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Lethal Threats & Conspiracy Theories · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. We're tracking
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  Speaker 1: a concerning shift in the global landscape of antisemitism, from
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  Speaker 1: escalating physical threats to sophisticated online campaigns. And I want
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  Speaker 1: to quickly mention the launch of Antisemitism Watch. Mid-Atlantic, which
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  Speaker 1: provides focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
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  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia region. You can find it at clockworkmedia.org slash
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  Speaker 1: ma today. We begin with a report detailing a rise
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  Speaker 1: in the lethality of antisemitic attacks, even as other incident
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  Speaker 1: types decline. Israel's Diaspora Affairs Ministry has issued a stark
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  Speaker 1: warning about escalating physical threats targeting Jewish communities worldwide. According
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  Speaker 1: to reporting reviewed for this episode, bomb threats against U.S.
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  Speaker 1: synagogues plummeted from over a thousand in 2023 to just
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  Speaker 1: 59 in 2025. However, this decline in one form of
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  Speaker 1: threat has been accompanied by an increase in attacks involving
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  Speaker 1: lethal weapons, the ministry reports. The Jerusalem Post notes that
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  Speaker 1: in Britain, a record 227 synagogue-related incidents were recorded in 2025,
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  Speaker 1: with 50 targeting worshippers. The report also highlights repeated attacks
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  Speaker 1: against institutions, such as Toronto's Sharae Torah community, which faced
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  Speaker 1: vandalism and arson 10 times. These methods, including arson, Molotov
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  Speaker 1: cocktails and gunfire, no longer solely target buildings, but increasingly
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  Speaker 1: endanger the daily practice of Jewish life. As documented by jpost.com
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  Speaker 1: and noted by jewishrity.com and timesophisrael.com, closer to home in Hawaii,
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  Speaker 1: a man has pleaded guilty to cyber-stalking Governor Josh Green,
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  Speaker 1: a Jewish leader. Between December 4th and 15th of 2025,
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  Speaker 1: Eric Lee Bolts, 52, left nine threatening and explicitly anti-Semitic
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  Speaker 1: voicemails for the governor's office. court records indicate one message
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  Speaker 1: contained the phrase, Udamef ingju, you and your kids go
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  Speaker 1: in the oven. Bolts admitted his motivation stemmed from Governor
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  Speaker 1: Green's official position and religion. As reported by jpost.com, Bolts
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  Speaker 1: was remanded into custody and faces, sentencing, in March 2027.
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  Speaker 1: This case underscores how antisemitic rhetoric can manifest in direct,
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  Speaker 1: criminal threats. Meanwhile, in the realm of politics and media,
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  Speaker 1: Pro-Russian Armenian figures are reportedly reviving anti-Semitic conspiracy narratives. As
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  Speaker 1: detailed by the Jerusalem Post, a US-backed transport corridor project,
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  Speaker 1: the Trump route for international peace and prosperity, is being
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  Speaker 1: falsely portrayed as a Jewish project serving hidden Israeli interests.
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  Speaker 1: Former Prime Minister Kasrav Haryutunyan explicitly stated this, and political
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  Speaker 1: analyst Arthur Kochikian has alleged connections to the Israeli lobby
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  Speaker 1: and figures like Jard Kushner. The report clarifies that the
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  Speaker 1: official project agreement does not support these claims, which echo
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  Speaker 1: long-standing tropes about Jewish control and influence. Looking ahead, a
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  Speaker 1: significant concern emerges from the American Jewish Committee's 2025 report
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  Speaker 1: on the state of antisemitism in America. The AJC found
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  Speaker 1: that 69% of American Jews are worried that generative AI
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  Speaker 1: chatbots will spread misinformation leading to antisemitic incidents. with 65%
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  Speaker 1: concerned about AI directly spreading antisemitism. The World Economic Forum's
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  Speaker 1: 2026 Global Risks Report also identifies misinformation as a major threat.
