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Nobel Laureate Pillay Sparks Antisemitism Outcry · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. Today, we're
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  Speaker 1: also launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, providing focused coverage from New York,
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  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region. Visit clockworkmedia.org slash ma.
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  Speaker 1: We begin today with international reactions to a controversial Nobel
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  Speaker 1: Peace Prize award. The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been
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  Speaker 1: awarded to former UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay. a
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  Speaker 1: decision drawing sharp condemnation from Jewish advocacy groups and Israel. Pillay,
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  Speaker 1: who led a UN investigation accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza,
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  Speaker 1: is described by Human Rights Voices President Anne Baefsky, speaking
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  Speaker 1: to Fox News Digital, as having perfected the art of
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  Speaker 1: perverting legal and universal standards of human rights to demonize
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  Speaker 1: and delegitimize Jewish self-determination. Israel's foreign ministry called the award
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  Speaker 1: a grotesque weaponization of an award that legitimizes, anti-Israel hatred
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  Speaker 1: and prejudice. Anne Herzberg, legal advisor for NGO Monitor, told
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  Speaker 1: the Aljaminer that Pillay has allowed Jew hatred and demonization
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  Speaker 1: of Israel to flourish, and has whitewashed Hamas terrorism. The
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  Speaker 1: Nobel Committee cited Pillay's work in international law, but critics
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  Speaker 1: point to her leadership of the UN Commission of Inquiry,
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  Speaker 1: which concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza findings Israel rejected
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  Speaker 1: as politically motivated. In the UK, the Green Party of
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  Speaker 1: England and Wales passed a motion by 1,022 votes to
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  Speaker 1: 813 to treat Zionism as racism and endorse one Palestinian state.
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  Speaker 1: The party's official Jewish group has urged leader Zak Polanski
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  Speaker 1: to resign over his silence on the resolution. Lord Mann,
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  Speaker 1: the government's independent advisor on antisemitism, has called on Britain's
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  Speaker 1: Equality and Human Rights Commission, the EHRC, to investigate the
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  Speaker 1: Green Party. stating the motion, denies Jewish members and potential
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  Speaker 1: members their right to observe their religion as they choose
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  Speaker 1: and to identify as they choose. Israel's foreign ministry called
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  Speaker 1: the decision a stain on the history of the United Kingdom,
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  Speaker 1: and several labor MPs have referred the party to the
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  Speaker 1: EHRC over potential discrimination against Jews. On campuses, the Department
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  Speaker 1: of Education has expanded its antisemitism investigation into Swarthmore College.
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  Speaker 1: According to Instagram.com, amid reported ongoing challenges for Jewish students.
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  Speaker 1: At Sarah Lawrence College, administrators are facing questions regarding their
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  Speaker 1: awareness and handling of anti-Semitism complaints, particularly concerning a Students
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  Speaker 1: for Justice in Palestine vigil advertised for the anniversary of
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  Speaker 1: October 7. The vigil was advertised as a sunset vigil
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  Speaker 1: for three years of genocide in Gaza, with phrases like,
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  Speaker 1: Glory to the martyrs. College President Crystal Collins Judd's response
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  Speaker 1: to parental concern has drawn scrutiny, especially in light of
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  Speaker 1: previous emails where she described Hillel's concerns as exaggerated and alarmist. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: 12 teachers in Ontario, Canada, have filed human rights complaints
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  Speaker 1: against school boards and teachers' unions, alleging discrimination against Jews
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  Speaker 1: and a failure to adequately address antisemitism, citing incidents such
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  Speaker 1: as the repeated removal of Israeli flags and Stars of
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  Speaker 1: David from school bulletin boards, as reported by Thekjan.ca. In
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  Speaker 1: New York City, Mayor Zoran Mamdani dined at the Palestinian
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  Speaker 1: restaurant chain Ayat, Heinz Hall on the third anniversary of
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  Speaker 1: the October 7th massacre, according to the Aljaminer. The restaurant
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  Speaker 1: has been criticized for featuring slogans like From the River
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  Speaker 1: to the Sea and accusing Israel of genocide. Separately, New
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  Speaker 1: York Governor Kathy Hochul condemned a protest at an October
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  Speaker 1: 7 vigil attended by Mamdani, calling the demonstration despicable for
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  Speaker 1: waving flags of terrorist organizations. while protesters reportedly called Mamdani
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  Speaker 1: a traitor, according to jpost.com. In Britain, police recorded 3,162
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  Speaker 1: religious hate crimes against Jews in the year ending March 2026,
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  Speaker 1: a 10% increase from the previous year, according to the
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  Speaker 1: Home Office figures reported by newscord.org. These incidents spiked in
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  Speaker 1: October 2025, following the Heaton Park Synagogue attack. The article
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  Speaker 1: notes that while the CSD counts a placard comparing Israel
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  Speaker 1: to Nazis as an antisemitic incident, the police record hate
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  Speaker 1: crimes based on perception. Official figures do not specify how
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  Speaker 1: many of these crimes were direct attacks on Jews versus
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  Speaker 1: statements about Israel, raising concerns about the data's precision. The
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  Speaker 1: Anti-Defamation League recorded 6,274 antisemitic incidents in the United States
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  Speaker 1: in 2025, according to news.halstonmedia.com. While the overall total declined
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  Speaker 1: from 2024, the report indicated a record high in physical assaults,
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  Speaker 1: signalling a persistent and serious threat. An averted international terror
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  Speaker 1: incident occurred on September 30, when a radicalised co-pilot attempted
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  Speaker 1: to crash FlyJabai Flight FC-1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv,
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  Speaker 1: with nearly 180 people on board, most of them Israeli.
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  Speaker 1: According to jpost.com, Israeli passengers sprang into action, tackling the
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  Speaker 1: co-pilot and restraining him, preventing what could have been an
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  Speaker 1: Israeli 9-11, just ahead of the October 7th anniversary. Following
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  Speaker 1: the October 7th attacks, there has been a surge in
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  Speaker 1: demand for Jewish education in the U.S., as detailed by edwishphilanthropy.com.
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  Speaker 1: Jewish parents are seeking to strengthen their children's identity and safety,
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  Speaker 1: leading to enrollment increases in Jewish schools. However, this rise
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  Speaker 1: comes with increased security costs, with Jewish schools spending an
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  Speaker 1: average of over $ 400, 000 annually on security measures, more than
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  Speaker 1: doubling per-student costs and often requiring families to bear these
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  Speaker 1: expenses through separate fees. Regarding a case initially investigated as
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  Speaker 1: a hate crime at an apartment complex popular with University
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  Speaker 1: of Virginia students, Roanoke.com reports that charges were quietly and
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  Speaker 1: quickly resolved. Finally, influencers are urging public support for Jewish identity,
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  Speaker 1: as fear of antisemitism leads many to decline public solidarity.
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  Speaker 1: Jonah Platt, host of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, told
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that potential guests are afraid it
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  Speaker 1: will attract anti-Israel masses to their social media, afraid it
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  Speaker 1: will affect them commercially or afraid they'll get death threats.
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  Speaker 1: A survey by the A.P. Nork Center for Public Affairs
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  Speaker 1: Research found that 4 in 10 Jews are less likely
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  Speaker 1: to wear anything identifying themselves as Jewish than they were
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  Speaker 1: before the October 7th attacks. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage from New York,
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  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org.ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app
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  Speaker 1: so you don't miss the next update. This report was
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  Speaker 1: generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify
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  Speaker 1: important details with primary sources.