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German Court Sentences Iranian-Backed Terror Plotters · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. And I
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  Speaker 1: want to briefly mention the launch of Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic,
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  Speaker 1: which provides focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. You can find it at clockworkmedia.org
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  Speaker 1: slash ma now, let's turn to today's stories. We begin
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  Speaker 1: with a significant development in Germany, where a court has
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  Speaker 1: sentenced two men to lengthy prison terms for plotting to
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  Speaker 1: assassinate Joseph Schuster, the leader of Germany's Jewish community, and
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  Speaker 1: for spying on Jewish targets in Berlin. The court determined
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  Speaker 1: that one of the defendants, a Danish national identified as
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  Speaker 1: Ali S., was recruited and directed by Iran's intelligence service
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  Speaker 1: to carry out state-sponsored terrorism. Ali S. received eight years
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  Speaker 1: and six months for aggravated arson and preparing an assassination,
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  Speaker 1: according to reporting reviewed for this episode. An Afghan national,
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  Speaker 1: Tawab M., was sentenced to four years and six months
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  Speaker 1: for his role in the plot. German federal prosecutors had
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  Speaker 1: alleged that S was tasked in early 2025 with gathering
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  Speaker 1: information on Shuster and other Jewish targets. In the United Kingdom,
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  Speaker 1: a major political fallout is underway. The Labour Party has
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  Speaker 1: instructed its local council groups to end power-sharing arrangements with
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  Speaker 1: the Green Party, unless the Greens explicitly reject a conference
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  Speaker 1: motion that equates Zionism with racism. This binding motion, passed
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  Speaker 1: by Green Party delegates, defines Zionism as an ideology supporting
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  Speaker 1: an ethno-nationalist Jewish state, to the exclusion and slash or
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  Speaker 1: domination of the non-Jewish population, and states it should be
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  Speaker 1: treated as any other form of racism. It also supported
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  Speaker 1: a single Palestinian state and reaffirmed commitments to BDS. Labour
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  Speaker 1: chair Bridget Philipson has given Green counterparts seven days to
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  Speaker 1: issue a clear rejection. British Jewish organizations, including the Board
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  Speaker 1: of Deputies, have heavily criticized the motion. And Israel's foreign
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  Speaker 1: ministry has barred Green Party leader Zach Polanski, who is Jewish,
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  Speaker 1: from entering the country. Across the United States, a concerning
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  Speaker 1: wave of bomb threat hoaxes has targeted Jewish day schools
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  Speaker 1: in California, Florida, and New York within the past week,
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  Speaker 1: leading to evacuations and lockdowns. In Los Angeles, the Milken
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  Speaker 1: Community School was placed on lockdown after a bomb threat call,
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  Speaker 1: which police later determined to be a hoax. The Donna
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  Speaker 1: Klein Jewish Academy Preschool in Boca Raton, Florida, was also
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  Speaker 1: evacuated following a fraudulent threat. Two yeshivas in Brooklyn received
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  Speaker 1: similar hoax threats. Experts like Richard Preem of the Community
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  Speaker 1: Security Service and Michael Masters of the Secure Community Network
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  Speaker 1: stress that these hoaxes are potent acts of intimidation and disruption,
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  Speaker 1: requiring robust institutional preparation. Florida Representative Jard Moskowitz stated on X,
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  Speaker 1: let's be clear, there is no cause in the world
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  Speaker 1: that's served by scaring children. The Anti-Defamation League reports that
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  Speaker 1: Wikipedia has failed to systematically review or correct biased edits
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  Speaker 1: related to Israel, the October 7th attacks, and Zionism. According
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  Speaker 1: to a follow-up report from the ADL Center for Technology
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  Speaker 1: and Society, even after editor bans and external scrutiny, roughly
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  Speaker 1: 91% of past edits made by a banned editor remain
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  Speaker 1: on key pages. While coordinated efforts by bad-faith editors have
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  Speaker 1: dropped significantly, new editors are reportedly using subtler techniques to
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  Speaker 1: inject bias. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told Fox News Digital
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  Speaker 1: that Wikipedia has not resolved the issues flagged in previous reports,
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  Speaker 1: comparing the situation to leaving graffiti on public buildings without
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  Speaker 1: cleaning it up. In Dublin, Ireland, a hotel reportedly withdrew
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  Speaker 1: approximately 70 rooms reserved for delegates attending an international conference
