Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 8, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 8, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. Today we're
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  Speaker 1: tracking escalating rhetoric and its impact from international airports to
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  Speaker 1: city hall, and examining responses to protect faith communities. A
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  Speaker 1: physical confrontation erupted at Manila Airport in the Philippines after
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  Speaker 1: an American man allegedly hurled antisemitic insults at an Israeli man,
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  Speaker 1: including the phrases baby killer and too bad. Hitler didn't
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  Speaker 1: finish the job. According to footage published on x slash
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  Speaker 1: Twitter by Israeli activist Hen Mazig, the Israeli man stated
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  Speaker 1: these comments provoked his reaction. This incident follows a similar
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic attack against an IDF reservist on Syrego Island earlier
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  Speaker 1: this month, which also involved the term baby killer and
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  Speaker 1: accusations of genocide, indicating a concerning pattern. As reported by
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  Speaker 1: the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry in New York City,
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  Speaker 1: NYPD officials are warning that Mayor Zoren Mamdani's strong statements
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  Speaker 1: against Prime Minister Benjamin Netania, Who's upcoming visit, are creating
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  Speaker 1: a security nightmare and a powder keg situation. According to
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  Speaker 1: the New York Post officials described Mamdani's rhetoric, including calls
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  Speaker 1: for Netaniahu's arrest and encouragement of protests, as reckless and
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  Speaker 1: directly linked to an observed uptick in antisemitism. NYPD sources
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  Speaker 1: noted that anti Jewish hate crimes accounted for over fifty
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  Speaker 1: six percent of all confirmed hate crimes in the city
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  Speaker 1: in the first seven months of the year. Separately, cyber
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  Speaker 1: analysts presented findings to the World Zionist Organization suggesting potentially
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  Speaker 1: hundreds of bot like x slash Twitter accounts are amplifying
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  Speaker 1: content from Mayor Mamdani and his circle, with IP addresses
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  Speaker 1: traced to city Hall infrastructure. These accounts show exceptionally high
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  Speaker 1: rates of resharing, with analysts reporting ninety six six percent
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  Speaker 1: to one hundred percent of activity being repeated sharing. The
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  Speaker 1: National Jewish Advocacy Center has requested city server logs, but
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  Speaker 1: City Hall has not responded. This occurs after Mayor Mamdani
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  Speaker 1: revoked the executive orders adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
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  Speaker 1: working definition of antisemitism and barring city agencies from boycotting
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  Speaker 1: Israel on his first day in office. On the Campus front,
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  Speaker 1: a Cornell University student Austin Franco has ignited outrage after
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  Speaker 1: refusing a job opportunity with a tech start up because
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  Speaker 1: its founder is Jewish, stating not interested in working for
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  Speaker 1: a Jew. Thanks amid widespread criticism, Franco has refused to
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  Speaker 1: apologize and has doubled down on his stance. His parents
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  Speaker 1: evicted him from their home, citing his influence from extremist
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  Speaker 1: online content. Franco has since posted a white supremacist substack
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  Speaker 1: article titled natural Hierarchy and a Better Future in a
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  Speaker 1: bizarre tweet about five G cell service. Online fundraisers for
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  Speaker 1: Franco have garnered over thirty seven thousand dollars separately reporting
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  Speaker 1: details a coordinated campaign to attack the pro Israel lobby
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  Speaker 1: exemplified by groups like AIPAC as a strategic method to
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  Speaker 1: target American Jews. This effort, as documented by The Jerusalem Post,
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  Speaker 1: employs antisemitic tropes, including caricatures of Jews, controlling politicians, banks,
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  Speaker 1: and media. The strategy involves labeling these groups as Zionist
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  Speaker 1: to advance claims that Israel is an oppressor state, thereby
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  Speaker 1: seeking to bludgeon supportive organizations in Washington. A bipartisan group
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  Speaker 1: of lawmakers has introduced the Federal Right to Worship Act. Sens.
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  Speaker 1: Ted Cruz and Elissa Slotkin, along with Reps. Brad Knot
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  Speaker 1: and Tom Suozzi, sponsored the bill, which would establish a
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  Speaker 1: one hundred foot buffer zone around houses of worship during
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  Speaker 1: religious services. This legislative effort, with support from the Anti
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  Speaker 1: Defamation League, follows a series of disruptive protests outside synagogues
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  Speaker 1: and aims to protect the right to worship without intimidation.
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  Speaker 1: As Senator Suazzi stated, exercising your right to worship should
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  Speaker 1: not require you to exhibit particular courage as you enter
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  Speaker 1: your synagogue, church, mosque, temple, mandir, or GERDWARA will continue
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  Speaker 1: to monitor these developments closely. I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for listening to Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated with
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  Speaker 1: AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details
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  Speaker 1: with primary sources.