Israeli Anti-Zionist Rabbi Faces Deportation from US Over Flag Incident

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested 35-year-old Israeli citizen Yehonatan Ovadia, a religious teacher from the anti-Zionist Satmar Hasidic community, in New York. Ovadia faces deportation after losing his legal right to remain in the U.S. following his involvement in an incident where an Israeli flag was torn down from the Ramapo town hall in New York on October 13, 2023. The flag was displayed in solidarity with victims of the October 7 Hamas attack. During a protest against the flag on November 13, Ovadia, who drove demonstrators to the site, was detained. He was initially charged with property damage, petty theft, and conspiracy, with the actions classified as hate crimes. Ovadia denied tearing down the flag himself. While the hate crime charges were later dropped, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in February 2024 and was fined $325.

In September 2025, Ovadia's community applied for a visa extension, but immigration authorities requested documents related to the flag incident. In May 2026, his request for an extended stay was denied, citing the circumstances of the incident. Although hate crime charges were dropped, authorities considered them alongside his disorderly conduct plea and his refusal to identify other participants. On August 28, he was taken into ICE custody during an immigration court appearance in Manhattan and now faces deportation to Israel.

Ovadia, who arrived in the U.S. in 2022 on a religious worker visa, lives in Rockland County with his wife and five children. He belongs to the Satmar Hasidic sect, which opposes Zionism and the State of Israel on religious grounds, believing a Jewish state should not be established before the Messiah's arrival. Ovadia was reportedly part of a politically active group within the Satmar community that supports Palestinian movements and frequently participated in anti-Israel demonstrations, sometimes carrying a Palestinian flag. He stated that his protests were for "Gaza, for the liberation of Gaza, for the rights of Palestinians and to show the world: Jews, true Judaism, want peace."

Surveillance footage showed four or five men in traditional Hasidic attire tearing down the flag, with two cutting it. Ovadia claims a friend tore the flag and that he opposed the act, attempting to leave the demonstration. His lawyers have filed a lawsuit seeking his release, arguing the Trump administration is punishing him for expressing religious and political views protected by law. They link his detention to a Trump executive order targeting foreigners involved in actions deemed antisemitic by the administration, though this was not cited in his official denial of stay. His lawyers assert that equating his anti-Israel stance with antisemitism is absurd.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that Ovadia "overstayed his welcome and refused to depart" after his legal status was revoked. His attorneys plan to request his release at a bail hearing next week.