Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 24, 2026, 01 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 24, 2026, 01 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. Today we're
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  Speaker 1: tracking a disturbing attack in New York City, a landmark
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  Speaker 1: accountability case in Argentina, and ongoing debates over political rhetoric
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  Speaker 1: and media. We begin with an incident in New York City.
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  Speaker 1: On August fourteenth, Larry Montes, forty six, allegedly disrupted a
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  Speaker 1: Shabbat service at Manhattan's Central Synagogue. According to a federal
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  Speaker 1: criminal complaint, Montes not only shouted and knocked over ceremonial candlesticks,
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  Speaker 1: but also assaulted a congregant and a security guard. He
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  Speaker 1: has been charged federally with hate crimes and damaging religious property,
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  Speaker 1: as well as facing state hate crime charges. NYPD Commissioner
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  Speaker 1: Jessica Tish attended services the following week on August twenty first,
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  Speaker 1: vowing support for Jewish New Yorkers. She stated no New
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  Speaker 1: Yorker should be assaulted or threatened because of who they
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  Speaker 1: are or how how they worship. Commissioner Tisch emphasized that
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  Speaker 1: a hate crime such as this is a message written
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  Speaker 1: in violence intended to instill fear in an entire community.
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  Speaker 1: This incident occurs as New York City grapples with a
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  Speaker 1: significant rise in antisemitic hate crimes. The NYPD reported an
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  Speaker 1: eight point five percent increase in anti Jewish hate crimes
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  Speaker 1: during the first seven months of twenty twenty six, with
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and five confirmed incidents compared to one hundred
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  Speaker 1: and eighty nine the previous year. In July alone, twenty
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  Speaker 1: three out of thirty three confirmed hate crimes, or nearly
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  Speaker 1: seventy percent, targeted Jews, marking a fifty three point three
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  Speaker 1: percent increase from July twenty twenty five, according to NYPD data.
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  Speaker 1: Elsewhere in New York, two men in Hornell have been
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  Speaker 1: charged with hate crimes for allegedly stealing and burning an
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  Speaker 1: Israeli flag, facing counts of fourth degree criminal mischief as
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  Speaker 1: a hate crime, according to reporting reviewed for this episode.
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  Speaker 1: Turning to accountability, a federal judge in Argentina has been
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  Speaker 1: removed from office for the first time in the country's
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  Speaker 1: history due to antisemitic social media posts. On August eighteenth,
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  Speaker 1: Alfredo Eugenio Lopez, who headed Federal Court Number four in
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  Speaker 1: mar del Plata, was impeached by Argentina's Jury of Impeachment.
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  Speaker 1: The panel ruled his conduct, which included referring to Jewish
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  Speaker 1: people as a brood of vipers, calling Israel a fictitious state,
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  Speaker 1: and labeling Argentinian Jews foreigners constituted discrimination and denial of
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  Speaker 1: equal rights. According to jury member Alberto Max, Lopez was
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  Speaker 1: removed because he would not stop engaging in hate speech,
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  Speaker 1: with over fifty posts containing outrageous things based on reporting
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  Speaker 1: reviewed for this episode. In the Realm of Politics and Media,
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  Speaker 1: actor Mark Ruffalo is facing accusations of invoking antisemitic tropes
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  Speaker 1: from Paramount Pictures. The controversy began when Ruffalo criticized tech
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  Speaker 1: giant Oracles ties to the Israeli military and, by extension,
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  Speaker 1: its leadership, including Paramount CEO David Ellison. Ruffalo had described
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  Speaker 1: the war in Gaza using terms like genocide and apart eate,
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  Speaker 1: which he linked to Oracle's technology. Paramount stated it was
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  Speaker 1: a troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in business disputes,
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  Speaker 1: calling such language a bridge too far. Ruffalo vehemently pushed back,
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  Speaker 1: calling the accusation appalling and fundamentally dishonest, and stating that
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  Speaker 1: criticism of the Israeli government or military contracts is not
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  Speaker 1: the same as criticizing Jewish people. He asserted his remark
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  Speaker 1: stem from his own political convictions, not hostility towards Jews.
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  Speaker 1: Fellow actors John Cusack and Paul Walter Hauser have publicly
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  Speaker 1: supported Ruffalo. Meanwhile, organizations like the Simon Weisenthal Center and
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  Speaker 1: the Anti Defamation League have commended Paramount for its stance.
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  Speaker 1: Ruffalo himself, as noted in reporting reviewed for this episode,
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  Speaker 1: opposes the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. Reporting indicates that
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  Speaker 1: Simon and Shuster is preparing to republish works by author
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  Speaker 1: Susan Abulhawa, who has been accused of openly endorsing political
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  Speaker 1: violence and repeatedly using antisemitic rhetoric, according to reporting reviewed
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  Speaker 1: for this episode. Internationally, the Montreal City Council is set
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  Speaker 1: to vote this evening on a resolution that would declare
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  Speaker 1: a genocide in Gaza and denounce the Aparteate regime in Palestine.
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  Speaker 1: The resolution, promoted by the opposition Project Montreal Party, has
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  Speaker 1: ignited controversy and drawn pushback, particularly amid an uptick in
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic crimes in the city. Based on reporting reviewed for
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  Speaker 1: this episode. In Michigan, members of Congress, including House Majority
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  Speaker 1: Leader Steve Scalies and Rep. John James visited Temple Israel
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  Speaker 1: in West Bloomfield on August thirteenth. They went to show
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  Speaker 1: support following a failed attack on the congregation in March,
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  Speaker 1: where a gunman rammed a truck loaded with fireworks and
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  Speaker 1: gasoline into the building and began shooting. The attack failed
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  Speaker 1: due to mechanical issues with the vehicle. Lawmakers witnessed repairs
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  Speaker 1: and discussed ongoing security needs, advocating for increased funding for
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  Speaker 1: the non profit Security Grant Program, a measure co sponsored
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  Speaker 1: by Rep. James. According to the Detroit Jewish News and
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  Speaker 1: reporting reviewed for this episode, on college campuses and in
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  Speaker 1: broader cultural discourse, a shift is noted in the evolution
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  Speaker 1: of woke rhetoric. An article argues that what is termed
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  Speaker 1: woke two discourse, prominent in twenty twenty six, increasingly identifies
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  Speaker 1: Jewish people as a target, analogous to how white people
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  Speaker 1: were identified in Woke one discourse. This shift is seen
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  Speaker 1: by the article's author as having begun on October seventh,
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. According to the article and reporting reviewed
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  Speaker 1: for this episode, we conclude with developments offering rays of
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  Speaker 1: hope and demonstrating proactive strategies a new study by the
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  Speaker 1: Anti Defamation League found that a single forty five minute
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  Speaker 1: classroom lesson on contemporary very antisemitism can significantly reduce teenager's
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  Speaker 1: belief in antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes. Researchers noted that
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  Speaker 1: educators without prior specialized training could measurably shift how teens
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  Speaker 1: think about antisemitism, with students in the study being fourteen
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  Speaker 1: point four percentage points more likely to reject the claim
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  Speaker 1: that Jews have too much power in the United States,
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  Speaker 1: according to the ADL study and reporting reviewed for this episode. Additionally,
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  Speaker 1: Camp Laviyan Lakewood, Pennsylvania will continue its operations. Following a
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  Speaker 1: period of uncertainty. OHOL Children's Home and Family Services sold
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  Speaker 1: the camp to a fair profit group led by a
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  Speaker 1: former director, ensuring it remains a modern Orthodox institution. Based
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  Speaker 1: on reporting reviewed for this episode, I'm Rachel Adler. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. 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.