On April 19, 1943, as the German troops entered the ghetto, the commanders of the ZZW (Jewish Military Union), Pawel Frenkel and his deputy Leon Rodal, were at ZZW headquarters on Muranowska 7. They decided to hoist the Zionist flag on the roof of the tallest building in the area, Muranowska 17.
Poles standing on the roof of the building at Muranowska 6, outside the ghetto wall, discerned people holding weapons moving around the roofs of the houses of the ghetto opposite, disappearing and reappearing again. Suddenly they saw a blue-and-white flag had been raised on one of the roofs. A shout went up: "Look, look, the Jewish flag! Muranowski Square is in the hands of the Jews!"
Despite countless instances of Jew hate in New York in these last two years, the attorney general has decided an obscure Jewish group is the
by Seth Barron
In the face of surging antisemitism across New York state — fueled by incessant illegal demonstrations in support of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah — Attorney General Letitia James jumped into the fray to prosecute … Jews.
James’ office announced last week that she’s concluded an agreement with Betar — a small and obscure Zionist group that advocates for Jewish safety and self-determination — forcing it to cease operations in New York.
The AG says Betar engaged in a “campaign of violence, harassment, and intimidation against Arab, Muslim, and Jewish New Yorkers.”
Among the group’s activities were counter-protesting at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, bestowing mock beepers on pro-Hamas protesters to taunt them about Israel’s pager attacks and making vulgar, slur-filled “public and private statements.”
James’ office subpoenaed Betar members’ text messages and combed through them looking for nasty language, which the AG then proffered as evidence of the group’s quasi-criminal profile.
Worst of all, says the AG, Betar called on supporters to “fight back” at an anti-Zionist protest called “Flood Boro Park” last February.
That demonstration, organized by Pal-Awda — the same group that chanted “We support Hamas here!” outside a Queens synagogue this month — was named in honor of the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” Hamas’ code name for its savage Oct. 7 incursion into Israel.
Borough Park is a well-known Brooklyn enclave of Orthodox Jews; more than half its population is Jewish. Organizing hundreds of people to head there specifically to protest Israel was no random act.
That is, it’s not like the “Flood Boro Park” event carried peaceable overtones or promised to be a love-in.
Indeed, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered there to scream “filthy Zionist a–holes” at Jews on the street and threaten to kill them and chanted, “There is only solution, Intifada revolution!”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) of Brooklyn denounced the protest as “egregious behavior … clearly designed to intimidate and harass Jews.”
“It should come as a shock to no one that the pro-Hamas mob targeting Jews and promising to ‘flood’ Boro Park has descended into violence,” commented the Bronx’s Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY).
According to James, however, brawls that broke out at this event were entirely the fault of Betar — even though the one person charged with violent assault that night was on the pro-Hamas side.
This state has seen literally hundreds of anti-Israel protests since Oct. 7 — displays marked by screaming activists blocking streets and bridges, taking over buildings, occupying campus quads and chasing Jewish students into hiding.
They have staged protests outside synagogues, waved the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah, raised pictures of terrorist leaders and produced maps of “enemy” institutions.
They have invaded memorial vigils for the victims of Oct. 7, using these occasions of sorrow to celebrate the attack and hoist signs reading, “Glory to the Martyrs; Victory to the Resistance.”
These protests have contributed to a frightening, well-documented rise in antisemitic assaults and violence.
Groups such as Within Our Lifetime, Code Pink, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, Students for Justice in Palestine, the People’s Forum and many others have not been shy about promoting chaos and violence and “chilling” the free expression of speech, as James complains about Betar.
But out of everything that’s happened in New York in these last two years, the attorney general decided that an obscure Jewish group is the real problem.
Antisemites on social media are gloating and chuckling about the dissolution of Betar, saying it proves how peaceful and righteous the anti-Zionist movement has been.
Take note: Betar didn’t go to Muslim neighborhoods and start fights, or protest outside mosques; its members never harassed random Muslims in public.
They only acted as counter-protesters at pro-Hamas demonstrations.
James has been sitting on this agreement with Betar for months, and its release just two weeks after Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration is no coincidence: It’s a gift to him, a sign that she’s on board with his program of demonizing Israel.
The AG has sent a clear signal that there are no limits to denouncing or harassing Jews in New York.
The far right thinks Ms. Rachel should be under investigation for caring about kids in Gaza.
Hafiz Rashid at TNR:
The right-wing StopAntisemitism group thinks that children’s YouTube educator Ms. Rachel should be investigated by Attorney General Pam Bondi for “pro-Hamas propaganda.”
The New York Post reports that the organization sent a letter to Bondi complaining about social media posts from the YouTube star, whose real name is Rachel Accurso, about Palestinian children killed by Israel during its brutal massacre of Gaza since 2023.
“Her posts have largely ignored the suffering of Israeli victims, hostages, and Jewish children, while she consistently amplifies misinformation from Hamas and other anti-Israel sources,” StopAntisemitism director Liora Rez wrote in the letter.
