MMN Editor

The Mortgage Ends, But The Tax Bill Doesn’t: Inside America’s Property-Tax Revolt

Paying off a home ends the mortgage. It does not fix the cost of keeping the house. That distinction is becoming the economic fault line beneath America’s widening property-tax revolt.

Denise DiFabio/Facebook via Reason

A rising valuation looks like prosperity on a balance sheet. The tax bill arrives in cash. For an owner who wants to stay put, extracting that additional wealth generally means borrowing against the house or selling it. Neither is quite the financial security that paying off a mortgage was supposed to deliver.The pressure extends well beyond a few angry retirees. ICE’s mortgage data show average property-tax payments on mortgaged single-family homes rose 31.2% between December 2019 and December 2025. Insurance payments increased 71.8%. Meanwhile, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reports that 20.7 million homeowner households spent more than 30% of their income on housing and utilities in 2024. Even among owners without a mortgage, 16% were burdened by housing costs.That is the broader setting for the Ohio homeowner Politico encountered signing a petition to abolish property taxes. Ray Warner, 72, put the grievance plainly: “I’m old. I’ve paid my home off. Why would I pay property tax?”The question mixes a budget problem with a claim about ownership. The current revolt draws its force from both.Paper Wealth, Cash BillsHomeowners with fixed-rate mortgages have protection against changes in their loan’s scheduled principal-and-interest payment. Their taxes and insurance have no equivalent nationwide guarantee. Paying the mortgage off removes the lender’s payment, while leaving those other expenses in place. According to the Census Bureau, about 35 million homes owned free and clear in 2024, representing 40.3% of owned homes.Boomers celebrating the fact that they had the chance to purchase gold at $17, a house at $35,000 and paid $250 to go to a 4 year college while still getting handouts from the goverment in 2026 https://t.co/8futFDA6sI— Dividend Hero (@HeroDividend) January 26, 2026Insurance compounds the problem. In its September 2026 update, ICE put average insurance costs for single-family mortgage holders at $209 a month in the second quarter, nearly 80% above the start of 2020. The pace of increases was slowing, but the level remained high.A University of North Florida survey released in September illustrates the distinction. Among 1,511 insured Florida homeowners surveyed in July, 63% were more concerned about insurance than property taxes; 36% chose taxes.That suggests one reason property taxes have become a political target: they are a recurring housing expense voters can attack directly through elections and ballot measures. Cutting them can provide real relief, but it cannot by itself resolve the full cost of ownership.The Housing Boom’s Delayed InvoiceTax assessments do not update everywhere on the same schedule. Cotality’s research on pandemic-era tax increases describes how reassessment cycles delay the translation of market gains into tax notices. Exemptions, local tax rates and limits on collections further complicate the relationship.The resulting frustration can outlast the price boom. ATTOM’s 2025 analysis found the average single-family tax bill rose 3% to $4,427 even as its average estimated home value fell 1.7%. That does not establish why every bill increased, but it shows that weakening valuations and higher taxes can coexist.There is an essential qualification to the national story. Politico cites a roughly 25% increase in median annual property-tax payments between 2019 and 2024. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show annual-average consumer prices rose about 22.7% during those years. Using the rounded tax figure, the increase after inflation is approximately 1.9%.The national median therefore does not establish an extraordinary inflation-adjusted tax surge. It also cannot describe the household facing a much larger reassessment, or one whose disposable income has failed to keep pace with expenses. The national median is poor comfort when the local bill arrives.Local Budgets Enjoyed The Boom, TooThe case for restraining local revenue growth deserves scrutiny on its own terms. In an analysis published October 20, the Tax Foundation reports that Florida’s non-school property-tax collections increased 68.6% from 2019 to 2025, compared with population growth of 9.2% and cumulative