Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 27, 2026, 09 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 27, 2026, 09 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: begin with serious threats and chilling rhetoric. French police arrested
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  Speaker 1: an Irish national in Avignon after he was filmed threatening
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  Speaker 1: a Jewish couple and lamenting that Adolf Hitler didn't finish
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  Speaker 1: the job. According to World Israel News staff and reporting
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  Speaker 1: reviewed for this episode, the confrontation occurred earlier this month
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  Speaker 1: at a supermarket. After a conversation turned hostile, the man
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  Speaker 1: allegedly made the remark about Hitler and then threatened to
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  Speaker 1: shoot the couple. French officials, including Equality Minister Aurore Bourget
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  Speaker 1: and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, condemned the incident as chilling
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  Speaker 1: and unacceptable. The Jewish Observatory of France filed a criminal complaint,
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  Speaker 1: and the suspect faces charges that could carry up to
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  Speaker 1: five years in prison. This incident follows other confrontations involving
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  Speaker 1: Jewish tourists in France, as noted in reporting from the
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  Speaker 1: Associated Press. In politics and media, a prominent Jewish Democrat
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  Speaker 1: is sounding the alarm. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, speaking
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  Speaker 1: with The Atlantic's David Frum, warned that growing anti-Israel rhetoric
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  Speaker 1: among fellow Democrats risks rationalizing violence against Jews. Nessel expressed
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  Speaker 1: deep concern over remarks by Michigan's Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate,
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  Speaker 1: Abdel El-Sayed. According to reporting, El-Sayed linked an attempted synagogue
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  Speaker 1: attack in Michigan to Israeli airstrikes, and has not publicly
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  Speaker 1: withdrawn comments Nessel described as appearing to rationalize domestic terrorism.
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  Speaker 1: El-Sayed has previously accused Israel of genocide and apartheid. Nessel
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  Speaker 1: stated that such excuses are unacceptable and worries this mentality
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  Speaker 1: bothers her a lot, noting that she perceives an enormous
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  Speaker 1: amount of antisemitism within the Democratic Party. Reporting also notes
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  Speaker 1: that news outlets like the Aljaminer are covering broader threats
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  Speaker 1: of hate in New York, as indicated by local business lawsuits. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: actor Mark Ruffalo is facing significant backlash. A group of
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  Speaker 1: nearly 1,000 Hollywood industry members, calling themselves the Brigade, accused
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  Speaker 1: Ruffalo of simple antisemitism. In a statement reported by Fox
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  Speaker 1: News Digital, they argued Ruffalo invoked tropes about Jewish wealth
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  Speaker 1: and power and mass death while criticizing Paramount leadership and
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  Speaker 1: its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery framing his attack
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  Speaker 1: around Israel. Ruffalo denied the accusation, stating his criticisms were
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  Speaker 1: of political and corporate decisions, not Jewish people, citing specific
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  Speaker 1: technology contracts linked to Israel. Paramount Pictures has confirmed it,
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  Speaker 1: stands by the statement. Further adding to the political discourse, U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Senator John Ossoff, who is Jewish, condemned streamer Hassan Piker
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  Speaker 1: for remarks suggesting American Jews could invite violence upon themselves
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  Speaker 1: due to their association with Israel. Ossoff stated, through a spokesperson,
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  Speaker 1: that he unreservedly rejects reckless and dangerous rhetoric suggesting that
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  Speaker 1: policy advocacy invites violence. This sentiment was echoed by numerous
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  Speaker 1: Democratic lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who called
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  Speaker 1: Piker's claim that American Jews were inviting violence against themselves
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  Speaker 1: is dangerous and antisemitic. Piker responded by questioning media credibility.
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  Speaker 1: On the institutional front, The Department of Justice is seeking
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  Speaker 1: to revive its anti-Semitism lawsuit against Harvard University. As reported
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  Speaker 1: by the Crimson, the DOJ appealed a federal judge's dismissal
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  Speaker 1: of the case, which accused the university of violating Title
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  Speaker 1: VI of the civil rights act in its response to
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  Speaker 1: campus anti-Semitism. The judge had previously ruled the cited incidents
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  Speaker 1: were too isolated and episodic to prove an ongoing violation.
