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Manhattan Rabbi Attacked in Hate Crime Investigation · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We're also
• 0:10
  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 to
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  Speaker 1: learn more. Today's report details a series of antisemitic incidents,
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  Speaker 1: from physical assaults in Manhattan to controversial political rhetoric and
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  Speaker 1: the weaponization of online platforms. In New York City, authorities
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  Speaker 1: are investigating two separate assaults as hate crimes. Police arrested
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  Speaker 1: Anna Mokalova, 32, in connection with stabbing a 26-year-old rabbi
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  Speaker 1: with what is believed to be a syringe in Manhattan's
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  Speaker 1: Diamond District. The incident occurred Wednesday evening, and according to Naipos.com,
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  Speaker 1: the rabbi, identified as Yosef, believes he was targeted because
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  Speaker 1: he is visibly Jewish. Surveillance video showed the suspect following
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  Speaker 1: the rabbi before the attack. Fox 5 NY reports that
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  Speaker 1: Mokolova also assaulted another Jewish man hours earlier on West
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  Speaker 1: 42nd Street. Police have charged Mokolova with multiple hate crime offenses,
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  Speaker 1: including assault with intent to injure with a weapon, menacing,
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  Speaker 1: and aggravated harassment, according to Fox5NY. com. The NYPD's Hate Crime
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  Speaker 1: Task Force is investigating both incidents. These events come as
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  Speaker 1: NYPD data shows that Jewish New Yorkers have been the
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  Speaker 1: targets of 53% of the city's confirmed hate crimes in
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  Speaker 1: the first nine months of the year, according to JNS.org.
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  Speaker 1: In response to rising concerns, security has been increased at
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  Speaker 1: Jewish houses of worship for events like Hanukkah, as reported
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  Speaker 1: by Fox5NY. com. Across the Atlantic, the Board of Deputies of
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  Speaker 1: British Jews has declared the UK Green Party of England
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  Speaker 1: and Wales a racist organization. The decision, made at the
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  Speaker 1: board's October plenary meeting, condemns the Green Party's adoption of
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  Speaker 1: a policy branding, Zionism is racism. According to the BBC,
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  Speaker 1: Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg stated that by adopting
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  Speaker 1: this anti-Semitic platform, the Green Party has become a racist
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  Speaker 1: party and that no political party has the right to
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  Speaker 1: tell Jews that a central part of our identity is racist.
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  Speaker 1: He added that the policy gives prejudice against Jews a
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  Speaker 1: political license. The Green Party, however, maintains it does not
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  Speaker 1: discriminate against Zionist views and has stated its decision will
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  Speaker 1: not stop them from speaking out against the conflict in Gaza.
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  Speaker 1: The party has indicated the motion will remain policy until 2028.
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  Speaker 1: In New York, a significant demographic shift is underway, with
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  Speaker 1: over 100 Orthodox Jewish families relocating from the city to Florida,
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  Speaker 1: citing rising anti-Semitism attributed to Mayor Zoran Mamdani's administration. PJmedia.com
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  Speaker 1: reports these families are settling in Lakefront Estates, Florida, seeking
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  Speaker 1: a fresh start. One resident told the publication, you could
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  Speaker 1: feel the antisemitism everywhere. Even my community borough park changed
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  Speaker 1: after Mamdani came in. The report notes that while Mamdani's
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  Speaker 1: administration announced a $ 30 million strategy and an interagency task
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  Speaker 1: force to combat antisemitism, critics have mocked it as a ruse.
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  Speaker 1: They argue the plan fails to define antisemitism, does not
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  Speaker 1: use the term Zionism, and even funds anti-Israel groups. This
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  Speaker 1: exodus occurs against a backdrop of rising hate crimes in
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  Speaker 1: New York City. NYPD data shows hate crimes are up
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  Speaker 1: nearly 16% from last year, with Jews targeted in half
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  Speaker 1: of those incidents. In national politics, over 220 liberal and
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  Speaker 1: progressive rabbis have signed an open letter to Democratic U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Senate nominee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. As reported by jpost.com, The
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  Speaker 1: rabbis express concern over rhetoric they claim undermines Jewish safety
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  Speaker 1: and echoes anti-Semitic stereotypes. The letter cites past instances where
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  Speaker 1: El-Sayed allegedly described Israelis as bloodthirsty, U.S. financial and diplomatic
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  Speaker 1: support for Israel as legalized bribery, and the Jewish state
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  Speaker 1: as inherently illiberal. The signatories urge El-Sayed to align his
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  Speaker 1: campaign with former President Obama's legacy of Jewish inclusion within
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  Speaker 1: the Democratic Party. requesting that he reaffirm that Zionist Jews
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  Speaker 1: remain full members of the political coalition. Globally, online antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: continues to exploit current events. CAM's Antisemitism Research Center, or ARC,
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  Speaker 1: documented 1,384 antisemitic posts from 816 unique accounts on X,
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  Speaker 1: formerly Twitter, over a two-day period during the recent civil
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  Speaker 1: unrest in France. According to Edgepress.org, these posts systematically blamed
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  Speaker 1: Jews and Israel for the crisis. Ark notes this is
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  Speaker 1: the fourth instance in under three months where they have
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  Speaker 1: observed this same pattern. A crisis emerges, Jews are blamed,
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  Speaker 1: and social media accounts amplify these conspiracy theories on a
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  Speaker 1: vast scale. Previous examples include the Ceuta border crisis, the
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  Speaker 1: 25th anniversary of 9-11, and a hijacking attempt on a
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  Speaker 1: fly-to-buy flight, all recast as Jewish plots. I'm Rachel Adler,
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage
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  Speaker 1: from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region,
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: listen to Antisemitism Watch. MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org.ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch
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  Speaker 1: in your podcast app so you don't miss the next update.
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  Speaker 1: This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies.
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  Speaker 1: Please verify important details with primary sources. Thank you.