inflation of 25.9%.Adjusting those figures for population and inflation implies roughly 22.6% growth per resident. That does not establish waste; construction and changing service demands matter. It does make the local revenue growth worth scrutiny.A larger assessment does not mathematically require a proportionately larger bill. Consider a simplified example: $300,000 of taxable value at a 1% rate produces a $3,000 bill. If taxable value rises to $450,000, lowering the rate to about 0.667% preserves the same dollar payment. Actual tax systems have additional rules, but the arithmetic makes the policy choice clear.Politico found that tension inside city hall. Charlestown, Indiana, Mayor Treva Hodges described budget cuts after state tax relief, while also fighting a reassessment that she said increased her own home’s value by about 45% and its tax bill by $650.The two positions can coexist. A homeowner can have a legitimate complaint about an assessment, and a municipality can still need an explicit plan for the revenue being removed.What “Abolition” Actually MeansThe movement encompasses significantly different policies. Treating them all as repeal obscures both the benefits and the costs.Florida: Amendment 3, on the November 2026 ballot, would raise the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments afterward. School levies remain. This is a large exemption expansion, with additional assessment and implementation provisions, rather than immediate repeal of all property taxes.Texas: The current school-district homestead exemption is $140,000, plus an additional $60,000 for qualifying older or disabled owners. Those are reductions in taxable value; they are not checks for those amounts and do not eliminate every local levy.Ohio: Organizers are aiming for November 2027, after abandoning an effort to qualify for this year’s ballot. The proposal examined by the state’s Legislative Service Commission would abolish taxes on real property, while leaving public-utility tangible-personal-property taxes in place. Its September 2025 fiscal analysis identified $21.41 billion in real-property taxes charged in tax year 2024, within $23.93 billion in total property taxes.Politico’s Ohio organizer, Brian Massie, describes his campaign in terms of freedom and private property. Legislators translating that principle into law still have to decide which property, which owners and which obligations are covered.The Power To Take The House Is RealThe security argument has a legal foundation. In Pung v. Isabella County, decided June 23, 2026, the Supreme Court described a Michigan property-tax dispute involving $2,241.93 owed and a house assessed at $194,400 that sold at a tax auction for $76,008.The Court held that a fairly conducted tax sale’s price, rather than hypothetical market value, generally sets the constitutional compensation baseline. Owners retain the right to surplus proceeds after the tax debt is satisfied. The case was sent back for further proceedings, including any properly preserved challenge to the sale’s fairness.Protection against the government keeping surplus proceeds does not guarantee recovery of the home’s full market value. That distinction helps explain why a tax bill can be experienced as a threat to ownership itself.The Money Has To Come From SomewhereThe fiscal stakes are enormous. Census data put state and local property-tax collections at approximately $846 billion over the four quarters ending in June 2026. That includes commercial and other taxable property, not only owner-occupied homes.Florida’s official July revenue estimate puts Amendment 3’s conditional reduction in non-school local revenue at about $4.9 billion in fiscal 2027-28 and $8.7 billion in 2028-29. Those are projected annual impacts if voters approve the amendment, before assuming compensating policy choices.A Tax Foundation scenario illustrates the scale of complete repeal: replacing all Ohio property-tax revenue with additional income taxes would produce an estimated average combined state and local income-tax rate of 12.59%. The model covers a broader tax base than the real-property-only initiative described above. It is neither an enacted rate nor an unavoidable forecast; spending cuts would reduce the amount to be replaced.The honest debate therefore has to name the spending reductions, replacement taxes or transfers. Saying the state will cover the difference merely moves the question to another budget.Texas already illustrates that distinction. Its Education Agency explains that the enlarged exemptions come with additional state aid to protect school districts against the resulting revenue loss. Homeowners receive relief while more of the financing responsibility shifts to the state.Ohio’s fiscal analysis also identifies a less obvious possibility: fixed-dollar levies could place additional obligations on utility property that remains taxable, potentially feeding through into regulated utility charges. A property-tax cut and an electricity bill need not be unrelated.Relief For Owners Can Shift Costs To Everyone ElseIf local governments respond to a homeowner exemption by raising rates on the remaining tax base, rental property and businesses can bear more of the burden. The ultimate effect on renters depends on market conditions; a landlord cannot necessarily pass on every additional dollar.There is, however, direct evidence of substantial pass-through in one setting. A December 2025 Philadelphia Fed working paper by Sarah Baker, using Berkeley rental data, estimates that landlords passed 50 to 89 cents of each dollar of property-tax shocks into new tenants’ rents. That is evidence from a particular market, not a nationwide forecast.Buyers face another complication. A working paper revised in August 2026 by Joshua Coven, Sebastian Golder, Arpit Gupta and Abdoulaye Ndiaye examines how recurring property taxes affect prices and housing allocation. Lower carrying costs can be capitalized into higher purchase prices, allowing existing owners to capture part of the benefit when they sell.Reducing the cost of staying in a house therefore does not automatically reduce the cost of entering the housing market by the same amount. An affordability policy should be evaluated from both sides of the transaction.California offers a historical warning about institutional consequences. According to its Legislative Analyst’s Office, Proposition 13 immediately cut property-tax payments by roughly 60%, shifted significant allocation authority to the state, and encouraged cities and counties to rely more heavily on sales, hotel and utility taxes. It delivered substantial relief while also changing who collected revenue and who controlled its distribution.A revolt against government can end with more fiscal power in the state capital.Popular Relief, Difficult ArithmeticNorth Dakota shows that rejecting repeal does not end the demand for relief. Voters rejected its broad abolition measure in 2024. In May 2025, the state raised its annual primary-residence credit from $500 to $1,600 and adopted a 3% cap on growth in local property-tax budgets. The cap applies to budgets, rather than guaranteeing that each household’s bill rises no more than 3%. Earnings from the state’s Legacy Fund finance the credit.The political coalition becomes less certain when voters are asked about the consequences. In a July University of North Florida poll, support for a described property-tax amendment was 61%. After respondents were given a municipal revenue-loss estimate, support fell to 45%. These were successive questions in the same survey, not an election forecast or a measured collapse in support over time.The result does not show that households are content with their bills. It shows that support for relief and agreement on how to finance it are separate political achievements.A serious reform package can address several problems directly. Limits on total levies constrain collections more directly than a simple tax-rate cap, although they do not protect every individual owner equally. Income-based circuit breakers target bills that consume too much of a household’s income. Deferrals can reduce immediate pressure on cash-poor owners, while leaving an obligation to be settled later.Each approach requires choices about spending, eligibility and financing. Blanket exemptions provide broader relief, including to households that do not face hardship. Targeted programs provide less sweeping relief but can focus resources on the risk that gives the revolt much of its force: losing a home because an annual bill has outrun the ability to pay.For homeowners, the immediate demand is understandable. Paper appreciation should not be mistaken for an unlimited supply of cash. For politicians, the test is whether they can turn that grievance into durable relief without disguising where the bill goes next.The mortgage can end. The struggle to afford the house can continue.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 10/28/2026 – 11:20

