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NYC Mayor's Antisemitism Plan Under Fire · 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, with focused coverage from New York,
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  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region. Find us at clockworkmedia.org
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  Speaker 1: slash ma today. We begin with significant developments in New
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  Speaker 1: York City, where Mayor Zoran Mamdani has unveiled what his
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  Speaker 1: administration calls the first municipal strategy to combat antisemitism in
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  Speaker 1: the United States. The plan allocates $ 7. 4 million towards hate
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  Speaker 1: crime prevention, security coordination, and Jewish cultural institutions. However, according
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  Speaker 1: to reporting from the Jerusalem Post and other outlets, the
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  Speaker 1: strategy has drawn criticism from Jewish organizations. A central point
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  Speaker 1: of contention is the omission of a formal definition of antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: with the city arguing it can combat the issue without one. Critics,
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  Speaker 1: including UJA Federation of New York, and a coalition of
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  Speaker 1: major Jewish organizations, argue this framework fails to address the
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  Speaker 1: relationship between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, or the specific forms of
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  Speaker 1: hostility Jewish New Yorkers are encountering. The terms Zionism, Zionist,
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  Speaker 1: or anti-Zionist do not appear in the document, and Israel
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  Speaker 1: is mentioned only a couple of times. Further compounding concerns,
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  Speaker 1: the strategy involves funding channeled through groups like the Arab
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  Speaker 1: American Association of New York and CAIR. both of which
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  Speaker 1: have faced scrutiny for anti-Israel and anti-Semitic messaging, as reported
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  Speaker 1: by the Jerusalem Post. This comes after Mamdani's past actions,
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  Speaker 1: including his refusal to condemn the phrase, globalize the Intifada,
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  Speaker 1: and his revocation of the city's adoption of the IHRA
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  Speaker 1: definition of anti-Semitism and its ban on boycotting Israel, noted
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  Speaker 1: by the Jerusalem Post. In parallel, the discourse around Zionism
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  Speaker 1: and anti-Semitism continues globally. US Special Envoy Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda
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  Speaker 1: Kaplan stated that Zionism must be understood through Jewish history
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  Speaker 1: and not equated with racism, telling the Jerusalem Post that
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  Speaker 1: people should not be ignorant of its historical meaning. He
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  Speaker 1: indicated the US would make representations on the issue, particularly
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  Speaker 1: concerning a motion at the Green Party of England and
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  Speaker 1: Wales Conference equating Zionism with racism. Kaplan also clarified that
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  Speaker 1: the IHRA definition does not prevent criticism of Israel, but
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  Speaker 1: holds critics accountable to apply the same standards across the board. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: Haaretz reports that an Israeli minister attacked a British lawmaker
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  Speaker 1: over her heritage after she declared, Zionism is racism, following
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  Speaker 1: the Green Party's vote. The Jewishnews.co.uk also notes the envoy's
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  Speaker 1: intention to address the Green Party's motion. highlighting that singling
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  Speaker 1: out Israel for condemnation can be defined as antisemitism. Internationally,
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  Speaker 1: a report from The Telegraph indicates that levels of antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: and terrorism in the UK have doubled since the October
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  Speaker 1: 7th attack. This broader trend is echoed in specific incidents.
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  Speaker 1: In Belleville, Ontario, police are investigating antisemitic flyers distributed in
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  Speaker 1: the neighborhood of the Sons of Jacob Synagogue shortly after
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  Speaker 1: a gunman attacked it on Yom Kippur. as reported by
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  Speaker 1: the Detroit Jewish News. The flyers contained conspiracy theories such
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  Speaker 1: as every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish.
