Matzav

Preparations for the upcoming Lag BaOmer celebration in Meron have reached a new milestone, as the Ministry of Yerushalayim and Jewish Tradition has completed the paving of “Derech Hillel,” a new exit path behind the Tziyon of Rav Shimon bar Yochai.

The new route, which includes stairways and safety railings, is designed to ease crowd flow and reduce congestion at the sacred site.

The project, initiated by Minister of Yerushalayim and Jewish Tradition Meir Porush, Hilula project coordinator Yossi Deutsch, and professional staff at the ministry under Director-General Shimon Album and Deputy Director-General Chaim Rosenshtein, is part of a broader effort to implement lessons learned from previous tragedies and to ensure safer conditions, especially given that this year’s Lag BaOmer falls on a Friday, just as it did during the year of the disaster.

As part of the upgrades, new and expanded access routes have been built, staircases have been divided into sections, and safety railings have been installed.

The goal is to eliminate the bottlenecks around the Tziyon, enhance the safety of pedestrian movement, and allow a larger number of visitors to pass through in an organized, steady, and secure flow—similar to a “conveyor belt” system.

Minister of Yerushalayim and Jewish Tradition Meir Porush stated: “We are investing tremendous efforts to upgrade the safety of the pathways and passages on Mount Meron, but the ultimate success depends on the mutual responsibility and careful adherence to guidelines by each and every visitor ascending to Meron.”

Hilula project coordinator Yossi Deutsch added: “This year, Lag BaOmer falls on a Friday, just like during the year of the tragedy, which obligates all of us to exercise extra caution, show consideration for others, and fully comply with all instructions—so that we can merit to celebrate with Rav Shimon bar Yochai in joy and safety.”

Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Yerushalayim and Jewish Tradition and Head of the Meron Department Chaim Rosenshtein emphasized: “Over the past several months, we have worked tirelessly to open critical bottlenecks around the Tziyon, with the goal of improving crowd flow and enabling tens of thousands of visitors to daven safely and respectfully in Meron.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

Rav Dov Landau, Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, who was hospitalized on Thursday, was released this morning from Maayanei Hayeshua Medical Center and has returned to his residence on the Slabodka Yeshiva campus in Bnei Brak.

The Rosh Yeshiva had been admitted on Thursday morning and underwent surgery to repair a fractured hip.

He then remained at the hospital for Shabbos.

According to those close to him, Rav Landau continues to gain strength and is steadily recovering. He has resumed his daily learning schedule, and, with Hashem’s help, is expected to begin receiving visitors again in the coming days.

All are asked to daven for Rav Efraim Dov ben Devorah.

{Matzav.com Israel}

A fierce wildfire broke out Sunday in the Nachal Prat area, near the community of Nofei Prat in the Binyamin region, prompting an urgent rescue operation for dozens of hikers trapped by the flames.

Firefighters from the Yehuda and Shomron District, supported by four firefighting planes and an aerial rescue unit, have been working intensively to evacuate the hikers who found themselves stranded due to the sudden blaze.

According to a statement from Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority, as of this time, the fire has been largely contained. There is currently no immediate danger to either the hikers or local residents. Approximately 100 hikers are still in the area, divided into three groups, all of whom are situated in safe zones.

Given the rugged and challenging topography of the Nachal Prat area, which makes access by foot difficult, additional airborne teams have been deployed, along with aerial support from the Israel Police.

Police Commander of the Shai District Commissioner Moshe Pinchi is on-site conducting situation assessments together with teams from the Fire and Rescue Authority, police, IDF, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and the Megilot Dead Sea Rescue Unit. Forces continue to work relentlessly to gain full control of the situation and to ensure the hikers’ safe evacuation.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, five firefighting teams from various Dan District stations are battling a brush fire and a burning truck within the Safari area. Firefighters, led by Senior Fire Officer Albert Monis, are focusing on containing and suppressing the flames. At this stage, there are no reports of injuries.

{Matzav.com Israel}

At Camp Shura’s National Center for Casualties of Israel’s Defense Forces, hundreds of body bags have remained untouched since the devastating events of October 7. These bags hold both partial human remains and other matter requiring burial, including blood.

Despite extensive work over the past several months, a significant number of these remains have still not been conclusively identified.

As reported by Yediot Achronot, the military rabbinate sought authorization to perform an additional round of DNA testing on all of the body bags. However, their request was turned down by the Ministry of Religious Services.

