MID-ATLANTIC EDITION

Headlines

Haverford Professor Arrested, Accused of Sending Dozens of Antisemitic Threats
Columbia University Faces Scrutiny Over Reports of Campus Hate Speech
Somerville Council to Debate Israel Divestment Amidst Antisemitism Concerns

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Transcript

You're listening to Antisemitism Watch: Mid-Atlantic edition, I'm Rachel Adler.

We begin with serious allegations against an academic in our region. Haverford College professor Guangtian Ha has been arrested and charged in federal court with cyberstalking a Jewish colleague. Prosecutors allege Ha, an assistant professor of religion, used anonymous X accounts to send more than fifty threatening and antisemitic messages between October 2025 and May 2026. According to court documents cited by VINnews and The Inquirer, these posts invoked Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust, referenced the October 7th attacks, and included calls for the extermination of Jews. Authorities also allege Ha exposed his colleague's home address, infant child's name, and pictures of the home's exterior, prompting the colleague's spouse and children to flee their home twice. Ha pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday, but a federal judge ordered him held in custody until his trial, citing a "persistent obsession" with terrorizing the victim. Haverford College President Wendy Raymond stated that Ha has been placed on administrative leave and barred from campus, describing the alleged attacks as antisemitic and heinous. This case also comes after Ha was named in a 2024 lawsuit that alleged Haverford College failed to adequately address antisemitism on campus following the October 7th attacks, according to VINnews.

On college campuses, reports of concerning rhetoric continue. At Columbia University, social psychologist Shai Davidai has meticulously documented instances of antisemitism, including hate speech and the university administration's refusal to condemn Hamas. Algemeiner reports that Davidai encountered his university ID being deactivated when attempting to enter an encampment. He also recounts that university officials, including former COO Cas Holloway, stated Columbia was "not in the business of making moral condemnations" when asked to condemn Hamas. Davidai also published recordings showing officials unable to identify Hamas as a terrorist organization. Specific instances of hate speech include a student spokesperson stating, "Zionists don’t deserve to live," and a Jewish student being told, "It’s such a shame that your people survived in order to commit mass genocide." An imam, speaking in a webinar for Columbia students, reportedly suggested, "if you’re able to take out somebody like that and make an example, that might shut up a hundred more." Columbia later moved to bar Davidai from campus for alleged harassment, which he denies.

In other campus news, a Jewish student has filed a lawsuit alleging that Rutgers University ignored antisemitism on campus, according to a report on Facebook. Separately, a lawsuit filed against Harvard University alleges that a Jewish worker was fired due to religious bias, as reported by Law360. Meanwhile, a New York City mother, Natalya Murakhver, explained her decision to withdraw her children from public schools due to concerns about alleged antisemitism, according to Fox News.

In Somerville, Massachusetts, the City Council is set to discuss implementing a nonbinding ballot question on divesting from Israel, which passed last year with over 55% of the vote. JTA reports that the proposal, intended to commit the city to a binding ordinance within a year, has divided the community. Critics, including Shalom Somerville, argue the ordinance "singles out Jews who support Israel, which makes it antisemitic" and risks the safety and belonging of Jewish residents. The Anti-Defamation League and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law have also raised concerns, calling the proposal unconstitutional. Supporters, such as Somerville for Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace Boston, maintain that the measure reflects the will of the people and that "never again" means preventing genocide.

Turning to institutional responses, specialized training in Philadelphia equipped approximately 80 law enforcement officers from across southeastern Pennsylvania with tools to recognize and address contemporary antisemitism. The Combat Antisemitism Movement, in partnership with officials including Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, held the session. According to the Jerusalem Post, trainers emphasized that the post-October 7th surge in antisemitism has established a "new baseline" and highlighted the challenge for law enforcement in identifying motivations, noting how terms like "Zionists" or "Israel" are often used as proxies for "the Jews."

Internationally, Jewish employees at the United Nations have reported a deteriorating environment marked by discomfort and exposure to anti-Israel propaganda since March 2024. JNS.org reports that bias has become more outspoken, with one incident involving an Israeli diplomat, Waleed Gadban, having his address cut short by desk-banging delegates at an International Labor Organization conference in Geneva in June 2026. Despite the UN's Action Plan to Enhance Monitoring and Response to Antisemitism, Jewish staffers say conditions have continued to worsen, with the plan having had no discernible impact.

I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch: Mid-Atlantic edition.

For broader coverage of antisemitism across the United States and around the world, listen to Antisemitism Watch at clockwork media dot org slash A W.

Follow Antisemitism Watch Mid-Atlantic in your podcast app so you don’t miss the next update.
This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.

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Sources:
- foxnews.com: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6406786116112
- blogs.timesofisrael.com: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/here-we-go-again-seinfeld-and-the-disgrace-of-onstage-meltdowns/
- timesofisrael.com: https://www.timesofisrael.com/threats-to-nypds-pro-israel-commissioner-are-an-inflection-point-for-new-york-jews/
- Algemeiner: https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/10/13/campus-antisemitism-shai-davidai-kept-receipts/
- inquirer.com: https://www.inquirer.com/crime/haverford-college-guangtian-ha-antisemitism-20261013.html
- facebook.com: https://www.facebook.com/JNS.org/posts/yiorgos-maravelias-a-former-rutgers-law-school-student-filed-an-amended-complain/1582486973916906/
- foxnews.com: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6406785445112
- law360.com: https://www.law360.com/articles/2537221/harvard-fired-jewish-worker-out-of-religious-bias-suit-says
- vinnews.com: https://vinnews.com/2026/10/13/haverford-college-professor-arrested-charged-with-cyberstalking-jewish-colleague/
- aboutequi.de: https://aboutequi.de/news/supdfro
- JTA: https://www.jta.org/2026/10/13/politics/somerville-councilors-to-discuss-israel-divestment-proposal
- jpost.com: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-911537
- jns.org: https://www.jns.org/news/world/little-if-any-progress-on-jew-hatred-at-united-nations-jewish-staffers-say
- foxnews.com: https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-leo-diagnosed-lung-cancer-after-surgeons-remove-part-of-right-lung-vatican

If you've witnessed or experienced an antisemitic incident, report it to your local Jewish Federation:

In a true emergency, call 911 first.

• Middlesex & Monmouth, NJ — Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey: Report an incident

• Greater MetroWest, NJ (Essex, Morris, Union, Somerset) — Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ: Report an incident

• Northern NJ (Bergen, Hudson, Passaic) — Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey: Report an incident

• Greater Philadelphia — Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia: Report an incident

• NYC, Long Island, Westchester & Rockland — UJA-Federation of New York: Responding to antisemitism