaker 1: the individual refused treatment from Hatsala, an ultra-Orthodox volunteer rescue organization, stating,
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  Speaker 1: I don't want your kind to touch me. Despite being
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  Speaker 1: the only medical personnel on scene, the victim repeatedly refused
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  Speaker 1: their aid, forcing responders to wait for community security officers
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  Speaker 1: and then paramedics, who, ironically, were also ultra-Orthodox. On the
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  Speaker 1: international policy front, the J7 Task Force Against Antisemitism met
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  Speaker 1: with UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in London. According to
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  Speaker 1: the Anti-Defamation League, the group discussed global antisemitism, and expressed
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  Speaker 1: concerns about UK government rhetoric targeting Israel. The meeting resulted
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  Speaker 1: in an agreement to establish a new international intergovernmental ministerial
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  Speaker 1: task force on antisemitism. Reporting from gov.uk also highlighted the meeting,
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  Speaker 1: noting that the J7' s latest annual report found 2025 to
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  Speaker 1: be the deadliest year for Jews living outside Israel since 1994.
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  Speaker 1: In Australia, the Royal Commission into Antisemitism will conduct an additional, classified,
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  Speaker 1: closed-door hearing. The Canberra Times reported this measure is to
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  Speaker 1: gather sensitive evidence regarding the December 2025 Bondi Beach attack,
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  Speaker 1: which claimed 15 lives, while avoiding prejudice to national security
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  Speaker 1: and ongoing criminal proceedings. Andrea J. Martin, an attorney and
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  Speaker 1: assistant law professor appointed to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission,
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  Speaker 1: shared a stark assessment. According to Cleveland Jewish News, Martin stated,
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  Speaker 1: I never knew America would turn on Jews this way
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  Speaker 1: and that antisemitism would reach these levels, attributing her concern
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  Speaker 1: to her son's experiences with what she describes as anti-Zionism
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  Speaker 1: being the new antisemitism. On campuses, the University of Edinburgh
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  Speaker 1: is considering rescinding its adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance,
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  Speaker 1: or IHRA, working definition of antisemitism. Herald Scotland reports staff
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  Speaker 1: concerns over academic freedom and the definitions focus on Israel.
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  Speaker 1: Alternatives like the Jerusalem Declaration on antisemitism are being discussed.
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  Speaker 1: More broadly, hostility towards Jews is reportedly normalized in public schools. Ijwishphilanthropy.com
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  Speaker 1: noted incidents such as a teacher comparing the Holocaust to
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  Speaker 1: Islamophobia and another teacher stating that violence against Israeli women
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  Speaker 1: was justified. The article emphasizes the danger of a generation
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  Speaker 1: growing up with insufficient Jewish knowledge. Internationally, protests in Amsterdam
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  Speaker 1: and Berlin featured alarming displays. JNS.org reported that demonstrators in
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  Speaker 1: Amsterdam displayed banners supporting Hamas, while in Berlin, participants chanted
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  Speaker 1: Yalla Intifada. Geert Wilders condemned the Amsterdam demonstration, though the
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  Speaker 1: city's mayor deemed support for Hamas shocking and distasteful, but
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  Speaker 1: not criminal. In response to such rhetoric, UK activist group
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  Speaker 1: Our Fight launched a campaign titled Some People Are Zionist.
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  Speaker 1: Get over it. To counter the Green Party's recent motion
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  Speaker 1: labelling Zionism is racism, the Jerusalem Post covered protests and
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  Speaker 1: public displays by the group, highlighting their effort to foster
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  Speaker 1: solidarity with the Jewish community. Israeli President Isaac Herzog commented
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  Speaker 1: on the situation in Europe, telling a delegation of French
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  Speaker 1: Jewish leaders, according to I24 News TV, that blaming the
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  Speaker 1: Jews has become, once again, the default mode. calling it
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  Speaker 1: a disguise for the anger and disappointment over Europe's own
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  Speaker 1: failings and fears. In positive developments, the Jewish community in
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  Speaker 1: central Virginia is finding solidarity through renewed engagement and community support.
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  Speaker 1: Three years after the October 7th attacks, according to Richmond.com. Similarly,
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  Speaker 1: Jewish influencers Jonah Platt and Hen Mazig are encouraging public
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  Speaker 1: pride and expression of Jewish identity as a means to
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  Speaker 1: combat rising antisemitism. despite facing resistance from those fearful of
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  Speaker 1: public backlash, as reported by The Sun Sentinel. I'm Rachel Adler,
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  Speaker 1: thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage
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  Speaker 1: from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region,
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  Speaker 1: listen to Antisemitism Watch, midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org slash m a.
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  Speaker 1: Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so you don't
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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.