Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 14, 2026, 01 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 14, 2026, 01 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. We begin
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: with a significant legal development concerning campus antisemitism. A federal
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  Speaker 1: judge has dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit against Harvard University,
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  Speaker 1: which accused the school of turning a blind eye to
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  Speaker 1: Jewish and Israeli students. According to reporting from JTA, Judge
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  Speaker 1: Richard Stearns ruled Thursday that the government's evidence of Title
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  Speaker 1: VI civil rights violations was too isolated an episodic to
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  Speaker 1: prove ongoing institutionalized noncompliance. The U S Assistant Attorney General
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: stated the government disagrees with the ruling and is assessing
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  Speaker 1: next steps. The lawsuit was a cornerstone of the Trump
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  Speaker 1: administration's efforts to combat campus antisemitism, including a threatened freeze
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  Speaker 1: of federal funds to Harvard. Judge Steern's criticised withholding funds
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  Speaker 1: as not the intent of Congress, which aim to incentivize
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  Speaker 1: compliance rather than penalize recipients. Schabus Kestenbaum, a Harvard alum
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  Speaker 1: and activist, criticized the ruling to j TA, stating Harvard
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  Speaker 1: insists on violating the civil rights of American Jewish students.
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  Speaker 1: The case had divided Jewish groups, with Hillell International withdrawing
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  Speaker 1: an AMEEKUS brief in a related case after criticism in
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  Speaker 1: the political arena, concerns are mounting over rhetoric from certain
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  Speaker 1: factions and media figures. As reported by The New York
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Week, Victories like Abdul Elsaide winning Michigan's Democratic Senate
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  Speaker 1: primary are seen as evidence of socialist factions attempting to
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  Speaker 1: hijack the party. Elsaide's campaign reportedly focused on the U S.
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  Speaker 1: Israel relationship, questioning Israel's right to exist, and included campaigning
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  Speaker 1: with online streamer Hassen Piker, who has been criticized for
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  Speaker 1: praising Hamas and making antisemitic remarks. The article notes that
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  Speaker 1: a new crop of Democratic Socialists of America DSA candidates
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  Speaker 1: in New York City have echoed similar sentiments, refusing to
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  Speaker 1: condemn Hamas and accusing Israel of genocide. Meanwhile, New York
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  Speaker 1: City Mayor Zorin Mamdani is facing scrutiny, as reported by
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  Speaker 1: vi N News, his statement questioning if Jews are safe
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  Speaker 1: in New York has drawn attention amid antisemitism concerns. Separately,
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  Speaker 1: US representative Rashida te Labe's campaign event in South Florida
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  Speaker 1: was relocated following pushback from state Representative Michael Gottlib and others,
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  Speaker 1: who cited concerns that the event targeted Jewish incumbents and
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  Speaker 1: featured anti Israel voices. According to v and News, influencers
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  Speaker 1: from both the socialist left and the native populist right,
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  Speaker 1: such as Hassen Piker and Tucker Carlson are noted for
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  Speaker 1: repackaging antisemitic tropes. According to The New York Jewish Week,
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  Speaker 1: a recent Harvard CAP's Harris survey indicated that sixty percent
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  Speaker 1: of voters between eighteen and twenty four cided more with
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  Speaker 1: Hamas than Israel, and attributed by some to radicalization via
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  Speaker 1: platforms like TikTok. On campus policy, Haverford College has agreed
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  Speaker 1: to establish an antisemitism committee and require annual antisemitism training
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  Speaker 1: for students, faculty, and staff as part of a settlement
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  Speaker 1: resolving a lawsuit filed last year. JNS reports that the
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  Speaker 1: lawsuit alleged Haverford fostered a hostile environment for Jewish students.
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  Speaker 1: Under the agreement, Haverford will affirm the welcome and equal
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  Speaker 1: access for Jewish Israeli and Zionist students. The college will
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  Speaker 1: also establish a nine member committee to advise the president
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  Speaker 1: and its director of Civil Rights will handle antisemitism complaints.
