Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 4, 2026, 11 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 4, 2026, 11 PM Eastern · 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: examining a significant rise in antisemitic incidents across continents, from
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  Speaker 1: violent assaults and vandalism to concerning rhetoric in political campaigns
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  Speaker 1: and the digital sphere. In Britain, a new report from
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  Speaker 1: the Community Security Trust reveals a stark increase in anti
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  Speaker 1: Jewish hate incidents. Nearly two thousand incidents were recorded in
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  Speaker 1: the first six months of twenty twenty six, a twenty
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  Speaker 1: one percent rise compared to the same period last year,
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  Speaker 1: making it the second highest figure ever for the first
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  Speaker 1: half of a year. These incidents include the stabbing of
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  Speaker 1: two Jewish men in Golder's Green, which police are treating
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  Speaker 1: as a terrorism attack, and a spate of arson attacks
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  Speaker 1: targeting Jewish premises, including four ambulances belonging to a Jewish
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  Speaker 1: volunteer emergency service. The CSD notes a spike in incidents
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  Speaker 1: following October seventh, with British authorities accusing Tehran of using
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  Speaker 1: proxies for attacks. In response, the UK government is pledging
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty million pounds over three years to
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  Speaker 1: bolster security for Jewish communities. Policing Minister Sarah Jones stated,
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism goes against our country's values and I will do
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  Speaker 1: everything in my power to protect our Jewish communities across
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  Speaker 1: the Atlantic. Montreal is grappling with a wave of antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: attacks that has intensified fears for the local Jewish community.
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  Speaker 1: A kosher restaurant in the Cote Desnig's neighborhood was heavily
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  Speaker 1: damaged in a fire, police or investigating as possible arson.
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  Speaker 1: In a separate incident, a visibly Jewish man was assaulted
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  Speaker 1: in the Outremont borough after allegedly being targeted with antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: verbal abuse. Adding to the concern, anti Israel chance echoed
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  Speaker 1: through a c F Montreal soccer match, with objects thrown
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  Speaker 1: from the stands targeting an Israeli player. The Israeli ambassador
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  Speaker 1: to Canada warned that the violence god could escalate, stating
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  Speaker 1: the hate must be stopped before it transforms into something lethal.
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  Speaker 1: The U s Ambassador to Canada called the suspected arson
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  Speaker 1: tragic and urged bolstered security. According to recent government data,
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Jews were targets of over seventy percent of all
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  Speaker 1: religion motivated hate crimes reported in twenty twenty five. In
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  Speaker 1: the United States, political rhetoric has taken a disturbing turn.
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  Speaker 1: In Colorado, an attack ad supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor
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  Speaker 1: Marx depicted the Jewish Democratic candidate Phil Wiser with red horns.
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  Speaker 1: This graphic, created using AI, invoked as centuries old dehumanizing
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic trope linking Jews with evil. The Colorado Democratic Party
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  Speaker 1: condemned the ad as antisemitic and disgusting. Shan Pond, who
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  Speaker 1: created the graphic, claimed he was unaware of Wiser's Jewish faith,
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  Speaker 1: but admitted his direction was to portray Phil Wiser as
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  Speaker 1: evil and as the next threat to Colorado. Candidate Victor
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  Speaker 1: Marx engaged positively with the post, urging Republicans to unite.
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  Speaker 1: Journalist Kyle Clark noted depicting Jewish people with horns is
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  Speaker 1: a centuries old, dehumanizing antisemitic trope online, a new analysis
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  Speaker 1: from the Combat Antisemitism Movement or CAM, highlights the pervasive
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  Speaker 1: nature of antisemitism on X. In a twelve hour window
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  Speaker 1: on August second and third, seventy one point nine percent
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  Speaker 1: of nine hundred and sixty three public ex posts mentioning
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  Speaker 1: the word jew were found to be antisemitic. The study
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  Speaker 1: identified posts containing calls for violence, genocide, holocaust references, slurs,
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  Speaker 1: conspiracy tropes such as media and political control, dual loyalty,
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  Speaker 1: and dehumanizing language. CAM stated the hostility came from various
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  Speaker 1: ideological sources and called on X to enforce its policies
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  Speaker 1: on the physical violence front. An Israeli Army reservist vacationing
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  Speaker 1: in the Philippines was assaulted by a Spanish tourist on
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  Speaker 1: Sirago Island. According to the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry,
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  Speaker 1: the attacker began shouting antisemitic accusations, including baby killer and genocide.
