Betar US is a pro-Israel, Zionist activist group based in New York. It is the United States chapter of an international right-of-center Zionist movement founded by Vladimir “Ze’ev” Jabotinsky that was founded in 1923 in Europe. The group organizes pro-Israel protests and demonstrations and opposes pro-Palestinian activist groups in the United States, especially anti-Israel college campus activist groups. ^{1 2}

A central motto for Betar US is #JewsFightBack, expressing Betar US’s support for a strong Jewish state in the Middle East. ³ Although Betar US has declined in influence since its founding, its Zionist activism was reignited following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel. Betar US has supported President Donald Trump’s executive orders demanding the deportation of pro-terrorist activists on college campuses. ^{4 1}

History

Betar, or the Betar Movement, was founded by Vladimir “Ze’ev” Jabotinsky in 1923 as a revisionist Jewish youth movement across Europe. The movement opened chapters in other countries, including Betar US, which was established in the United States in 1929. “Betar,” meaning “fortress” in Hebrew, was intended to indicate the militant nature of the Betar Movement as a response to anti-Semitism in Europe, Arab control of the Middle East, and eventually the Nazi crimes against the Jewish people during World War II. ²

In the 1940s, the Betar Movement joined forces with Irgun, a Jewish paramilitary group, to revolt against the British Mandate that controlled what is today Israel and the disputed Palestinian territories. ⁵ Both the broader Betar Movement and Betar US were allegedly tied to the far-right, and scholars have described Betar as a “Jewish fascist” group. ⁶

Following the Holocaust, European Betar membership declined as entire chapters were decimated. ⁷ In 1975, members of Betar US alongside its leader, Barry Liben, occupied a room inside the United Nations headquarters in New York in response to the mistreatment of Jewish citizens by the Soviet Union. The protestors left peacefully after their demonstration. ⁸

Betar US has remained active in Zionist activism, although its membership has declined since the 1970s. The group had a resurgence following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel. Since then, Betar US called for the deportation of pro-Hamas protesters across the United States. ^{7 4}

Activities

Betar US provides educational materials and organizes protests in support of Israel. Betar US also maintains a graffiti and vandalism clean-up initiative to clean neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic graffiti off streets and infrastructure across the United States. ⁹

Betar US organizes support for official Israeli government events within the United States. The group seeks to secure strong turnout and security for Israeli government events in American cities, providing support to prevent cancellations and counter threats from organized opposition. Betar US also seeks to protect Jews in America who face revelation of their personal details, providing them with public support, connecting them with legal counsel, and writing public letters of defense for targets of “doxxing.” Betar US also attempts to raise public awareness of anti-Semitism through press, campus advocacy, and social media. ⁹

Controversies

Occupation of United Nations Building

In 1975, 15 members of Betar US locked themselves in the Meditation Room of the United Nations headquarters in New York. Betar US members organized in an effort to force the United Nations to take action on behalf of Soviet Jews, particularly Mikhail Shtern, a physician convicted by the Soviet government of bribery. Barry Liben, then the president of Betar US, said the demonstrators would not leave until the United Nations “agrees to intercede on behalf of Dr. Mikhail Shtern, a Soviet Jewish prisoner ‐ of ‐ conscience, who now faces eight years in Siberia, after being accused on trumpedup [sic.] charges.” The demonstrators left peacefully after being promised that they would be allowed a meeting with a representative of the United Nations Human Rights Division. ⁸

New York University Vandalism Allegations

In October 2024, New York University (NYU) accused Betar US of making “threatening social media posts” and engaging in “acts of violence and vandalism” against the university’s chapters of Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Betar US allegedly spray-painted the phrase “Betar was here” outside a university building, an allegation the group denied. NYU’s FJP and SJP chapters also alleged that Betar US encouraged violence against a campus protest on October 8, 2024. ^{10 11}

In response to the allegations, Betar US and the global Betar Movement sent a letter to NYU President Linda Mills, expressing outrage at NYU’s actions against Jewish students. World Betar Movement CEO Yagal Brand called on NYU to expel SJP and other organizations that he said “condone and support Hezbollah and Hamas terror organizations.” He further stated that “SJP has shown through its actions that it supports terror and violence against Jewish students,” and echoed Columbia University professor Shai Davidai’s labeling of SJP as a “modern-day Hitler Youth.” Brand concluded the letter with a warning to Mills, claiming “your [Mills’] decision to not take action to protect the health and safety of Jewish students will lead to violence. You will be held responsible.” ¹⁰

Deportation Activism

Following his inauguration in 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that demanded “the removal of resident aliens who violate our laws” and called on the U.S. Department of Justice to “protect law and order, quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities.” Betar US offered the Trump administration support in identifying individuals who qualify for deportation under the executive order. Betar US even encouraged its members to attend a pro-Palestinian vigil in New York City on January 29, 2025 to “assist [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] in deportation efforts,” promising to “document all attendees” to submit to the Trump administration. Betar US called the vigil a “Jihad rally.” ^{4 12}

Pro-Palestinian advocacy groups have defended protesters and opposed President Trump’s executive orders. For example, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) executive director Jonah Rubin claimed the policies have nothing to do with “Jewish safety” but are rather an attempt to silence pro-Palestinian activists. ⁴