Rez also claimed that with “vast sums of foreign funds” being “directed toward propagandizing our young people on college campuses, we suspect there is a similar dynamic in the online influencer space.”
“We urge you and your office to investigate whether or not Ms. Rachel is being remunerated to disseminate Hamas-aligned propaganda to her millions of followers, as this may violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA),” Rez wrote to Bondi.
[...]
The letter seems to be fitting into a pattern of pro-Israel organizations, such as Canary Mission and Betar, targeting critics of Israel’s military actions, as well as supporters of Palestinian self-determination. Betar says it has provided lists of noncitizen protesters to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, and other government agencies, recommending deportation.
The pro-Israel Apartheid smear merchant group StopAntisemitism calls on “AG” Pam Bondi to conduct a bogus investigation into Ms. Rachel (Rachel Accurso) over her pro-Palestinian support.
A far-right, pro-Israel group with a history of backing terror and genocide is collaborating with the Trump administration to compile dossiers on thousands of pro-Palestine figures for potential deportation.
"I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urge you to intervene and provide the nec
Prem Thakker at Zeteo:
Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian who helped lead negotiations between Columbia University and student protesters, had appealed to the school for protection from harassment and possibly Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents one day before the Trump administration detained him on Saturday, emails obtained by Zeteo show.
The most recent among the leaked messages was an email Khalil, a green card holder, sent to Columbia interim president Katrina Armstrong on March 7. “Since yesterday, I have been subjected to a vicious, coordinated, and dehumanizing doxxing campaign led by Columbia affiliates Shai Davidai and David Lederer who, among others, have labeled me a security threat and called for my deportation,” he began.
“Their attacks have incited a wave of hate, including calls for my deportation and death threats. I have outlined the wider context below, yet Columbia has not provided any meaningful support or resources in response to this escalating threat,” he added.
“I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urgently need legal support, and I urge you to intervene and provide the necessary protections to prevent further harm.”
The message was especially notable given several reports of ICE being spotted on campus throughout the week and Columbia’s own guidance published this weekend about “potential visits to campus” by ICE. In the memo, the school said faculty and staff “should not interfere” in “exigent circumstances” where ICE agents seek access to university buildings or people without a warrant.
Columbia University and Lederer did not immediately respond to Zeteo’s requests for comment.
Davidai, who had been suspended from campus last year over allegations he had harassed university staff, denied collaborating with the Trump administration to get Khalil deported. “Let me be absolutely clear: I have never had a direct line to the administration. Even if I did, I would never use such influence to target an individual. This is not who I am or what I stand for,” Davidai told Zeteo. “Like many, I’ve called out Khalil’s repeated legal violations and demanded accountability. But as I always remind my students, just because one event follows another doesn’t mean it caused it.”
In online posts, Davidai had called Khalil a “terrorist supporter” and suggested he should be deported, tagging Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Khalil’s March 7 email came after an earlier Jan. 31 email he sent, in which he urged the school “to take immediate action to protect international students at Columbia facing severe and pervasive doxing, discriminatory harassment, and very possibly deportation in retaliation for the lawful exercising of their rights to freedom of speech, expression, and association…”
Khalil cited a threatening post by the pro-Israel organization Betar in January. In the post, the group wrote that he said, “Zionists don’t deserve to live” – a statement Khalil “unequivocally” denied making in his email to university officials. Betar also wrote that ICE “is aware of his home address and whereabouts” and that they “have provided all his information to multiple contacts.”
“He’s on our deport list!“ Betar added.
[...]
Targeted Removal Before Arrest
On Thursday, March 6, Khalil emailed Gerald Lewis, the vice president of Columbia Public Safety, and cc’d Armstrong regarding the deactivation of his university ID. Khalil wrote that during a campus protest, he was approached by public safety staff who informed him his ID had been deactivated due to not being registered for classes this semester.
“I am a recent alumnus, having graduated in December 2024, with my degree set to be conferred in May. By now, I believe you’ve confirmed that I entered the campus like any other Columbia affiliate, swiping my ID and showing it to security,” Khalil wrote.
“I questioned why I was being singled out, as I am aware of other Columbia affiliates who were in similar situations and were not approached, despite being in close proximity to me at the time,” noting that the staff who approached were “well aware that I am a Palestinian national, as we have previously communicated and worked together to ensure safe campus protests.”
“However, when I asked for clarification on how I was identified and why I was the only individual approached, they refused to provide any explanation,” Khalil wrote, questioning why he was the only individual targeted and who issued the instructions for the staff to approach and remove him from campus. Khalil wrote that the lack of a clear justification raised concerns for targeted discrimination.
Zeteo reported that Mahmoud Khalil sent an email to Columbia University’s VP of Public Safety Gerald Lewis and cc’d Interim President Katrina Armstrong about being the victim of harassment and doxxing from pro-Israel Apartheid fanatic Shai Davidai and his affiliates a day before his illegal arrest and detention by ICE.
