Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - October 3, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - October 3, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. And we're
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, providing focused coverage from New York,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region. You can find
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  Speaker 1: it at clockworkmedia.org slash ma today. We begin with serious
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  Speaker 1: allegations of a terror plot targeting the Jewish community in Manchester, England,
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  Speaker 1: directed from Iran. Prosecutors say two Iranian nationals engaged in
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  Speaker 1: surveillance and plan to use a homemade bomb. The men,
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  Speaker 1: Rahman Saleh and Salem Ahmadian, were arrested on September 20,
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  Speaker 1: the start of Yom Kippur. They are accused of targeting
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  Speaker 1: the Manchester Jewish Museum and the Heaton Park Synagogue, the
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  Speaker 1: site of a deadly attack last year. According to prosecutors,
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  Speaker 1: the pair were in contact with a third party believed
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  Speaker 1: to be in Iran, who provided instructions on assembling a
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  Speaker 1: device made from chlorine and brake fluid. British counter-terrorism police
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  Speaker 1: stated the plot is believed to be isolated, and not
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  Speaker 1: connected to other investigations. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmoud commented on
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  Speaker 1: the persistent threats from the Iranian regime against UK Jewish communities.
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  Speaker 1: This case follows a significant rise in antisemitism in Britain
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  Speaker 1: since October 2023. As reported by jpost.com, wtvbam.com, and abknuz.com,
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  Speaker 1: on Canadian campuses, the University of Toronto has cancelled an
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  Speaker 1: anti-Israel event scheduled for October 7. intended to honor martyrs
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  Speaker 1: on the anniversary of the Hamas attack. A university spokesperson
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  Speaker 1: cited significant safety and operational concerns, including physical safety risks
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  Speaker 1: and the promotion of counter-protests. Jewish advocacy groups, like the
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  Speaker 1: Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, had urged universities to
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  Speaker 1: shut down such events that they say glorify terrorism and
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  Speaker 1: call for intifada, which is considered incitement to violence by many. Dr.
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  Speaker 1: David Jacobs, a member of U of T's governing council,
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  Speaker 1: called the choice of date purposefully provocative. While the University
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  Speaker 1: of Toronto has cancelled the event, other rallies are still
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  Speaker 1: planned at institutions like UBC and McGill. These universities have
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  Speaker 1: reiterated commitments to free expression alongside denouncements of antisemitism and
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  Speaker 1: assurances of safe learning environments. National Post and Yahoo News
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  Speaker 1: reported on this development. In media and commentary, The New
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  Speaker 1: Yorker has drawn significant criticism for publishing a review of
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  Speaker 1: Florence Hazratt's book, On the Mark. The review highlighted the
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  Speaker 1: book's claim that Hebrew punctuation marks are relics of a
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  Speaker 1: brutal colonial system. According to the book's premise, as presented
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  Speaker 1: in the review, punctuation helped transform Hebrew and encouraged Jewish
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  Speaker 1: migration to Israel, a process framed as problematic. Reviewer Louis
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  Speaker 1: Menend noted the author's overreach. However, Jewish commentators and organizations
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  Speaker 1: pushed back strongly. Daniel Sugarman of Jewish News UK called
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  Speaker 1: the argument pseudoscientific crap roping in Jews. Isaac DiCastro of
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  Speaker 1: Tablet magazine described it as mass psychosis. Former prosecutor Dave
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  Speaker 1: Ehrenberg told Fox News Digital that blaming commas and question
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  Speaker 1: marks for regional conflict shows just how deeply antisemitism rots
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  Speaker 1: basic critical thinking. adding that the attempt to demonize Hebrew
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  Speaker 1: is not serious linguistics. Fox News covered this story. In
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  Speaker 1: New York City, a coalition of more than 25 Jewish
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  Speaker 1: community groups is sharply criticizing Mayor Zoran Mamdani's new plan
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  Speaker 1: to combat antisemitism. The groups, including the New York City
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  Speaker 1: Public School Alliance and Bridgebuilders Grassroots Coalition, argue the 33-page
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  Speaker 1: blueprint falls dangerously short by largely sidestepping the biggest threat
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  Speaker 1: Jewish New Yorkers face, anti-Jewish harassment and violence cloaked as
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  Speaker 1: anti-Israel activism. In a letter to the mayor's office to
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  Speaker 1: combat antisemitism, they demanded a new plan that defines antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: and addresses anti-Zionist hatred. Noting the report fails to mention
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  Speaker 1: Zionism and explicitly declines to adopt a definition of antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: A spokesperson for Mayor Mamdani stated the administration is committed
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  Speaker 1: to rooting out antisemitism in all its forms. The New
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  Speaker 1: York Post reported on this criticism. Finally, in Victoria, Canada,
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  Speaker 1: a man has been sentenced for defacing a historic synagogue.
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  Speaker 1: Arthur Colin Roberts received eight months in jail after pleading
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  Speaker 1: guilty to mischief and uttering threats. He admitted to defacing
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  Speaker 1: Congregation Emmanuel Synagogue with messages like Stop the Jews, describing
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  Speaker 1: Jewish people with hateful terms. B.C. Provincial Court Judge Micah
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  Speaker 1: Rankin ruled it a hate crime, noting that while Roberts
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  Speaker 1: may have been motivated by events in Gaza, the phrase,
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  Speaker 1: stop the Jews targets Jews themselves, not the state of Israel.
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  Speaker 1: The judge emphasized that the collective attribution of responsibility to
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  Speaker 1: all Jews for Israel's actions renders such words antisemitic. The
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  Speaker 1: ruling stated that damage to a religious edifice coupled with
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  Speaker 1: hate speech is highly aggravating. The Times Colonist reported on
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  Speaker 1: this case outcome. I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening
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  Speaker 1: to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch, midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: slash ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: you don't miss the next update. This report was generated
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  Speaker 1: with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: details with primary sources. Thank you.