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  Speaker 1: The settlement also mandates an FAQ on antisemitism and the
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  Speaker 1: IHRA working definition, in sure security for events sponsored by
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  Speaker 1: Jewish or Zionist groups, and revise its honor code to
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  Speaker 1: remove references to privileged and marginalized students. The college has
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  Speaker 1: also agreed to implement masked disclosure rules when requested by
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  Speaker 1: campus officials or when threatening a student. At Columbia University,
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  Speaker 1: Palestinian students, faculty, and alumni have filed a discrimination lawsuit.
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  Speaker 1: As noted by The New York Jewish Week, the plaintiff's
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  Speaker 1: site rising antisemitism as a key concern. The lawsuit alleges
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  Speaker 1: that the university has failed to adequately address such issues,
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  Speaker 1: contributing to a hostile environment. The Museum of Jewish Heritage
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  Speaker 1: in New York City is participating in a city hall
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  Speaker 1: program offering free or discounted tickets to cultural sites for
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  Speaker 1: high school students. This initiative highlights the museum's explicit stance
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  Speaker 1: on anti Zionism. According to JNS reporting, the museum's educator
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  Speaker 1: resources state that anti Zionism is antisemitism as it seeks
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  Speaker 1: to delegitimize the Jewish state and deny Jewish self determination.
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  Speaker 1: The museum's CEO and board chair previously stated that witnessing
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  Speaker 1: the liberation of hostages recalled the horrific echoes of the Holocaust.
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  Speaker 1: The reporting of also notes that Mayor's Earn Mamdani has
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  Speaker 1: expressed views questioning Israel's existence as a Jewish state, and
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  Speaker 1: his spokeswoman has suggested synagogues's violate international law by hosting
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  Speaker 1: pro Israel events. A fellow at the Heritage Foundation expressed
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  Speaker 1: hope that students visiting the museum will see Mamdani as
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  Speaker 1: a polarizing figure. Turning to online extremism, a witness testified
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  Speaker 1: before Australia's Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion about
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  Speaker 1: the challenges families face when a relative becomes radicalised into
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  Speaker 1: neo Nazi and far right extremism. The anonymous witness, known
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  Speaker 1: as Ade, told the Commission, as reported in excerpts from
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  Speaker 1: the proceedings, about the lack of adequate specialist support beyond
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  Speaker 1: police intervention programs. Ade described seeking counselors with expertise in
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  Speaker 1: far right extremism and neo Nazism, and found the available
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  Speaker 1: support services, like the Step Together hotline, to be poorly
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  Speaker 1: designed and lacking specific information. The witness emphasized that the
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  Speaker 1: harm extends beyond physical violence, including verbal harm and the
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  Speaker 1: serious damage caused by the expression of extremist ideologies, and
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  Speaker 1: raised concerns about confidentiality protocols for those seeking help. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: a note on community response and efforts to counter extremism
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  Speaker 1: on campuses. From August twenty third to thirtieth, a delegation
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  Speaker 1: of Israeli veterans, including Special Forces reservists, is visiting New
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  Speaker 1: York City campuses such as NYU and Columbia. According to
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  Speaker 1: j NS, the group, organized by the non profit front
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  Speaker 1: Line Advocates, aims to counter perceived antisemitism and prevent student radicalization.
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  Speaker 1: In the wake of October seventh, Co founder Stave Cohen
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  Speaker 1: stated the goal is to engage with students before they
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  Speaker 1: become radicalized. The delegation plans public debates and social media
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  Speaker 1: content creation at various universities, as well as participation in
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  Speaker 1: communal events. Cohen expressed concern over daily death threats and tracking,
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: fearing for the speaker's safety, while another member, id A Soggy,
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  Speaker 1: emphasized the need to shed light on the losses experienced.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
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  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.