Two yeshiva students arrested for draft dodging while attempting to leave the country

 

Two students of well-known yeshivas were arrested on Sunday at Ben Gurion Airport while attempting to leave Israel due to stay of exit orders issued against them after they failed to report to the IDF recruitment center.

The men were taken to the IDF's Tel Hashomer Camp, where a hearing is expected to be held on the matter.

The "Lemaancha" organization, which assists yeshiva students with draft-related issues, reported that details of the case were immediately brought to the senior haredi rabbis, who instructed the organization's representatives how to act.

"We are closely, sensitively, and quietly accompanying the boys following the instructions from the rabbis," the organization stated.

In light of the incident, the organization warns against trusting the Interior Ministry's online system to check if there are stay of exit orders.

"There are sometimes discrepancies between the various data systems," the organization explained. "Refrain from arriving at sensitive locations, such as the airport, without conducting an in-depth inquiry beforehand."

This is just one in a series of similar cases in the past few months in which yeshiva students were arrested for alleged draft dodging.

‘Shtisel’ star Sasson Gabay is happy to be back playing a complex Charedi Jew in ‘Kugel’

 “I’m preparing a tea so we can talk with leisure,” Sasson Gabay says over the phone from Israel.

The Israeli film and TV star, now 77, wants to get comfortable so he can talk about one of his favorite characters from his 50-year career: Nuhem Shtisel.

If that surname sounds familiar, yes — it’s a character from the popular and internationally acclaimed series “Shtisel,” about an Israeli Haredi Orthodox family. Now, Gabay has reprised Nuhem for a prequel series titled “Kugel,” streaming in the United States exclusively on the platform Izzy.

And if kugel sounds familiar, yes — it’s referring to the Ashkenazi version of a casserole, not another surname. The new series follows Nuhem, who frequents a kugel shop in his native Antwerp years before the plot of “Shtisel,” as he and his daughter Libbi (Hadas Yaron) navigate familial and romantic struggles. Nuhem’s heart is in the right place, but the diamond dealer often finds himself at the center of financial shenanigans that threaten his place in his family and his community.

As complex as that character sounds, it didn’t take much convincing to get Gabay — who is also well known for starring in both the Israeli film “The Band’s Visit” and the Tony-winning Broadway musical based on it — on board for the poignant and wryly humorous series that, like “Shtisel,” was created by Yehonatan Indursky.

“I loved [Indursky’s] writing. I loved his plot. I loved this poetic element in all his writing — wise, human and brilliant in my opinion,” Gabay said on a recent WhatsApp call.

On April 28, Gabay will join “Shtisel” star Michael Aloni and “Kugel” producer Dikla Barkai for an exclusive New York Jewish Week conversation about the new show at Congregation Rodeph Sholom on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. For those who can make it in person, attendees will also be able to sample (what else?) some of the city’s best kugel, and even meet the stars at a VIP reception. For those who can’t make it, a livestream is available, and it will be recorded.

As a preview — a taste of the “burnt end” of the kugel, Nuhem might say — Gabay spoke with the New York Jewish Week about filming in Antwerp, playing a deeply religious Jew while living a secular life, and the state of the Israel film and TV industry since October 7, 2023.

Not Again! Congresswoman Going to El Salvador to get a "wife beater" back... Not One DemonRat Went to Gaza to get any Hostages Back

 

NEW: Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (D-OR) announces she will travel to El Salvador to “demand the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia”, a deported Salvadoran illegal alien alleged to be a MS-13 gang member, accused by his own spouse of being a repeat wife beater, and previously… pic.twitter.com/VzEjJZPITn

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 19, 2025

Iris Hotel in Brookline Canceled Large Pesach Seder to Accommodate Rashida Tlaib

 

Meet Anwar Faisal, dubbed Boston’s worst landlord. He owns the Iris Hotel in Brookline, an area with a large Jewish population just outside the city.

After learning that a large Passover Seder was scheduled to be hosted there, he canceled it - and instead hosted a gathering for… https://t.co/9ygZTi6ryq pic.twitter.com/c2QaqYdm8z

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) April 18, 2025

Qatar Upset About Video of the Construction of the Third Bais Hamikdash

 

Qatar's Foreign Ministry issued a statement of strong condemnation following an animated video simulating the construction of the Temple on the Temple Mount that will occur hopefully in our lifetime pic.twitter.com/baU747CcXu

— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) April 20, 2025

Orthodox Jews Couldn't Care Less What the World Thinks of Them!

 

Did you ever notice how Orthodox Jews couldn’t care less what the world thinks of them?

Not a little. Not secretly.
They truly, completely, deeply don’t care.

They’ll walk through an airport looking like they time-traveled out of 1850.
Pray out loud in a hoodie or a hat while…

— AP (@AP_from_NY) April 18, 2025

Nikki Haley slams Tulsi Gabbard for claiming that Iran has no active nuclear weapons program-

 

🚨NEW: Nikki Haley slams Tulsi Gabbard for claiming that Iran has no active nuclear weapons program-despite stockpiles of near-weapons-grade uranium and evidence of covert weaponization efforts

“There is no room for Iranian sympathizers in the national security team of the US.” pic.twitter.com/5UXh8PF9m0

— Nikki Haley HQ (@NikkiHaleyHQ) April 20, 2025

"Not one person was vetted coming into the US ..DemonRats Want to Vet those Deported! LOL

 

TOM HOMAN ON MORNING JOE -- Not one person was vetted coming into America, now Democrats want to vet everyone we deport.pic.twitter.com/IC7IGiRGs8

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 18, 2025

Dalia Ziada an Arab Muslim Experiences her own "Exodus" from Egypt

 

While I am experiencing my own exodus from Egypt right now, I would like to share this personal note with you:

The Passover is one of my most favorite holidays in all religions. It is very linked to Egypt, and thus, my Jewish friends and I (an Egyptian) used to use it as an… pic.twitter.com/cRTOLdx59Z

— Dalia Ziada - داليا زيادة (@daliaziada) April 19, 2025

Harvard makes the case against itself

 

Harvard faculty members are finally upset about free speech and viewpoint intolerance. Hundreds of professors signed a letter of outrage over what they called an attack on the “rights of free expression, association, and inquiry” in higher education.

The cause for this outcry is the threat to end the university’s tax exempt status, freezing federal grants, and other punitive measures. Some of those measures raise serious concerns over academic freedom and free speech.

The problem is that Harvard faculty members have spent decades denying those rights to teachers and students alike.

Meet the Tren de Aragua gang members That Supreme Court Stopped Trump from deporting

 The Trump administration on Saturday released the rap sheets and photos of alleged Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members detained in Texas who the administration is trying to deport.

The suspects of the violent Venezuelan gang were going to be deported using the recently reinstated Alien Enemies Act of 1798 before the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled Saturday morning against deportations under the 18th century law.

In a decision in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, the administration was barred from removing Venezuelans held in Texas' Bluebonnet Detention Center "until further order of this court."

Left-leaning AP is out of step with the rest of the US

 

by Michael Goodwin NYP

As a lifelong journalist, I should be on the side of The Associated Press in its ongoing legal fight with the Trump White House.

And I would be if the AP were the neutral, fact-driven wire service it used to be.

Unfortunately, it has become just another outlet peddling leftist opinion disguised as straight news.

And as its fight with the White House demonstrates, it also reeks of a sense of elite entitlement.

The case involves the AP’s claims that its freedom of speech was violated when it was booted from its long-standing spot in the press pool, an elite, small group of legacy news outlets that get near-daily access to the president.

The AP was one of three wire services in the group, along with Reuters and Bloomberg.

Others getting special access include television and cable companies, photographers, radio reporters and rotating members from print outlets.

Refused to adjust

Because there was just one spot reserved for print reporters, most got only a monthly chance to question the president in small-space events, such as the Oval Office and Air Force One.

The AP got the boot from the group after it refused to change its influential stylebook and continued to refer to the “Gulf of Mexico” after President Trump officially changed the name to the “Gulf of America.”

I agreed with the federal judge who ruled the demotion unfairly punished the AP, but have come to admire even more the way the White House has used the case to carry out a much-needed move to democratize access to the president.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who at 27 is the youngest person to hold her job, took office wanting to open the door to new media outlets, including edgy podcasts, political influencers and specialized wire services.