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  Speaker 1: While AI can accelerate hate speech, the AJC article, authored
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  Speaker 1: by Andrew H. Gross, notes that it can also be
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  Speaker 1: a powerful tool in combating antisemitism if harnessed effectively. Jewish
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  Speaker 1: leaders are urged to understand AI and hold tech companies accountable.
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  Speaker 1: On the institutional and policy front, significant developments are underway.
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  Speaker 1: In Sweden, Parliament has finalised constitutional amendments strengthening laws against
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  Speaker 1: Holocaust denial and hate speech, a move welcomed by Israel's
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  Speaker 1: ambassador as a key step against rising antisemitism, according to UNIT.
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  Speaker 1: In Australia, education ministers have approved changes to the national
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  Speaker 1: curriculum aimed at combating antisemitism by improving students' understanding of
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  Speaker 1: Jewish history and cultures. as reported by MergeNews.com. Additionally, the
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  Speaker 1: Albanese Labour government is investing $ 13 million to support Jewish
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  Speaker 1: communities affected by the anti-Semitic terrorist attack at Bondi, with
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  Speaker 1: applications now open for community initiatives, according to NationalTribune.com. In
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  Speaker 1: the United States, with Democrats set to control the 120th
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  Speaker 1: Congress in 2027, higher education oversight is expected to shift
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  Speaker 1: from Republican-led investigations to examining how institutions responded to prior
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  Speaker 1: administration pressures, according to FoleyHogue.com. Finally, House Republicans are accusing
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  Speaker 1: the American Psychological Association of tolerating antisemitism within its ranks,
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  Speaker 1: as noted by Sipost.org. In Germany, the critical lens is
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  Speaker 1: being applied to Holocaust remembrance itself. German-Jewish writer Max Czalek,
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  Speaker 1: quoted by the Jerusalem Post, critiques the national commemoration as
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  Speaker 1: theater of reconciliation. arguing it marginalizes living Jews by casting
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  Speaker 1: them in a supporting role for Germany's moral redemption. The
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  Speaker 1: article also highlights research published in January 2026 by Janis Niedick,
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  Speaker 1: Linda P. Huang, and Leo Bitter, which found a surprising
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  Speaker 1: lack of rigorous evaluation for educational programs aimed at combating antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: raising questions about their effectiveness despite significant investment. Despite these challenges,
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  Speaker 1: community resilience and positive action are evident. In Philadelphia, Jewish-owned
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  Speaker 1: businesses facing a boycott organized by anti-Israel groups on the
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  Speaker 1: eve of Kristallnacht are seeing an incredible outpouring of support,
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  Speaker 1: with community members organizing food crawls to counter the deliberate
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  Speaker 1: message of hate and intimidation, according to the Jewish Exponent.
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  Speaker 1: The Anti-Defamation League and the American Zionist Movement have also
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  Speaker 1: urged solidarity. In Peru, Over 60,000 Christians and Jews marched
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  Speaker 1: in Lima as part of the March of Life, honoring
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  Speaker 1: the Holocaust and condemning antisemitism. Israel's ambassador, Gali Dagan, addressed
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  Speaker 1: the crowd, encouraging the fight against Jew hatred. Shortly after
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  Speaker 1: Peru adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, educational initiatives continued
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  Speaker 1: domestically as well. Moorestown High School in New Jersey hosted
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  Speaker 1: the Hate Ends Now, the Cattle Car Exhibit, offering students
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  Speaker 1: a direct engagement with Holocaust history, while Quincy University in
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  Speaker 1: Illinois is hosting the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Americans and
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  Speaker 1: the Holocaust Exhibition, prompting critical reflection on historical awareness and response.
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  Speaker 1: This has been Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for listening. For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch. midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: slash ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so
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  Speaker 1: you don't miss the next update. This report was generated
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  Speaker 1: with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important
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  Speaker 1: details with primary sources.