Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 20, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 20, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. We begin
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  Speaker 1: with a significant development in the investigation into the deadly
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  Speaker 1: attack at Manchester's Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation. Counter Terrorism Policing
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  Speaker 1: Northwest announced that hekmat Omar Ali Hakim has been charged
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  Speaker 1: under the Terrorism Act two thousand for failing to disclose
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  Speaker 1: information regarding terrorist activity. This marks the first direct terror
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  Speaker 1: charge related to the October two, twenty twenty five attack,
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  Speaker 1: which killed two worshippers. Jahad al Shami, the attacker was
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  Speaker 1: shot and killed by police at the scene. This charge
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  Speaker 1: follows a prior conviction in July of Mohammad Asim Bashir
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  Speaker 1: for preparing an act of terror linked to the same attacker,
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  Speaker 1: as reported by The IB Times. In New York City,
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  Speaker 1: a man faces hate crime charges following an assault during
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  Speaker 1: Shabbat's services at Manhattan's Central Synagogue Lease State. Forty six
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  Speaker 1: year old Larry Monty's disrupted services, assaulted a congregant and
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  Speaker 1: attacked a security officer, as reported by The Centre Square
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  Speaker 1: and Fox News. This incident occurred on Friday, August fourteen.
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Zorin Mamdani began a week long vacation two days later. Critics,
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  Speaker 1: including New York City Council member in Nlvernikov, have questioned
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  Speaker 1: his leadership, especially with anti Jewish hate crimes surging one
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  Speaker 1: hundred eighty two percent in his first month in office.
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  Speaker 1: As reported by JNS, the Anti Defamation League's Mamdani Monitor
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  Speaker 1: found that twenty percent of Mayor Elect Mamdani's appointees have
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  Speaker 1: ties to anti Zionist and antisemitic groups, according to reporting
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  Speaker 1: reviewed for this episode. Furthermore, federal authorities, including Homeland Security,
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  Speaker 1: are investigating an anti Israel nonprofit reportedly linked to Mayor
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  Speaker 1: Mamdani for alleged financial dealings, as detailed by Fox News.
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  Speaker 1: In Philadelphia, police released photos on August nineteenth of a
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  Speaker 1: suspect sought for antisemitic vandalism targeting the Whitesman National Museum
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  Speaker 1: of American Jewish History. The vandalism, which occurred on December
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  Speaker 1: thirteenth of last year, involved graffdi on the O Y
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  Speaker 1: slash YEO sculpture. This is the third incident at the
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  Speaker 1: museum within a year, following previous red paint attacks. Philadelphia
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Cherrell L. Parker and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro condemned
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  Speaker 1: the act. According to the Algemeaner, the museum stated it
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  Speaker 1: would not be intimidated. The Algemeiner also cited the Anti
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  Speaker 1: Defamation League's twenty twenty five report noting an eighteen percent
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  Speaker 1: increase in antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania in twenty twenty four.
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  Speaker 1: On the campus front, the University of Illinois Chicago is
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  Speaker 1: facing scrutiny following a US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission finding
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  Speaker 1: of reasonable cause. The EEOC determined the university discriminated against
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  Speaker 1: three Jewish faculty members due to their religion or Israeli
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  Speaker 1: national origin, stemming from alleged harassment. Stand with US, an
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  Speaker 1: advocacy group highlighted this finding, noting it suggests systemic antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: that the university had opportunities to address. UIC has stated
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  Speaker 1: it condemns antisemitism and will evaluate the EEOC findings. The
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  Speaker 1: Center Square reported on this development. In Michigan, the race
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  Speaker 1: for Senate is highlighting concerns over antisemitism. Republican candidate Mike
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  Speaker 1: Rogers has launched Democrats for Mike Rogers, appealing to voters
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  Speaker 1: concerned about his opponent, doctor Abdel Elsades, anti Israel positions
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  Speaker 1: and alleged antisemitism. Rabbi Asherlapatin, director of Community relations at
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish Federation of Greater Anne Arbor, has criticized Elsaide
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  Speaker 1: for showing contempt for the Jewish community and for campaigning
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  Speaker 1: with influencer Hassen Piker, whose past remarks have been called antisemitic.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting reviewed for this episode, Jewish voter concerns
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  Speaker 1: are rooted in safety and security amid rising antisemitism, according
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  Speaker 1: to reporting from JNS. Separately, Brooklyn Democrats are reportedly calling
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  Speaker 1: for the resignation of a district leader over a remark
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  Speaker 1: made about Zionists. JTA reported looking ahead to campus tensions,
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  Speaker 1: a delegation of Israeli veterans plans to visit New York
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  Speaker 1: City campuses from August twenty third to thirtieth. According to JNS,
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  Speaker 1: the group Frontline Advocates aims to counter what they describe
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  Speaker 1: as threats to the Jewish state on American college campuses
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  Speaker 1: and prevent students from adopting anti Israel stances. They plan
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  Speaker 1: public debates and filming at universities including NYU and Columbia.
