Why the US Zionist Group 'BETAR' Dissolved Despite Support From Netanyahu and Trump

New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced the dissolution of “BETAR,” an extremist Jewish organization, revealing the group’s involvement in incitement to violence against Muslims, Arabs, and even pro-Palestinian Jews.

The Attorney General’s decision to shut down BETAR halts the group’s violent activities and renders it officially illegal. 

However, it came as a settlement rather than a criminal prosecution, which the organization agreed to in order to avoid the imprisonment of its members. 

The settlement includes a permanent ban on incitement or acts of violence, as well as prohibiting assaults on individuals or their property.

What Is the Story of 'BETAR'?

The Hebrew word “BETAR” means “the fortress” and is an acronym for “Brit Yosef Trumpeldor” (or Trumpeldor Union), in honor of the Russian Zionist fighter Joseph Trumpeldor. 

He fought alongside Jewish militias in the First Palestinian War in 1920 and was killed in action.

“Israel” officially honored him in 1960 as a hero of Jewish nationalism.

BETAR is an extremist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923.

 It describes itself as “loud, proud, aggressive, and unapologetically Zionist” and functions as an educational and political organization linked to the Likud party, adopting militaristic ideologies. 

It is also the origin of the name for the Beitar Jerusalem sports club and is known for its hardline nationalist stance.

The organization has focused its activities on targeting pro-Palestinian activists and Jewish communities that do not align with its political agenda, supporting Israeli occupation. 

In the United States, it has carried out numerous aggressive actions against Muslims, Arabs, and progressive Jewish groups opposing the Gaza massacres under the slogan “Not in Our Name.”

BETAR was founded by Ze’ev Vladimir Jabotinsky, a Zionist leader born in Ukraine, who began his Zionist activism in 1903 at the Sixth Zionist Congress, inspired by the writings of early Zionist thinkers such as Herzl and Pinsker. 

Jabotinsky sought to immortalize his Zionist comrade Trumpeldor as an ideal figure who had sacrificed for Zionism, naming his organization BETAR or Trumpeldor in his honor. 

His Zionist vision was centered on creating a Hebrew state on both banks of the Jordan River.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly references Jabotinsky in his speeches, presenting him as his spiritual guide and inspiration. 

Netanyahu reportedly keeps Jabotinsky’s sword, regularly reads his works, and dedicates a day each year to commemorate him.

Eran Kaplan, chair of Israeli Studies at the University of San Francisco, argues in his research paper, “A Glimpse at the Ideology Guiding Netanyahu,” that “Israel’s” current deadly war, which has escalated into the near-eradication of Palestinians in Gaza, reflects Jabotinsky’s ideology embraced by Netanyahu.

In a report published in The Conversation on March 24, 2024, Kaplan explained that this ideology, known as the “Iron Wall,” was launched by Jabotinsky in the 1920s, before the founding of “Israel,” and has remained a central inspiration for Netanyahu throughout his two decades in office.

Netanyahu believes “Israel’s” strength derives from Jabotinsky’s concept of the Iron Wall, a military force so overwhelming that it ensures the survival of the Jewish state and compels Arabs to accept it. 

According to this view, the only solution is a strong Jewish state that refuses any concessions, identifies threats to the Jewish people, and confronts them with overwhelming force.

American international affairs writer Zach Beauchamp has also linked Netanyahu to the Zionist Jabotinsky, stressing that the prime minister’s hardline positions, which sometimes put him at odds with his closest allies, including the Americans, “stem from his affiliation with the oldest and most hardline Zionist current founded by Jabotinsky.”

In an article published in Fox Magazine on March 16, 2025, titled “The Ideas that Define Benjamin Netanyahu,” Beauchamp explained that Jabotinsky produced an ideological vision that ultimately gave birth to the Likud party and the hardline policies Netanyahu continues to pursue.

These policies, which rely on military pressure, crushing force, and destruction as the sole means of securing “Israel’s” safety, are a literal embodiment of the ideas of his Zionist mentor, Ze’ev Jabotinsky.

Jabotinsky believed that the Zionist movement should not waste its resources on utopian economic or social dreams; rather, it should focus exclusively on building a Jewish military force, akin to an Iron Wall, compelling Arabs to accept the establishment of a Jewish state on their land, according to Kaplan.

Writing in 1923, Jabotinsky (the founder of the BETAR movement) stated, “The only way the Arabs can agree to a Jewish state in Palestine is through a force that crushes them and compels their submission.”

He also argued that the Jewish state should extend to its biblical borders, coining the phrase: “The Jordan River has two banks: this one is ours, and that one is too.”

