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Antisemitism Watch - August 27, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We begin
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  Speaker 1: today with significant controversy surrounding Twitch streamer Hassan Piker. Several
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  Speaker 1: prominent Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Jackie
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  Speaker 1: Rosen of Nevada, and John Ossoff of Georgia, along with
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  Speaker 1: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have condemned Piker for remarks
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  Speaker 1: he made on an August 20 livestream. According to reporting
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  Speaker 1: from Newsweek and other outlets, Piker warned that American Jews
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  Speaker 1: could face violence if they are seen as singularly supporting Israel.
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  Speaker 1: Senator Slotkin stated, This shouldn't be hard. No community should
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  Speaker 1: face the threat of violence for their political views. She
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  Speaker 1: added that blaming victims of violence for bringing it on
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  Speaker 1: themselves only further endangers people. Senator Ossoff, through a spokesperson,
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  Speaker 1: unreservedly rejected reckless and dangerous rhetoric suggesting that that policy
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  Speaker 1: advocacy invites violence against the Jewish community or any community. Piker,
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  Speaker 1: in turn, has blamed the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC for
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  Speaker 1: the wave of condemnations, calling it a crisis of credibility
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  Speaker 1: for MSM. This controversy also touches on Michigan's Senate race,
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  Speaker 1: with reports noting the continued association between Piker and Senate
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  Speaker 1: candidate Abdel El-Sayed. On college campuses, new data highlights persistent challenges.
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  Speaker 1: A report titled The Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences, or
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  Speaker 1: CASE Report, released in early August by the Association for
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute, found that 96% of
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  Speaker 1: Jewish post-secondary students surveyed in Canada had either experienced or
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  Speaker 1: witnessed at least one antisemitic incident in the past year.
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  Speaker 1: Incidents reported included students being called a Zionist whore and
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  Speaker 1: described as child killers, white supremacists, and racists. Separately, a
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  Speaker 1: Brandeis University study, which surveyed nearly 4,000 students across 303
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  Speaker 1: colleges in fall 2025, revealed that a quarter of college
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  Speaker 1: students who hold favorable views of Israel also believe its
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  Speaker 1: government is committing genocide, according to reporting by Hannah Feuer.
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  Speaker 1: Researchers from the Nexus Project, an organization that combats antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: noted the report highlights nuance on campus. stating that collapsing
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  Speaker 1: both views into a single all-encompassing camp of anti-Israel sentiment
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  Speaker 1: erases the gray area where most students actually live. The
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  Speaker 1: study also indicated that political ideology, particularly identifying as liberal,
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  Speaker 1: was a stronger predictor of agreeing with the genocide statement
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  Speaker 1: than one's stance on the conflict itself. In Hollywood, nearly 1,000
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  Speaker 1: industry figures, identifying as members, friends, and allies of the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish community, issued a statement condemning actor Mark Ruffalo's comments
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  Speaker 1: regarding the pending Paramount guidance Warner Bros. discovery merger. As
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  Speaker 1: reported by Variety and The Algeminer, the statement described Ruffalo's
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  Speaker 1: criticism as containing antisemitic theories, and stated, singling out Jewish
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  Speaker 1: executives and describing them in terms lifted from centuries-old antisemitic
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  Speaker 1: conspiracy theories, while invoking Israel as the frame for that attack,
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  Speaker 1: is antisemitic. The group, known as the Brigade, further characterized
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  Speaker 1: the rhetoric as portraying Jewish executives as a secretive and
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  Speaker 1: powerful wealth-hoarding elite delighting in mass death. A pattern, they say,
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  Speaker 1: has not only historical consequences, but shows up today in
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  Speaker 1: attacks against Jews in our streets, our synagogues, and our schools.
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  Speaker 1: Political campaigns continue to face scrutiny over rhetoric connected to
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  Speaker 1: their orbits. The Washington Post reported that Preston Parra, a
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  Speaker 1: former intern and contractor for Georgia Republican Representative Mike Collins,
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  Speaker 1: allegedly posted images on social media, including a swastika and
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  Speaker 1: photos of himself, in Ku Klux Klan-style robes, along with
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  Speaker 1: racial slurs and references to white power. Parra reportedly told
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  Speaker 1: the Washington Post that much of his social media activity
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  Speaker 1: was satirical or generated using AI. A spokesperson for Representative Collins,
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  Speaker 1: stated that Parra has no affiliation with the Congressman's office
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  Speaker 1: or campaign, and that Collins unequivocally condemns the posts. This
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  Speaker 1: follows previous scrutiny over Collins's ties to white nationalism, including
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  Speaker 1: reports about his son-in-law. On the policy front, an Australian
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  Speaker 1: judge has rejected the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Justice Desmond
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  Speaker 1: Fagan of the New South Wales Supreme Court, ruling in
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  Speaker 1: a terrorism case related to anti-Israel graffiti, stated the definition was,
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  Speaker 1: so verbose and imprecise that it could not realistically be
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  Speaker 1: attributed to the ordinary, reasonably informed member of the Australian public.
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  Speaker 1: He added that it does not reflect the established usage
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  Speaker 1: and understanding of the term anti-Semitic in Australia, which he
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  Speaker 1: described as prejudice against or hostility towards Jews as Jews.
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  Speaker 1: Justice Fagan also stated that people who criticize Israel have
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  Speaker 1: freedom to express their views. In contrast, the Dominican Republic,
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  Speaker 1: has officially adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: President Louis Abinader declared anti-Jewish hatred a direct threat to
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  Speaker 1: democracy at a regional forum, making the Caribbean nation the
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  Speaker 1: seventh in Latin America to embrace the global framework. This
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  Speaker 1: adoption was noted in reporting connected to the combat antisemitism movement.
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  Speaker 1: A report from the ADL has found that over 70%
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  Speaker 1: of Jewish teachers in unions fear Speaking Out About Antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: according to reporting reviewed for this episode. We conclude with
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  Speaker 1: community developments. A revised Holocaust education curriculum has demonstrated substantial
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  Speaker 1: gains in middle school students' antisemitism recognition and knowledge. Additionally,
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  Speaker 1: Raritan Valley Community College is presenting an exhibition titled Enduring Tension,
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  Speaker 1: Encountering Antisemitism in Every Age. This exhibit, produced by the
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  Speaker 1: Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University,
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  Speaker 1: explores the history of anti-Jewish bias in the United States
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  Speaker 1: and internationally, and examines ways citizens can counter hatred. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Rachel Adler. Thank you for joining us on Antisemitism Watch.
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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.