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NYC Mayor's Antisemitism Strategy Faces Definition Debate · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler. We're launching
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, providing focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region, available at clockworkmedia.org.ma. Today, we're examining
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  Speaker 1: a significant new antisemitism strategy from New York City, widespread
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  Speaker 1: hate speech in political campaigns, and disturbing incidents abroad. In
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  Speaker 1: New York City, Mayor Zoran Kwame Mamdani released the city's
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  Speaker 1: strategy to combat antisemitism on September 29. The plan significantly
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  Speaker 1: boosts funding, doubling hate crime prevention grants to $ 6. 4 million
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  Speaker 1: and allocating $ 1 million for synagogue security, according to BushwickDaily.com.
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  Speaker 1: The strategy aims to prevent hate violence, combat antisemitism, educate
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  Speaker 1: New Yorkers, support survivors, and celebrate Jewish life. However, a
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  Speaker 1: key point of controversy, as reported by thehil.com, is that
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  Speaker 1: the strategy does not adopt a formal definition of antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: The administration stated it will leverage existing hate crime and
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  Speaker 1: anti-discrimination laws, referencing multiple frameworks including the IHRA working definition,
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  Speaker 1: but will not formally adopt one for this specific strategy.
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  Speaker 1: This approach has met with opposition from Jewish New Yorkers,
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  Speaker 1: according to reporting from thehil.com. executive director of the mayor's
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  Speaker 1: office to combat antisemitism, noted that the plan grew from
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  Speaker 1: extensive community consultation, stating, Antisemitism is a complex and persistent
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  Speaker 1: form of hate, and it cannot be addressed through a
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  Speaker 1: single program or agency. The strategy also commits funds to
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  Speaker 1: the Queen's Holocaust Memorial and a Center for New Jewish
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  Speaker 1: Culture in central Brooklyn. Analysis of Florida congressional candidate Dan
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  Speaker 1: Bilzerian's campaign posts on X reveals a significant pattern of
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitic hate speech. According to Vinus.com, an analysis by the
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  Speaker 1: Combat Antisemitism Movement found that one-third of Bilzerian's campaign posts
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  Speaker 1: between May 12th and August 10th, 2026, were anti-Semitic. These
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  Speaker 1: posts garnered an estimated 23.6 million views. The Combat Antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: Movement's Antisemitism Research Center reviewed 657 posts, scoring 215 as hostile.
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  Speaker 1: Examples cited include a post arguing that an accurate count
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  Speaker 1: of Jews would disprove the Holocaust, which received over 646,000 views,
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  Speaker 1: and another suggesting a census of Jews to demonstrate their
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  Speaker 1: burden on taxpayers. The campaign account also reportedly posted, Our
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  Speaker 1: government is nothing but a tool for Israeli hegemony and
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  Speaker 1: Jewish supremacy, and a message stating, It's not red against blue,
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  Speaker 1: it's us against the Jew. In Ontario, Canada, antisemitic flyers
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  Speaker 1: were discovered in a neighborhood following an incident where shots
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  Speaker 1: were fired near a local synagogue. Sajer.coza reports that the
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  Speaker 1: prior shooting was described by a local official as an
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  Speaker 1: exclusive threat to our Jewish community. The discovery of the
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  Speaker 1: flyers adds to concerns in the area. On the international stage,
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  Speaker 1: 52 nations are urging action against antisemitism, particularly in the
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  Speaker 1: age of artificial intelligence. Thej.ka reports that Jewish leaders are
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  Speaker 1: rallying outside the UN, indicating a significant global push to
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  Speaker 1: address the issue. This international effort comes as the report
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  Speaker 1: also notes that Bansal challenges Mamdani's anti-Semitism plan on enforcement
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  Speaker 1: and synagogue, suggesting connections between global anti-Semitism discussions and local
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  Speaker 1: policy developments. I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to
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  Speaker 1: Anti-Semitism Watch. For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch, midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org
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  Speaker 1: slash ma. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so
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  Speaker 1: you don't miss the next update. 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.