New York Attorney General Letitia James is demanding the end to an “extremist” Pro-Israel group’s harassment of Muslims and Muslim community supporters, including Jewish people, after her office found evidence of repeated targeted violence.
James said a months-long investigation found Betar US, which is based in Katonah, liable for targeted violent rhetoric and actions toward Muslim, Arab, Palestinian and Jewish people who supported Palestine during protests in 2025.
According to its website, Betar US describes itself as a “Zionist activist movement” that was founded in 1923 by Vladimir Jabotinsky, the founder of the militant Zionist Revisionism movement.
After the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel and Gaza, Betar US was re-established to “recruit, develop, and empower proud Jews to become bold leaders and defenders of Zion” through provocative tactics on campuses, websites and in cities across America.
“We are not quiet. We are not polite,” the group stated on its website.
Group used intimidation tactics against pro-Palestinian supporters
James said the investigation by the Office of the Attorney General found that Betar US publicly encouraged supporters to attend and disrupt pro-Palestine protests in New York.
Members of the group allegedly repeatedly approached people who appeared to be Muslim or pro-Palestine and attempted to force “beepers” onto them, which was intended to mimic an attack in Iran during which similar communication devices exploded, triggered by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
These forcible acts were also carried out on college campuses against students wearing hijabs or keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves, along with verbal harassment, the Office found. In one case, the OAG found that Betar US members threatened professors and other academics, even threatening to show up at their homes.
According to James, Betar US encouraged members to bring knives, pepper spray and attack dogs to protests. At a Brooklyn protest in February 2025, followers incited violence and one person was stabbed. The group then boasted that protesters had been beaten and celebrated the injuries privately. Another instance of violence against a woman in a keffiyeh was circulated in video footage and celebrated on social media.
Betar US leadership was found to be using slurs and demeaning language against Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and even Jewish people who supported Palestinian causes. James said they referred to keffiyehs as “rape rags,” and claimed that Muslims “hate America.”
Group leaders also were found publicly circulating content celebrating violence against Palestinians, including posts mocking the thousands of civilian deaths and calling for more violence. James said one post said that the number of babies who died in Gaza was “not enough,” writing “we demand blood in Gaza.”
Members also repeatedly threatened protesters with deportation and reports to immigration enforcement, claiming that the group used facial recognition software to compile deportation lists for the federal government, according to James. The group later admitted the claims were untrue.
Betar US also threatened to place Jewish activists that didn’t align with their views on “no fly” lists to be shared with foreign authorities, which James said was to “intimidate them into silence.”
Investigation revealed ‘alarming and illegal pattern’
“New York will not tolerate organizations that use fear, violence, and intimidation to silence free expression or target people because of who they are,” said James. “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. This behavior is unacceptable, and it is not who we are as New Yorkers.”
The settlement brought forth by the Office of the Attorney General permanently barred Betar US from “instigating or encouraging violence against individuals” and threatening protesters, saying the conduct has “consistently violated New York’s civil rights laws.”
In response to the settlement, Betar US posted to Instagram Tuesday saying “New York declared war against the Jews” and confirmed they would be ceasing operations in New York.
“Opposing masked terrorists is a crime in NY and you will be prosecuted. Zionism and the IDF are criminals according to NY,” Betar US said in the post Tuesday. “Betar US has disbanded in NY and is a Delaware non-profit. Betar US is headquartered in Israel and urges all Zionists to come home to Israel!”
Betar US did not immediately respond to the The Journal News/lohud’s request for comment for this story.
The group faces a $50,000 penalty that will be enforced if they violate the agreement. If the group continues to operate in the state, they must submit annual compliance reports to the Office of the Attorney General for three years, or else they will face additional legal action.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY AG says Katonah-based group targeted Muslims, Palestine supporters
Reporting by Alexandra Rivera, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
