Headlines

Preacher Incites Violence Against Jews; UN Rapporteur Apologizes for Holocaust Distortion
France's Bardella Denies Antisemitic Remarks Allegations; Spain Minister's Comments Spark Protest
US Commission Report Details Campus Antisemitism; Synagogue Security Demands Follow Yom Kippur Incident

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Transcript

Good morning, and thank you for joining us on Antisemitism Watch. Today, we begin with deeply concerning reports of incitement and violence.

A Muslim preacher in Melbourne, identified as Abu Ahmad, has urged followers to take up arms against Christians and Jews, stating that devotion to Allah carries an obligation to oppose and fight enemies. According to local reports, this rhetoric has drawn national attention due to documented ties linking his institution to controversial networks. Following these reports, One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson criticized federal authorities, calling for immediate, targeted federal powers to confront fundamentalist Islamic extremism. Robert Gregory, president of the Australian Jewish Association, highlighted this as evidence of deep-seated failures in national security and social cohesion, pointing out that such warnings about radical Islamic preachers can no longer be dismissed.

This follows earlier reports of vandalism at the Yardley Country Club in Pennsylvania, where Yardley Borough Police are investigating racial slurs and swastika symbols carved into golf course greens. Police described the incident, which occurred between Friday evening and Saturday morning, as both a criminal act and a hateful one, requesting public assistance to identify those responsible.

Adding to the climate of concern, reports indicate that Jewish communities are on alert, with leaders warning of a 'toxic' antisemitic climate and expressing fears of a mass-casualty attack against Jews, describing hate crimes as a growing phenomenon.

In response to ongoing threats, B'nai Brith Canada is demanding legislative changes to permit synagogues to hire armed security guards and calling for governments to allocate funding for law enforcement presence at every Jewish institution. This demand comes after an incident on Yom Kippur where a gunman exchanged fire with a police officer outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, injuring the officer. B'nai Brith Canada described the event as an attempted mass killing targeting congregants observing the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. CEO Simon Wolle stated that the Jewish community can no longer wait for authorities to secure vulnerable locations, asserting that police protection is a basic function of government.

We turn now to historical distortion. UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese issued an apology this week after misinterpreting the term 'Muselmann' used in Nazi camps. Albanese had claimed that Jews were called 'Muslims' and that the term 'antisemitism' originally encompassed hatred of all Semitic peoples. However, reputable historical bodies, including the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Yad Vashem, clarified that 'Muselmann' referred to prisoners at the brink of death and was not a racial classification. They also confirmed that the term 'antisemitism' was coined in 1879 specifically to denote hatred of Jews. Yad Vashem criticized Albanese's claims as historical inaccuracy and revisionism.

On the topic of campus antisemitism, a unanimously approved, bipartisan report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights identifies campus antisemitism as a serious civil rights concern. The report, titled 'The Federal Response to Antisemitism on American College and University Campuses,' examines inconsistent university responses, limited federal transparency, and reduced enforcement capacity following the October 7th attacks. It calls for stronger federal coordination, greater transparency, adequate staffing of civil rights offices, and improved data collection. Rochelle Garza, Chair of the Commission, stated that protecting students from antisemitism is a shared civil rights responsibility.

In related campus news, emails obtained via a public records request reveal controversial statements from a Los Angeles public school teacher, who expressed doubts about "our Jewish students."

In the political arena, French investigative outlet Mediapart has published allegations that Jordan Bardella, president of France's far-right National Rally, made antisemitic remarks in private conversations as a teenager in 2013. Bardella vehemently denied the claims, calling them "blatant falsehoods" and accusing Mediapart of a smear operation. Mediapart cited verified correspondence containing phrases like "the Jew must dominate other peoples, crush them, and rob them." Bardella is instructing his lawyer to initiate proceedings, while National Rally leader Marine Le Pen dismissed the report as "insanity."

Separately, in Spain, Israel's Foreign Ministry summoned Spain's chargé d'affaires to protest comments by Spanish Minister of Youth and Children Sira Abed Rego. Rego stated the Spanish public supports a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea," a slogan the Israeli ministry interprets as implying the erasure of the State of Israel. The ministry accused the Spanish government of pursuing a "systematic anti-Israel policy."

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Robert P. George, McCormick professor of jurisprudence at Princeton and chair of the NJ Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, is studying the "revival of antisemitism," noting a spike after the October 7th Hamas attacks. George expressed shock at seeing hardcore antisemitism advanced by respectable people on both the right and left. The New Jersey commission, which recorded 687 antisemitic incidents last year, is drafting its report with recommendations.

On the digital front, reports indicate a significant surge in antisemitic content across social media platforms since October 7, 2023, alongside a documented collapse in Israel's capacity to shape its own online narrative. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue recorded a more than fifty-fold increase in antisemitic comments on YouTube regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict in the days following the Hamas attack. The Center for Countering Digital Hate reported that X, formerly Twitter, was still hosting a high percentage of flagged antisemitic posts, and Holocaust denial videos remained on TikTok. The American Jewish Committee survey work identifies online spaces as where American Jews most often encounter antisemitism.

Turning to case outcomes, police in London announced that the stabbings of two Jewish men in Golders Green in April are now being treated as an alleged hate crime, not a terrorist attack. This follows a court hearing where the prosecution stated it would not pursue a terrorist connection as part of the criminal proceedings. The Metropolitan Police reassured residents that the seriousness with which the matter is treated has not changed.

Finally, the 2026 Daniel & Marisa Klass USC Shoah Foundation Lecture Series on Antisemitism continues its examination of contemporary antisemitism. This week's episode featured Dr. Laurence Rickels discussing the Nazi regime's use of psychoanalysis, how psychological knowledge can be weaponized through propaganda, and the role of archives in confronting antisemitism.

I'm Rachel Adler. Thank you for watching Antisemitism Watch.

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

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Sources:
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