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Antisemitism Watch - August 15, 2026, 09 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. Today we're
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  Speaker 1: tracking a violent attack at a New York synagogue, political
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  Speaker 1: rhetoric under scrutiny, and institutional responses to rising antisemitism. We
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  Speaker 1: begin with a disturbing incident Friday night at Manhattan's Central Synagogue.
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  Speaker 1: Authorities report that a forty six year old man identified
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  Speaker 1: as Larry Montes of the Bronx, disrupted Shabbat's services, spitting
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  Speaker 1: at and head budding a security guard, assaulting a congregant,
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  Speaker 1: and damaging synagogue property. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tish,
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  Speaker 1: Montes has been charged with assault and criminal mischief as
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  Speaker 1: hate crimes, among other offenses. The attack occurred during a
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  Speaker 1: live streamed service, causing fear among congregants. Rabbi Rebecca Thau
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  Speaker 1: spoke about the difficulty of focusing on liturgy when confronted
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  Speaker 1: with violence, while member Nancy Vaalkman called the experience scary
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  Speaker 1: and other unsettling. Despite the incident, members like Susan Schlechter
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  Speaker 1: emphasized resilience, stating we're New Yorkers. Additional NYPD security was
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  Speaker 1: deployed for services on Saturday. This incident comes amid a
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  Speaker 1: significant surge in antisemitic hate crimes in New York City.
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  Speaker 1: Reports indicate a one hundred and eighty two percent increase
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  Speaker 1: in January alone, with thirty one incidents targeting Jews accounting
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  Speaker 1: for more than half of all hate crimes that month.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting reviewed for this episode, Other recent incidents,
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  Speaker 1: including vandalism and a stabbing, were also noted. In the
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  Speaker 1: wake of the Central Synagogue attack, New York Mayor Zurn
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  Speaker 1: Mamdani condemned the assault, stating his administration would do everything
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  Speaker 1: to keep Jewish New Yorker safe. However, the mayor faced
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  Speaker 1: immediate backlash. Israel's Consul general in New York, Offer Akuni's
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  Speaker 1: directly blamed Mamdanie's rhetoric, calling the assault a direct result
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  Speaker 1: of Mayor Mamdani's sustained campaign of incitement. Critics, including Zinebribois
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  Speaker 1: of the Hudson Institute, resurfaced past comments from the mayor,
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  Speaker 1: such as his remark about the NYPDS boot being laced
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  Speaker 1: by the IDF. The criticism carries particular weight as Central
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  Speaker 1: Synagogue senior Rabbi Angelo Butchdall had warned Mayor Mamdani less
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  Speaker 1: than a month prior about rhetoric that could demonize Jews
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  Speaker 1: and the Jewish state and help create the climate in
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  Speaker 1: which threats and violence flourish. Other rabbis had also raised
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  Speaker 1: concerns with the mayor about the impact of his rhetoric
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  Speaker 1: on Israel. Mamdani has previously drawn criticism for his stance
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  Speaker 1: on the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and for initially
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  Speaker 1: declining to condemn the slogan globalize the Intafada. On the ground,
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  Speaker 1: the NYPD is increasing patrols around Williamsburg synagogues due to
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  Speaker 1: a rise in antisemitic attacks, with victims reportedly targeted because
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  Speaker 1: they are Jewish. Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, the Whitzman National Museum
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  Speaker 1: of American Jewish History was vandalized with an antisemitic message
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  Speaker 1: for the second time in a year. Reporting from the
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  Speaker 1: Anti Defamation League indicates a troubling trend, with vandalism incidents
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  Speaker 1: in Pennsylvania more than doubling from twenty nine in twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty two to ad in twenty twenty five. In institutional responses,
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  Speaker 1: Harvard University President Alan M. Garber announced the formation of
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  Speaker 1: a task force to combat antisemitism and stated the University
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  Speaker 1: has implemented policy changes across multiple departments. In the realm
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  Speaker 1: of sports, Major League Soccer investigated antisemitic hate speech by
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: fans directed at player Door Turgiman during a cf Montreal
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  Speaker 1: home game. C F Montreal has responded by issuing indefinite
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  Speaker 1: bands to two supporters and sanctioning a supporter group, declaring
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  Speaker 1: that antisemitism, racism, and hate of any kind have no
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  Speaker 1: place at c F Montreal stayed sapudo or within our community.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening to antisemitism. Watch this. 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.