Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 12, 2026, 09 AM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 12, 2026, 09 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. New York
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  Speaker 1: City Mayor Zoren Mamdani is facing sharp criticism from prominent
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  Speaker 1: Jewish leaders regarding his rhetoric about Israel. Author Avi Weiss,
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  Speaker 1: known for his extensive work in interfaith dialogue, has publicly
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  Speaker 1: stated his belief that Mayor Mamdanni is a serious antisemite,
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  Speaker 1: describing his antisemitism as subtle and cunning in an opinion piece.
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  Speaker 1: This comes as a group of ten Jewish leaders met
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  Speaker 1: with Mayor Mamdani to express concerns over his inflammatory Israel rhetoric,
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  Speaker 1: urging him to moderate his language. According to reporting reviewed
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  Speaker 1: for this episode, these leaders felt his consistent vilification of
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  Speaker 1: Israel was causing harm to everyday New York City Jews
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  Speaker 1: and contributing to a climate of vulnerability. The meeting occurred
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  Speaker 1: against a backdrop of rising anti Jewish hate crimes in
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  Speaker 1: the city. New York Police Department officials reported an eight
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  Speaker 1: point five percent increase through the first seven months of
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  Speaker 1: the year, according to The Wall Street Journal. Rabbis present
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  Speaker 1: at the meeting, including Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the
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  Speaker 1: Union for Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Jonathan Lener of the
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  Speaker 1: Prospect Heights Schule indicated that the current course could not
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  Speaker 1: continue and that the mayor's comments in the current climate
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  Speaker 1: add to the temperature that makes many Jews feel vulnerable.
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  Speaker 1: Some leaders also noted concerns about who was selected to
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  Speaker 1: attend the meeting, with Rabbi chain Steinmetz of Congregation Kehilath
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  Speaker 1: jeshure Run criticizing Mayor Mamdanni's approach to engagement. Separately, New
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  Speaker 1: York State Assemblyman Charles Fall issued a statement condemning antisemitism, racism,
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  Speaker 1: and hate in all forms following a New York Post
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  Speaker 1: report detailing his participation in a community meeting with an
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  Speaker 1: individual appointed to an advisory committee by Mayor Mamdani who
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  Speaker 1: is accused of Jew hatred. Assemblyman Fall clarified that his
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  Speaker 1: presence was rooted in dialogue and bringing people together, not
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  Speaker 1: an endorsement of alleged views. Meanwhile, the Anti Defamation League
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  Speaker 1: has released new reports indicating that antisemitism on US college
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  Speaker 1: campuses has increasingly moved from public protests into classrooms, curricula,
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  Speaker 1: and faculty networks. The ADL's research suggests that while year
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  Speaker 1: over year, public incidents may have declined, faculty conduct and
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  Speaker 1: instructional framing continue to foster a hostile environment for Jewish
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  Speaker 1: and Israeli students. The ADL tracked sixteen ninety four antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: incidents on US campuses in twenty twenty four and five
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  Speaker 1: hundred eighty three in twenty twenty five. The report's detail
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  Speaker 1: recurring patterns, such as coursework that allegedly incorporates readings from
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  Speaker 1: leaders of designated terrorist organizations like Gassen Canafani and Leyla
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  Speaker 1: Called of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
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  Speaker 1: Specific incidents cited include a UC Irvin professor's remark described
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  Speaker 1: having the October seven Hamas attacks as a gift from
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  Speaker 1: Allah and a golden opportunity, and a Cornell University professor
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  Speaker 1: who allegedly stated he was exhilarated by the attack. The
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  Speaker 1: ADL also documented instances where Israeli and Jewish students were
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  Speaker 1: allegedly singled out, treated as representatives of the Israeli government,
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  Speaker 1: or told demeaning things, such as an Israeli student being
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  Speaker 1: referred to as one of the murderers or another student
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  Speaker 1: being told it's such a shame that your people survived
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  Speaker 1: in order to commit mass genocide. Furthermore, coarse descriptions at
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  Speaker 1: prominent institutions have reportedly framed Israel's actions as an ongoing genocide.
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  Speaker 1: In response, the ADL has launched a new campus classroom
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  Speaker 1: reporting mechanism for students, staff and faculty to report bias
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  Speaker 1: on the international front. Neo Nazis chanting Sieg Kyle and
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  Speaker 1: giving Nazi salutes targeted Jewish youth in Sofia, Bulgaria. The
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  Speaker 1: incident occurred as the group blocked entrances to a hotel
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  Speaker 1: hosting Israeli and Italian Jewish youth delegations before police disperse them.
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  Speaker 1: Reporting reviewed for this episode notes that this event illustrates
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  Speaker 1: the convergence of antisemitism from both the left and the right,
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  Speaker 1: with Bulgaria having witnessed repeated attempts to revive the annual
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  Speaker 1: march honoring Christo Lukov, a pro Nazi leader, alongside anti
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  Speaker 1: Israel activism that has targeted Jewish institutions. Specific acts of
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  Speaker 1: vandalism include Free Palestine graffiti sprayed across the Sophia Synagogue,
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  Speaker 1: damage to the city's Monument of Salvation, and desecration of
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  Speaker 1: its Holocaust memorial. This broader pattern of ideological convergence is
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  Speaker 1: not confined to Bulgaria. In the United States, the scale
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  Speaker 1: of antisemitic hate crimes remains stark. Statistics from Massachusetts for
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five show that ninety five out of one
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  Speaker 1: hundred and fourteen religion based hate crimes, or eighty three
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  Speaker 1: point three percent, targeted Jews. This follows a twenty point
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  Speaker 1: five five percent increase in antisemitic hate crimes in the
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  Speaker 1: state in twenty twenty four, according to reporting based on
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  Speaker 1: data directed by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety
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  Speaker 1: and Security. This means that in twenty twenty five, a
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  Speaker 1: Jew in Massachusetts was about one hundred and twelve percent
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  Speaker 1: more likely to be targeted in a hate crime than
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  Speaker 1: a black person. Community leaders like Jeremy Burton, CEO of
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, affirmed that
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  Speaker 1: these numbers affirm the community's ongoing and unprecedented experience of
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  Speaker 1: being targeted. Organizations like ADL, New England and Combined Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Philanthropies are emphasizing the urgent need for concrete action and
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  Speaker 1: continued community investment to address the problem. I'm Rachel Adler.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to antisemitism Watch. This report was
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  Speaker 1: generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify
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  Speaker 1: important details with primary sources.