Matzav

Three soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces were handed suspended jail terms this week after declining to take part in another operation inside the Gaza Strip.

The soldiers, all part of the 50th Battalion, had already completed two years and eight months of mandatory service. Under the newly implemented policy that extends service time, their enlistment was lengthened by an additional four months.

These troops, who had already spent 15 months engaged in military operations in Gaza, were moved to Judea and Samaria three months ago as part of their continued deployment.

Disciplinary action was taken against three of them for refusing orders to engage in a new maneuver in Gaza. An additional eight soldiers had initially refused but ultimately agreed to participate and thus were not penalized.

This development surfaces as more IDF soldiers voice frustration over the increasing demands placed on them—especially with the recent extension of mandatory service and the heavy operational tempo since the war erupted.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Despite the heavy traffic and jam-packed conditions, more than a hundred thousand people made their way to Meron over the weekend to daven at the kever of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai in honor of Lag Ba’omer.

On Monday, Hamevaser published an editorial suggesting that beyond the music, bonfires, and dancing lies a deeper conversation—one centered on identity, values, and the future direction of Israeli society.

“Secularism will not survive,” asserts the editorial, which is titled “The Balance of the Carts is Not New.” The headline references the well-known encounter between David Ben-Gurion and the Chazon Ish about which group in society carries the “full cart” and which is “empty.”

The piece argues that “Secular culture fails to produce something that is passed down from generation to generation… What will always remain are the prayer book, the holidays, the Sabbath, the fast days.”

The editorial connects this claim to the increasingly intense arguments in the public sphere over the drafting of yeshiva students and the push for chareidim to participate in National Service—issues reignited by the ongoing war.

Alongside descriptions of the deep simcha and spiritual fervor among the multitudes who took part in the celebrations honoring Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the paper offers pointed criticism of “the misguided or mistaken brothers who stand by without understanding the commotion or why this matters to us.”

In strong language, the article accuses secular segments of society of being hostile to Torah values, stating that they “seek every means and pretext to restrict the steps of those who sit in the tent and study Torah.”

The editorial ends with a message of confidence and continuity: “Whoever sees the chain of generations on Lag Ba’omer knows that our cart is laden for generations to come. It carries truth, it carries eternity.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Monday afternoon that President Donald Trump has directly communicated with Hamas, urging the group to release all hostages. She stressed the president’s unwavering determination to bring the ongoing violence to a close.

“The president is moving as quickly as he possibly can and working overtime to end these conflicts in both Israel and Gaza and also the Russia-Ukraine war,” Leavitt stated. “The president made it very clear to Hamas that he wanted to see all hostages released.”

Responding to recent speculation surrounding a Qatari aircraft provided to the United States, Leavitt addressed the confusion by stating, “The aircraft is not a personal donation or gift to President Trump. Anyone who reported otherwise last week should correct their articles. This is a contribution to our nation and the United States Air Force.”

She reiterated that President Trump is tirelessly focused on achieving peace, working around the clock to resolve both the Israel-Gaza conflict and the war in Ukraine.

The Supreme Court handed a significant win to the Trump administration on Monday by allowing it to revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for around 350,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S.—a status originally granted during Joe Biden’s presidency. The decision aligns with Trump’s ongoing commitment to ramp up deportations and enforce tougher immigration controls.

The high court agreed to a Justice Department request to overturn a prior ruling by Judge Edward Chen of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Chen had blocked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s move to end the TPS designation for Venezuelans. The TPS designation had provided recipients with protection from deportation and the right to work legally in the U.S.

As is customary with emergency rulings, the court issued an unsigned decision. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter, publicly disagreeing with the majority’s action.

The case stemmed from a lawsuit brought by several Venezuelan TPS recipients and the National TPS Alliance, who argued that returning to Venezuela would pose serious safety risks due to the country’s ongoing turmoil.

Since taking office in January, Trump has promised a crackdown on illegal immigration, vowing to deport large numbers of undocumented individuals. As part of this agenda, he has moved to revoke protections like TPS that shield certain groups from deportation.

TPS is a legal status granted to nationals from countries experiencing war, natural disasters, or other crises. It permits those already in the U.S. to remain and work legally for a set period. The decision to designate or renew TPS status lies with the Secretary of Homeland Security.

During his time in office, Biden designated Venezuela for TPS twice—in 2021 and again in 2023. In the final days of his presidency, Biden extended the program through 2026. That move was reversed by Noem, who canceled the 2023 designation for a portion of Venezuelans, affecting an estimated 348,202 individuals.

Judge Chen concluded that Noem’s cancellation violated administrative law and was based on prejudiced assumptions. He took issue with the portrayal of Venezuelans as criminals, saying such a view lacked evidence and was steeped in bias.

“Generalization of criminality to the Venezuelan TPS population as a whole is baseless and smacks of racism predicated on generalized false stereotypes,” Chen wrote. He added that Venezuelan TPS holders were statistically more likely to have earned college degrees than the average U.S. citizen and less likely to commit crimes.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declined the government’s request to pause Chen’s ruling on April 18, leaving the lower court’s decision in place—until Monday’s Supreme Court intervention.

In their filing to the Supreme Court, Justice Department attorneys accused Judge Chen of exceeding his authority and interfering with the executive branch’s constitutional role in shaping immigration policy.

“The court’s order contravenes fundamental Executive Branch prerogatives and indefinitely delays sensitive policy decisions in an area of immigration policy that Congress recognized must be flexible, fast-paced, and discretionary,” the government’s legal team argued.

Opponents of the administration’s policy warned the justices that approving the government’s request would have dire consequences. “Would strip work authorization from nearly 350,000 people living in the U.S., expose them to deportation to an unsafe country and cost billions in economic losses nationwide,” they wrote.

The U.S. State Department currently advises against travel to Venezuela, citing numerous risks including “wrongful detentions, terrorism, kidnapping, the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, [and] poor health infrastructure.”

In a broader push to roll back temporary legal protections, the Trump administration also ended TPS for thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians in April. Those decisions, however, are separate from this case.

{Matzav.com}