Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 3, 2026, 01 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - September 3, 2026, 01 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. A disturbing
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  Speaker 1: incident at a public sporting event highlights the persistence of
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  Speaker 1: hate speech and symbols. At the Kia Center in Orlando
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday night, during a kickboxing match, convicted felon and
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  Speaker 1: white supremacist Paul Miller reportedly gave a Nazi salute and
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  Speaker 1: used antisemitic slurs after defeating his Jewish opponent, Ben Azoulay.
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  Speaker 1: According to WSH2, supporters of Miller also unveiled a swastika banner. Miller,
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  Speaker 1: described by the Anti-Defamation League as a volatile white supremacist accelerationist,
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  Speaker 1: also directed slurs at Azoulay after the fight. Video circulating
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  Speaker 1: on social media shows Miller twice flashing the Nazi salute
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  Speaker 1: as he exited the ring, with a member of his
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  Speaker 1: corner wearing a shirt reading, FCK ISRL. Miller has a
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  Speaker 1: history of federal convictions, including possession of unregistered firearms, and
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  Speaker 1: has advocated for a race-based civil war, according to the
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  Speaker 1: Washington Post. local officials swiftly condemned the display. Orlando Mayor
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  Speaker 1: Buddy Dyer stated on X that a symbol of hate
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  Speaker 1: was brought to our city this weekend, but hate, fear,
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  Speaker 1: and division will never be welcome here. State Representative Ana
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  Speaker 1: Eskamani called the display disgusting and a reminder of prevalent extremism.
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  Speaker 1: Marnie Mandel, CEO of the Jewish organization Shalom Orlando, expressed
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  Speaker 1: disgust and urged scrutiny of future public events. However, city
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  Speaker 1: management told WSH2 that venue operators are bound by the
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  Speaker 1: First Amendment and cannot deny access based on political ideology.
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  Speaker 1: A Kia USA spokesman condemned the behavior and thanked venue
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  Speaker 1: staff for their response. Reflecting the escalating threat environment, new
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  Speaker 1: data from the Jewish Federations of North America shows that
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish community's spending on security has surpassed $ 1 billion annually,
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  Speaker 1: a 33% increase from the previous year. This comes as
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  Speaker 1: leaders call for the urgent passage of the Jewish American
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  Speaker 1: Security Act to fully fund the nonprofit security grant program
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  Speaker 1: at $ 1 billion. JFNA President and CEO Eric D. Fingerhut stated,
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  Speaker 1: the fact that Jewish communal spending has shot up 33%
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  Speaker 1: is a measure of how much more dangerous life has
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  Speaker 1: become for Jewish Americans. Fingerhut added that the need has
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  Speaker 1: outpaced the resources. This increased spending comes as the latest
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  Speaker 1: FBI hate crime data reveals that anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted
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  Speaker 1: for 64% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in 2025.
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  Speaker 1: The same FBI report found that American Jews were the
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  Speaker 1: most targeted religious group and the second most targeted group
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  Speaker 1: for hate crimes of any kind in 2025. In Washington,
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  Speaker 1: the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Protect Economic
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  Speaker 1: and Academic Freedom Act by a 237 minutes 169 vote,
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  Speaker 1: a measure that would strip federal aid from colleges and
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  Speaker 1: universities engaged in boycotts against Israel. The bill, led by
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  Speaker 1: Republican Virginia Fox, aims to prevent institutions participating in a
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  Speaker 1: non-expressive commercial boycott of Israel from receiving federal funding. Fox
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  Speaker 1: stated the legislation completely severs any possible taxpayer support of
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  Speaker 1: these concrete campaigns of antisemitism in the form of BDS
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  Speaker 1: and academic boycotts of Israel. While 33 Democrats joined Republicans
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  Speaker 1: in supporting the bill, prominent Democrats like House Minority Leader
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  Speaker 1: Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, and James Clyburn voted against it,
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  Speaker 1: citing concerns about restricting political activism and free expression. Representative
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  Speaker 1: Jerry Nadler, while disagreeing with the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement,
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  Speaker 1: emphasized his commitment to protecting Americans' right to speech. even
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  Speaker 1: speech he disagrees with. Representative Bobby Scott criticized the bill
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  Speaker 1: as unnecessary, stating universities have not embraced BDS and arguing
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  Speaker 1: against punishing protected speech. Democratic Congressman Josh Gotthamer, a co-sponsor,
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  Speaker 1: called the proposal narrow and tailored and necessary to combat
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitism targeting Israel and Judaism. As the academic year begins,
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  Speaker 1: developments in higher education continue to draw scrutiny. Federal judges
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  Speaker 1: have dismissed lawsuits against universities like Harvard, finding that the
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  Speaker 1: Trump administration had not proven its case regarding anti-Semitism compliance
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  Speaker 1: and its right to link Title VI to federal grants. Separately,
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  Speaker 1: Florida International University faced a ruling concerning overly broad time, place,
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  Speaker 1: and manner restrictions on student protests. In contrast, Haverford College
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  Speaker 1: settled a lawsuit brought by Jewish and Israeli students and faculty.
