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Antisemitism Watch - August 10, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We begin
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: this hour with developments on university campuses. Haverford College has
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  Speaker 1: reached a settlement to resolve litigation brought by Jewish students
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  Speaker 1: who accuse the institution of allowing antisemitic bias and harassment
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  Speaker 1: to flourish. According to the Deborah Project, which represented the students,
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  Speaker 1: the agreement mandates the establishment of a nine member Antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: Committee composed of community leaders, plaintiffs, and college representatives, tasked
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  Speaker 1: with advising the president and issuing an annual report. The
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: college will also implement annual antisemitism training for students, faculty,
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  Speaker 1: and staff, and will affirm that Jewish, Israeli and Zionist's
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  Speaker 1: students are welcome and have equal access to college programs.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Additional provisions include insuring security for Jewish, Israeli or Zionist
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  Speaker 1: groups is comparable to other organizations. However, the Council on
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  Speaker 1: American Islamic Relations in Philadelphia Sihi R Philadelphia, criticized the settlement.
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  Speaker 1: Doctor Ahmit Tecaliaglu, executive director of Sihi R Philadelphia, stated
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  Speaker 1: that the college made a serious mistake by conflating criticism
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  Speaker 1: of Zionism with antisemitism, which he argued risks undermining academic
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  Speaker 1: freedom and the rights of students. Advocating for Palestinian freedom,
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  Speaker 1: Tecleaglu emphasized that while Jewish students deserve protection from antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: no political ideology should be beyond criticism, and universities must
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  Speaker 1: preserve the right to debate political ideologies. He also noted
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  Speaker 1: that protecting Jewish people is distinct from shielding Zionism from criticism.
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  Speaker 1: The lawsuit itself, filed in May twenty twenty four, alleged
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  Speaker 1: that Haverford had fostered a hostile environment for Jewish students
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  Speaker 1: and failed to adequately address incidents involving anti Israel and
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic conduct, as reported by JNS. Turning now to political arenas,
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  Speaker 1: particularly in Michigan, where concerns over antisemitism are increasingly prominent,
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  Speaker 1: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, announced she
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  Speaker 1: would not attend the state Democratic Party's upcoming August twenty
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  Speaker 1: ninth convention, citing fears for her safety. Nessel publicly criticized
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  Speaker 1: Democratic Senate candidate Abdel Alsaide, stating that he makes Israel
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  Speaker 1: and AIPAC the central villain for every issue. During a
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  Speaker 1: Monday interview on MS now, Nessel urged Elsaide to tone
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  Speaker 1: down his rhetoric, adding that not everything is about AIPAC,
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  Speaker 1: not everything is about Israel. This follows Elsaide's previous remarks,
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  Speaker 1: including a claim on CNN that Israel was as evil
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  Speaker 1: as Hamas and an accusation that AIPAC engaged in legalized bribery,
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  Speaker 1: as noted in reporting. In response to these escalating anxieties,
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  Speaker 1: Michigan rabbis and Jewish leaders presented a petition to the
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  Speaker 1: state Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hurdle, Jr. Demanding assurances for
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  Speaker 1: the safety of Jewish delegates at the convention. The petition
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  Speaker 1: calls for public declarations that those who harassed Jews will
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  Speaker 1: be arrested and prosecuted. Signatories include prominent figures like Rafael Medoff,
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  Speaker 1: director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies,
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  Speaker 1: and Rabbi Eten Tookyer, president of the Rabbinical Council of America. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: Representative Josh Gotthamer, Democrat of New Jersey, asserted in an
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  Speaker 1: op ed for The Free Press that the Democratic Party
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  Speaker 1: is being hijacked by socialists and is overrun by antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: Goththamer cited Elside's primary victory as proof that hate is
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  Speaker 1: being normalized and called it an early warning sign for
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  Speaker 1: all Americans, stating the Jewish people may be the target today,
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  Speaker 1: but they will come for someone else tomorrow. The Gwinnett
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  Speaker 1: County Democratic Party is also drawing attention for featuring David Hogg,
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  Speaker 1: described as an anti Zionist, conspiracy promoter and anti Israel idiot,
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  Speaker 1: as the marquee speaker at its annual Blutopia fundraiser. Separately,
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  Speaker 1: Candace Owens has been described in reporting reviewed for this
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  Speaker 1: episode as a particularly dangerous antisemite, employing tactics such as
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  Speaker 1: six degrees of Jews associated with conspiracy driven movements in
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  Speaker 1: federal policy, changes implemented by the Trump administration have been
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  Speaker 1: linked to a significant decrease in anti Jewish incidents on
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  Speaker 1: university campuses. According to the Anti Defamation Leagues twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: five audit of Antisemitic incidents, anti Jewish incidents decreased most
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  Speaker 1: significantly in twenty twenty five compared to the previous year,
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  Speaker 1: with an eighty three percent decline in antisemitic events related
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  Speaker 1: to protest and encampment movements and a seventy two percent
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  Speaker 1: drop in anti Jewish assaults. This shift is attributed in
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  Speaker 1: part to the elimination of a foreign student visa loophole
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  Speaker 1: and the imposition of fixed admission periods by the Department
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  Speaker 1: of Homeland Security, measures intended to combat what the administration
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  Speaker 1: termed rampant foreign student visa abuse and antisemitism at American universities. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: in New York City, a round table discussion hosted by
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Zuren Mamdani with rabbis reportedly excluded the New York
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  Speaker 1: Board of Rabbis, which represents over seven hundred and fifty rabbis.
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  Speaker 1: A spokesman for the board told JNS that the Mayor's
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  Speaker 1: office indicated the meeting was a closed press meeting. Rabbi
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  Speaker 1: Etentakir of the Rabbinical Council of America also stated he
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  Speaker 1: had not received an invitation, recalling a previous letter he
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  Speaker 1: sent to the Mayor's Jewish liaison regarding comments attributed to
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  Speaker 1: Mamdani's wife, for which he received no reply. According to
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  Speaker 1: j NS reporting on campuses nationwide, the Israel on Campus
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  Speaker 1: Coalition Conference convened, highlighting the growing difficulty in countering anti zionism,
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  Speaker 1: as the term Zionism has reportedly become toxic, making the
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  Speaker 1: case against Antizionism challenging whether or not it is deemed antisemitic,
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  Speaker 1: according to reporting reviewed for this episode. Finally, the American
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  Speaker 1: Arab Anti Discrimination Committee or ADC has addressed the issue
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  Speaker 1: of antisemitism. ADC president and legal director Jenin Yown's released
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  Speaker 1: a statement concerning antisemitism following pro Palestine protests and related
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  Speaker 1: investigations into antisemitic harassment. I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: listening to Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated with AI
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  Speaker 1: assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: primary sources.