New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised New York Attorney General Letitia James for ordering Betar US to cease its "campaign of violence, harassment, and intimidation against Arab, Muslim, and Jewish New Yorkers."
The AG announced the settlement with Betar, which identifies as a mainstream Zionist not-for-profit group, on Tuesday. It follows an extensive investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) into Betar's campaigning against, and "widespread persecution" of Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers.
The settlement requires Betar to immediately cease instigating or encouraging violence against individuals, threatening protesters, and harassing individuals exercising their civil rights, and subjects the organization to a suspended $50,000 penalty that will be enforced if Betar violates the agreement. According to the OAG, Betar is now seeking to dissolve its not-for-profit corporation and is winding down operations in New York.
“New York will not tolerate organizations that use fear, violence, and intimidation to silence free expression or target people because of who they are,” said Attorney General James.
Betar's behavior 'unacceptable,' AG says
“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," James added.
"This 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’ civil rights and public safety.”
The investigation into Betar began in March 2025 after the OAG receiving multiple complaints alleging that Betar engaged in threatening conduct towards individuals connected to pro-Palestinian protests.
The OAG said it uncovered numerous public and private statements by Betar leadership and members expressing anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim sentiment, including repeated use of slurs and demeaning language. This included posting on social media that it "hates Gazans" and calling keffiyeh "rape rags." The OAG also found that Betar targeted Jewish individuals who expressed views that the group opposed, and threatened to put them on lists and hand the lists to Israeli authorities.
Attorney General James considered Betar’s actions to be in violation of New York’s civil rights laws, including statutes that prohibit bias-motivated violence, harassment, and intimidation, as well as discrimination against individuals exercising their rights to protest and engage in peaceful assembly.
Betar responded by urging "all Zionists to evacuate NYC voluntarily as we did." The NYC branch of the organisation voluntarily disbanded in March 2025 and moved to Delaware.
Betar also stressed it is not "far right" and is instead "mainstream Zionism" in a similar way to the Likud.
Responding to the mayor's comments, Betar tweeted "Mamdani's FIRST target is BETAR, a 102 year old Zionist organization headquartered in the Jabotinsky building in Israel. Expect all Zionist groups who stand with the IDF to be next."
Critics allege that the settlement is one-sided
Critics of the settlement were quick to point out that it was one-sided, with no similar crackdown on groups such as Within Our Lifetime, PAL-AWDA, Palestine Youth Movement (PYM), Social Justice for Palestine (SJP), or Jewish Voices for Peace, which incite and propagate hate towards the Jewish community.
Israeli activist and academic Shai Davidai praised the ban on Betar, but called for a similar ban on WOL.
"As a Zionist activist who has been personally targeted by Betar USA and its radical founder Ronn Torossian, I can say that this is long overdue," he said. "Now it's time to do the same for WOL."
WOL co-founder Nerdeen Kiswani praised the ban, but said the suspended fine of $50,000 is not enough.
"I was one of the people Betar threatened with a beeper [explosive beeper] Both online and in person. I’ve feared for my safety since they’ve done this as they show up to every protest I’m at," she wrote on X.
Both Kiswani and her organisation are vehemently anti-Israel and pro-Hamas. Following October 7, WOL and Kiswani used Instagram to endorse the attack as “whatever means necessary it takes” to achieve Palestinian liberation and voice support for Hamas. It has also urged followers to target Jewish and Israel-linked institutions in New York City.