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Antisemitism Watch - September 5, 2026, 09 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We begin
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  Speaker 1: with a serious threat targeting a state leader. A Montana man,
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  Speaker 1: Eric Lee Bolts, 51, has pleaded not guilty in Honolulu
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  Speaker 1: federal court to charges including cyber-stalking and transmitting antisemitic death
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  Speaker 1: threats to Hawaii Governor Josh Green and his family. According
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  Speaker 1: to Hawaii News Now, court records indicate Bolts allegedly left
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  Speaker 1: nine voicemails in December, threatening to kill the governor and
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  Speaker 1: harm his family. He has been detained without bail pending trial.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: This incident occurs against a backdrop of rising antisemitism in Hawaii,
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  Speaker 1: including swastika graffiti and bomb threats, and a history of
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  Speaker 1: similar antisemitic incidents across Montana. Turning to Germany, the far-right
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  Speaker 1: Alternative for Germany, or AFD, party is projected to perform
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  Speaker 1: strongly in the upcoming Saxony-Anhalt elections, with polls predicting around
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  Speaker 1: 40% of the vote. This has raised alarms due to
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  Speaker 1: the potential for the AFD to place the first far-right
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  Speaker 1: head of a German state government in the post-war era.
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  Speaker 1: As reported by the Times of Israel, the party's leading
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  Speaker 1: candidate in the state, Ulrich Siegmund, has adopted the Simpson-Mopt,
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  Speaker 1: a product of a company originally founded by a Jewish
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  Speaker 1: family and expropriated by the Nazis, as a symbol of
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  Speaker 1: his campaign. Dennis Baum, an heir to the Simpson family,
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  Speaker 1: has described the AFD as antisemitic, and finds any association
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  Speaker 1: with the party repulsive. Jewish organizations in Germany have long
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  Speaker 1: warned about the AFD's danger, and Germany's domestic intelligence service
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  Speaker 1: has classified the party as right-wing extremist. In American politics,
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  Speaker 1: a pattern is emerging regarding how public figures handle accusations
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  Speaker 1: of anti-Semitism against their associates. The Times of Israel reports
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  Speaker 1: that Michigan Senate nominee Abdel El-Sayed and Vice President J.D.
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  Speaker 1: Vance employ similar tactics to avoid disavowing individuals who have
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  Speaker 1: made antisemitic remarks. El-Sayed has maintained ties with streamer Hassan Piker,
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  Speaker 1: who has claimed Jews make antisemitism worse, and warned of
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  Speaker 1: potential action against them, while Vance has declined to disavow
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  Speaker 1: his friend Tucker Carlson, known for his antisemitic commentary and
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  Speaker 1: interviews with Holocaust deniers. Meanwhile, commentary from figures in the
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  Speaker 1: media landscape also drew criticism. According to Fox News Network,
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  Speaker 1: Pod Save America hosts Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett mocked
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  Speaker 1: Vice President J.D. Vance's use of the term blood libel,
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  Speaker 1: subsequently offering conflicting and incorrect definitions of the historical antisemitic trope.
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  Speaker 1: Seth Mandel, senior editor at Commentary, criticized the exchange, stating
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  Speaker 1: the hosts dismissed antisemitism while misunderstanding its history. Separately, Complex
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  Speaker 1: reports that musician Kid Cudi defended his recent reconciliation with
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Can I West, referring to him as his brother, despite
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  Speaker 1: West's well-documented history of antisemitic statements, Holocaust denial, and the
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  Speaker 1: sale of swastika merchandise. In discussions around anti-Zionist rhetoric, California
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  Speaker 1: Post News highlights actor Mark Ruffalo's reliance on signatories from
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  Speaker 1: the group Jewish Voice for Peace, or JVP, to defend
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  Speaker 1: him against claims of antisemitism. JVP is described as a
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  Speaker 1: radical anti-Zionist organization whose statements are viewed as potentially IHRA qualifying.
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  Speaker 1: The article notes that JVP blamed Israeli apartheid and occupation
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  Speaker 1: for the October 7th violence and accused Israel of a
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  Speaker 1: genocidal war. The piece frames Ruffalo's defense as a mobilization
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  Speaker 1: of an established anti-Israel activist network, many of whom have
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  Speaker 1: deep ties to JVP and BDS advocacy, rather than an
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  Speaker 1: organic community uprising. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: to Antisemitism Watch. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: so you don't miss the next update. This report was
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: important details with primary sources.