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Israeli Cafe in New York City Vandalized With Fake Blood
Effy’s Cafe, an Israeli Cafe in New York City, was vandalized on March 18, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
An Israeli cafe in New York City’s heavily Jewish Upper West Side was vandalized over the weekend with fake blood and threatening graffiti, spurring local lawmakers to call for a hate crime investigation.
Red paint was doused on the facade of Effy’s Cafe, a Kosher eatery in the borough of Manhattan owned by Israelis, and the phrase “form line here to support genocide” was sprayed on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.
“Targeting a small business because of who it’s owned by — Israeli, Palestinian, or any other group — is not only wrong, it’s self defeating,” said US Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) on X/Twitter. “The recent attack on Effy’s Cafe is a cowardly act of antisemitism that cannot, and will not, be tolerated in our community.”
New York City Councilwoman Gale Brewer said she had called on the New York City Police Department (NYPD)’s Hate Crime Task Force to open an investigation into the vandalism. Other graffiti was found nearby at Riverside Park the same day which said, “Israelism is Terrorism.”
Police said that the vandals have yet to be apprehended.
Just hours after the vandalism, dozens of local residents — some draped in Israeli flags — showed up to Effy’s to help clean the graffiti and dine-in as a show of support.
By Monday afternoon, all signs of the attack had been removed.
Upper West Siders coming together to clean up the antisemitic graffiti on Israeli Jewish Effy’s Cafe on W96th Street. @NYCMayor pic.twitter.com/qFwZvRiKTt
— Melanie Notkin (@SavvyAuntie) March 18, 2024
Israeli and Jewish restaurants have been attacked repeatedly in New York City since Hamas’ Oct.7 onslaught across southern Israel.
In December, Hummus Kitchen, a Kosher restaurant on New York City’s Upper East Side neighborhood, was vandalized by a woman who ripped down the Israeli and American flags hanging inside the establishment, according to videos shared on social media.
The attacks come amidst a wave of property damage against Jewish organizations and institutions across New York.
Antisemitic property crimes rose 85 percent in the city following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, NYPD data from December showed. There were 135 anti-Jewish complaints over a two-month period, up from 73 during the same period the prior year.
The post Israeli Cafe in New York City Vandalized With Fake Blood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.