Rabbi Michael Barclay's Iran War Updates for May 3 and May 4

Shavuah tov, May this week bring clarity and wisdom, health and prosperity to us, Israel, the United States, and the world.

Social media, as well as traditional media sources, have been reporting all weekend that the IDF destroyed a convent in Lebanon. Except that the Israeli Foreign Ministry released photos and videos on Saturday that show that the convent is absolutely safe, undamaged, and the entire story is just more Hezbollah propaganda. The Ministry said that "in recent weeks, Hezbollah has fired toward Israel from the monastery's vicinity. IDF operations in the area were directed against Hezbollah infrastructure, while taking measures to ensure the monastery and other religious sites remain unharmed."

An Iranian proposal was sent to the U.S. through Pakistani mediators, which is being reviewed by Trump and his administration. Multiple media outlets, including Iranian news sources, report that it contains 14 points. Besides "demanding agreements" within 30 days, the proposal is reported as including clauses that guarantee ending the war; guarantee that neither the U.S. or Israel will attack Iran again; the withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from the region; the U.S. ending the naval blockade; the release of all of Iran's frozen assets; payment of compensation to Iran; lifting of all sanctions; ending fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon; and establishing a mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz, which would be entirely and unilaterally controlled by the Iranians.

President Donald Trump responded in Truth Social that: "I will soon review the plan that Iran sent us, but I cannot imagine it will be acceptable given that they still haven't paid a big enough price for what they have done to humanity and the world over the last 47 years." When asked by reporters about possibly resuming attacks on Iran, Trump said, "There is a possibility that could happen." But at the same time, he notified Congress that the war against Iran that had started on April 28 was over. He might have said this for a number of reasons, including that it prevents Congress from stepping in and trying to stop any future "war" actions, as the President is only allowed to unilaterally declare war for 60 days per the War Powers Resolution of 1973, and his statement to Congress resets the clock.

CBS is reporting that Nick Stewart is being added to the negotiation team, along with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Stewart worked at the State Department during Trump's first term, previously lobbied for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which expressed support for military action against Iran. Despite his background, it is unclear whether Stewart leans towards the position of Marco Rubio or if he supports Witkoff's ideas of how to handle Iran.

Although the military war is being fought in the Middle East, the war is also being fought domestically as well, and it is being lost in California. Here in California, the state legislature is about to vote on AB2017, proposed by Rep. Matt Haney (D-17th District), and backed by C.A.I.R. This bill, which has already been unanimously approved by both committees needed, proposes making two Islamic holidays into official California state holidays. To be clear, currently Jewish and Christian holidays, including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Good Friday, and Ash Wednesday, are not official state holidays. But the California legislature seeks to codify the Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Ahsa into the state calendar, making them school and government holidays, and making them official state celebrations. This is especially ironic given that both are related to war, and Eid al-Ahsa involves both the practice of throwing stones and animal sacrifice (over 50 million animals are slaughtered worldwide each year on this day). If you would like to know more details about these Islamic holidays and what the legislature is doing, please read this piece.

In the midst of these challenging times, we must always remember the Talmudic teaching that "Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except being in awe of Heaven.” Our job is to both choose to have faith in God and to act righteously. Acting righteously means both fighting against things like AB2017 and doing positive actions such as giving to charity.

Chazak u'Baruch

Rabbi Michael Barclay

May 3, 2026

16th of Iyyar, 5786

31st day of the Omer

The "negotiations" with Iran continue to be filled with propaganda, and it is still unclear about what is really happening; if there is actually a chance that there will be a good non-military solution; or if all of this is just a stalling tactic by Iran as they re-arm (the most likely).

Iran claimed on Sunday that the U.S. has sent a proposal in response to their 14 points, and Steve Witkoff said that the U.S. and Iran are "talking.” Al Jazeera reported specific details of Iran's proposal on Sunday, which is split into three stages.

But the Iranian news agency Fars reported that Al Jazeera was completely inaccurate. "Al Jazeera's claim regarding the details of the framework Iran proposed to the U.S. is far from the truth and relates to the American proposal from 20 days ago, which has been updated several times," it claimed. Fars went on to say that "Iran firmly rejected this proposal. Iran's 14-point proposal was submitted in response to the American nine-point initiative and does not include a 15-year enrichment suspension or the opening of the Strait of Hormuz before reaching a final agreement."

According to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, the plan focuses on "ending the war," and at this stage, "no nuclear negotiations are taking place." Baghaei also added that the plan is conditional on ending the war.

Whether Fars or Al Jazeera is accurate, it doesn't make a huge practical difference. Given that one of the absolute truths about the Islamic regime is that they play the long game (they view this as just the latest battle in a 1,400-year war), the Iranian proposal, whichever description is accurate, is dangerous on every level.

There must be some administration official whose job it is to come up with names and titles. Trump announced on Sunday, "Project Freedom,” which is to escort ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. In his announcement, Trump also said, "I am aware that my representatives are holding very positive discussions with Iran. If, in any way, they interfere with this humanitarian process, it will be necessary, unfortunately, to deal with this interference by force." CENTCOM stated that "military support for the operation will include guided missile destroyers, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms and 15,000 service members."

As could be expected, Project Freedom and the rhetoric used when announcing it prompted a quick response from Iran. Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Iran's Parliament, wrote on X that the Iranian government would consider any "American intervention" as a violation of the ceasefire (even though both the U.S. and Iran have said that there is currently no ceasefire deal in place, as it has expired). The Iranian General Staff (Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters) said, "Commercial ships and oil tankers should refrain from crossing without coordinating with us to ensure their safety. We warn that any foreign force, especially the U.S. military, will be attacked if it approaches Hormuz."

Talks between Hamas and the Gaza Peace Council have stalled out, as Hamas has made it clear that they seek to be the "Hezbollah of Gaza" (their words). Hamas continues to give a negative response on things like disarmament (one of the conditions for a ceasefire in the first place), even though their pattern is to say, "yes, with a thousand conditions." The practical implication is a violation of the agreement, and the officials claimed that the "Peace Council" will not fall for Hamas's ploy. According to the Peace Council, they must now consider what to do with the plan for Gaza's rehabilitation and return to a scenario without an agreement.

Tonight begins the Jewish holiday of Lag b'Omer, a celebration of the life and teachings of the mystic Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who died on this day almost 2,000 years ago, and is credited as being the author of the Zohar, a primary text of Jewish mysticism. Traditionally, bonfires are lit throughout Israel, and people visit this great Sage's burial site in Meron, which is the second most visited Jewish site in the world (only the Western Wall has more visitors), with over 2 million visitors annually. Born in the Galilee, he hid from Roman persecution for 13 years in a cave with his son. Because of the dangers this year, bonfires are forbidden in Israel, and access to his tomb is limited.

There is a teaching that we all can glean from Rabbi Shimon's life and death. Despite how dark it looked for him for those 13 years living hidden in a cave, he had faith that safety would come, and God's light would triumph. And he was right: the evil Roman Emperor who had caused him to go into exile died, and Rabbi Shimon and his son shared spiritual teachings they had learned, which ultimately became the Holy Zohar ("Zohar" means "radiance" or "brilliance,” and is a description of God's light). Two thousand years later, we still study his teachings about the celestial light of God and the biblical text.

We also need to remember that no matter how dark or upside down the world may seem, it will ultimately be filled with God's light.

May we all allow our spiritual lights to shine and make this world a better place, a world filled with health, prosperity, love, and peace.

Chazak u'Baruch

Rabbi Michael Barclay

May 4, 2026

17th of Iyyar, 5786

32nd day of the Omer

Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.

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