In response, the military rabbinate turned to Chief Rabbi David Yosef, who issued a ruling permitting further DNA tests to ensure proper identification and halachic burial of the remains. The IDF even set aside a dedicated budget to fund this renewed identification effort and secured backing from the Israel Police.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Religious Services, led by director Yehuda Avidan, continues to resist the idea of retesting. The ministry argues that such efforts are a misuse of public resources and may constitute “desecration of the dead.” Avidan’s stance is reportedly grounded in an expert opinion provided by Dr. Chen Kugel, the head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine.

The impasse between the military rabbinate and the Ministry of Religious Services has yet to be resolved, leaving hundreds of body bags in limbo. Officials at the Ministry of Religious Services are now contemplating a mass burial of the remains without conducting individual identifications—a move that has drawn sharp opposition from various IDF officials and rabbinic authorities.

A final resolution is expected to emerge following deliberations of a joint committee comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Religious Services, the Ministry of Health, the Institute of Forensic Medicine, and the police, which is currently meeting to address the issue.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Russia unleashed a large-scale drone barrage and airstrikes throughout Ukraine late Saturday into early Sunday, leaving at least four civilians dead, Ukrainian authorities reported. The assault came after U.S. President Donald Trump questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin truly has any desire to bring the war to an end.

In Kostyantynivka, located in the Donetsk region, three people were killed and four others sustained injuries Sunday morning due to airstrikes, according to the regional prosecutor’s office. Meanwhile, in Pavlohrad, situated in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a drone attack claimed one life and injured a 14-year-old girl, local Governor Serhii Lysak confirmed. Pavlohrad has now been targeted for the third night in a row.

These strikes followed Russia’s announcement that it had reclaimed control over the last remaining sections of the Kursk region captured by Ukrainian forces during a surprise offensive last August. Ukrainian authorities, however, stated that clashes in the area were still underway.

Speaking on Saturday, Trump expressed doubt about Putin’s intentions, suggesting that hopes for an imminent peace deal may be misplaced. This came just a day after Trump had remarked that Ukraine and Russia were “very close to a deal.”

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote in a post on social media while traveling back to the U.S. from the Vatican. He had attended the funeral of Pope Francis, where he also briefly met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump also hinted that additional sanctions targeting Russia could soon be imposed.

The conversation between Trump and Zelenskyy at the Vatican marked the first time the two leaders met in person since their tense confrontation during a heated Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February.

The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia deployed 149 attack drones and decoys overnight. Out of those, air defenses managed to intercept 57 and jam another 67, according to officials.

Drone strikes also injured one person in the Odesa region and another in the city of Zhytomyr, Ukrainian authorities said. In Kherson, a Russian airstrike Sunday morning left four people wounded, local officials reported.

On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that its air defense systems had downed five Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region and intercepted three more over Crimea, the territory Russia illegally seized in 2014.

Meanwhile, five individuals were hurt when Ukrainian shelling hit the city of Horlivka in the partially occupied Donetsk region, according to Ivan Prikhodko, the Russian-installed mayor of the city.

{Matzav.com}

The United States and Iran concluded their third round of nuclear negotiations on Shabbos, agreeing to meet again on May 3, according to a report from Axios citing Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi, who is serving as an intermediary between the two sides.

Yesterday’s session in Muscat represented the first time the negotiators delved into the technical details of a possible deal, focusing primarily on the nuclear restrictions proposed by the U.S. and Iran’s insistence on substantial sanctions relief.

“The talks in Muscat were positive and productive. There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” said a senior U.S. official, as quoted by Axios.

Both working-level teams and top negotiators — White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi — participated in the meeting, which reportedly ran for over four hours and included a mix of direct dialogue and indirect exchanges.

An American source confirmed that talks would pick up again next week in Europe.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi commented, “US-Iran talks today identified a shared aspiration to reach agreement based on mutual respect and enduring commitments. Core principles, objectives and technical concerns were all addressed.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, speaking to journalists traveling with him, expressed optimism about the talks. “This round of talks was much more serious than in the past, and we gradually moved into more detailed and technical discussions,” he said.

Araqchi shared that multiple written proposals had been exchanged during the marathon session. “Some differences are serious, some less so. I’m hopeful about reaching a deal, but yet cautious,” he concluded.

President Donald Trump has made clear that he would prefer to resolve the standoff with Iran through diplomacy, but he has also kept the possibility of military action on the table.

Earlier this month, Trump said that if military intervention becomes necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Israel would play a leading role in the operation.

“With Iran, if it requires military, we’re going to have military. Israel will be the leader of that. But nobody leads us, we do what we want to do,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office.

