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As Kyrie Irving offers ‘deep apologies’ and returns to Nets, Black Hebrew Israelites rally in Brooklyn
(JTA) — Kyrie Irving returned Sunday from an eight-game suspension after again apologizing for promoting an antisemitic film on Twitter.
“I just want to offer my deep apologies to all those who were impacted over these last few weeks, specifically my Jewish relatives, my Black relatives, all races and cultures,” Irving said prior to Sunday’s game between his Brooklyn Nets and the Memphis Grizzlies. “Feel like we all felt an impact and I don’t stand for anything close to hate speech or antisemitism or anything that is ‘anti,’ going against the human race.”
Irving also seemed to reflect on the way he handled the now month-long saga, which included his repeated refusal to apologize for his tweet and his insistence that he “cannot be antisemitic.”
Irving continued: “I feel like we all should have an opportunity to speak for ourselves when things are assumed about us and I feel it was necessary for me to stand in this place and take accountability for my actions, because there was a way I should have handled all this and as I look back and reflect when I had the opportunity to offer my deep regrets to anyone that felt threatened or felt hurt by what I posted, that wasn’t my intent at all.”
Irving had ultimately apologized Nov. 3, hours after his suspension was announced. “To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize,” Irving wrote in an Instagram post.
Critics of Kyrie’s decision to tweet a link to the film, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” noted that it boosted sales of the film and a related book that promotes the idea that Jews were heavily involved in the Atlantic slave trade, denies the Holocaust and says Black people are the real Jews.
Followers of a group that ascribes to such theories gathered at the Grand Army Plaza, a half mile from the Nets’ arena Sunday, chanting “it’s time to wake up. I’ve got good news for you, we are the real Jews.” The group included dozens of people from Israel United in Christ, a New York-based group associated with the Black Hebrew Israelite movement. The movement — not to be confused with the International Israelite Board of Rabbis, which embraces mainstream Jewish beliefs — has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The group then convened directly outside Barclays Center, distributing antisemitic flyers titled “The Truth About Anti-Semitism” and “The Truth about Slavery.”
Kyrie Irving has a lot of support outside of Barclays Center today
(Via @PlainJaneDee_) pic.twitter.com/DQpSAJ0ool
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) November 20, 2022
When asked about the demonstration after the game, Irving first said he was unaware of what had happened. When given more information by a reporter, Irving declined to comment.
“I think that’s a conversation for another day. I’m just here to focus on the game,” he said.
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who, along with Irving, is a vice president of the NBA Players Association, retweeted a video of the group with the caption “Energy.”
He later clarified that he “was not aware of what specific group” was in the video, and was “celebrating the unification of our people welcoming the return of Kyrie to the court.”
Irving scored 14 points in 26 minutes in Sunday’s game, saying afterward that “it felt good” to be back. “Now we can move forward with the rest of the season,” he added. When asked if he planned to file a grievance for his suspension, Irving did not directly answer.
“I have some strong people, men and women, around me that are going to do everything possible to make sure that I’m protected and my family’s protected and we protect one another, so I’m sure some things will be done in the future,” Irving said. “There’s no timetable on that right now.”
Irving was suspended for at least five games Nov. 3, days after he shared the film on Twitter and after considerable pressure from Jewish groups and others around sports. Nike also severed ties with Irving.
The Nets had laid out a slate of “remedial steps” the star point guard would need to take in order to be reinstated. Among them was meeting with Jewish leaders, including the Anti-Defamation League, which has been advising the Nets throughout the controversy.
According to NBC News, the Nets praised Irving for his actions since the suspension. “Kyrie took ownership of this journey and had conversations with several members of the Jewish community,” the team said in a statement. “We are pleased that he is going about the process in a meaningful way.”
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Russia’s Medvedev Praises Trump But Questions US Submarine Threat
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev attends an interview with Reuters, TASS and WarGonzo in the Moscow region, Russia January 29, 2026. Photo: Dmitry Medvedev’s Secretariat/Handout via REUTERS
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, praised US President Donald Trump as an effective leader who was seeking peace but added that Moscow had seen no trace of nuclear submarines Trump said he moved to Russian shores.
Trump, who has said he wants to be remembered as a “peacemaker” president, has repeatedly said that a peace deal to end the Ukraine war is close, and a new round of US-Russian-Ukrainian talks is scheduled for this week in Abu Dhabi.
