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LA Preschool Terror Plot Averted · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We're also
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  Speaker 1: launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, covering New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. Find us at clockworkmedia.org slash MA today.
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  Speaker 1: We look at a credible terror plot targeting a Jewish preschool,
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  Speaker 1: a conviction in a similar plot abroad, and warnings about
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  Speaker 1: escalating antisemitism in politics and institutions. We begin with a
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  Speaker 1: chilling plot averted in Lowe's Angels. The FBI arrested Stephen Dunas, 51,
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  Speaker 1: for allegedly threatening a Jewish preschool with Molotov cocktails and
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  Speaker 1: making anti-Semitic remarks on social media. Reporting from the Jerusalem Post,
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  Speaker 1: citing the New York Post, state's prosecutors described the threats
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  Speaker 1: as a plot for a mass incident targeting Jewish residents
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  Speaker 1: in his Lowe's Fellies neighborhood. Dunas allegedly posted online that
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  Speaker 1: not enough synagogues have been burned down and that he
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  Speaker 1: might bomb gems later. His mother told the New York
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  Speaker 1: Post that divorce, job loss, and substance abuse had impacted
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  Speaker 1: his life. In Canada, an Ontario court found a youth
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  Speaker 1: guilty on terrorism counts for his role in a 2023
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  Speaker 1: conspiracy to carry out a mass casualty attack targeting Jewish
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  Speaker 1: people in Ottawa. Justice Kerry McVeigh convicted the unnamed youth
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  Speaker 1: of conspiracy to commit murder and facilitating terrorist activity by
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  Speaker 1: seeking to acquire a prohibited firearm. According to Canadian press reporting,
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  Speaker 1: detailed by the Jerusalem Post, the communications between the two
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  Speaker 1: youths involved discussions of weapons, ammunition, and the scale of
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  Speaker 1: the intended killing, with the objective being the mass killing
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  Speaker 1: of innocent people intended to intimidate a segment of the public,
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  Speaker 1: namely members of the Jewish community. B'nai B'rith Canada welcomed
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  Speaker 1: the verdict, stating this youth was convicted of complicity in
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  Speaker 1: a terror plot targeting Jewish Canadians. Alan Dershowitz, a prominent
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  Speaker 1: constitutional attorney, has issued a stark warning about the Democratic
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  Speaker 1: Party's direction. In an interview on the Rabbi for America podcast,
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  Speaker 1: as reported by VIN News, Dershowitz stated that antisemitism and
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  Speaker 1: anti-Zionism have become mainstream in the Democratic Party. Citing figures
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  Speaker 1: like Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and contrasting the party's
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  Speaker 1: stance with Republicans, he also criticized elite universities for normalizing
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  Speaker 1: hostility toward Israel and traditional values, arguing administrators fear backlash
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  Speaker 1: from radical students. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu levelled unusually
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  Speaker 1: sharp criticism at Moscow. According to I4 News TV, Netanyahu
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  Speaker 1: accused Russia of aiding Iran and operating anti-Semitic AI bot
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  Speaker 1: networks targeting Israel and Jews worldwide. This marks a notable
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  Speaker 1: shift in Netanyahu's public tone regarding his relationship with Russia.
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  Speaker 1: And on social media, Candace Owens addressed accusations of antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: in a discussion with Jillian Michaels, as noted by YouTube reporting.
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  Speaker 1: In Canada, the federal government's first progress report on its
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  Speaker 1: national commitments to combat antisemitism, released September 24, asserts that antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: which includes anti-Zionism, is not always obvious. The report, detailed
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  Speaker 1: by the Tribune.com PK, calls for recognising contemporary manifestations of antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: including anti-Zionism. The article notes that while opposition to Zionism
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  Speaker 1: alone does not equate to hostility towards Jews, the government
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  Speaker 1: report identifies the IHRA definition and its handbook as foundations
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  Speaker 1: for federal efforts. The report itself emphasizes that IHRA is
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  Speaker 1: not legally binding and does not criminalize expression. but the
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  Speaker 1: article points out that definitions gain practical force when used
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  Speaker 1: for investigations and discipline, potentially constraining free speech and academic freedom.
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  Speaker 1: In New York, the state Democratic Party has overwhelmingly approved
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  Speaker 1: a resolution condemning antisemitism. The New York Post reports the
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  Speaker 1: measure aims to counter perceptions of the party being soft
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  Speaker 1: on anti-Jewish hate. The resolution defines contemporary antisemitism, listing manifestations
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  Speaker 1: such as Holocaust denial, modern blood libels, conspiracy theories of
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  Speaker 1: Jewish control, accusations of dual loyalty, and using Israel as
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  Speaker 1: a pretext for hostility. Party chairman Jay Jacobs, who is
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  Speaker 1: Jewish and supports Israel, insisted the omission of the resolution
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  Speaker 1: from an official party press release was an oversight. Jacobs
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  Speaker 1: defended New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani against accusations of anti-Semitism,
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  Speaker 1: stating Mamdani's pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel views do not make him anti-Semitic.
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  Speaker 1: though Jacobs acknowledges disagreements with him on some issues. On campuses,
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  Speaker 1: a Rutgers University student is suing the institution. According to
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  Speaker 1: Facebook reporting, the student was arrested for hanging what they
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  Speaker 1: described as anti-Hamas flyers and claims their actions were pro-Israel,
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  Speaker 1: highlighting free speech issues amid reports of antisemitic attacks on
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  Speaker 1: Jewish students at Rutgers. At the University of Pittsburgh, an
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  Speaker 1: internal working group on campus antisemitism published a report without
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  Speaker 1: consulting Jewish students, raising questions about the process, according to
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  Speaker 1: the Times of Israel. Meanwhile, the Washington Examiner notes ongoing
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  Speaker 1: challenges at Harvard University, specifically mentioning antisemitism and censorship as
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  Speaker 1: key issues. Internationally, unrest in France saw reports of vandalism
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  Speaker 1: at a Paris synagogue, though its antisemitic nature and connection
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  Speaker 1: to the nationwide riots remain unconfirmed. World Israel News and
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  Speaker 1: the Jerusalem Post report on the incident in the 19th arrondissement,
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  Speaker 1: with community sources stating it was not immediately clear if
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  Speaker 1: the ransacking was anti-Semitic or linked to the widespread protests.
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  Speaker 1: The Jerusalem Post's reporting also notes that nobody has independently
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  Speaker 1: confirmed what happened there when the video was filmed or
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  Speaker 1: whether it had anything to do with Saturday's riots. Bruno Benjamin,
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  Speaker 1: president of the Marseille-Pravas branch of CRIF, called for a
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  Speaker 1: state of emergency to deal with the riots, which involved
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  Speaker 1: vandalism and violence against police. The Jerusalem Post also notes
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  Speaker 1: a defense think tank report, indicating that the Gaza war
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  Speaker 1: and West Bank violence are causing increased security threats and
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  Speaker 1: making life harder for Jews abroad. I'm Rachel Adler, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage from
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  Speaker 1: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region, listen
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  Speaker 1: to Antisemitism Watch. midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org slash ma. Follow Antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: Watch in your podcast app so you don't miss the
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  Speaker 1: next update. This report was generated with AI assistance and
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  Speaker 1: may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.