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NYC Antisemitism Surge and Election Rhetoric Concerns · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: Mid-Atlantic is now providing focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. You can find more at clockworkmedia.org
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  Speaker 1: slash m. A. We begin today with a concerning rise
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  Speaker 1: in antisemitic incidents in New York City. According to reporting
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  Speaker 1: from the Cleveland Jewish News, bus stops in Canarsie, Brooklyn,
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  Speaker 1: have been defaced with Nazi swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti.
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  Speaker 1: Synagogues have also faced vandalism, with objects thrown at them
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  Speaker 1: and bomb scares reported at schools in Flatbush and Williamsburg.
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  Speaker 1: Rabbi Avraham Hecht, executive director of the Jewish Community Council
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  Speaker 1: of Canarsie, noted that despite a reported decrease in major
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  Speaker 1: crimes citywide, anti-Semitic hate crimes have surged. He characterized the
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  Speaker 1: motivation as focused on the Jewish community, particularly visibly Jewish individuals,
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  Speaker 1: and described it as pure antisemitism, distinct from anti-Zionism, as
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  Speaker 1: it targets people based on their appearance. The rabbi added
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  Speaker 1: that these incidents are causing fear, especially among Holocaust survivors
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  Speaker 1: and the elderly, according to the Cleveland Jewish News. In
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  Speaker 1: politics and media, concerns are mounting over rhetoric impacting the
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  Speaker 1: current election cycle. A Newsweek report highlights the pressure on
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  Speaker 1: Jewish voters to excuse antisemitic remarks from political allies in
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  Speaker 1: both parties. The article details instances such as Michigan Senate
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  Speaker 1: candidate Abdul El-Sayed's past comments contextualizing a terrorist attack as
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  Speaker 1: hurt people, hurt people, and subsequent delayed apologies. It also
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  Speaker 1: points to other figures making troubling statements and remarks, including
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  Speaker 1: Brandon Herrera's admiration for Nazi weapons and Martin O'Donnell hosting
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  Speaker 1: a Nazi sympathizer. The report notes that while Jews represent
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  Speaker 1: only 2% of the U.S. population, They were targeted in
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  Speaker 1: 64% of religion-based hate crimes in 2025, according to the
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  Speaker 1: Anti-Defamation League. Further examining rhetoric, an analysis from MSNOW focuses
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  Speaker 1: on Abdul El-Sayed's anti-Zionist rhetoric, which many Michigan Jews perceive
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  Speaker 1: as anti-Semitic. El-Sayed has reportedly refused to recognize Israel's right
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  Speaker 1: to exist as a Jewish state, employed tropes about Jews
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  Speaker 1: as puppet masters of the U.S. government, and appeared with
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  Speaker 1: a streamer known for antisemitic statements. He has also attacked
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  Speaker 1: the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. El-Sayed's response to a synagogue
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  Speaker 1: attack was described as contextualizing the violence rather than unequivocally
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  Speaker 1: condemning it. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump addressed a Michigan synagogue
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  Speaker 1: via video for an event focused on combating antisemitism, organized
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  Speaker 1: by the Zionist Organization of America and supported by the
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  Speaker 1: Justice Department. However, progressive Jewish leaders criticized the event, stating
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  Speaker 1: in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it
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  Speaker 1: risks fueling antisemitism and dividing the Jewish community. They accused
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  Speaker 1: the administration of using antisemitism to stifle dissent. The JTA
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  Speaker 1: also reported that the U.S. Justice Department has directed the
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  Speaker 1: public to a registration page for the ZOA, soliciting donations
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  Speaker 1: for its antisemitism tour, drawing objections from a former White
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  Speaker 1: House ethics lawyer. Internationally, an incident in Dublin, Ireland, highlights
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  Speaker 1: how concerns about antisemitism can lead to cancellations. JTA reports
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  Speaker 1: that the Herbert Park Hotel cancelled over 70 rooms booked
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  Speaker 1: for delegates attending a European conference on combating antisemitism. Maurice Cohen,
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  Speaker 1: president of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, stated that
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  Speaker 1: the hotel manager questioned him about potential IDF involvement, despite
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  Speaker 1: assurances that the meeting was not about Israel. Cohen described
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  Speaker 1: the cancellation as an example of contemporary antisemitism, questioning how
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  Speaker 1: quickly a gathering about antisemitism becomes associated with the Israeli army.
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  Speaker 1: On the online front, a new Anti-Defamation League report, detailed
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  Speaker 1: by the Columbus Jewish News, reveals that editors are using
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  Speaker 1: subtler methods to introduce anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias on Wikipedia
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  Speaker 1: following earlier crackdowns. While overt coordination has decreased, The ADL
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  Speaker 1: identifies 19 editors, some from a previous group of 30,
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  Speaker 1: who are quietly implementing bias in ways that are harder
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  Speaker 1: to challenge under Wikipedia's rules. The report highlights that many
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  Speaker 1: edits made by a previously banned editor, Iskandar 323, remain
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  Speaker 1: active on the platform, significantly impacting entries on Zionism, Israel,
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  Speaker 1: and Hamas. In institutional responses, Yale Law School's Brody Center
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  Speaker 1: for Jewish and Israeli Law has launched a new blog,
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  Speaker 1: Measuring Antisemitism. As reported by the Yale Law Journal, the
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  Speaker 1: blog is dedicated to empirical studies of antisemitism, aiming to
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  Speaker 1: foster rigorous, data-driven research and connect scholars across disciplines. Edited
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  Speaker 1: by Professor Yehanatan Jivati and Director Ya'ir Listikin, it seeks
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  Speaker 1: to provide a venue for concise, evidence-based work and attract
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  Speaker 1: empirical researchers to the study of antisemitism. Finally, a positive
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  Speaker 1: community development from JewishLink News. The JCC of Middlesex County
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  Speaker 1: in New Jersey held a Day of Remembrance, Reflection and
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  Speaker 1: Unity on October 7. Over 100 community members, clergy and
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  Speaker 1: elected officials attended to honor the victims of the October
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  Speaker 1: 7 attacks in Israel. Speakers included a former lone soldier,
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  Speaker 1: and local officials pledged their support for the Jewish community
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  Speaker 1: and their commitment to combating hatred and antisemitism. For focused
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  Speaker 1: coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region,
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  Speaker 1: listen to Antisemitism Watch. MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org.ma. Follow 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.