Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 19, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

Transcript

Antisemitism Watch - September 19, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. Australia's spy chief,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Mike Burgess, stated on Thursday that antisemitism in the country
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: has risen to a disturbing level. Burgess, the director general
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, noted the increase in
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: antisemitism following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of Israel's
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: south and the Bondi Beach shooting attack on December 14, 2025.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: He described a progression from threatening and intimidating behaviour to
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: direct targeting of people, places of worship and businesses. Australian
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited a Jewish school in Sydney
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: on Friday to hear about the community's challenges following the
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Bondi attack, according to reporting. In the United States, US
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: intelligence assessments indicate Russia has launched a digital influence campaign
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: using artificial intelligence to create fake videos featuring celebrities. According
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: to reporting citing U.S. officials, these campaigns aim to deepen
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: divisions ahead of the November midterm elections, with recent efforts
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: targeting Democratic Senate candidates by publishing fabricated content alleging corruption, antisemitism,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: and support for LGBTQ rights. The AI-generated videos were edited
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: to appear as if from major news organizations, including CNN, BBC,
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: and The New York Times, reporting indicates. U.S. officials stated
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: the apparent goal is to sow chaos rather than support
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: a specific party. In Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's call
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: to remove over 2,000 books from public school libraries caused
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: controversy when Holocaust literature, including Eli Wiesel's Night and The
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Diary of Anne Frank, appeared on an Associated Activist Group's list.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Patrick later stated his initiative was focused on age-inappropriate, sexually
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: explicit books, and that he believes Texas students must learn
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: about the Holocaust, according to a statement provided to the
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Jewish Telegraphic Agency. He indicated his earlier comments about removing
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: night from middle schools due to violence were based on
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: age appropriateness, deferring to the State Board of Education on
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: grade level. The activist group Recover America's List also included
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: other books of import to Jewish readers, such as Mouse
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: and The Fixer, reporting notes. Over 200 Orthodox middle school
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: and high school students gathered outside Gracie Mansion to protest
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: comments made by Mayor Zoran Mamdani over the summer that
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: attacked AIPAC and Israel, according to reporting. Organized by schools
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: like Ramez and SAR, the gathering included morning prayers and speeches.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Students expressed fears of antisemitism and pride in being Jewish
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: and supporting Israel. One student called on Mamdani to prioritize
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: the Jewish community's safety. Nechere Karta, a group opposing Zionism,
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: protested against the student group, chanting, Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: Actor Michael Rappaport supported the students, calling the gathering a beautiful, beautiful,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: beautiful prideful thing, reporting states. Ben Shapiro, in an interview,
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: suggested that figures like Tucker Carlson traffic in anti-Semitism and
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: mirror Russian government positions. Shapiro argued his support for Israel
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: is based not solely on his Judaism. but on Israel
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: being a democratic ally confronting tyrannical forms of fascism and
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: sharing crucial military and intelligence cooperation with the US. He
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: found hostility towards Israel on the political right bewildering. Shapiro
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: stated he tries to avoid speculating on motives, preferring to
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: focus on overt policy positions, and noted that while he
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: believes Carlson traffics in antisemitism, he would not label him
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: an antisemite directly, according to the interview. An analysis highlights
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: a perceived double standard in how major U.S. political parties
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: address bigotry. While Republican leaders strongly denounced David Duke in 2016,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Democratic leaders have been criticized for their responses to socialist
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: streamer Hassan Piker, who made antisemitic remarks including calling Israel
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: the Jewish ISIS and saying Hamas is 1,000 times better
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: than Israel. Piker has appeared with prominent Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Rashida Tlaib, and Zoran Mamdani. While some Democrats condemned antisemitism
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: and dangerous claims about American Jews, they did not always
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: name Piker directly. Debbie Wasserman Schultz called Piker a stone-cold antisemite,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: while others, like Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, have previously
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: called the BDS movement antisemitic but failed to label Piker
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: or his associates as such. The article suggests that unlike Duke,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: Piker commands millions of young followers coveted by progressive Democrats,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: potentially making denunciation politically costly. Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: barred rapper Macklemore from performing, citing a history of antisemitic
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: rhetoric and imagery, according to reporting. This follows Macklemore's May
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: 2024 song, Heinz Hall, a pro-Palestinian anthem criticized by Jewish groups.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: Kraft's statement appeared to reference a 2014 incident where McLemore
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: wore a costume criticized as a Jewish stereotype, for which
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: he apologized and supported the ADL. McLemore's recent activism, including
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: accusations against Israel of genocide and apartheid, has drawn criticism,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: though he has not apologized for his pro-Palestinian stance. The
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: ADL called his actions unacceptable. Finally, Norman Finkelstein claimed that
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Israeli lobby groups and their U.S. allies are pressuring academics
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: and universities. He stated that university administrations may act against
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: students accused of antisemitism to protect university rankings. I'm Rachel Adler.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. Follow Antisemitism Watch
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: in your podcast app so you don't miss the next update.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources. Thank you.