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  Speaker 1: the college's president acknowledged that Zionism is an integral part
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  Speaker 1: of Jewish identity, stating that harassment based on Jewish identity,
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  Speaker 1: including Zionism, is anathema to the college's principles. Meanwhile, allegations
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  Speaker 1: from former Justice Department lawyers suggest that the Trump administration's
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  Speaker 1: prior focus on higher education antisemitism was based on flimsy evidence. Separately,
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  Speaker 1: reports indicate that faculty and graduate student unions have been
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  Speaker 1: increasingly influenced by anti-Israel activists. While Israeli academics continue to
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  Speaker 1: report boycotts from European and American colleagues, in politics and media,
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  Speaker 1: concerns persist over public figures' rhetoric. Ahead of concerts by
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  Speaker 1: the rapper now known as Yee, formerly Can I West,
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  Speaker 1: at Chicago's Soldier Field, advocates from the Anti-Defamation League expressed
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  Speaker 1: concerns about his history of antisemitic comments. including questioning the
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  Speaker 1: Holocaust and repeating tropes about Jewish control of money and media.
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  Speaker 1: Rebecca Weininger of the ADL told WBBM Newsradio that the
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  Speaker 1: impact on the Jewish community needs to be recognized. Soldier
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  Speaker 1: Field Management stated they will enforce a zero-tolerance policy for
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  Speaker 1: hate during the performances and will train concert staff on
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  Speaker 1: recognizing anti-Semitic symbols and statements. In a related political development,
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  Speaker 1: Vice President J.D. Vance has faced increasing pressure to denounce
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism and disavow former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, particularly
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  Speaker 1: after Vance sidestepped questions concerning antisemitism on immigration and Carlson's
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  Speaker 1: alleged remarks. Internationally, a café manager in France is scheduled
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  Speaker 1: to stand trial on March 2, 2027, on a charge
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  Speaker 1: of public discriminatory insult. Prosecutors stated the manager told a
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  Speaker 1: Jewish customer at a resort in Les Deux Alpes, there
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  Speaker 1: are too many of you, referring to the Jewish community.
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  Speaker 1: The incident, recorded by the customer and widely shared, prompted
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  Speaker 1: an investigation. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez condemned the remarks,
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  Speaker 1: and Aurore Berguet, the minister responsible for combating discrimination, stated
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  Speaker 1: that antisemitic conduct and remarks cannot be tolerated. Turning to
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  Speaker 1: case outcomes and accountability, Fashion designer John Galliano has been
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  Speaker 1: convicted in a French court for public insults based on
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  Speaker 1: religion or ethnicity, stemming from past anti-Semitic behavior, as reported
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  Speaker 1: by Haaretz.com. In Florida, a Palm Beach County employee has
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  Speaker 1: been separated from county employment following allegations of making a
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  Speaker 1: Nazi salute and saying Heil Hitler during a traffic encounter
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  Speaker 1: while driving a county vehicle. Palm Beach County Public Affairs
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  Speaker 1: Director John Jamieson stated there, is, no place for antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: hatred or discrimination in Palm Beach County government. The allegations
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  Speaker 1: have not been independently verified, and the employee has until
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  Speaker 1: September 4 to appeal the decision. I'm Rachel Adler, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated
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  Speaker 1: with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important
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  Speaker 1: details with primary sources. Thank you.