When asked about a specific deadline for negotiations with Iran, Trump declined to set a firm date. “I can’t really be specific, but when you start talks, you know if they’re going along well or not, and I would say the conclusion would be when I think they’re not going along well,” he said.

In earlier comments, Trump warned Tehran that failure to reach a deal would result in devastating consequences: “if they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing — and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

During an interview with Time Magazine on Friday, Trump reiterated that a nuclear deal could still be achieved without resorting to military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

He added that while he is prepared to use force if required, he is equally willing to meet directly with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in hopes of averting conflict.

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

When we’re divided, we lose. 

The Liberal Left knows this, and played us. 

Now, because they successfully inhibited our votes by masterminding a smear campaign, we are lagging behind. 

To win this election, and really save the future of Kedushas Eretz Yisroel, we need to vote IN BIG NUMBERS. 

Please vote! 

You, your family, your friends. 

We must not let the Left win this! 

Elections close in just one week! 

Sunday May 4th. 

Vote Slate 11 at EretzHakodesh.org

A man who described himself as a Hamas operative and once bragged he had “been a terrorist since he’s been a kid” now faces a slew of new federal charges, along with two women from Pittsburgh, after authorities disrupted what appeared to be a terror scheme involving homemade explosives.

Mohamad Hamad, 23, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Lebanon, was already under indictment for vandalizing a synagogue. On Tuesday, he was hit with a nine-count superseding indictment alongside Talya Lubit, 24, and Micaiah Collins, 22.

“Mohamad Hamad lied about his loyalty to the United States, among other false statements, in an attempt to obtain a Top-Secret security clearance,” Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said.

“During that time, he openly expressed support for Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Hamas. In addition to his previously charged role in defacing Jewish religious property, he also conspired with others named in this Superseding Indictment to manufacture and detonate destructive devices.”

Previously, Hamad and Lubit had been charged with spray-painting anti-Zionist slogans in red at the Chabad of Squirrel Hill synagogue and defacing the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

The new indictment centers around accusations that Hamad deceived federal investigators while seeking a top-secret clearance and engaged in constructing explosive devices.

Shortly after joining the Pennsylvania Air National Guard — part of the Air Force Reserve — in June 2023, Hamad, living in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, allegedly messaged a contact in Ohio saying, “[i]t’s still Palestine on top though make no mistake,” prosecutors said.

While undergoing Air Force training, Hamad shared graphic footage of Hamas attacks against Israel with an associate, adding that “Us Muslims never surrender or back down,” according to the indictment.

Prosecutors say Hamad filled out paperwork to obtain a top-secret clearance in December 2023 and later sat for three interviews and a background check with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, during which he allegedly made false claims about his allegiance.

“Been a terrorist since I was a kid in Lebanon, real ….,” Hamad allegedly said in a Signal message sent to Collins in June 2024, alongside a childhood photo of himself holding a firearm.

Around that same time, Hamad and Collins are accused of conspiring to build a “destructive device” and testing it, exchanging messages about the strength of the blast.

“That …. was a blast,” Hamad wrote to Collins on July 7, 2024, according to prosecutors.

Authorities allege that Hamad went on to assemble two pipe bombs and other explosive devices, testing them following the initial detonation.

After the explosions, Hamad allegedly celebrated in private chats, calling himself a “Hamas operative” and joking about the fear he could cause by ripping down Israeli flags while masked in suburban neighborhoods, the indictment claims.

Hamad also posted tributes to Hamas leaders on Instagram, stating, “Without these men our resistance would be 100 years behind.”

Officials have not disclosed any concrete terror plot tied to the devices Hamad built.

Later that month, prosecutors say Hamad and Lubit vandalized Jewish institutions, scrawling “Jews 4 Palestine” in red graffiti on the Chabad of Squirrel Hill and “Funds Genocide Jews, Hate Zionists” on the Jewish Federation’s building.

“I can literally feel myself starting to see Jews as my enemies,” Lubit allegedly wrote to Hamad that July.

“Like, I’m ANGRY. I’m so tired of feeling like being Jewish means I have to second guess being anti oppression,” she said in another message. “I will not survive being Jewish if I don’t learn to get past that. I’ll just end up abandoning it.”

Lubit is further accused of helping Hamad identify Jewish-owned properties for targeting.

Investigators linked the vandalism to Hamad and, while building their case, uncovered evidence of his involvement with homemade explosive devices, according to the FBI.

“We always rely on tips from the public,” an FBI spokesperson told The NY Post. “This really started with the vandalism to the religious institutions here … determining the suspects in that and determining what their motivations were for the fairly strict criteria for a federal hate crime.”