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  Speaker 1: The group anticipates security challenges, with organizers reporting receiving death threats.
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  Speaker 1: In case outcomes, A federal judge has dismissed the Trump
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  Speaker 1: administration's antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard University. The court ruled that
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  Speaker 1: alleged campus incidents fail to prove an ongoing pattern of
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  Speaker 1: civil rights violations after official warnings were issued. The Department
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  Speaker 1: of Justice has expressed strong disagreement and is reviewing options
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  Speaker 1: for an appeal. As reported by Fox News on institutional responses,
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  Speaker 1: a former Justice Department lawyer has alleged in a whistleblower
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  Speaker 1: disclosure that a Trump administration task force investigating antisemitism at
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  Speaker 1: schools pushed for settlements despite rushed or unsubstantiated investigations. The complaint,
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  Speaker 1: reported by The Associated Press, claims these efforts were designed
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  Speaker 1: to strong arm schools for political purposes. The Justice Department
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  Speaker 1: has stated it stands behind the integrity of its investigations.
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  Speaker 1: In online extremism, a webinar is noted discussing how AI
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  Speaker 1: chatbots fail Persian speakers on the topic of antisemitism. According
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  Speaker 1: to reporting reviewed for this episode, this points to the
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  Speaker 1: evolving ways antisemitism can be amplified or addressed, sometimes unsuccessfully,
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  Speaker 1: through technolog The discourse surrounding anti Zionism continues to be
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  Speaker 1: a focus. One article explores the differing labels used in
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  Speaker 1: Israel versus the West for criticism of Israel, contrasting terms
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  Speaker 1: like Israel hater with antisemite. Separately, US State Department officials,
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  Speaker 1: citing UNICEF findings, assert that allegations of a starvation campaign
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  Speaker 1: in Gaza are unfounded, calling them pure hysteria and debunking propaganda.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting reviewed for this episode, commentary from prominent
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  Speaker 1: figures in the fight against antisemitism highlights evolving strategies. Professor
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  Speaker 1: Ruth Wiss, a critic of how some Jews respond to antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: encourages confronting it as a threat to both Jewish people
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  Speaker 1: and America. Her approach, as detailed in reporting reviewed for
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  Speaker 1: this episode, focuses on the pointing finger, scapegoating mechanism, and
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  Speaker 1: systemic antisemitism. She also critiques the common separation of Holocaust
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  Speaker 1: memory from contemporary Jewish realities. Finally, a demonstration of solidarity
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  Speaker 1: following the attack at Central Synagogue, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and
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  Speaker 1: Hindu leaders rallied in midtown Manhattan in a this Shall
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  Speaker 1: Not Stand event organized by Impact the rally condemned antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: and hate, with speakers emphasizing that an attack on any
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  Speaker 1: house of worship is an attack on all. Organizers called
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  Speaker 1: for greater security and persistent community defense against bigotry, as
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  Speaker 1: reported by The Jerusalem Post and CBS News New York.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
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  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.