Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 5, 2026, 11 AM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 5, 2026, 11 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 a deeply concerning political nomination in the UK, a
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  Speaker 1: persistent rise in hate crimes across cities, and continuing controversies
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  Speaker 1: surrounding political rhetoric and campus incidents. In Britain, the Conservative
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  Speaker 1: Party is facing significant backlash for endorsing Joshua Bonehill Paine
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  Speaker 1: as a candidate for local elections in May twenty twenty seven.
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  Speaker 1: Bonehill Paine has a documented history as a former neo
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  Speaker 1: Nazi who was convicted and imprisoned for crimes, including racially
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  Speaker 1: aggravated harassment against former Labor m P Luciana Berger. He
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  Speaker 1: had previously called himself a proud antisemite and planned a
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  Speaker 1: rally to undo the Jewification of Great Britain. Conservative Party
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  Speaker 1: leader Kemy Badnock has defended the decision, citing Bonehill Paine's
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  Speaker 1: claimed rehabilitation, his work encountering extremism, and his certification to
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  Speaker 1: train police officers on antisemitism. However, Luciana Berger, now appear
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  Speaker 1: in the House of Lords, stated the defense got the
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  Speaker 1: decision very, very wrong, noting the profound impact the events
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  Speaker 1: still have on her Jewish representative bodies, including the Board
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  Speaker 1: of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council,
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  Speaker 1: have declined to meet with Bonehill, Pain urging the Conservative
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  Speaker 1: Party to rescind his selection and review vetting processes, emphasizing
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  Speaker 1: that his past crimes mean he still faces legal restrictions.
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  Speaker 1: We turn now to rising hate crimes and incidents in Bansco, Bulgaria.
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  Speaker 1: Young Neo Nazis reportedly attempted to break into a hotel
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  Speaker 1: housing Italian Jewish teenagers on August second, blocking entrances with
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  Speaker 1: Nazi salutes and threats. Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry has condemned the
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  Speaker 1: unacceptable acts and stated it is in contact with the
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  Speaker 1: Ministry of Interior to clarify circumstances. In New York City,
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  Speaker 1: anti Jewish hate crimes have climbed eight point five percent
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  Speaker 1: between January and July twenty twenty six, with two hundred
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  Speaker 1: and five incidents recorded, up from one hundred and eighty
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  Speaker 1: nine during the same period last year. According to NYPD figures,
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  Speaker 1: Jews were targeted in over half of all hate crimes.
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  Speaker 1: This rise occurs even as overall violent crime in the
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  Speaker 1: city has fallen. Some Israeli officials and pro Israel Jewish
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  Speaker 1: leaders have accused Mayor Zorin Mamdani of fueling antisemitism through
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  Speaker 1: his criticism of Israel. Mamdani's office has not responded to
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  Speaker 1: specific allegations, but stated it is unacceptable that Jewish New
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  Speaker 1: Yorkers comprise a majority of hate crime victims, highlighting his
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  Speaker 1: administration's budget increase for the Office of Hate Crime Prevention.
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  Speaker 1: The US Justice Department has also formally acknowledged that the
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  Speaker 1: nineteen ninety four murder of Ari Halberstam would be investigated
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  Speaker 1: as a federal hate crime and civil rights violation if
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  Speaker 1: it occurred today. A former school building in Jackson, New Jersey,
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  Speaker 1: slated to become a yeshiva, was vandalized with swastikas and
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  Speaker 1: Hyle Hitler scrawls, sparking a bias crime investigation. This incident
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  Speaker 1: follows reports of the local school district failing to address
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  Speaker 1: years of antisemitic harassment against a Jewish student, and aligns
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  Speaker 1: with a pattern of similar vandalism targeting the site. In Saskatoon, Canada,
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  Speaker 1: a synagogue congregation reported feeling violated after vandal's splattered eggs
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  Speaker 1: against its windows and doors during a Sabbath prayer service
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  Speaker 1: BNAI Bris Canada stated the country is experiencing a crisis
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  Speaker 1: in antisemitism, noting they recorded ten violent incidents targeting the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish community in twenty twenty five and have already more
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  Speaker 1: than doubled that number in twenty twenty six. Nationally, the
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  Speaker 1: FBI reported that Jews, while making up two percent of
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  Speaker 1: the US population, were victims of sixteen percent of all
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  Speaker 1: reported hate crimes and nearly seventy percent of all religion
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  Speaker 1: based hate crimes, with ten percent of those occurring in schools.