Both Hamad and Lubit have previously shown political support for certain progressive lawmakers known as members of the “Squad.”

In 2023, Hamad donated $10 to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after she called for a ceasefire following Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.

That same year, Hamad gave $5 to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) after she was censured by Congress for labeling Israel an “apartheid government” and defending Palestinian “resistance.”

Meanwhile, Lubit joined more than 130 Jewish signatories on a letter supporting Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) when she advocated for a ceasefire less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks.

Hamad now faces charges of making false statements, conspiracy, possession of destructive devices, and vandalizing religious property, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and fines totaling $250,000.

Collins is charged with conspiracy and faces a potential five-year prison sentence along with a $250,000 fine.

Lubit is charged with conspiracy and vandalism of religious property, which could result in up to one year behind bars and a fine of up to $100,000.

“The FBI and our partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who reportedly choose to lie about being loyal to this country and instead engage in dangerous, menacing, and illegal activities,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration is considering a major policy shift that could have serious repercussions for Israeli yeshivos and kollelim that rely heavily on donations from abroad.

According to reports previously disclosed here on Matzav.com, President Donald Trump is reviewing a proposed executive order that would prohibit American nonprofit organizations from transferring charitable funds to causes outside of the United States. If enacted, this measure would eliminate tax deductions for donations directed to foreign-based activities — a move expected to dramatically affect financial support for Torah institutions in Israel.

Similar to Section 46 of Israel’s Income Tax Ordinance, which provides a 35% tax credit for contributions to local nonprofits, the United States currently offers tax incentives for charitable giving, even when the funds are ultimately used abroad. Under the Trump administration’s new proposal, donors would only be able to claim deductions if their contributions stayed within U.S. borders.

Yeshivos and kollelim in Eretz Yisroel have long depended on overseas donations, particularly from the United States. Since April 2024, when Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that students subject to military draft obligations could no longer be included in government yeshiva funding, the chareidi community has worked to raise an estimated $100 million from American donors to offset the resulting shortfall.

Should the Trump administration move forward with this executive order, a sharp decline in American donations to Israeli Torah institutions is anticipated. Foreign donations — especially from the U.S. — have been a lifeline for yeshivos, kollelim, orphanages, hospitals, and needy families throughout Israel, particularly after state funding was curtailed for draft-age bochurim and yungeleit.

The potential impact could be far-reaching. Thousands of American nonprofit organizations, including many chareidi-run entities, provide critical support for religious and humanitarian causes in Israel. A change in tax policy would effectively sever this crucial lifeline, unless alternative funding channels can be established.

While the Trump administration is framing the proposed change as part of a broader effort to “prioritize American interests,” sources close to the White House told the New York Post that an additional motivation is to curb the flow of funds to high-profile liberal organizations that have poured billions into progressive causes worldwide.

“There is definitely an effort to restrict and review the use of federal tax benefits for funds sent abroad, and to intensify scrutiny over foreign investments. We are seeing this approach across various departments,” a source familiar with the internal discussions told the newspaper.

Such a policy shift could deal a heavy blow to Israeli nonprofits, particularly smaller organizations that do not receive direct government support.

Although the plan is still under internal review, Israeli nonprofit leaders are already bracing for the possibility of steep declines in foreign funding. According to estimates, approximately 7% of nonprofit income in Israel comes from donations abroad — a figure that is significantly higher among smaller organizations.

{Matzav.com Israel}

President Donald Trump reiterated that he is genuinely considering the idea of making Canada the 51st state, insisting in a new interview that he is not joking about the possibility.

Speaking to Time magazine in a piece published Friday, Trump was questioned about several territorial ambitions, including the acquisition of Greenland, reclaiming the Panama Canal, and potentially incorporating Canada into the United States. When the interviewer suggested he might be “trolling” with the Canada idea, Trump pushed back.

“I think Canada, what you said that, ‘Well, that one, I might be trolling,’ but I’m really not trolling,” Trump said. “Canada is an interesting case. We lose $200 [billion] to $250 billion a year supporting Canada.”

Trump described a conversation he claimed to have had with Justin Trudeau, whom he referred to as “Gov. Trudeau,” questioning the Canadian leader about the economic burden. “And I asked a man who I called Gov. Trudeau [former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau]. I said, ‘Why? Why do you think we’re losing so much money supporting you? Do you think that’s right? Do you think that’s appropriate for another country to make it possible, for a country to sustain?’ And he was unable to give me an answer, but it costs us over $200 billion a year to take care of Canada,” he said.