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  Speaker 1: on combating antisemitism. Morris Cohen, chairman of the Jewish Representative
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  Speaker 1: Council of Ireland, told Fox News Digital that the Herbert
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  Speaker 1: Park Hotel's general manager questioned whether the Israel Defense Forces
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  Speaker 1: would be involved, leading to the cancellation. Cohen described the
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  Speaker 1: question as completely taken aback. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations,
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  Speaker 1: criticized the alleged action as a disgraceful example of the
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  Speaker 1: very antisemitism the conference was organized to combat. The hotel
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  Speaker 1: later claimed the rooms had been automatically released, an excuse
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  Speaker 1: Cohen found retrospective. Meanwhile, in Germany, Katharina von Schnurbin has
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  Speaker 1: been appointed as the country's commissioner for antisemitism. Von Schnurbin,
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  Speaker 1: previously the European Commission's coordinator on combating antisemitism, acknowledged the
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  Speaker 1: immense challenge. noting that hatred of Jews is at its
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  Speaker 1: highest level since the Shoah and Jewish people no longer
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  Speaker 1: feel safe. She highlighted that despite these challenges, nearly 90
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  Speaker 1: initiatives have been launched under the EU's strategy to combat antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: In US politics, former President Donald Trump addressed an event
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  Speaker 1: at Michigan's congregation Shari Zedek via video. The event, part
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  Speaker 1: of an initiative called the American Tour Against Hate, was
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  Speaker 1: orchestrated by the U.S. Justice Department's anti-Semitism, Tsar Leo Terrell,
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  Speaker 1: and the Zionist Organization of America. While Trump's prerecorded address
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  Speaker 1: received applause, the event drew criticism from progressive-leaning Michigan Jewish leaders,
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  Speaker 1: who stated it, risks fueling anti-Semitism and dividing the Jewish community.
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  Speaker 1: Rabbi Josh Winston commented that Trump's cynical use of anti-Semitism
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  Speaker 1: as a tool for stifling his opponents puts all Jews
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  Speaker 1: in danger. On the policy front in Pennsylvania, bipartisan lawmakers
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  Speaker 1: have introduced a bill to formally adopt the International Holocaust
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  Speaker 1: Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA, Working Definition of Antisemitism. This legislative
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  Speaker 1: action follows previous adoptions of the IHRA definition by the
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  Speaker 1: Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the state's Attorney General. The
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  Speaker 1: Anti-Defamation League, in partnership with Gratz College, has launched a
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  Speaker 1: new development program for school professionals titled from recognition to response.
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism on Campus. This initiative aims to equip educators with
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  Speaker 1: tools to identify and effectively respond to antisemitism impacting Jewish students, faculty,
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  Speaker 1: and staff. Modules cover the relationship between Zionism and antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: and campus environments post-October 7th. The ADL recorded 1,694 antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: incidents on college campuses in 2024. In Manchester, the Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Representative Council has called for the cancellation of upcoming concerts
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  Speaker 1: by the band Fontaine's DC, citing concerns over potential hostility
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  Speaker 1: towards Jewish residents. This demand follows a deadly terrorist attack
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  Speaker 1: on a local synagogue in October 2025. The JRC fears
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  Speaker 1: rhetoric associated with the band, which has displayed pro-Palestinian messages including,
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  Speaker 1: Israel is committing genocide, could fuel hostility. Manchester City Council
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  Speaker 1: acknowledges the concerns, stating security planning is central, but has
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  Speaker 1: not announced any cancellation. Finally, in San Anselmo, California, community leaders,
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  Speaker 1: officials and clergy organized a gathering of over 200 people
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  Speaker 1: to stand against hate after a swastika and hateful language
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  Speaker 1: were found spray-painted on playground pavement at Brookside Elementary School.
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Steve Birdo and Council Member Yoav Schlesinger emphasized the
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  Speaker 1: importance of solidarity and action. the town and school district affirmed,
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  Speaker 1: to our Jewish neighbors, you should not have to face
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  Speaker 1: this alone and you won't. Participants expressed gratitude for the allyship.
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  Speaker 1: Police have identified two suspects, ages 12 and 13, and
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  Speaker 1: the district attorney's office stated that acts of hate and
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism are taken very seriously. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage from New York,
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region, Listen to Antisemitism Watch,
• 8:15
  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.