DemonRats in Panic Mode after Biden's Disastrous Appearance

 

DIN: What the article below doesn't say is that Biden now gets $300,000 per appearance!

Former President Joe Biden’s return to the spotlight has some Democratic party insiders — including top aides —  fuming that his presence is only dredging up old wounds, according to a report.

After keeping a low profile, Biden reemerged Tuesday with an anti-Trump speech in Chicago, followed by private remarks at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. 

But the reaction from within the Democratic party was less of a celebration and more of a panic-inducing event, with party operatives, strategists, and Biden loyalists saying his presence came at the worst time, The Hill reported.

“I love both Bidens dearly, but staff loyalty means there is a responsibility to provide them with an honest situational awareness, especially when it comes to their public image, no matter how hurtful it is to hear,” Michael LaRosa, who served as Jill Biden’s communications director, told the outlet.

LaRosa argued that any advisors with a pulse on the Democratic party should have known that many people remain “furious or indifferent” to the former president.

While speaking at Harvard, Biden had to be corrected by his longtime adviser Mike Donilon when he mixed up Ukraine with Iraq when talking about the war with Russia, the Harvard Crimson reported.

After the 82-year-old former president bit into an ice cream bar at the event, the partially eaten dessert fell to the floor, the Crimson noted. 

“This was hard to watch,” one former White House official told the Post of the speech, where Biden also  reminisced about “colored kids.”

“It felt like seeing someone you care about start to regress. We just wanted him to enjoy retirement like other presidents — not go out like this,” the official said.

The mix-up only added to the Trump administration and conservatives’ attempt to use the unpopular ex-president’s appearance as a distraction from recent tariff turmoil, LaRosa added.

Biden’s return was a “lovely gift for the White House, President Trump, and conservative media at a time when they were playing defense and under the kind of heavy scrutiny over the botched tariff policy in ways we haven’t seen since Trump was elected,” he said.

LaRosa lamented that Biden’s handlers should recognize the end of his political career and act accordingly.

“It’s a heartbreaking and tragic ending to their time in public life, but it’s also the truth, and they should index the political realities into their decision-making,” the former aide continued.

Rabbi Meir Mazuz, 80, passes away

 Rabbi Meir Mazuz, head of the Kisei Rahamim Yeshiva and a leading Sephardic-haredi rabbi, passed away on Saturday, on the last day of the holiday of Passover.

Rabbi Mazuz spent much of the past month in the hospital, and his condition deteriorated over the past week.

He taught thousands of students in all of his yeshiva's institutions. During the 2005 Disengagement, Rabbi Mazuz participated in demonstrations and signed a ruling from the YESHA Rabbinic Council supporting soldiers who refused to obey the orders.

In 2015, politician Eli Yishai left the Shas party and created the Yachad party, which ran in the elections together with Otzma Yehudit. Rabbi Mazuz was recognized as the party's spiritual leader, but the joint party did not pass the electoral threshold.

In 2021, ahead of the elections for the 24th Knesset, Rabbi Mazuz supported the Otzma Yehudit party, but the party failed to pass the electoral threshold.

Ahead of elections for the 25th Knesset, Rabbi Mazuz expressed support for the Shas party, but continued to support Otzma Yehudit as well.

Rabbi Mazuz is the cousin of retired Supreme Court Justice Meni Mazuz.

His passing was mourned by several government figures.

UTJ MK Moshe Gafni eulogized, "Together with all of Israel we mourn the passing of the great Torah giant, the saintly Rabbi Meir Mazuz. We send our condolences to the esteemed family, to his students and admirers. May you find comfort from Heaven, until the Resurrection."

Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf stated "Rabbi Mezuzah was a great man of the Torah and the world of Jewish law I our generation, he merited to raise many students and to instill the tradition of the house of his father of the Tunisian Jewry."

The Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Affairs, Meir Porush, mourned "Rabbi Mazuz was a tent of Torah in the Holy Land, the leader of the Tunisian Jewry in the world, a guide to multitudes and a luminary of the generation. He stood steadfastly for the threefold perfection – Torah, People and Land of Israel – without fear and without compromise."

