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Belleville Synagogue Shooting Sparks Security Calls · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. We're also
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  Speaker 1: launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, covering New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region, at clockworkmedia.org.ma. We begin with a
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  Speaker 1: chilling account from Belleville, Ontario, where members of the Sons
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  Speaker 1: of Jacob Synagogue are calling for renewed federal efforts against
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  Speaker 1: radicalization following a violent attack on their congregation. On September 20th,
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  Speaker 1: during Yom Kippur services, a shooter attacked the synagogue. Police
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  Speaker 1: reported the shooter yelled, you are going to die for
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  Speaker 1: the Jews before engaging in a gun battle with an officer.
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  Speaker 1: The shooter died the next day, while no one inside
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  Speaker 1: the synagogue was harmed by gunfire. Congregants say the incident,
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  Speaker 1: along with subsequent antisemitic flyers and slurs in the community,
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  Speaker 1: highlights escalating threats. Survivors, like Doug Lobel, stated that warning signs,
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  Speaker 1: including Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories, were already present. In response,
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  Speaker 1: congregants are urging the government to enhance security, funding for
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  Speaker 1: smaller Jewish communities, and strengthen counter-radicalization strategies. Arguing the attack
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  Speaker 1: showed how antisemitism can threaten public safety, according to reporting
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  Speaker 1: from The Globe and Mail and the CJN. In political discourse,
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  Speaker 1: the campaign trail is seeing a rise in rhetoric that
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  Speaker 1: critics argue meets the definition of antisemitism. In Michigan's Senate race,
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  Speaker 1: Abdul El-Sayed has faced scrutiny for statements that critics say
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  Speaker 1: demonize Israel and AIPAC, framing them as an affordability issue
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  Speaker 1: and linking them to domestic spending. Reports from the Jerusalem
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  Speaker 1: Post note this echoes historical dual loyalty tropes. Meanwhile, the
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  Speaker 1: American Jewish Committee, or AJC, observes that the current campaign
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  Speaker 1: season has deeply affected the American Jewish community. with hateful
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  Speaker 1: language appearing openly in campaign ads from both the far
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  Speaker 1: left and far right. The AJC states that figures like
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  Speaker 1: Hassan Piker and Tucker Carlson have become welcome on the
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  Speaker 1: campaign trail, contributing to the normalization of divisive language, according
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  Speaker 1: to their analysis. On the campus front, incidents at Solon
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  Speaker 1: Middle School and Solon High School in Ohio are drawing concern.
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  Speaker 1: During a Cultural Awareness Day and Unity Week in late October,
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  Speaker 1: Jewish students reportedly faced hateful comments, Nazi salutes and phrases like,
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  Speaker 1: Heil Hitler. Reports indicate that during a presentation on the Holocaust,
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  Speaker 1: a classmate suggested only 150,000 people were affected, and a
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  Speaker 1: teacher did not correct the misinformation. Cleveland Jewish News reported
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  Speaker 1: these events, noting student testimonies before the Solon Board of
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  Speaker 1: Education detailing the targeted harassment. Internationally, Germany's government data reveals
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  Speaker 1: a significant increase in antisemitic offenses linked to Islamist extremism.
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  Speaker 1: The Aljamina reports that in 2025, authorities recorded 670 antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: offences motivated by Islamist extremism, a 6% rise from the
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  Speaker 1: previous year. This follows a tenfold surge in such crimes
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  Speaker 1: recorded in the three months after October 7, 2023, compared
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  Speaker 1: to the preceding nine-month period. Officials warn that while right-wing
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  Speaker 1: extremism remains a leading source of antisemitism in Germany, Islamist-influenced
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  Speaker 1: Jew hatred is now openly expressed. A new report from
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  Speaker 1: the Antisemitism Research Center, or ARC, by CAM highlights the
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  Speaker 1: vast scale of online antisemitism. Over a 75-day period, from
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  Speaker 1: August 1 to October 14, researchers identified 683 social media
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  Speaker 1: accounts regularly publishing antisemitic posts. These accounts collectively generated 1.18
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  Speaker 1: billion views from 2000 806 viral posts across platforms like X, Instagram, Facebook,
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  Speaker 1: and TikTok. The Jerusalem Post reported on this study, underscoring
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  Speaker 1: the urgent need for social media companies to address algorithmic
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  Speaker 1: amplification and content moderation. In broader geopolitical and ideological discussions,
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  Speaker 1: Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned of a potential collapse of
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  Speaker 1: the post-Holocaust world order. Speaking at a conference for Jewish
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  Speaker 1: lawyers and jurists, President Herzog cited an aggressive delegitimization of
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  Speaker 1: Israel by international institutions and a dangerously violent assault on
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  Speaker 1: world Jewry as contributing factors. He noted that many prominent entities,
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  Speaker 1: including governments, NGOs, and media outlets, are investing infinite resources
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  Speaker 1: in indoctrinating the lies about the Jewish people and the
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  Speaker 1: world's only Jewish democratic state. According to reporting by Yahoo
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  Speaker 1: News on his address, returning to local incidents, school buses
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  Speaker 1: serving Jewish schools in Brooklyn were vandalized with antisemitic spray paint.
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  Speaker 1: The New York Jewish Week and JTA reported on the incident,
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  Speaker 1: which occurred in the context of increased antisemitism, prompting New
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  Speaker 1: York City's mayor to announce plans and funding to combat
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  Speaker 1: hate crimes in September. In St. Catharine's, Ontario, police are
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  Speaker 1: investigating the vandalism of a Jewish man's car as a
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  Speaker 1: hate-motivated crime. According to the St. Catharine's standard, windows were smashed,
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  Speaker 1: swastikas were spray-painted on the vehicle, and a small Israeli
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  Speaker 1: flag was placed in a hole in the shattered glass.
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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.