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Dublin Hotel Incident Sparks Concern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We're launching
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, providing focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region at clockworkmedia.org slash ma. In Dublin,
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  Speaker 1: a luxury hotel reportedly canceled a reservation for 70 rooms
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  Speaker 1: booked for delegates attending an international conference on combating antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: Morris Cohen, chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland,
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  Speaker 1: disclosed the incident involving the Herbert Park Hotel. According to Cohen,
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  Speaker 1: hotel management withdrew the booking after learning the purpose of
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  Speaker 1: the gathering and questioning its connection to the Israeli Defense Forces,
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  Speaker 1: despite it being a civilian and diplomatic event. The European
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Congress called the cancellation deeply disturbing, stating it reflects
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  Speaker 1: the very prejudice the conference sought to confront. Cohen noted
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  Speaker 1: the irony, asking, how quickly does the word Jewish change
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  Speaker 1: a conversation? How easily does a gathering about antisemitism become
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  Speaker 1: associated with the Israeli army? The incident occurred during the
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  Speaker 1: 15th meeting of the Special Envoys and Coordinators Combating Antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: or SECCA Forum, held during Ireland's presidency of the Council
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  Speaker 1: of the European Union, as reported by the Times of Israel,
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  Speaker 1: the Jerusalem Post, Israel National News, and VIN News. In Germany,
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  Speaker 1: the path to power for the far-left Die Linke Party
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  Speaker 1: in Berlin is is facing significant hurdles. The Greens and
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  Speaker 1: centre-left Social Democrats have suspended exploratory coalition talks, citing concerns
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  Speaker 1: over the party's commitment to combating antisemitism. The dispute escalated
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  Speaker 1: after Die Link admitted lawmaker Vanessa Mde, who has a
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  Speaker 1: controversial stance on Israel and has refused to recognise its
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  Speaker 1: right to exist. The parties had previously agreed to use
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  Speaker 1: the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism. a
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  Speaker 1: move opposed by some within the left party who argue
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  Speaker 1: it conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. According to reporting
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  Speaker 1: from Reuters and the Algemeiner, the suspension came after MDEZ inclusion,
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  Speaker 1: prompting the SPD and Greens to demand clarification on whether
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  Speaker 1: the agreed-upon anti-Semitism measures would be implemented. On the campus front,
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  Speaker 1: the United Jewish Teachers, or UJT, has filed a formal
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  Speaker 1: complaint with New York City public schools. The complaint targets
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  Speaker 1: a vocabulary card in the city-approved NYC Reads curriculum for kindergartners,
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  Speaker 1: which features artwork by Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Ladoff. UJT cites
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  Speaker 1: Ladoff's documented history of creating cartoons criticized for antisemitic tropes,
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  Speaker 1: including work that equates Israeli actions with the Holocaust. The
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  Speaker 1: specific illustration depicts a child wearing a kippah hugging an
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  Speaker 1: adult male wearing a keffiyeh. UJT President Moshe Spern called
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  Speaker 1: the image inappropriate and politically motivated, and distasteful and offensive,
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  Speaker 1: questioning the school system's vetting process. Ladoff, meanwhile, stated the
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  Speaker 1: cartoon was part of a 2004 series promoting reconciliation. As
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  Speaker 1: of reporting, the NYC school's chancellor had not responded to
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  Speaker 1: the complaint, according to the Jerusalem Post. In Michigan, Leo Terrell,
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  Speaker 1: the Trump administration's anti-Semitism czar, is scheduled to speak at
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  Speaker 1: congregation Shari Zedek in Southfield. The event, described as part
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  Speaker 1: of the Justice Department's American Tour Against Hate, also serves
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  Speaker 1: as a fundraiser for the Zionist Organization of America. Terrell
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  Speaker 1: chairs the administration's Task Force to Combat Antisemitism. The event
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  Speaker 1: comes weeks before the midterm elections, amid local Jewish concerns
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  Speaker 1: over rhetoric from political candidates, according to reporting from JTA
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  Speaker 1: and Cleveland Jewish News. While the Justice Department billed the
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  Speaker 1: event as open to all, ZOA Michigan alluded to tensions
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  Speaker 1: in the state's Jewish community. Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation
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  Speaker 1: Shari Zedek told JTA the synagogue was hosting to combat
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  Speaker 1: hate broadly, not to endorse any candidate. Terrell has promoted
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  Speaker 1: the event on social media, thanking ZOA Michigan for their work.
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  Speaker 1: In the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out
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  Speaker 1: cooperation with the Green Party after it passed a motion
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  Speaker 1: declaring Zionism a form of racism. Burnham unequivocally condemned the
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  Speaker 1: motion as antisemitic. In response, Green Party leader Zach Polanski,
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  Speaker 1: who identifies as Jewish, issued a furious statement, accusing Burnham
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  Speaker 1: of arming a genocide. Polanski stated he agreed with the
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  Speaker 1: substance of the motion, linking it to a racist ideology
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  Speaker 1: behind the displacement of Palestinians, though he noted he would
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  Speaker 1: have supported an amended version. Reporting from Yahoo! UK highlights
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  Speaker 1: the sharp political division over the issue. Online, A conspiracy
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  Speaker 1: meme known as the Goyim No is drawing attention for
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  Speaker 1: its antisemitic nature. According to CombatAntismitism.org, the antisemitism lies not
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  Speaker 1: in the Hebrew word Goyim itself, but in the conspiracy
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  Speaker 1: theory built around it, highlighting an evolution in online hate rhetoric.
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  Speaker 1: In Canada, a panel established by Prime Minister Mark Carney
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  Speaker 1: to address rising antisemitism is preparing to release initial recommendations.
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  Speaker 1: Haaretz reports that advocates emphasize the panel must not avoid
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  Speaker 1: discussing Israel, calling it, the elephant in the room. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch, midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org slash
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: 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
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: details with primary sources.