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Bomb Threats Disrupt Jewish Schools, NY Politics Explodes Over Mamdani · 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, providing focused coverage from New York,
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  Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region. Visit clockworkmedia.org slash
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  Speaker 1: MA for more. This week, a series of coordinated bomb
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  Speaker 1: threats targeted Jewish day schools across the United States, forcing
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  Speaker 1: evacuations and lockdowns. According to JTA reporting, hoaxers called in
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  Speaker 1: threats two minutes apart on October 9, to two Brooklyn yeshivas,
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  Speaker 1: the Yeshiva of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School and the
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  Speaker 1: United Talmudical Academy of Williamsburg. News 12 reported these threats
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  Speaker 1: were later determined by police to be hoaxes. On October 12,
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  Speaker 1: the Donna Klein Jewish Academy Preschool in Boca Raton, Florida,
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  Speaker 1: was evacuated following a bomb threat, which the Jewish Federation
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  Speaker 1: of South Palm Beach County confirmed as fraudulent. On the
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  Speaker 1: same day, The Milken Community School in Lowe's Angels went
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  Speaker 1: into lockdown after a report of an active shooter, later
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  Speaker 1: clarified as a bomb threat. The Lowe's Angels Police Department
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  Speaker 1: confirmed the threat to Milken was a hoax, according to
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  Speaker 1: the local ABC affiliate, and an investigation is ongoing. Rep
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  Speaker 1: Jared Moskovitz, a Florida Jewish Democrat, stated, Let's be clear.
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  Speaker 1: There is no cause in the world that's served by
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  Speaker 1: scaring children. If your grievance leads you to a K-12 school,
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  Speaker 1: you're the problem. a parent of a Milken student described
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  Speaker 1: the intense lockdown procedures, saying, My son was in math
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  Speaker 1: class when the bomb threat was called in. They had
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  Speaker 1: to pull down the shades on the classroom door and windows,
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  Speaker 1: lock the door, turn off the lights and sit under
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  Speaker 1: their desks. It sounds pretty intense to have to prepare
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  Speaker 1: the classroom like that. He was scared and nervous. Experts
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  Speaker 1: caution against downplaying these incidents. Richard Preem, CEO of Community
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  Speaker 1: Security Service, told JTA that such hoaxes are potent disruptions, emphasizing,
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  Speaker 1: we should not look at these incidents in isolation and
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  Speaker 1: base our assessment on that. He added, we're living in
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  Speaker 1: an era where, over the last 18 months, we've had
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  Speaker 1: a number of serious attacks on the Jewish community in
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  Speaker 1: the United States and abroad. That should warrant all of
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  Speaker 1: us working and thinking about this to take the threats
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  Speaker 1: against our community seriously. Michael Masters, National Director and CEO
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  Speaker 1: of Secure Community Network, stressed the importance of preparedness, noting,
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  Speaker 1: We tend to see these bomb threats come in waves.
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  Speaker 1: He added, The difference in how these threats are responded
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  Speaker 1: to usually comes down to the training, the preparation, and
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  Speaker 1: the plan that the institution puts in place. In New York,
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  Speaker 1: Republican gubernatorial challenger Bruce Blakeman accused incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul
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  Speaker 1: of failing to protect Jewish New Yorkers and of maintaining
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  Speaker 1: a political alliance with New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani.
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  Speaker 1: during their October 13th debate. Blakeman, as reported by Aljaminer
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  Speaker 1: and Fox News, called Mamdani an anti-Semite, anti-Christian and anti-American,
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  Speaker 1: faulting Hochul for her support of the mayor. Blakeman specifically
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  Speaker 1: criticized Mamdani's decision to rescind the city's use of the
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  Speaker 1: IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism on his first day in office,
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  Speaker 1: and referenced remarks Mamdani allegedly made regarding protecting Jewish residents
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  Speaker 1: during riots. Blakeman also criticized Hochul's response to anti-Israel protests
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  Speaker 1: at Columbia University, invoking the 1991 Crown Heights riots. Hochul, meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: deflected some of Blakeman's accusations, choosing to address prior questions
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  Speaker 1: about Blakeman's own controversial remarks. Jewish Insider noted that Mamdani
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  Speaker 1: later responded to Blakeman's accusations, and reporting also indicated Mamdani
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  Speaker 1: was grilled on anti-Semitism at an Albany budget hearing. where
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  Speaker 1: Democrats reportedly cut off Republican questioning. Meanwhile, other officials like Rep.
