Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 11, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - September 11, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. This week,
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  Speaker 1: acts of vandalism targeting Jewish individuals and institutions serve as
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  Speaker 1: stark reminders of rising antisemitism. In San Carlos, California, an
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  Speaker 1: overnight spray painting spree left swastikas and racial slurs scrawled
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  Speaker 1: across homes, fences, and vehicles. Residents discovered the vile graffiti
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  Speaker 1: along Lake Ariana Avenue and surrounding streets, including a swastika
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  Speaker 1: on a Jewish neighbor's property. Orlando Chavez told CBS 8
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  Speaker 1: that his hauling truck was among the defaced vehicles. City
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  Speaker 1: Council Member Raul Campillo blasted the vandalism as completely abhorrent,
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  Speaker 1: noting its disturbing timing just before Rosh Hashanah and called
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  Speaker 1: for accountability for hate crimes. In Ventura, California, police are
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  Speaker 1: investigating three separate incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism that occurred over
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  Speaker 1: a previous weekend. According to the Ventura Police Department, swastikas
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  Speaker 1: and other hateful images, including the phrase death to Jews,
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  Speaker 1: were found at Temple Beit Torah. The Higher Vision Church
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  Speaker 1: was defaced with the words Zionist traitors, and Juana Maria
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  Speaker 1: Park displayed graffiti including a swastika and the phrase, they
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  Speaker 1: want to replace you. Joshua Burt, regional director for the
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  Speaker 1: Anti-Defamation League's Santa Barbara-slash-Tri-Counties, shared images of the graffiti, calling
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  Speaker 1: it antisemitism and criminal. The police are investigating the incidents
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  Speaker 1: as hate crimes and increasing patrols in the area. Mayor
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  Speaker 1: Jeanette Sánchez Palacios stated that antisemitism, hate and intimidation have
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  Speaker 1: no place in Ventura. In Park City, Utah, leaders at
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  Speaker 1: Temple Har Shalom are calling the vandalism of their synagogues
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  Speaker 1: sign an antisemitic attack. Over the weekend, the sign's letters
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  Speaker 1: were ripped off, and the Star of David was destroyed.
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  Speaker 1: Rabbi Jeff Dreyfus described the act as disheartening, especially before
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  Speaker 1: the High Holy Days. Temple Har Shalom President June K.
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  Speaker 1: Volk echoed these sentiments. noting the incident occurred days before
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  Speaker 1: Rosh Hashanah. The Summit County Sheriff's Office is investigating. In
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  Speaker 1: a high-profile diplomatic spat, Israel's Consul General in New York,
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  Speaker 1: Afir Akounis, accused New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani of antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: Akounis likened Mamdani's support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions,
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  Speaker 1: or BDS, movement to tactics of the Third Reich. stating
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  Speaker 1: that Mamdani bears direct responsibility for attacks on Jews and
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  Speaker 1: Jewish institutions in the city. This exchange occurred as Mamdani,
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  Speaker 1: on his first day in office, revoked an executive order
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  Speaker 1: that had adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA,
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  Speaker 1: definition of antisemitism. Akounis cited Mamdani's past rhetoric, such as
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  Speaker 1: calling the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, monsters. as
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  Speaker 1: dehumanizing language comparable to that used by Nazis. Reactions from
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish community were mixed. Margaret Hughes Robinson of New
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  Speaker 1: York Jewish Agenda called Akounis' comparisons unproductive and, frankly, offensive.
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  Speaker 1: While Michael Miller, former head of the Jewish Community Relations
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  Speaker 1: Council of New York, expressed sympathy for Akounis' challenging position,
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  Speaker 1: the Zionist Organization of America supported Akounis' statements. On university campuses,
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  Speaker 1: leaders are grappling with rising incidents of hate. At the
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  Speaker 1: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chancellor Lee H.
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  Speaker 1: Roberts and other university leaders issued an open letter condemning
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  Speaker 1: multiple recent incidents of racism, antisemitism, and bigoted harassment. These
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  Speaker 1: acts included a trespasser using racial slurs against black students
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  Speaker 1: and harassment of Taiwanese students, alongside an incident targeting a
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  Speaker 1: Jewish member of the community. The letter stated these acts
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  Speaker 1: violate Carolina's core values and that hatred and bigotry threaten
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  Speaker 1: our sense of security. In Denver, an accusation of an
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitic comment made by a board member, Hunter, regarding a
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  Speaker 1: colleague has prompted calls for an investigation, according to reporting
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  Speaker 1: by the Denver Post. In Phuket, Thailand, a Chabad house
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  Speaker 1: cancelled a Rosh Hashanah dinner intended for hundreds of Israeli
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  Speaker 1: guests at the request of Israeli security officials. Officials were
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  Speaker 1: concerned that local anti-Israel protests, which featured signs like Save
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  Speaker 1: Phuket No Israel and Free Palestine chants, could turn violent.
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  Speaker 1: Protest organizers issued a statement with anti-Semitic undertones, claiming Chabad
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  Speaker 1: centers were advancing objectives by international Zionist networks. Responding to
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  Speaker 1: the climate of increasing anti-Semitism, New York state and city
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  Speaker 1: officials announced a significant security effort ahead of Rosh Hashanah.
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  Speaker 1: Governor Kathy Hochul committed $ 70 million in state grant funding
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  Speaker 1: for 290 organizations identified as hate crime targets to be
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  Speaker 1: used for security upgrades. The New York City Police Department
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  Speaker 1: also announced a massive mobilization, with visible deployments of uniformed officers,
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  Speaker 1: counterterrorism units, and heavy weapons teams across the city, even
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  Speaker 1: though no specific credible threats were identified. NYPD figures indicate
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  Speaker 1: that overall hate crime reports have climbed 16% this year,
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  Speaker 1: with Jewish New Yorkers being the target of more than
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  Speaker 1: half of these incidents. Bias crimes specifically targeting Jewish people
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  Speaker 1: have risen 8% compared to last year. Nationally, Jewish institutions
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  Speaker 1: spent over $ 1 billion on security last year, a 33%
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  Speaker 1: increase from the prior year, with the cost for a
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  Speaker 1: typical synagogue's security now exceeding $ 400, 000 annually. Community leaders have
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  Speaker 1: pointed to the October 7th attacks and the subsequent war
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  Speaker 1: as a turning point that has sharpened security anxieties. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. Follow
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so you don't miss
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  Speaker 1: the next update. This report was generated with AI assistance
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  Speaker 1: and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.