The president went on to elaborate that the U.S. was heavily subsidizing Canada’s military and other sectors, which he views as unnecessary. “We’re taking care of their military. We’re taking care of every aspect of their lives, and we don’t need them to make cars for us. In fact, we don’t want them to make cars for us. We want to make our own cars.”

Highlighting natural resources and other commodities, Trump continued, “We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need anything from Canada. And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state.”

Meanwhile, Trudeau, who announced his resignation earlier this year amid declining approval ratings ahead of parliamentary elections, reportedly acknowledged Trump’s ambitions in a private gathering with business leaders and executives in Toronto this past February.

“I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau further warned that America’s interest in Canadian resources is serious and strategic. “They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those. But Mr. Trump has it in mind that one of the easiest ways of doing that is absorbing our country. And it is a real thing.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome yesterday, with a White House official describing the conversation as “very productive” as both leaders attended the funeral of Pope Francis.

White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to pool reporters early Shabbos morning from the Vatican, “President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately and had a very productive discussion. More details about the meeting will follow.”

The meeting marked the first time the two leaders have sat down together since a tense exchange in the Oval Office back in February and comes at a pivotal moment in efforts to secure a ceasefire in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Trump, who has been advocating for a negotiated end to the war, said Friday that recent discussions between his envoy and Russian officials were encouraging and called for Kyiv and Moscow to convene at the leadership level to finalize a peace agreement.

He also cautioned that if progress is not made swiftly, his administration might abandon its efforts to broker peace altogether.

Documents obtained by Reuters from this week’s diplomatic efforts indicate that differences are emerging between the Trump administration’s peace plan and the positions held by Ukraine and its European partners.

One major sticking point is Washington’s proposal to formally recognize Crimea — seized by Russia in 2014 — as Russian territory, an idea Kyiv and European governments have flatly rejected as non-negotiable.

Other areas of disagreement include the timing for lifting sanctions on Russia after a potential deal, the scope of security assurances for Ukraine, and the level of financial compensation Ukraine would receive.

Their last meeting in February at the Oval Office was marked by tensions when Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly scolded Zelenskyy for what they described as a lack of appreciation for American support, while a reporter from a conservative U.S. media outlet criticized the Ukrainian leader for not wearing formal attire.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Zelenskyy has consistently opted for military-style clothing as a symbol of unity with Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines, foregoing suits as a deliberate statement.

At Saturday’s ceremony in Rome, Zelenskyy continued his signature style, wearing a dark shirt buttoned to the collar without a tie, topped by a dark military-style jacket.

{Matzav.com}

More than half of American voters view President Trump’s second term as both “chaotic” and “scary,” according to a new poll.

The latest New York Times/Siena College survey revealed that 66% of registered voters felt “chaotic” was an accurate way to describe Trump’s current presidency, while 59% believed that “scary” was an appropriate characterization.

Among Republicans, 47% said the president’s return to office has been “chaotic” during his first three months, a sentiment echoed by a striking 75% of Independents.

Meanwhile, a smaller share of Republicans and Independents — 36% and 61% respectively — agreed that “scary” accurately depicted Trump’s second term.

Despite the concerns, the poll also found that 42% of voters described Trump’s return to office as “exciting.”

On policy matters, Trump’s approval ratings fell short across the board in the New York Times/Siena College polling.

His highest approval score came on immigration, where 47% of respondents said they approved of his handling of the issue, compared to 51% who disapproved.

However, voters were least impressed with Trump’s performance on international issues, particularly his approach to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the deportation of alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Only 35% of voters approved of the president’s management of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and just 31% approved of how he handled the Abrego Garcia deportation case, leaving Trump with a net approval rating of -21 points for both issues.

Approval ratings for Trump’s performance on broader topics were also underwhelming, with only 44% approving of his management of the federal government, 43% supporting his handling of the economy, 42% approving his approach to trade, and 40% approving of his handling of foreign conflicts.

Overall, 42% of voters gave Trump positive marks for his work in the White House so far, while 54% expressed disapproval.

The survey questioned 913 registered voters across the United States between April 21 and 24, with a reported margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.

{Matzav.com}

A federal judge issued a stern warning Friday, expressing serious concern that the Trump administration had deported a two-year-old American citizen to Honduras without granting her proper legal protections, even as her father was desperately trying to keep her in the country through the courts.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, appointed by President Trump, said that the child — identified in filings only as “V.M.L.” — appeared to have been released in Honduras earlier that day along with her Honduran-born mother and sister. The family had been detained by immigration officials earlier in the week.