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  Speaker 1: Gottthamer and Rep. Lawler are pushing for federal anti-Semitism measures,
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  Speaker 1: according to reporting from Siliv.com and Jewish Insider. On campuses,
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  Speaker 1: tensions remain high. At the University of Oregon, Hillel director
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  Speaker 1: Lenny Steinberg was targeted with flyers labeling him enemy of
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  Speaker 1: the people and accusing him of supporting genocide, as reported
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  Speaker 1: by The Forward. Demonstrators also burned an American-Israeli flag outside
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  Speaker 1: Hillel House. Steinberg described the incidents as a whole, nother
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  Speaker 1: level of hate and protesting, noting these intimidation factors are growing.
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  Speaker 1: He stated the flyers spread lies and that he does
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  Speaker 1: not support genocide. The flyers were shared by campus activist
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  Speaker 1: groups including Jewish Voice for Peace and the Young Democratic
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  Speaker 1: Socialists of America. Separately, a former Harvard employee has sued
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  Speaker 1: the university in federal court. alleging religious discrimination and retaliation.
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  Speaker 1: According to the Crimson, Daniel Lilienthal claims he was fired
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  Speaker 1: in retaliation for taking time off to observe the Jewish
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  Speaker 1: holiday of Rosh Hashanah. His lawsuit alleges Harvard's actions were intentional,
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  Speaker 1: citing a history of discrimination and retaliation against Jewish employees
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  Speaker 1: and students, and follows a previous federal lawsuit against Harvard
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  Speaker 1: regarding its response to anti-Semitism. In an incident highlighting IHRA-qualifying rhetoric,
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  Speaker 1: nearly 70 Jewish American educators cancelled a study trip to
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  Speaker 1: Reggio Emilia, Italy, after organisers alleged anti-Semitic pressure. According to
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  Speaker 1: JTA and ABC7NY, an Italian organisation reportedly sought signed statements
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  Speaker 1: from participants distancing them from the occupation of Gaza and
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  Speaker 1: violations of rights in occupied territories. Participants also reported their
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  Speaker 1: social media profiles were being scrutinized by pro-Palestinian activists. Educator
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  Speaker 1: Jen Skiffer called the experience an innocent trip that turned anti-Semitic,
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  Speaker 1: while Dr. Pesha Kletnik described it as one of the
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  Speaker 1: most painful experiences I've had as a Jew. It feels
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  Speaker 1: exceedingly anti-Semitic. The organizers stated they could not guarantee safety
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  Speaker 1: amid threats of protest in Italy. In terms of policy
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  Speaker 1: and institutional responses, a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania lawmakers has
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  Speaker 1: introduced a bill to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's
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  Speaker 1: working definition of antisemitism into state law. As reported by
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  Speaker 1: Cleveland Jewish News, citing JNS, while the Pennsylvania Human Relations
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  Speaker 1: Commission and the state attorney general have adopted the IHRA definition,
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  Speaker 1: it has not yet been codified in state law. Steve Rosenberg,
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  Speaker 1: regional director of the North American Values Institute, commented on
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  Speaker 1: the bill, stating, Defining antisemitism is not the same as
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  Speaker 1: confronting it. On accountability, Tyler James Williams, imprisoned for the
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  Speaker 1: 1999 firebombings of three Sacramento area synagogues, faces a parole
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  Speaker 1: hearing on November 3. According to the Daily Gazette, this
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  Speaker 1: is his second attempt at release under California's elderly parole program,
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  Speaker 1: following a denial in January 2021. Finally, discussions on combating
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism continue. with outlets like Fox to Detroit featuring conversations
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  Speaker 1: on the topic, including Leo Terrell and Sheldon Fralick discussing antisemitism.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch, midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org
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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.