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Rabbi Returns After Diamond District Stabbing · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. And 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 a chilling incident in Manhattan's Diamond District.
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  Speaker 1: Rabbi Yosef, a 26-year-old Chabad rabbi, returned to his daily
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  Speaker 1: outreach work on West 47th Street just a day after
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  Speaker 1: being stabbed in the back in what investigators are treating
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  Speaker 1: as a possible anti-Semitic attack. According to reporting reviewed for
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  Speaker 1: this episode, he noticed a woman following him before she
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  Speaker 1: allegedly attacked him with what may have been a large syringe.
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  Speaker 1: The New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.
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  Speaker 1: Despite the attack, which has rattled him, Rabbi Yosef stated
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  Speaker 1: he drew strength from his Holocaust survivor grandparents and is
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  Speaker 1: determined to respond by embracing his Jewish identity. not concealing it,
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  Speaker 1: according to ha-bad.org. This incident occurs amid a reported surge
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  Speaker 1: in anti-Semitism in New York City, where, according to the Algemeiner,
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  Speaker 1: Jews were targeted in over half of all confirmed hate
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  Speaker 1: crimes in the first six months of 2026, despite making
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  Speaker 1: up only about 10% of the population. In Utah, a
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  Speaker 1: 22-year-old man, Skyler A.J. Rose, has been federally indicted for
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  Speaker 1: attempting to commit a hate crime. According to federal prosecutors
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  Speaker 1: and reporting by Fox News, investigators found Rose with six
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  Speaker 1: functional pipe bombs, rifles, and ammunition after he allegedly made
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  Speaker 1: social media threats to blow up a synagogue. Court documents
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  Speaker 1: cited by prosecutors indicate Rose searched online for a synagogue
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  Speaker 1: near him. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah stated that
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  Speaker 1: attempts to commit hate-motivated violence will be met with the
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  Speaker 1: full force of the federal government. The president of Congregation
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  Speaker 1: Brith Sholem in Ogden, the synagogue targeted, told JNS that
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  Speaker 1: the incident underscores the urgent need for all congregations to
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  Speaker 1: improve their security, noting that the community had proactively increased
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  Speaker 1: its security measures prior to this threat. Abroad, two Iranian nationals,
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  Speaker 1: Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salim Ahmadian, 36, are due to
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  Speaker 1: go on trial next year in London, accused of preparing
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  Speaker 1: acts of terrorism. Prosecutors allege they conducted reconnaissance of Jewish
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  Speaker 1: sites in Manchester, England, on the eve of Yom Kippur,
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  Speaker 1: with the intent to attack the Jewish community. According to
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  Speaker 1: the prosecution, the men were in contact with a third
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  Speaker 1: party believed to be based in Iran, who allegedly provided
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  Speaker 1: instructions for assembling a homemade explosive device. The trial is
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  Speaker 1: scheduled to begin in Manchester on June 15. Authorities have
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  Speaker 1: arrested a man in New York in connection with an
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  Speaker 1: attempted arson at an Orthodox synagogue. According to Nassau County Police,
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  Speaker 1: Azam Khan, 29, was arrested for allegedly trying to burn
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  Speaker 1: the young Israel of West Hempstead by setting a lawn
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  Speaker 1: sign on fire and attempting to push it under the
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  Speaker 1: synagogue's door. He then reportedly placed the burning sign in
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  Speaker 1: a bush, causing it to ignite, and subsequently kicked the
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  Speaker 1: synagogue door, causing damage. Khan was also reportedly responsible for
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  Speaker 1: damaging an official police vehicle. The investigation is ongoing. In politics,
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  Speaker 1: Republican candidate for New York Attorney General, Saritha Kamatiradi, has
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  Speaker 1: pledged to declare a state of emergency on antisemitism and
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  Speaker 1: prosecute hate crimes on her first day in office if elected.
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  Speaker 1: Speaking from the site of the recent stabbing of Rabbi Yosef,
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  Speaker 1: Kamatardi stated that the current Attorney General's office has not
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  Speaker 1: directly prosecuted hate crimes, a failure she attributes to the
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  Speaker 1: current surge. According to NYPD data, anti-Jewish hate crimes account
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  Speaker 1: for over half of all hate crimes in New York City.
