Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Nas Daily Founder: Anti-Zionism is Antisemitism

Transcript

Nas Daily Founder: Anti-Zionism is Antisemitism · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We're also
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, offering focused coverage from New York,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region. Visit clockworkmedia.org slash
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: MA for more. Today, we're tracking global incidents of aggression,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: significant statements in politics and media, and ongoing debates around
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: definitions and policy. The latest global antisemitism report from the
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Research Center, or ARC, highlights 129 new antisemitic incidents
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: monitored worldwide just last week. According to the report, 43%
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: of all tallied incidents were acts of aggression, nearly double
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: the proportion seen in the previous two weeks. These included
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the stabbing of a Jewish man in midtown Manhattan and
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: a physical assault on three Jewish women in London. In France,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: the nationwide civil unrest saw anti-government rioters vandalize a synagogue
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: in Paris. while online anti-Semitic conspiracy narratives quickly took hold,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: blaming the crisis on Jews and Israel. The ARC also
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: reported a man in Lowe's Angels is accused of plotting
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: a mass attack on a Jewish preschool, and Iran's ambassador
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: was summoned over a plot to assassinate a German Jewish leader.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: The incidents monitored by ARC were broken down by ideological categories. 37.2%
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: were far right, 36.4% far left, and 15.5% Islamist-inspired. In
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: the realm of politics and media, Israeli-Arab social media entrepreneur
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Nuser Yassin, founder of NuzDaily with over 68 million followers,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: stated at a conference this week that he believes anti-Zionism
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: is a form of antisemitism. Yassin, who identifies as Arab-Israeli,
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he views Israel's detractors
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: as people who just really don't like Jews. and that
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: reactions to the Israeli government are absolutely fueled by antisemitism. Separately,
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: a statement posted on Facebook indicated a shift in community atmosphere, saying,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: You could feel the antisemitism everywhere. Even my community borough
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: park changed after Mamdani came in. On campuses and in
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: higher education, a Brooklyn math teacher at Park Slope Collegiate
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: is facing calls for an investigation after reportedly sharing a
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: social media image described as antisemitic. According to reporting reviewed
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: for this episode, the image resembled the happy merchant meme,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: which is associated with antisemitic stereotypes about Jewish greed. This
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: has renewed discussions about educators' online conduct and accountability in
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: New York City public schools. While criticism of Israeli government
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: policies does not inherently constitute antisemitism, the alleged caricature drew
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: scrutiny for its use of demeaning stereotypes. Meanwhile, in Beverly Hills, California,
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: a school board election has become a point of contention
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: involving antisemitism resolutions. A plan to display Israeli flags in
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: schools for a month each year, initially part of an
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: antisemitism resolution, was later scrapped by the superintendent citing safety concerns.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: This move followed a policy restricting flag displays that critics
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: viewed as retaliatory after the Israeli flag display was proposed.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: Debates surrounding definitions and policy continue, particularly concerning the IHRA
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: working definition of antisemitism. An article from jamanadu.com raises concerns
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: that the adoption of the IHRA definition by Australian universities
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: and government bodies risks chilling legitimate criticism of Israel. While
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: acknowledging that criticism of Israel can be antisemitic when it
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: relies on harmful tropes, The article questions who determines what
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: constitutes legitimate critique versus antisemitism under the definition. This discussion
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: arises as Australian universities, including the University of Melbourne and
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: the University of Wollongong, have adopted the IHRA definition, even
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: as its lead author, Kenneth Stern, has argued it was
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: never intended to be a campus hate speech code. In
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: the UK, the Board of Deputies of British Jews passed
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: a significant motion declaring the Green Party of England, and
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Wales a racist party for adopting a policy that brands
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: Zionism as racism. The board stated that denying the Jewish
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: people's right to self-determination constitutes racism, and that branding Zionism
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: as racist has serious consequences for Jewish participation in public life.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Turning to community responses and positive developments, the Together at
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: the Crossroads Summit in Denver, organized by the David Marriage
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: Foundation for Confronting Antisemitism, focused on mobilizing non-Jewish allies to
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: combat antisemitism. The two-day gathering drew hundreds of attendees, with
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: organizers reporting that over 70% were not Jewish. Speakers included
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: Yemeni refugee Mohamed Al-Samawi, who shared his journey of overcoming
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: hate and building interfaith understanding. In other community news, a
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: New York Post report highlights Orthodox Jewish families relocating from
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: New York to Okeechobee, Florida. seeking a new community away
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: from rising antisemitism, political tensions, and high living costs. The
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: report notes that while many local residents have welcomed them,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: far-right online personalities have reportedly targeted these new residents with
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: hostile rhetoric. This migration underscores concerns about safety and religious
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: life for some Jewish families considering their options. I'm Rachel Adler,
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: listen to Antisemitism Watch. MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org.ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: in your podcast app so you don't miss the next update.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources.