Far-right Zionist group Betar U.S. will shut down its New York operations after an investigation found it had intimidated pro-Palestinian activists, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office said Tuesday after settling.
After President Donald Trump took office last year and signed executive orders targeting pro-Palestinian protesters and activists, Betar said it provided names of international students and faculty to the Trump administration for deportation. Trump's deportation attempts have faced legal setbacks.
After investigating Betar, the New York attorney general's office found the group "repeatedly targeted individuals based on religion and national origin," it said in a statement.
Betar has been labeled an extremist group by the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy organization.
"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," James' office said.
It added that Betar was seeking to dissolve its not-for-profit corporation and had indicated that it was winding down operations in New York.
In a statement, Betar denied wrongdoing and said it aimed to quash antisemitism. Betar calls itself a part of a militant Zionist group, which was founded a century ago in Europe. Its website says it was "reborn in the summer of 2024" and is headquartered in Israel.
Protests erupted at campuses in the U.S. after Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza following the Oct 2023 Hamas incursion on Israel, a key U.S. ally. Trump attempted to deport foreign protesters, alleging they were antisemitic and sympathetic to extremism.
Rights advocates raised free speech and due process concerns. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say their criticism of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and support for Palestinian rights should not be equated with antisemitism and support for extremism.
Israel's genocidal war on Gaza since late 2023 has over 71,000 people, caused a hunger crisis, and internally displaced Gaza's entire population. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a U.N. inquiry say it amounts to genocide.
