Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - October 4, 2026, 09 AM Eastern
Transcript
- 0:06Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. Before we
- 0:10Speaker 1: begin today's report, I want to mention the launch of
- 0:13Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, offering focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
- 0:19Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. You can find more at clockworkmedia.org
- 0:23Speaker 1: slash m. A. We begin with a serious development out
- 0:27Speaker 1: of the United Kingdom, where British prosecutors have indicted two
- 0:31Speaker 1: Iranian men for plotting a terrorist attack targeting local Jews.
- 0:35Speaker 1: Rahman Salehi, 35, and Salim Ahmadian, 36, were arrested last
- 0:40Speaker 1: month in Manchester. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, they
- 0:44Speaker 1: are charged with preparing to commit an act of terrorism
- 0:47Speaker 1: or assisting another to commit an act of terrorism. During
- 0:50Speaker 1: a court appearance, the Metropolitan Police alleged the men obtained
- 0:54Speaker 1: instructions for a chlorine bomb and acquired components for an
- 0:58Speaker 1: improvised explosive device. They are also accused of identifying and
- 1:02Speaker 1: researching potential targets, including Heaton Park Synagogue. Home Secretary Shabana
- 1:08Speaker 1: Mahmood stated the news would be deeply distressing for Jewish communities,
- 1:12Speaker 1: especially coming so soon after the High Holy Days. Deputy
- 1:16Speaker 1: Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans assured the public that the alleged
- 1:19Speaker 1: plot does not pose an ongoing threat. In political and
- 1:23Speaker 1: media commentary, far-right podcaster Tucker Carlson is facing significant criticism
- 1:29Speaker 1: for remarks made during a recent interview. Carlson questioned Britain's
- 1:33Speaker 1: decision to enter World War II and appeared to justify
- 1:37Speaker 1: Hitler's invasion of Poland by citing historical territorial claims. He
- 1:42Speaker 1: told former British cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, I've never
- 1:46Speaker 1: understood why fight the Second World War in the first place.
- 1:49Speaker 1: While Carlson stated he was not defending Hitler, he continued
- 1:53Speaker 1: to argue that Hitler's case regarding Polish territory was true.
- 1:57Speaker 1: Rees-Mogg pushed back, calling the struggle against Nazi Germany a
- 2:00Speaker 1: the classic good versus evil. Carlson's comments drew rebukes from
- 2:05Speaker 1: figures like Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who stated the world
- 2:08Speaker 1: would be worse off if Nazis had won, and US
- 2:11Speaker 1: Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who accused Carlson of arguing
- 2:15Speaker 1: Britain should have allowed Nazi Germany to dominate Europe and
- 2:18Speaker 1: pointed to the regime's victims. On university campuses, a pro-Hamas
- 2:23Speaker 1: group at the University of Washington, known as Super UW,
- 2:26Speaker 1: continues its operations. This is significant as its foreign affiliate,
- 2:31Speaker 1: Massar Battle, has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department
- 2:35Speaker 1: as a front for terrorism. According to reporting from George
- 2:39Speaker 1: Washington University, Super UW openly labels itself an ally of
- 2:43Speaker 1: Massar Battle. The group recently called on Seattle locals to
- 2:47Speaker 1: join an October 7th protest marking three years of what
- 2:50Speaker 1: they term Israeli genocide. The GWU report warns that such
- 2:55Speaker 1: progression from slogans and demonstrations can normalize increasingly extreme rhetoric,
- 3:00Speaker 1: expand into intimidation, and create an environment where violence becomes
- 3:05Speaker 1: easier to rationalize. The University of Washington has stated that
- 3:09Speaker 1: Super UW is not a registered student group and has
- 3:12Speaker 1: taken steps to disassociate from it. Globally, the Antisemitism Research Center,
- 3:17Speaker 1: or ARC, documented 104 antisemitic incidents in the past week,
- 3:22Speaker 1: including seven violent acts, threats, or foiled plots, a significant
- 3:27Speaker 1: finding was the proliferation of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on social media,
- 3:32Speaker 1: immediately after a failed hijacking attempt of a FlyDubai flight
- 3:36Speaker 1: bound for Tel Aviv. Ark recorded over 2,000. 900 ex-posts
- 3:41Speaker 1: claiming the incident was a false flag, operation orchestrated by
- 3:45Speaker 1: Israel or Jews, generating millions of views. Finally, a commentary
- 3:50Speaker 1: piece in Townhall.com challenges the framing of the situation in
- 3:53Speaker 1: Gaza as genocide. Citing a report from the Gaza Health Ministry,
- 3:58Speaker 1: the article presents mortality data from 2025 showing birth rates
- 4:03Speaker 1: significantly exceeding total deaths and violent deaths concentrated among combat
- 4:08Speaker 1: age men. The analysis argues that this data complicates narratives
- 4:12Speaker 1: of indiscriminate civilian extermination and suggests that figures who have
- 4:16Speaker 1: applied the term genocide with total certainty may have done
- 4:20Speaker 1: so without sufficient evidence. The piece advocates for precise language
- 4:24Speaker 1: and scrutiny of casualty figures, noting that other studies have
- 4:28Speaker 1: argued for a higher death toll. It suggests that individuals
- 4:32Speaker 1: like former President Trump and Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who insisted
- 4:36Speaker 1: Israel's campaign was aimed at Hamas, are vindicated by this data,
- 4:40Speaker 1: and those who use the genocide framing owe an apology.
- 4:44Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
- 4:48Speaker 1: For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
- 4:51Speaker 1: the Philadelphia region, Listen to Antisemitism Watch, midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org
- 4:57Speaker 1: slash ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so
- 5:01Speaker 1: you don't miss the next update. This report was generated
- 5:05Speaker 1: with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important
- 5:10Speaker 1: details with primary sources.