Yehonatan Ovadia, a 35-year-old Satmar Hasidic rabbi and father of five from Rockland County, New York, remains in ICE custody at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center after being detained on August 28, 2026, when he appeared for a scheduled immigration court hearing in Manhattan. Ovadia moved to the U.S. from Israel in 2022 on a religious-worker visa; USCIS later denied his extension request on discretionary grounds, citing his participation in a November 2023 anti-Zionist protest at Ramapo Town Hall during which an Israeli flag was torn down. He was not accused of removing the flag, hate-crime charges were dropped, and he pleaded guilty only to disorderly conduct. His attorneys, including Eric Lee and Chris Godshall-Bennet, filed a federal lawsuit arguing he is being punished for protected religious and political speech tied to his activism with the anti-Zionist group Neturei Karta, and say the administration is conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. An immigration judge denied him bond, the government has designated Israel as his deportation destination, and dozens of chassidim gathered at the courthouse in support. DHS maintains he overstayed his legal status and will receive due process. Speaking from detention, Ovadia said, 'your struggle is our struggle and your liberation is our liberation.'