Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 30, 2026, 09 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 30, 2026, 09 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. In Michigan,
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  Speaker 1: Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has apologized to the state's
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Democratic Caucus for comments made in March following an
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  Speaker 1: attack on a synagogue. Speaking to reporters, El-Sayed acknowledged that
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  Speaker 1: his statement, hurt people hurt people, made after the attack
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  Speaker 1: on Temple Israel, may have been misconstrued to justify the violence,
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  Speaker 1: though he stated his intention was to offer context. He
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  Speaker 1: expressed regret, saying, To anyone who feels like my comments
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  Speaker 1: might have been hurtful, I'm really sorry. The apology comes
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  Speaker 1: as El-Sayed works to unify Democrats. This controversy also follows
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  Speaker 1: strong criticism from former President Donald Trump, who stated that
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  Speaker 1: El-Sayed hates Jews. Further reporting indicates El-Sayed has also been
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  Speaker 1: questioned over ties to streamer Hassan Piker, who has made
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitism remarks. Meanwhile, far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported
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  Speaker 1: from the United States, after being arrested for overstaying his visa,
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  Speaker 1: according to reporting from World Israel News. Yiannopoulos' departure follows
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  Speaker 1: a period of controversial rhetoric, including comparing Israel under Prime
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  Speaker 1: Minister Netanyahu to Nazi Germany and invoking the concept of Lebensraum.
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  Speaker 1: He also reportedly used anti-Semitic slurs, referring to Jews as
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  Speaker 1: kamikaze Jews and questioning why Ashkenazi Jews find the letter's
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  Speaker 1: DNA so frightening. He framed religious conflict in collective terms,
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  Speaker 1: pitting Catholics and Muslims versus Protestants and Jews. An opinion
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  Speaker 1: piece also suggests that New York's mayor's attacks on Israel
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  Speaker 1: risk legitimizing antisemitic hostility and emboldening violence. Separately, reporting mentions
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism and a group chat involving Congressman Brand, identified as
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  Speaker 1: a government official. In educational materials, the New Jersey branch
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  Speaker 1: of the Council on American Islamic Relations CAIRNJ, has released
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  Speaker 1: a back-to-school resource guide that links the 9-11 terror attacks
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  Speaker 1: to America's support of Israel. As reported by the Jerusalem Post,
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  Speaker 1: the guide suggests that terrorism is defined differently by different
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  Speaker 1: groups of people, and implies a debate over whether 9-11
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  Speaker 1: constituted terrorism. The document, which has since been removed from
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  Speaker 1: CAIRS site, also made controversial statements regarding Osama bin Laden
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  Speaker 1: and claims of state-sponsored Islamophobia. In Australia, a staffer for
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  Speaker 1: the taxpayer-subsidized arts body NAVA allegedly produced a manifesto that
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  Speaker 1: attacked public grief over the October 7 attacks and questioned
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  Speaker 1: the default innocence of the victims, according to reporting reviewed
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  Speaker 1: for this episode. On the campus front, Nicholas Lemon, Emeritus
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  Speaker 1: Dean of the Columbia University Journalism School, shared a personal
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  Speaker 1: account in The Washington monthly detailing his son being accosted
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  Speaker 1: and called a dirty Jew while wearing a star of
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  Speaker 1: David necklace amidst campus protests. Lemon co-chaired Columbia's Task Force
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  Speaker 1: on the University and Antisemitism, highlighting the complex challenge of
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  Speaker 1: navigating free speech boundaries versus harassment in such environments. Internationally,
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  Speaker 1: reporting indicates a political issue concerning antisemitism in Europe. with
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  Speaker 1: political parties exhibiting such tendencies, though governments are not yet
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  Speaker 1: directly involved. As Jewish High Holy Days approach, a security
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  Speaker 1: push is underway for synagogues and Jewish institutions. This measure
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  Speaker 1: is prompted by federal crime data, which shows antisemitic incidents
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  Speaker 1: continue to represent a substantial share of religiously motivated hate crimes. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: a positive development from Jewish high school students across the
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  Speaker 1: United States. Since the October 7th attacks, Hundreds of new
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  Speaker 1: Jewish student union clubs have been launched. The organization JSU,
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  Speaker 1: a project of NCSY, reported receiving 473 applications through its
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  Speaker 1: national system alone, with organizers noting the surge reflects students
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  Speaker 1: feeling isolated and seeking to deepen their Jewish identity and
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  Speaker 1: build community on campus. This has been Antisemitism Watch. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Rachel Adler. This report was generated with AI assistance and
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  Speaker 1: may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.