Trapped Abroad: The Man at the Center of a Constitutional Standoff
Hosted by Michael Barbaro
Featuring Adam Liptak
Produced by Sydney HarperMooj Zadie and Rob Szypko
Edited by Lexie Diao
Original music by Marion LozanoDiane WongElisheba Ittoop and Pat McCusker
Engineered by Chris Wood
When President Trump met with El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, at the White House, the fate of one man was hanging in the balance.
Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court, discusses the Maryland man who was mistakenly sent to a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador, and what his case means for the limits of presidential power and the rule of law.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments, for The New York Times.
The Supreme Court sided with the wrongly deported man.
El Salvador's leader said on Monday that he would not return the man.
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San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Netanyahu's government could collapse over ultra-Orthodox military draft law
BNEI BARAK, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a vote to dissolve parliament Wednesday and key coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government. Still, few think it's the end of the road for Israel's longest-serving prime minister, who has been battling corruption charges for years, or his far-right government, still in power after presiding over the security failures surrounding the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The move to dissolve, called by the opposition, will only pass if Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox coalition partners break with him over the failure to pass a law exempting their community from military service, an issue that has bitterly divided Israelis, especially during the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. The threats coming from the ultra-Orthodox could be posturing, and many expect Netanyahu to pull off a last-minute deal. But Wednesday's vote is the most serious challenge to Netanyahu's government since the war began, and the coalition's collapse could have major implications for Israel and the ongoing war. Why do the ultra-Orthodox reject military service? Most Jewish men are required to serve nearly three years of military service followed by years of reserve duty. Jewish women serve two mandatory years. But the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox, who make up roughly 13% of Israeli society, have traditionally received exemptions if they are studying full-time in religious seminaries. The exemptions — and the government stipends many seminary students receive through age 26 — have infuriated the general public. After Hamas' 2023 attack, Israel activated 360,000 reservists, its largest mobilization since the 1973 Mideast war. Israel is engaged in the longest active war in the country's history, which has stretched its robust military to the breaking point. Many reserve soldiers have served multiple rounds of duty in Gaza totaling hundreds of days. Some reserve soldiers are rejecting new call-ups. The number of Israelis continuing to report for reserve duty has dropped so low that the military has taken to social media to try to recruit people to keep serving. The enlistment exemption for the ultra-Orthodox goes back to Israel's 1948 founding, when small numbers of gifted scholars were exempt from the draft in response to the decimation of Jewish scholarship during the Holocaust. But with a push from politically powerful religious parties, the numbers have swelled to tens of thousands today. Israel's Supreme Court said the exemptions were illegal in 2017, but repeated extensions and government delay tactics have prevented a replacement law from being passed. Among Israel's Jewish majority, mandatory military service is largely seen as a melting pot and rite of passage. That's exactly why some ultra-Orthodox don't want their children to serve. 'It mixes together people with very different backgrounds, very different ideas, some people with very immoral ideas,' said Rabbi Ephraim Luft, 66, from the ultra-Orthodox stronghold of Bnei Barak. Luft said the community's dedication to upholding Jewish commandments protects the country as much as military service. 'Over thousands of years, the Jewish people have stood very strongly against any kind of decrees to force them to give up their religion, they've given up their lives for this,' Luft said. 'People have to understand there's no difference between the Spanish Inquisition or the Israeli draft law.' Why would ultra-Orthodox parties want to bring down the government? Two parties belonging to the Haredim, or 'God-fearing' in Hebrew, are essential to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. Both would need to vote to dissolve the government to force new elections, including Shas, which has traditionally been more supportive of Netanyahu. On Monday, a Shas spokesperson told an ultra-Orthodox radio program the party currently plans to vote in favor of dissolution, unless there is a breakthrough in negotiations. The other party, Degel HaTorah, has been threatening to leave the government since last week. 