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Antisemitism Watch - September 5, 2026, 09 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. This week,
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  Speaker 1: a California court ruled there is sufficient evidence to prosecute
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  Speaker 1: Paul Dean Andrews for allegedly threatening a shooting at a
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  Speaker 1: Jewish community center and making antisemitic statements. According to the
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  Speaker 1: Lowe's Angels County District Attorney's Office, over three days in August,
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  Speaker 1: Andrews repeatedly called the Jewish center in Redondo Beach, making
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  Speaker 1: threats like, we don't want Jews in South Bay. Jews,
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  Speaker 1: get out of South Bay. In one call, he allegedly
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  Speaker 1: threatened a manager, saying, I know where you are, I
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  Speaker 1: know you're on Vale Street, I know there are a
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  Speaker 1: lot of children there. I will come and open fire
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  Speaker 1: at the place. Prosecutors noted that Andrews had previously been
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  Speaker 1: offered a chance to confront his prejudices through an anti-bias
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  Speaker 1: program at the Museum of Tolerance after prior charges, but
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  Speaker 1: instead allegedly left further anti-Semitic messages for the museum and
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  Speaker 1: a local synagogue in May 2024, stating, You will never
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  Speaker 1: be real Americans. all Jews should be hanged from trees.
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  Speaker 1: The court ordered Andrews to stand trial. He faces over
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  Speaker 1: nine years in prison if convicted and is being held
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  Speaker 1: on $ 275, 000 bail. In the realm of politics and media,
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  Speaker 1: 170 notable Jewish personalities have released an open letter defending
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  Speaker 1: actor Mark Ruffalo against accusations of anti-Semitism. The controversy stems
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  Speaker 1: from Ruffalo's social media posts linking Paramount's guidance CEO David
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  Speaker 1: Ellison and his father, Larry Ellison, to tech giant Oracle
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  Speaker 1: and alleging an apartheid system of oppression in Gaza. Paramount
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  Speaker 1: reportedly responded by accusing Ruffalo of invoking antisemitic tropes concerning
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  Speaker 1: Jewish wealth and power. The Jewish Federation of Greater Lowes
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  Speaker 1: Angels stated that Ruffalo's comments combined Jewish wealth, media control,
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  Speaker 1: secret technology, and sinister global power. drawing on recognizable antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: tropes with a long and dangerous history. The letter defending Ruffalo,
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  Speaker 1: signed by figures including filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen and
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  Speaker 1: actors Joaquin Phoenix and Deborah Winger, calls the attacks a
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  Speaker 1: false and dangerous weaponization of charges of antisemitism and argues
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  Speaker 1: the actor was right to draw links between Israel's behavior
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  Speaker 1: and the merger. On university campuses, a non-Jewish woman was
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  Speaker 1: reportedly subjected to antisemitic abuse by students at the University
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  Speaker 1: of Exeter. Reporting reviewed for this episode indicates this is
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  Speaker 1: part of a broader trend of antisemitic incidents on campuses
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  Speaker 1: in Britain. Internationally, the projected win of the far-right AFD
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  Speaker 1: party in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt is raising concerns
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  Speaker 1: for the country's Jewish community. The AFD faces accusations of antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: leading some to describe the community as being between the
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  Speaker 1: left and a hard place. In terms of judicial action,
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  Speaker 1: Reporting reviewed for this episode indicates that legal steps are
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  Speaker 1: being taken in response to antisemitic threats made in France
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  Speaker 1: and ambulance arson in London. Finally, focusing on community resilience, Impact,
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  Speaker 1: a non-profit founded after the October 7th massacre, held a
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  Speaker 1: workshop in Queens, New York, on Thursday called Digital Defender 102.
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  Speaker 1: The workshop trains Jewish individuals aged 55 and up to
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  Speaker 1: combat online antisemitism and using artificial intelligence and social media.
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  Speaker 1: According to Impact's CEO Aaron Herman, the program aims to
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  Speaker 1: empower this group to stand up, speak out and make
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  Speaker 1: a meaningful difference. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: to Antisemitism Watch. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: so you don't miss the next update. This report was
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: important details with primary sources. Thank you.