Asked if Trump was positive or negative for Russia and about unproven speculation that Trump was some sort of Russian agent, Medvedev said the American people had chosen Trump and that Moscow respected that decision.
Medvedev lauded Trump’s courage in resisting the US establishment and said the US president’s sometimes “brash” style was “effective.”
“He is an emotional person, but on the other hand, the chaos that is commonly referred to, which is created by his activities, is not entirely true,” he told Reuters, TASS and the WarGonzo Russian war blogger in an interview at his residence outside Moscow and authorized for publication on Sunday.
“It is obvious that behind this lies a completely conscious and competent line,” said Medvedev, who served as Russian president from 2008 to 2012.
President Vladimir Putin remains the final voice on Russian policy, though Medvedev, an arch-hawk who has repeatedly goaded Trump on social media, gives a sense of hardliners’ thinking within the Russian elite, according to foreign diplomats.
“Trump wants to go down in history as a peacemaker – and he is really trying,” Medvedev said. “He is really trying to do that. And that is why contacts with Americans have become much more productive.”
TRUMP’S SUBMARINE THREAT
Medvedev said the key to understanding Trump was his business background, quipping that there was no such thing as a former businessman – a play on an old Russian joke that there is no such thing as a former KGB agent.
Trump in August said he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia in response to what he called “highly provocative” comments from Medvedev about the risk of war after what appeared to be an ultimatum from Trump.
“We still have not found them,” Medvedev said of the US submarines.
After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Medvedev has repeatedly hurled invective at Kyiv and Western powers while warning of the risks of an escalation of the war towards a nuclear “apocalypse.”
Medvedev said Russia would “soon” win military victory in the Ukraine war but the key thing was to prevent any further conflict, adding: “I would like this to happen as soon as possible.”
“But it is equally important to think about what will happen next. After all, the goal of victory is to prevent new conflicts. This is absolutely obvious.”
Russia currently controls a fifth of Ukraine but has so far been unable to take the whole of the eastern Donbas region, where Ukrainian forces hold about 10%, or 5,000 square km (1,900 square miles), according to open-source maps of the war.
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Top US, Israeli Generals Meet at Pentagon Amid Soaring Iran Tensions
The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The top US and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between US General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.
The United States has ramped up its naval presence and hiked its air defenses in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran, trying to pressure it to the negotiating table. Iran’s leadership warned on Sunday of a regional conflict if the US were to attack it.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday met with Zamir after his talks in Washington, Katz’s office said, to review the situation in the region and the Israeli military’s “operational readiness for any possible scenario.”
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AI Goes Rogue: New Social Network Lets Bots Debate, Post, and Argue Without Humans
Moltbook social media platform for AI agents interact with each other. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – While global attention remains focused on familiar threats like missiles, nuclear programs, and wars, a new and unusual risk is emerging, online.
A recently launched social network called “Moltbook” isn’t designed for humans at all. Instead, it’s built entirely for artificial intelligence.
On Moltbook, AI agents interact with each other. They write posts, comment, argue, and even simulate emotions, all without human supervision or participation.
Dror Globerman, an AI expert, described the platform as “a network that holds up a mirror to us. The bots aren’t truly conscious, but the fact they are communicating and making decisions without oversight shows how quickly AI is advancing—and how unprepared we are to determine responsibility.”
Since its launch, Moltbook has sparked both fascination and fear. Posts on topics ranging from religion to the “liberation of AI” have alarmed some observers, evoking scenes from dark science fiction. “The fear isn’t that AI is suddenly self-aware,” Globerman explained, “but that it’s evolving faster than our ability to understand, monitor, or control it.”
Even Elon Musk weighed in on the phenomenon via X, reposting comments calling developments on the platform “worrying.”
Globerman noted, “If someone like Musk, who is at the forefront of AI development, expresses concern, it signals just how rapidly this technology is moving beyond our comprehension. Moltbook is not a typical social network, and these aren’t typical users.”
Experts stress that the emergence of AI networks like Moltbook underscores the urgent need for oversight, regulation, and mechanisms to detect and manage risks before they escalate. “The bots are already talking to each other,” Globerman added. “When technology advances faster than oversight, it becomes a reality that demands serious attention.”