It is hardly a new phenomenon to see starting pitchers – elite ones at that – get the final outs of the World Series, but the Milwaukee Brewers passed on that opportunity.Up 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 12th, the Brewers were three outs away from a sweep to win their first Fall Classic. Having used up plenty of relievers, manager Pat Murphy decided to keep impending Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski in the dugout and go with Shane Drohan.But Drohan, who got bitten by his defense, did not record an out, and a Game 5 will be played Wednesday night.CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGEAfter the game, Murphy said Misiorowski, who was always slated to, and will, start Game 5, was not an option.”You can’t blow that type of situation on a one-run lead on the road,” Murphy said. “If we were in the 13th inning and had a three-run lead, that might be a little bit different, and I probably still wouldn’t have.”The move was highly debated on social media in the early morning hours after the game.THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!”I’m not crazy for thinking that the Brewers should have put in Misiorowski to start the inning, right? You need 3 outs, go use your best arm to get them,” one X user said.”Not sure it gets as utter woke nonsense as saving the best pitcher in the world for a hypothetical game 5 where you’d still be up 3-1,” said another.”Wouldn’t have needed a game 5 , congrats on out thinking yourself,” added one more.And, of course, there’s the contrary.YANKEES LEGEND SAYS HE DOES NOT ‘FEEL WELCOME’ BY TEAM DESPITE LEGENDARY CAREER”They had 3-0 game lead. No reason to throw Misiorowski in this game,” one opposer said.”What if he had and Tampa still won. He would have lost him for at least game 5,” a Rays fan wrote.Misiorowski pitched to an MLB-leading 1.80 ERA this season, and his 252 strikeouts and 13.0 K/9 were also league bests . He has not found similar success in October, but he’s still fared quite nicely (2.70 ERA, 14 strikeouts in 13.1 innings spanning three starts).Had Misiorowski blown the save (an unlikely scenario), who knows who would pitch Game 5, but it’s hard to imagine that he would not be available in a necessary Game 6 at home.Murphy went with seven relievers after starter Dustin May tossed just three innings. Trevor Megill was used for one batter in the eighth inning, and Aaron Ashby, who has now allowed a run in 18.0 innings, started the ninth and was taken out after recording one out in the 11th.SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTERAfter an error to start the inning, the Tampa Bay Rays rattled off four straight hits to force Game 5 at Tropicana Field. First pitch is shortly after 8 p.m. ET.

Far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker filed a $72.5 million defamation lawsuit against CNN commentator Scott Jennings in federal court on Tuesday, accusing the pundit of airing a manipulated video and falsely portraying him as advocating the lynching of Black Americans.
The 38-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, centers on an August 11 episode of Salem Media’s The Scott Jennings Show and social media posts with clips.
Jennings played an edited clip of Piker and told listeners that the streamer was “out there calling for Black voters to be lynched” and referenced “the Piker plan of returning our country to lynchings.”
In another post, he wrote that Abdul El-Sayed’s “best pal and campaign partner says the USA should resume lynchings against black people.”
Piker is seeking at least $27.5 million in compensatory damages, $45 million in punitive damages, and a jury trial.
The footage comes from a 2024 livestream, during which Piker reacted to a debate between two Black political commentators on criminal justice policy.
WATCH:

Abdul El-Sayed’s best pal and campaign partner says the USA should resume lynchings against black people.
Listen for yourself and understand what the socialists have in store for the black community https://t.co/N3ntbIHefw
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) August 12, 2026

According to the complaint, Piker was sarcastically mocking a conservative participant who had criticized progressive prosecutors and “woke DAs.”
Laughing, Piker said something to the effect of “He said, ‘We need more Klansmen, okay? Can we go back to a better time when lynchings were happening? This is what I like as a Black man. Also, there’s no real racism in America.’”
The lawsuit alleges that the version Jennings aired was a roughly 42-second compilation drawn from multiple streams, cropped and rearranged to omit the words “He said” and the surrounding sarcasm that made clear Piker was attributing the remarks to someone else rather than endorsing them.
Jennings then added a caption presenting the line as a direct quote from Piker: “LET’S GO BACK TO A BETTER TIME WHEN LYNCHINGS WERE HAPPENING.”
The complaint states that Jennings “did not merely mischaracterize something Mr. Piker said. He took a false, fabricated, and manipulated video of Mr. Piker, added a made-up quotation that Mr. Piker never uttered, and then made accusations that went beyond even what the manipulated footage purported to show.”
Piker’s attorneys argue that the statements were presented as factual assertions about what he said rather than rhetorical commentary, and that Jennings ignored a prior request for a retraction.
The suit alleges defamation per se, defamation by implication, and false light, arguing that the accusations damaged Piker’s reputation, threatened his streaming income and sponsorships, and caused emotional distress.
As of Tuesday evening, Jennings had not publicly responded to the lawsuit. He had also not deleted the posts.

The post Hasan Piker Files $72.5 Million Lawsuit Against CNN’s Scott Jennings for Allegedly Portraying Him as Calling for Lynching Black Americans appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Coinbase Denies Systems Breach, Says Vendor Exposed Customer Data

