Latest news with #StarsofDavid
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mosques to hold community gathering after vandals spray paint Star of David on building
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A press conference scheduled for Tuesday will feature representatives of three local mosques that were recently vandalized with spray painted Stars of David on the building, according to a press release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-Austin. The vandalism at Nueces Mosque, which was caught on a security camera, shows a white person in shorts, t-shirt and a head wrap walk onto the porch before using a blue spray paint on the building. The Islamic Ahlul Bayt Association and Austin Diyanet Center also 'experienced coward vandalism over the night,' according to the release. Previous: Police investigating vandalism incidents at Austin mosques CAIR Austin Operations Manager Shaimaa Zayan said in the release that hate comes 'from isolation and misinformation.' 'Acts of vandalism against houses of worship are not only attacks on physical spaces but also on the values of tolerance, diversity, and mutual respect,' Zayan said. 'On behalf of the Austin Muslim community, we warmly invite all Austinites—of all faiths and no faith—to attend the upcoming community gathering at Nueces Mosque.' The gathering will held at Nueces Mosque Thursday from 6-8 p.m. She also called for contributions to the mosques' fundraiser campaign to improve security at the places of worship. The Austin Police Department said it is investigating the vandalism incidents. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Austin mosques targeted in vandalism, prompting calls for heightened security
Three Austin mosques were reportedly vandalized late Wednesday night in what the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called a series of targeted hate incidents. The spray-painted graffiti, including Stars of David, appeared at Nueces Mosque, Islamic Ahlul Bayt Association (IABA), and the Austin Diyanet Center. Security footage from Nueces Mosque shows a masked white male tagging multiple areas, including the entrance, the Imam's office, and a nearby fence. Similar graffiti was later found at IABA's gate and billboards and at the Diyanet Center's entrance. CAIR-Austin noted these acts fit a 'disturbing pattern' of incidents against Muslim houses of worship in the city. Nueces Mosque has reported four hate-related incidents since October. 'These three incidents, which reportedly took place on the same night, were apparently targeted attacks meant to instill fear and division,' said CAIR-Austin Operations Manager Shaimaa Zayan. 'We call upon APD to urgently heighten security and surveillance around all Islamic Centers in Austin.' In response, the Austin Police Department said it is actively investigating the incidents and has increased patrols at all mosque locations. 'APD remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a secure and inclusive Austin community,' said Public Information Manager Lisa Cortinas. Nueces Mosque board member Rawand Abdelghani said the mosque has long served the Muslim student population at the University of Texas at Austin and regularly hosts interfaith events. 'We are deeply concerned about these recent incidents given the rise in Islamophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and opposition to students' free speech,' he said. CAIR has urged mosque leaders to follow its 'Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety' guide and encouraged anyone with information to contact authorities. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Area mosques vandalized, prompting calls for heightened security
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
French jails have come under attack. Are violent drug gangs to blame?
Officially, all lines of enquiry are still open into a wave of arson and gun attacks at French prisons. That means police haven't ruled out the extremist left, or a foreign power such as Russia or the conviction is growing that the attacks - 12 since Sunday night - can only have been the work of drugs gangs, hitting back at the government's latest is certainly the belief of the government itself. Speaking on Thursday morning, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he was "certain that what we're dealing with is the drugs-yobs [in French, narco-racaille]"."It's not they who have declared war on us. It's we who declared war on them with our new law on drugs trafficking. They know we're going to be hitting their wallets."In what was obviously a co-ordinated plan over three nights, gangs set fire to cars outside prisons and a prison officer training centre. In two locations, guns were many attacks, the perpetrators sprayed graffiti bearing the initials DDPF, which stands for Droits des Prisonniers Français - Rights for French Prison group was previously unheard of, but on Tuesday it posted a video on the messaging platform Telegram showing the burning of a prison officer's French that is full of mistakes, the video's text accuses Justice Minister Gérard Darmanin of declaring "war" on prisoners."All we want is that human rights be respected," the text reads. "If in 2025 we can watch TV, smoke and eat our meals without being bothered in our cells, it's only because our elders fought for these fundamental rights." Presenting themselves as defenders of human rights may not be the usual methodology of drugs nor does the DDPF come across as a classic far-left or anarchist organisation, which might more naturally be fighting for the one thing, such groups tend to have intellectual underpinning which means they write grammatical and properly spelled French. Nor have far-left groups till now made prisoners' rights a particular have said that perpetrators of the attacks caught on video were dressed more like drugs-gang foot soldiers rather than far-left militants, who tend to come from a different social in one location they wrote the wrong set of initials – DDFM – suggesting that their attachment to the supposed organisation was not exactly theory of foreign manipulation is taken seriously – especially after proven cases of Russian interference such as the spraying of Stars of David in Paris after the October 7 with Algeria are also at an all-time low at the if the drugs gang theory is the favoured one, it is because means and motivation are both so easy to grasp. The French government currently includes an unusual tandem: an interior and a justice minister who are not rivals; who are both on the political right; and who have pledged to fight head-on the scourge that they say is the drugs this end Darmanin and Retailleau are currently steering a bill through parliament that they say will seriously hamper the drugs lords' ability to operate.A dedicated branch of the prosecutors' office will be created. There will be extra powers for investigators, and a special, protected status for more of a threat to the drugs barons – so the government says – will be two newly converted prisons, where the 100 most powerful of them will be interned from later this these top-security jails, there will be much stricter rules governing visits and communication with the outside world. New measures will be in place to stop the infiltration of mobile telephones (of which tens of thousands are known to circulate in French jails).The purpose is to prevent gang leaders from continuing their operations from behind bars – a security breach which has become case of Mohamed Amra, the drugs-lord whose escape last year led to the murder of two prison-officers near Rouen, is typical. Prison staff who went on strike in protest told the BBC how laxity inside jails was undermining morale and presenting a growing security risk. Amra was recaptured in Romania last French government sees in the prison attacks a sign that for once the drugs gangs feel intimidated – and that's why they're hitting course it suits the French government to say that, because it's evidence they can present to the voters that they are indeed getting clincher will be when they catch one of the perpetrators and get him to explain why he did it. Investigators say we should not have to wait long.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Defaced Holocaust mural finds new home in Rome's Shoah Museum