'Basically, they don't really care about the war and the economic situation of the state and anything else but their communal interest. And the focus of this communal interest is getting the exemption from serving in the army," said Shuki Friedman, an expert on religion and state affairs and vice president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank. Friedman and other experts say the current system is unsustainable. With its high birthrate, the ultra-Orthodox are the fastest-growing segment of Israel's population, at about 4% annually. Each year, roughly 13,000 ultra-Orthodox men reach the conscription age of 18, but less than 10% enlist, according to parliament's State Control Committee, which held a hearing examining the issue. The shock of the Oct. 7 attack appeared to ignite some enthusiasm among the ultra-Orthodox to serve, but no large enlistment materialized. The army has repeatedly declined to comment on the ultra-Orthodox enlistment rate. What happens if parliament is dissolved? If the dissolution vote passes, it still faces a series of bureaucratic steps, including additional votes, that the government would likely drag on for weeks or months, said Gayil Talshir, a political science professor at Hebrew University. 'It will be like a gun that's been put into position, but that doesn't mean the coalition is over,' she said. Elections in Israel are currently scheduled for the fall of 2026. Both Talshir and Friedman believe it's unlikely the dissolution vote will pass Wednesday. If one ultra-Orthodox party is absent, the vote will not pass and another cannot be brought for six months, Talshir said. However, there's also a 'valid possibility' the rabbis who advise the ultra-Orthodox parties will say they've waited long enough for a draft exemption law, because they are facing enormous pressure from their communities, Friedman said. The army has issued thousands of draft notices to the ultra-Orthodox community, and those who refuse to serve can face arrest. While only around a dozen have been arrested after being stopped for trying to leave the country or for traffic violations, the fear this has inspired is significant, he added. What impact does this have on the war in Gaza and the hostage crisis? Netanyahu frequently cites the ongoing war as a reason why Israel needs to provide a united front against its enemies. While the ultra-Orthodox parties remain part of the coalition, they want the war to end as quickly as possible, Talshir said.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Netanyahu's government could collapse over ultra-Orthodox military draft law
BNEI BARAK, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a vote to dissolve parliament Wednesday and key coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government. Still, few think it's the end of the road for Israel's longest-serving prime minister, who has been battling corruption charges for years, or his far-right government, still in power after presiding over the security failures surrounding the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The move to dissolve, called by the opposition, will only pass if Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox coalition partners break with him over the failure to pass a law exempting their community from military service, an issue that has bitterly divided Israelis, especially during the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. The threats coming from the ultra-Orthodox could be posturing, and many expect Netanyahu to pull off a last-minute deal. But Wednesday's vote is the most serious challenge to Netanyahu's government since the war began, and the coalition's collapse could have major implications for Israel and the ongoing war. Why do the ultra-Orthodox reject military service? Most Jewish men are required to serve nearly three years of military service followed by years of reserve duty. Jewish women serve two mandatory years. But the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox, who make up roughly 13% of Israeli society, have traditionally received exemptions if they are studying full-time in religious seminaries. The exemptions — and the government stipends many seminary students receive through age 26 — have infuriated the general public. After Hamas' 2023 attack, Israel activated 360,000 reservists, its largest mobilization since the 1973 Mideast war. Israel is engaged in the longest active war in the country's history, which has stretched its robust military to the breaking point. Many reserve soldiers have served multiple rounds of duty in Gaza totaling hundreds of days. Some reserve soldiers are rejecting new call-ups. The number of Israelis continuing to report for reserve duty has dropped so low that the military has taken to social media to try to recruit people to keep serving. The enlistment exemption for the ultra-Orthodox goes back to Israel's 1948 founding, when small numbers of gifted scholars were exempt from the draft in response to the decimation of Jewish scholarship during the Holocaust. But with a push from politically powerful religious parties, the numbers have swelled to tens of thousands today. Israel's Supreme Court said the exemptions were illegal in 2017, but repeated extensions and government delay tactics have prevented a replacement law from being passed. Among Israel's Jewish majority, mandatory military service is largely seen as a melting pot and rite of passage. That's exactly why some ultra-Orthodox don't want their children to serve. 'It mixes together people with very different backgrounds, very different ideas, some people with very immoral ideas,' said Rabbi Ephraim Luft, 66, from the ultra-Orthodox stronghold of Bnei Barak. Luft said the community's dedication to upholding Jewish commandments protects the country as much as military service. 'Over thousands of years, the Jewish people have stood very strongly against any kind of decrees to force them to give up their religion, they've given up their lives for this,' Luft said. 