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Averting Mall of America Terror Plot · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. And we're
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  Speaker 1: launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, providing focused coverage from New York,
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  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region. Visit clockworkmedia.org slash m-a.
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  Speaker 1: We begin with a chilling plot averted. An 18-year-old man,
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  Speaker 1: Sheikh Dun Abdullahi Mohammed, was charged by the FBI with
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  Speaker 1: planning a mass shooting at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.
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  Speaker 1: According to a federal complaint, Mohamed believed the mall's owners
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  Speaker 1: were Jewish and intended to kill between 30 and 60 people.
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  Speaker 1: The FBI reports he pledged allegiance to ISIS in September
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  Speaker 1: and purchased an AK-47 assault rifle from an undercover agent,
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  Speaker 1: intending to carry out the attack on October 24. The
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  Speaker 1: investigation began last December when Mohamed expressed a desire to
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  Speaker 1: join a designated terrorist organization or carry out an attack
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  Speaker 1: in Minnesota if travel was not possible. as reported by JTA.
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  Speaker 1: On a college campus, graphic antisemitic and racist flyers were
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  Speaker 1: discovered at the Ackland Art Museum at the University of
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  Speaker 1: North Carolina. The Daily Tar Heel reports at least four
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  Speaker 1: flyers featuring depictions of the Ku Klux Klan, swastikas, and
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  Speaker 1: other hate symbols were found on September 25, distributed by
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  Speaker 1: an individual the previous day. UNC police investigated, but determined
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  Speaker 1: they did not meet the threshold for a criminal act,
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  Speaker 1: classifying the incident as a non-criminal suspicious condition. This follows
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  Speaker 1: a recent string of hate-based incidents on UNC's campus. In
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  Speaker 1: higher education, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil
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  Speaker 1: Rights has expanded its investigation into Swarthmore College. The Center
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  Speaker 1: Square and BigContrinus.com report the OCR is examining allegations that
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  Speaker 1: the Pennsylvania school failed to adequately respond to anti-Semitic propaganda.
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  Speaker 1: including a video depicting an Israeli soldier being burned that
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  Speaker 1: was reposted by an account identified as Students for Justice
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  Speaker 1: in Palestine. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Kimberly Ritchie, stated
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  Speaker 1: that such allegations underscore that radicalism and antisemitism are incompatible
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  Speaker 1: with safe learning environments and that the OCR will thoroughly
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  Speaker 1: investigate potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
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  Speaker 1: Swarthmore College denies the allegations with a spokesperson stating the
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  Speaker 1: college has no control over content posted to the SJP
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  Speaker 1: account and that it's unclear if those operating it are students. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: a federal appeals court has vacated an order requiring the
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  Speaker 1: University of Pennsylvania to submit a list of Jewish students
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  Speaker 1: and faculty to the federal government as part of a
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  Speaker 1: probe into antisemitism, according to philivoice.com. The court's decision nullifies
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  Speaker 1: the subpoena. At the University of Arkansas, A former professor
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  Speaker 1: has filed a federal lawsuit alleging discrimination and retaliation. With nwayinline.com
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  Speaker 1: reporting the termination was linked to controversial social media posts
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  Speaker 1: about Israel and Iran and an anti-Semitism complaint. The Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Chronicle reports on allegations of online threats and stalking by
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  Speaker 1: a Haverford professor against a Jewish individual. For younger students,
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey has produced a handbook,
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  Speaker 1: addressing antisemitism K-12 schools, a toolkit for families, offering resources
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  Speaker 1: for educational settings, as noted by jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com. Concerns also persist
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  Speaker 1: about Jewish students' ability to participate fully in university life
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  Speaker 1: amid rising antisemitism and campus tensions. jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com reports. Finally, a
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  Speaker 1: lawyer's report concerning antisemitism allegations against the Denver Public Schools
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  Speaker 1: Board of Education has been deemed inconclusive, according to cbsnews.com.
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  Speaker 1: In politics and media, New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani
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  Speaker 1: is facing significant bipartisan backlash. Fox News reports this follows
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  Speaker 1: a controversial social media post made on the three-year anniversary
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  Speaker 1: of the October 7 terrorist attacks. Elisha Wiesel, chairman of
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  Speaker 1: the Eli Wiesel Foundation, appeared on the story to react,
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  Speaker 1: expressing deep concern and shock over the rise of hatred
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  Speaker 1: and fear facing the Jewish community in New York City
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  Speaker 1: following Mamdani's remarks and anti-Israel protests. Wiesel questioned the solidarity
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  Speaker 1: displayed in New York City, drawing contrasts to the unity
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  Speaker 1: scene after 9-11 and sharing his alarm over the escalating
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  Speaker 1: hatred and fear impacting the Jewish community. A new report
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  Speaker 1: from thedsch.com warns that anti-Zionist antisemitism has become institutionally embedded
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  Speaker 1: across Britain's public sector. Labour Friends of Israel is calling
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  Speaker 1: for an independent reviewer to investigate anti-Jewish hatred in public institutions,
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  Speaker 1: urging the government to recognise anti-Zionist antisemitism as a defined ideology.
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  Speaker 1: The report highlights measures to tackle the exclusion and intimidation
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  Speaker 1: of Jews, noting that anti-Zionism which it states denies the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish right to national self-determination, is a major feature of
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  Speaker 1: far-left and Islamist extremism and links this ideology to everyday
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism routinely encountered by Jews. On the policy front, the U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Department of Justice is launching a significant new initiative. Jpost.com, BreakingGak.com,
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  Speaker 1: and CaledonianRecord.com report that the DOJ's Task Force to Combat
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism is is rolling out a nationwide American tour against hate.
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  Speaker 1: This first-of-its-kind federal initiative aims to bring government resources and
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  Speaker 1: officials directly to local communities experiencing hate and discrimination. The
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  Speaker 1: first event is scheduled for Southfield, Michigan, featuring keynote speaker
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  Speaker 1: Leo Terrell. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the tour is
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  Speaker 1: an important step in ensuring communities know the federal government
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  Speaker 1: stands ready to work with them to confront antisemitic threats,
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  Speaker 1: and uphold civil rights, Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr.
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  Speaker 1: added that no American should live in fear of unjust
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  Speaker 1: discrimination or violence. Meanwhile, an analysis in TheBaltimoreSun.com argues that
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  Speaker 1: Democratic politicians are too hesitant to confront antisemitism. The article
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  Speaker 1: criticizes the party for offering broad condemnations of hate rather
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  Speaker 1: than direct action, particularly noting the lack of specific responses
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  Speaker 1: to controversies involving figures like Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
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  Speaker 1: It points to a reported 140% increase in anti-Semitic incidents
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  Speaker 1: in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Separately, NorthJersey.com
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  Speaker 1: reports that Representative Josh Gottthamer, D-Tenafly, unveiled a bipartisan initiative
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  Speaker 1: and called for an end to the wave of anti-Semitism.
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  Speaker 1: marking the third anniversary of the October 7th attacks. In
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  Speaker 1: the cultural sphere, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt spoke on the
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  Speaker 1: impact of excluding Jewish and Israeli artists, urging cultural institutions
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  Speaker 1: to support their inclusion, according to a report from YouTube.com.
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  Speaker 1: The Fox News report we referenced earlier also touches upon
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  Speaker 1: Holocaust denial. It notes that state actors like Iran, Qatar, China,
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  Speaker 1: and Russia spread anti-Semitic and anti-Israel conspiracy theories, including Holocaust denial,
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  Speaker 1: to sow chaos. The report emphasizes that violent antisemitism is
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  Speaker 1: currently at levels not seen since the Holocaust. Finally, we
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  Speaker 1: turn to community response and positive developments. Jewish influencers Jonah
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  Speaker 1: Platt and Hen Mazig are urging public solidarity to combat
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  Speaker 1: rising antisemitism, as reported by JTA. They express frustration that
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  Speaker 1: many celebrities and public figures offer private support but decline
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  Speaker 1: to appear publicly, citing fear for their safety or careers. Platt,
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  Speaker 1: host of the podcast Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, aims
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  Speaker 1: to provide a platform for Jewish and allied voices to
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  Speaker 1: share their stories and humanize the Jewish experience. Despite the challenges,
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  Speaker 1: Platt's podcast has attracted high-profile guests like Cindy Crawford, Jason Alexander,
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  Speaker 1: and Mayim Bialik, with listeners reporting feeling less alone and
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  Speaker 1: more proud. An AP-NORC survey indicates that 4 in 10
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  Speaker 1: Jews are less likely to wear any identifying markers of
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  Speaker 1: their faith than they were before the October 7 attacks,
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  Speaker 1: highlighting the courage of those who speak out publicly. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For
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  Speaker 1: focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the
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  Speaker 1: Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch. MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org.ma. Follow
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so you don't miss
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  Speaker 1: the next update. This report was generated with AI assistance
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  Speaker 1: and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.