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Antony Blinken quotes from Jewish prayer during crucial Israel visit
(JTA) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken quoted from a Jewish prayer on arrival in Tel Aviv for a state visit on Monday, days after a deadly terror attack outside a Jerusalem synagogue set off a violent uptick in Israeli-Palestinian violence across the country.
Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday in Ramallah. Blinken told reporters that he would tell both that it is “incumbent on all parties to take urgent steps to de-escalate tension and establish conditions for the security and stability that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve.”
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Blinken invoked a prayer while mourning the seven people murdered during the attack on Friday.
“On Shabbat, Jews around the world recite the Ma Tovu. Part of that prayer reads, ‘Your great love inspires me to enter Your house, to worship in Your holy sanctuary, filled with awe for You. I love Your house.’ Seven people were killed in Friday’s terrorist attack in Neve Yaakov; many more were wounded,” Blinken said. “Most were leaving a synagogue after prayer. To the families of the victims, we express our most heartfelt condolences knowing that we can never know the depth of your loss. May the memory of your loved ones be a blessing.”
Blinken, who is Jewish, noted that Friday’s attack came on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Blinken’s visit is his first to Israel since Netanyahu’s return to the prime minister’s office, which has been marked by high levels of civilian unrest over proposed legislation put forward by his new far-right government. Blinken reportedly urged Netanyahu not to proceed with proposed changes that would weaken Israeli democracy by disempowering the judiciary.
The Jerusalem synagogue attack, the city’s deadliest in a decade, was preceded by multiple Israeli military raids into the West Bank, which have led to over 30 Palestinian deaths this month. On Saturday, Israel highlighted another source of international tension by reportedly directing a drone to bomb an Iranian military facility, setting off an explosion in the city of Isfahan. Israel has long been suspected of bombing sites in Iran and Syria, citing its own security, but an admission of an attack — which The New York Times, Reuters and others reported — is rare from an Israeli official.
Similar but smaller attacks have followed since the weekend, and Israel is reportedly preparing for a retaliatory strike from Iran.
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The post Antony Blinken quotes from Jewish prayer during crucial Israel visit appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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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.”
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Qatari PM Meets Iran’s Larijani in Tehran, Discusses Easing Regional Tensions
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks after a meeting with the Lebanese president at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani met with top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in Tehran and reviewed efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Saturday in a statement.