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Antisemitism Watch - August 17, 2026, 05 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. Prayers were
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  Speaker 1: interrupted at Manhattan's Central Synagogue on Friday night when a
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  Speaker 1: man identified as forty six year old Larry Montes disrupted
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  Speaker 1: services and shouted obscenities. According to reporting from the New
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  Speaker 1: York Post, police stated that Montes then struck a sixty
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  Speaker 1: three year old congregant in the face, cutting her lip,
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  Speaker 1: and head budded a security guard who was attempting to
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  Speaker 1: escort him out. Prosecutors further described Montes as unhinged, noting
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  Speaker 1: he referred to himself as God, called congregant's swine, and
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  Speaker 1: screamed an anti black slur at the guard. According to
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  Speaker 1: reporting from the Lawton Constitution, Montes was arrested at the
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  Speaker 1: scene and charged with multiple counts, including assault as a
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  Speaker 1: hate crime. At his arraignment Saturday night, Manhattan Criminal Court
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  Speaker 1: Judge Janis Chen ordered Montes held on thirty thousand dollars
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  Speaker 1: by with prosecutors having requested one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
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  Speaker 1: The incident highlights a concerning trend, as police recorded three
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  Speaker 1: hundred and sixty hate crimes in New York City by
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  Speaker 1: early August this year, two hundred and five of which
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  Speaker 1: targeted Jewish people, according to reporting reviewed for this episode,
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Zorn Mamdani commented Jewish New Yorkers should be able
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  Speaker 1: to go to their synagogue without having to fear for
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  Speaker 1: their lives, as reported by The New York Post. Micah Lasher,
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  Speaker 1: who won the Democratic primary for the congressional district including
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  Speaker 1: Central Synagogue, told The New York Post that the political
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  Speaker 1: climate and the tone and tenor of the discourse around
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  Speaker 1: Jews in Israel contributes to the rise in violence. In
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  Speaker 1: response to such incidents, the Jewish Security watchdog Community Security Initiative,
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  Speaker 1: led by CEO Mitchel Silber, is urging the NYPD to
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  Speaker 1: increase officers in identified hate crime hotspots and use advanced
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  Speaker 1: tactics like data mining and crime cluster mapping. Silbur told
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that preventing these situations is difficult,
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  Speaker 1: requiring a balance between being open for worship and maintaining security.
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  Speaker 1: C s I is also sending bulletins to synagogues to
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  Speaker 1: improve safety measures, and is encouraging partnerships with groups like
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  Speaker 1: the Community Security Service, as reported by The New York
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Week. Turning to Campus News. A lawsuit accusing Harvard
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  Speaker 1: University of turning a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination
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  Speaker 1: against Jews and Israelis has been dismissed by Judge Richard Stearns.
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  Speaker 1: According to Inside Higher ed separately an Expissye in The
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  Speaker 1: Atlantic by former Bates College professor Tyler Austin, Harper offers
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  Speaker 1: a critical perspective on elite academia, detailing what he describes
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  Speaker 1: as a prioritization of identity politics over meritocracy, mandatory diversity,
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  Speaker 1: equity and inclusion courses, and a culture of repair that
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  Speaker 1: he argues compromises academic integrity. The article from the Atlantic
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  Speaker 1: highlights Harper's frustrations during his tenure at Bates. Meanwhile, a
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  Speaker 1: debate continues regarding the push for civil discourse education in universities.
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  Speaker 1: A consortium of scholars calling themselves uncivil, including Dartmouth College
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  Speaker 1: history professor Bethany Morton, contends that certain dialogue programs are
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  Speaker 1: funded by billionaire funders and extremist politicians with the aim
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  Speaker 1: of suppressing student organizing. Morton described this movement as a
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  Speaker 1: civility industrial complex that perpetuates a real slur against students.
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  Speaker 1: As reported by Inside higher ed academics speaking before an
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  Speaker 1: Australian Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion have warned
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  Speaker 1: that social media is actively undermining support for democracy and
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  Speaker 1: promoting extremist narratives, including antisemitism. Professors Nicholas Biddle and Matthew
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  Speaker 1: Gray from the Australian National University presented findings to the
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  Speaker 1: commission suggesting that efforts to counter antisemitism will be limited
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  Speaker 1: unless they also address the platforms where distrust circulates. Professor
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  Speaker 1: Gray specifically stated, as reported by The Guardian, efforts to
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  Speaker 1: counter anti Semitism will be limited unless they also address
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  Speaker 1: the platforms through which distrust, polarization and extremist narrative circulate.
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  Speaker 1: Experts also suggested targeted interventions for young Australians with low
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  Speaker 1: educational attainment who show diminished support for democracy. In international news,
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  Speaker 1: a diplomatic source with knowledge of the matter told j
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  Speaker 1: NS that a surprising country is expected to announce its
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  Speaker 1: adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism in the coming weeks. This development follows ongoing efforts
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  Speaker 1: by the United States to work with Argentina in encouraging
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  Speaker 1: more Latin American countries to adopt the IHRA definition. Currently,
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  Speaker 1: Argentina is the sole full IHRA member in Latin America,
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  Speaker 1: joined by Columbia, Costa Rica, guatemal Panama, and Uruguay, as
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  Speaker 1: well as the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament. According to
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  Speaker 1: the j n S report, I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for listening to Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated with
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  Speaker 1: AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details
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  Speaker 1: with primary sources.