The Department of Homeland Security is attempting to deport a Hasidic Jew charged with removing an Israeli flag from a town hall in New York.
On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that immigration officials are seeking the deportation of Yehonatan Ovadia, a 35-year-old Israeli citizen who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct in early 2024. In 2023, Ovadia and another man were accused of stealing the flag during an anti-Israel protest outside of the Ramapo town hall in Rockland County, about an hour north of New York City. Ovadia maintains that he participated in the protest, but did not take the Israeli flag.
Ovadia believes that the establishment of a Jewish state before the Messiah’s return is prohibited.
In response to the flag incident, the Trump administration revoked Ovadia’s legal status. His lawyers have filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Federal District Court in late August. Ovadia is currently being detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
“He’s against the Israeli government and the existence of the state of Israel for religious reasons, but to claim that he’s an antisemite is the peak of absurdity,” Eric Lee, one of the attorneys, told the Times.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the move.
“It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live in the United States of America,” the department said in a statement. “The Trump administration acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority, as it does with any alien who advocates for violence, glorifies and supports terrorists, harasses Jews and steals property.”
The Trump administration has sought the deportations of multiple immigrants in the U.S. who have criticized Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks. In 2025, DHS revoked the legal status of former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, who had led protests against Israel. He spent 104 days in jail before being ordered released by a judge. That year, another Columbia student, Mohsen Mahdawi, was detained after protesting Israel. Also in 2025, masked federal agents arrested Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish citizen in the U.S. on a student visa that was revoked after she co-signed a pro-Palestine op-ed in a student newspaper. All three have sued the Trump administration.
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