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Washington Jewish Museum Attack · 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. Find us at clockworkmedia.org. We begin
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  Speaker 1: today with a deeply disturbing act of violence. On May 21, 2025,
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  Speaker 1: two employees of the Israeli embassy were killed at the
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  Speaker 1: entrance of the Jewish Museum in Washington. According to reporting
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  Speaker 1: from Mundo America, the suspect, who was arrested wearing a
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  Speaker 1: red kufia, shouted, free Palestine, and claimed the attack was
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  Speaker 1: for Gaza. This incident occurred against a backdrop of significant
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic activity. The Anti-Defamation League reports nearly 25,000 antisemitic incidents
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  Speaker 1: in the United States over the last three years. Mundo
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  Speaker 1: America also reports that in 2024 alone, American synagogues and
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  Speaker 1: Jewish institutions received 627 bomb threats. On the education front,
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  Speaker 1: significant concerns have emerged regarding antisemitism within school districts. In Philadelphia,
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  Speaker 1: the school district is initiating termination proceedings against its social
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  Speaker 1: studies curriculum director, Ishmael Jimenez. According to the Inquirer, this
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  Speaker 1: action follows a federal probe into alleged antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment.
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  Speaker 1: Jimenez has filed a lawsuit alleging violations of his First
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  Speaker 1: Amendment rights. The district superintendent, Tony B. Watlington, S.R., testified
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  Speaker 1: to Congress about the probe. The Jewish Federation of Philadelphia
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  Speaker 1: had reportedly raised concerns about Jiménez' s statements, including alleged rationalizations
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  Speaker 1: of the October 7 attack and denial of the Jewish
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  Speaker 1: people's connection to the land of Israel, over several years,
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  Speaker 1: predating the congressional investigation. The House Committee on Education and
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  Speaker 1: the workforce had previously concluded the district teaches students to
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  Speaker 1: hate Israel, and embrace radical ideas, allegations the district calls
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  Speaker 1: blatantly partisan. Separately, on Long Island, a middle school student
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  Speaker 1: at Merrick Avenue Middle School is under police investigation for
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  Speaker 1: an antisemitic photo posted on social media. NBC New York
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  Speaker 1: reports the photo showed a swastika and antisemitic messages drawn
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  Speaker 1: on the student's back. School officials confirmed they learned of
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  Speaker 1: the post, condemned antisemitism, disciplined the student, and contacted Nassau
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  Speaker 1: County Police. Parents and community leaders have expressed concern about
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  Speaker 1: where such hateful messages are being learned. In the political arena,
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  Speaker 1: former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has publicly criticized statements made
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  Speaker 1: by New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani and Michigan Democratic
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  Speaker 1: Senate candidate Abdel El-Sayed regarding Israel. As reported by the
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  Speaker 1: New York Post and others, Pelosi described their positions as
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  Speaker 1: wrong and stated they did not reflect congressional Democrats. The
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  Speaker 1: discussion arose on the On Brand podcast, where host Dani
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  Speaker 1: Deutsch questioned how he, as a Jewish man, could reconcile
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  Speaker 1: support for the Democratic Party with politicians whose statements he
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  Speaker 1: deemed anti-Semitic, specifically referencing the idea that Israel doesn't have
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  Speaker 1: the right to be a Jewish state. Pelosi agreed this
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  Speaker 1: was wrong. Mamdani has stated support for Israel as a
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  Speaker 1: state with equal rights but not as a Jewish state,
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  Speaker 1: while El-Sayed has reportedly struggled to affirm Israel's right to
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  Speaker 1: exist as a Jewish state. Rabbi Yaakov Mencken of the
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  Speaker 1: Coalition for Jewish Values commented that Pelosi's remarks indicated a
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  Speaker 1: concerning lack of recognition of anti-Semitism within her party. Federal
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  Speaker 1: authorities are actively engaged in combating anti-Semitism. The Justice Department's
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitism task force chairman, Leo Terrell, is leading a 15-city
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  Speaker 1: American tour against hate. Fox News Digital reports that this
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  Speaker 1: initiative aims to provide federal support to Jewish communities, particularly
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  Speaker 1: those feeling neglected by local officials. The tour involves representatives
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  Speaker 1: from the DOJ, FBI, and Labor Department addressing issues like
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  Speaker 1: hate crime prosecution and university accountability. Terrell highlighted that federal
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  Speaker 1: scrutiny of universities will continue if Jewish students remain unprotected.
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  Speaker 1: According to FBI data for 2025, Over 1,000, 500 single-bias
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  Speaker 1: anti-Jewish hate crime incidents were reported, with over 62% of
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  Speaker 1: all religious bias hate crimes targeting Jews. Meanwhile, the Mundo
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  Speaker 1: America outlet details the Trump administration's ongoing policy approach. During
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  Speaker 1: his first term, former President Trump incorporated the IHRA definition
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  Speaker 1: of antisemitism into government agencies. Post-inauguration in January 2025, this
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  Speaker 1: definition was reinforced. allowing for actions in universities and considering
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism as grounds for immigration inadmissibility. The administration also appointed
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  Speaker 1: Yehuda Kaplan as a special envoy and reportedly revoked 250,000 visas. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: a debate is ongoing regarding the boundaries of criticism concerning
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  Speaker 1: Israeli policies and antisemitism. An article in the Sydney Morning
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  Speaker 1: Herald discusses this following a report by Gillian Segal that
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  Speaker 1: linked progressives, critical of Israeli policies to antisemitism. Contributors to
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  Speaker 1: the debate express varied views. Some argue that criticizing the
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  Speaker 1: Israeli government or even opposing specific policies like those toward
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  Speaker 1: Palestinians is distinct from antisemitism and should not be equated
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  Speaker 1: with prejudice against Jewish people. Others, including remarks referencing scholar
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  Speaker 1: Omer Bartov, suggest that accusations of antisemitism are sometimes used
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  Speaker 1: to suppress legitimate criticism of Israel or anti-Zionism, particularly by
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  Speaker 1: the New Right. 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 ma. 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.