Far-right Jewish-American group Betar to wind down operations after investigation Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 01/13/2026 - 22:01 State attorney general Letitia James found evidence that Betar USA incited violence and physically harmed pro-Palestinian Muslims, Arabs and Jews New York attorney general Letitia James during a press conference in New York City, on 21 October 2025 (Michael M Santiago/AFP) Off The far-right Jewish-American group Betar USA, which has been providing names of pro-Palestinian activists to the Trump administration, will cease operations in New York state after an investigation by the state’s attorney general. The investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) Letitia James found that the group - a US affiliate of the international organisation Betar - repeatedly targeted individuals based on their faith and ethnic origin, specifically Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers. “New York will not tolerate organizations that use fear, violence, and intimidation to silence free expression or target people because of who they are,” James said in a statement posted to the OAG's website. “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.” Since beginning its investigation in March, the OAG has found evidence of Betar committing multiple incidents of physical intimidation and assault. Betar-affiliated individuals repeatedly targeted people who appeared to be Muslim or pro-Palestinian and tried to force “beepers” onto them, an act intended to terrorise those targeted, as it referenced an Israeli operation in Lebanon that killed people using exploding pagers. The OAG found that members of the group repeatedly threatened academics with ongoing harassment and threatened at least one individual that group members would go to their home. The OAG investigation also found that Betar USA promoted and encouraged violence, urging members to bring weapons to protests, including knives, pepper spray, and attack dogs. The OAG said that Betar “boasted” that protesters had been beaten and said the group celebrated one incident online, where a member of Betar’s national leadership physically struck a woman wearing a keffiyeh, sharing video footage of the incident with its followers. Betar agreed to a settlement where "Under the agreement announced today, Betar is permanently barred from instigating or encouraging violence, physically assaulting or threatening individuals, harassing protesters, or damaging others’ property based on protected characteristics." It also agreed to a suspended $50,000 penalty that will be enforced if it violates the agreement. It will also dissolve its not-for-profit corporation and has said it will wind down operations in New York. Court documents show that Betar failed to register as a New York charity with the OAG, but it was actively soliciting donations in New York through its website and social media. Who is Betar? Betar USA was formed originally in 1929 and describes itself as "loud, proud, aggressive and unapologetically Zionist”, targeting both pro-Palestine activists and the mainstream Jewish-American establishment. "We aren’t the nice, polite Jews, we are the loud, proud Zionists. We are online and offline and we are direct, clear and proud Betarim," the website reads. Betar: Who is the far-right Jewish-American group calling for 'blood in Gaza?' Read More » Though there are reports that the group maintained some activity in New York City and Cleveland, Ohio, it is unclear to what extent the group was active, given that it was off the radar for several decades. According to several reports, the US chapter of Betar was revived in June 2023 by Israeli-American entrepreneur Ronn Torossian, a donor to the Trump campaign , and pro-Israel Congressman Ritchie Torres. It became a US tax-exempt nonprofit in July 2024 . According to its website, it currently has chapters in New Orleans, Dallas, New York, and Washington, DC, but Betar's current membership numbers are unclear. Outside of the GoFundMe link on their website, Middle East Eye has not been able to ascertain how the group finances itself. Betar USA has trolled pro-Palestine activists and advocates, including Jewish Americans, vandalised property , and has openly called for vigilante-type actions against student protesters as well as for the destruction of Gaza. Betar USA is part of a larger organisation that began more than 100 years ago and is partially responsible for shaping the far-right movement in Israel. The group was formed by the right-wing Zionist ideologue Ze'ev Jabotinsky during a visit to Latvia in 1923. Though it's commonly referred to as Betar, the group's formal name is Brit Yosef Trumpeldor, after a Jewish settler who was killed in a firefight with Palestinians in 1920 at a settlement called Tel Hai in northern Palestine. The word "Betar" means "fortress" in Hebrew, but is more significantly an amalgamation of the letters of the group's formal name. On its website , Betar USA says the group "were active instigators of disturbances and violence, frequently bombing Arab civilian areas in response to attacks and waging guerrilla warfare against the British". Betar later integrated into the Zionist militia group, the Irgun, which became part of the Israeli army when the state of Israel was formed in 1948, in what Palestinians call the Nakba, the catastrophe. Whereas so-called left-wing Zionists officially opposed Betar, often referring to the group as "fascist", Israel has had several heads of state who emerged out of Betar, including Menachem Begin. US Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0