The Shoah Museum in Rome has acquired a piece by reserved contemporary pop artist aleXsandro Palombo after it was defaced in an apparent act of antisemitism. The mural, which depicts Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano, the last two Italian survivors of Auschwitz, was defaced multiple times and even erased by vandals. Segre and Modiano are shown in striped clothing under green bullet-proof vests with yellow Stars of David on them, and there are even representations of the serial numbers tattooed on them by the Nazis. The perpetrators vandalized Segre and Modiano's faces, as well as the stars on their chests, but left the numbers on their arms untouched. "They took away my face, my identity, they erased the yellow star, but they left the number tattooed on my arm," Segre said. Anti-israel Agitators Vandalize Home Of Jewish Media Super Agent Palombo eventually reproduced the piece, and it is now part of the museum's permanent collection. Read On The Fox News App "Art is the highest expression of freedom, and repeatedly attacking a work that portrays two survivors of Auschwitz highlights how the very value of democracy and all our freedoms is in danger," Palombo said in a statement. "The gesture of courage and resistance of the Shoah Museum of Rome and the Italian Jewish community is a great and precious lesson in civilization for all of us, who responded to the antisemitic violence and hatred of these new forms of social and cultural terrorism with a powerful action of the Risorgimento." Palombo has made several pieces honoring the Holocaust, and his other works have not been spared from vandalism. A piece entitled "Arbeit macht frei," which shows Hungarian writer and Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck wrapped in an Israeli flag was also defaced, with much of the flag being erased. The title of this mural is the same phrase the Nazis put on the gates of Auschwitz, and it translates to "work makes you free." Bruck told Italian newspaper La Stampa that she was saddened but not surprised by the vandalism, saying that "antisemitism is a tsunami." The mural of Bruck has also been acquired by the Shoah Museum in Rome. 'Surrogates' For Hamas: University Regent Slams 'Appalling' Letter From Ethnic Studies Faculty Another one of Palombo's pieces that was vandalized was entitled "Halt! Stoj!," which depicted Segre, Modiano and Burk alongside Pope Francis, who is outfitted with a cross and a sign reading "antisemitism is everywhere." The four are depicted as Simpsons characters, a common motif for Palombo. While the image of the pope was not damaged, vandals defaced the Stars of David on the three Holocaust survivors. Palombo, a contemporary pop artist and activist, used pop culture references in his artwork, including celebrities and cartoon characters from the Simpsons and Disney. One of his most iconic works is the "Simpsons deported to Auschwitz," which shows Marge, Homer, Maggie, Bart and Lisa before and after the concentration camp, referencing the emaciated state of Holocaust survivors liberated from Nazi article source: Defaced Holocaust mural finds new home in Rome's Shoah Museum
Fox News
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Defaced Holocaust mural finds new home in Rome's Shoah Museum
The Shoah Museum in Rome has acquired a piece by reserved contemporary pop artist aleXsandro Palombo after it was defaced in an apparent act of antisemitism. The mural, which depicts Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano, the last two Italian survivors of Auschwitz, was defaced multiple times and even erased by vandals. Segre and Modiano are shown in striped clothing under green bullet-proof vests with yellow Stars of David on them, and there are even representations of the serial numbers tattooed on them by the Nazis. The perpetrators vandalized Segre and Modiano's faces, as well as the stars on their chests, but left the numbers on their arms untouched. "They took away my face, my identity, they erased the yellow star, but they left the number tattooed on my arm," Segre said. Palombo eventually reproduced the piece, and it is now part of the museum's permanent collection. "Art is the highest expression of freedom, and repeatedly attacking a work that portrays two survivors of Auschwitz highlights how the very value of democracy and all our freedoms is in danger," Palombo said in a statement. "The gesture of courage and resistance of the Shoah Museum of Rome and the Italian Jewish community is a great and precious lesson in civilization for all of us, who responded to the antisemitic violence and hatred of these new forms of social and cultural terrorism with a powerful action of the Risorgimento." Palombo has made several pieces honoring the Holocaust, and his other works have not been spared from vandalism. A piece entitled "Arbeit macht frei," which shows Hungarian writer and Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck wrapped in an Israeli flag was also defaced, with much of the flag being erased. The title of this mural is the same phrase the Nazis put on the gates of Auschwitz, and it translates to "work makes you free." Bruck told Italian newspaper La Stampa that she was saddened but not surprised by the vandalism, saying that "antisemitism is a tsunami." The mural of Bruck has also been acquired by the Shoah Museum in Rome. Another one of Palombo's pieces that was vandalized was entitled "Halt! Stoj!," which depicted Segre, Modiano and Burk alongside Pope Francis, who is outfitted with a cross and a sign reading "antisemitism is everywhere." The four are depicted as Simpsons characters, a common motif for Palombo. While the image of the pope was not damaged, vandals defaced the Stars of David on the three Holocaust survivors. Palombo, a contemporary pop artist and activist, used pop culture references in his artwork, including celebrities and cartoon characters from the Simpsons and Disney. One of his most iconic works is the "Simpsons deported to Auschwitz," which shows Marge, Homer, Maggie, Bart and Lisa before and after the concentration camp, referencing the emaciated state of Holocaust survivors liberated from Nazi camps.
