Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 23, 2026, 01 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - September 23, 2026, 01 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Israeli Prime
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  Speaker 1: Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reignited a clash with New York
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  Speaker 1: City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, accusing the mayor of supporting Hamas
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  Speaker 1: and inciting violence against New York Jews. In a video
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  Speaker 1: message released ahead of his UN General Assembly visit, Netanyahu stated,
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  Speaker 1: Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani. Shame on you for supporting
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  Speaker 1: the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on
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  Speaker 1: you for inciting riots against New York Jews. Mayor Mamdani,
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  Speaker 1: who previously described Netanyahu as an architect of a horrific genocide,
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  Speaker 1: responded during a news conference that the prime minister's claims
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  Speaker 1: were untrue. Mamdani reiterated his view that Netanyahu is the
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  Speaker 1: architect of the horrific genocide against Palestinians. The exchange reignited
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  Speaker 1: their feud, following Mamdani's earlier vow to honor an international
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  Speaker 1: criminal court arrest warrant for Netanyahu, a move his administration
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  Speaker 1: acknowledged it could not legally enforce. Adding to the tension,
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  Speaker 1: New York City Council Speaker Julie Menon commented on the situation,
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  Speaker 1: telling NY1 that antisemitism is unfortunately surging in our city
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  Speaker 1: and urged de-escalation. This reporting comes from Spectrum News. In
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  Speaker 1: legal and campus news, state prosecutors are preparing to drop
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  Speaker 1: felony vandalism charges against five current, and former Stanford University students.
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  Speaker 1: These charges stemmed from their involvement in the 2024 occupation
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  Speaker 1: of the university president's office in protest against the war
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  Speaker 1: in Gaza. According to reporting by JTA, the students will
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  Speaker 1: complete 100 hours of community service and pay a combined $ 52, 000
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  Speaker 1: in restitution to the university as part of a deal
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  Speaker 1: with California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office. The outcome drew
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  Speaker 1: strong criticism from two Bay Area Jewish groups, the Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Community Relations Council Bay Area and Jewish Silicon Valley, who
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  Speaker 1: called it a miscarriage of justice, and noted the insensitivity
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  Speaker 1: of the court hearing being held on Yom Kippur. Stanford
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  Speaker 1: Hillel's director, Rabbi Jessica Kirshner, also criticized the resolution, calling
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  Speaker 1: the students fortunate to receive a second chance. Separately, the
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  Speaker 1: University of Washington is preparing to dismiss charges against 33
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  Speaker 1: defendants in a similar 2025 Gaza protest case if they
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  Speaker 1: complete community service and have no further legal violations. The
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  Speaker 1: Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism has launched a new research
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  Speaker 1: and resource hub examining online communities that influence young people
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  Speaker 1: toward violence and extremism. According to the ADL, these digital spaces,
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  Speaker 1: which can include gore forums and sextortion networks, often glorify
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  Speaker 1: mass shooters and normalize violent content. The ADL reports that
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism is deeply embedded in the culture of networks such
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  Speaker 1: as The Calm and its subgroup 764. This anti-Jewish hate
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  Speaker 1: manifests through online propaganda, screen names, swatting campaigns targeting Jewish institutions,
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  Speaker 1: and physical violence as members seek notoriety within these networks.
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  Speaker 1: Examples cited by the ADL include members live-streaming violent acts,
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  Speaker 1: swatting hoaxes at synagogues, and abusers forcing victims to carve
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  Speaker 1: swastikas into their skin. The ADL's findings were detailed in
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  Speaker 1: a report released by the organization. Reporting reviewed for this
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  Speaker 1: episode also highlights a concerning narrative from the official Palestinian
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  Speaker 1: Authority daily newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. According to Palestinian Media Watch,
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  Speaker 1: the paper downplayed a Palestinian terrorist's murder of Israeli father
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  Speaker 1: of six netnal shukran, instead focusing on Israel's arrest of
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  Speaker 1: the injured perpetrator from a hospital as the real crime.
