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Antisemitism Watch - October 5, 2026, 01 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Today's coverage
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  Speaker 1: brings into sharp focus significant political rhetoric concerning institutional responses
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  Speaker 1: and stark reminders of ongoing threats. We're also launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic,
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  Speaker 1: offering focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
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  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia region. Find it at clockworkmedia.org slash ma now
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  Speaker 1: to the stories. The United Kingdom's Green Party has passed
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  Speaker 1: a controversial motion labeling Zionism as racism, according to reporting
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  Speaker 1: from the Jerusalem Post and Al Jazeera. The resolution, passed
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  Speaker 1: by a vote of 1,022 to 813 at the party's conference,
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  Speaker 1: declares the party anti-Zionist and states Zionism should be treated
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  Speaker 1: as any other form of racism. Israeli officials, including the
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  Speaker 1: foreign ministry, condemned the text as an anti-Semitic text denying
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  Speaker 1: Jewish self-determination and legitimising the destruction of Israel. Chief Rabbi
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  Speaker 1: Sir Ephraim Mervis called the motion poisonous antisemitism and a
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  Speaker 1: threat to British Jews and to Britain. The party leader,
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  Speaker 1: Zak Polanski, was subsequently barred from entering Israel. In the
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  Speaker 1: realm of physical violence and terrorism, Abdullah al-Badri was sentenced
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  Speaker 1: to life in prison with a minimum term of 20 years,
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  Speaker 1: after being convicted of preparing an act of terrorism in London.
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  Speaker 1: Prosecutors stated Al-Badri attempted to breach the Israeli embassy's perimeter
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  Speaker 1: in April 2025, armed with knives and carrying a martyrdom note,
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  Speaker 1: intending to attack the embassy in revenge for Israel's actions
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  Speaker 1: in Gaza, according to Haaretz. In Georgia, Jonathan Mark Saucer
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  Speaker 1: has been arrested and charged with making terrorist threats against
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  Speaker 1: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. According to an indictment filed in
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  Speaker 1: federal court, Saucer posted a threat on ex-demanding Hegseth carry
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  Speaker 1: out a shooting at a Chabad synagogue, threatening to murder
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  Speaker 1: Hegseth's family if he refused. JNS reported this was part
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  Speaker 1: of a pattern of threats, and the Secure Community Network
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  Speaker 1: and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta issued a security
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  Speaker 1: alert to Jewish institutions, though authorities determined there was no
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  Speaker 1: credible ongoing threat. On the campus front, a teacher at
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  Speaker 1: Brooklyn's PS77, Damian Neva, is under investigation by city education officials.
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  Speaker 1: The New York Post reports Neva allegedly praised Hamas leader
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  Speaker 1: Yahya al-Sinwar in a group chat, calling him long-live Yahya al-Sinwar,
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  Speaker 1: and that his social media featured antisemitic imagery. Stop Antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: has called for his termination. In New York City, over
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  Speaker 1: 25 Jewish community organizations have called on Mayor Zoran Mamdani's
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  Speaker 1: administration to overhaul its recently released strategy, for combating antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: In a letter dated October 2, the coalition argued the
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  Speaker 1: plan inadequately addresses contemporary threats like anti-Zionist hostility, which they
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  Speaker 1: say is more prevalent than far-right extremism among Jewish New Yorkers.
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  Speaker 1: The groups criticized the plan for not adopting a formal
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  Speaker 1: definition of antisemitism, leaving ambiguity for distinguishing political expression from
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic targeting, according to 5towncentral. com. Rapper Macklemore has drawn condemnation
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  Speaker 1: for his pro-Palestinian activism, with critics arguing his rhetoric crosses
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  Speaker 1: into antisemitism. Jewish news outlets report that his song, Heinz
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  Speaker 1: Hall and Statements in Germany, where he accused Israel of
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  Speaker 1: apartheid and genocide while dismissing Holocaust reparations, have been met
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  Speaker 1: with criticism from the ADL and the Central Council of
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  Speaker 1: Jews in Germany. In Canada, antisemitism is reportedly shifting from
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  Speaker 1: overt threats to insidious online tropes disguised as free speech,
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  Speaker 1: according to FrequencyNews.ca. B'nai B'rith Canada's 2025 annual audit of
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic incidents documented over 6,800 incidents, with 6,248 being online hate.
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  Speaker 1: B'nai B'rith stated this is the worst year for reported
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  Speaker 1: incidents since their audits began in 1982. Montgomery County Public
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  Speaker 1: Schools in Maryland is facing criticism from rabbis, and the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Community Relations Council for what they describe as a
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  Speaker 1: lack of meaningful response to anti-Semitic incidents contributing to normalization.
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  Speaker 1: Bethesda Magazine reports that a swastika was found at Walter
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  Speaker 1: Johnson High School and three swastika incidents occurred at Gaithersburg
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  Speaker 1: High School recently. The district also saw a roughly 137%
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  Speaker 1: increase in reported hate bias incidents between the 2024-2025 and
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  Speaker 1: 2025 to 2026 school years. Superintendent Thomas Taylor has promised
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  Speaker 1: repeat collaborative dialogue to address the concerns. Israel has warned
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  Speaker 1: France of a surge in antisemitism and rising threat levels,
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  Speaker 1: citing incitement as the third anniversary of October 7 approaches,
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  Speaker 1: according to Israel Hayim. In acts of vandalism, antisemitic graffiti
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  Speaker 1: was discovered at Brookside Elementary School in San Anselmo, California.
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  Speaker 1: and is being investigated as a hate crime by the
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  Speaker 1: Central Marin Police Authority, NBC Bay Area reported. Separately, a
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  Speaker 1: school board candidate's campaign sign in Sunbury, Ohio, was defaced
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  Speaker 1: with a swastika, according to Fox 28 Columbus. Finally, the
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  Speaker 1: Zehat Party in Israel reported receiving extortion and threatening letters
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  Speaker 1: and has filed a formal complaint with Israeli police, J-Feed reported.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch, midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org.ma.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so you don't
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  Speaker 1: miss the next update. This report was generated with AI
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  Speaker 1: assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with
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  Speaker 1: primary sources.