Doughty set a court hearing for May 16, stating it was necessary “in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”

The girl, born in New Orleans in 2023 according to a redacted birth certificate submitted to the court, had been attending a routine check-in with her mother and sister at the New Orleans office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement when the three were detained and prepared for deportation.

Government attorneys argued in court that the child’s mother had requested to take V.M.L. with her to Honduras. They submitted a handwritten Spanish note they said confirmed the mother’s wishes. However, Doughty indicated that he had hoped to personally verify those claims.

“The Government contends that this is all okay because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her,” Doughty wrote. “But the Court doesn’t know that.”

Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the administration’s approach, saying, “This parent made the decision to take the child with them to Honduras. It is common that parents want to be removed with their children. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with someone the parent designates. In this case, the parent stated they wanted to be removed with the children.” She added, “We take our responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to ensure that children are safe and protected.”

The legal confrontation escalated on Thursday when attorneys representing the family filed an emergency motion in federal court in Louisiana, demanding that ICE immediately release V.M.L. and formally recognize that her detention had been unlawful. The filing named Trish Mack as the petitioner, noting that she had been asked by the girl’s father to assume custody and retrieve the child from ICE.

According to filings, the father had been trying to communicate with the child’s mother to finalize plans for their daughter but was given almost no opportunity to do so. ICE allegedly permitted only a brief, one-minute call between the parents while the mother was in custody, during which they were unable to reach any decisions about V.M.L.’s future.

Unlike many deportation cases that have made headlines in recent weeks — including the highly publicized situation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to a Salvadoran prison despite a 2019 court ruling — V.M.L. holds U.S. citizenship and should have a clear legal path to return to the United States. Nonetheless, this incident has amplified growing concerns that the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation practices are undermining due process, even for American citizens.

Judge Doughty said he had taken steps on Friday to try to verify the government’s claims by contacting the mother directly. However, he learned independently that the flight believed to be carrying the family was already “above the Gulf of America.”

Later Friday afternoon, Trump administration attorneys notified Doughty that a phone call with the mother would not be possible, writing that she and V.M.L. had already been released in Honduras. Doughty subsequently set the next hearing date for mid-May.

The judge, who presides in Monroe, Louisiana, is located roughly 100 miles north of the Alexandria facility where the family was believed to have been held before deportation proceedings began.

Doughty’s unusually harsh criticism of the Trump administration stands out, especially given his history of siding with conservative litigants in several major cases. Among his most notable rulings were those challenging the Biden administration’s actions aimed at regulating what officials deemed misinformation on topics like vaccines and politically sensitive issues.

In fact, Doughty’s reputation as a conservative-leaning jurist was so strong that some legal activists intentionally filed cases in his jurisdiction, seeking favorable outcomes.

Yet despite voicing significant concerns over how the government handled this case, Doughty’s Friday order appeared to subtly acknowledge Trump’s language preferences, referring to the body of water traditionally known as the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”

{Matzav.com}

LISTEN:

​​For more info, email bitachon4life@gmail.com.

LISTEN:

Roughly 400,000 mourners gathered in Rome today for the funeral of Pope Francis, but Israel notably refrained from sending an official delegation, choosing instead to be represented solely by its ambassador to the Vatican, Yaron Sideman.

The decision came amid controversy surrounding the Foreign Ministry’s removal of condolence messages that Israeli embassies worldwide had initially posted after the pope’s passing. Pope Francis had been a vocal critic of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

Former Israeli ambassador to the Vatican Raphael Schutz harshly criticized Israel’s approach in an interview with Ynet. “When a leader of this magnitude passes away, you don’t deviate from diplomatic protocols,” Schutz said.

“We should discuss our disagreements with the Vatican directly with the Vatican, not by boycotting the funeral. A funeral that the whole world is attending, from Trump downwards, our absence creates a negative front for us with the entire Catholic Christian world – 1.3 billion people,” he warned.

Schutz emphasized, “These are two different matters: you can continue to express your dissatisfaction with the deceased pope and detail why he was wrong, and at the same time, you attend the funeral. This is how the diplomatic world behaves. Beyond the fact that the funeral was an opportunity to meet other world leaders, as always happens at such funerals, Israel, through its absence, beyond the antagonism it created with the Christian world, also created yet another display of political isolation – and this is not a good image for us, certainly not in these times.”

Meanwhile, the Foreign Relations Forum, composed of former ambassadors and senior Foreign Ministry officials, also issued a scathing statement condemning the choice to forgo sending senior representation.

