Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 25, 2026, 01 PM Eastern

Transcript

Antisemitism Watch - August 25, 2026, 01 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Today, we're
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: tracking escalating rhetoric at a rally in Toronto, a state
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: media outlet's dangerous historical distortion, and significant policy developments in
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: the fight against antisemitism. In Toronto, police have launched a
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: hate crime investigation following a pro-Palestinian rally where a speaker
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: allegedly used extreme antisemitic language. According to reporting reviewed for
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: this episode, Video footage from the demonstration in the city's
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Jewish neighborhood showed the speaker, identified as Toronto-based university instructor
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Abbas Hams, calling for the annihilation of Israelis. He invoked
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: violent rhetoric, including claims that Zionists rape, kill, and eat children,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: engage in black magic, and referenced conspiracy theories linked to
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Epstein Island. Hams also chanted a historical phrase described by
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: watchdog groups as a battle cry to murder Jews. In response,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, BNI Briss Canada,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a joint statement
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: condemning the remarks as blatant antisemitism and blood libels. They
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: called for a police investigation, which the Toronto Police Service's
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Hate Crime Unit has now launched. This incident highlights how
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: rhetoric targeting Israelis can devolve into classic antisemitic tropes, as
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: noted by these organizations. From state-sponsored media, The Palestinian Authority's
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: official daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, published a libel last week, falsely
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: identifying Michael Dennis Rohan, the Christian arsonist of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Mosque in 1969, as an extremist Jew. According to reporting
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: from Palestinian Media Watch, this distortion occurred 57 years after
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: the event. The PA daily claimed Israeli authorities obstructed firefighting
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: efforts and cut off water supplies, further fueling the falsehood.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Contemporary reports confirmed Rohan, who had a mental health disorder,
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: was affiliated with a Protestant sect. This deliberate historical revisionism
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: aims to demonize Jews and Israel, reinforcing dangerous libels. In politics,
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: streamer Hassan Piker has drawn significant criticism for suggesting that
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Jewish Americans' support for Israel is making anti-Semitism worse. Piker,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: who previously campaigned with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, argued
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: that American Jews' perceived monolithic investment in Israel could lead
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: to actions against them. El-Sayed's campaign responded by stating, nobody
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: speaks for me, and reaffirming a commitment to Jewish safety,
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: while Michigan Rep. Hillary Skelton called Piker's remarks anti-Semitic. House
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also denounced claims that American Jews
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: incite anti-Semitic violence. Further political controversy surrounds Brooklyn Democrat leader
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Carmela Charrington, who has a history of antisemitic social media posts.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: According to reporting from Jewish Insider, Charrington promoted pamphlets blaming
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Jewish people for societal issues and accused Jewish investors of
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: being Zionists involved in a conspiracy connected to the West Bank.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: The office of New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani denounced
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: these statements as blatant, reprehensible antisemitism and dangerous antisemitic tropes.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: New York State Attorney General Letitia James and New York
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: City Council Speaker Julie Menon have also condemned her remarks.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: In media analysis, an article in the Algemeiner argues that
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: figures like Jon Stewart, in discussions surrounding Israel risk validating
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: anti-Semitic hate. The piece examines Stewart's interview with Peter Baynard
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: and his exchange with Senator John Fetterman. It applies the
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: IHRA definition's framework, double standard, demonization, and delegitimization. contending that
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: comments such as Stewart's assertion that Israel is not our
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: country and his questioning of genocide claims can cross the
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: line from policy criticism into antisemitism by omission and the
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: denial of Jewish self-determination. In a separate media comment, Hannah
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Einbinder defended Mark Ruffalo, stating, If you want to make
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: it about the Ellisons being Jewish, then you are the
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: one being antisemitic. Turning to case outcomes. California's Attorney General's
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Office has stated that a lawsuit alleging antisemitism in public
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: schools should be dismissed because new legislation, Assembly Bill 715,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: already provides the relief sought. The lawsuit, filed by the
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: Stand With Us, highlighted instances of unchecked antisemitism and demanded
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: actions such as mandatory training and curriculum review. In Munich, Germany,
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: The case concerning a 56-year-old antisemitic arson attack on a
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Jewish community center, which killed seven Holocaust survivors, has been closed.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: According to the Munich Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Munich Police Headquarters, new investigations identified a deceased suspect with
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: links to far-right circles and prior antisemitic remarks, offering posthumous
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: resolution to this historical act of violence. On the campus front,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: the University of California system is facing allegations of Title
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: VI and Title VII violations stemming from antisemitism, indicating significant
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: legal scrutiny for the system. Online, a report by Stop
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Antisemitism found that TikTok performed best among major social media
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: platforms in responding to requests to remove antisemitic content over
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: the past year, providing a comparative look at platform accountability. Finally,
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: in institutional and policy developments, The government of the Dominican
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Republic announced it will formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance,
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: or IHRA, working definition of antisemitism. President Luis Abinader made
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: the announcement at the Combat Antisemitism Movement's VI Latin American Forum,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: making the Dominican Republic the seventh Latin American nation to
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: officially embrace the IHRA framework. U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: and Combat Antisemitism Rabbi Ambassador Yehuda Kaplan called the announcement,
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: a historic moment. The adoption provides a framework for identifying
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: and combating antisemitism, affirming the government's commitment to Jewish communities
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: and universal human dignity. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: listening to Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated with AI
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: primary sources. Thank you.