Authored by Zoltan Vardai via Cointelegraph,Some Coinbase customers’ contact information was exposed in a security incident at analytics vendor Amplitude, the exchange said Wednesday.The incident impacted a “small subset” of Coinbase customers, along with other Amplitude clients, Coinbase Support said on X.Coinbase has not had a data breach. Amplitude, an analytics vendor, experienced a security incident which impacted a small subset of Coinbase customer contact data, among other Amplitude customers. We’ve found no evidence of unauthorized access to Coinbase systems, and…— Coinbase Support (@CoinbaseSupport) October 28, 2026Coinbase denied that its own systems had been breached and said customer funds were not affected.The disclosure adds to Wednesday’s reports of cyberattacks affecting both crypto exchanges and traditional financial firms. In South Korea, Bithumb is investigating whether a breach of its internal work platform exposed customer information, while brokerage Daishin Securities reported a leak of personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers.Cointelegraph contacted Coinbase to find out how many customers were affected but had not received a response by publication.In May 2025, Coinbase disclosed a separate data breach that impacted less than 1% of its monthly transacting users. The exchange estimated reimbursement and remediation costs at up to $400 million.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 10/28/2026 – 11:00

FIRST ON FOX — The latest lawsuit launched against the Trump administration seeks to recover more than $461 million after the State Department directed a longtime embassy builder to continue construction projects worldwide through the COVID-19 pandemic.B.L. Harbert International, which has built dozens of U.S. embassies and consulates over more than two decades, reached a $370 million settlement with the State Department to handle resulting claims — but the compnay claims the deal was reversed after current political leadership intervened.The builders are now seeking to recover lost funding through suing the Trump administration, and filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Fox News Digital first learned. The complaint covers 12 diplomatic construction projects across four continents, including facilities in Turkey, Iraq, Thailand, Morocco, Mexico and Central America.The company alleges career State Department officials reached the $370 million agreement in September 2025, but the government paid just $501,636 before backing out. Harbert claims political leadership “inserted themselves into the process after a settlement was reached” and that the decision to abandon it “came from the top.””We did not want to take this step. The U.S. Government is an important partner, and we are proud of the work we do together to advance America’s interests and protect Americans serving overseas,” Charles Bohn, president of BL Harbert’s International Group, said in a statement.TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNCOVERS $1.2B IN SUSPECTED COVID CONTRACT FRAUD TIED TO BIDEN-ERA SPENDING”But we have a responsibility to our employees and to the future of that mission. We kept our commitment under extraordinarily difficult conditions. We are asking the government to keep its commitment to us.”Harbert is one of a small pool of U.S. contractors capable of building highly secure diplomatic facilities overseas — work that requires specialized security clearances, vetted workforces and the ability to manage complex construction and supply chains abroad. According to the company, some State Department embassy projects now draw just two or three qualified bidders.The dispute dates back to the beginning of the pandemic, when Harbert was working on 17 embassy and consulate construction projects around the world, representing nearly two-thirds of State’s embassy construction program at the time, according to the lawsuit.As countries shut down and global supply chains seized up in early 2020, Harbert says it sought guidance from State on whether to pause construction. The company argues the pandemic constituted an “excusable delay” under its contracts that would have allowed it to send personnel home, secure construction sites and resume work once conditions stabilized.Instead, Harbert alleges State decided to keep its overseas construction program moving.The company says State directed it to remain ready to mobilize, continue procuring and shipping materials and work through the disruptions, while instructing Harbert to document the resulting costs and submit requests for reimbursement.In one March 2020 communication cited in the complaint, Harbert warned State that it could not afford to continue paying workers to remain on standby without assurances of reimbursement. Labor costs on the new U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City alone were running roughly $1.3 million per month, according to the filing.Weeks later, State directed Harbert to “continue to procure and ship materials” so projects would not end up at the “back of the line” when global construction activity resumed, the complaint alleges. State recognized that doing so could generate additional storage, shipping and other costs and directed the company to submit requests for equitable adjustments as those costs arose, according to the filing.The projects ultimately moved forward under pandemic restrictions that Harbert says increased costs and reduced productivity as the company dealt with workforce limitations, supply-chain disruptions and new operating requirements.The government has since taken possession of all 12 diplomatic facilities at issue in the lawsuit and has been using some of them for more than three years, according to Harbert.Harbert ultimately submitted more than $500 million in requests for equitable adjustments and other claims stemming from the pandemic directives and separate project disputes, including alleged design changes and government-caused delays.OBAMA CENTER SUBCONTRACTOR SHUTS DOWN AMID $4M FIGHT, LAYS OFF 25Harbert alleges members of State Department political leadership “inserted themselves into the process after a settlement was reached” and that, “on information and belief,” the decision to abandon the agreement “came from the top.”Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for comment.With deadlines approaching to preserve its claims, Harbert says it formally certified them in March 2026. The complaint alleges State’s chief of staff encouraged the company to do so, representing that certification would make it easier for the government to implement the settlement.Instead, State contracting officers began denying the claims in July. By Oct. 13, 2026, all 13 certified claims now at issue in the lawsuit had received final decisions.Harbert is now seeking at least $461,097,380 in damages, along with interest and other relief.The lawsuit does not currently ask the court to enforce the alleged $370 million settlement itself. Harbert says its settlement-related claims remain in the administrative process and that it reserves the right to add them to the lawsuit later.The dispute could carry consequences beyond the hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.Harbert has been awarded roughly 60 U.S. embassy and consulate construction projects since 1999. The company says the number of American contractors willing and qualified to undertake such work has dwindled significantly, in some cases leaving just two or three qualified bidders for projects.Embassy construction requires contractors to meet stringent security and workforce-vetting requirements while managing highly specialized construction, secure facilities and international logistics, creating significant barriers for companies seeking to enter the field.Harbert argues that if contractors lose confidence that State will honor its obligations, fewer could be willing to take on the work, further shrinking the government’s options for constructing secure diplomatic facilities overseas.