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitic incidents at k though twelve schools, have increased four
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  Speaker 1: hundred and thirty four percent since twenty twenty. In Colorado,
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  Speaker 1: the Anti Defamation League has filed a civil rights complaint
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  Speaker 1: against the Boulder Valley School District for alleged antisemitic harassment,
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  Speaker 1: including Nazi salutes, Holocaust mockery, and a game called Jew
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  Speaker 1: Touch Tag. In New York City, an n YU student
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  Speaker 1: is accused of raising a flag bearing swastika's and a
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  Speaker 1: Star of David during graduation festivities, claiming he was upset
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  Speaker 1: with the university's handling of Israel related political issues. A
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  Speaker 1: federal law suit in Avon, Connecticut alleges the school system
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  Speaker 1: created an antisemitic environment between twenty twenty two and twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty five, leading to harassment of a Jewish student and
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  Speaker 1: biased teaching. Politically, NYC Mayor Zorin Mamdani is facing scrutiny
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  Speaker 1: over past ties to uncivilized media, a Katar based outlet
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  Speaker 1: accused by the ADL of pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories. In Michigan,
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  Speaker 1: abdel Elsaide secured the Democratic nomination for U. S. Senate.
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  Speaker 1: The Republican Jewish Coalition has declared him the most antisemitic U.
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  Speaker 1: S Senate candidate in America, citing past statements critical of
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  Speaker 1: Israel and empathizing with a terrorist. The Combat Antisemitism Movement
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  Speaker 1: also warned of his victory. Looking ahead, an analysis predicts
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  Speaker 1: bitter anti Jewish headwinds for the twenty twenty eight presidential
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  Speaker 1: election cycle, influenced by rising antisemitism and animus toward Israel,
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  Speaker 1: referencing figures like representative Alexandria Acassio Cortes and commentator Tucker Carlson. Internationally,
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  Speaker 1: Major League Soccer and c F Montreal are investigating reports
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  Speaker 1: of antisemitic and discriminatory language by fans aimed at Israeli
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  Speaker 1: forward Door Turgiman during an August first match in Australia,
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  Speaker 1: the Antisemitism Royal Commission heard from experts that modern neo
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  Speaker 1: Nazism increasingly recruits disenfranchised youth through online platforms, including content
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  Speaker 1: associated with in Cell and Manisphere creators. On the institutional
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  Speaker 1: response front, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is skipping a
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  Speaker 1: state Democratic convention due to antisemitic threats and safety concerns,
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  Speaker 1: highlighting internal party divisions. NYC Mayor Eric Adams stated at
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  Speaker 1: the twenty twenty two Mayor's Summit against Antisemitism in Athens
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  Speaker 1: that antisemitism is becoming increasingly popular and dangerous due to normalization. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: a UK Employment Appealed Tribunal upheld a ruling that academic
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  Speaker 1: David Miller's specific anti Zionist beliefs qualified as protected philosophical
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  Speaker 1: beliefs under the Equality Act twenty ten, though clarifying this
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  Speaker 1: ruling applies to particular formulations of anti Zionism, not all
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  Speaker 1: such expression, and that his conduct contributed to his dismissal. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: reports indicate Jewish Canadians are seeking to leave the country
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  Speaker 1: due to rising antisemitism, with US think tanks urging the
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  Speaker 1: Trump administration to offer refugee status or asylum, citing in
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  Speaker 1: action from Canadian authorities. The Community Security Trust in the
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  Speaker 1: UK reported nineteen twenty six antisemitic incidents in the first
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  Speaker 1: half of twenty twenty six, a twenty one percent increase
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  Speaker 1: from the previous year, marking the second highest tally ever
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  Speaker 1: recorded by CSD. Antisemitism in schools in the UK also
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  Speaker 1: saw a significant jump, increasing by fifty nine percent in
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  Speaker 1: the first half of twenty twenty six. I'm Rachel Adler.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. This report was
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  Speaker 1: generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify
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  Speaker 1: important details with primary sources.