"I had the privilege of a warm personal relationship with him over the years, a relationship that has continued from generation to generation. His passing is a loss to me and to the nation."

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated "Together with the entire House of Israel I mourn the passing of the great Rabbi Meir Mazuz. The rabbi was one of the leaders of Sephardic Jewry and one of the great scholars of the generation. With his prodigious knowledge of Torah and with great humility, he led the masses of Israel."

The Shas movement mourned, "A great loss to the world of Torah and halacha. The Shas movement extends its condolences to his family, his brother and his sons, to his many students and to those who heard his teachings. May the Almighty heal the breach in His people and hasten our redemption."

Interior Minister Moshe Ariel lamented, "With deep sorrow, I bid farewell to the great scholar Rabbi Meir Mazuz. In our last meeting two weeks ago, he reminisced wistfully about the days when I had the privilege of studying Torah in his home over twenty years ago. The towering figure of the rabbi will be sorely missed by the Torah scholars and his followers. May his memory be blessed."

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar eulogized Rabbi Meir Mazuz: "Rabbi Mazuz – a great rabbi of Israel, a figure of Torah, humility and Jewish fortitude. I was privileged to meet him, to be impressed by his personality and to be blessed by him personally. A clear voice of tradition and wisdom, who brought depth and rare honesty. May his memory be a blessing."

9 US Transport Planes Loaded with Bunker-Buster Bombs That Could Attack Iran Just Delived to Israel

 

Trump appoints Mark Levin and others to lead ‘revamped’ Homeland Security Advisory Council

 President Trump has appointed Fox News host Mark Levin and a host of others to lead his “revamped” Homeland Security Advisory Council.

“I am proud to announce the formation of my revamped Homeland Security Advisory Council [HSAC], which is comprised of Top Experts in their field, who are highly respected by their peers,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Thursday.

Levin, who is the host of Fox News’ “Life, Liberty & Levin”, will be joined by ex-NYPD detective Bo Dietl, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Florida state Sen. Joseph Gruters.

“It is a big honor to serve on HSAC, and I know the new Members, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Mark Levin, Bo Dietl, and Joseph Gruters, will do an incredible job,” Trump continued.

“Under Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s leadership, HSAC will work hard on developing new Policies and Strategies that will help us secure our Border, deport Illegal Criminal Thugs, stop the flow of Fentanyl and other illegal drugs that are killing our Citizens, and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”

Levin, who has publicly criticized the Trump admin in recent months regarding Ukraine, quickly thanked the president, writing on X: “What an honor! Thank you, Mr. President!”

It comes after the DHS advisory board was among those dismantled as soon as Trump took office.

At the time, the administration said the move was being made to guard against “misuse of resources” after the Biden administration’s disastrous attempt to create a Big Brother-style “Disinformation Governance Board.”

Black Guy Loves Singing MBD

 

Are cleaning ladies really feeding Frum kids non-Kosher food and laughing about it on social media?

 

MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia seen ‘sipping margaritas’ with Sen. Van Hollen amid El Salvador deportation battle

Alleged MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia was seen “sipping margaritas” with Sen. Chris Van Hollen Thursday amid his high-profile deportation battle, according to photos shared by El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.

Bukele shared three pics of the Democratic Maryland lawmaker meeting with Abrego Garcia — who was wrongly deported to El Salvador’s notorious megaprison last month — lounging in the country’s “tropical paradise” with what appeared to be salt-rimmed drinking glasses containing an unknown liquid and a cherry.

“Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture’, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador,” Bukele said in an X post Thursday night.

Ronen Bar Head of Shin Bet Directly Responsible for Oct 7 : Smotrich!

 Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich published a statement this evening (Thursday) explaining his decision not to sit at the cabinet meeting with Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

"'There is no authority without responsibility and there is no responsibility without authority.' This is the first principle in any system that desires life and this is the heart of the debate surrounding the legal coup that has been carried out here in recent decades and has led to an absurd disconnect between authority and responsibility. A disconnect that is now reaching an endpoint around forcing Ronen Bar to continue his term as head of the Shin Bet," Smotrich began.

