Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 23, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 23, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism watch I'm Rachel Adler. This week
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  Speaker 1: we're tracking a concerning convergence of ideologies, a celebrity dispute
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  Speaker 1: over rhetoric, and concerning reports from watchdog organizations. First, a
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  Speaker 1: report from the Antisemitism Research Center or ARC, details a
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  Speaker 1: geographic cluster of five antisemitic incidents in Dearborn, Michigan. According
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  Speaker 1: to the ARC, these incidents represented a convergence of neo
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  Speaker 1: Nazi and Islamist ideologies, including a Christian crusader march featuring
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  Speaker 1: swastika imagery and Hitler salutes. In a separate protest, demonstrators
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  Speaker 1: chanted Hail hamas Hesblah Hawthyes Down with Israel. The ARC
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  Speaker 1: also documented a protest outside Israel's embassy in Washington, d C.
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  Speaker 1: Where demonstrators used fake blood and mock graves, invoking what
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  Speaker 1: the ARC described as classical blood libel tropes. Signs at
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  Speaker 1: the DC protest included Israeli's are baby killers and no
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  Speaker 1: place for Israel in a good world. Globally, the ark's
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  Speaker 1: latest report monitored one hundred and four new incidents of
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism worldwide in the past week. The incidents were broken
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  Speaker 1: down by ideological categories, with forty three point three percent
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  Speaker 1: from the far left, nineteen point two percent Islamist inspired,
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  Speaker 1: and seventeen point three percent far right. In a more
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  Speaker 1: personal account, photographer and activist Elyssa Rosenheck has written a
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  Speaker 1: book titled White Blonde Jew detailing her experiences with rising
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism in the US. Rosenheck, who has spoken out against
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  Speaker 1: anti Zionism as a byword for antisemitism, recently faced the
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  Speaker 1: cancelation of her book launch event in Nashville. The independent
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  Speaker 1: bookstore owner cited security concerns after encountering social media backlash,
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  Speaker 1: a decision Rosenheck called one of fear and cowardice. Turning
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  Speaker 1: to international incidents, a disturbing event occurred at the Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Semitae in Brezesco, Poland. According to Poland's chief Rabbi Michael
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  Speaker 1: Shudrich and Mayor Bulka of Janerations, a bulldozer used for
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  Speaker 1: wall renovation drove over graves, smashed gravestones, and disturbed human remains,
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  Speaker 1: all without proper hallacic supervision. The Jewish religious community of Krakou,
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  Speaker 1: which owns the cemetery, has since apologized and reburied the
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  Speaker 1: scattered bones, though Rabbi Shudrich noted the critical error of
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  Speaker 1: using a bulldozer for such delicate work. In the political arena,
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  Speaker 1: comedian and HBO host Bill Maher has criticized the Democratic Party,
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  Speaker 1: stating on Real Time with Bill Maher that candidates can
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  Speaker 1: openly express their faith as long as that faith isn't Jewish.
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  Speaker 1: Maher made these remarks during a panel discussion on August
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  Speaker 1: twenty first, asserting it was true that such a double
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  Speaker 1: standard exists. Meanwhile, in Australia, Green's Senator Nick mc kim
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  Speaker 1: has rejected calls to apologize for claiming Labor and the
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  Speaker 1: Coalition have been captured by Zionist interests. Senator McKim made
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  Speaker 1: these remarks in the Senate, and when challenged by Liberal
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  Speaker 1: Senator James Patterson, asserted that Patterson himself had also been
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  Speaker 1: captured by Zionist interests. The Zionist Federation of Australia president
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  Speaker 1: Jeremy Labler called the remarks reckless and dangerous, accusing McKim
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  Speaker 1: of using ancient antisemitic trope in contemporary language. A significant
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  Speaker 1: public dispute involves actor Mark Ruffalo and the film studio
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  Speaker 1: Paramount Paramount has accused Ruffalo of invoking antisemitic tropes in
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  Speaker 1: his criticism of a business dispute related to Paramount's proposed
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  Speaker 1: merger with Warner Bro's Discovery. Ruffalo had linked Oracle, a
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  Speaker 1: tech company co founded by Larry Ellison, and its military
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  Speaker 1: contracts related to the Israel Gaza war, to the merger,
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  Speaker 1: using terms like genocide and a parteate. Paramount stated they
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  Speaker 1: were troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service
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  Speaker 1: of a business dispute. Ruffalo has vehemently refuted the accusation,
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  Speaker 1: calling it appalling and fundamentally dishonest, and stating that criticizing
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  Speaker 1: Israeli government actions or military technology contracts is not the
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  Speaker 1: same as criticizing Jewish people. The CEO of the Simon
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  Speaker 1: Weisenthal Center has publicly stated that Mark Ruffalo is antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: and engages in demonization, presenting a significant accusation from a
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  Speaker 1: leading Jewish human rights organization. In domestic politics, Florida's democratic
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  Speaker 1: primaries saw intraparty battles Centrist Democrat representative Jarred Moscovit's publicly
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  Speaker 1: denounced Democratic Socialists of America members DSA backed candidate Angie
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  Speaker 1: Nixon secured a win for a U. S. Senate seat. Notably,
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  Speaker 1: James Fishback, a candidate running on a controversial platform, was
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  Speaker 1: endorsed by Tucker Carlson and many of the antisemites of Podkastistan,
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  Speaker 1: though he finished distantly in the Republican gubernatorial nomination race.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting on the Campus Front, Representative Jamie Raskin,
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  Speaker 1: the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, announced he
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  Speaker 1: intends to launch a probe into the Justice Department's investigation
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  Speaker 1: of antisemitism at taxpayer funded universities. Raskin described the investigation
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  Speaker 1: as a sham and citing a Justice Department whistleblower claims
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  Speaker 1: it was a fishing expedition and pretext to harass and
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  Speaker 1: intimidate universities regarding institutional response. A whistleblower from an antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: task force has reportedly contradicted her own claims, potentially undermining
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  Speaker 1: the task forces position. This comes amidst concerns raised about
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  Speaker 1: protected speech and First Amendment issues related to curriculum monitors.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting in Online Spaces, a year long test
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  Speaker 1: by Stopantisemitism Dot Org of platforms like ex Meta and
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  Speaker 1: tik tok revealed clear violations of their own policies regarding
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic content, which the platforms failed to address, according to
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  Speaker 1: the organization. Final A survey by the Center for Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Impact conducted in August twenty twenty six offers insights into
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  Speaker 1: international sentiment and community ties. Over half of Israelis fifty
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  Speaker 1: two percent fear identifying as such when traveling abroad, with
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  Speaker 1: forty one percent reporting changed behavior since October seventh, citing
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  Speaker 1: rising antisemitism and anti Israel hostility. On a more positive note,
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  Speaker 1: the survey revealed that seventy percent of Israelis believe the
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  Speaker 1: State of Israel should invest resources in diaspora communities, indicating
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  Speaker 1: a consensus on strengthening ties with global jury. I'm Rachel Adler,
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  Speaker 1: thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. This report was
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  Speaker 1: generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify
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  Speaker 1: important details with primary sources.