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Bomb Threats Force Evacuation of Brooklyn Jewish Schools · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. We're also
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  Speaker 1: launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, covering New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. You can find it at clockworkmedia.org
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  Speaker 1: slash MA now to today's stories. We begin with an
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  Speaker 1: incident of direct threat in New York City. On Friday,
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  Speaker 1: October 9, 2026, two Jewish schools in Brooklyn, the Yeshiva
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  Speaker 1: of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School and the United Talmudical Academy,
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  Speaker 1: were evacuated after receiving phoned-in bomb threats minutes apart. According
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  Speaker 1: to the New York Police Department, ESU units and canine
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  Speaker 1: teams responded to both locations, ordering evacuations and conducting thorough searches. Thankfully,
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  Speaker 1: no explosives were found, and the threats were ultimately deemed unfounded.
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  Speaker 1: The Anti-Defamation League's New York and New Jersey office noted
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  Speaker 1: this incident follows a similar threat in Lakewood, New Jersey.
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  Speaker 1: underscoring a disturbing pattern affecting Jewish institutions. State Assemblyman Michael
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  Speaker 1: Novikov also spoke directly with the NYPD and acknowledged the
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  Speaker 1: fear experienced by students and families. The investigation into the
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  Speaker 1: origin of these calls is ongoing. Internationally, newly published data
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  Speaker 1: from the UK Home Office paints a concerning picture for
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  Speaker 1: the year ending March 2026. Reporting from Haaretz and World
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  Speaker 1: Israel News, highlights a 10% increase in police-recorded antisemitic offenses,
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  Speaker 1: with a notable spike following the terror attack on a
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  Speaker 1: Manchester synagogue in October 2025. More significantly, the data reveals
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  Speaker 1: that Jews face nearly nine times as many police-recorded religious
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  Speaker 1: hate crimes per capita as Muslims in England and Wales.
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  Speaker 1: Official figures show 116.5 religious hate crimes targeting Jews per 10,000 residents,
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  Speaker 1: compared to 13.3 per 10,000 Muslims. This trend has persisted
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  Speaker 1: since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, with major Middle
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  Speaker 1: East developments frequently coinciding with increases in anti-Semitic incidents. The
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  Speaker 1: Community Security Trust, a British Jewish security organization, called the
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  Speaker 1: figures unacceptably high and warned that hostility arising from conflicts
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  Speaker 1: abroad is contributing to anti-Semitism, urging stronger societal action. The
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  Speaker 1: Telegraph has suggested that Hamas's alleged intent to trigger global
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism has succeeded in legitimising and mainstreaming it in Britain,
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  Speaker 1: contributing to these surges. The period also saw incidents like
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  Speaker 1: the March 2026 arson, attack on four ambulances belonging to
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  Speaker 1: the Hatzola Jewish Volunteer Emergency Service in Golders Green. In Scotland,
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  Speaker 1: a controversy arose involving Highlands and Islands MSB Arian Burgess
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  Speaker 1: of the Scottish Greens. Burgess liked a social media post
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  Speaker 1: depicting an Israeli flag bearing a blood-covered swastika. The Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Council of Scotland condemned the image as grotesque and antisemitic,
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  Speaker 1: stating it exploits the murder of six million Jews to
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  Speaker 1: demonize the Jewish state. Burgess stated the interaction was made
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  Speaker 1: in error and acknowledged the post was clearly inappropriate and distasteful.
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  Speaker 1: A spokesperson for the Scottish Greens confirmed the image was
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  Speaker 1: totally inappropriate. and that Burgess has rightly apologized. This incident
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  Speaker 1: occurs amidst heightened scrutiny of the Greens concerning anti-Semitism and
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  Speaker 1: attitudes towards Israel. On American campuses, a specific incident at
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  Speaker 1: Columbia University has drawn criticism. On the third anniversary of
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  Speaker 1: the Hamas massacre, a campus dining hall featured a pasta
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  Speaker 1: sauce labeled October 7th Blush Sauce. The university has since apologized,
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  Speaker 1: with Vicky Dunn, Assistant Vice President of Columbia Dining, attributing
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  Speaker 1: the signage to an administrative error where the date was
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  Speaker 1: inadvertently included in the menu template. However, the explanation did
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  Speaker 1: not satisfy critics who questioned the possibility of such a mistake,
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  Speaker 1: especially given the ongoing campus tensions over the war in Gaza.
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  Speaker 1: Jewish students separately commemorated the Oct 7 victims with a
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  Speaker 1: display of chairs bearing photographs. Elsewhere on the educational front,
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  Speaker 1: a teacher at PS77 in Park Slope, Brooklyn Damian Neva,
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  Speaker 1: is facing criticism for allegedly praising Yahya al-Sinwar, the mastermind
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  Speaker 1: of the October 7 Hamas attack, in a group chat.
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  Speaker 1: This incident, reported through letters to the editor in the
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  Speaker 1: New York Post, has prompted questions about accountability for educators
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  Speaker 1: and criticism of public officials, including Mayor Eric Adams' administration,
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  Speaker 1: for not condemning such rhetoric. In political races, concerns are
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  Speaker 1: being raised about candidates' rhetoric. In Michigan, University of Michigan
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  Speaker 1: students identifying as Democrats have joined the non-negotiable Michigan campaign.
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  Speaker 1: They are targeting Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdel El-Sayed, citing
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  Speaker 1: his past rhetoric, which includes characterizing Israelis as bloodthirsty and
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  Speaker 1: American support for Israel as purchased loyalty. The students express
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  Speaker 1: disappointment over his refusal to address their concerns and affirm
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  Speaker 1: core Jewish needs, such as safety and sovereignty. Meanwhile, in Maine,
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  Speaker 1: Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson has apologized for remarks he
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  Speaker 1: made concerning how some Jewish Mainers view the word genocide
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  Speaker 1: in relation to the war in Gaza. Jackson stated it
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  Speaker 1: was unfortunate that some people avoid the term only because
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  Speaker 1: they're Jewish, due to its connection to the Holocaust, while
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  Speaker 1: also asserting his belief that the situation in Gaza is
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  Speaker 1: a genocide. He apologized for the generalization about Jewish Mainers'
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  Speaker 1: views and for causing pain. In New York, Attorney General
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  Speaker 1: Letitia James faced criticism during a debate for her record.
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  Speaker 1: Opponents questioned her performance on crime, alleged political bias, and
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  Speaker 1: her effectiveness in pursuing hate crimes, particularly anti-Semitism. Also in Colorado,
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  Speaker 1: independent congressional candidate Dr. Shimon Blau has expressed concern over
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  Speaker 1: his Democratic opponent, Melet Kairos, who has reportedly refused to
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  Speaker 1: classify the 2025 Boulder attacks as anti-Semitism. On the institutional
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  Speaker 1: response front, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York has continued
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  Speaker 1: to draw attention for her role in grilling university presidents
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  Speaker 1: over allegations of campus antisemitism during high-profile hearings. These actions
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  Speaker 1: highlight significant political scrutiny being placed on academic institutions regarding
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  Speaker 1: their handling of antisemitism. A brief incident on a flight
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  Speaker 1: to Israel captured attention when an Irish woman accused passengers
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  Speaker 1: of supporting genocide. She reportedly faced immediate pushback and later
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  Speaker 1: expressed frustration that no one supported her stance. Providing broader context,
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  Speaker 1: American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Diuc recently discussed the ongoing
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  Speaker 1: rise in antisemitism. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening
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  Speaker 1: to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch. MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org
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  Speaker 1: slash m-a. 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.