“The world is watching the farewell ceremony for Pope Francis. Dozens of kings, princes and heads of state, many of whom are not Catholic, have arrived at the Vatican to pay their last respects to the head of the Catholic Church,” the forum wrote.

“The absence of a senior representative of the State of Israel, the Jewish state, a proud member of the family of nations, especially during these days between Holocaust Remembrance Day and the revival of our independence, is a serious diplomatic error vis-à-vis the countries of the world in general and the Christian world in particular, and it is a badge of shame for the government of Israel and its head,” they charged.

Rabbi Yosef Garmon, the former Chief Rabbi of Guatemala and current president of the International Humanitarian Coalition, also spoke to Ynet, expressing frustration over Israel’s diplomatic misstep.

“I have been working around the world for years, particularly within the Christian world, investing time and resources, and in recent days I have been receiving many calls from various leaders who are angry, and rightly so, at Israel,” he stated.

“‘Has Israel gone mad?’ they ask me. ‘We supported Israel throughout the war, and suddenly we receive this severe blow to our feelings.’ I like to explain, but here I am left speechless, and I truly have no way to explain this bizarre, not to say delusional, behavior. I think Israel has made a serious mistake here, and we will pay the price for it,” he warned.

Rabbi Garmon continued, “One can oppose the pope, one can even be angry at him, anything is possible, but we must not simply hurt the feelings of more than 1.3 billion people who believe in him and see that Israel published condolence messages on official networks – and shortly after deleted everything, and of course, screenshots remained and were published everywhere in the world.”

“It would have been appropriate to send even a slightly more respectable delegation to his funeral and not ignore it almost completely. The pope is not the issue here, and his opinions no longer matter so much. Israel may even be right, but it is certainly not wise in this matter,” Rabbi Garmon stressed.

Reflecting on his personal encounters with Pope Francis, Rabbi Garmon said, “I personally cannot forget that he always received us with love and attention, and he personally told me that whenever a delegation from Israel wished to meet with him, he would make time.”

“I was attacked when I went to meet with the pope during the war, but I went to explain the situation to him from the heart and to show him how absurd it is to accuse Israel. When Israel endangers the lives of its soldiers, and I showed him how many of my friends died because of it, it is solely to harm terrorists. Israel could have ended the war in a single day with enough bombs to wipe out Gaza completely, and it did not do so to protect innocent people and for the benefit of the Palestinians who need to be freed from Hamas.”

Rabbi Garmon also recalled, “He personally retracted his accusation against Israel of genocide, both to me and to the media, and this was published on his official page. He said he saw so much material from Gaza because there are people close to him there who are very anti-Israel, and Israel did not bother to show him anything, so he said it needed to be investigated. One doesn’t have to believe him, but at least it was important to make that effort. It is clearly easiest to make peace with the prince of Monaco and with Zionists, but in the complex world we live in – we must talk to everyone.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

The Jewish community in Damascus and rabbinic leaders from Islamic countries issued a statement of deep shock and protest after the desecration of the kever of the famed mekubal Rav Chaim Vital zt”l at the ancient Jewish cemetery in Syria’s capital.

According to Bechor Simantov, head of Damascus’ small Jewish community, a formal complaint has been filed with Syrian authorities, demanding a full investigation into the incident.

Unidentified vandals reportedly broke into the historic cemetery, severely damaging the kever of Rav Chaim Vital, the talmid muvhak of the Arizal.

Simantov shared photos showing a gaping hole dug near Rav Vital’s grave, illustrating the extensive damage caused by the trespassers.

Rav Vital passed away in 1620 and has been buried in this cemetery for over 400 years.

In a post on his Facebook page, Simantov wrote, “On Wednesday, unidentified individuals broke into the Jewish cemetery in Damascus. They smashed the main gate and entered the room where Rav Chaim Vital alav hashalom is buried. They dug into the earth alongside the kever, apparently in search of relics, as shown in the photo.”

The Union of Rabbis in Islamic Countries issued a statement tonight condemning the desecration and urging the Syrian government to immediately secure Jewish holy sites.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the desecration of the sacred grave of Rabbi Chaim Vital. Jews have lived in Syria for thousands of years and are an inseparable part of its history. We urgently call upon the Syrian government to immediately secure all Jewish holy sites, synagogues, and cemeteries, and to ensure the safety, security, and welfare of all Jews,” the statement read.

Hidden within the narrow alleys of Damascus’ Old City lies a thousand-year-old treasure, the ancient Jewish cemetery. In recent years, amid Syria’s political upheaval and the weakening of the Assad regime, there has been a renewed interest in preserving and visiting these sacred sites, where many tzaddikim and Torah giants are buried.