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  Speaker 1: Police confirmed the Sept. 20 attack on the synagogue was
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  Speaker 1: a hate-motivated crime, though the gunman later died of his injuries. Separately,
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  Speaker 1: a resident in North New Jersey is reportedly facing repeated vandalism, threats,
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  Speaker 1: and attacks by individuals described as anti-Zionists. According to the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Chronicle, highlighting the personal toll of ongoing harassment. On campuses,
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  Speaker 1: a report analyzed by Amadou Antonio Stiftung reveals acute pressures
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  Speaker 1: for Jewish students in Germany. 85% of surveyed German respondents
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  Speaker 1: reported hiding their Jewish identity at least once in the
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  Speaker 1: past 12 months, and 89% hid their Zionist identity. These
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  Speaker 1: rates exceed global and European baselines. The data suggest anti-Israel
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  Speaker 1: hostility is not merely rhetorical. as a substantial share of
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  Speaker 1: students reported knowing peers who were physically threatened or attacked
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  Speaker 1: in an anti-Israel context. Furthermore, nearly half of surveyed German
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  Speaker 1: Jewish students who requested religious accommodations reported denials or inconsistent granting.
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  Speaker 1: Institutional responses to rising antisemitism are varied. In Paris, police
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  Speaker 1: have banned an anti-Israel demonstration planned for the October 7th anniversary,
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  Speaker 1: citing a context of heightened terrorist threat and historically high
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic acts. As reported by jpost and combatantisemitism.org, the ban
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  Speaker 1: was requested by the French interior minister. In a separate incident,
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  Speaker 1: European Parliament President Roberta Mazzola announced she would take all
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  Speaker 1: appropriate steps against MEP Rima Hassan, who removed an Israeli
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  Speaker 1: flag during an exhibition commemorating the October 7 attack. Reporting
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  Speaker 1: by UK News on Yahoo indicates Hassan faces potential penalties
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  Speaker 1: ranging from reprimand to suspension. Meanwhile, London's Metropolitan Police have
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  Speaker 1: imposed strict conditions on a student march held on the anniversary,
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  Speaker 1: acknowledging the distress such events can cause to Jewish communities.
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  Speaker 1: In terms of accountability, Crown Heights.info reports an arrest has
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  Speaker 1: been made in connection with an antisemitic assault on a
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  Speaker 1: Jewish botcher on September 28 near the Eastern Parkway and
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  Speaker 1: Utica Avenue subway station in Crown Heights. The victim was
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  Speaker 1: allegedly harassed with antisemitic slurs and threats before being assaulted.
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  Speaker 1: The arrest followed a collaborative investigation involving the NYPD and
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  Speaker 1: Crown Heights Shamrim. Watchdog organizations continue to provide crucial data.
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  Speaker 1: The ADL reports that Maryland recorded 181 antisemitic incidents in 2025,
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  Speaker 1: including 61 at K, though 12 schools, as noted by
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  Speaker 1: the Baltimore Sun. Meanwhile, a study by the Institute for
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Policy Research, detailed by the Jerusalem Post, indicates that
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  Speaker 1: in the UK, half of British Jews now feel very
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  Speaker 1: emotionally attached to Israel, a sharp increase following October 7.
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  Speaker 1: The study also found that concerns over antisemitism intensified, and
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  Speaker 1: personal experiences of antisemitism escalated among British Jews. Finally, we
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  Speaker 1: turn to community responses and positive developments. On October 5,
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  Speaker 1: ADL honored Senators Jackie Rosen and James Lankford with the
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  Speaker 1: Levinson Family Defender of Democracy Award for their bipartisan leadership
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  Speaker 1: in protecting the Jewish community and combating antisemitism. The J.K.
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  Speaker 1: reports that Jewish leaders rallied outside the UN, delivering an
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  Speaker 1: urgent appeal to nearby leaders to stop antisemitism immediately. And
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  Speaker 1: former hostage Emily Damery called on Britons to reject denial
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  Speaker 1: and distortion of the October 7th massacre as its third
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  Speaker 1: anniversary approached. Emphasizing it was a planned terrorist attack and
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  Speaker 1: decrying escalating antisemitism faced by Jewish communities globally. 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,
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  Speaker 1: listen to Antisemitism Watch, midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org slash m-a. Follow
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so you don't miss
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  Speaker 1: the next update. This report was generated with AI assistance
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  Speaker 1: and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.