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MCPS Faces Federal Complaint Over Student Antisemitism · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. Before we
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  Speaker 1: get started, I want to mention the launch of Antisemitism Watch. Mid-Atlantic,
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  Speaker 1: providing focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
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  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia region. You can find it at clockworkmedia.org slash
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  Speaker 1: ma today. We begin with serious allegations of antisemitic harassment
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  Speaker 1: and threats against a student in Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools.
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  Speaker 1: The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law,
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  Speaker 1: has filed a federal title VI complaint against the district,
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  Speaker 1: alleging it failed to protect a visibly Jewish student. According
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  Speaker 1: to reporting by jpost.com, the complaint details severe harassment, online targeting,
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  Speaker 1: and death threats, including an anonymous call stating, You're a
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  Speaker 1: stupid effing Zionist Jew, and we are going to bomb you,
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  Speaker 1: followed by fireworks outside the student's home. The report indicates
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  Speaker 1: administrators allegedly minimized the incidents, with one principal reportedly questioning,
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  Speaker 1: why being called a Zionist was problematic. This pattern of
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  Speaker 1: intimidation led the student to reduce his school attendance, and
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  Speaker 1: over 40 local rabbis and cantors had previously warned that
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  Speaker 1: MCPS's inadequate response had normalized hostility. Hun Kenneth L. Marcus
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  Speaker 1: of the Brandeis Center stated, An explicit anti-Jewish bomb threat
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  Speaker 1: should leave no doubt about the seriousness of the danger
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  Speaker 1: or the urgent need for an effective response from school leadership.
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  Speaker 1: In institutional news, The University of North Carolina at Chapel
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  Speaker 1: Hill has reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice and
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  Speaker 1: Education Departments to resolve federal investigations into campus antisemitism and
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  Speaker 1: race-based discrimination, according to jpost.com. The agreement, which closes 18
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  Speaker 1: separate investigations and a Justice Department review, requires UNC to
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  Speaker 1: implement significant reforms. These include establishing a dedicated Title VI coordinator,
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  Speaker 1: mandating annual antisemitism training for all students, faculty, and staff,
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  Speaker 1: and strengthening protections for Jewish and Israeli students. The university
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  Speaker 1: also agreed to enforce restrictions on facial coverings during demonstrations
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  Speaker 1: and implement sanctions for discriminatory student groups. Assistant Attorney General
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  Speaker 1: for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, stated that Title VI requires
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  Speaker 1: equal treatment for all students and that policies tolerating antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: or favoring certain racial groups frustrate a colorblind justice system.
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  Speaker 1: Across the Atlantic, a review of antisemitism in English schools
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  Speaker 1: and colleges indicates that the oldest hatred is on the rise,
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  Speaker 1: according to columbusjewishnews.com. The report, commissioned by the Department for Education,
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  Speaker 1: includes 27 recommendations, such as encouraging the adoption of the
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  Speaker 1: International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism and ensuring
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  Speaker 1: teachers receive awareness training. A 17-year-old student, Jonathan Frischer, shared
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  Speaker 1: his experience of antisemitic bullying with Sky News, noting, The
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  Speaker 1: burden was often left on me as a 12-year-old Jewish
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  Speaker 1: student to explain to my peers why this antisemitism was
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  Speaker 1: so wrong. A separate review mentioned by TimesOfIsrael.com indicates that
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  Speaker 1: three in five Jewish students in English schools experience antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: A new study published in October 2026 found that American
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  Speaker 1: humanities doctoral students, are significantly more likely than other graduate
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  Speaker 1: students to hold anti-Jewish prejudice and hostility toward Israel, jpost.com reported.
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  Speaker 1: Researchers from the Morris and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Studies at Brandeis University surveyed over 3,000 graduate students.
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  Speaker 1: The findings indicate that while overt hostility is concentrated in
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  Speaker 1: minority factions, 12% of humanity's PhD students fit a pattern
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  Speaker 1: characterized by hostility to Jews. and 26% exhibited hostility toward Israel.