Throughout generations, the cemetery served as the final resting place for Syria’s greatest tzaddikim. The most prominent among them is Rav Vital. There is a mesorah that his burial was intended to nullify the spiritual influence of a nearby church — which, according to legend, subsequently disappeared entirely.

The cemetery was carefully divided into distinct sections reflecting the composition of Damascus’ Jewish community: separate plots for the Musta’arabim (Arabic-speaking Jews), Sephardim, and Karaites. A special section known as the Midrash housed the graves of leading rabbinic figures, including Rav Yeshayahu Pinto (d. 1648), Rav Ezra HaKohen of the Salton Trab family (d. 1920), Rav Yaakov Harari Alna’am (d. 1937), and Rav Nissim Nadvo HaKohen (d. 1972).

{Matzav.com}

The Slabodka Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Dov Landau, successfully underwent surgery on Friday to repair a fracture at Maayanei HaYeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak.

As previously reported on Matzav.com, Rav Landau had suffered a fall at his home and was subsequently transported to the hospital.

Following medical consultation and a series of tests overseen by the renowned medical advisor Rav Elimelech Firer, the decision was made to proceed with surgery to address the fracture.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Itay Holzer, director of the hospital’s Orthopedic Department. Boruch Hashem, the Rosh Yeshiva emerged from surgery and was transferred to the recovery room, where he remained over Shabbos.

All are asked to continue davening for Rav Efraim Dov ben Devorah.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Minister Meir Porush paid a visit to the home of Maran Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, one of the Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka, and during the visit, a conversation unfolded between the minister and the Rosh Yeshiva, centering on the grave situation currently facing Eretz Yisroel. Porush asked Rav Hirsch about the challenges surrounding the ongoing war and the looming gezeirah of forced conscription.

In the conversation, Porush asked, “What will be with our situation?”

Rav Hirsch replied, “Hashem will help. What can we say? We have no one to rely upon except Avinu Shebashomayim. That is clear in such a situation. The entire Eretz Yisroel is in a terrible state.”

Porush noted, “But since the founding of the state, there has not been a situation like this for the chareidi community.”

“That’s true,” Rav Hirsch agreed. “There has never been a situation like this — not for the chareidi community and not for Eretz Yisroel.”

Porush continued, “What will be? We need a great miracle.”

Rav Hirsch responded, “Miracles are possible. Hashem will help.”

“Amein, may it be so,” Porush added.

One of those present interjected, “We don’t rely on miracles.”

Porush responded, “We are permitted to hope for miracles.”

Rav Hirsch continued, “There is also the path of derech hateva — natural means. Part of the situation is that they [the government and others] are under pressure. They are truly afraid of what will happen when things start to collapse. Everything can be overturned through natural means.”

Porush remarked, “From what I understand, it must not end without us defeating them — Hamas — without succeeding in subduing them and changing the situation. It must not end with us bending to them, Heaven forbid.”

Rav Hirsch answered, “It could happen naturally that they will soften. A miracle can happen through natural means — that they will naturally be ready to soften.”

The Rosh Yeshiva also added, “There is a natural path: if Iran is destroyed, then everything will collapse naturally in its wake.”

Porush shared an anecdote: “Today I told someone from Vizhnitz in Haifa that I remember during the Second Lebanon War, the Rebbe fled to Yerushalayim. Today, when they say that in the future Yerushalayim will spread until Damascus, it means that the tranquility of Yerushalayim will extend even to Haifa — because there will be no more Nasrallah and Hezbollah.”

Rav Hirsch concluded with a hopeful note: “When there will be calm from Iran and Lebanon, Damascus, too, will become as peaceful as Yerushalayim.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

Egypt and Qatar have put forward a new proposal calling for a six-month pause in fighting in Gaza, the full release of all hostages, and the freeing of convicted terrorists, according to a report by Asharq Al-Awsat.

Previously, Hamas informed AFP that the group would be prepared to accept a deal involving the immediate release of all 59 hostages still in captivity, along with agreeing to a five-year ceasefire with Israel.

Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas figure based in Lebanon, stated that the organization “will respond to any initiative which discusses complete withdrawal from Gaza, opening of the crossings, a fair prisoner swap, and no intervention in reconstruction.”

Another report indicated that Hamas is willing to remove its operatives from Gaza, provided that Israel offers assurances guaranteeing their safety from persecution or assassination.

Just last week, Hamas rejected an Israeli offer that conditioned a six-week truce on the terror group’s willingness to disarm.

{Matzav.com Israel}