Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 23, 2026, 05 AM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - September 23, 2026, 05 AM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We begin
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  Speaker 1: today by examining a systemic issue in France where recent
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  Speaker 1: court cases highlight a recurring difficulty in legally naming antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: According to reporting reviewed for this episode, French courts have
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  Speaker 1: struggled to recognize antisemitic motives in acts of violence or
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  Speaker 1: vandalism targeting Jewish individuals or symbols. Prosecutors have sometimes attributed
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  Speaker 1: such incidents to political disagreements rather than hostility based on
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  Speaker 1: Jewish identity. This is seen in cases like the assault
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  Speaker 1: on Jewish students who were called dirty Zionists in Strasbourg,
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  Speaker 1: vandalism targeting a tree planted in memory of Ilan Halimi,
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  Speaker 1: and a nanny convicted for poisoning a Jewish family's food.
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  Speaker 1: In these instances, the antisemitic nature of the acts was
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  Speaker 1: not established in court, according to the reporting. This leads
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  Speaker 1: to concerns, as noted in the analysis, that when hatred
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  Speaker 1: is not named, It does not vanish, only its name does.
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  Speaker 1: This rigorous naming is crucial for public policy, judicial training,
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  Speaker 1: and a society's understanding of the violence occurring within it.
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  Speaker 1: In New York City, a prominent rabbi has leveled a
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  Speaker 1: serious accusation against Mayor Zoran Mamdani. Rabbi Mark Schneier, president
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  Speaker 1: of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, stated that Mayor Mamdani
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  Speaker 1: is the architect of antisemitism in New York. According to
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  Speaker 1: Rabbi Schneier, This accusation stems from Mamdani's repeated characterization of
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  Speaker 1: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the architect of genocide
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  Speaker 1: in Gaza. Rabbi Schneier argues that Mamdani is attempting to
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  Speaker 1: bifurcate Israel from Judaism and brainwash future leaders, fixating on
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  Speaker 1: Israel while ignoring other global issues. He warned that Mamdani's
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  Speaker 1: rhetoric is dangerous and has already led to physical attacks
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  Speaker 1: on Jews in New York. Mamdani made these remarks during
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  Speaker 1: a CNN interview. referencing the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants.
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  Speaker 1: In response, Prime Minister Netanyahu sharply criticized Mamdani, accusing him
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  Speaker 1: of supporting Hamas and inciting hostility toward New York's Jewish community.
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  Speaker 1: In Germany, the election victory of the left party, Die Linke,
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  Speaker 1: in Berlin, has raised significant concerns among Jewish leaders and
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  Speaker 1: politicians about antisemitism within the party. Reporting indicates that, while
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  Speaker 1: the party secured 25.7% of the vote, Its history of
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  Speaker 1: anti-Jewish incidents and comments is a major worry. Following the win,
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  Speaker 1: a left party member of parliament, Ferret Kakek, was photographed
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  Speaker 1: with Ibrahim Ibrahim, described as a pro-Palestinian activist and supporter
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  Speaker 1: of the PFLP and Hamas, with Ibrahim having previously called
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  Speaker 1: Yahya Sinwar a martyr hero. While Kakek distanced himself from
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  Speaker 1: statements praising violence, the party itself has faced accusations of
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  Speaker 1: systemic antisemitism. Investigations have revealed expressions like Israel, drop dead,
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  Speaker 1: and Israeli concentration camps used within the party's youth organization, Linksjugend.
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  Speaker 1: The party's Palestine Solidarity Working Group has also been criticized
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  Speaker 1: for describing the October 7th Hamas massacre as an act
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  Speaker 1: of resistance. Israel's ambassador to Germany warned that the party's
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  Speaker 1: strong performance gives antisemitism a new political dimension, and called
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  Speaker 1: it a system of where red lines are repeatedly crossed.
