James\u2019s statement said the settlement requires Betar to halt encouraging violence, threats and harassment. The settlement subjected the group to a suspended $50,000 fine that it will need to pay if it does not comply with the agreement. Betar will need to file annual compliance reports for three years attesting that it has not violated the agreement.<\/p>\n
Betar was registered as a nonprofit in New York, but is seeking to dissolve its nonprofit status and told James\u2019s office that it is \u201cwinding down\u201d operations in New York, although this was not required by the settlement.<\/p>\n
The group solicited donations in New York, but did not register as a charity with James\u2019s office, the report said.<\/p>\n
\t An investigation by James\u2019s office that started in March found that Betar had encouraged violence on social media, saying, \u201cWe are at war. Violence is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n The report cited other statements, such as referring to keffiyehs as \u201crape rags\u201d and saying that Muslims \u201chate America.\u201d<\/p>\n On social media, Betar said it hated Gazans, said, \u201cWe demand blood in Gaza,\u201d and shared videos it said were members trespassing onto private property to steal Palestinian flags and burning the flags.<\/p>\n In a WhatsApp chat, Betar members said they \u201ckicked terrorist ass\u201d and got \u201cpunches in\u201d at a vitriolic protest in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn<\/a> last year, the report said.<\/p>\n The group also posted a video of what it said was a member hitting a woman at a protest, and footage of a member yelling at a person in a keffiyeh.<\/p>\n Last year, group members handed beepers to anti-Israel activists, a reference to Israel\u2019s pager attack against Hezbollah around that time, the report said.<\/p>\n Betar also feuded with other Jewish groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League<\/a>\u00a0and New York activist Shai Davidai<\/a>, whom Betar said were too conciliatory. The ADL put Betar on its database of extremist groups, the only Jewish organization on the list.<\/p>\n James\u2019s office said Betar had violated New York civil rights law by assaulting and threatening people due to their identities and by stealing and burning property.<\/p>\n \t \u201cThis behavior is unacceptable, and it is not who we are as New Yorkers. My office will continue to use every tool available to protect all New Yorkers\u2019 civil rights and public safety,\u201d James said in a statement.<\/p>\n Betar presents itself as a new incarnation of the early Revisionist Zionist militia of the same name led by Ze\u2019ev Jabotinsky.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are loud, proud, aggressive, and unapologetically Zionist \u2014 online and offline. We speak clearly. We act decisively,\u201d the group says on its website.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear what actual effect James\u2019s settlement will have, or how much of a presence Betar has had on New York\u2019s streets. The group has not released information about membership. James\u2019s settlement showed that a Betar representative agreed to the arrangement while residing in Israel and the group\u2019s account on X is based in Israel.<\/p>\n An Internal Revenue Service document<\/a> showed that Betar received nonprofit status in July 2024 and had under $50,000 in assets, but further documents were not available<\/a>.<\/p>\n Right-wing Jews showed up to counter-protest at anti-Zionist demonstrations before Betar\u2019s registration in New York in 2024, and the make-up of the counter-demonstrators has not shifted in a significant way since. The right-wing protesters are a loose network, not part of a formal group.<\/p>\n At several protests last year, around the time of Betar-related controversies, The Times of Israel was unable to locate anyone identifying as a Betar member. The group\u2019s insignia does not appear at the protests.<\/p>\n One regular pro-Israel counter-protester in New York City said on Tuesday that the group\u2019s activities were mostly confined to \u201ccontent-making\u201d on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like they have membership cards,\u201d the activist said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how she can shut down something where there\u2019s no membership.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t they go after Within Our Lifetime, who\u2019s actually creating havoc on our streets, or Pal-Awda?\u201d she added, referring to two hardline anti-Zionist groups. Activists affiliated with Within Our Lifetime have assaulted Jews<\/a> in New York and Pal-Awda deploys violent rhetoric during protests at synagogues<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tNew York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press briefing, February 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo\/Bebeto Matthews)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20250218_untitled_02016.jpg\")
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\n\t\tCounterprotesters shout at anti-Israel demonstrators in Boro Park, Brooklyn, February 18, 2025. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n
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