Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 28, 2026, 09 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - September 28, 2026, 09 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. In Ontario, Canada,
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  Speaker 1: authorities have arrested a 33-year-old man, Justin Arnold Galvez of Kitchener,
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  Speaker 1: for allegedly making hate-motivated antisemitic threats via a livestream video,
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  Speaker 1: according to Waterloo Regional Police. This incident marks the third
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  Speaker 1: serious threat against Ontario's Jewish community in less than two weeks,
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  Speaker 1: reports indicate. This development follows a shooting during Yom Kippur
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  Speaker 1: services at the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville, where
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: a police officer was critically wounded. Richard Robertson, research and
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  Speaker 1: advocacy director for B'nai B'rith Canada, stated, there are no
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  Speaker 1: more excuses for inaction. As quoted by the Toronto Sun,
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  Speaker 1: while Mayor Weinstein of Israel now commented, Jewish people don't
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  Speaker 1: feel safe in Canada. In Texas politics, Republican nominee for
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  Speaker 1: Railroad Commissioner Beau French is facing bipartisan condemnation for alleged
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic and racist rhetoric. According to JTA, French posted a
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  Speaker 1: social media poll asking if Jews or Muslims pose a
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  Speaker 1: bigger threat to America. Additionally, CNN investigations revealed, based on
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  Speaker 1: since-deleted posts, that French had called for public executions of
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  Speaker 1: figures including former President Barack Obama and Jewish Senator Adam Schiff.
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  Speaker 1: GOP strategist Karl Rove cited growing antisemitism in the party,
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  Speaker 1: as a reason for endorsing French's democratic opponent, telling the
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  Speaker 1: Wall Street Journal. There are just asking questions due haters.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: Outgoing Texas Senator John Cornyn stated, this is how great
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  Speaker 1: political parties self-destruct. Meanwhile, in France, the investigative outlet Mediapart
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  Speaker 1: has accused Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally Party,
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  Speaker 1: of sending antisemitic messages as a teenage activist. Mediapart claims
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  Speaker 1: these messages included statements such as all the banks are
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  Speaker 1: owned by Jews, and that the Jew must dominate other peoples,
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  Speaker 1: crush them and steal from them. Bardella has firmly denied
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  Speaker 1: these allegations, calling them crude forgeries, and stating he has
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  Speaker 1: instructed his lawyer to take legal action against Mediapart, as
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  Speaker 1: reported by JTA and Al Jazeera English. Marine Le Pen,
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  Speaker 1: the party's presidential candidate, dismissed the report as a dirty trick.
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  Speaker 1: Turning to campus concerns in Montgomery County, Maryland, Jewish families
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  Speaker 1: are reportedly withdrawing their children from public schools. They cite
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  Speaker 1: worries over antisemitism and a perceived lack of seriousness from
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  Speaker 1: the school administration in addressing hate bias incidents, according to
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  Speaker 1: reporting by JNS. The district recorded a significant increase in
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  Speaker 1: hate bias incidents, from 253 the previous year to 600
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  Speaker 1: in the 2025-26 school year. The Anti-Defamation League places Maryland
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  Speaker 1: fifth nationally for anti-Semitic incidents in K-12 schools, with Montgomery
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  Speaker 1: County accounting for the majority of these within the state.
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  Speaker 1: Dozens of rabbis and cantors have signed a letter to
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  Speaker 1: Superintendent Thomas Taylor and the Board of Education demanding action,
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  Speaker 1: including training for teachers and administrators to identify Jew hatred
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  Speaker 1: and the implementation of programs on Jewish identity and the Holocaust.
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  Speaker 1: Rabbi Adam Raskin described the district's response to educational initiatives
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  Speaker 1: as underwhelming, telling JNS that schools appear to be dodging
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  Speaker 1: the issue. In policy news, California Governor Gavin Newsom has
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  Speaker 1: signed AB 2664 into law, establishing 100-foot protective zones around
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  Speaker 1: religious institutions. The legislation prohibits individuals from coming within eight
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  Speaker 1: feet of a congregant without consent for purposes of distributing leaflets,
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  Speaker 1: holding signs, or engaging in oral protests that harass, obstruct,
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  Speaker 1: threaten or intimidate the person, according to the law's text.
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  Speaker 1: Governor Newsom stated, every Californian should be able to walk
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  Speaker 1: into a synagogue, church, mosque or other house of worship
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  Speaker 1: without fear. In a statement released by his office, the
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  Speaker 1: signing followed a violent pro-Palestinian protest at Lowe's Angels Wilshire
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  Speaker 1: Boulevard Temple last year. The Council on American Islamic Relations
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  Speaker 1: has criticized the bill. arguing it infringes upon free speech protections.
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  Speaker 1: In Ohio, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, has
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  Speaker 1: filed a lawsuit against a Youngstown hospital and physicians group.
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  Speaker 1: The suit alleges that a surgeon faced religious discrimination and
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  Speaker 1: endured antisemitic remarks throughout his employment, culminating in his termination
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  Speaker 1: in November 2023. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas stated,' Antisemitism has
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  Speaker 1: no place in the American workplace.' Reporting indicates the surgeon
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  Speaker 1: was subjected to comments blaming the Jews for the October
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  Speaker 1: 7th attack, excluded from meetings, and had his surgery time
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  Speaker 1: blocks reduced before his termination. Security expert Ross McLean discussed
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  Speaker 1: the recent attack on the Sons of Jacob Orthodox Synagogue
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  Speaker 1: in Belleville, Ontario, where gunfire injured a police officer during
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  Speaker 1: Yom Kippur services. McLean noted a pattern of years of
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitic incidents, including shootings and arsons, and warned that antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: sentiment could spread to individuals not previously associated with extremist violence.
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  Speaker 1: He also argued that authorities should more explicitly identify antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: and Jewish targets when discussing hate crimes, rather than grouping
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: them into broader statements about hate and violence. Finally, nearly
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  Speaker 1: 90 years after the Kristallnacht pogroms, a new initiative is
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  Speaker 1: working to revive Germany's lost Jewish musical heritage. Cantor Asaph Levitin,
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  Speaker 1: co-author of the project, Hashevenu, is collaborating with music publisher
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  Speaker 1: Edition Peters to recover and republish cantorial works that vanished
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  Speaker 1: or were destroyed following the destruction of Germany's Jewish communities.
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  Speaker 1: This effort brings to light musical pieces that were central
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  Speaker 1: to Jewish life before Kristallnacht and are now being restored
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  Speaker 1: for contemporary use. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: to Antisemitism Watch. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: so you don't miss the next update. This report was
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: important details with primary sources.