The extremist pro-Israel group Betar will dissolve its operations in New York following a settlement reached with the state attorney general’s office, which determined it engaged in “widespread persecution of Muslim, Arab, Palestinian and Jewish New Yorkers” and critics of the Israeli government.
State Attorney General Letitia James, whose office began an expansive investigation into the Tel Aviv-headquartered group’s stateside operations last March, said Betar has agreed to halt a campaign of harassment and instigating violence against people unaligned with its ideologies in violation of New York’s civil rights laws, “particularly in connection with protests related to Israel and Palestine.”
James said the group’s disbandment was not required, but that Betar, a not-for-profit incorporated in Westchester County, was nevertheless seeking to formally dissolve its New York operations.
“My office’s investigation uncovered an alarming and illegal pattern of bias-motivated harassment and violence designed to terrorize communities and shut down lawful protest,” James said in a statement.
Mayor Mamdani commended the outcome in a social media post, saying Betar had “sowed a campaign of hatred across New York, trafficking in Islamophobic extremism and harassing those with whom they disagreed.”
Betar, some of whose members were found to have engaged in assault and physical intimidation, solicited donations from New Yorkers on its website without ever registering with the attorney general’s charities bureau, according to James’ office. The Anti-Defamation League, known for its staunch pro-Israel stance, has criticized Betar as an extremist group that embraces “Islamophobia and harass[ment] of Muslims.”
While seeking money in some communications to its members, Betar encouraged violence in others, the attorney general found. Last February, before a protest planned against Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, Betar urged supporters to attend, “fight back,” and bring knives and pit bulls, the AG’s office detailed, adding that at least one person was stabbed.
In both public and private comments, the investigation found, Betar members spoke in a dehumanizing way about Palestinians killed in the yearslong conflict with Israel, in one post saying the number of Gazan babies killed was “not enough.”
The investigation found that Betar issued threats to Americans critical of the Israeli government, repeatedly targeted academics, and claimed it had facial recognition software it was using to create deportation lists to share with federal immigration authorities.
Jewish New Yorkers who criticized Israel were threatened with being added to lists that Betar would share with “foreign authorities in an effort to bar them from travel and intimidate them into silence,” according to the attorney general’s Tuesday announcement.
As part of the settlement, Betar also agreed to a suspended $50,000 penalty that it must pay if it violates the terms of the agreement.
In an ongoing federal lawsuit in Manhattan brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Palestinian Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, the Trump administration has been accused of coordinating with Betar and other hard-line pro-Israel groups in targeting for deportation Khalil and other international students critical of Israel. Khalil was controversially arrested last march in Morningside Heights by immigration agents seeking to deport him.
The Daily News reached out to Betar for comment. In a statement on X, it denied allegations of wrongdoing and said its decision to dissolve in New York was voluntary.
“Betar US is organized in Delaware and headquartered in Israel,” the statement read in part. “We urge Zionists to evacuate NYC. Come home to Israel.”