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Haverford Professor Detained for Antisemitic Threats · 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 out more
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  Speaker 1: at clockworkmedia.org slash ma today. We begin with serious charges
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  Speaker 1: against an academic, political turmoil in Germany over antisemitism. and
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  Speaker 1: a warning about online platforms failing to remove extremist content. First,
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  Speaker 1: a Haverford College professor is being held in federal detention
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  Speaker 1: pending trial. Guangxin Ha is accused of sending over 50
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  Speaker 1: anti-Semitic threats and engaging in cyber-stalking against a colleague, according
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  Speaker 1: to reporting from Inquirer.com and Delcatimes.com. Prosecutors allege these messages,
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  Speaker 1: sent from October 2025 to May, included exposing the colleague's
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  Speaker 1: home address and infant child's name. Court documents detailed by Delkatimes.com
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  Speaker 1: indicate Haas' posts invoked Adolf Hitler, the Holocaust, and the
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  Speaker 1: October 7th attacks, with one message stating, Nothing wrong to
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  Speaker 1: hate Jews. We started to decline the moment we stopped hating, eradicating,
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  Speaker 1: and expelling Jews, followed by HH for Heil Hitler. He
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  Speaker 1: has pleaded not guilty to the charges, despite supporters testifying
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  Speaker 1: to his character. U.S. Attorney David Metcalf called the alleged
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  Speaker 1: online campaign repugnant, but criminal, as reported by Delcatimes.com. Haverford
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  Speaker 1: College President Wendy Raymond stated that such harassment is unacceptable,
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  Speaker 1: antithetical to our values, and has no place at Haverford.
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  Speaker 1: Ha has been placed on administrative leave. Fox News also
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  Speaker 1: reported on the indictment related to these threats. In Germany,
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  Speaker 1: political negotiations are facing significant headwinds. The far-left Die Linke
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  Speaker 1: Party's path to governing Berlin has become uncertain. as coalition
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  Speaker 1: talks with the centre-left SPD and Greens were suspended. As
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  Speaker 1: reported by Aljamina and Ground News, the suspension comes amid
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  Speaker 1: a dispute over antisemitism, an agreement reached last week aimed
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  Speaker 1: to combat antisemitism by deliberating incidents and expelling lawmakers, and crucially,
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  Speaker 1: adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA, definition. However,
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  Speaker 1: the SPD and Greens paused talks after Die Linke admitted
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  Speaker 1: lawmaker Vanessa Emdeh to its state parliamentary group, who has
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  Speaker 1: refused to recognise Israel's right to exist. This move was
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  Speaker 1: seen by Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, as
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  Speaker 1: undermining the preliminary agreement. On the digital front, antisemitism expert
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  Speaker 1: Luke Bernard warns that meta-platforms, specifically Instagram and Facebook reels,
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  Speaker 1: are failing to remove overt pro-Nazi content. As detailed by idwishphilanthropy.com,
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  Speaker 1: Bernard states this content, including Holocaust denial and praise for Hitler,
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  Speaker 1: is appearing alongside educational material and brainwashing the next generation.
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  Speaker 1: He argues that many Jewish advocacy groups are too focused
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  Speaker 1: on the far left, allowing neo-Nazi sentiment to grow unchecked online.
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  Speaker 1: Bernard noted that public pressure and media attention have previously
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  Speaker 1: led Meta to remove such content, and that TikTok, by contrast,
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  Speaker 1: is performing better at banning Nazism and white supremacy. At
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  Speaker 1: Harvard University, a symposium and book launch on Jewish anti-Zionism
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  Speaker 1: is scheduled to feature new faculty hires. The Freebeacon.com reports
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  Speaker 1: that keynote speaker Judith Butler described the October 7th attacks
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  Speaker 1: as an act of armed resistance. The accompanying anthology criticizes
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  Speaker 1: the use of anti-Semitism accusations against social justice and pro-Palestine activists.
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  Speaker 1: and claims the IHRA definition is weaponized against free speech.
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  Speaker 1: The book's introduction suggests elevating anti-Zionist traditions from Jewish history.
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  Speaker 1: Harvard had previously highlighted new faculty hires as evidence of
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  Speaker 1: its commitment to combating antisemitism. In the United Kingdom, a
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  Speaker 1: significant step is being taken following a deadly attack. The
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  Speaker 1: J7 Global Task Force, representing major Jewish communities worldwide, has
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  Speaker 1: been addressing rising antisemitism. According to jpost.com, 2025 was the
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  Speaker 1: deadliest year for Jews outside Israel since 1994. In response
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  Speaker 1: to the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in
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  Speaker 1: Manchester in October 2025, which killed Melvin Kravitz and Adrian Dalby,
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  Speaker 1: British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a public inquiry. Forward.com
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  Speaker 1: notes this inquiry is necessary to incorporate sensitive national security evidence.
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  Speaker 1: The UK government also noted rising hate crimes against Jewish
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  Speaker 1: people and the threat posed by the Iranian state. Closer
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  Speaker 1: to home, in Somerville, Massachusetts, a debate continues over divestment
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  Speaker 1: from Israel. Jpost.com reports the city council is considering a
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  Speaker 1: binding ordinance to bar the city from investing in companies
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  Speaker 1: supporting entities violating international law, specifically mentioning Israel. This follows
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  Speaker 1: a non-binding ballot question passed last year. The proposal has
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  Speaker 1: divided the community, with groups like Shalom Somerville calling the
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  Speaker 1: ordinance anti-Semitic for singling out Jewish supporters of Israel, while
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  Speaker 1: organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace Boston support the measure.
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  Speaker 1: The ADL and Brandeis Center have also raised concerns about
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  Speaker 1: the ordinance's legality. In criminal proceedings, Dylan Daniel has been
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  Speaker 1: charged with threatening federal law enforcement officers. Vinus.com reports Daniel
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  Speaker 1: allegedly made anti-Semitic threats to a Jewish charity in May,
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  Speaker 1: including wanting to put Jews in a gas chamber and
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  Speaker 1: kill them. When FBI agents attempted to question him, he
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  Speaker 1: allegedly issued threats against them, warning them to leave and
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  Speaker 1: sending a follow-up text. He faces up to 10 years
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  Speaker 1: in prison. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing
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  Speaker 1: criticism from various activist groups, as detailed by LeftVoice.org. Critics
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  Speaker 1: point to the NYPD's response to protests, including those resisting
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  Speaker 1: ICE and supporting Palestine, and funding allocations for what they
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  Speaker 1: term Zionist organizations. A Wall Street Journal opinion, op-ed by
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  Speaker 1: Elisha Whistle, also raised accusations of anti-Semitism against Mamdani. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: a new poll reveals a stark generational divide in American
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  Speaker 1: views on Israel. According to aljaminer.com, a survey conducted October
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  Speaker 1: 7-10 found that a majority of young Americans, aged 18-29,
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  Speaker 1: are unsure about Israel's right to exist, with only 41%
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  Speaker 1: supporting it, compared to 67% of all voters, while 85%
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  Speaker 1: of Americans believe Israel has the right to defend itself.
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  Speaker 1: The poll highlights a growing detachment among younger generations from
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  Speaker 1: the long-standing bipartisan consensus on the US-Israel relationship. 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 ma. 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.