| Betar US | |
|---|---|
| בית"ר כינה | |
| Founder | Ze'ev Jabotinsky |
| Leader | Ross Glick[1] |
| Dates of operation | 1929—Present |
| Country |  United States |
| Ideology | Religious Zionism Anti-antisemitism Jewish fascism(alleged)[2] |
| Political position | Right-wing[3] tofar-right[4] |
| Website | betarus |
Betar US (Hebrew:בית"ר כינה,romanized: Beitar Kina) also known asBetar USA (Hebrew:בית"ר אַרצוֹת הַבְּרִית,romanized: Beitar Eretzot Habrit) is the United States sector of theBetar Movement.[5]
Betar was established in 1923 byZe'ev Jabotinsky and the United States sector was established in 1929.[6] It was described as a "Jewish Fascist" organization andfar-right, and had supposed ties tofascist Italy during the time of its rise and establishment.[7] This was due to some democratic countries taking certain inspiration from the ideologies of fascist Italy andBenito Mussolini.[8]
By 1951, Moshe Arens became the leader of the Betar US after graduating as a Betar student.[9] He was a member of Betar since he was a teenager.[10]
In 1975, members of Betar US alongside its leader Betar US, Barry Liben, occupied theUnited Nations building in response to how theSoviet Union was treating Jewish citizens who were refusing to let its Jewish citizens to makeAliyah, though they left peacefully after.[11]
From 1994[12] to 1996,Ronn Torossian led Betar US after being a member of the organization for 10 years.[13]
On January 2, 2020, the past leader of Betar US, Barry Liben, died inNew York City.[14]
After the7 October Hamas-led attacks on Israel, Betar US gained prominence for its extreme approach againstpro-Palestinianism andantisemitism online and in real life.[15] After the2024 presidential elections in the United States, its newly electedpresident,Donald Trump, signed anexecutive order to deport college students who were ongreen cards andvisas who showed support forHamas and other organizations on theUnited States Department of State list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. This led Betar US to create "Operation Wrath of Zion" which is adoxing campaign to find the personal details of college students who attendedpro-Palestine protests and showed what they described as antisemitic and pro-Hamas rhetoric.[16] They called forJews in the United States and Israelis to report all "pro-Hamas" students to either Betar or theFederal Bureau of Investigation so they can get deported.[17] In late January 2025, Betar US submitted a list of students who showed pro-Palestine sentiments to Donald Trump after identifying them in order to get them arrested or deported.[18]
During counter protests at theNew York University, Betar US vandalized the university’sInstitute for the Study of the Ancient World area withZionist andanti-Arab slogans.[19] In October of 2024, the New York University spokesperson condemned Betar for social media posts calling for violent acts.[20]
Betar made a threat of pager attack againstFrancesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, when she was going to visit London. In a social media post the group wrote: "Join us to give Francesca a [pager emoji] in London on Tuesday." It's believed that the emoji is a reference to Israel'spager attacks in Lebanon.Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian-American activist, has also been targeted by Betar. The group stated in an X post:"You hate America, you hate Jews, and we are here and won’t be silent. $1,800 to anyone who hands that jihadi a beeper".[21]