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  Speaker 1: But the DOJ is now asking the First Circuit to
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  Speaker 1: review that decision. The original lawsuit sought to claw back
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  Speaker 1: federal research funding. A new ADL study highlights challenges faced
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  Speaker 1: by Jewish educators. The Anti-Defamation League surveyed 307 Jewish members
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  Speaker 1: of U.S. teachers' unions, finding widespread antisemitism and pressure to self-censor.
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  Speaker 1: According to the ADL, 73.3% of respondents found union statements
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  Speaker 1: on the Israel-Hamas war problematic if they failed to condemn
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  Speaker 1: Hamas or the October 7 attacks. Over half reported inconsistent
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  Speaker 1: enforcement of anti-harassment norms when Jews or Zionists were targeted,
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  Speaker 1: and a significant majority felt pressure to self-censor due to
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  Speaker 1: fear of professional backlash. The ADL is calling on union
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  Speaker 1: leaders to take concrete steps to protect Jewish members. On
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  Speaker 1: college campuses, A Brandeis University study surveyed nearly 4,000 students.
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  Speaker 1: The study, detailed by The Crimson, found that a quarter
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  Speaker 1: of students who view Israel favorably also believe its government
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  Speaker 1: is committing genocide. Close to three-quarters of all students agreed
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  Speaker 1: with the statement that Israel is committing genocide. Researchers noted
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  Speaker 1: that political ideology was a stronger predictor of this label
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  Speaker 1: than a student's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself. The
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  Speaker 1: study also indicated that most students differentiate between supporting the
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  Speaker 1: Israeli people and disliking the Israeli government, though 85% held
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  Speaker 1: unfavorable views of the Israeli government. In Germany, authorities have
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  Speaker 1: charged far-right lawmaker G.R. Zegor's Braun with publicly denying the
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  Speaker 1: genocide committed by Nazi Germany. According to the Algemeiner, Braun
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  Speaker 1: called the gas chambers at Auschwitz fake in July 2025 interviews,
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  Speaker 1: dismissing accounts as propaganda. he faces potential fines or imprisonment
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  Speaker 1: under Polish law. This follows previous controversial remarks and actions
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  Speaker 1: by Braun. Separately, reporting from The Washington Post and the
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  Speaker 1: National News Desk indicates that Preston Parra, a former staffer
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  Speaker 1: for Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, allegedly posted antisemitic and racist
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  Speaker 1: content online, including a swastika and images of himself in
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  Speaker 1: Ku Klux Klan-style robes. Collins' campaign has stated Parra has
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  Speaker 1: no affiliation with the office. This revelation comes as Collins
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  Speaker 1: campaigns against Democratic Senator John Ossoff, who himself has spoken
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  Speaker 1: out against anti-Semitic rhetoric. In legislative efforts, Representative Josh Gotthamer
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  Speaker 1: is pressing House leaders for a bipartisan measure to condemn anti-Semitism.
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  Speaker 1: This push comes as lawmakers, including Senator Ossoff, have widely
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  Speaker 1: condemned anti-Semitic rhetoric, such as that from streamer Hassan Piker.
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  Speaker 1: who attempted to blame Jewish supporters of Israel for worsening antisemitism. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: we turn to accountability and community action. In New York City,
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  Speaker 1: a group of Jewish volunteers, the New York Jewish Community
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  Speaker 1: Judicial Watch Group founded by Glenn Richter, attends court hearings
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  Speaker 1: for individuals accused of antisemitic offenses. As JNS reported, their
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  Speaker 1: presence aims to signal to judges and defendants that the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish community is watching. thereby encouraging accountability for crimes motivated
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  Speaker 1: by Jew hatred. This effort began after concern over arrests
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  Speaker 1: in November 2022 of individuals planning to attack a synagogue,
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  Speaker 1: and in a broader cultural reflection, an article argues that
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  Speaker 1: rising illiteracy in the West correlates with rising antisemitism, contrasting
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  Speaker 1: this with the 20th century when Jewish publishers like Bennett
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  Speaker 1: Cerf of Random House, along with others, were instrumental in
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  Speaker 1: democratizing literature and building intellectual canons, thereby fostering resistance to
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  Speaker 1: dangerous ideas. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated with AI assistance and
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  Speaker 1: may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.