Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 19, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

Transcript

Antisemitism Watch - August 19, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Good evening tonight. We begin with a disturbing attack at
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: a Manhattan synagogue, now facing federal hate crime charges. I'm
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Rachel Adler and this is antisemitism. Watch. Larry Montes, forty six,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: faces federal hate crime charges for disrupting services at Manhattan's
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Central Synagogue on August fourteenth. According to the Justice Department,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Monty's allegedly shouted antisemitic slurs, damaged religious property, punched a congregant,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: and head budded a security guard. Assistant Attorney General Harmeat
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: kay Dillon stated these charges serve notice that the DOJ
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: will intervene in antisemitic and racially motivated attacks. Monty's allegedly
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: told officers FK the Jews, it's racial JTA item B
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: zero AKIKSK seventy two. This incident occurs as the FBI
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: reported fifteen twenty eight anti Jewish hate crimes in twenty
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: twenty five, marking the third highest year on record. According
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: to reporting reviewed for this episode, citing FBI data and
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: the Anti Defamation League, this figure represents nearly two thirds
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: of all religiously based hate crimes that year. The ADL
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: noted that twenty twenty five was also the deadliest year
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: for antisemitic attacks in the Jewish diaspora in over three decades,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: with twenty people murdered globally. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt warned
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: that a slight decline in overall hate crime numbers nationally
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: should not distract from the persistent danger of antisemitism item
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: A nine hundred eight thousand, seven hundred fifty seven E
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: seventy eight f WOE, Item OFF four hundred seventy one thousand,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: four hundred thirty eight dy on campuses. A new report
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: by the Academic Engagement Network and the Antidefamation League finds
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: that Jewish graduate students and faculty face severe antisemitism within
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: their labour unions. According to the Algemeiner, the report, titled
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: a Crisis of Representation, Antisemitism and Inclusion in Higher Education Unions,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: details how some unions have fallen under the influence of
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: anti Zionist elements, fostering exclusion and hindering Jewish participation. ADL
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: CEO Jonathan Greenblatt stated that antisemitism should not be normalized,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: even when disguised as anti Zionism, and that union leaders
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: have an obligation to confront it. Algemeinor in New York
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: City public schools. A report by the United Jewish Teachers
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: documented two hundred and fifty antisemitic and anti Israel incidents
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: since the October seventh Hamas attack. The report, cited by
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Fox News and The Center Square, describes a persistent pattern
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: of hostility, including direct harassment, vandalism, threats, and biased curriculum
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: that created hostile learning and working environments with limited effective
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: follow through by school leadership. Item B zero CALL one thousand,
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: six hundred twenty seven C B three C Item FOS
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: six hundred thirty three bcs FC sixty seven F. Separately,
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: a study surveyed one hundred and thirty six Jewish faculty
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: and staff at Canadian universities, finding that university equity, diversity
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: and inclusion offices often fall short in addressing antisemitism. According
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: to reporting reviewed for this episode, Item zero FA one
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: hundred twenty five thirty eight thousand, five hundred and eighteen.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: A Jewish student at Macri University also writes about ongoing
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: antisemitism in Australian universities and the potential for another Royal commission,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: as noted in reporting reviewed for this episode. Item two thousand,
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: five hundred six C fifty one c S eighteen. In
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Florida politics, voters delivered setbacks to candidates with antisemitic or
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: anti Israel rhetoric in primary elections held on August eighteenth.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Social media personality Dan Bilzerian, who made antisemitic statements, including
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: praise for Hitler and targeting the Jewish identity of his
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: line opponent, was defeated by incumbent Republican rep. Randy Fine.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Also James Fishback, known for inflammatory rhetoric and associations with
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: the far right, failed to advance. The elections also saw
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: victories for pro Israel candidates Aljemeiner. In Texas, Republican Beau
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: French used an a generated image and language echoing the
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: Judeo Bolshevism conspiracy theory in a fundraising email against his
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Jewish Democratic opponent, John Rosenthal. The e mail circulated an
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: image of Rosenthal in the room where the Romanovs were killed,
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: stating he had much in common with the Marxist revolutionaries.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Rosenthal told the foreword that the rhetoric is disturbing and
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: echoes historical scapegoating of Jews. Item E five E nine
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: hundred fifteen C. Nine hundred sixty seven in Toronto, security
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: concerns have become paramount for community events. Jewish Lawyers of
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: Canada is hosting a debate on antisemitism from mayoral candidates
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: with strict security measures including police presence and limited addressed
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: disclosure to registrants, reflecting the seriousness with which rising antisemitism
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: is being treated. Item six million, thirty six thousand, six
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: hundred thirty four a debt twenty eight. A Jewish Federation
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: head in New York is accusing Mayor Zorin Mamdani of
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: inciting violence against Jews, highlighting significant intergroup conflict according to JTA. JTA,
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: whistleblower complaints allege that a Trump administration task force created
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: to combat antisemitism pressured Ivy League universities into settlements. According
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: to multiple reports based on a disclosure obtained by the
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: Associated Press, former Justice Department lawyer Hailey van Irem claimed
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: investigations were rushed, incomplete, or lacked legal basis, and that
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: outcomes were predetermined for political purposes. The complaints suggest the
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: task force was driven by political priorities rather than evidence,
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: with some faculty targeted base based on their work or faith.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: A Justice department spokesperson stated the department stands by the
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: integrity of its investigations. Item C one E seven F
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: six thousand, two hundred twelve feet, Item sixty C seventeen
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: F six hundred, seventy four F seventy one, Item f
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: B eighty million, three hundred and twenty nine thousand, one
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: hundred and nine, Item forty four A four hundred, forty
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: four thousand, eight hundred fifty one off. In South Carolina,
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: mayors are meeting to discuss and develop locally tailored plans
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: to counter the rising threat of antisemitism, according to reporting
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: reviewed for this episode, citing Camp's Antisemitism Research Center, Item
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: two B fifty nine AC four BFB four D. Reporting
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: reviewed for this episode highlights the ongoing need for heightened
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: security at synagogues and Jewish schools, and includes critiques of
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: how security threats are managed or communicated. Item seventy four
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: C three F three hundred twenty ft woe Internationally, an
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: Israeli athlete was reportedly disqualified for displaying the Israeli flag.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: The source frames this event as antisemitic and racially motivated,
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: stating that assaulting Jews based on their connection to Israel
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: is not a political debate but a racially motivated battery.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Item five hundred and sixty five billion, two hundred and
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: eighty nine million, one hundred and four thousand, four hundred
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: and ninety three. That's all for this edition of Antisemitism Watch.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for joining us. This report
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: verify important details with primary sources.