Latest / Antisemitism Watch / UK Green Party's Zionism Condemnation Sparks Outcry
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- 0:06Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. We're also
- 0:10Speaker 1: launching Antisemitism Watch. Mid-Atlantic, with focused coverage from New York,
- 0:15Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region, find us at clockworkmedia.org.
- 0:21Speaker 1: We begin today with a significant development in the UK,
- 0:24Speaker 1: where the Green Party Conference in Brighton adopted a motion
- 0:28Speaker 1: condemning Zionism as an ethnonationalist project. Reporting from wsws.org details
- 0:35Speaker 1: that the motion, now party policy, calls for Palestinian liberation,
- 0:39Speaker 1: the right of return, BDS, and a full arms embargo
- 0:43Speaker 1: against Israel, advocating for a single democratic state. This has
- 0:47Speaker 1: ignited a furious backlash, with Israel's foreign ministry declaring the
- 0:51Speaker 1: resolution a clear antisemitic text and Labour Party figures calling
- 0:56Speaker 1: it shameful. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair warned of dangers
- 1:00Speaker 1: in any potential coalition with the Greens. The motion's implications—
- 1:05Speaker 1: particularly regarding the IHRA definition's criteria, are profound, with critics
- 1:11Speaker 1: arguing it moves beyond legitimate criticism of Israeli government policy.
- 1:15Speaker 1: In London, police are treating the reported beating of a
- 1:18Speaker 1: Jewish man as an antisemitic hate crime, according to TimesOfIsrael.com.
- 1:24Speaker 1: The incident occurred after the man reportedly confronted individuals vandalizing property.
- 1:29Speaker 1: This follows a pattern of rising antisemitism noted in broader reports,
- 1:34Speaker 1: such as from TheTimes.com, which highlighted a record number of
- 1:38Speaker 1: anti-Semitic crimes after the Heaton Park Synagogue attack in October 2025.
- 1:44Speaker 1: On campuses, a Haverford College professor, Guangxin Ha, has been
- 1:48Speaker 1: arrested for cyber-stalking a Jewish student, as reported by JewishPostAndNews.com.
- 1:54Speaker 1: Federal authorities allege Ha used burner accounts to send over
- 1:57Speaker 1: 50 threatening messages between October 2025 and May 2026, including
- 2:00Speaker 1: messages like, quote, The Goyim have woken up, Jew. Run, flee, leave.
- 2:08Speaker 1: This follows a recently settled anti-Semitism lawsuit against the school
- 2:12Speaker 1: in which Ha was named. Haverford College president Wendy Raymond
- 2:17Speaker 1: stated the professor has been placed on administrative leave and
- 2:20Speaker 1: barred from campus. In Germany, the left party has agreed
- 2:23Speaker 1: to measures addressing anti-Semitic incidents, a key condition for potential
- 2:28Speaker 1: coalition partners. Aljamina reports that this agreement allows the party
- 2:32Speaker 1: to begin exploratory talks for Berlin's next state government. Notably,
- 2:37Speaker 1: the parties have agreed to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance,
- 2:41Speaker 1: or IHRA, definition of antisemitism. This move comes amid concerns
- 2:47Speaker 1: from some Jewish leaders and political figures about the left
- 2:50Speaker 1: party's ties to certain activists. New York City is seeing
- 2:54Speaker 1: a significant municipal strategy to combat antisemitism, announced by Mayor
- 2:58Speaker 1: Zoran Mamdani. The tablet.org reports the plan includes millions for security, education,
- 3:05Speaker 1: and hate crime prevention programs, as Jewish New Yorkers account
- 3:09Speaker 1: for over half of the city's reported hate crimes. While
- 3:12Speaker 1: welcoming aspects of the proposal, some Jewish organizations have voiced
- 3:16Speaker 1: concerns that the strategy does not fully address how anti-Israel
- 3:20Speaker 1: rhetoric can contribute to hostility towards Jewish people, a point
- 3:24Speaker 1: Mayor Mamdani has rejected. In U.S. political discourse, Arguments persist
- 3:29Speaker 1: that the Democratic Party is being politically calculating in its
- 3:33Speaker 1: response to rising antisemitism, potentially prioritizing voting blocs over concrete action.
- 3:39Speaker 1: The Baltimore Sun notes instances of generalized condemnations and cautious
- 3:44Speaker 1: language regarding campus protests. The Anti-Defamation League reports antisemitic incidents
- 3:51Speaker 1: in America increased 140% in 2023. Additionally, a report mentioned
- 3:57Speaker 1: by the Des Moines Register confirms Donald Trump is not
- 4:00Speaker 1: assisting in addressing anti-Semitism on university campuses. U.S. Holocaust Memorial
- 4:06Speaker 1: Museum chairs are warning that malicious actors are weaponizing the
- 4:10Speaker 1: term genocide, thereby endangering Jews everywhere. According to FoxNews.com, the
- 4:16Speaker 1: misuse of this term, particularly following the October 7 attack
- 4:20Speaker 1: on Israel, fuels a terrifying eruption of anti-Semitism. They highlight
- 4:25Speaker 1: that state actors like Iran also spread antisemitic conspiracy theories
- 4:29Speaker 1: and Holocaust denial, contributing to antisemitism becoming more visible and
- 4:34Speaker 1: violent in society. Back in New York City, CombatAntisemitism.org reports
- 4:40Speaker 1: an incident where an anti-Israel mob reportedly overwhelmed an October
- 4:44Speaker 1: 7 memorial vigil. Chants documented at the event included, quote, Mamdani,
- 4:49Speaker 1: you can't hide. We charge you with genocide. On campuses,
- 4:53Speaker 1: flyers targeting the Oregon Hillel director have sparked a debate
- 4:57Speaker 1: about antisemitism at universities, with student groups calling for institutional action,
- 5:02Speaker 1: according to TheRegisterGuard.com. In positive policy news, EnlaiStudio.com reports the
- 5:08Speaker 1: Dominican Republic has become the seventh country in Latin America
- 5:12Speaker 1: to formally adopt the working definition of antisemitism from the
- 5:16Speaker 1: International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, IHRA. President Louis Abinader announced the
- 5:22Speaker 1: adoption during the VI Latin American Forum against antisemitism. I'm
- 5:27Speaker 1: Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For
- 5:31Speaker 1: focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the
- 5:35Speaker 1: Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch. MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org slash MA.
- 5:42Speaker 1: Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so you don't
- 5:45Speaker 1: miss the next update. This report was generated with AI
- 5:49Speaker 1: assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with
- 5:54Speaker 1: primary sources.