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  Speaker 1: The report suggests universities directly engage with these graduate students,
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  Speaker 1: who often serve as teaching assistants and instructors. In Canada,
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  Speaker 1: Public Safety Canada issued a report identifying anti-Zionism as a
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  Speaker 1: modern form of Jew-hatred, a stance welcomed by Jewish Canadians,
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  Speaker 1: according to Winnipesun.com. However, the government's position was revised just
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  Speaker 1: 22 days later, indicating a rapid policy shift. In the
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  Speaker 1: realm of anti-Zionism and rhetoric that may meet IHRA criteria,
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  Speaker 1: the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a complaint with
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  Speaker 1: the US Justice Department against an Israeli citizen, identified as SGJPost.com reported.
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  Speaker 1: The complaint alleges SG's involvement in the death of five-year-old
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  Speaker 1: Hind Rajab in Gaza. US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has publicly
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  Speaker 1: supported the complaint, calling on the Justice Department to to
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  Speaker 1: investigate and arrest the individual for alleged war crimes and
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  Speaker 1: acts of genocide. T. Labes' past statements, including the slogan,
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  Speaker 1: From the River to the Sea, have drawn criticism, though
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  Speaker 1: she has described it as an aspiration for freedom and
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  Speaker 1: peaceful coexistence, according to the report. The Foundation claims the
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  Speaker 1: individual was a commander in an IDF unit, positioned near
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  Speaker 1: the vehicle where Hind Rajab died, and that forensic analyses
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  Speaker 1: and social media posts support its demand for an investigation.
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  Speaker 1: In politics and media, white nationalist Nick Fuentes accused former
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  Speaker 1: Fox News host Tucker Carlson of antisemitism and being a
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  Speaker 1: true Jew-hater in a video clip shared online on October 20, 2026, jpost.com reported.
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  Speaker 1: Fuentes claimed he had tried to steer Carlson away from
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  Speaker 1: hatred of Jews. This follows a period of public deterioration
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  Speaker 1: in their relationship after Carlson hosted Fuentes on his podcast
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  Speaker 1: in October 2025. where Fuentes invoked anti-Semitic claims about Jewish
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  Speaker 1: loyalty and influence. Carlson, at the time, disagreed with collective
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  Speaker 1: blame and criticized Christian Zionists. Their public dispute continued through
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  Speaker 1: late 2025, with Fuentes accusing Carlson of dishonesty and rejecting
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  Speaker 1: his stance on white identity politics, according to Mediate Reports,
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  Speaker 1: cited by jpost.com, closing today with a look at community
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  Speaker 1: response and positive developments. Jewish federations across North America are
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  Speaker 1: launching a $ 35 million initiative called Frontline, which includes hiring
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  Speaker 1: 100 new professionals to combat rising antisemitism, according to jewishfederations.org.
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  Speaker 1: This initiative is a direct response to the surge in
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic incidents since the October 7th attacks, which saw antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: physical assaults reach a record high and Jews targeted in
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  Speaker 1: 64% of religiously motivated hate crimes. The new professionals will
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  Speaker 1: focus on advocacy in K-12 and higher education, and interfaith
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  Speaker 1: and intergroup partnerships. Shira Hutt, Executive Vice President of Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Federations of North America, stated that Frontline is a game-changing
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  Speaker 1: initiative that will equip federations with the talent, support, and
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  Speaker 1: resources they need to confront the increasingly complex and growing
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  Speaker 1: challenges they face. JewishFederations.org reported. Julie Platt, Chair of Frontline,
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  Speaker 1: Emphasize the need for deep, sustained and strategic engagement to
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  Speaker 1: ensure antisemitism is neither tolerated nor normalized. I'm Rachel Adler,
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  Speaker 1: thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage
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  Speaker 1: from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region,
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