Pager Joke and Meta Ban

In 2024, then-Betar US executive director Ross Glick made what he called a joke which suggested handing out “beepers” to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) members at the University of Pittsburgh. This comment was a reference to a string of explosion attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon suspected to have been committed by Israeli operatives that killed 32 people during which pagers were used as detonating devices. Glick was later filmed discussing the joke with U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA). During the video, Sen. Fetterman expressed his support for the joke, claiming he “[loved] it.” ^{13 14}

Several pro-Palestinian organizations condemned the joke, Sen. Fetterman, and Betar US, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Philadelphia chapter. CAIR Philadelphia shared on Instagram that it expected an apology from Sen. Fetterman and that it condemned both Glick and the work of Betar US which was banned by Meta for its threats against the University of Pittsburgh students. ¹³

In February 2025, Betar US shared through an X post that it had parted ways with Ross Glick as its executive director. The post thanked Glick for his three months of work. ¹⁵

Leadership

Ross Glick was the executive director of Betar US until February 2025 when he left the organization. It is unclear why Glick left Betar US. The X post announcing the end of Glick’s tenure at Betar US indicated that the group is still searching for his replacement as executive director. ¹⁵

In January 2025, an X post by anti-Israel activist Max Blumenthal accused then-Betar US executive director Ross Glick of being the same man referenced in a 2019 revenge-porn incident in New York. ¹⁶ In that incident, Glick was charged with unlawful use of a computer and unlawfully posting lewd images of his ex-girlfriend. He ended up pleading guilty to second-degree harassment, a violation, and paid a fine. ^{17 18}

Finances

According to ProPublica, Betar US only received its tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2024. It has not yet reported its finances through federal nonprofit tax return. ¹⁹ As of February 2025, Betar US was organizing a campaign to raise $500,000 to engage in Zionist activism in light of the Israel-Hamas war. ²⁰

1. Lapin, Andrew. “A century-old Zionist group is being rebooted — and wants Jews to ‘fight back’ on the street.” Jerusalem Post. February 12, 2025. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-841746
2. “Betar.” Taking Back the Narrative. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://tbtnisrael.com/betar/
3. “Ideology.” Betar US. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://betarus.org/about/ideology/
4. Valdez, Jonah. “The Far-Right Group Building a List of Pro-Palestine Activists to Deport.” The Intercept. February 6, 2025. Accessed February 17, 2025.  https://theintercept.com/2025/02/06/betar-palestine-school-activists-target-deport-trump/
5. “History.” Betar US. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://betarus.org/about/history/
6. Heller, Daniel Kupfert. “The rise of the Zionist right : Polish Jews and the Betar youth movement, 1922-1935.” Stanford University, Department of History. 2012. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://purl.stanford.edu/bd752jg9919
7. “Betar.” Jewish Virtual Library. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20220119001921/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/betar
8.  “MILITANT ZIONISTS OCCUPY U.N. ROOM.” New York Times. February 19, 1975. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/02/18/archives/militant-zionists-occupy-un-room.html
9. “About – What We Do.” Betar US. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://betarus.org/about/what-we-do/
10. Nachmani, Avi. “NYU accuses Betar of violence; Betar says it’s a call for attacks on Jews.” Jewish Feed. October 1,, 2024. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://www.jfeed.com/jewish-world/sl6za3
11. Liman, Gigi and Lustberg, Rory. “Zionist group accused of vandalism demands expulsion of NYU SJP.” NYU News, Washington Square News. October 16, 2024. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://nyunews.com/news/2024/10/16/betar-letter-against-mills/
12. Stubb, Zev. “US Jewish group targets anti-Israel protesters in hopes Trump will deport them.” Times of Israel. December 2, 2024. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-jewish-group-targets-anti-israel-protesters-in-hopes-trump-will-deport-them/?__cf_chl_tk=NkfWnK34Yo2nApJ.CT0jHYwFMhTEx_ao6jHeP1K0tlc-1738676253-1.0.1.1-GMmqyy7mDyZceVcJ47p08DjBYE7ofiYWC3uH6zz7gnY
13. CAIR Philly Instagram Post. Instagram. November 26, 2024. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/cairphilly/p/DC19PLHRegb/?img_index=3
14. Murphy, Matt. “What we know about the Hezbollah device explosions.” BBC. September 20, 2024. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz04m913m49o
15. Betar US X Post. X. February 2, 2025. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://x.com/Betar_USA/status/1886207919126876643
16. Max Blumenthal X Post. X. January 30, 2025. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1884978967058239989
17. Fonrouge, Gabrielle. “The disturbing story behind NYC’s revenge-porn perpetrators.” New York Post. February 25, 2019. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://nypost.com/2019/02/25/the-disturbing-story-behind-nycs-revenge-porn-perpetrators/
18. Lapin, Andrew. “A Century-Old Zionist Group Is Being Rebooted – and Wants Jews to ‘fight Back’ on the Street.” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 12, 2025. https://www.jta.org/2025/02/11/united-states/a-century-old-zionist-group-is-being-rebooted-with-a-new-motto-jews-fight-back.
19. “Betar Zionist Organization Inc.” ProPublica. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/993287943
20. “Betar Fund.” Go Fund Me. Accessed February 17, 2025. https://www.gofundme.com/f/betar-fund