Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 4, 2026, 09 PM Eastern

Transcript

Antisemitism Watch - September 4, 2026, 09 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. New NYPD
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: data reveals a significant rise in hate crimes across New
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: York City during the first eight months of 2026, with
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: more than half of all recorded incidents targeting Jewish individuals.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: According to the data, antisemitic offenses increased by 8% year
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: over year, a disproportionate surge given the city's Jewish population.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Among the serious incidents cited was the stabbing of a
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Jewish man near a synagogue on Manhattan's Upper West Side
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: in July. This rise in anti-Semitic incidents occurs amidst political
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: controversy surrounding Mayor Zoran Mamdani's anti-Israel positions, which critics, including
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Jewish leaders, claim contribute to a hostile atmosphere. The Trump
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: administration's Justice Department has reportedly opened a federal investigation into
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: the matter. Mamdani's office, however, highlights increased funding for hate
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: crime prevention by over 800% and an expansion of the
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: city's office combating antisemitism, noting that antisemitic hate crimes fell 13.6%
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: in August compared to the previous year, though overall eight-month
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: data indicates these offences continue to comprise over half of
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: all hate crimes citywide. On college campuses, Columbia University's Knight
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: First Amendment Institute is set to host Palestinian activist Mohsen
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Madawi for a symposium on September 9th and 10th. This
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: decision follows a more than $ 220 million settlement Colombia reached
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: with the federal government over allegations that the university fostered
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: a campus environment hostile to Jewish students and employees. An
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: investigative report by researchers David Collier and Rachel Feldman has
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: compiled years of alleged Arabic-language social media activity attributed to Madawi,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: reportedly including statements such as, soon, very soon, We will
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: annihilate the Jews and celebrations of militants involved in attacks
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: on Israelis. The report also details allegations from a Vermont
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: gun shop owner who claimed Madawi expressed interest in purchasing
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: a sniper rifle and an automatic weapon, stating he had
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: built modified submachine guns to kill Jews. Madawi has denied
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: these allegations when interviewed by the FBI. U.S. Senator Rick
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Scott has condemned media coverage of Madawi. arguing that some
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: outlets have wrongly portrayed him as a victim, stating that
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: his alleged views are anti-Semitic and anti-American. Meanwhile, K-12 schools
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: are facing an alarming rise in anti-Semitism, with reports indicating
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: a 400% increase in incidents compared to 2020. The Anti-Defamation
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: League has documented severe harassment cases, including a California classmate
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: telling a Jewish 9th grader his family should burn in
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: hell and be killed by Hamas. with administrators dismissing the
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: student's complaint. In Boulder, Colorado, a Jewish eighth grader endured
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: two years of relentless harassment, including being targeted in anti-Semitic
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: games and physical assaults. The district confirmed the bullying was
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: based on the student's Jewish identity, but the superintendent previously
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: failed to adequately respond to urgent parental concerns. Following a
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: federal civil rights complaint filed by the ADL, The Boulder
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: superintendent has apologized for failing to protect Jewish students and
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: proposed writing antisemitism explicitly into district policy. In politics and media,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: actor Mark Ruffalo is facing accusations of antisemitism for comments
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: linking a media merger to Israel's actions in Gaza. Ruffalo
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: asserted that Oracle, owned by Larry Ellison, a prominent Jewish
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: supporter of Israel, is responsible for an apartheid system of
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: oppression in Gaza and called Ellison a classic oligarch. This
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: has created a division among notable Jewish figures. Around 170 personalities,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: including entertainers, rabbis, and filmmakers, have signed an open letter
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: defending Ruffalo, calling the accusations a false and dangerous weaponization
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: of charges of antisemitism. However, several Jewish groups have condemned
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: Ruffalo's remarks, stating he invoked recognizable antisemitic tropes concerning Jewish
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: wealth and global power. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: also under scrutiny for his ongoing relationship with Tucker Carlson,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: who has a documented history of antisemitic rhetoric. Conservative commentator
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Mark Levin has publicly criticized Republicans, including Vance, for continuing
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: to support Carlson. Vance defended his friendship, stating he would
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: not throw friends under the bus. In Toronto, Mayor Olivia
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Chow is drawing criticism for declining to attend a debate
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: on antisemitism and public safety. citing her re-election campaign launch date.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Opponents accuse her of not taking anti-Jewish hate seriously. An
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: analysis drawing on the work of Ruth Wyss and Dara
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: Horn posits that antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment are being used
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: as convenient, organizing targets for grievance coalitions on the left,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: a phenomenon compared to historical patterns in Nazi Germany, where
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: focusing on Jews provided a simple way to unite disparate
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: groups with grievances. In legal and policy developments, The Alberta
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: Court of Appeal has dismissed a former school board trustee's sanction,
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: requiring a sincere, public apology for posting a meme juxtaposing
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: swastika and pride flags, ruling the requirement for sincerity legally unreasonable. Finally,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: in Europe, the Conference of European Rabbis unveiled a seven-point
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: manifesto in Brussels, urging governments and the EU to confront
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: the underlying ideologies and networks driving antisemitism. moving beyond mere
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: protection of institutions. In the United States, the House of
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: Representatives passed a bill to withhold funding from universities that
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: boycott Israel, following Columbia University's adoption of the IHRA definition
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: of antisemitism. The EU has also released new handbooks to
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: help public authorities and the public combat antisemitism and reclaim
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Jewish heritage. Separately, Rabbi Yehuda Kaplan, the Trump administration's special
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, met with UAE President
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: Mbz in Abu Dhabi, signaling diplomatic engagement on the issue.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so you don't
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: miss the next update. This report was generated with AI
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: primary sources. Thank you.