Antisemitism Watch

Investigative Documentary Exposes 'Antisemitic Rot' in UK's National Health Service
Jewish Schoolboys Assaulted on London Bus in Suspected Antisemitic Hate Crime
Hostility, Harassment, and Violence Against Israelis and Jews Abroad Surges in Summer 2026

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📝 Transcript

You're listening to Antisemitism Watch, I'm Rachel Adler.

Tonight, we begin with a disturbing look into Britain's National Health Service. Campaign Against Antisemitism has released a documentary, 'Malignant: Antisemitism in the NHS,' exposing what they call 'the antisemitic rot' within the organization. The film details shocking incidents, including antisemitic death threats against medical professionals, and a Jewish emergency worker physically attacked by a colleague, according to reporting on the documentary. One nurse recounted a colleague performing a Nazi salute after learning she was Jewish. Another incident involved a patient being told by his surgeon during an operation that 'the Jews, the Jews should know better, the Jews do it just for fun they shoot children in the head or the leg on a for fun,' as reported by Campaign Against Antisemitism. Doctors with Jewish-sounding names have reportedly stopped wearing name badges, and requests for kosher meals have halved in two years, according to figures cited by CAA. Many doctors are resigning, citing unsafe conditions and unaddressed complaints, with one professional describing the trust's efforts to obfuscate his concerns as making him ill, as detailed in the documentary.

In London, police are investigating an alleged antisemitic hate crime attack on three 14-year-old Jewish students from Hasmonean Boys school. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that officers received reports of verbal assault, and physical assault against two of the boys, while they were on a bus on September 10th. The incident is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, with CCTV analysis ongoing, according to a police spokesperson. The Community Security Trust, or CST, is also aware of the incident and working with the school and police. This follows another incident reported just ten days prior, where a student from the same school was allegedly assaulted in Belsize Park, also being investigated as a hate crime, as reported by The JC.

Abroad, summer 2026 saw a troubling surge in hostility towards Israelis and Jews traveling internationally. An ADL report details widespread harassment, exclusion, threats, and violence across a range of countries. Israelis and Jews were reportedly targeted in public spaces, hotels, and at religious services, often treated as stand-ins for the Israeli government. The ADL report highlights specific incidents: seven French Jewish tourists pursued and spat upon in Barcelona, Spain; Israeli rabbis spat on in Vilnius, Lithuania; Israeli tourists beaten in Budva, Montenegro, with one suffering a fractured jaw; six Israeli tourists attacked with an axe in Northern Mongolia after speaking Hebrew; a French Jewish DJ forced off stage in Grenoble, France; and an Israeli mother and daughter severely beaten in Thailand. Conspiracy theories blaming Jews for various crises also spread, amplified by public figures and media, normalizing hostility, according to the ADL.

Closer to home, federal authorities arrested an ISIS supporter in Pennsylvania who allegedly sought to poison food at a synagogue. Reporting indicates the individual was also sharing documents about assembling explosives and car bombs, highlighting the ongoing efforts in online threat monitoring concerning Jewish communities, according to FBI statements.

On campus, mezuzahs were vandalized and removed from dorm rooms at Wilfrid Laurier University. Students returning after Rosh Hashanah reportedly felt targeted with antisemitic hatred, according to statements from Hillel Ontario and StandWithUs Canada. The incident has prompted an investigation and condemnation from Israeli community organizations.

In political discourse, Toronto mayoral candidate Chris Alexander directly confronted incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow during a televised debate. Alexander criticized Mayor Chow's absence from a recent community event focused on combating antisemitism, stating that Jewish Torontonians feel neglected and that the city faces a significant rise in antisemitic incidents. Mayor Chow affirmed that antisemitism is unacceptable and vowed to invest in confronting it, but the Jewish Lawyers of Canada, or JLC, noted that condemnation alone is insufficient and called for a substantive strategy, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.

Political scientist Norman Finkelstein appeared on Tucker Carlson's program, where he compared the current campus clampdown in the United States to McCarthyism. Finkelstein made this comparison while discussing post-October 7 developments and free-speech crises at American universities, according to reporting on the program.

At Columbia University, a civil rights lawsuit has been filed by graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a spokesperson for pro-Palestinian activists. Khalil alleges the university's 'deliberate indifference' led to the doxing of group members and his own detention by immigration agents. The Associated Press reports Khalil accused the university of discrimination aimed at intimidating Palestinian students, though Columbia stated its commitment to creating a welcoming environment.

Separately, CAM's Antisemitism Research Center documented an antisemitic campaign to distort the truth of 9/11, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the event, as reported by CAM.

And in another political comment, House contender Joel Anabilah-Azumah cast a rapper's antisemitic posts as criticism of a music-industry 'power structure,' according to reporting on his statement.

I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.

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This report was generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.

📚 Sources

Sources:
- jpost.com: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-908697
- thejc.com: https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/police-investigating-hasmonean-students-slapped-bus-oj6icb30
- telegraph.co.uk: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09/15/jewish-schoolboys-slapped-on-london-bus/
- ynetnews.com: https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/bjghxjpyfx
- haaretz.com: https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2026-09-15/ty-article/.premium/mezuzahs-smashed-at-canadian-jewish-university-over-rosh-hashanah-students-say/000001a0-a496-d1ba-a7af-fdbe1f190000
- firstamendmentwatch.org: https://firstamendmentwatch.org/mahmoud-khalil-lawsuit-says-columbia-failed-to-protect-pro-palestinian-activists/
- jpost.com: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-908703
- jewishinsider.com: https://jewishinsider.com/2026/09/joel-anabilah-azumah-bruce-blakeman-kanye-west-antisemitic-posts/
- harici.com.tr: https://harici.com.tr/en/finkelstein-says-us-campus-clampdown-has-surpassed-mccarthyism/
- jns.org: https://www.jns.org/opinion/alan-newman/the-great-mamdani-and-aoc-distraction
- timesofisrael.com: https://www.timesofisrael.com/isis-supporter-in-pennsylvania-sought-to-poison-synagogue-food-fbi/
- combatantisemitism.org: https://combatantisemitism.org/studies-reports/hijacking-history-the-antisemitic-campaign-to-distort-the-truth-of-9-11/
- ADL: https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/summer-hostility-toward-israelis-and-jews