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NYC Teacher's Antisemitic Memes Highlight Campus Concerns · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. We're launching
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, providing focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. Visit clockworkmedia.org slash ma. We begin
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  Speaker 1: today with a disturbing incident in New York City's public
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  Speaker 1: school system. A math teacher at Park Slope Collegiate, Mesa Jarara,
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  Speaker 1: posted an antisemitic meme on Facebook on July 19th. The
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  Speaker 1: image depicted soccer star Lionel Messi with grotesque, Nazi propaganda-like features,
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  Speaker 1: including a supersized nose and a yarmulke, with hands rubbing together,
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  Speaker 1: a caricature that echoes classic anti-Semitic tropes of greed. Jarara
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  Speaker 1: captioned the post, The look on his face is priceless.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting by the New York Post, this meme
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  Speaker 1: resembles the happy merchant anti-Semitic trope. Jarara also reposted messages
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  Speaker 1: denigrating Israel. including one featuring the Israeli flag covered in blood,
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  Speaker 1: and on the anniversary of the October 7th attacks, shared
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  Speaker 1: an illustration celebrating the event. United Jewish Teachers President Moshe
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  Speaker 1: Spern stated that Jarara has crossed a major line by
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  Speaker 1: trafficking in classic anti-Semitic tropes that cast Jews as greedy
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  Speaker 1: and scheming. The New York City Public Schools' Alliance President
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  Speaker 1: Karen Feldman called the posts deeply disturbing. emphasizing the gravity
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  Speaker 1: of a teacher entrusted with educating children sharing such inflammatory material.
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  Speaker 1: This incident occurs amidst a backdrop of significant antisemitism in
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  Speaker 1: NYC DOE schools since October 7, with other educators facing
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  Speaker 1: scrutiny for online posts, and thousands of Jewish families reportedly
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  Speaker 1: withdrawing their children from public schools. Turning to politics, a
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  Speaker 1: review of an online forum run by Nevada Republican congressional
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  Speaker 1: candidate Marty O'Donnell has revealed troubling content. According to Ground News,
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  Speaker 1: the forum hosted posts containing racial slurs, antisemitic comments, minimizations
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  Speaker 1: of Nazi Germany, and defenses of white nationalist conspiracy theories.
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  Speaker 1: This indicates a candidate's direct association with hateful and discriminatory rhetoric.
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  Speaker 1: On college campuses, the University of Pittsburgh is facing controversy
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  Speaker 1: over its approach to addressing antisemitism. A July report from
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  Speaker 1: the university's antisemitism working group has drawn criticism for failing
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  Speaker 1: to consult with the school's approximately 1,400 Jewish students, as
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  Speaker 1: reported by JTA. While the group itself is composed of
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  Speaker 1: Jewish individuals, its chair, sociologist Catherine Blee, stated their charge
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  Speaker 1: was not to provide data but to generate recommendations from
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  Speaker 1: internal discussions. The report's findings have divided the campus. with
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  Speaker 1: some on the left concerned about potential speech limitations and
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  Speaker 1: members of the Jewish community criticizing the lack of engagement.
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  Speaker 1: The university's Jewish Studies program director did not sign the
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  Speaker 1: final report, and the American Association of University Professors has
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  Speaker 1: called for its withdrawal. This situation follows an incident in
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  Speaker 1: 2024 where two Jewish students were wounded in an off-campus attack,
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  Speaker 1: underscoring the urgency of antisemitism on campus. The university stated
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  Speaker 1: in a press release, We recognize that members of our
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  Speaker 1: Jewish community have experienced harm, and we take that seriously. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: Senator Ted Cruz has sounded the alarm on rising anti-Semitism
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  Speaker 1: within certain far-right circles, as reported by alisraelnews.com. Cruz told
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  Speaker 1: the Wall Street Journal that anti-Semitism among a group known
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  Speaker 1: as Groypers is impacting Republican hiring and staff recruitment. He
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  Speaker 1: indicated that a significant portion of applicants for his office
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  Speaker 1: have expressed troubling sentiments, making recruitment complicated due to his
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  Speaker 1: support for Israel. The Groeper movement, associated with figures like
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  Speaker 1: Nick Fuentes, is known for promoting white nationalist ideas, anti-Semitic
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  Speaker 1: conspiracy theories, and Holocaust denial, often questioning the loyalty of
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  Speaker 1: American political leaders to the U.S. over Israel. This trend
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  Speaker 1: is reflected in polling. with a Yale survey indicating 55%
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  Speaker 1: of young voters aged 18 to 22 agreed with sentiments
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  Speaker 1: calling for America to end its subservience to Israel. This
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  Speaker 1: highlights how anti-Israel rhetoric can overlap with antisemitic tropes, influencing
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  Speaker 1: political discourse and professional environments. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage from New York,
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org slash ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your
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  Speaker 1: report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
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  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.