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Australia Warns of Potential Massacre · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Today, we're
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  Speaker 1: covering alarming warnings of potential violence, critical debates over antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: definitions on campuses, and significant policy responses. We're also launching
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, for focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. Find us at clockworkmedia.org slash m-a.
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  Speaker 1: In Australia, Jewish leaders are warning of a potential massacre
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  Speaker 1: amid a surge in antisemitism, according to the Daily Telegraph.
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  Speaker 1: They are urging swift action to prevent further attacks. On campuses,
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  Speaker 1: the debate over defining antisemitism continues. At Edinburgh University, Jewish
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  Speaker 1: organisations are urging the retention of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance,
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  Speaker 1: or IHRA, definition. This follows a motion by the university's
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  Speaker 1: Jewish staff network to drop it. arguing it focuses excessively
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  Speaker 1: on Israel-related speech. Jewish groups counter that the IHRA definition,
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  Speaker 1: adopted by the institution in 2020, clarifies that legitimate criticism
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  Speaker 1: of Israel is not antisemitic, and note that the Community
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  Speaker 1: Security Trust has recorded antisemitic incidents linked to the university. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: in Montgomery County, Maryland, school board candidates are calling for
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  Speaker 1: enhanced antisemitism training and better policy enforcement. Bethesda magazine reports
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  Speaker 1: this follows a 137% increase in hate bias incidents and
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  Speaker 1: concerns over a lack of meaningful response from the school district.
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  Speaker 1: Candidates cited inadequate enforcement of conduct policies and stressed the
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  Speaker 1: need for better data. At Duke Wesleyan University, a professor
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  Speaker 1: has filed an EEOC complaint alleging retaliation after reporting antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: within his department, reports Campus Reform. In politics, J Street
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  Speaker 1: Action Fund is targeting Republican Representative Mike Collins with a
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  Speaker 1: new ad campaign. J Street states the ad highlights Collins'
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  Speaker 1: extensive ties to white nationalists, noting anti-Semitic rhetoric from his
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  Speaker 1: staff and son-in-law, as reported by JStreet.org. Separately, Jewish Insider
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  Speaker 1: reports that a senior advisor to Texas Attorney General Ken
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  Speaker 1: Paxton allegedly endorsed an anti-Semitic slur on social media. following
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  Speaker 1: an earlier antisemitism accusation. An opinion piece in the Jerusalem
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  Speaker 1: Post criticizes New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, arguing his
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  Speaker 1: October 7th statement did not mention Israel. The piece also
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  Speaker 1: critiques a New York Times article targeting an advisor to U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Ambassador Mike Huckabee with dual loyalty accusations, framing it as
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  Speaker 1: a tactic to push Jews out of public life. On
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  Speaker 1: the digital front, antisemitism expert Luke Bernard tells E! Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Philanthropy that meta-platforms have failed to remove pro-Nazi content on
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  Speaker 1: Instagram and Facebook. Bernard warns this content is brainwashing the
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  Speaker 1: next generation and suggests major Jewish organizations' shift in focus
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  Speaker 1: has allowed it to flourish. In London, a Jewish comedian
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  Speaker 1: was reportedly barred from a writer's group due to his
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  Speaker 1: Zionist beliefs. UK lawyers for Israel intervened, asserting the exclusion
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  Speaker 1: potentially violates the UK's Equality Act, and noting the organizers'
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  Speaker 1: remarks attributed Israeli actions to all Jews, an example of
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism under the IHRA definition, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
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  Speaker 1: The Jerusalem Post also features commentary arguing that an anti-Zionist
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  Speaker 1: rampage is demonizing Israel and causing ostracism of diaspora Jews,
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  Speaker 1: criticizing the use of genocide libel. Concerns are also being
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  Speaker 1: raised that denunciations of Israeli policy are escalating into demands
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  Speaker 1: to erase Israel. Blurring lines and enabling antisemitism, reports Jewish News.
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  Speaker 1: Israeli President Isaac Herzog has criticized Europe for creating an
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  Speaker 1: inhospitable environment, scapegoating Israel, and causing fear among Jewish communities.
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  Speaker 1: J-Wire reports Herzog called the situation dangerous territory and a
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  Speaker 1: grave error. noting that blaming the Jews has become, once again,
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  Speaker 1: the default mode. In New York City, Mayor Zoran Mamdani
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  Speaker 1: has launched the city's first municipal strategy to combat antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: allocating over $ 11 million for hate crime prevention, Jewish cultural institutions,
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  Speaker 1: and security, according to the ticker. org. The plan aims
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  Speaker 1: to strengthen Jewish communities amidst a reported 57% of hate
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  Speaker 1: crimes being antisemitic in 2025. though the article notes the
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  Speaker 1: absence of an operationalized definition of antisemitism. The J7 Task
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  Speaker 1: Force Against Antisemitism has secured an agreement from British Foreign
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  Speaker 1: Secretary Ed Miliband to host a seven-country meeting to coordinate
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  Speaker 1: efforts against antisemitism, according to Jewish Insider and E-Jewish Philanthropy.
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  Speaker 1: The task force had previously raised concerns with Miliband regarding
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  Speaker 1: UK government measures and rhetoric targeting Israel. In Australia, Freedom
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  Speaker 1: of Information requests reportedly show that Anthony Albanese made no
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  Speaker 1: submission to an antisemitism royal commission, and that the commission
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  Speaker 1: allegedly overlooked issues related to the Greens' party and universities,
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  Speaker 1: the Australian reports. Meanwhile, threats against the NYPD commissioner are
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  Speaker 1: being framed as an inflection point for New York Jews,
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  Speaker 1: according to the Times of Israel. The commissioner is viewed
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  Speaker 1: by some as a bulwark, and these threats emerge amidst
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  Speaker 1: controversy surrounding Mayor Mamdani's response to antisemitic remarks. Finally, a
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  Speaker 1: note of solidarity. The J7, representing the world's seven largest
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  Speaker 1: Jewish diaspora communities, gathered in Dublin to stand with Ireland's
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  Speaker 1: Jewish population. ADL reports the delegation met with government officials
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  Speaker 1: to address rising antisemitic rhetoric and actions, highlighting the 143
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic incidents recorded in Ireland between July 2025 and January 2026,
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  Speaker 1: for its small Jewish community. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage from New York,
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  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch,
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  Speaker 1: midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org slash ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your
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  Speaker 1: podcast app so you don't miss the next update. This
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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.