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  Speaker 1: despite Jewish New Yorkers comprising only 10-12% of the population.
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  Speaker 1: Kama Tierdy, a former federal prosecutor who prosecuted terrorists, argued
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  Speaker 1: that public safety is the overriding issue in the race
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  Speaker 1: and that district attorneys have been ineffective in combating hate crimes. Academically,
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  Speaker 1: the Anti-Defamation League and the Academic Engagement Network have expressed
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  Speaker 1: deep concern over programming at the American Studies Association's 2026
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  Speaker 1: annual meeting. According to the ADL, sessions titled Designizing the U.S.
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  Speaker 1: University and Zionism is Racism. Introducing the critical Zionism studies
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  Speaker 1: syllabus portray Zionism as racist or an ideology to be dismantled,
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  Speaker 1: with little room for counter-perspectives. The ADL notes that for
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  Speaker 1: the majority of American Jews, Zionism is an important component
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  Speaker 1: of Jewish identity, and the ASA's programming risks sending a
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  Speaker 1: message that Jewish and Zionist scholars are unwelcome. The ASA's
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  Speaker 1: decision to feature Mazen Quimzie, who has passed statements praising
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  Speaker 1: an individual responsible for a deadly terrorist attack, also raises
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  Speaker 1: serious concerns. In a different cultural sphere, British Jewish actor
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  Speaker 1: Sacha Baron Cohen revealed that the production team for Marvel's
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  Speaker 1: upcoming series, Ironheart, expressed concerns about casting a Jewish actor
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  Speaker 1: as the demon Mephisto due to historical antisemitic tropes associating
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  Speaker 1: Jewish people with the devil. Baron Cohen, speaking at an
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  Speaker 1: event in New York City, described the team's sensitivity and
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  Speaker 1: consideration as an amazingly considerate, empathetic thing to say, highlighting
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  Speaker 1: a moment of feeling seen. The Aljamina reported on this revelation,
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  Speaker 1: noting that such tropes have historically linked Jewish people with Satan.
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  Speaker 1: In institutional policy news, the UK government is encouraging schools
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  Speaker 1: and colleges to formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
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  Speaker 1: working definition of antisemitism. This move follows a recommendation in
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  Speaker 1: the landmark Bell Review, which found that three in five
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  Speaker 1: Jewish sixth-form pupils have faced antisemitism. According to the JC,
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  Speaker 1: Children's Minister Josh McAllister insisted this adoption will not stifle
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  Speaker 1: legitimate political debate about the Middle East, while the Department
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  Speaker 1: for Education is urging schools to adopt the definition. Some
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  Speaker 1: teaching unions, however, have expressed concerns that the IHRA definition
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  Speaker 1: could hinder discussions around Israel and Palestine. Also on the
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  Speaker 1: policy front, the U.S., Department of Justice's Task Force to
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  Speaker 1: Combat Antisemitism announced the first stop of its American tour
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  Speaker 1: against hate, will be in Southfield, Michigan. The announcement was
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  Speaker 1: made in relation to Pro Bono Week 2026, with Associate
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  Speaker 1: Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr., highlighting the department's commitment
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  Speaker 1: to supporting pro bono service. In campus news, A report
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  Speaker 1: by MiddleEastEye.net questioned the methodology of a survey on student antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: noting that only 92 Jewish students out of 5,000 respondents participated.
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  Speaker 1: Meanwhile in the UK, an ex-Obsted chief expressed shock at
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  Speaker 1: threats faced by Jewish pupils, prompting calls for antisemitism training
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  Speaker 1: for teachers and strengthened safeguarding for students, as reported by
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  Speaker 1: The Telegraph. Turning to community response and positive developments, the
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  Speaker 1: Stand Up Sunday initiative, held on October 18, brought together
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  Speaker 1: over 100 houses of worship from diverse faiths across the
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  Speaker 1: United States. According to caston.org, participants gathered to combat rising
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism and other faith-based hate, with organizers emphasizing that they
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  Speaker 1: are strongest when united against bigotry. Finally, Senior Counsel to
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  Speaker 1: the Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights, Leo Terrell,
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  Speaker 1: was presented with the Beacon Award for Courage by combatantisemitism.org.
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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
• 7:58
  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. Thank you.