"Let's start with the fact that Ronen Bar is the head of the Shin Bet who has failed colossally in his position. He is personally responsible for the greatest disaster in the history of the State of Israel. He heads the intelligence organization that was supposed to provide the warning of a Hamas attack and for three years fell asleep on duty and allowed the great strategic deception that Sinwar perpetrated on the State of Israel. Ronen Bar received indications on the night of October 6th to 7th of an unusual occurrence in the Gaza Strip and made the wrong decision to continue the regular routine, not to mobilize forces and not to wake anyone up at the political level, a decision that cost us 1,200 civilians who were murdered, butchered, raped and burned in the terrible massacre committed by Hamas, and 250 kidnapped people, some of whom are still suffering in the tunnels in Gaza in Hamas captivity," he said.

According to Smotrich, "If he had a little self-respect and a little integrity and responsibility, he would have put the keys on the table of his own initiative in shame for October 8th and locked himself in his house after that without putting his nose outside the door for the rest of his life. In a civilized country, if he had not done this alone, the political level would have ousted him immediately. In President Biden's America, it took the head of the Secret Service three days after the attempted assassination of Trump to give back the keys and take responsibility for the failure."

"Bar is rewriting history with fabricated investigations and is now imposing himself on the political echelon, having been forcefully elected by the attorney general and the Supreme Court. Bar is causing a huge injustice to thousands of dedicated employees of the ISA who do sacred work for the security of Israel, dragging them against their will into the center of a public storm, using them as a tool and turning them into hostages in his personal struggle, shaking them and the organization and seriously damaging the public's trust in the organization.

"But on the flip side, this moment could become a defining moment, a blessing in disguise, a moment when the law and the legal profession are forced to understand the limits of power. A moment when everyone will understand that while the law may be able to impose technique, it simply cannot impose substance," he said.

Smotrich noted, "After the entire government unanimously expressed a lack of confidence in the head of the Shin Bet and decided to terminate his term on the basis of an explicit law that states that the government is authorized to do so, the power-drunk Supreme Court judges issued an interim order that forces the government to continue Ronen Bar's term. From that moment on, Ronen Bar is the head of the Shin Bet under the auspices of the Supreme Court. He continues to receive a paycheck as head of the Shin Bet, on the door of his office at the organization's headquarters there is a sign that says 'Head of the Shin Bet,' he has a driver and a car like the head of the Shin Bet.

"But, that's it. The court cannot impose trust and interpersonal relationships. It cannot force me to listen to him, to take him seriously in making decisions, to trust him and to give him confidence. I have no confidence in the head of the Shin Bet, I believe he is a resounding security failure and democratic understanding goes beyond that. There is no judge in the world who can force me to trust him, to have good interpersonal working relationships with him, and to reach decisions with him."

He continued, "Just as the law cannot force the sun to shine in the west, just as it cannot force couples to continue living together in love and trust, it cannot force a government to fulfill its responsibility for Israel's security through failed people who push us into the abyss over and over and over again. The attempt to force the government to have the Shin Bet head serve is yet another peak of absurdity that illustrates the court's disconnect from reality."

"So I have no intention of sitting in discussions if he is present. If he comes to cabinet discussions (which were stipulated by law and supposedly the Supreme Court forced him to be invited) I will leave when he speaks. As far as I am concerned, starting on the 10th of this month, he is the Shin Bet head on behalf of the Supreme Court, and the arrogant Supreme Court judges are invited to sit with him and discuss with him any issue they see fit," he stated.

"I very much hope that the government will soon be able to appoint a new head to this all-important organization, a head who understands security and intelligence, but also democracy, a head who will heal the organization, embrace his people, restore their trust, and lead them in the face of the great security challenges facing the State of Israel," Smotrich concluded.

Itamar Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party would win 11 Knesset seats if elections were held today

 MK Itamar Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party would win 11 Knesset seats if elections were held today, a new poll by Maariv revealed.

In such a scenario, the Likud party is projected to win 22 Knesset seats, followed by Yisrael Beytenu and the Democrats with 17 seats each.

Third-largest in the Knesset would be the National Unity party, with 15 seats. Yesh Atid and Otzma Yehudit would win 11 seats each, and Shas would win 10 seats.

