Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 12, 2026, 09 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 12, 2026, 09 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. Columbia University
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  Speaker 1: is facing a new civil rights lawsuit. Plaintiffs allege the
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  Speaker 1: Ivy League institution actively participated in and amplified the targeting
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  Speaker 1: of Palestinians on campus, and acted with deliberate indifference toward harassment.
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  Speaker 1: According to the complaint filed, The lawsuit criticizes Columbia's Office
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  Speaker 1: of Institutional Equity for its investigation processes, including requiring non
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  Speaker 1: disclosure agreements and relying on what plaintiffs describe as markedly
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  Speaker 1: thin evidence. One plaintiff, Leyla Saliba, was investigated over alleged
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: discriminatory behavior based on an opinion piece she did not write.
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  Speaker 1: The lawsuit states. Plaintiffs also allege viewpoint discrimination through the
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  Speaker 1: university's uneven response to pro Palestinian groups and alleged anti
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  Speaker 1: Palestinian harassment, noting Columbia's Antisemmatism Task Force but its deliberate
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  Speaker 1: refusal to establish a similar body for Palestinian campus members.
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  Speaker 1: This follows a February settlement where Columbia resolved a lawsuit
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  Speaker 1: filed by Jewish students alleging insufficient response to antisemitism on
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  Speaker 1: campuses nationwide. A new Anti Defamation League report highlights that
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism extends beyond student protests and into classrooms. The ADL
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  Speaker 1: found that twenty seven point three per cent of Jewish
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  Speaker 1: students reported observing antisemitic behavior by faculty. This includes allegations
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  Speaker 1: of professors and teaching assistants injecting anti Israel activism into coursework,
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  Speaker 1: with reported instances of faculty canceling classes for anti Israel protests,
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  Speaker 1: and students being offered extra credit for attending events like
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  Speaker 1: a series titled Thinking from Palestine at UC Berkeley, though
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  Speaker 1: the university stated they had no record of extra credit
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  Speaker 1: being offered for that specific lecture. Similar allegations of extra
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  Speaker 1: credit for attending emergency teachings on the crisis in Palestine
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  Speaker 1: were reported for a teaching assistant at UCLA. In South Carolina,
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  Speaker 1: authorities have arrested twenty two year old Zane Daniel Smith.
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  Speaker 1: According to a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division affidavit, Smith
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  Speaker 1: was charged with breach of peace of a high and
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  Speaker 1: aggravated nature after the FBI requested an investigation into his
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  Speaker 1: social media activity. Prosecutors alleged Smith posted antisemitic and other
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  Speaker 1: inflammatory content, including a photograph of rifle magazines arranged in
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  Speaker 1: Nazi symbolism with the question what should I write on them?
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  Speaker 1: And messages that investigators described as indicating an intent to
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  Speaker 1: incite violence. Meanwhile, a physical assault victim on the Metro
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  Speaker 1: is pleading for humanity as police have closed the investigation
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  Speaker 1: into the incident. The closure signifies a lack of justice
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  Speaker 1: for the victim and underscores ongoing safety concerns. In New
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  Speaker 1: York City politics, concerns are mounting over Mayor Zorin Mamdani's
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  Speaker 1: anti Israel policies and rhetoric, and his perceived softness on
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  Speaker 1: rising antisemitism. Anecdotal accounts from Jewish leaders in neighboring states
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  Speaker 1: suggest Jews are considering leaving the city, with j n
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  Speaker 1: S reporting a one hundred and eighty two percent surge
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  Speaker 1: in jew hatred in New York City during Mamdani's first
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  Speaker 1: month in office compared to January twenty twenty five. Rabbi
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  Speaker 1: Daniel Cohen of Stamford, Connecticut told j n S that
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  Speaker 1: the Mayor's actions have increased anxiety and fear, leading to
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  Speaker 1: greater concern about publicly displaying Jewish things, even outside city limits.
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  Speaker 1: Michael Wilde's mayor of Inglewood, New Jersey, expressed concern over
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  Speaker 1: Mamdani's rhetoric, which has included calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netaniahu
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  Speaker 1: a war criminal and stating he would try to arrest him.
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  Speaker 1: Mamdani's spokeswoman also reportedly stated that synagogues violate international law
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  Speaker 1: when hosting pro Israel events. A World Jewish Congress study
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  Speaker 1: reveals a persistent failure by social media platforms to remove
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic content. Researchers found that over eighty per cent of
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic posts reported by Jewish community members across Europe remained online.
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  Speaker 1: The study, covering posts from February twenty twenty five to
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  Speaker 1: April twenty twenty six, found that platforms removed less than
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  Speaker 1: fifteen percent on average, with tik Tok being a notable exception,
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  Speaker 1: removing sixty four per cent. Facebook, despite a high reporting rate,
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  Speaker 1: had one of the lowest removal rates. Critically, Israel related
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism saw a removal rate of just five point two
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  Speaker 1: per cent, and none of the examined posts comparing Israeli
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  Speaker 1: policies to Nazi Germany were removed. Direct calls to harm
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  Speaker 1: Jews also remained accessible. An essay published in the Free
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  Speaker 1: Press by high school student Leo Lewis argues that antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: among young Americans is worse than adults realize. It highlights
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  Speaker 1: a new primary right wing brand of due hatred gaining
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  Speaker 1: traction among young men becoming omnipresent. The essay notes the
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  Speaker 1: word goy, a Hebrew term for non Jews, has been
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  Speaker 1: adopted by the fringe right and migrated into everyday vocabulary
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  Speaker 1: via memes and tik toks, often used to imply non
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  Speaker 1: Jews are inferior, with examples including claims of goislap food
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  Speaker 1: designed to keep non Jews unhealthy. In San Diego, authorities
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  Speaker 1: are offering a two thousand dollars reward for information regarding
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic vandalism that occurred at a UCSD Jewish fraternity house
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  Speaker 1: last weekend. The Boulder Valley School District has introduced new
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  Speaker 1: policies following an antisemitism lawsuit and a student's allegation of
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  Speaker 1: antisemitic harassment. Finally, New York State Assembly Deputy Majority Leader
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  Speaker 1: Charles Fall issued a statement clarifying his participation in a
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  Speaker 1: community meeting asserting his condemnation of antisemitism, racism, and hate
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  Speaker 1: in all forms following a report linking him to an
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  Speaker 1: individual accused of Jewe hatred. Separately, Rabbi Zalman Labe Tetelbaum
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  Speaker 1: warned against vilifying political opponents, stating that efforts to brand
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Mamdani as an antisemite are misguided while acknowledging Mamdani's
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  Speaker 1: views on Israel. I'm Rachel Adler thank you for listening
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  Speaker 1: to Antisemitism Watch. This report was generated with AI assistance
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  Speaker 1: and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.