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Defund Israel Now

Website:

defundisraelnow.com
Type:

Pro-Palestinian Activist Group
Formation:

2023

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Defund Israel Now is a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activist group that primarily operated through its X (formerly Twitter) account before it was suspended for making anti-Semitic posts in February 2024. 1 2It claims that Israel is a “racist colonial ethnostate based on Jewish supremacy,” and that the United States funds “genocide in Gaza.” 3 Left-of-center groups have denounced Defund Israel Now for its anti-Semitism. 4 5

History

Defund Israel Now created its X/Twitter account in November 2023 and quickly amassed 36,000 followers. 6 Its posts became increasingly anti-Semitic, leading to its expulsion and deletion from the platform in February 2024. 7 Despite the account’s widespread attention in the partisan press and social media, the person or people behind the account do not appear to be involved with leadership in, or organization of, pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Its presence has remained exclusively online, and it is not clear whether it is an official organization or an individual person. 8

Statements and Initiatives

Defund Israel Now lists several initiatives on its website, each relating to its support cor the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against the state of Israel. Under its boycott campaign, Defund Israel Now encourages people not to do business with companies that support Israel, including Disney, Starbucks, and Amazon. 9 It also calls for city councils and local governments to divest from organizations that fund Israel, such as Hyundai and Chevron. 10 Defund Israel Now cites Hayward, California’s divestment efforts as a victory after the county divested over $1.6 million from Israel. 11 The site urges all executives to sanction pro-Israel companies, and all college students to demand that their university sever diplomatic ties with Israel and pro-Israel groups. 12

Defund Israel Now also calls on people to speak out against Israel and its “genocidal regime” by word-of-mouth, by contacting local and state representatives, and by voting against politicians who receive campaign donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). 13

Twitter/X Account Controversy

Defund Israel Now established a reputation on X/Twitter for posts that were pro-Palestine as well as anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic. 14 Following the discovery of tunnels under a New York synagogue, Defund Israel Now alleged that Jews “come together and mass censor you or get you fired for reporting” misconduct by other Jews. 15

In January 2024, Defund Israel Now multiple posts glorifying Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. 16 Defund Israel Now added the caption, “Hitler speech with English subtitles, everything he said still rings true today.” 17 This garnered immense scrutiny from media outlets such as Vice, which denounced Defund Israel Now as anti-Semitic. 18

Defund Israel Now’s X presence also created controversy for the social media platform, which had recently given Defund Israel Now a gold check mark next to its X account name. 19 The golden check mark denotes that X registered Defund Israel Now as an official, verified organization. 20 In order to maintain the check mark, the account must pay X $1,000 per month. 21 Media outlets have claimed that X had capitalized on the Israel-Hamas war to increase revenue by legitimizing radical accounts, like Defund Israel Now. 22 23

References

  1. About Us. Defund Israel. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://defundisraelnow.com/
  2. Shayan Sardarizadeh. X. February 10, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://x.com/Shayan86/status/ 1756365205989208375?lang=en
  3. About Us. Defund Israel. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://defundisraelnow.com/
  4. Pearson, Jordan. “An ‘Official Organization’ on X Is Just Openly Glorifying Hitler Now.” Vice. January 25, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjyxq/an-official-organization-on-x-is-just-openly- glorifying-hitler-now
  5. Fox, Mira. “On X, Jewish tunnel conspiracies reveal antisemitic pages masquerading as pro-Palestinian advocacy groups.” Forward. January 10, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://forward.com/culture/575826/antisemitic- conspiracy-groups-pro-palestinian-fake-twitter/
  6. Auslender, Viki. “Tech giants cash in on soaring conspiracy theory craze.” CTech. January 31, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/q5mj428xl
  7. Shayan Sardarizadeh. X. February 10, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://x.com/Shayan86/status/ 1756365205989208375?lang=en
  8.  Pearson, Jordan. “An ‘Official Organization’ on X Is Just Openly Glorifying Hitler Now.” Vice. January 25, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjyxq/an-official-organization-on-x-is-just-openly- glorifying-hitler-now
  9. About Us. Defund Israel. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://defundisraelnow.com/
  10. About Us. Defund Israel. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://defundisraelnow.com/
  11. About Us. Defund Israel. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://defundisraelnow.com/
  12. About Us. Defund Israel. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://defundisraelnow.com/
  13. About Us. Defund Israel. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://defundisraelnow.com/
  14. Pearson, Jordan. “An ‘Official Organization’ on X Is Just Openly Glorifying Hitler Now.” Vice. January 25, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjyxq/an-official-organization-on-x-is-just-openly- glorifying-hitler-now
  15. Fox, Mira. “On X, Jewish tunnel conspiracies reveal antisemitic pages masquerading as pro-Palestinian advocacy groups.” Forward. January 10, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://forward.com/culture/575826/antisemitic- conspiracy-groups-pro-palestinian-fake-twitter/
  16. Thalen, Mikael. “Why did X give an ‘official organization’ gold checkmark to a pro-Hitler account?” Daily Dot. January 24, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/elon-musks-x-gold-checkmark -pro-hitler-account/
  17.  Thalen, Mikael. “Why did X give an ‘official organization’ gold checkmark to a pro-Hitler account?” Daily Dot. January 24, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/elon-musks-x-gold-checkmark -pro-hitler-account/
  18. Pearson, Jordan. “An ‘Official Organization’ on X Is Just Openly Glorifying Hitler Now.” Vice. January 25, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjyxq/an-official-organization-on-x-is-just-openly- glorifying-hitler-now
  19. Thalen, Mikael. “Why did X give an ‘official organization’ gold checkmark to a pro-Hitler account?” Daily Dot. January 24, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/elon-musks-x-gold-checkmark -pro-hitler-account/
  20. Thalen, Mikael. “Why did X give an ‘official organization’ gold checkmark to a pro-Hitler account?” Daily Dot. January 24, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/elon-musks-x-gold-checkmark -pro-hitler-account/
  21. Auslender, Viki. “Tech giants cash in on soaring conspiracy theory craze.” CTech. January 31, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/q5mj428xl
  22. Auslender, Viki. “Tech giants cash in on soaring conspiracy theory craze.” CTech. January 31, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/q5mj428xl
  23. Fox, Mira. “On X, Jewish tunnel conspiracies reveal antisemitic pages masquerading as pro-Palestinian advocacy groups.” Forward. January 10, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://forward.com/culture/575826/antisemitic- conspiracy-groups-pro-palestinian-fake-twitter/
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