United Torah Judaism would win seven seats, and Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am (United Arab List) would win five seats each.

Neither Balad nor Religious Zionism would pass the electoral threshold.

Divided into blocs, the coalition parties would win 50 Knesset seats, while the center-left would win 60. Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am, which traditionally do not join any coalition, would hold the remaining 10 seats.

United Torah Judaism would win seven seats, and Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am (United Arab List) would win five seats each.

Neither Balad nor Religious Zionism would pass the electoral threshold.

Divided into blocs, the coalition parties would win 50 Knesset seats, while the center-left would win 60. Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am, which traditionally do not join any coalition, would hold the remaining 10 seats.

Lawyer from Hell!

 

El Salvador Blocks Sen. Chris Van Hollen from visiting Kilmar Abrego Garcia a Gang Member at the notorious mega-prison complex

 

Sen. Chris Van Hollen was blocked Wednesday from visiting Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) mega-prison complex after the Democrat traveled to El Salvador to push for the release of the illegal migrant and purported MS-13 member.

Van Hollen (D-Md.), 66, met with the Central American nation’s vice president, Félix Ulloa, and publicly pleaded for Abrego Garcia to be set free.

“They should just let him go,” Van Hollen complained to reporters after the meeting. “I promised them [Abrego Garcia’s family] that I would do everything I could to get him out.”

“I won’t stop trying,” he added. “This is an unsustainable and unjust moment. So it cannot continue this way.”

Meanwhile, fresh revelations emerged Wednesday that Abrego Garcia’s wife — who has pushed for his release, pursued a domestic violence restraining order against him in 2021, alleging that he ripped off her shirt, punched her and scratched her.

White House officials needled Van Hollen over his advocacy for Abrego Garcia while his own constituents grapple with migrant crime.

“The criminal illegal immigrant is already home — he’s a Salvadoran citizen,” the Trump administration said in a statement. “… [W]here was his [Van Hollen’s] concern for Maryland constituents put at risk by the many other illegal immigrants allowed to roam free until now?”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt raked Van Hollen over the coals Wednesday for “rushing” over to El Salvador advocate for Abrego Garcia instead of focusing on his constituents who have been harmed by illegal immigrants. 

“It’s appalling and sad that Senator Van Hollen and the Democrats applauding his trip to El Salvador today are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents and our citizens,” she chastised.

Leavitt then welcomed Patty Morin to the White House press briefing to discuss in gruesome and graphic detail how an illegal immigrant savagely raped and murdered her daughter, Rachel, a mom of five, in 2023.

“To have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge or barely acknowledged my daughter and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother,” she lamented during her somber remarks, ‘to use my tax money to fly to El Salvador to bring back a person…i just don’t understand this.”

On Monday, Victor Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty by a jury of first-degree rape, first-degree premeditated murder, third-degree sexual assault and kidnapping.

“While the conviction of Rachel Morin’s killer will not return Rachel to her family where she rightfully belongs, this verdict brings a measure of justice that they so deserve,” Van Hollen had said in a statement Tuesday, the day after the verdict.

“A US federal court judge said that the Trump administration did not have evidence to support the claim that he had ever been part of MS-13,” Van Hollen lyingly claimed during his visit Wednesday. “In fact, Mr. Abrego Garcia is legally in the United States.”

Court documents indicate that Abrego Garcia illegally entered the US in 2011. In 2019, a federal judge blocked him from being deported back to his home country of El Salvador amid concerns he could face persecution from groups like the Barrio 18 gang.

“I want to emphasize that President Trump and our Attorney General Pam Bondi and the vice president of the United States are lying when they say that Abrego Garcia has been charged with a crime or is part of MS-13,” he added. “That is a lie.”

The Trump administration claimed in court documents that Abrego Garcia is “confirmed to be a ranking member of the MS-13 gang by a proven and reliable source,” something his family disputes.

Wednesday evening, the Justice Department released police reports that indicated Abrego Garcia was an active MS-13 member at the time of his initial detention in March 2019.

Last week, the Supreme Court instructed the Trump administration to take steps “to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to” the Latin American country.

