AG’s Office Settles with Zionist Group Labeled ‘Extremist’

The OAG found that Betar, a New York-based organization, was labeled an “extremist group” by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for its “embrace of Islamophobia and harass[ment] of Muslims.” The investigation in March 2025 uncovered evidence of Betar’s 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. 

The settlement requires Betar to immediately cease instigating or encouraging violence against individuals, threatening protesters, and harassing individuals exercising their civil rights, and subjects the organization to a suspended $50,000 penalty that will be enforced if Betar violates the agreement. Betar is seeking to dissolve its not-for-profit corporation and has indicated to OAG that it is winding down operations in New York. 

Despite soliciting donations in New York through its website and social media, Betar has never registered with OAG’s Charities Bureau.   

According to its website, Betar was founded in 1923 by Zionist visionary Ze’ev Jabotinsky. It is dedicated to empowering Jews to embrace their identity, defend their heritage, and build a thriving future for the Jewish people.

Rooted in the principles of liberty, Zionism, and unwavering commitment to the land of Israel, Betar inspires its members to stand strong against antisemitism and advocate boldly for Zionism. Among its members were Israeli Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, and Benzion Netanyahu, who served as Jabotinsky’s long-term chief of staff and is the father of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The investigation found that Betar publicly circulated content celebrating violence against Palestinians, including social media posts mocking civilian deaths, declaring hatred toward Gazans, and calling for further bloodshed, according to the OAG. In one instance, the group posted that the number of babies who had died in Gaza was “not enough,” writing, “we demand blood in Gaza.”   

The investigation also determined that Betar targeted Jewish individuals who expressed views that the group opposed. Betar threatened to place Jewish activists on lists to be shared with foreign authorities in an effort to bar them from travel and intimidate them into silence. In private communications, Betar leadership wrote, “of course we place Jews on lists,” and confirmed that the group targeted Jewish New Yorkers they deemed insufficiently aligned with Betar’s extremist ideology.  

Betar also used its public platform to threaten individuals with deportation and attempt to suppress protected speech. The organization repeatedly threatened to report protesters to immigration enforcement officials and publicly claimed that it used facial recognition software to compile deportation lists for the federal government. Even though Betar later disavowed these claims, OAG found that this conduct was designed to intimidate protesters and unlawfully chill the exercise of First Amendment rights.

The OAG uncovered evidence showing multiple incidents of physical intimidation and assault. In early 2025, Betar-affiliated individuals repeatedly approached people perceived to be Muslim or supportive of Palestinian causes and attempted to force “beepers” onto them, an act intended to threaten and terrorize, referencing a recent overseas operation involving explosive pagers. 

At one New York City university, a Betar member repeatedly harassed students wearing hijabs or keffiyehs, following them and demanding they accept a beeper despite their visible distress. In another incident, a Betar member followed a Jewish academic on a public street, forcibly shoved a beeper into his pocket against his will, and verbally abused him. The OAG found that Betar members repeatedly threatened academics with ongoing harassment and explicitly warned at least one individual that Betar followers would come to their home.   

The OAG investigation also found that Betar promoted and encouraged violence, even urging its members to bring weapons to protests, including knives, pepper spray, and attack dogs. Ahead of a February 18, 2025 protest in Brooklyn, Betar called on supporters to “fight back” against what it labeled “terrorists” and urged followers to bring pit bulls. Violence erupted at that protest, during which at least one person was stabbed. 

Betar subsequently boasted online that protesters had been beaten, and privately celebrated injuries inflicted during the event. After a member of Betar’s national leadership physically struck a woman wearing a keffiyeh, the group celebrated the incident online, sharing video footage on its social media.