Antisemitism Watch - August 17, 2026, 05 AM Eastern

Antisemitism Watch covers a physical assault during Shabbat services at Manhattan's Central Synagogue, with the alleged perpetrator, Larry Montes, facing hate crime charges as New York City grapples with rising antisemitic incidents. We report on the dismissal of a lawsuit against Harvard University concerning antisemitism, alongside critiques of campus academic culture and debates over civil discourse programs. Plus, an Australian Royal Commission hears warnings about social media's role in promoting extremism and hate, and news emerges of upcoming international adoptions of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.Sources:- sanjuandailystar.com: https://www.sanjuandailystar.com/post/central-synagogue-attack-rattles-jewish-new-yorkers- insidehighered.com: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/free-speech/2026/08/17/heated-discourse-about-civil-discourse- pressreader.com: https://www.pressreader.com/usa/usa-today-us-edition/20260817/281539412790286- thecollegefix.com: https://www.thecollegefix.com/professor-turned-writer-whistleblower-exposes-rot-in-modern-academia/- au.news.yahoo.com: https://au.news.yahoo.com/social-cohesion-focus-post-bondi-173000938.html- Times of Israel (Telegram): https://t.me/TheTimesOfIsrael2022/8846- jpost.com: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-905723- israelnationalnews.com: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/431805- jns.org: https://www.jns.org/news/antisemitism/surprising-addition-to-ihra-adoption-coming-us-and-argentina-working-closely-on-ihra-in-latin-america- swoknews.com: https://www.swoknews.com/ap/national/nyc-synagogue-antisemitic-attacker-called-congregants-swine-and-fake-jews/article_37040a49-6871-548a-95ad-e2ee7b1440f9.htmlMusic Attribution:Intro: Intro: Music by https://pixabay.com/users/dariocoiro-54756271/ Dario Coiro from PixabayOutro: Outro: Music by https://pixabay.com/users/muzaproduction-24990238/ Aleksandr Karabanov from Pixabay