{"id":515986,"date":"2026-01-14T17:31:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T17:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/515986\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T17:31:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T17:31:20","slug":"pro-israel-group-betar-to-end-new-york-operations-after-inquiry-finds-violent-conduct-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/515986\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Israel group Betar to end New York operations after inquiry finds \u2018violent conduct\u2019 | New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York<\/a>\u2019s attorney general, Letitia James<\/a>, announced a settlement on Tuesday with Betar US, a far-right pro-Israel group, after an investigation from her office that found the organization engaged in what her office described as \u201cbias-motivated assaults, threats, and harassment targeting Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers\u201d.<\/p>\n

The settlement requires Betar to \u201cimmediately cease instigating or encouraging violence against individuals, threatening protesters, and harassing individuals exercising their civil rights\u201d, and subjects the organization to a suspended $50,000 penalty that will be enforced if the group violates the terms.<\/p>\n

James\u2019s office also said that Betar was seeking to dissolve its not-for-profit corporation and had indicated that it was winding down operations in New York<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to a news release<\/a> from the James\u2019s office on Tuesday, an investigation by the office of the attorney general (OAG) determined that Betar \u2013\u00a0which has been labelled an \u201cextremist group\u201d by the Anti-Defamation League<\/a> (ADL), a Jewish advocacy group \u2013 \u201crepeatedly targeted individuals based on religion and national origin\u201d. It also uncovered evidence of what the office described as \u201cBetar\u2019s widespread persecution of Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers, driven by broad hostility and animus toward several protected groups, in violation of New York civil rights laws\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York will not tolerate organizations that use fear, violence, and intimidation to silence free expression or target people because of who they are,\u201d James said in a statement on Tuesday. \u201cMy office\u2019s investigation uncovered an alarming and illegal pattern of bias-motivated harassment and violence designed to terrorize communities and shut down lawful protest. This behavior is unacceptable, and it is not who we are as New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Guardian reported<\/a> in March that Betar had claimed to have submitted a list of \u201cthousands of names\u201d to the Trump administration of students and faculty members who they believed to be on visas and had participated in campus protests against Israel\u2019s war in Gaza, urging their deportation.<\/p>\n

That same month, Betar US drew headlines after it claimed credit for the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist and permanent US resident<\/a> who was detained by ICE for months.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a> following Tuesday\u2019s settlement announcement, Betar spokesperson Daniel Levy said that Betar \u201ccategorically denies all allegations of wrongdoing\u201d.<\/p>\n

The statement added: \u201cBETAR remains steadfast in its commitment to Zionism, the Jewish people, and the State of Israel<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group also posted statements <\/a>on social media reacting to the news of the settlement, saying that Betar US \u201cvoluntarily withdrew from operating in NY and advises all Zionist and Zionist organizations [sic] to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the news release from James\u2019s office, the OAG investigation into Betar began in March 2025, after the OAG received multiple complaints alleging that \u201cBetar and its members engaged in violent and threatening conduct directed at Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish individuals, particularly in connection with protests related to Israel and Palestine<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross Glick, who was the executive director of Betar US for several months until February of last year, told the Guardian<\/a> in March that the group\u2019s so-called \u201cdeportation list\u201d was compiled through tips and social media research. He also claimed that the group had assistance from \u201cfacial recognition AI-based technology\u201d, though he declined to provide details.<\/p>\n

James\u2019s office said that Betar later \u201cdisavowed\u201d those claims, but said that her office concluded that \u201cthis conduct was designed to intimidate protesters and unlawfully chill the exercise of First Amendment rights\u201d.<\/p>\n

The group was also found to have publicly circulated \u201ccontent celebrating violence against Palestinians, including social media posts mocking civilian deaths, declaring hatred toward Gazans, and calling for further bloodshed\u201d.<\/p>\n

The investigation also cited \u201cmultiple incidents of physical intimidation and assault\u201d. It found that in early 2025, individuals affiliated with Betar approached people \u201cperceived to be Muslim or supportive of Palestinian causes\u201d and \u201cattempted to force \u2018beepers\u2019 onto them\u201d \u2013\u00a0an apparent reference to Israel\u2019s deadly 2024 operation<\/a> against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which killed at least a dozen <\/a>people and injured thousands.<\/p>\n

Investigators also reportedly found that Betar \u201cpromoted and encouraged violence, even urging its members to bring weapons to protests, including knives, pepper spray, and attack dogs\u201d. In one incident mentioned in the news release, it states that after a member of Betar\u2019s national leadership \u201cphysically struck a woman wearing a keffiyeh, the group celebrated the incident online, sharing video footage on its social media\u201d.<\/p>\n

James\u2019s office also noted that despite soliciting donations in New York through its website and social media, \u201cBetar has never registered with OAG\u2019s Charities Bureau.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reacting to the settlement on Tuesday evening, Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, said<\/a> that Betar had, for years, \u201csowed a campaign of hatred across New York, trafficking in Islamophobic extremism and harassing those with whom they disagreed\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no place for their bigotry in our politics,\u201d he said, adding that he was \u201cgrateful\u201d to the New York attorney general for her \u201cunflagging pursuit of justice\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York\u2019s attorney general, Letitia James, announced a settlement on Tuesday with Betar US, a far-right pro-Israel group,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":515987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-515986","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115894648016056620","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}