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  Speaker 1: The report indicates the PA newspaper framed the arrest as
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  Speaker 1: an Israeli raid on a hospital. Globally, a growing trend
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  Speaker 1: of anti-Zionist sentiment and Jew hatred is causing Israelis and
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  Speaker 1: Jews to question or hide their identities while traveling abroad.
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  Speaker 1: JTA reported on instances including graffiti reading, expel the Jews
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  Speaker 1: in Portugal, alongside similar chants heard in street protests, as
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  Speaker 1: well as violence in England and New York and threats
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  Speaker 1: against Israelis in Australia. A poll cited by JTA found
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  Speaker 1: that 52% of Israelis feel concern or fear about revealing
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  Speaker 1: their nationality abroad, with 41% having altered their travel behavior
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  Speaker 1: since October 7, 2023. On college campuses, student protesters demonstrated
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  Speaker 1: against two former Israeli Defense Force soldiers speaking at Cal Poly,
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  Speaker 1: citing allegations of genocide in Gaza and displaying signs reading,
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  Speaker 1: IDF kills. According to Mustang News, Protest organizers criticized the
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  Speaker 1: university for not providing comparable support, or safe spaces, for Palestinian, Arab,
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  Speaker 1: and Muslim students, as it had for LGBTQ plus students
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  Speaker 1: during a past event. They argue the university's inaction amounts
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  Speaker 1: to complicity. In Michigan, progressive rabbis and Jewish Democrats have
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  Speaker 1: asked Vice President Kamala Harris to press Democratic Senate nominee Dr.
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  Speaker 1: Abdul El-Sayed on Jewish issues and Israel's right to exist.
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  Speaker 1: According to Jerusalem News Syndicate, they accused El-Sayed of invoking
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitic tropes and stated that Jewish safety is non-negotiable and
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  Speaker 1: our vote is our power and it is earned, not owed. Separately,
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  Speaker 1: family members of Kara Trager, a Jewish journalist killed in
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  Speaker 1: a Memorial Day crash, claim New York City Mayor Zoran
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  Speaker 1: Mamdani declined their request for a meeting to discuss citywide
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitism concerns. VIN News reported this claim. citing a New
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  Speaker 1: York Post opinion essay by family friend Bob Brody. The
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  Speaker 1: driver of the vehicle faces charges including second-degree manslaughter. While
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  Speaker 1: the crash itself has not been charged as a hate crime,
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  Speaker 1: the driver was separately accused of vandalising a kosher shop
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  Speaker 1: with Israeli flags. In West London, a Labour councillor, Sital Punya,
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  Speaker 1: has accused the local Conservative Party of using AI-generated caricatures
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  Speaker 1: containing what she described as racist and antisemitic tropes on
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  Speaker 1: social media. According to BBC London, Punya stated one cartoon
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  Speaker 1: depicting her controlling white male counterparts as Puppets utilises a
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  Speaker 1: motif with deep historical roots in antisemitic propaganda. The Hillingdon
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  Speaker 1: Conservative group denied any antisemitic intent, calling the images political satire,
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  Speaker 1: referring to Punya's past role as deputy leader. Dr Ben Gidley,
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  Speaker 1: an academic at Birkbeck University's Institute for the Study of Antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: commented that AI tools risk intensifying the use of such imagery.
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  Speaker 1: And in Germany, potential coalition partners are demanding that the
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  Speaker 1: far-left Die Linke party confront antisemitism in its ranks, as
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  Speaker 1: reported by Haaretz.com. The excerpt notes that party leaders and
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  Speaker 1: some experts argue isolated incidents are being used to derail
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  Speaker 1: a left-led government. Finally, Survivors of antisemitic attacks are lobbying
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  Speaker 1: Congress for security aid. They are framing the issue as
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  Speaker 1: life and death and advocating for legislation like the Right
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  Speaker 1: to Worship Act, as noted by Temple Israel attack survivor
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  Speaker 1: Cassie Cohen. I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening to
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so
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  Speaker 1: you don't miss the next update. 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.