Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 21, 2026, 12 AM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 21, 2026, 12 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. Today we
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  Speaker 1: look at a historic perpetrator identified for a deadly attack,
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  Speaker 1: new charges in a Manhattan synagogue disruption, and rising concerns
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  Speaker 1: in communities worldwide. German investigators announced Thursday they have identified
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  Speaker 1: the perpetrator of a nineteen seventy arson attack on a
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  Speaker 1: Jewish community center in Munich that killed seven Holocaust survivors.
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  Speaker 1: Multiple outlets reported the attack considered one of the most
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  Speaker 1: serious crimes against Germany's Jewish community since World War II,
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  Speaker 1: targeted survivors aged fifty nine to seventy one. According to
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  Speaker 1: d W News, Police and prosecutors confirmed new evidence points
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  Speaker 1: to a man who died in twenty twenty at age
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  Speaker 1: seventy five. Investigators stated a witness provided credible information alleging
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  Speaker 1: the suspect had a Hitler fixation and was an antisemite,
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  Speaker 1: reportedly saying the Jews have everything during the attack. The
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  Speaker 1: BBC reported an additional fifteen people sustained injuries. In New
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  Speaker 1: York City, a man accused of disrupting Shabbat's services at
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  Speaker 1: Manhattan's Central Synagogue now faces federal hate crimes charges in
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  Speaker 1: addition to state charges. Larry Montes, forty six, was charged
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  Speaker 1: with two counts of committing hate crimes and one count
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  Speaker 1: of damage to religious property resulting in bodily injury. According
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  Speaker 1: to an FBI agent's complaint, Montes allegedly stood up during services,
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  Speaker 1: shouted obscenities, knocked over ceremonial silver candlesticks, punched a sixty
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  Speaker 1: three year old congregant, and head budded a security guard.
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  Speaker 1: Post arrest, Montes allegedly told NYPD officers f k the Jews,
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  Speaker 1: it's racial and I will never affiliate with no filthy,
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  Speaker 1: f king synagogues, either here or in fucking Israel, while
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  Speaker 1: identifying as Jewish and citing disrespect as a motive. In Surfside, Florida,
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  Speaker 1: a thirty five year old man, Jordan Stephen Peroso has
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  Speaker 1: been arrested on charges including battery with prejudice and harassment
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  Speaker 1: or intimidation based on religious or ethnic heritage. According to
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  Speaker 1: police and arrest reports cited by WSVN seven News and
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  Speaker 1: local ten News, Peroso allegedly approached a visiting Jewish couple,
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  Speaker 1: hurled antisemitic slurs, punched the husband in the head, and
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  Speaker 1: threatened to kill him. He also reportedly made statements concerning
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  Speaker 1: Israel and Palestine. The victim's wife recorded part of the confrontation.
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  Speaker 1: Peroso was previously arrested in June for damaging a giant
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  Speaker 1: inflatable FIFA World Cup display in Brooklyn. Democrats are calling
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  Speaker 1: for a district leader's resignation following a controversial remark about
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  Speaker 1: Zionists that has been linked to antisemitism. JTA reported the
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  Speaker 1: issue also involves a public record's request by a pro
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  Speaker 1: Palestinian student. Meanwhile, Australia's Anti Semitism Royal Commission heard testimony
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  Speaker 1: regarding the boundaries of criticism concerning Zionism. readA. Jabri Markwell,
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  Speaker 1: principal policy adviser to the Australian MUSLM Advocacy Network, argued
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  Speaker 1: before the Commission that Zionism should be treated as a
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  Speaker 1: political ideology rather than a protected characteristic, stating it's not
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  Speaker 1: a race or religion. Under examination, she warned that treating
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  Speaker 1: Zionism as protected risks excluding Jewish Australians who reject the ideology.
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  Speaker 1: The Commission is exploring where legitimate criticism of Zionism ends
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  Speaker 1: and antisemitism begins. Also at the Australian Inquiry Race Discrimination
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  Speaker 1: Commissioner jured Heron Siveramman told the commission that well intentioned
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  Speaker 1: social cohesion policies can risk overlooking forms of racial discrimination.
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  Speaker 1: He recalled an official urging him to stop talking about
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  Speaker 1: racism because you're disrupting the social cohesion. Siverammon also noted
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  Speaker 1: that reports of antisemitism, particularly in the workplace, had risen
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  Speaker 1: sharply since the October seventh, twenty twenty three attacks on Israel.
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  Speaker 1: In counter terrorism developments, hekmat Omar Ali Hakim, forty nine,
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  Speaker 1: has been charged with failing to disclose information regarding a
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  Speaker 1: terrorist attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the UK.
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  Speaker 1: Counter Terrorism Policing Northwest stated this charge is related to
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  Speaker 1: the attack last October, which involved a vehicle ramming synagogue
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  Speaker 1: gates and a subsequent knife attack, killing two worshippers and
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  Speaker 1: injuring others. Greater Manchester Police confirmed the charge and that
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  Speaker 1: Hakim has been remanded in custody. A Wall Street Journal
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  Speaker 1: report notes that a pervasive threat has become a constant
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  Speaker 1: topic of conversation within New York's Jewish community, indicating a
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  Speaker 1: significant and notable change in the community's experience. Finally, During
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  Speaker 1: a hearing for Carmelo Anthony's push for a new murder trial,
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  Speaker 1: evidence surfaced that the victim, Austin Metcalf, had previously spray
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  Speaker 1: painted racist and antisemitic graffiti, including the phrase kill all
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  Speaker 1: black people. Anthony was convicted of murder and sentenced to
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  Speaker 1: thirty five years in prison. I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for listening to Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated with
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  Speaker 1: AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details
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  Speaker 1: with primary sources.