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Barcelona synagogue defaced with anti-Israel graffiti
(JTA) — The Great Synagogue of Barcelona was hit with anti-Israel graffiti ahead of Yom Hashoah, or Israel’s Holocaust remembrance day.
The graffiti found on Monday read: “Free Palestine from the river to the sea. Solidarity with the Palestinian people.” Vandals also left letters nearby that said Israel commits “genocide against the Palestinian people” and criticized “Catalan elites” for supporting Israel.
Jewish groups around the world criticized the graffiti and said the fact that pro-Palestinian activists targeted a synagogue shows that anti-Zionism is antisemitic, a contention that is disputed.
“Outrageous! We utterly condemn the antisemitic graffiti on the facade of Barcelona’s synagogue,” the European Jewish Congress tweeted. “This graffiti is yet more evidence that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.”
Pinchas Goldschmidt, the head of the Conference of European Rabbis, connected the graffiti to Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau’s decision in February to give up its twin city designation with Tel Aviv — an act he argued has “put the city’s Jewish community in real danger.”
“Every additional case of vandalism and bloodshed as a result of this unfortunate choice will be on her hands,” said Goldschmidt, the former chief rabbi of Moscow who fled Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, in a statement.
Colau had said that Israel is guilty of “apartheid,” as well as “flagrant and systematic violation of human rights.” The Barcelona-Tel Aviv twin city relationship had begun in 1998.
Madrid Mayor José Luís Martínez-Almeida offered to twin his city with Tel Aviv the day after Colau’s announcement.
Some see the phrase “from the river to the sea” as a call to violence for Palestinians. The slogan was coined by the Palestine Liberation Organization beginning with its founding in 1964, claiming a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and rejecting control by Israel of any land in the region, including areas controlled by Israel prior to 1967. It later became a popular political slogan used by Palestinians who reject compromise with Israel, including the terror group Hamas, which calls for the destruction of Israel.
Israel observed Yom Hashoah from Monday evening through Tuesday evening.
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The post Barcelona synagogue defaced with anti-Israel graffiti 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.