Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 28, 2026, 09 AM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - September 28, 2026, 09 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Belgian intelligence
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: has identified Iran as the source behind a bombing outside
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: a synagogue in Liege and an arson attack in Antwerp's
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Jewish Quarter in March. Gert Verketeren, head of Belgium's Coordination
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Unit for Threat Analysis, told public broadcaster RTBF that the
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: perpetrators certainly acted on Tehran's orders and that these attacks
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: on Jewish sites were part of a coordinated campaign rather
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: than isolated incidents. An explosive device was detonated outside the
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Synagogue de Liege on March 9, and that same week,
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  Speaker 1: a car was torched in Antwerp's Jewish Quarter. No one
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: was hurt in either attack, according to reporting reviewed for
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: this episode. These Belgian incidents coincided with a string of
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: plots in the Netherlands, including a foiled synagogue bombing. The
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Belgian security services have recorded no further attacks since. In response,
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Israeli Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg David Saranga called on
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  Speaker 1: European nations to change their policies toward Iran. This follows
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: a pattern of concern over Tehran's actions. Last year, the
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: United States and 13 European nations condemned attempts by Iranian
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: intelligence services to kill, kidnap and harass people, including Jewish citizens,
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  Speaker 1: in their territories. A joint statement noted that the regime
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  Speaker 1: is increasingly collaborating with international criminal organizations to target journalists, dissidents,
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  Speaker 1: Jewish citizens and current and former officials. Swedish intelligence agency
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: CEPO also stated in 2024 that Iran may have orchestrated
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: terrorist attacks on Israeli targets in Scandinavia. In the United States,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: the federal government is taking legal action over alleged workplace discrimination.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, has filed
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: a lawsuit against Mercy Health in Youngstown, Ohio. The lawsuit
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: claims the hospital violated federal law by subjecting a Jewish
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: orthopedic surgeon to unfavorable terms and conditions of employment and
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: ultimately firing him because of his religion and race, shortly
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  Speaker 1: after the October 7th terrorist attacks in Israel. According to
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: the lawsuit, the surgeon, who had a successful practice and
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: met productivity goals, faced anti-Semitic remarks throughout his employment. EEOC
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: Chair Andrea Lucas stated that after years of harassment, the
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: surgeon faced workplace comments blaming the Jews for the October
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: 7 attack. Lukas added that the surgeon was excluded from
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: meetings and had his surgery time blocks reduced before his
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: contract was terminated. She affirmed that the EEOC will not
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: hesitate to litigate to protect Jewish workers, stating, Antisemitism has
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  Speaker 1: no place in the American workplace. In Germany, a criminal
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: complaint for defamation has been filed against Interior Minister Alexander
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Dobrindt by Elif Eralp. a politician with the left party
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: who is poised to become Berlin's next mayor following recent
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  Speaker 1: state elections. The complaint stems from an incident on the
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Maybrit Ilner talk show where, according to reporting reviewed for
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: this episode, the host initially misspoke calling Eralp an antisemite
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: before correcting herself. However, Dabrindt then replied, well, she is.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Eralp's lawyer, Jasper Prigg, told the German press agency that
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Dabrindt endorsed the host's slip of the tongue repeating the
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  Speaker 1: accusation on national television. Prigg stated that this constitutes defamation,
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  Speaker 1: is significantly damaging to reputation, and likely to impede Eralp's
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: public work. In the Netherlands, masked protesters gathered outside the
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: D66 party congress in Amsterdam. Reporting indicates they held a
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: flag of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: or PFLP, alongside a banner declaring, We support Hamas. Shortly after,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetton was rushed off stage when
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted his address. Jetton later told local media
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: that the activists had behaved in a respectful way, according
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: to reports. On American campuses, a student journalist is seeking
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: interviews with students who have experienced antisemitism. This indicates an
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: ongoing investigation into incidents and experiences affecting students in a
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: university setting. In a positive development for educational approaches to
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: combating hatred, Clark University has become the first college to
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: join a Project Shema and Ruderman Family Foundation program. This
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: initiative aims to train psychologists to confront antisemitism. I'm Rachel Adler.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. Follow Antisemitism Watch
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: in your podcast app so you don't miss the next update.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.