Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 31, 2026, 01 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 31, 2026, 01 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. This week,
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  Speaker 1: we're tracking a growing sense of vulnerability within the Jewish community,
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  Speaker 1: significant institutional responses to antisemitic rhetoric, and continuing concerns over
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  Speaker 1: rhetoric from public figures. We begin with the ongoing impact
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  Speaker 1: on Jewish communities. Rabbi Daniel Walker has stated that the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish community at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester
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  Speaker 1: feels less safe now than it did immediately after the attack,
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  Speaker 1: nearly a year on from a deadly synagogue incident on
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  Speaker 1: Yom Kippur 2025. According to BBC Radio 4's Today program,
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  Speaker 1: Rabbi Walker cited rising antisemitism and a perceived lack of
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  Speaker 1: action on core problems as reasons for this increased vulnerability.
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  Speaker 1: He noted that for those affected by the attack, things
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  Speaker 1: don't feel safer. Yoni Finlay, who was injured in the attack,
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  Speaker 1: told the program that his son has faced death threats
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  Speaker 1: and that overall, Jewish people are having to hide their identity.
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  Speaker 1: The attack claimed the lives of Melvin Kravitz and Adrian
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  Speaker 1: Dalby and injured three others. Reporting compiled from police forces
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  Speaker 1: in England and Wales indicates a nearly two-thirds rise in
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  Speaker 1: violent hate crimes targeting Jewish people since 2022, according to
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  Speaker 1: a BBC Freedom of Information request. In response to the
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  Speaker 1: pervasive threat, Cabinet Minister Angela Rayner stated the government won't
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  Speaker 1: stop fighting anti-Semitism until every Jewish person can live their
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  Speaker 1: lives fully and free from fear. Turning to politics and media,
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  Speaker 1: significant controversy erupted over the Metropolitan Museum of Art's planned
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  Speaker 1: tribute to fashion designer John Galliano. The exhibition, which would
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  Speaker 1: have been a rare honor for a living designer and
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  Speaker 1: coincided with the Met Gala, was canceled after widespread backlash
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  Speaker 1: over Galliano's history of antisemitic and racist remarks. Galliano himself
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  Speaker 1: withdrew from the planned exhibition, stating it was best for
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  Speaker 1: the exhibition not to take place at this time and
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  Speaker 1: that he remained accountable for the pain caused by his
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  Speaker 1: past words. Galliano was convicted in France in 2011 for
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  Speaker 1: hate speech, stemming from anti-Semitic and anti-Asian tirades. The decision
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  Speaker 1: to honor him had drawn sharp criticism from Jewish leaders,
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  Speaker 1: museum donors, and politicians, including New York City Council Speaker
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  Speaker 1: Julie Menon. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called
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  Speaker 1: the initial decision misguided. while Jack Simonyi of the Auschwitz
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Center Foundation described the timing, which potentially coincided with
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  Speaker 1: Holocaust Remembrance Day, as appalling and obscene. The Met Museum,
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  Speaker 1: in a joint statement with Galliano, agreed to the cancellation.
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  Speaker 1: Also in the political arena, reporting from townhall.com highlights figures
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  Speaker 1: clashing over anti-Semitism. Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rashida Tlaib
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  Speaker 1: opposed an anti-Semitism bill in Congress. Commentators like Candace Owens,
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  Speaker 1: have been noted for blaming Jews or Israel for geopolitical issues,
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  Speaker 1: with reporting citing specific examples like the Kirk murder. Joe
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  Speaker 1: Kent has also been quoted making remarks that critics say
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  Speaker 1: echo antisemitic tropes. This follows broader patterns where, as noted
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  Speaker 1: in the reporting, Jews are blamed for societal problems, a
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  Speaker 1: trope with historical echoes in Nazi Germany and Russia. Michigan
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  Speaker 1: Democratic Senate nominee Abdel El-Sayed has faced scrutiny over campaign donors,
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  Speaker 1: who also supported former Republican congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian, whose
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  Speaker 1: campaign employed anti-Semitic attacks, including calling a Jewish congressman a
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  Speaker 1: fat Jew. According to Fox News Network, Bilzerian also stated,
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  Speaker 1: Jewish supremacy is the greatest threat to the world today.
