Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 20, 2026, 01 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - September 20, 2026, 01 PM 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: begin with a stark reminder of violent intent, alongside crucial
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  Speaker 1: developments in campus life, political rhetoric, and the insidious ways
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism is weaponized. Our top story today details a chilling
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  Speaker 1: plot for mass violence. According to JTA reporting, federal authorities
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  Speaker 1: arrested a 21-year-old man from Valencia, Pennsylvania, identified as Jonathan Kramer.
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  Speaker 1: An FBI affidavit states Kramer, who used the online pseudonym
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  Speaker 1: Hamza al-Rashid, discussed using chemicals like ricin or cyanide to
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  Speaker 1: poison food and drink, specifically mentioning preferably synagogues. The FBI
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  Speaker 1: also noted this was part of a broader plot involving
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  Speaker 1: advising on various attack methods, including chemical poisons, arson, vehicle attacks,
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  Speaker 1: and drone explosives. Kramer was arrested with a rifle, ammunition,
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  Speaker 1: and knives. and has been charged with receiving a firearm
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  Speaker 1: and ammunition, believing they would be used to commit terrorism.
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  Speaker 1: He had reportedly been on the FBI's radar since 2023
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  Speaker 1: for a prior plot. The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
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  Speaker 1: has stated they are in close contact with law enforcement
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  Speaker 1: regarding the details. Turning to campus and community life, a
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  Speaker 1: controversy is unfolding in Denver. Denver Public Schools Board Vice
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  Speaker 1: President Monica Hunter has been accused, according to VIN News reporting,
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  Speaker 1: of referring to Jewish board member Amy Klein-Malk as a
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  Speaker 1: racist Zionist expletive, and stating she did not want to
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  Speaker 1: sit next to her. Hunter has denied the allegations, and
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  Speaker 1: the school board has voted to hire an independent investigator.
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  Speaker 1: This situation runs parallel to criticism levelled against the restaurant
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  Speaker 1: S Letter 1 EAFP, S Letter 1 EED, a which,
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  Speaker 1: as reported by VIN News, stated on Instagram that Jews
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  Speaker 1: are welcome, Zionists are not. Following inquiries, the restaurant account
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  Speaker 1: stated everyone is welcome except those who align with the
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  Speaker 1: genocidal apartheid ethno-supremacist regime of Israel. Jewish organizations, including the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Alliance of Colorado and Stop Antisemitism, condemned the restaurant's stance,
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  Speaker 1: arguing it effectively targets the vast majority of Jews and
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  Speaker 1: raises questions about anti-discrimination laws. An opinion piece in the
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  Speaker 1: Denver Post by Scott L. Levin and Rabbi Joseph R.
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  Speaker 1: Black noted that the word Zionist has been corrupted and
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  Speaker 1: that disagreements over Israel should not prevent Jews from being
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  Speaker 1: welcome in society. In academia, a Rutgers University professor has
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  Speaker 1: been arrested following an incident at a county commission meeting.
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  Speaker 1: Reporting from the New York Post indicates Nur es-Saleh Rakat,
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  Speaker 1: described as an anti-Zionist professor and attorney, was arrested on
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  Speaker 1: a misdemeanor trespassing charge. According to law enforcement records cited,
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  Speaker 1: Irakat allegedly attempted to incite a riot and refused orders
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  Speaker 1: to leave the meeting, which was discussing the county's investment
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  Speaker 1: in Israel bonds. Irakat is noted for advocating for the
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  Speaker 1: end of Israel's existence and justifying the October 7 massacre.
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  Speaker 1: The action was reportedly orchestrated by the Internationalist Law Center.
