Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 13, 2026, 09 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 13, 2026, 09 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Today we're
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  Speaker 1: tracking significant legal and institutional responses to antisemitism, alongside alarming
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  Speaker 1: trends in hate crimes and campus rhetoric. We begin with
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  Speaker 1: a significant legal development out of Boston. A federal judge
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  Speaker 1: has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration that
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  Speaker 1: accused Harvard University of failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: U S District Judge Richard G. Stearns ruled that the
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  Speaker 1: government failed to prove an ongoing violation of federal civil
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  Speaker 1: rights laws, stating the cited incidents were too isolated an
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  Speaker 1: episodic to demonstrate institutional non compliance with Title v I.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting from The Epic Times, The Independent, and
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  Speaker 1: The Hill, the lawsuit, filed by the Justice Department and
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  Speaker 1: seeking to reclaim federal grants, primarily focused on events from
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  Speaker 1: the twenty twenty three minus two thousand and twenty four
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  Speaker 1: academic year and a few from March twenty twenty five.
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  Speaker 1: While the DOJS Assistant Attorney General Harmeat Dillon stated they
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  Speaker 1: disagree with the ruling and are assessing next steps. Harvard
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  Speaker 1: has previously maintained its commitment to its Jewish and Israeli community,
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  Speaker 1: establishing initiatives like a task force to combat antisemitism on campus.
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  Speaker 1: In higher education, the Anti Defamation League has launched a
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  Speaker 1: new initiative to combat antisemitism on college campuses. As reported
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  Speaker 1: by The Center Square and other outlets, This initiative includes
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  Speaker 1: two reports detailing less visible forms of antisemitism among faculty
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  Speaker 1: and within curricula, alongside a confidential reporting mechanism for students, faculty,
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  Speaker 1: and staff. The ADL's findings highlight multiple recurring patterns faculty
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  Speaker 1: presenting political claims about Israel and Zionism as fact, amplifying
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  Speaker 1: the viewpoints of designated terrorist organisms, singling out Jewish and
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  Speaker 1: Israeli students in classroom settings, and advocating for university divestment.
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  Speaker 1: For instance, coarse descriptions at Princeton and Stanford reportedly characterized
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  Speaker 1: the Israel Hamas War as a Palestinian genocide or Israel's
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  Speaker 1: genocidal project. According to the ADL report, Yale seminars alluded
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  Speaker 1: to Israel as a settler colonial structure, and a UC
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  Speaker 1: Berkeley course initially referred to the Israeli military as the
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  Speaker 1: Israeli occupying force versus Hamas militants as revolutionary resistance forces
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  Speaker 1: before revisions. The reports also cite assigned readings by members
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  Speaker 1: of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and
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  Speaker 1: note increased collaboration between faculty groups and anti Israel student organizations,
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  Speaker 1: turning to hate crimes and physical violence. A man is
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  Speaker 1: seeking justice for his wife who was killed in a
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  Speaker 1: hit and run incident allegedly perpetrated by an antisemitic vandal,
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  Speaker 1: to reporting reviewed for this episode. In New York, a
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  Speaker 1: group of rabbis have issued a warning to the mayor
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  Speaker 1: concerning Israel speaking out as antisemitic hate crimes have reportedly
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  Speaker 1: climbed in recent months, according to reporting by the New
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  Speaker 1: York Post. Analysis from the Free Press suggests a concerning
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  Speaker 1: ideological convergence forming across the political spectrum, described as a
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  Speaker 1: red green brown convergence. This alignment, uniting elements of the
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  Speaker 1: radical left, Islamist extremism, and the authoritarian far right, is
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  Speaker 1: reportedly bound by hostility to the Western democratic order and
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  Speaker 1: often manifests in rhetoric concerning Israel, including support for Hamas,
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  Speaker 1: hatred of Zionism, and the recycling of antisemitic tropes. The
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  Speaker 1: analysis points to figures like Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and
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  Speaker 1: Candace Owens attacking a meritocratic America and portraying US leadership
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  Speaker 1: as a conspiracy linked to Israel, echoing historical antisemitic conspiracy theories.
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  Speaker 1: On the left, figures like Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative
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  Speaker 1: Alexandria Acassio Cortes are noted for portraying fundamental American principles
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  Speaker 1: as camouflage for systems of oppression. Separately, in New York,
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Zuren Mamdani has been involved in an anti Semitism roe,
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  Speaker 1: prompting warnings from rabbis. The NYPD stated it would not
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  Speaker 1: provide a security detail for Mamdani's wife during a personal
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  Speaker 1: vacation to Lebanon and Syria, citing the country's Level four
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  Speaker 1: travel advisories, as reported by The New York Post. Internationally,
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  Speaker 1: the Israeli government has condemned a wave of antisemitic attacks
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  Speaker 1: in France, describing skyrocketing anti semitism in Europe, highlighting ongoing
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  Speaker 1: and escalating antisemitism in the region. That's our report for today.
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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.