Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 15, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

Transcript

Antisemitism Watch - September 15, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Today, we
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: begin with legal and media accountability surrounding campus incidents. Mahmoud Khalil,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: a prominent pro-Palestinian protest leader, is suing Columbia University and
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Dean Karen Yarhaimilo. Khalil alleges the university fostered a hostile
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: environment for pro-Palestinian students and exhibited deliberate indifference, which he
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: claims contributed to his 104-day detention by federal immigration authorities.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Columbia University representatives defended Dean Yarhaimilo, stating she supports students
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: of all backgrounds and is committed to a campus free
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: of discrimination. Meanwhile, reporting from David Bernstein in the Jewish
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Telegraphic Agency, drawing on his own article, argues that major
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: news outlets, including the New York Times, have significantly underreported
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: or misrepresented anti-Semitic incidents that have accompanied pro-Palestine protests. Bernstein
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: details specific antisemitic confrontations at Columbia, such as assaults on
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Jewish students, antisemitic chants, and students being spat upon, noting
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: that Columbia officials themselves acknowledged threatening rhetoric and intimidation on campus.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Turning to institutional responses, a new study by the Anti-Defamation
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: League reveals widespread issues within teachers' unions. The ADL surveyed
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: 307 Jewish K-12 teachers, finding that over 70% report their
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: unions have made problematic statements that fail to condemn Hamas
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: or the October 7 attacks. Furthermore, 70% of these teachers
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: feel the need to self-censor in union spaces regarding Israel
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: and the Jewish experience, fearing professional repercussions. ADL CEO Jonathan
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: Greenblatt described this as a structural and cultural failure and
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: a dangerous trend of institutionalized antisemitism. The study also indicated
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: that 78% of union-sponsored programming related to Jews or Israel
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: was found to be biased. In Florida, four Florida International
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: University students are pursuing legal action to halt their suspensions
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: over messages exchanged in a private WhatsApp group chat. Abel Carvajal,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Dariel Gonzalez, Ethan Rachkoskas, and Dante Mojna filed a renewed
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: motion with a federal court on Tuesday, September 15, 2026,
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: asserting they have valid First Amendment claims. This action follows
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: a ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altanaga
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: on September 14, who found the students' allegations sufficient to
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: support a First Amendment claim, though other counts in their
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: lawsuit were dismissed. FIU had accused members of the private,
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: off-campus chat of posting threatening, racist, antisemitic and offensive material.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: In accountability news, Lincoln Memorial University has reached a voluntary
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: settlement with federal civil rights authorities. A joint investigation by
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Health and Human Services announced Tuesday, September 15, found that
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: LMU's DeBusque College of Osteopathic Medicine systematically denied accommodations to
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: Jewish students for religious holidays during the 2025-26 academic year.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: while routinely granting similar requests for non-Jewish students. Assistant Attorney
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: General Harmeet K. Dhillon stated, Students of all ethnic and
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: religious backgrounds, including Jewish students, should receive the same treatment
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: at our nation's universities. Online, a new analysis by the
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: Combat Antisemitism Movement, or CAM, shows nearly 60% of social
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: media posts referencing the 9-11 attacks also fused them with
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: antisemitic conspiracy theories. CAM's Antisemitism Research Center found that these
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: theories often act as a gateway to older libels, with
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: claims blaming Jews or Israel for events like the Jeffrey
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Network or the JFK assassination frequently linked to 9-11 narratives.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: The Anti-Defamation League also noted that artificial intelligence is being
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: used to create synthetic proof for claims that Jews orchestrated
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: the 9-11 attacks, reflecting ongoing security concerns Jewish communal spending
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: on security has surged past a record-breaking $ 1 billion, a
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: 33% increase from 2024, according to the Jewish Federations of
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: North America. Institutions are increasingly seeking government funding with bipartisan legislation,
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: the Jewish American Security Act, proposing $ 1 billion annually for
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: security grants. New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently addressed congregants
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: at Central Synagogue, offering state police support, and emphasizing investments
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: in securing Jewish institutions. In the UK, an article in
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: Fathom analyzes how academic freedom and free speech are being
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: selectively invoked on university campuses, potentially normalizing antisemitic expression and
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: leading to institutional inaction post-October 7th. The piece argues that
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: universities must distinguish protected political debate from conduct that intimidates
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: or discriminates against Jewish and Israeli students and faculty. And
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: in politics and media news, Robert Kraft, the Jewish owner
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: of the New England NFL team, has reportedly blocked rapper
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: Macklemore from performing due to alleged anti-Semitic remarks. Finally, Jewish
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: municipal leaders are urging the relaunch of a US coalition
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: of inclusive, referencing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA,
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: working definition of anti-Semitism. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: listening to Anti-Semitism Watch. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: app so you don't miss the next update. This report
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: verify important details with primary sources.