Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 26, 2026, 09 AM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 26, 2026, 09 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Today, we
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  Speaker 1: examine grave allegations against a public official, continuing concerns about
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism on campuses, and new data on threats to Jewish institutions.
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  Speaker 1: We begin with serious allegations against Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Ari King.
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  Speaker 1: The Hind Rajab Foundation has requested the U.S. Justice Department
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  Speaker 1: to open criminal proceedings against him, accusing him of war
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  Speaker 1: crimes and incitement to genocide. This action, supported by the
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  Speaker 1: Legal Center for Palestine, stems from King's alleged use of
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  Speaker 1: his public positions with the Israel Land Fund to advance
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  Speaker 1: the removal of Palestinians and transfer properties to Jewish ownership.
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  Speaker 1: The foundation cites the Geneva Convention. The complaint details statements
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  Speaker 1: King made during the war, including calls to halt aid
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  Speaker 1: to Gaza, support for blocking aid trucks, and alleged calls
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  Speaker 1: for the expulsion of Gaza residents and destruction of its cities.
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  Speaker 1: It also includes accusations of prolonged incitement against UNRWA, referring
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  Speaker 1: to the agency as a Nazi terrorist organization. King rejected
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  Speaker 1: these allegations, telling Wallach he is proud to be a
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  Speaker 1: loyal emissary of the Jewish people and calling the Hind
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  Speaker 1: Rajab Foundation antisemitic. The U.S. Justice Department has not announced
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  Speaker 1: an investigation, and U.S. authorities have not adopted the foundation's claims.
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  Speaker 1: These allegations precede King's fundraising tour in the United States.
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  Speaker 1: On campuses, a Cornell University student's refusal to work for
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  Speaker 1: a Jewish individual, followed by his public defense of the remark,
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  Speaker 1: highlights concerns about the normalization of antisemitism. 19-year-old Austin Franco
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  Speaker 1: told a prospective employer he would not work for them
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  Speaker 1: because they were Jewish. When the remark became public, Franco
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  Speaker 1: did not apologize but defended it, appearing on Piers Morgan's
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  Speaker 1: show where he called Israel a genocidal country. Cornell University
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  Speaker 1: condemned the remark. but Franco states he has faced no
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  Speaker 1: disciplinary action. Supporters rallied around him, and online fundraisers reportedly
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  Speaker 1: brought in tens of thousands of dollars. This incident illustrates
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  Speaker 1: how antisemitism, once socially disqualifying, can now be framed as
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  Speaker 1: a moral or political principle, gaining approval and funding. The
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  Speaker 1: analysis suggests Franco's response, linking his refusal to work for
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  Speaker 1: an individual Jew to the actions of the Israeli government,
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  Speaker 1: is problematic. as Jews should not have to answer for
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  Speaker 1: the Israeli government to receive equal treatment. Broader reporting indicates
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  Speaker 1: universities are participating in national efforts to address campus antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: and its mental health impact, with institutions like Clark University
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  Speaker 1: involved and discussions around the necessity of lawsuits to protect
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  Speaker 1: Jewish students' rights. We turn now to the security of
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  Speaker 1: Jewish institutions. The Secure Community Network has documented a significant
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  Speaker 1: increase in sophisticated cyberattacks targeting synagogues and Jewish organizations. Between
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  Speaker 1: January and mid-April of this year, the SCN recorded 190
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  Speaker 1: cyberattacks across 16 states. These attacks utilize advanced AI tools,
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  Speaker 1: including voice cloning and deepfakes, to perpetrate fraud, phishing, data exposure,
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  Speaker 1: and doxing. Cybersecurity experts note that the technology for creating
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  Speaker 1: convincing fake voices and faces is now mainstream, while security
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  Speaker 1: practices in many Jewish institutions lag behind. The attacks are
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  Speaker 1: becoming harder to detect, with AI-generated phishing emails and voice
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  Speaker 1: cloning scams capable of mimicking familiar figures. The SCN's findings
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  Speaker 1: highlight the need for institutions to adopt more robust security measures.
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  Speaker 1: In Watchdog Reporting, The Institute for the Study of Global
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism and Policy, or ISGAP, has released a new report
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  Speaker 1: alleging a coordinated strategy by Muslim Brotherhood-aligned networks in Canada
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  Speaker 1: to gain influence across government, civil society, and higher education.
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  Speaker 1: The report, focusing on Islamism as a political ideology, outlines
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  Speaker 1: a four-domain strategy including narrative development, institutional embedding, political mobilization,
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  Speaker 1: and legal manipulation. Higher education is identified as a central
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  Speaker 1: arena for this influence. The report cites specific universities as
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  Speaker 1: central nodes in the development and dissemination of anti-Israel and
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  Speaker 1: related narratives, and describes collaboration between various student organizations. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: disturbing online vandalism occurred on Dolly Parton's Wikipedia page hours
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  Speaker 1: after her death. The page was defaced with depraved anti-Semitism,
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  Speaker 1: including a Nazi swastika and the phrase Jew lover, alongside
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  Speaker 1: glorification of the Sandy Hook school shooter. The campaign against
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism called the edits utterly despicable. These edits were reportedly
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  Speaker 1: reverted by Wikipedia's volunteer editors and automated filters shortly after
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  Speaker 1: they were made. That's all for today's Antisemitism Watch. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Rachel Adler, thank you for listening. 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.