Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Tree of Life Anniversary: Eight Years of Lingering Hate

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Tree of Life Anniversary: Eight Years of Lingering Hate · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We're also
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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. You can find
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  Speaker 1: it at clockworkmedia.org slash M-A eight years ago today. A
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  Speaker 1: horrific antisemitic attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in
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  Speaker 1: Pittsburgh claimed the lives of 11 congregants. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro,
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  Speaker 1: who is Jewish, marked the anniversary by calling it the
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  Speaker 1: deadliest act of antisemitism in American history, noting that the
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  Speaker 1: pain still lingers. Officials, including Senator John Fetterman and former
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  Speaker 1: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, issued statements remembering the victims and
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  Speaker 1: committing to confronting the rising tide of antisemitism. As reported
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  Speaker 1: by JNS and Cleveland Jewish News, the remembrance also sparked
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  Speaker 1: a call for resolve to combat antisemitism in all its forms.
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  Speaker 1: Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, expressed
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  Speaker 1: offense when some officials included condemnations of non-Jewish hateful acts
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  Speaker 1: in the same breath as anti-Semitism, as detailed in reporting
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  Speaker 1: reviewed for this episode. This anniversary serves as a stark
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  Speaker 1: reminder of the pervasive hate that continues to shape our lives,
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  Speaker 1: a sentiment echoed by Talia Steinberg in Forward.com, who notes
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  Speaker 1: that despite statistics, hateful rhetoric and violence continue to impact
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  Speaker 1: how we move through the world. forcing individuals with intersecting
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  Speaker 1: identities to constantly perform a calculus of safety. This pervasive
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  Speaker 1: hate is manifesting in educational settings. In Solon, Ohio, the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Federation of Cleveland reported that students at Solon Middle
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  Speaker 1: School were targeted with antisemitic behavior, including Nazi salutes and language,
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  Speaker 1: on October 22 during Cultural Awareness Day. As reported by
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  Speaker 1: Cleveland Jewish News, Over 40 people attended a subsequent board
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  Speaker 1: of education, meeting where students and community members spoke out
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  Speaker 1: against the incidents, with the school principal having previously described
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  Speaker 1: the behavior as especially disappointing, because it occurred during a
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  Speaker 1: time celebrating diversity. Meanwhile, in California's Ross Valley School District,
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  Speaker 1: Jewish parents are raising alarms over what they describe as
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  Speaker 1: a years-long failure to confront bigotry. Yahoo.com and the New
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  Speaker 1: York Post report that the district has seen a disturbing
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  Speaker 1: rash of antisemitic graffiti and hate speech by children, with
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  Speaker 1: at least six instances of swastika graffiti since 2020. Parents
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  Speaker 1: highlight specific incidents, including, I hate Jews scrawled at Brookside
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  Speaker 1: Elementary and targeting at White Hill Middle School where students
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  Speaker 1: asked others, Are you a Jew? Parents express frustration over
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  Speaker 1: what they view as inadequate responses and communication from district officials. Additionally,
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  Speaker 1: A U.S. House committee investigation, as detailed by The College Fix,
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  Speaker 1: has accused the Philadelphia and Berkeley school districts of promoting
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  Speaker 1: curricula that allegedly teach students to hate Israel and embrace
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  Speaker 1: radical ideas, including those justifying violent resistance. In politics, Michigan
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  Speaker 1: Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed is facing criticism over his
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  Speaker 1: campaign's response to a controversial advertisement. World Israel News and
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  Speaker 1: other outlets report that an ad by Rebellion PAC founded
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  Speaker 1: by Senk Iger, links the cost of living crisis in
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  Speaker 1: the US to American military aid for Israel, with a
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  Speaker 1: scene where a couple discusses setting aside money for killing Palestinians.
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  Speaker 1: Rabbis and political figures, including Democratic Representative Dan Goldman of
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  Speaker 1: New York, have urged El-Sayed to condemn the ad as anti-Semitic.
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  Speaker 1: El-Sayed's campaign stated the ad is not affiliated with them,
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  Speaker 1: but has been criticized for not issuing a direct condemnation.
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  Speaker 1: The Detroit News and Yahoo.com also note that El-Said's campaign
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  Speaker 1: previously used a clip featuring former Fox News host Tucker Carlson,
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  Speaker 1: whose history of anti-Semitic comments has drawn concern from rabbis.
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  Speaker 1: Sank Iger himself has defended the ad, stating it criticizes
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  Speaker 1: the government of Israel, not Jewish people. Rhetoric targeting Israel
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  Speaker 1: also surfaced this week. Incent. Louis, the Blues hockey team
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  Speaker 1: condemned what owner Tom Stillman called vile messages of hate.
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  Speaker 1: after signs reading Israel Kills and Free America from Israel
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  Speaker 1: were displayed during a game. The group responsible, the 2026
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  Speaker 1: Freedom Convoy, asserted that criticizing Israel is not antisemitic. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: in San Francisco, pro-Palestine activists are actively opposing Senator Scott
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  Speaker 1: Weiner in a congressional race, citing historical disagreements and amplified
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  Speaker 1: concerns since October 7, as reported by Mission Local and Forward,
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  Speaker 1: while Weiner, who is Jewish, rejects money from pro-Israel groups
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  Speaker 1: and calls Gaza's destruction a genocide. Some activists' criticisms of
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  Speaker 1: him and Israel have drawn scrutiny. Forward also notes that
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  Speaker 1: when New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani branded Israeli Prime
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  Speaker 1: Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal, his comments were called
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  Speaker 1: pure antisemitism by Gadi Eisenkot, a leading Israeli politician. Internationally,
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  Speaker 1: a British watchdog, Nasher Jew, has identified approximately 40 medical
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  Speaker 1: professionals within the UK's National Health Service spreading anti-Semitic rhetoric online.
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  Speaker 1: Aljamina reports that their online activity included Holocaust inversion, conspiracy theories,
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  Speaker 1: and praise for violence against civilians. Examples cited include a
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  Speaker 1: surgeon sharing a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Netanyahu pushing a
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  Speaker 1: Palestinian flag-covered coffin into an Auschwitz oven and wishing Israelis
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  Speaker 1: may you live under rocket fire forever. the General Medical
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  Speaker 1: Council is investigating. But Nasher Jew has criticized the limited
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  Speaker 1: disciplinary actions taken so far, noting that most identified professionals
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  Speaker 1: have faced no significant regulatory action, while a separate report
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  Speaker 1: from the Campaign Against Antisemitism highlights fear and discrimination experienced
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  Speaker 1: by Jewish patients within the NHS. I'm Rachel Adler, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage from
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  Speaker 1: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region, listen
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  Speaker 1: to Antisemitism Watch, MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org.ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in
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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.