At the same time, the high court ruled that lower courts must show “deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”

After that order, the Trump administration declined to pressure El Salvador to release Abrego Garcia and insisted that they are complying with the Supreme Court’s ruling because they have taken steps to “facilitate” his return if El Salvador ever releases him.

Trump welcomed El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to the White House on Monday, and the US ally scoffed at the notion that he’d send Abrego Garcia back to the US.

“I hope you are not suggesting that I smuggle terrorists into the United States,” Bukele, 43, told reporters while sitting alongside Trump in the Oval Office. “Of course, I’m not going to do it.

“The question is preposterous,” Bukele added. “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”

Trump administration officials have countered that they don’t have the power to bring him back because Abrego Garcia is an El Salvadoran national imprisoned in his home country.

'Hero of Israel' | Detained Shin Bet agent receives hero's welcome

 

A., who was arrested on suspicion of leaking classified documents to a minister and journalists, received a hero's welcome from his neighbors as he returned home after being released to house arrest.

The residents of his village welcomed him by waving Israeli flags and singing: "Don't fear Israel, since you are a lion cub and when a lion roars - who doesn't fear?"

Earlier on Wednesday, the Police Investigations Department requested during a court hearing to release the agent to a month-long house arrest, which will include various restrictions and a prohibition on meeting with other parties involved in the affair.

The ISA employee was arrested on suspicion of leaking information to the media. The investigation was opened in recent weeks following reports that ISA head Ronen Bar ordered an investigation into what has been termed "the takeover of the police by the Kahane movement."

His attorney referred during the hearing on extending the arrest to the allegations against the senior official: "In the (leaked) information, there is no danger to the security of the information and the public; it was published with the approval of the censor. The ISA has a lot of classified information, but it must be careful not to hold on to information that is not classified just because it can."

In an interview with Kan this morning, the attorney said that the ISA "Opened an investigation against politicians, which found nothing. Ronen Bar then ordered, 'Keep looking, see what can be found, and bring me everything'. The agent saw that the ISA's inquiry did not match its charter, that the assignment presented the inquiry in a distorted manner, and the inquiry was hostile to politicians in certain matters. The full inquiry shows that the ISA did the same things and supported them. These are things he disclosed due to the public's right to know."

"From the first moment, he said that he leaked documents of positions and actions, not information from intelligence documents. The censor approved them. They are of great public interest. I am not aware of cases where individuals were arrested for leaks that are not of a security nature," he noted.

“Bar & Baharav-Miara Have Turned The Shin Bet Into The Deep State’s Private Militia”

 Numerous government members responded harshly to the exposure of the shocking report on Tuesday, revealing that Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar threw a senior Shin Bet official into prison for revealing information that embarrassed them.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli stated: “‘A.’ is a hero of Israel – a whistleblower who was willing to take a risk against a pair of dangerous officials. ‘A’ revealed that amid a war, the Shin Bet chief is obsessively spying on a sitting minister; he revealed that the parts published to the public from the Shin Bet’s investigation into the circumstances of the launch of the war present a false and distorted picture – Bar wanted to tell us that the political echelon was responsible for the strengthening Hamas, but forgot to mention that he himself set the rehabilitation of Gaza and the bolstering of its economy as a central goal.”

“None of the information published by A’ meets the definition of secret material or has a speck of risk to state security. On the contrary, non-disclosure of these materials to the political echelon and the public is what harms the security of the state. Bar has already been unanimously ousted by the government, but instead of vacating his position, the man hijacked the organization and its draconian capabilities and turned them into a personal tool for revenge and political persecution, and not for the first time. Israel has never had a more failed, reckless, and arrogant Shin Bet chief in its entire history.”

“Bar and Baharav-Miara act like King Louis XIV, who said: ‘I am the state.’ Bar doesn’t see himself as subject to the government, which means that he doesn’t see himself as subject to the laws of the state that clearly define his subordination to the government and its head. On such a state of affairs, in which the head of a service chooses to ignore his subordination to the laws of the state, Judge Zamir wrote: ‘In this way, control over the service may one day fall into the hands of a person or group of people without restraint, and from here there is only a short step between him and the tyrannical rule of a police state…'”

“I will fight with all my might for the innocence of A’, a loyal servant of Am Yisrael and Israeli democracy, and against the political Stasi of the Bar and Miara duo,” Chikli concluded.

Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich stated: “This is what a real coup looks like. When a secret intelligence organization uses the draconian powers granted to it for security purposes against elected officials and journalists, while completely losing its checks and balances. When an elected government seeks to remove a failing Shin Bet chief who has betrayed and undermined and the Attorney General and the Supreme Court violently prevent it.”

“The State of Israel is on a slippery and dangerous slope on the way to losing democracy and a dictatorial rule of a security and legal junta. We will not let this pass. We will return the State of Israel to the people.”

“I don’t know who the Shin Bet man in question is, but as far as I am concerned, he is the next Shin Bet chief – the only one in the organization with a spine, a moral conscience, a democratic compass and civic courage to fight the corruption that Ronen Bar brought to the organization and thwart a violent coup.”

The Likud party issued a statement saying: “This morning, another shocking and dangerous affair was exposed in the Shin Bet under Ronen Bar. A Shin Bet member who felt that the organization under Ronen Bar had become a political body was arrested and interrogated in the Shin Bet’s dungeons. Ronen Bar, in full cooperation with the Attorney General, has turned parts of the Shin Bet into a private militia of the deep state that undermines the rule of law and the foundations of democracy.”

“Under the tenure of Ronen Bar and Gali Baharav-Miara, who have a long-standing friendship, the Shin Bet arrests and examines journalists, blackmails a police officer, and opens frivolous political investigations against ministers and Knesset members from the coalition – all in order to prevent Bar’s dismissal.”

“The political investigations must stop immediately. Ronen Bar, who failed terribly on October 7th and has since lost the faith of the entire government, must stop entrenching himself in his position and vacate his position immediately. The men and women of the Shin Bet who are doing sacred work deserve a different boss.”

Trump Blocked Planned Israeli Strike On Iran, Opted For Talks Instead

 

Trump has reportedly blocked Israeli plans to carry out a major strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities this May, instead opting to pursue a high-stakes diplomatic push aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

According to a detailed report by The New York Times, Israeli officials had recently finalized a plan to hit multiple Iranian nuclear sites next month, a coordinated military operation that they believed would delay Iran’s nuclear program by at least a year. The ambitious operation was to include a combination of precision airstrikes and commando raids—one that would require significant logistical and military backing from the United States.

But during an April 3 phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Trump made it clear he would not discuss Iran strategy over the phone. Instead, he invited Netanyahu for an in-person meeting at the White House. There, earlier this month, Trump firmly told the Israeli premier that the United States would not support a strike while negotiations with Iran were underway.

Sources within both governments say Netanyahu had hoped to secure Trump’s approval to move forward with the strike before U.S. Central Command head General Michael E. Kurilla concludes his tour of duty—timing that was considered crucial for operational success. American and Israeli defense officials had been quietly developing scenarios to ensure a potential mission could be carried out with Kurilla still at the helm.

But while some in the administration supported the idea of keeping the military option on the table—among them Gen. Kurilla and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz—others raised strong objections. Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, presented a fresh intelligence assessment warning that the visible U.S. military buildup could provoke a full-scale regional conflict with Iran, a risk the administration was unwilling to take.

Her warnings were echoed by several senior officials in closed-door strategy meetings, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Vice President JD Vance. They all expressed concerns about the likelihood of escalation and the limited effectiveness of the proposed operation, especially given that many of Iran’s most critical nuclear facilities are deep underground or heavily fortified, making them difficult to destroy with commandos alone.

Despite Netanyahu’s strong push—he had reportedly championed a hybrid option combining airstrikes with ground raids—Trump remained unmoved. He reiterated to Netanyahu during their White House meeting that America would not provide the necessary support, at least not while diplomatic talks with Iran were progressing.

The decision represents a calculated gamble by Trump, who is betting on his ability to extract a new deal from Tehran that would curb Iran’s nuclear capabilities without dragging the United States into another Middle Eastern conflict.

For Israel, the message is sobering: If it chooses to move forward, it may have to go it alone.