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  Speaker 1: El-Sayed himself has also drawn criticism for associations with streamer
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  Speaker 1: Hassan Piker. Piker made controversial remarks on Twitch suggesting that
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  Speaker 1: if American Jews keep putting this idea out there, that
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  Speaker 1: they are singularly invested in Israel. Eventually someone's going to
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  Speaker 1: come around and take action. Not against the state of Israel,
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  Speaker 1: mind you, but against American Jews. As reported by the
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  Speaker 1: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, U.S. Senator John Ossoff distanced himself from Piker,
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  Speaker 1: denouncing his reckless and dangerous rhetoric. The report also noted
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  Speaker 1: that El-Sayed's subsequent apology to Jewish Democrats received a mixed reception.
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  Speaker 1: In other political commentary, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessels remarked
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  Speaker 1: urging Jewish Democrats to prioritize the needs of the world
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  Speaker 1: over our own survival in the context of anti-Semitism concerns
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  Speaker 1: was also noted. On the institutional response front, the Metropolitan
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  Speaker 1: Museum of Art canceled its scheduled 2027 exhibition and met
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  Speaker 1: gala theme honoring designer John Galliano. Multiple reports, including from
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  Speaker 1: JTA and the Algeminer, detail that this decision came after
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  Speaker 1: significant backlash over Gagliano's history of antisemitic and racist remarks.
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  Speaker 1: Gagliano himself requested the withdrawal, stating it was best for
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  Speaker 1: the exhibition not to proceed at this time, and acknowledging
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  Speaker 1: his accountability for past pain caused, particularly to the Jewish community.
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  Speaker 1: The Met agreed, and the exhibition will not go forward
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  Speaker 1: as planned. The controversy had intensified due to the potential
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  Speaker 1: overlap of the Met Gala date with Holocaust Remembrance Day.
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  Speaker 1: In campus news, a UCLA computer science doctoral student, Dylan Kupsch,
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  Speaker 1: is suing the University of California. As detailed by the
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  Speaker 1: Lowe's Angels Times, Kupsch alleges viewpoint discrimination and due process
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  Speaker 1: violations in relation to a two-quarter suspension and a withheld
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  Speaker 1: master's degree. These actions stemmed from his involvement in pro-Palestinian
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  Speaker 1: protests in 2024. The lawsuit points to UCLA police captain
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Chobanian's alleged urging of firm and immediate action against Kupch.
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  Speaker 1: In contrast, Turo University has launched a first-of-its-kind teaching fellowship
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  Speaker 1: aimed at equipping professors to build and teach rigorous undergraduate
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  Speaker 1: and graduate courses on antisemitism. Dr. Mark Goldfeder, director of
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  Speaker 1: the Turo University Antisemitism Institute, stated the fellowship aims to
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  Speaker 1: reclaim the campus as a place of scholarship and intellectual rigor,
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  Speaker 1: noting that somebody assigned the readings, framed the questions and
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  Speaker 1: graded the papers for years, driving much of the campus unrest.
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  Speaker 1: The program's inaugural cohort brought together 10 fellows from nine disciplines,
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  Speaker 1: with each fellow expected to teach courses reaching approximately 1,000
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  Speaker 1: students annually. Finally, a watchdog group has launched a campaign
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  Speaker 1: in Toronto. The Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, CAEF, deployed a
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  Speaker 1: digital billboard truck displaying images and details of individuals arrested,
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  Speaker 1: or sentenced for hate crime charges during pro-Palestinian demonstrations. According
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  Speaker 1: to the Jerusalem Post, Michael Tepper, president of CAEF, stated
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  Speaker 1: their goal is to make antisemitism expensive, risky, career-terminating, and
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  Speaker 1: potentially involving jail time. The campaign highlights specific charges like
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  Speaker 1: willful promotion of hatred and public incitement of hatred, and
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  Speaker 1: warns activists, don't want to be on this list, obey
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  Speaker 1: the law. This initiative follows community outrage over inflammatory rhetoric
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  Speaker 1: at weekly protests and condemnation from major Canadian Jewish organizations.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to 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.