Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - September 9, 2026, 09 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - September 9, 2026, 09 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. Prosecutors have
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  Speaker 1: indicted Raoul Morales on multiple counts of attempted murder and
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  Speaker 1: assault as hate crimes. The charges stem from two separate
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  Speaker 1: attacks on July 23rd on New York City's Upper West Side,
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  Speaker 1: near synagogues. According to prosecutors and police, Morales allegedly attacked
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  Speaker 1: a 57-year-old man, stabbing him in the back. Approximately 12
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  Speaker 1: minutes later, he is accused of attacking Moshe Grunhaus, a
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  Speaker 1: 50-year-old Jewish man wearing a kippah, stabbing him in the chest.
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  Speaker 1: Both victims were hospitalized. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated
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  Speaker 1: that evidence, including anti-Semitic text messages found on Morales' phone,
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  Speaker 1: indicates anti-Semitism was a motivating factor. Worldwide, anti-Semitic incidents have
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  Speaker 1: reached multi-decade highs. A joint report from the J7 Large
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  Speaker 1: Communities Task Force Against Anti-Semitism found that 2025 was the
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  Speaker 1: deadliest year for antisemitic attacks outside Israel in decades, with
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  Speaker 1: approximately 20 people killed. In the United States, the Anti-Defamation
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  Speaker 1: League's audits show over 93 zero antisemitic incidents recorded in 2024.
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  Speaker 1: Subsequent analysis for 2025 indicates that, while harassment and vandalism
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  Speaker 1: may have eased slightly, assaults involving deadly weapons have risen.
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  Speaker 1: FBI data indicates that anti-Jewish hate crimes now comprise 63%
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  Speaker 1: of all religion-based hate crimes in the US1 analysis links
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  Speaker 1: this surge to rhetoric from the radical socialist left. Citing
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  Speaker 1: examples such as Democrat Mayor Zoran Mamdani calling the Jewish
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  Speaker 1: political advocacy group AIPAC monsters, the Democratic Socialists of America,
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  Speaker 1: or DSA, has also reportedly made anti-Zionism a litmus test
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  Speaker 1: for membership. Streamer Hassan Piker is quoted as saying, eventually
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  Speaker 1: someone's going to come around and take action against American
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  Speaker 1: Jews supporting Israel. Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed previously
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  Speaker 1: dismissed an attack on a synagogue as hurt people hurt people,
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  Speaker 1: though he has since apologized. In media commentary, Senk Iger
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  Speaker 1: controversially argued that antisemite often means a very moral and
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  Speaker 1: kind person, in an attempt to redefine the term. Separately,
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  Speaker 1: Tucker Carlson hosted a segment where his guest questioned the
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  Speaker 1: necessity of algebra, calling it fake math, and used the
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  Speaker 1: phrase goy slaves. The author of one report argues this
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  Speaker 1: promotes ignorance and links Carlson's rhetoric to antisemitic tropes. In
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  Speaker 1: the UK, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mervis has warned that
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  Speaker 1: new sanctions targeting Israeli settlements risk fueling antisemitism and increasing
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  Speaker 1: concerns about the safety of British Jews. Rabbi Mervis described
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  Speaker 1: the measures as political flag bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric
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  Speaker 1: that could contribute to a more hostile environment for British Jews.
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  Speaker 1: In Canada, a critical assessment highlights institutional failure in addressing
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  Speaker 1: a pervasive rise in antisemitism, with Jews targeted in over
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  Speaker 1: 70% of all religion-motivated hate crimes in 2025. A report
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  Speaker 1: commissioned by the Department of Canadian Heritage found nearly 96%
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  Speaker 1: of Jewish post-secondary students surveyed had experienced or witnessed at
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  Speaker 1: least one antisemitic incident in the preceding 12 months. In
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  Speaker 1: response to persistent antisemitism in K-12 schools, Jewish organizations have
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  Speaker 1: released a Jewish Students' Bill of Rights. Meanwhile, an academic
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  Speaker 1: debate is ongoing. Author David Bernstein has refuted claims by
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  Speaker 1: academics Jonathan Feingold and Isaac Kamola that he equated diversity
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  Speaker 1: efforts with white nationalism or antisemitism, clarifying that his critique
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  Speaker 1: focused on specific racialist theories. Ahead of the Jewish high holidays,
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  Speaker 1: security measures are being significantly bolstered. In New York City,
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  Speaker 1: the NYPD is increasing its presence at synagogues and Jewish institutions,
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  Speaker 1: with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch noting that while there are
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  Speaker 1: no specific credible threats, the department remains vigilant due to
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  Speaker 1: a 9% rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes compared to last year.
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  Speaker 1: Mayor Zoran Mamdani emphasized the administration's commitment to ensuring safety
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  Speaker 1: during these sacred days. In Pittsburgh, the Jewish Federation is
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  Speaker 1: collaborating with local law enforcement and the FBI to strengthen
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  Speaker 1: security at community locations, expanding patrols and security measures as
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  Speaker 1: a heightened threat environment is acknowledged. On the policy front,
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  Speaker 1: A bipartisan, combating antisemitism on college campuses caucus has been
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  Speaker 1: launched in the U.S. House by Representatives Elise Stefanik and
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  Speaker 1: Josh Gottthamer. The group aims to coordinate congressional oversight and
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  Speaker 1: push universities to enforce anti-discrimination laws. Internationally, Israel's U.N. Ambassador
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  Speaker 1: Danny Danon has launched an initiative involving dozens of countries
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  Speaker 1: to combat rising antisemitism. urging it be prioritised in the
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  Speaker 1: selection of the next UN Secretary-General. In Toronto, two mayoral candidates,
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  Speaker 1: Brad Bradford and Chris Alexander, presented strategies to combat antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: at a community forum. Amid criticism over Mayor Olivia Chow's absence,
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  Speaker 1: Toronto Police Service data shows 82% of religiously motivated hate
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  Speaker 1: crimes in 2025 targeted Jews. The threat of Islamist extremism
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  Speaker 1: in the United States shows a resurgence, with a notable
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  Speaker 1: uptick in incidents and foiled plots since 2024. The ADL
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  Speaker 1: Center on Extremism has identified 142 such incidents between 2002
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  Speaker 1: and the first half of 2026, with numbers rising from
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  Speaker 1: 3 in 2023 to 8 in 2024, 5 in 2025,
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  Speaker 1: and 5 already recorded as of September 8, 2026. The
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  Speaker 1: report highlights that lone perpetrators were responsible for for all
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  Speaker 1: four fatal Islamist extremist incidents in the U.S. between 2025
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  Speaker 1: and 2026. In legal and accountability news, the Boulder JCC
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  Speaker 1: has issued a statement regarding a settlement between the ADL
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  Speaker 1: and the Boulder Valley School District concerning antisemitism and ADL
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  Speaker 1: incident reporting procedures. On a note of community resilience, the
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  Speaker 1: iconic Carnegie Deli is set to reopen next week, offering
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  Speaker 1: a piece of New York's culinary heritage a comeback. Additionally,
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  Speaker 1: commentary on the broadcast program, Like It or Not, has
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  Speaker 1: addressed the challenge of finding resilience amid rising antisemitism. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. 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.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.