Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 21, 2026, 09 AM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 21, 2026, 09 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. This week,
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  Speaker 1: we begin with a disturbing act of violence at a
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  Speaker 1: New York City synagogue. On Friday, August fourteenth, an assailant
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  Speaker 1: named Larry Mantes forced his way into Central Synagogue during
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  Speaker 1: Shabbat's services, calling the congregation fake Jews and physically assaulting
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  Speaker 1: a congregant and a guard. Police were present, yet Montes
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  Speaker 1: entered without raising alarms. Rabbi Angela Butchdall had previously warned
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  Speaker 1: that political rhetoric was creating a climate for threats and violence,
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  Speaker 1: a warning she directed at New York City Mayor Zorin Mamdani,
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  Speaker 1: whose language she condemned. As reported by the New York
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  Speaker 1: City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tish, a place of worship
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  Speaker 1: should never be a crime scene. This incident underscores the
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  Speaker 1: immense security burden on Jewish institutions, which the Jewish Federations
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  Speaker 1: of North America estimate at seven hundred and sixty five
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  Speaker 1: million dollars annually, a cost described by the Teach Coalition
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  Speaker 1: as an antisemitism tax. FBI data also indicates most anti
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  Speaker 1: Jewish hate crimes occur outside institutions, often on city streets
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  Speaker 1: with visibility markers like a Kippa or Star of David,
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  Speaker 1: making individuals targets. Following the Central Synagogue attack, the assailant,
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  Speaker 1: Larry Mont's, is now facing federal hate crimes charges, according
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  Speaker 1: to reporting by JTA. In a significant legal development, Argentina's
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  Speaker 1: Jury of Impeachment removed federal Judge Alfredo Eugenio Lopez from
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  Speaker 1: office on Tuesday, August eighteenth, twenty twenty six, for a
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  Speaker 1: series of antisemitic social media posts. This marks the first
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  Speaker 1: time in Argentina's history a judge has been removed for
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  Speaker 1: such remarks. Lopez had referred to Jewish people as a
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  Speaker 1: brood of vipers, Israel as a fictitious state, and Argentinian
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  Speaker 1: Jews as foreigners, while also using Zionist and gay as insults.
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  Speaker 1: The impeachment pan concluded that Lopez undermined public confidence in
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  Speaker 1: his ability to administer justice impartially committing acts of discrimination
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  Speaker 1: and the denial of equal rights. The complaints leading to
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  Speaker 1: his removal were filed by the delegacionda Associations Israelita's Argentinas
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  Speaker 1: and the Argentine Forum against Antisemitism. As jury member Alberto
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  Speaker 1: Max stated during an interview, Lopez was removed because he
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  Speaker 1: simply would not stop engaging in hate speech and demonstrated
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  Speaker 1: a lack of common sense. A new report this Weak
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  Speaker 1: details institutionalized antisemitism at Toronto Metropolitan University, or TMU, in Canada.
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  Speaker 1: Its primary author, retired judge Mary Lubonato, stated that the
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  Speaker 1: events of October seventh, twenty twenty three, fundamentally altered campus life,
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  Speaker 1: with Jewish students, faculty, and staff describing hostility toward Jewish
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  Speaker 1: identity and Zionism that escalated into intimidation and dehumanization. Benato
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  Speaker 1: noted simply of a deteriorating campus climate that, absent decisive
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  Speaker 1: institutional action, are likely to recur. Critics argue that Canadian institutions,
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  Speaker 1: including TMU, tend to kick the can down the road
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  Speaker 1: with studies rather than implementing necessary measures. A recent survey
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  Speaker 1: found that ninety five point seven percent of nine hundred
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  Speaker 1: Jewish students interviewed experienced some form of antisemitism over the
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  Speaker 1: past year, with eighty four percent considering it a serious problem.
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  Speaker 1: Benato has recommended easily achievable actions for TMU, including prohibiting
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  Speaker 1: intimidation and harassment, establishing new mechanisms for protests, and enforcing
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  Speaker 1: the university's student code of conduct. In politics and media,
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  Speaker 1: Simona Mohamson, Sweden's Minister for Education and Integration, wore a
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  Speaker 1: Star of David necklace during a televised political debate this week. Mohamson,
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  Speaker 1: who is of Palestinian descent, stated she wore it for
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  Speaker 1: the children who do not dare to do it in
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  Speaker 1: today's Sweden, aiming to spread awareness about the rise of antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: She also criticized Left party politicians for what she called
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  Speaker 1: spreading antisemitism and sending love letters to Hamas. While her
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  Speaker 1: actions were seen as powerful by Sweden's Jewish community, they
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  Speaker 1: also prompted backlash from commentators. One such commentator, Valley Gayanum,
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  Speaker 1: described her as a self hating creature. Mohamson has also
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  Speaker 1: faced online threats turning to rhetoric related to Israel and
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  Speaker 1: Zionism that meets IHR criteria. A judgment from Justice Fagen
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  Speaker 1: reportedly includes accusations of genocide against Israel and extensive criticism
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  Speaker 1: of the IHR definition of antisemitism. This criticism of the
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  Speaker 1: IHR definition's drafting was also noted in separate reporting. In Chicago,
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  Speaker 1: the Democratic Socialists of America chapter declined to endorse City
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  Speaker 1: Council aled Daniel Los Spata because he would not identify
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  Speaker 1: as anti Zionist. The Anti Defamation League stated that requiring
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  Speaker 1: an anti Zionist position as a prerequisite for public office
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  Speaker 1: is antisemitism and risks fueling anti Jewish sentiment, harassment, and
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  Speaker 1: ultimately violence. The ADL added that such demands normalizy the
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  Speaker 1: exclusion of Jews not only from government, but from all spaces.
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  Speaker 1: Questions are being raised about the independence of New York
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  Speaker 1: City Mayor Zurin Mamdani's office to combat antisemitism. An alleged
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  Speaker 1: admission by a Jewish outreach official, Josh Bindermann, stated I
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  Speaker 1: can't speak out against my boss or I would get
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  Speaker 1: fired when asked about confronting the mayor's rhetoric. The Mayor's
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  Speaker 1: office has called the account a complete and utter distortion,
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  Speaker 1: but has not specifically denied that Bindermann made the statement.
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  Speaker 1: Rabbis who met with Mayor Mamdani reportedly urged him to
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  Speaker 1: change his rhetoric toward Israel, warning it was harming Jewish
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  Speaker 1: New Yorkers. This comes as New York city faces a
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  Speaker 1: surge in antisemitism. Antisemitic incidents accounted for sixty point three
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  Speaker 1: percent of the city's confirmed hate crimes in May, a
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  Speaker 1: seventy one percent increase from the previous year. Mamdani himself
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  Speaker 1: has used rhetoric such as referring to AIPAC as monsters
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  Speaker 1: using dark money, which many Jewish New Yorkers find dehumanizing,
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  Speaker 1: especially given the current climate. We close with a positive development.
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  Speaker 1: Initiatives like those at the Public Safety Training Academy in
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  Speaker 1: Glen View are working to foster better understanding and protection
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  Speaker 1: by bridging the gap between first responders and Jewish communities.
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  Speaker 1: These efforts aim to ensure that, as with any distinct
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  Speaker 1: culture or tradition, the more we understand it, the better
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  Speaker 1: we can protect it. I'm Rachel Adler, Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: listening to Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated with AI
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  Speaker 1: assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with
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  Speaker 1: primary sources.