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  Speaker 1: This past week, the Antisemitism Research Center, or ARC, tracked
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  Speaker 1: a surge in antisemitic conspiracy theories online, specifically targeting the
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  Speaker 1: 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Between September 11th
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  Speaker 1: and 13th, ARC examined 174 high-reach social media posts that
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  Speaker 1: generated over 56.5 million views. According to the ARC's analysis,
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  Speaker 1: These posts advanced notions portraying Jews and Israel as the
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  Speaker 1: hidden architects of 9-11, often focusing on Jewish-American real estate
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  Speaker 1: developer Larry Silverstein. The posts also expanded into anti-American narratives,
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  Speaker 1: accusing U.S. officials of complicity in steering the country toward
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  Speaker 1: Middle East wars on behalf of the Jewish state. The
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  Speaker 1: ARC noted that these 9-11 conspiracy theories were frequently fused
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  Speaker 1: with unrelated libels targeting Jews. We also turn to reports
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  Speaker 1: of antisemitic vandalism and violence. In Highland Park, Illinois, a
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  Speaker 1: swastika was found painted on a slide at Devonshire Park.
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Nancy Rotering called the act deeply painful and an
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  Speaker 1: act of hate, noting its occurrence as the Jewish community
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  Speaker 1: moved from the High Holy Days into preparations for Sukkot.
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  Speaker 1: This follows similar incidents of vandalism reported in California, where
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  Speaker 1: Nazi swastikas were found at two San Diego homes on
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  Speaker 1: Rosh Hashanah. Internationally, in Germany, a woman wearing a star
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  Speaker 1: of David in Berlin was reportedly attacked with a broken bottle.
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  Speaker 1: In the United Kingdom, three Jewish schoolboys were assaulted on
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  Speaker 1: a bus in North London. Separately, German police are investigating
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  Speaker 1: a death threat made against Holocaust survivor and Jewish community
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  Speaker 1: leader Charlotte Noblock. On university campuses and in communities abroad,
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  Speaker 1: incidents continue to surface. In Canada, during Rosh Hashanah, mezuzahs
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  Speaker 1: were smashed on Jewish students' doors at Wilfrid Laurier University.
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  Speaker 1: In France, three Jewish students were reportedly beaten on a
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  Speaker 1: Strasbourg campus while being called dirty Zionists. These incidents underscore
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  Speaker 1: the broader issue of how antisemitism is perceived and prosecuted
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  Speaker 1: in France, as discussed earlier. Also noted by the ARC
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  Speaker 1: is a guide published by the Council on American Islamic Relations, CAIR,
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  Speaker 1: for Muslim K-12 students. This guide allocated over a quarter
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  Speaker 1: of its text to the situation in Gaza and Palestinian advocacy,
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  Speaker 1: while omitting any references to Hamas or October 7th. In
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  Speaker 1: political and media spheres, we track ongoing rhetoric and commentary.
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  Speaker 1: In Georgia, David Allen Scheer I.I., the son-in-law of Republican
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  Speaker 1: candidate Mike Collins, reportedly posts anti-Semitic content from property Collins
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  Speaker 1: allowed him to build a home on. From the Middle East,
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  Speaker 1: Qatar's Amir delivered a speech accusing Israel of being war
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  Speaker 1: criminals and stating that cries of anti-Semitism are being used
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  Speaker 1: to deflect from actions in Gaza. On Capitol Hill, Nevada
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  Speaker 1: Democratic Senator Jackie Rosen underscored the pervasive threat of hate, stating,
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  Speaker 1: One thing we know for sure is hate may start
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  Speaker 1: with the Jews, but it never ends there. And Elisha Wiesel,
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  Speaker 1: son of Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel, recently discussed President Trump's
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  Speaker 1: UN General Assembly speech and the rise of antisemitism in
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  Speaker 1: the US. Providing a broader statistical overview, the Antisemitism Research
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  Speaker 1: Center's latest Global Antisemitism Report monitored 105 new incidents worldwide
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  Speaker 1: in the past week. Broken down by ideological categories, the
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  Speaker 1: ARC found 43.8% of these incidents were far-left, 20% Islamist-inspired,
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  Speaker 1: and 9.5% far-right. with the remaining 26.7% categorized as unaffiliated
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  Speaker 1: or other. On a different note, we highlight efforts to
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  Speaker 1: combat antisemitism through innovative means. Archie Gottesman is noted for
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  Speaker 1: utilizing disruptive advertising principles, employing billboards to effectively communicate with
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  Speaker 1: the broader public and challenge antisemitism. I'm Rachel Adler, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. Follow Antisemitism Watch in
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  Speaker 1: your podcast app so you don't miss the next update.
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  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
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  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.