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  Speaker 1: In the realm of politics and media, a public dispute
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  Speaker 1: between rapper Macklemore and football magnate Robert Kraft has drawn
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  Speaker 1: significant attention. As detailed by JTA, the controversy began when
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  Speaker 1: Macklemore performed his protest song, Heinz Hall, which celebrates pro-Palestinian
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  Speaker 1: encampments and states white supremacy, is finally on blast. Following
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  Speaker 1: advocacy from the watchdog group Stop Antisemitism and a repost
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  Speaker 1: by the pop star Pink, Robert Kraft, owner of the
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  Speaker 1: New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, reportedly pressured venue owners
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  Speaker 1: to drop Macklemore from a tour. Kraft cited McLemore's broader
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  Speaker 1: history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery. Referencing a 2014 incident
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  Speaker 1: where McLemore allegedly made a Nazi-like salute and wore antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: caricature items, for which he later apologized, Kraft emphasized Gillette
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  Speaker 1: Stadium's commitment to being free of hate speech. This spat
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  Speaker 1: has ignited broader debates about free speech, consequences, and how
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish community should respond to perceived hate speech. with
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  Speaker 1: scholar Jonathan Sarna noting the complex challenges involved. On college campuses,
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  Speaker 1: the climate for Jewish students and faculty continues to be
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  Speaker 1: a critical concern. A review in the Washington Free Beacon,
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  Speaker 1: discussed in an excerpt, covers Yossi Sheffi's book, Unsafe at MIT. Sheffi,
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  Speaker 1: an MIT professor, chronicles the experiences of Jewish individuals on
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  Speaker 1: campus following the October 7 massacre, depicting the institution as
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  Speaker 1: having been hijacked by antisemitism. The book, based on interviews,
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  Speaker 1: describes instances of mobs and masked protesters making parts of
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  Speaker 1: campus no-go zones for any Jew. Sheffy himself is quoted
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  Speaker 1: expressing anger, grief and disbelief at the situation, attributing it
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  Speaker 1: to antisemitic hatred and administrative incompetence. Looking at broader trends,
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  Speaker 1: analysis indicates that foreign adversaries are leveraging antisemitism as a
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  Speaker 1: potent digital weapon. According to reporting reviewed for this episode,
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  Speaker 1: nations like Russia, Iran and China are employing weaponized antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: to weaken America by damaging its social fabric and undermining
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  Speaker 1: trust in institutions. Russia pioneered this tactic, with Iran and
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  Speaker 1: its proxies amplifying it and China scaling it through technology.
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  Speaker 1: This strategy has evolved from historical conspiracy theories like the
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  Speaker 1: Protocols of the Elders of Zion to modern disinformation campaigns
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  Speaker 1: amplified on social media. Microsoft security analysts found a 42%
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  Speaker 1: surge in global consumption of Iranian state media during the
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  Speaker 1: war's first week. And Avril Haines, director of national intelligence,
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  Speaker 1: has described Iranian efforts to exploit Gaza-related protests. An analysis
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  Speaker 1: by the cybersecurity firm Cyabra found that one in four
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  Speaker 1: accounts supporting the October 7 massacre on major platforms were
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  Speaker 1: fake bots. In street-level incidents, a woman in Boston was
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  Speaker 1: arrested after shouting anti-Semitic slurs at individuals heading to a synagogue.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting from World Israel News, the woman called
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  Speaker 1: them Jewish pedophiles and accused them of genocide before police
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  Speaker 1: apprehended her. She was reportedly released with instructions to stay
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  Speaker 1: away from the building. In Jerusalem, the Qal Hayn Shammah Synagogue,
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  Speaker 1: a prominent reform establishment, experienced its third act of vandalism
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  Speaker 1: in a month. Haaretz reported that perpetrators tore off a
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  Speaker 1: window screen and threw a plate inside, shattering it. During
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  Speaker 1: Rosh Hashanah prayers, youths reportedly entered the synagogue and threw
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  Speaker 1: eggs at worshippers. Finally, a report touches on palpable fear
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  Speaker 1: within the Jewish community, including among Holocaust survivors, alongside instances
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  Speaker 1: of explicit antisemitism. According to reporting from the Miami Herald,
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  Speaker 1: a WhatsApp group involving students and a political party official
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  Speaker 1: used antisemitic and racial slurs, discussed Hitler, and included a
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  Speaker 1: participant writing, I would def not marry a Jew. The
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  Speaker 1: Washington Post reported that a former staffer to Republican Rep.
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  Speaker 1: Mike Collins of Georgia had posted a swastika and an
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  Speaker 1: image of himself appearing to wear Ku Klux Klan robes,
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  Speaker 1: and that a political director for Republicans sent. John Husted's
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  Speaker 1: re-election campaign used a photograph of Nazi SS soldiers as
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  Speaker 1: his Facebook profile picture. The article emphasizes that while criticism
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  Speaker 1: of Israeli policies is not inherently antisemitic, it can cross
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  Speaker 1: a line when relying on tropes or targeting Jews. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. Follow
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so you don't miss
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  Speaker 1: the next update. This report was generated with AI assistance
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  Speaker 1: and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.