Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - October 4, 2026, 01 PM Eastern

Transcript

Antisemitism Watch - October 4, 2026, 01 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Today, we're
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: monitoring a surge in antisemitic attacks, from physical assaults to
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: controversial political rhetoric. And as we launch Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: focused on New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: you can find us at clockworkmedia.org slash m, A, we
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: begin with physical assaults. Morningstar Online reports on the knifing
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: of two Jewish men in Golders Green, London. highlighting this
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: as part of a pattern of increasing severity in anti-Semitic attacks.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: The report notes police apprehended the attacker swiftly. And while
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: the assailant had a history of violence and mental health issues,
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: the attacks themselves were anti-Semitic, underscoring a need for zero tolerance. Separately,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: in Dusseldorf, Germany, police are hunting four people, two men
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: and two women, in connection with the anti-Semitic beating of
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: a 35-year-old Jewish man, according to JFeed.com. Investigators believe the
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: motive was antisemitic, citing the victim's attire, which included a
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: kippah and an IDF sweater, and insults like child killer
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: hurled at him. State security police have taken over the case,
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: and Dusseldorf's Jewish community has expressed shock. In Canada, jpost.com
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: reports that antisemitic flyers, attributed to the Goyim Defense League,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: were found outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: This discovery followed a shooting attack on Yom Kippur, during
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: which a gunman wounded a police officer and was killed.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: B'nai B'rith Canada is calling for an investigation into the group,
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: noting the GDL's activity in Canada and the escalation from
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: online hate to real-world harm. This concern is shared by
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the UJA
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Federation of Greater Toronto. Turning to politics and media …
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: RTEI and JFeed.com report on French far-right leader Jordan Bardella
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: facing a political crisis. Bardella, president of the National Rally Party,
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: is accused of making antisemitic comments as a teenager in 2013.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: French investigative site Mediapart published notarized screenshots of alleged WhatsApp
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: messages where Bardella reportedly attributed global banking control to Jews
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: and used other antisemitic tropes. Bardella denies the claims, calling
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: them forgeries and a dirty attack, while his ally Marine
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: Le Pen has offered full backing. French Justice Minister Gerald
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: Darmanin and socialist leader Olivier Fora have criticised Bardella's statements.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: In the UK, the BBC reports that Green Party members
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: have adopted a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: and advocating for a single democratic Palestinian state. The motion,
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: passed by a vote of 1,022 to 813, has divided
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: senior party figures. Jewish groups, including the Board of Deputies
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: and the Jewish Leadership Council, have criticized the motion, stating
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Zionism is an anti-racist movement formed in response to anti-Semitism.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Vivian Lichtenstein, chair of Jewish Greens, told the BBC she
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: is considering her future in the party. American Thinker reports
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: on rhetoric described as unrestrained hatred, and raw and ugly
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: antisemitism displayed by the Republic of Ireland towards Israel. This
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: includes boycott attempts by the national football team, disrespectful actions
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: during matches, and government officials using terms like genocide in
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: reference to Israel's actions, which the article cites as an
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: example of applying double standards to the Jewish state. In
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: New York City, jpost.com reports that over 25 Jewish organizations
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: have signed an open letter criticizing Meir Zoran Mamdani's new
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: municipal strategy to combat antisemitism. The groups argue the plan
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: falls dangerously short, failing to address contemporary threats like anti-Zionist
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: animus that they say too often veers into anti-Jewish harassment
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: and violence. They note the plan overlooks recent incidents in
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: New York, referencing older events elsewhere, and explicitly declines to
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: adopt a definition of antisemitism. The latest Global Antisemitism Report
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: from the Antisemitism Research Center, or ARC, by CAM, monitored
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: 104 new incidents worldwide in the past week, including seven
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: violent acts, threats, or foiled plots, according to jpost.com. The
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: report categorizes incidents by ideology, with the far-left accounting for 46.2%
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: and Islamist-inspired sources for 29.8%. A notable event highlighted was
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: a proliferation of antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media following
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: a foiled hijacking attempt of a FlyDubai flight bound for
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: Tel Aviv. Finally, Chasun.com reports that Zahra has halted sales
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: of children's costumes with designs resembling concentration camp uniforms following
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: public outcry. That's our report for today. I'm Rachel Adler,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region,
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: listen to Antisemitism Watch, MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org.ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: in your podcast app so you don't miss the next update.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.