Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 10, 2026, 09 PM Eastern
Transcript
- 0:06Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. Today we're
- 0:10Speaker 1: tracking escalating political tensions and institutional responses to antisemitism, as
- 0:16Speaker 1: well as significant developments on campus. Michigan Attorney General Dana
- 0:20Speaker 1: Nessel will skip the state's Democratic convention next month, citing
- 0:25Speaker 1: safety concerns and antisemitic harassment. In an interview with ms NOW,
- 0:30Speaker 1: Nessel stated the state party is absolutely not doing enough
- 0:33Speaker 1: to combat antisemitism. She pointed to five party members charged
- 0:37Speaker 1: with antisemitic acts, including vandalism and threats, who will still
- 0:42Speaker 1: be permitted to attend the convention. Nessel also called on
- 0:45Speaker 1: Democratic Senate nominee abdelel Saide to tone down his rhetoric,
- 0:50Speaker 1: arguing that criticism of Israel and AIPAC cannot be the
- 0:54Speaker 1: sole explanation for every political problem. This comes as reporting
- 0:58Speaker 1: suggests a historical timeboo against antisemitic politics in the United
- 1:02Speaker 1: States has been broken, particularly within the Democratic Party. An
- 1:07Speaker 1: analysis argues that the victory of candidates like doctor Abdul
- 1:11Speaker 1: Lsaide and the subsequent response from party leadership represents a
- 1:15Speaker 1: significant step in this trend, positing that antisemitic electioneering has
- 1:19Speaker 1: become a fixture moving beyond isolated incidents to a broader phenomenon,
- 1:25Speaker 1: adding to concerns about rhetoric. Milton Tingling, appointed to Zorin
- 1:29Speaker 1: Mamdani's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, is facing accusations of
- 1:34Speaker 1: failing to address serious allegations of racism and antisemitism at
- 1:38Speaker 1: the West Harlem Development Corporation, where he also serves. Court
- 1:42Speaker 1: papers allege that the whdc's executive director engaged in a
- 1:47Speaker 1: pattern of discriminatory behavior, including antisemitic remarks, the use of
- 1:52Speaker 1: code words for anti Israeli statements, and claims about Jewish
- 1:56Speaker 1: control of New York politics. On the campus front, haver
- 2:00Speaker 1: Thefford College has settled a lawsuit brought by Jewish students
- 2:03Speaker 1: and faculty who alleged the institution failed to adequately protect
- 2:07Speaker 1: them against antisemitic harassment and discrimination. According to the Deborah Project,
- 2:12Speaker 1: the law firm representing the plaintiffs, the settlement includes a
- 2:16Speaker 1: commitment from the college to bar discrimination against students and
- 2:20Speaker 1: employees with Zionist views, as well as those who are
- 2:23Speaker 1: Jewish or Israeli. Under the settlement, Haverford will also mandate
- 2:28Speaker 1: annual antisemitism awareness training for all students and employees and
- 2:32Speaker 1: establish an antisemitism committee. Campus officials will require identification from
- 2:38Speaker 1: anyone wearing a mask or face covering, with disciplinary action
- 2:42Speaker 1: for refusal. President Wendy Raymond stated that harassing or silencing
- 2:46Speaker 1: Jewish community members based on their identity, including Zionism, is
- 2:51Speaker 1: against the college's principles. However, the Council on American Islamic
- 2:55Speaker 1: Relations Philadelphia chapter criticized the settlement, argue that protecting Jewish
- 3:01Speaker 1: people is not the same as protecting Zionism from criticism.
- 3:05Speaker 1: The Wall Street Journal's editorial board conversely lauded the settlement,
- 3:09Speaker 1: stating it's a shame it took a lawsuit for Haverford
- 3:12Speaker 1: to admit its antisemitism problem. The lawsuit had also raised
- 3:17Speaker 1: issues with Professor Tarik A. Hugeb's policy on writing letters
- 3:21Speaker 1: of recommendation, which stated he would not write them for
- 3:24Speaker 1: students pursuing jobs that would violate the US Campaign for
- 3:28Speaker 1: the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. While a federal
- 3:31Speaker 1: judge dismissed the plaintiff civil rights claims in twenty twenty five,
- 3:35Speaker 1: ruling many alleged incidents were protected by the First Amendment,
- 3:39Speaker 1: the settlement addresses these campus concerns beyond specific incidents. A
- 3:44Speaker 1: recent audit of faculty and institutional records in American Jewish, Israel, Hebrew,
- 3:50Speaker 1: and Holocaust studies programs reveals a significant trend. Researchers found
- 3:55Speaker 1: that fifty one point nine percent of records reviewed between
- 3:57Speaker 1: May twenty twenty one and Spring twenty two, twenty six
- 4:01Speaker 1: contained documented public anti Israel signals. These signals include actions
- 4:06Speaker 1: like endorsing BDS, describing Zionism as settler colonialism, or accusing
- 4:11Speaker 1: Israel of genocide. The study deliberately excluded ordinary criticism of
- 4:16Speaker 1: the Israeli government. The audit found heavy concentrations of these
- 4:20Speaker 1: signals at Ivy League institutions, with seventy two point three
- 4:24Speaker 1: percent of records at those schools showing such indicators. Notably,
- 4:28Speaker 1: the study points out that professors flagged for these signals
- 4:31Speaker 1: have not organized or signed comparable letters defending Jewish students
- 4:35Speaker 1: on their campuses. This academic climate echoes concerns about rising
- 4:40Speaker 1: antisemitic incidents in educational settings, as noted in recent reports.
- 4:46Speaker 1: Examples include swastikas scrawled on school grounds, private schools displaying
- 4:50Speaker 1: maps that erase Israel, and flags bearing hate symbols. Displayed
- 4:54Speaker 1: at universities. Experts argue that widespread cultural and historical illiteracy
- 4:59Speaker 1: few rules antisemitism and call for proactive curriculum reform that
- 5:04Speaker 1: integrates Jewish identity and experiences into broader national narratives, rather
- 5:09Speaker 1: than solely focusing on Jews as targets of hatred. I'm
- 5:13Speaker 1: Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. This
- 5:17Speaker 1: report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
- 5:22Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.