Ironically, Israeli officials and Zionist institutions describe Jabotinsky as “a leader of the Revisionist Zionist movement,” but the term “revisionist” here does not imply moderation or flexibility. Rather, it indicates a more extreme Zionism, pursuing a harder line that expands the circle of enemies and adversaries, according to analysts of Zionist thought.

The closure of its New York branch under the settlement does not mean all its branches have been shut down. 

American scholar David Miller revealed that the extremist Jewish BETAR organization also has a violent French branch and even published a video of them.

The group, which claims to have branches in 10 countries, states online that its mission is “to empower Jews to stand strong, speak openly, and defend their heritage and Israel against all threats,” according to The New York Times on January 13, 2026.

BETAR established branches across Europe, the United States, and Palestine, and its members were involved in terrorist activities in Palestine in the 1930s. 

BETAR’s members wore brown shirts as part of the fascist-inspired imagery adopted by the movement.

BETAR also set up a training center for Jewish sailors in Italy, followed by a flight training center in Paris in 1934, then in Lod in 1938, as well as in South Africa and New York, preparing for combat in the 1948 war.

After the founding of “Israel,” BETAR transformed into the Herut movement, and its members joined the Nahal battalion in the Israeli Occupation Forces, but its activities continued in the United States and other Western countries.

Why Was It Banned?

On January 14, 2026, the BETAR movement in the United States officially decided to dissolve itself, following a settlement with the New York State Attorney General, who had been investigating the group over allegations of violence and terrorism against Muslims, Arabs, and moderate Jews supportive of Palestinians.

According to The Intercept, New York State Attorney General Letitia James said, “New York will not tolerate organizations that use fear, violence, and intimidation to silence free speech.”

The New York Attorney General’s office stated that it “reached a settlement with BETAR that will end its operations in New York”, after an investigation concluded that the far-right Zionist group had been involved in intimidating pro-Palestinian activists.

According to the New York Times, the settlement, which BETAR agreed to, includes a permanent ban on incitement or acts of violence, prohibitions on assaulting individuals or their property, the dissolution of its affiliated nonprofit, and the requirement to submit annual compliance reports for the next three years. 

The statement noted that, following the investigation, the office found that the group “repeatedly targeted individuals based on religion and country of origin.” 

BETAR, in a statement, denied any wrongdoing and claimed its mission was to eliminate anti-Semitism.

In response to the settlement agreement, BETAR said in a statement that it is “American with its headquarters in Israel.”

The group claimed it would cease operations in New York because, according to its statement, “NY Governor (the Muslim Zohran Mamdani), NY Attorney General, and NYC Mayor stand with Palestine.”

Addressing its supporters, BETAR said, “If you stand with the IDF and PM Netanyahu for the state of NY, you are a terrorist criminal. We urge Zionists to evacuate NYC. Come home to Israel.”

The mayor of New York responded to BETAR via X, stating that the group had spent years “spreading a campaign of hatred across New York, promoting anti-Muslim extremism, and harassing those who disagreed with them.”

“There is no place for their bigotry in our politics,” and said he was “grateful” to the New York State Attorney General for her “relentless pursuit of justice,” he added.

Meanwhile, Max Blumenthal, editor of Gray Zone, exposed the organization’s alleged plan to assassinate the mayor of New York. 

In a documentary broadcast by the channel, he revealed the inner workings of the Zionist group, showing how its leaders discussed threatening New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani by bombing his car.

The group, accused of links to the banned far-right Israeli Kach movement, had previously boasted of its role in the arrest of pro-Palestinian students last year by immigration officials.

Its members repeatedly threatened pro-Palestinian protesters with violence, even threatening to bomb them using devices, in reference to “Israel’s” use of explosive devices in 2024 to assassinate Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, which resulted in civilian casualties.

The extremist Zionist organization became known for publishing personal information about pro-Palestinian university students and providing lists of “Israel” critics to the Trump administration as a means of punishing them.

After Donald Trump took office and signed executive orders targeting pro-Palestinian protesters and activists, BETAR claimed it had submitted names of foreign students and faculty members for deportation, although Trump’s deportation attempts faced legal setbacks.

Although the investigation, which began in March 2025 after the Attorney General’s office received official complaints of harassment by the group, concluded in January 2026 with the ban of the Zionist organization, and confirmed that if it continued its activities, it would face an $80,000 fine and other potential consequences, the group’s activities persisted.

It announced via its X account that the Jabotinsky Institute would hold its annual lecture titled “Zionism Is Moral and Just” in honor of the terrorist Ze’ev Jabotinsky on January 26, 2026.

It continued to incite against Americans who support Palestinians.

The investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s office concluded that, in addition to violating state civil rights laws prohibiting bias-motivated violence and harassment, BETAR was raising funds while not registered with the state’s Charities Bureau.