Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 20, 2026, 01 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 20, 2026, 01 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. Today we
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  Speaker 1: examine critical developments ranging from accountability for deadly physical attacks,
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  Speaker 1: to the subtle spread of online hate, and the complex
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  Speaker 1: political discourse impacting the Jewish community. We begin with an
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  Speaker 1: update on the terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew
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  Speaker 1: Congregation Synagogue in Manchester last October. Counter Terrorism Policing Northwest
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  Speaker 1: confirmed that heck met Omar Ali Hakim, forty nine, has
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  Speaker 1: been charged with failing to disclose information regarding terrorist activity.
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  Speaker 1: The attack, carried out by Jahad al Shami, killed worshiper's
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  Speaker 1: Melvin Kravitz and Adrian Dolby and left three others with
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  Speaker 1: serious injuries. Hakim has been remanded in custody to appear
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  Speaker 1: before Westminster Magistrates Court in New York City. The Department
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  Speaker 1: of Justice is intervening with federal hate crime charges against
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  Speaker 1: Larry Montes, forty six, who disrupted services at Manhattan's Central Synagogue.
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  Speaker 1: According to the FBI, Montes faces charges including two counts
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  Speaker 1: of committing hate crimes and one count of damage to
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  Speaker 1: religious property. During the attack, he allegedly shouted antisemitic slurs,
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  Speaker 1: vandalized religious items, punched a congregant and head budded a
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  Speaker 1: security guard. Mantes allegedly told NYPD officers fc K the
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  Speaker 1: Jews its racial The Department of Justice stated these charges
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  Speaker 1: signal their intent to intervene to protect the public in
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  Speaker 1: the face of antisemitic and racially motivated attacks. This comes
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  Speaker 1: as NYPD data cited by the Algemeanor indicates confirmed anti
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  Speaker 1: Jewish hate crimes in New York City rose fifty three
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  Speaker 1: percent in July compared to last year, accounting for fifty
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  Speaker 1: seven percent of all confirmed hate crimes in the city
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  Speaker 1: through the end of July. A significant controversy surrounds New
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  Speaker 1: York Mayor's or and Mamdani. According to reporting the satmar
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  Speaker 1: Reba rov Zalman Labe Taitelbaum sharply criticized Jewish community efforts
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  Speaker 1: to denounce the mayor, characterizing them as provocation against the
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  Speaker 1: Nations and an extension of Zionism. In contrast, the analysis
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  Speaker 1: suggests many Jews feel marginalized in New York civic life,
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  Speaker 1: pointing to the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary having
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  Speaker 1: no Jewish members. Separately, a Democratic representative has also criticized
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  Speaker 1: an individual named Mamdani for fuelling division within the party
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  Speaker 1: over Israel and antisemitism online. A new analysis from ISD
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  Speaker 1: introduces the concept of lexical laundering, detailing the pipeline through
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  Speaker 1: which fringe vocabulary, particularly antisemitic neologisms, originating from platforms like
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  Speaker 1: four chan, migrates into mainstream discourse. Drawing on a data
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  Speaker 1: set of over three hundred and five thousand posts from
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  Speaker 1: multiple platforms, the study shows how extremist terms can enter
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  Speaker 1: wider conversations, often stripped of their original context, normalizing prejudice.
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  Speaker 1: The research identified casual interpersonal slur usage as a prevalent
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  Speaker 1: form of antisemitism on platforms like four chan. On a
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  Speaker 1: national level, the FBI's twenty twenty five Hate Crime Statistics
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  Speaker 1: Report indicates a decrease in reported antisemitic religion based hate
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  Speaker 1: crime incidents, with fifteen twenty eight incidents compared to nineteen
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  Speaker 1: thirty eight in twenty twenty four. However, the Algemeanor argues
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  Speaker 1: these statistics, while legally accurate, do not capture the full
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  Speaker 1: prevalence of antisemitic expression or the environment that fosters it.
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  Speaker 1: The ADL's annual Audit, which uses a broader definition, recorded
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five as its third highest year and noted
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  Speaker 1: a thirty nine percent increase in assaults involving a deadly
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  Speaker 1: weapon for diaspora Jews worldwide, It was the deadliest year
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  Speaker 1: in more than three decades. In Surfside, Florida, a man
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  Speaker 1: was arrested after allegedly making antisemitic remarks toward a couple,
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  Speaker 1: punching one of them and threatening to kill him. WSVN
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  Speaker 1: reported that Jordan Stephen Perrose was charged with battery with
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  Speaker 1: prejudice and harassment or intimidation based on religious or ethnic heritage.
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  Speaker 1: Broader analyzes connect these incidents to larger trends. One report
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  Speaker 1: highlights the foreign origins of antisemitic hate, significantly reshaping American society,
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  Speaker 1: visible in both the public sphere and public opinion polls.
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  Speaker 1: In Canada, an advisory council tasked with tackling antisemitic violence
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  Speaker 1: is described as ineffective, with the government reportedly lacking the
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  Speaker 1: will for real action. Meanwhile, James Loeffler's new book Exceptional
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  Speaker 1: Hatred examines the complex tension between legally curbing antisemitism and
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  Speaker 1: upholding First Amendment free speech rights. Community security remains a focus,
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  Speaker 1: with reports noting new communal and personal security measures in
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  Speaker 1: New York in response to hate crimes. Historian doctor Pamela
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  Speaker 1: Nadel describes the current moment as the high tide of
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  Speaker 1: a Manamerican antisemitism, challenging the notion that such prejudice is
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  Speaker 1: inherently Unamerican. Finally, in a show of solidarity, leaders from Jewish, Christian, Muslim,
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  Speaker 1: and Hindu communities rallied in Midtown, Manhattan following the Central
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  Speaker 1: Synagogue attack. Organized by Impact that This Shall not Stand.
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  Speaker 1: Demonstration emphasized collective security and unity. Impact CEO Aaron Hermann stated,
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  Speaker 1: an attack on a synagogue or any house of worship
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  Speaker 1: is an attack on all of us. This shall not stand.
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  Speaker 1: Speakers at the rally included Daniel Rosen, Karen Bale, Aisha Shahnas,
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  Speaker 1: and Lizzie Savetsky, who also directed criticism toward New York
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  Speaker 1: City Mayor Zorin Mamdani. 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
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  Speaker 1: primary sources.