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Mother of Four Sentenced by French Court for Daubing Antisemitic Graffiti on Kosher Grocery
ILLUSTRATIVE: A municipal worker paints over a Star of David daubed on the wall of a building in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. Photo: Reuters/Riccardo Milani
A 44-year-old mother of four children broke down in a French court on Tuesday after she was convicted of daubing antisemitic graffiti on a kosher grocery store in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
The unnamed woman was arrested on Nov. 21 after she painted antisemitic slogans on the store, among them the word “Jew” accompanied by a Star of David, along with “Gaza” and “Stop Genocide.” The court heard that the defendant had gone out to spray the graffiti on three separate nights during November before she was caught.
Apologizing to the store managers and tearfully denying that her actions were antisemitic, the defendant justified her behavior by claiming that she had felt an awakening within herself after viewing what she said were images of “disemboweled children” in Gaza.
“I wanted to wake up consciences while we are all witnessing a live massacre,” she told the court.
Unimpressed with this line of defense, the court passed a ten month suspended sentence on the woman as well as a total fine of 14,500 euros to cover both the material damage to the store and compensate the management for their distress.
A lawyer representing the store welcomed Tuesday’s verdict.
“My clients and I are extremely pleased and relieved by this decision, both criminally and civilly,” Avner Doukhan told the news outlet Le Parisien. “The judiciary has sent a strong signal to the perpetrators of antisemitic acts.”
The aftermath of the Hamas pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7 saw a wave of renewed antisemitism in France and other European countries, with more than 1,500 incidents recorded in France in the seven weeks following the atrocities.
Last month, the Jewish Agency — which coordinates the “aliyah,” or immigration, of Jews to Israel — announced that the number of applications had risen by 450 percent in the weeks following the pogrom. The total number of immigrants heading to Israel from France is 1,200, compared with 220 at the same point last year. Additionally, 1,300 families participated in information evenings organized by the Jewish Agency across France during the month of December.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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