'People have to understand there' Why would ultra-Orthodox parties want to bring down the government? Two parties belonging to the Haredim, or 'God-fearing' in Hebrew, are essential to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. Both would need to vote to dissolve the government to force new elections, including Shas, which has traditionally been more supportive of Netanyahu. On Monday, a Shas spokesperson told an ultra-Orthodox radio program the party currently plans to vote in favor of dissolution, unless there is a breakthrough in negotiations. The other party, Degel HaTorah, has been threatening to leave the government since last week. 'Basically, they don't really care about the war and the economic situation of the state and anything else but their communal interest. And the focus of this communal interest is getting the exemption from serving in the army," said Shuki Friedman, an expert on religion and state affairs and vice president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank. Friedman and other experts say the current system is unsustainable. With its high birthrate, the ultra-Orthodox are the fastest-growing segment of Israel's population, at about 4% annually. Each year, roughly 13,000 ultra-Orthodox men reach the conscription age of 18, but less than 10% enlist, according to parliament's State Control Committee, which held a hearing examining the issue. The shock of the Oct. 7 attack appeared to ignite some enthusiasm among the ultra-Orthodox to serve, but no large enlistment materialized. The army has repeatedly declined to comment on the ultra-Orthodox enlistment rate. What happens if parliament is dissolved? If the dissolution vote passes, it still faces a series of bureaucratic steps, including additional votes, that the government would likely drag on for weeks or months, said Gayil Talshir, a political science professor at Hebrew University. 'It will be like a gun that's been put into position, but that doesn't mean the coalition is over,' she said. Elections in Israel are currently scheduled for the fall of 2026. Both Talshir and Friedman believe it's unlikely the dissolution vote will pass Wednesday. If one ultra-Orthodox party is absent, the vote will not pass and another cannot be brought for six months, Talshir said. However, there's also a 'valid possibility' the rabbis who advise the ultra-Orthodox parties will say they've waited long enough for a draft exemption law, because they are facing enormous pressure from their communities, Friedman said. The army has issued thousands of draft notices to the ultra-Orthodox community, and those who refuse to serve can face arrest. While only around a dozen have been arrested after being stopped for trying to leave the country or for traffic violations, the fear this has inspired is significant, he added. What impact does this have on the war in Gaza and the hostage crisis? Netanyahu frequently cites the ongoing war as a reason why Israel needs to provide a united front against its enemies. While the ultra-Orthodox parties remain part of the coalition, they want the war to end as quickly as possible, Talshir said. 'The Haredim think once the war is over, the pressure will be off them and they will be able to get their (military) exemption law,' she said.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘No Kings' rallies set for Saturday in Bluffton
BLUFFTON, S.C. (WSAV) – Activists across the country are planning to make their voices heard again this weekend. 'No Kings' rallies are set to take place in nearly 1,400 cities including at least four in the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry. Their message, push back against what organizers call an abuse of power by the Trump administration. 'It's not a hate filled event, it's to make our voice heard,' Rita Conrad of Lowcountry Indivisible said. The advocacy group Lowcountry Indivisible has planned the 'No Kings' event in Bluffton Saturday. 'America fought a battle many, many, many years ago to end King rule in the country. It seems like almost every day there's something that the Trump administration is doing that is kingly,' Conrad said. 'And he's not a king. He is the President. An American President is obligated to follow the Constitution and the rule of law.' Since Trump took office there have been a variety of rallies in several Lowcountry towns and cities. Conrad said several hundred people have joined on with 'indivisible' to make their voices heard. 'We're concerned that he's not responding to rulings from the Supreme Court,' Conrad said. 'He's taking actions, and I don't think anybody believes that the American system is perfect. Even the immigration system, we need to make changes to improve it. And yes, deporting people who have committed crimes, you know, and are here illegally, I don't have a big problem with that. But it's the way they're being rounded up and without due process of law. And I just think that that's not what we are as a country, there are ways to make changes that aren't cruel and don't ruin people's lives.' While the California protests ended with national guard troops called in and some violence, that is not the goal of this rally according to Conrad. Families, kids and dogs are welcome. They have also added a food drive as well to help the people affected by cuts that came or are coming from Washington. 'Cutting health care and food stamps or SNAP benefits to a lot of people who really need help,' Conrad said. 'And the beneficiaries will be people who don't need help. And to me, it's sort of Trump's way of saying let them eat cake. So, our response is, no, not cake. We'll provide some solid food for people who need it.' The Bluffton demonstration will be in front of Beaufort County government building starting at 4 p.m. Saturday. Beaufort and Hilton Head will also be holding rallies on Saturday at noon. The Savannah event begins at 11 a.m. at Thomas Square Park. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
