Nerdeen Kiswani, co-founder of the radical pro-Palestinian activist group Within Our Lifetime, has filed a lawsuit against Betar USA over its purported campaign to "threaten, intimidate, and violate [her] civil rights."
The lawsuit claims that Betar USA orchestrated coordinated actions by its coconspirators to stalk, harass, and threaten Kiswani, including by handing her a beeper, an action that "recalls Israel’s use of beepers as incendiary devices [against Hezbollah]."
It also said Betar USA encouraged the public at large to assault Kiswani, including with feces, urine, and baseball bats, repeatedly offering a substantial cash “bounty” to any member of the public who assaults her.
The defendants are as follows: Ronn Torossian, a leader of Betar USA; Ross Glick, former Executive Director of Betar USA; Yoni Kletzel, Betar USA’s social media director; Jon I. Mantell, Betar USA’s CEO; and Board Members 1-10 of Betar USA.
The lawsuit claims that Betar's actions violate the Ku Klux Klan Enforcement Act of 1871.
Lawsuit claims Betar was terrorizing Kiswani
The Ku Klux Klan Enforcement Act provides a private cause of action against non-state actors when “two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire or go in disguise on the highway or on the premises of another, for the purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities under the laws.”
The lawsuit claims that Betar was terrorizing Kiswani, usually explicitly based on her Palestinian and/or Muslim identity, in order to drive her from public places. Kiswani is referred to in the suit as a "young Palestinian refugee," despite being at least 30 and having grown up in Brooklyn from age 1. She is a naturalized US citizen.
Some examples provided included how, on March 9, 2025, Betar USA’s official Twitter/X account replied to a Tweet from Kiswani stating, “You, Ms. Kiswani, are at the top of the list of naturalized citizens who will have their citizenship stripped from them.”
On January 28, 2025, Betar USA’s official Twitter/X account posted, “We are trying to give pagers to nerdeen."
On April 8, 2025, Betar USA’s official Twitter/X account posted a video of "anti-Palestinian onlookers throwing feces at Ms. Kiswani during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York City, adding the encouraging comment: “Nerdeen Kiswani had shit thrown on her today. What do we say to those throwing shit on these dangerous people?”"
On or about September 26, 2024, individuals affiliated with Betar USA allegedly accosted Kiswani and her husband on the street as they walked toward a public demonstration at Pershing Square in New York City.
Kiswani is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as a declaration that Betar violated the Ku Klux Klan Enforcement Act of 1871.
Betar told The Jerusalem Post that it categorically rejects "the baseless lawsuit."
Jonathan Levy, spokesman for Betar Worldwide, told the Post that the lawsuit is an "attack on Zionism itself and represents a serious danger to American and diaspora Jewry."
"Calling Betar a terror group akin to the KKK is the same accusations we’ve heard calling the IDF a criminal army and labeling Zionism as genocide. We see those who want to ban and erase Zionism as using court systems and all means necessary to erase Zionism."
Levy also noted that Kiswani's Within Our Lifetime leads violent rallies that feature Hamas and Hezbollah flags, slogans such as “globalize the intifada,” and protests targeting Jewish institutions, synagogues, hospitals, and Jewish neighborhoods. Hamas and Hezbollah are designated terrorist organizations under United States law.
"While Betar has no knowledge of who threw urine and feces on Ms. Nerdeen Kiswani and deny all allegations of wrongdoing we will never urge Jews to stop protecting synagogues and Zionism from those seeking our destruction," Levy said, adding that Betar US will "vigorously defend against these claims."
He also emphasized that Betar US ceased operating in New York City last year and, in January, finalized a settlement with New York State authorities in which Betar admitted no wrongdoing.
Last month, the NY Attorney General found that Betar engaged in bias-motivated harassment and threats targeting Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers.