Sephardic Rabbis Bar Friday Haircuts Before Rosh Chodesh Iyar as Ashkenazic Texts Permit

The directive tells Sephardic communities to keep the Sefirah grooming restriction despite a widely cited leniency tied to Shabbos plus Rosh Chodesh.

Overview

Sephardic rabbonim Rav Leeor Dahan and Rav Meir Gavriel Elbaz issued a public notice instructing Sephardic Jews not to shave or take haircuts on the Friday that coincides with Rosh Chodesh Iyar.
Many poskim, cited in halacha summaries, permit a Friday haircut in this case based on Mishnah Berurah 493:5, which treats grooming as kavod for both Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh and limits the leniency to haircuts and shaving.
The Sephardic ruling cites the Mechaber in Shulchan Aruch and Yalkut Yosef to maintain the customary Sefirah restriction and to reject applying the Ashkenazic leniency within Sephardic practice.
Communities are being told to follow their local rabbinic leadership, with practical planning that may include taking a haircut on Thursday, and some authorities extend permission to Thursday night if Friday is not feasible.
This year Rosh Chodesh Iyar falls on Friday and Shabbos, which revives a debate shaped by the Sefirah mourning custom and a separate tradition from Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid to avoid haircuts on any Rosh Chodesh.