NY investigation of Betar uncovered an alarming and illegal pattern of harassment and violence designed to terrorize communities and shut down lawful protest.
Betar, founded in 2024, says it is “mainstream Zionism, an organization without which the State of Israel would not exist.”
By Liam Stack, Reposted from The New York Times, January 13, 2026
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on January 13 a settlement with Betar U.S., an extreme pro-Israel group, after the organization agreed to stop what her office described as “widespread persecution of Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers” who disagreed with its views on the Middle East.
Ms. James’s office said the group had agreed to dissolve its New York operations, which run its activities in the United States, although that was not required as part of the settlement, which was the result of an investigation that began last March.
It is also required to file annual compliance reports for the next three years and may face a $50,000 fine if it is found to be in violation of the settlement. It was not immediately clear how the deal would impact the group’s grassroots activities or presence at street protests.
“New York will not tolerate organizations that use fear, violence, and intimidation to silence free expression or target people because of who they are,” Ms. James said in a statement. “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.”
Ms. James’s office said group members trespassed at private homes to steal and destroy Palestinian flags, threatened to report protesters to immigration enforcement officials, forced beepers onto people in reference to Israel’s 2024 operation that killed a dozen and injured thousands more in Lebanon with exploding beepers, and harassed and threatened Jewish college professors they viewed as disloyal to Israel and Judaism.
On January 12, Betar U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But shortly after the settlement was announced, it posted a series of statements on X, one of which said that it was “one of the oldest and largest Zionist movements in the world.”
“Betar is mainstream Zionism, an organization without which the State of Israel would not exist,” it said. It was later added, “Betar denies all allegations of wrongdoing.”
Betar was founded in 2024 as an offshoot of a right-wing Zionist movement founded in 1923 in Latvia by Ze’ev Jabotinsky, a Jewish militant leader in Mandate Palestine before the creation of the State of Israel. The American branch is incorporated as a nonprofit in Westchester County and solicits donations, but had never registered with the state charities bureau, Ms. James’s office said. The group says its global headquarters are in Tel Aviv.
The group, which claims to have branches in 10 countries, says online that its mission is “to empower Jews to stand strong, speak out, and defend their heritage and Israel against all threats.”
According to the attorney general, Betar has pursued its mission by repeatedly violating New York civil rights law and by engaging in “a pattern of violence and harassment driven by explicit hostility toward protected groups,” including racial and religious minorities.
Ms. James’s office said the group celebrated violence against Palestinians in Gaza, saying in public statements that “we demand blood in Gaza” and that the number of babies who had died there was “not enough.” According to private communications found during the investigation, members of the group also said violence was not a “bad thing” because “we are at war. Violence is needed.”
Betar U.S. has also clashed with other pro-Israel and Jewish groups. The Anti-Defamation League described Betar as an extremist organization last February.
In response, Betar said the A.D.L. was also “extremist” and that its designation was “not only false, but deeply antisemitic.” It also said the organization “seeks to delegitimize proud Zionist Jews who embrace Jewish strength, self-defense, and leadership.”
On Tuesday, the A.D.L. did not respond to a request for comment.
The attorney general’s office said the group encouraged its members to bring weapons, including knives, to protests at which violence erupted, including one protest last February, where a person was stabbed.
In another incident in September 2024, a member of Betar’s national leadership assaulted a female protester, which the group celebrated by posting a video of it online, Ms. James’s office said. No one was charged in connection with either incident, a spokeswoman for the attorney general said.
Liam Stack is a Times reporter who covers the culture and politics of the New York City region.
RELATED:
- Leaked Chats Show Pro-Israel Extremist Group Betar Organizing Street Confrontations
- Betar: The Far-Right Hate Group Helping Trump Deport Israel’s Critics
- Immigration Officials Used Shadowy Pro-Israel Group to Target Student Activists
- Campus Police Are Using Israeli Spy Tech to Crack Down on Student Protest
- Even Former AIPAC Democrats Are Signing On to Block Arms Sales to Israel