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  Speaker 1: After learning the man was Israeli, the Spanish tourist initiated
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  Speaker 1: a physical confrontation, but the Israeli reservist overpowered him, sustaining
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  Speaker 1: a broken finger. Local police took the Spanish tourist into
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  Speaker 1: custody and ordered him to pay compensation and issue a
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  Speaker 1: recorded apology. In terms of institutional responses, the US Justice
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  Speaker 1: Department is expanding its efforts. Federal officials have asked New
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  Speaker 1: York City Mayor Zorin Mamdani to respond to allegations of
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  Speaker 1: unequal treatment of Jewish residents following complaints raised by former
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  Speaker 1: Assemblyman Dove Hickind Additionally, the Trump administration is launching a
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  Speaker 1: nationwide campaign where senior Justice Department officials will visit fifteen
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  Speaker 1: cities to address perceived failures by local governments in combating
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism and prosecuting hate crimes. Leo Terel, chairman of the
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  Speaker 1: Justice Departments Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, stated the initiative
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  Speaker 1: is designed to go to victims who need help and
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  Speaker 1: their not getting help from their local government. Disturbing reports
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  Speaker 1: also emerge regarding a pattern of antisemitism within health care systems.
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  Speaker 1: Since October seventh, there has been an alarming rise of
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  Speaker 1: medical jahad and antisemitism targeting Jewish and Christian individuals. Testimony
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  Speaker 1: from organizations like the American Jewish Medical Association highlights pervading
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  Speaker 1: Jewe hatred and anti Israel bias in medical schools and associations,
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  Speaker 1: leaving Jewish health care professionals feeling abandoned. Patients reportedly fear
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  Speaker 1: medical practitioners hide their Jewish identity or delay care. Allegations
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  Speaker 1: include mistreatment, neglect, and direct threats from medical staff. Internationally,
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  Speaker 1: the US Special Envoy for combating antisemitism, Rabbi Yehuda caplan
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  Speaker 1: Is urging Canadate to take stronger action. He called on
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  Speaker 1: Canada to revoke visas and expand terrorism listings amid a
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  Speaker 1: documented rise in anti Jewish hatred. Canada reported seven hundred
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  Speaker 1: and eighty eight hate crimes targeting Jews in twenty twenty five,
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  Speaker 1: an increase from twenty twenty one, with incidents including attacks
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  Speaker 1: on Jewish schools, businesses, and threats. Rabbi Caploan compared the
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  Speaker 1: current levels of antisemitism in Canada to those seen in
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  Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three Germany. In Michigan, State Attorney General Dana
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  Speaker 1: Nessel has decided to skip the state Democratic convention due
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  Speaker 1: to antisemitic threats and safety concerns, signaling disruption and raising
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  Speaker 1: questions about the party's response. Similarly, a mobile billboard truck
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  Speaker 1: in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary injected dual loyalty insinuations
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  Speaker 1: by contrasting candidate Abdel Lsaide as representing Michigan's future with
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  Speaker 1: his opponent Rep. Hailey Stephens as representing Israel's future. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: analysis suggests that antisemitism continues to fuel conspiracy theories linking
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  Speaker 1: Jews and Israel to geopolitical incidents. This includes blaming a
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  Speaker 1: migration crisis in Spain on a plot hatched in Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 1: and the spread of narratives that frame Israeli's as genocidal
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  Speaker 1: while depicting Palestinians as innocent victims. Figures on the left
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  Speaker 1: and right have been involved in promoting these ideas, often
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  Speaker 1: employing traditional antisemitic tropes. The patterns we've examined today underscore
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  Speaker 1: the persistent and evolving nature of antisemitism. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: joining us on Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. This report
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  Speaker 1: was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please
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  Speaker 1: verify important details with primary sources.