On Jan. 13 New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement which requires Betar US to “immediately cease instigating or encouraging violence against individuals, threatening protesters, and harassing individuals exercising their civil rights.” There is also a suspended $50,000 fine, which will be enforced if any terms of the settlement are violated. An investigation by the attorney general’s office found that the organization engaged in “bias-motivated assaults, threats, and harassment targeting Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers.” Betar US is reportedly dissolving its not-for-profit corporation and “winding down” its operations in New York.
Betar, which even the ADL describes as a “Hate Group”, gave a “Deportation List” to the Trump administration naming individuals it believes are in the U.S. on visas and have participated in the 2024 anti-genocide protests, claiming that these individuals “terrorize America.” In 2024 Betar extended the threat of deportation beyond people with visas to people with Green Cards and even to naturalized citizens posting on X, “Expect naturalized citizens to start being picked up within the month.” Betar US claimed credit for the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, the graduate student at Columbia, who was known for his role as a negotiator and spokesman in the 2024 Gaza Solidarity Encampment on campus.
Ross Glick had been the Executive Director of Betar US until he resigned in scandal in February 2025. According to the New York investigation, under Glick’s leadership, Betar was accused of “multiple incidents of physical intimidation and assault” when individuals affiliated with Betar approached people “perceived to be Muslim or supportive of Palestinian causes” and “attempted to force ‘beepers’ onto them,” which was assumed to reference Israel’s deadly “Beeper Attack” in September 2024 in Lebanon, which killed at least a dozen people and injured thousands. Glick has also been arrested by New York City police for “revenge porn,” according to 2019 reports.
