Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 24, 2026, 09 AM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 24, 2026, 09 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Good evening and welcome to Antisemitism watch. I'm Rachel Adler.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: To night. We're tracking rising antisemitism, from physical assaults and
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  Speaker 1: widespread vandalism to concerning rhetoric in politics and academia. We
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  Speaker 1: begin with a violent incident at New York City's Central
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  Speaker 1: Synagogue during Shabbat's services. An assailant disrupted the prayer, shouting obscenities,
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  Speaker 1: punching a congregant and assaulting a security guard. Police arrested
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  Speaker 1: suspect Larry Montes, who has been charged with hate crimes
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  Speaker 1: in federal and state court. New York City Police Commissioner
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  Speaker 1: Jessica Tish, herself a member of Central Synagogue, called the
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  Speaker 1: attack a message written in violence intended to instill fear.
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  Speaker 1: She also noted that roughly half of confirmed hate crimes
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  Speaker 1: in New York City have for years targeted Jews, who
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  Speaker 1: comprise about ten percent of the population, and pledged her
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  Speaker 1: personal commitment to their safety. This report comes from JTA.
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  Speaker 1: In Melbourne, Australia, the city's Lord Mayor, Nick Reece, testified
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  Speaker 1: before the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, describing
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  Speaker 1: a significant fraying of social cohesion since the war in Gaza,
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  Speaker 1: as reported by ABC News and other outlets reviewed for
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  Speaker 1: this episode, Reese detailed a surge in antisemitic graffiti, with
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  Speaker 1: synagogues being graffitied on a near weekly basis. A rapid
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  Speaker 1: response initiative has removed over three thousand hateful items, eight
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  Speaker 1: hundred to one thousand of which were antisemitic. Rehese stated
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  Speaker 1: that members of the Jewish community have expressed being afraid
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  Speaker 1: to come into the city and recommended that the Commission
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  Speaker 1: consider funding for local governments to implement such rapid graffiti
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  Speaker 1: removal programs. Authorities in Finland are investigating a man who
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  Speaker 1: flew a Swastika flag from his home flagpole in Lapin, Ranta.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting from the Southeastern Finland Police Department, the
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  Speaker 1: preliminary investigation is complete and the case has been referred
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  Speaker 1: to prosecutors for potential charges of agitation against an ethnic group.
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  Speaker 1: The suspect has denied committing a crime, and experts interviewed
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  Speaker 1: by ILL suggest the incident may bear hallmarks of Russian
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  Speaker 1: influence operations. We're also seeing alarming trends in the United
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  Speaker 1: States concerning the de judefication of public life, a term
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  Speaker 1: coined by the Nazis, referring to the systematic exclusion of
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  Speaker 1: Jews from civic life. Reporting reviewed for this episode details
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  Speaker 1: instances including Jewish individuals being denied teaching jobs at elite colleges,
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  Speaker 1: reduced admissions for Jewish students at these institutions, and increased
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  Speaker 1: harassment of Jewish students, citing a UCLA incident where students
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  Speaker 1: blocked Jewish students from campus access. Publishers have reportedly refused
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  Speaker 1: manuscripts by Jewish authors, and Jews have faced denial of
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  Speaker 1: service in public accommodations. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has
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  Speaker 1: cited fear of verbal assault at a state Democratic convention,
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  Speaker 1: and in New York City, Mayor Zorn Mamdani notably appointed
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  Speaker 1: no Jews to his Mayor's Judicial Advisory Committee, despite the
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  Speaker 1: significant Jewish presence within the legal profession. In politics and media,
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  Speaker 1: Congressman Richie Tours has identified far left streamer Hassen Piker
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  Speaker 1: as the poster child for the post October seventh outbreak
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  Speaker 1: of antisemitism in America, as detailed in reporting from the
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  Speaker 1: Jerusalem Post and other outlets. Tours accused Piker of amplifying
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  Speaker 1: harmful rhetoric. To millions on platforms like Twitch and Amazon.
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  Speaker 1: Piker has referred to Orthodox Jews as inbred, described a
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  Speaker 1: Jewish man as a bloodthirsty pig dog, and stated that
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  Speaker 1: it doesn't matter if rapes happened on October seventh. He
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  Speaker 1: has also suggested that pro Israel Jewish Americans are making
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism worse, and warned of potential actions against American Jews.
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  Speaker 1: Piker has a history of controversial remarks, including stating America
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  Speaker 1: deserved nine see Meanwhile, actor Mark Ruffalo has publicly denied
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  Speaker 1: accusations of antisemitism leveled by Paramount's guidance. According to reporting
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  Speaker 1: from IQNA and others, the studio accused Ruffalo of using
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic tropes after he criticized executives involved in the proposed
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  Speaker 1: merger of Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery. Ruffalo had targeted Oracle,
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  Speaker 1: whose co founder Larry Ellison controls Paramount, alleging complicity in
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  Speaker 1: Israel's war on Gaza and describing their technology as genocidal.
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  Speaker 1: Ruffalo called the accusation appalling and fundamentally dishonest, stating that
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  Speaker 1: criticizing Israeli government actions or associated contracts is not equivalent
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  Speaker 1: to criticizing Jewish people and emphasizing his deep respect and
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  Speaker 1: love for his Jewish friends and colleagues. Online data indicates
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  Speaker 1: a significant surge in antisemitism within Spanish language content, with
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  Speaker 1: levels substantially higher than prior to October seventh, twenty three.
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  Speaker 1: According to a report in The Jerusalem Post citing analyzed data,
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  Speaker 1: Spain recorded the highest volume of such content on x
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  Speaker 1: formerly Twitter, Antisemitic content accounted for twenty point six eight
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  Speaker 1: percent of analyzed material. On Facebook, fourteen point nine eight
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  Speaker 1: percent of comments were classified as antisemitic, with twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: five marking the highest proportion on the platform since data
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  Speaker 1: collection began. Turning to watchdog and advocacy efforts, A three
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  Speaker 1: hundred eight thousand dollars Social Cohesion grant awarded to o
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  Speaker 1: PN Media, the parent company of One Path Network, is
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  Speaker 1: under scrutiny. Testimony at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and
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  Speaker 1: Social Cohesion revealed that the Australian platform had featured US
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  Speaker 1: conspiracy theorist Sneako, who has since been deported and banned
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  Speaker 1: from Australia. The Anti Defamation League described Sneako as one
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  Speaker 1: of the most prominent vectors for antisemitism, white supremacy and
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  Speaker 1: misogyny in the Manisphere. The Department of Home Affairs stated
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  Speaker 1: it will investigate any claims of inappropriate grantee action. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: in case outcomes, a graffiti vandal in Sydney has been
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  Speaker 1: denied parole. Reporting reviewed for this episode indicates that Justice
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  Speaker 1: Desmond Fagin ruled the individual held extremist and antisemitic views,
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  Speaker 1: leading to the parole denial. That's all for to day's
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for joining us.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be back tomorrow. This report was generated with AI
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  Speaker 1: assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with
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  Speaker 1: primary sources.