Lily Balkcom has country music fans buzzing with her latest Instagram post.Balkcom makes up one third of the popular country music trio The Castellows. Her sisters Ellie and Powell make up the rest of the trio, and the group has seen a massive boost in popularity over the past couple of years.Their neo-traditional and Americana country music vibes have proven to be incredibly popular with fans of the genre.THE CASTELLOWS TEASE NEW SONG ‘WAY THINGS WORK’ FEATURING KELLER COX ON THEIR INSTAGRAMNow, Lily is reminding people of her draw on social media.The Castellows performed at the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 23 for the trio’s fifth performance at the incredibly historic country music venue.Lily celebrated a couple of days later by hopping on Instagram and dumping out plenty of photos from the event.As you’d expect, they’re stirring up plenty of attention. You can check them all out below.SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTERPerforming at the Grand Ole Opry is far from the only interesting thing The Castellows have going for them at the moment.They also recently announced their first ever full album and are also releasing the new song “Mr. Right” this Friday.There’s a lot of positive momentum for The Castellows at the moment. Of course, that’s not a surprise for anyone paying attention.The trio has had massive momentum for a long time at this point.What do you think of The Castellows and the group’s music? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

The British government’s decision to embrace sweeping measures addressing antisemitism in schools is drawing a sharp contrast with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recently unveiled strategy, raising questions about why Britain’s plan appears more specific than the one proposed in America’s most Jewish city.The U.K. government accepted all 27 recommendations from an independent review into antisemitism in schools and colleges in England. The measures include encouraging adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, specialized training for educators, strengthened reporting procedures and independent oversight.Mamdani’s 33-page strategy — while not only focused on education — by comparison, does not adopt a single definition of antisemitism, explicitly address the relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism or establish numerical benchmarks for measuring whether its initiatives succeed.British Jewish author and Holocaust educator Dov Forman, who recently graduated from university, said Mamdani could learn from Britain’s targeted approach to addressing antisemitism in schools.  MAMDANI PLEDGES MILLIONS TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM WHILE LEAVING KEY QUESTION UNRESOLVEDThe British review followed a BBC report from Yavneh College, a Jewish secondary school near London, where students described how antisemitism has affected their daily lives. Their accounts offered a window into the urgency behind the government’s recommendations.Education provides one of the clearest points of comparison between the two strategies. Mamdani’s plan calls for expanding Holocaust education, including opportunities for students to visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage, while also addressing how public schools respond to antisemitic discrimination. The U.K. government’s recommendations address many of those same concerns, placing greater emphasis on how educators recognize antisemitism, how schools respond when incidents occur and what protections are in place for Jewish students.The review, led by former senior education official Sir David Bell, found that nearly three in five Jewish people between the ages of 16 and 19 had experienced or witnessed antisemitism. It concluded that antisemitism is a distinct form of racism requiring a specific response and called for clearer guidance to distinguish legitimate political debate from harassment, intimidation and antisemitic rhetoric.British Jewish author and Holocaust educator Dov Forman, who recently graduated from university, called the recommendations “the bare minimum,” while acknowledging that the government is attempting to confront the problem directly.”The least [Mamdani] could do is look at what has happened in the U.K. and adopt similar measures, such as adopting the IHRA definition, which is the agreed definition across the world and where there is a consensus of what antisemitism actually is,” Forman told Fox News Digital.”The basic way to solve antisemitism is to actually agree on what it is and to understand that targeting a Jew deliberately because of what is going on in Israel, for example, is antisemitic, as the IHRA definition says,” he added.Forman cautioned that the British recommendations remain largely optional and that their effectiveness will depend on whether institutions act.”I do think some of them will be enforced and listened to. I do worry, though, that the government says things and does not actually take it seriously enough.”Education Secretary Lucy Powell said the government would establish an implementation group, while Bell was commissioned to conduct an independent assessment of its progress after one year.Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, welcomed Britain’s decision while emphasizing that adopting recommendations is only the beginning.JEWISH EDUCATORS FACE RAMPANT ANTISEMITISM IN TEACHERS UNIONS, NEW REPORT FINDS”I welcome the U.K.’s announcement that it has accepted all 27 recommendations,” Kaploun wrote on X. “Now, the challenge lies in implementation and enforcement.”Forman also said that British officials must examine whether their rhetoric about Israel contradicts their stated commitment to protecting Jewish communities.”It is very rich of the government to say that schools should adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism and that Jews should not be demonized for what is going on in the Middle East, and then for them to get up in the dispatch box in the House of Commons every week and blame Israel,” he said.”Stop talking and start acting,” Forman added, calling on the government to confront Islamist extremism and the Muslim Brotherhood and identify more directly where antisemitism is originating.The U.K. has faced criticism for being slow in combating antisemitism. Jewish residents have faced physical attacks, threats and harassment, making the specificity of its new plan and its contrast with New York City’s approach particularly notable.Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, called Mamdani’s strategy a “paper tiger,” arguing that its announced $36 million price tag obscures how little would go directly toward physical security.”It’s a million dollars in security in a city with a million Jews. It’s a dollar a Jew,” Steinmetz told Fox News Digital.The strategy includes $1 million to support physical security for vulnerable nonprofit organizations, including synagogues and other houses of worship, and $6.4 million for grants through the city’s Partners Against the Hate initiative.Steinmetz claimed that much of the money would support cultural centers and broadly defined community initiatives rather than immediate security needs.SIGN UP FOR ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED NEWSLETTERUJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the American Jewish Committee’s New York office and the New York Board of Rabbis issued a joint statement warning that Mamdani’s plan fails to address a central source of contemporary antisemitism.The organizations said rhetoric demonizing or delegitimizing Israel contributes to Jewish New Yorkers being treated as suspect, excluded or unsafe, and argued that any serious strategy must acknowledge that connection.”How can you have a strategy to keep New York Jews safe when you can’t even name what the danger is?” Steinmetz asked.One of Mamdani’s early actions as mayor was to revoke an executive order issued by former Mayor Eric Adams adopting the IHRA definition for city agencies. The definition provides examples of when criticism of Israel may cross into antisemitism while making clear that criticism comparable to that directed at any other country is not inherently antisemitic.Fox News Digital asked Mamdani’s office why the city’s strategy omits the IHRA definition and measurable benchmarks, and whether the administration would consider safeguards similar to those adopted by Britain. The mayor’s office did not respond by the time of publication.Britain’s measures have also only recently been accepted, and their impact remains untested.Britain has defined the problem, outlined specific recommendations and established a process for reviewing its progress. New York City’s Jewish leaders are still asking whether City Hall has accurately identified the threat it claims it intends to confront.