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France Thwarts Synagogue Attack 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: also 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
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  Speaker 1: MA for more. In France, authorities have thwarted a plot
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  Speaker 1: targeting a synagogue. According to reporting from StreamlineFeed.co.uk, French authorities
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  Speaker 1: imprisoned a 29-year-old French-Moroccan man on October 9, extradited from Spain,
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  Speaker 1: who is accused of organizing an armed cell. This follows
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  Speaker 1: an investigation that began July 11, when France's Domestic Intelligence Agency,
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  Speaker 1: the DGSI, received credible intelligence regarding an imminent threat to
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  Speaker 1: the Don Isaac Aravenal Synagogue in Sarcelles, a suburb north
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  Speaker 1: of Paris with a prominent Jewish community. Acting on this intelligence,
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  Speaker 1: police discovered a cache of heavy weaponry, including Kalashnikov assault
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  Speaker 1: rifles and a Beretta pistol, in a parked vehicle near
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  Speaker 1: the synagogue. While the suspect currently faces charges of criminal
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  Speaker 1: association and complicity in armed robbery, the involvement of anti-terrorist
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  Speaker 1: judges and the DGSI, combined with the specific targeting of
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  Speaker 1: a Jewish house of worship, strongly indicates the state is
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  Speaker 1: treating the cell as a radicalized extremist network. Initial Intelligence
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  Speaker 1: specifically referenced a planned attack on the synagogue, suggesting an
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitic motive. The suburb of Sarcells has a history of
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  Speaker 1: communal tensions and anti-Semitic violence, most notably during the July
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  Speaker 1: 2014 riots. In politics and media, the 2026 election cycle
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  Speaker 1: is reportedly tainted by anti-Semitic rhetoric. According to Jewishaz.com, dehumanizing
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  Speaker 1: language directed toward Jewish candidates has emerged. Republican nominee for
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  Speaker 1: Arizona governor, Rep. Andy Biggs, drew criticism for appearing on
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  Speaker 1: Stu Peter's show. an internet personality who has labeled Judaism
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  Speaker 1: a death cult, and called for a final solution involving
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  Speaker 1: the deportation of American Jews. Reporting from the Arizona Mirror
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  Speaker 1: notes that State Rep Alma Hernandez, running for Arizona State
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  Speaker 1: Senate District 20, had multiple campaign placards defaced with the
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  Speaker 1: words Zionist Bitch in early July. Hernandez's community leaders, candidates,
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  Speaker 1: and advocacy organizations stated, this targeted rhetoric marks Jewish identity
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  Speaker 1: as outside the boundaries of civic belonging. The New York
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  Speaker 1: Times also reported on threats against Hernandez, including a shot
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  Speaker 1: fired outside her Tucson home in June 2025, for which
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  Speaker 1: no one has been held responsible. Separately, according to jewishinsider.com,
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  Speaker 1: a new advertisement by Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed
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  Speaker 1: features far-right influencer Tucker Carlson, who has increasingly engaged in
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitic rhetoric. On college campuses, a comprehensive new study published
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  Speaker 1: in October 2026 reveals concerning trends. Researchers from Brandeis University's
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  Speaker 1: Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, in partnership with the
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  Speaker 1: Steinhardt Social Research Institute and polling firm Generation Lab, surveyed
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  Speaker 1: over 3,100 graduate students across 222 U.S. four-year colleges. Their
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  Speaker 1: findings indicate that humanities PhD students are significantly more likely
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  Speaker 1: than other graduate students to hold anti-Jewish prejudice and hostility
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  Speaker 1: toward Israel. The study found that 12% of humanity's doctoral
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  Speaker 1: students fit a pattern characterized by hostility to Jews, and
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  Speaker 1: 26% exhibited hostility to Israel. This research addressed a notable
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  Speaker 1: gap in campus climate studies, which have often focused on undergraduates.
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  Speaker 1: In Solon schools, as reported by Fox8. com, the district is
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  Speaker 1: taking action in response to anti-Semitic incidents occurring at the
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  Speaker 1: middle school. where students may encounter related images and phrases
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  Speaker 1: online without fully grasping their historical context. Meanwhile, the Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Chronicle reports that the Pittsburgh district is defending a college-credit
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  Speaker 1: ethnic studies course syllabus and assignments that discuss antisemitism and
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  Speaker 1: its comparisons. In international affairs related to IHRA qualifying rhetoric,
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  Speaker 1: Edinburgh councillors are set to debate a motion next week
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  Speaker 1: that would formally condemn a Green Party motion labelling Zionism
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  Speaker 1: is racism. According to heraldscotland.com, Conservative councillor Marie-Claire Munro argues
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  Speaker 1: that such a characterisation risks denying Jewish national identity and self-determination,
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  Speaker 1: potentially contributing to antisemitism. Munro's motion calls to reaffirm Edinburgh's
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  Speaker 1: support for its Jewish community and challenge language that encourages prejudice.
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  Speaker 1: Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer has stated that the state
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  Speaker 1: of Israel was founded by an act of genocide, and
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  Speaker 1: operates on a system of racism. The report notes that
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  Speaker 1: the City of Edinburgh Council adopted the IHRA definition of
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism in 2018, which states it is antisemitic to claim
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  Speaker 1: the existence of Israel is a racist endeavour. In institutional
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  Speaker 1: and policy responses, Rep Debbie Dingell, D. Mitch, stated her
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  Speaker 1: commitment to confronting antisemitism and Islamophobia in the context of
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  Speaker 1: heated US politics, according to FoxNews.com. She indicated she is
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  Speaker 1: prioritizing healthcare policy while supporting Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
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  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch. MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org
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  Speaker 1: slash MA. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so
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  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
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  Speaker 1: details with primary sources.