Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 12, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

Transcript

Antisemitism Watch - September 12, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Today, we
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: examine contrasting responses to antisemitic rhetoric from political figures and
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: media personalities, alongside critical new figures on institutional security and
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: legal accountability. First, a sharp contrast is drawn between the
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Republican Party's decisive condemnation of David Duke in 2016 and
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the perceived delayed or indirect responses from some Democratic leaders
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: to socialist streamer Hassan Piker. Piker, who commands over 11
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: million followers across platforms, has made statements including that America
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: deserved 9-11, calling Israel the Jewish ISIS, and declaring Hamas 1,000
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: times better than Israel. He also warned American Jews that
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: if they remain singularly invested in Israel, someone might take
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: action against them. According to reporting reviewed for this episode,
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: while Republican leaders then strongly repudiated Duke, Democratic figures like
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Senator Bernie Sanders, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar,
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Mayor Zoran Mamdani, Representative Ro Khanna, and Mayor Brandon Johnson
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: have appeared with or campaigned for figures associated with Piker,
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: while Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed called Piker's 9-11
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: statement dumb. He did not disavow Piker, and later released
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: a statement condemning antisemitism without naming him. DNC Chairman Ken
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Martin and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also issued statements
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: condemning antisemitism without naming Piker initially, though Jeffries later clarified
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: he meant Piker. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who has
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: previously called the BDS movement antisemitic, has not named Piker,
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: despite Piker supporting BDS and Schumer endorsing El-Sayed. who also
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: supports BDS. Former DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, however, directly stated,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Hassan Piker is a stone-cold anti-Semite. Period. Stop, according to
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: the Toronto Sun. In New York City, Mayor Zoran Mamdani
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: is facing criticism that his focus on denouncing Israel distracts
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: from pressing city issues. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit for
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: the UN General Assembly is expected to highlight Mamdani's continued rhetoric.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Reporting indicates Mamdani has a history of anti-Israel sentiment, co-founding
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: a Students for Justice in Palestine chapter as an undergraduate
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: and campaigning on enforcing international arrest warrants for Netanyahu. After
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: the October 7 attacks, Mamdani expressed sadness for hundreds of
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: people killed across Israel and Palestine in the last 36 hours,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: drawing what critics described as a moral equivalence. He has
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: also been criticized for delayed responses to anti-Semitic incidents, and
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: for statements linking NYPD actions to the IDF. On HBO's
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Real Time, comedian Bill Maher argued that what he termed celebrity,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: moral confusion, concerning the Gaza conflict, specifically labeling the war
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: a genocide, is fueling a global rise in antisemitism. Maher
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: criticized figures like rapper Macklemore for repeatedly calling for free
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Palestine and stating, I know enough to know this is
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: a genocide. Maher asserted that Gaza equals genocide is a lie,
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: an easily provable lie, according to Fox News Network. Meanwhile,
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: the financial burden of security for Jewish institutions has reached
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: a new high. The Jewish Federations of North America estimates
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: that over 4,500 Jewish non-profit institutions are now spending approximately $ 1. 02
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: billion annually on security. This figure represents a 33% increase
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: from 2024 estimates. According to reporting reviewed for this episode,
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: This surge is driven by persistent antisemitic threats. Personnel costs
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: make up the largest share of this spending, with an
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: estimated $ 150 million allocated for technology like cameras and controlled
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: entry systems, while the Anti-Defamation League recorded a 33% decrease
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: in antisemitic incidents in 2025 compared to 2024. It was
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: still the third-highest annual total since tracking began in 1979.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: with physical assaults rising 4% and those involving deadly weapons
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: increasing 39%. Federal crime data also showed a decline in
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: reported anti-Jewish hate crime incidents, though they still accounted for
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: 63% of reported religion-based hate crimes in 2025, according to
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: the ADL's analysis of FBI data. Internationally, rising antisemitism in Milan, Italy,
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: is necessitating increased security measures. Dalia Gubbe, vice president of
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: Milan's Jewish community, told the Jerusalem Post that children attend
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: school under heightened police protection, and security is also required
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: near synagogues, with worshippers advised to disperse immediately after services
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: for safety. Gubei also noted that children are advised not
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: to wear conspicuous religious items, such as a kippah or tzitzit,
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: in public. An incident at a Bane Akiva youth movement
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: summer camp in Bulgaria involving her son and concerns about
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: one-sided messaging within the education system, were also highlighted. Finally,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: in a legal development, a suspect has been charged in
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Canada with willful promotion of hatred, willful promotion of antisemitism,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: and advocating genocide. These charges stem from an investigation into
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: alleged antisemitic posts, as reported by Bell Media. I'm Rachel Adler,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. Follow Antisemitism Watch
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: in your podcast app so you don't miss the next update.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.