Antisemitism Watch - August 17, 2026, 09 PM Eastern

This week on Antisemitism Watch: NYPD statistics reveal antisemitism accounts for over half of hate crimes in New York City, with incidents including vandalism and synagogue disruption. On campuses, a report details hundreds of antisemitic incidents in NYC schools, while universities like Columbia and Brown are involved in legal battles over federal funding. Political rhetoric is also under scrutiny, with bipartisan condemnation for a candidate's antisemitic attack ads and a complex look at the discourse surrounding a synagogue incident. We also cover an attack on an Israeli news crew in Northern Ireland and a positive report on reformed Saudi textbooks.Sources:- pix11.com: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/antisemitism-accounts-for-over-half-of-nyc-hate-crimes-nypd-data-shows/- pix11.com: https://pix11.com/video/antisemitism-accounts-for-over-half-of-nyc-hate-crimes-nypd/12077007/- yahoo.com: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/antisemitism-accounts-over-half-nyc-203845773.html- nypost.com: https://nypost.com/2026/08/17/world-news/israeli-documentary-crew-assaulted-in-northern-ireland/- wsj.com: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/bean-counting-antisemitism-and-the-eeoc-3b1531d5- columbusjewishnews.com: https://www.columbusjewishnews.com/jns/columbia-brown-back-harvard-challenge-to-trump-research-funding-cuts-without-mentioning-campus-jew-hatred/article_01f7684f-8836-5ee6-a2e2-edd65fb6727b.html- wsj.com: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/harvard-antisemitism-case-judge-richard-stearns-trump-administration-f8bea120- clevelandjewishnews.com: https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jns/jewish-dem-congressman-warns-that-hasan-piker-event-could-violate-university-of-washingtons-title-vi/article_93df1ba3-97eb-5946-a48c-5b2b535e0e61.html- clevelandjewishnews.com: https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jns/report-nearly-two-thirds-of-nyc-public-school-jew-hatred-cases-since-october-2023-involved/article_fdcc2f3f-b6db-5f77-afc8-838e50cbaae3.html- jns.org: https://www.jns.org/news/u-s-news/columbia-brown-back-harvard-challenge-to-trump-research-funding-cuts-without-mentioning-campus-antisemitism- politico.com: https://www.politico.com/tag/antisemitism/11- nypost.com: https://nypost.com/2026/08/17/us-news/ny-rep-mike-lawler-gets-boost-from-law-enforcement-unions-in-critical-house-race/- jpost.com: https://www.jpost.com/us-elections/article-905823- jpost.com: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-905704- clevelandjewishnews.com: https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jta/former-mamdani-staffer-faces-backlash-for-post-about-central-synagogue-attacker/article_ffa5c278-ea99-58aa-bd27-b339fafbaef0.html- forward.com: https://forward.com/news/845474/central-synagogue-attack-mamdani-antisemitism/- abcnews.com: https://abcnews.com/Politics/hateful-leaders-parties-slam-house-candidate-dan-bilzerians/story?id=135715306- nypost.com: https://nypost.com/2026/08/17/us-news/house-leaders-johnson-and-jeffries-issue-rare-bipartisan-rebuke-over-fla-candidates-vile-antisemitism/- vinnews.com: https://vinnews.com/2026/08/17/democratic-candidate-accuses-ohio-rep-miller-of-fighting-for-benefits-for-israeli-soldiers/- jpost.com: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-905723- columbusjewishnews.com: https://www.columbusjewishnews.com/jns/saudi-arabia-excises-all-antisemitism-from-textbooks/article_025b9652-3617-5af4-976e-4f24ac4aa204.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