What is Betar us, the group that drives the deportation of students who support Palestinians? | Israeli conflict news

Several pro -Israel groups have emerged to support the push of US President Donald Trump to expel students and deport them to participate in the pro -Palestine protests on the American campus.

One of the most prominent is Betar Us, a group that says it shares the names of the protesters supporting the Palestinians with the Trump administration.

The Trump administration has detained a graduate and activist of Palestinian Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil and the post -Indian doctorate at Georgetown University, Badar Khan is a SyrianAnd you try to deport them.

Trump promised to deport the students who protested last year against the Israeli war on Gaza and who demanded that the United States be stripped of companies related to Israel.

So what is Betar for us, why is he pressing for the deportation of pro -Palestinian demonstrators, and what criticism did you face, and what other groups support Trump’s movements against campus protests?

What is Betar us?

Betar us is a Betar branch, a Zionist youth movement founded by Zig Gabotinsky in 1923, which promoted the idea of ​​strong Jewish militarization and regional expansion. The group says it has branches all over the world, including seasons throughout the United States.

“Our movement has changed the course of the Jewish world. We are the fastest Zionist movement around the world with more than 35 chapters, including throughout Europe, Latin America, Australia and the United States,” said Daniel Levy, Betar US spokesman, on the island via email.

“We are noisy, proud, aggressive, and unusual. We are not the gentle and polite Jews, we are loud and proud Zionists,” says the group on its website.

Zionism is a national and political ideology that originated in Europe in the nineteenth century, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state.

Betar us works “on campus, in cities, in the media, in business societies and streets,” according to its website.

However, critics questioned the gap between the bold invitation of the group and the limited information about the leaders of Betar Us and the members available on its public platforms, including its website.

Jenin Younis, civil freedoms and freedom of expression, said the secrecy is “unusual.”

She said: “They claim that they are loud and proud, but their website does not say who are their employees.

“It indicates that they are trying to protect themselves from accountability,” Yunus said.

Betar, however, rejected suggestions that she had anything to hide. Levy told Al Jazerera: “Betar in the US is a non -profit organization 501C3 and a complete compliance with all the rules, regulations and stadiums.”

Who targets us Betar?

Since the campus protests erupted last year, Betar Us has blocked pro -Palestinian students. “We have given his name to the government! And many others,” Betar was published in X in January, referring to Khalil.

In the same thing x subjectThe group posted a video with Khalil for an interview, and accused him of saying, “The Zionists do not deserve to live while he was in a visa.” But in the clip that Betar Us shared, khalil does not say it.

Two days after Khalil’s arrest, Betar Us published message On X where they publicly announced their intention to expel pro -Palestinian students. In the widely common post, the group said: “We told us that we are working on deportation and we will continue to do so. We expect that homogeneous citizens will start during the month.”

In the Al -Jazeera statement, Peter Levy confirmed that “we presented hundreds of names to the Trump administration to visa owners, the Middle East and the naturalized foreigners,” who – without providing evidence – claimed “our support for custom terrorist organizations.”

Levy said: “Those who come to the United States with visas or as voluntary citizens and encourage hatred and violence will be deported,” Levy said.

The group also insists that those who target its lists hostile to Semitism. However, in recent months, many civil rights organizations have raised fears that the pro -Israel groups and their supporters confuse Israel’s criticism and Zionism with anti -Semitism, which they say hinder freedom of expression in the United States and other countries.

“But they participate in aggressive forms of harassment, after the first amendment rights (which gives freedom of expression),” said Abed Ayoub, CEO of the American Control Committee (ADC).

Ayoub Betar called “a problematic entity causes a lot of anxiety.”

What did Betar Us say on Gaza?

The group publicly called for a bloodbath in the besieged Gaza Strip and the shelling, as Israel resumed its destroyed war. In a publication that was now deleted, Betar us responded to a list of names including hundreds of Palestinian children who were killed in the pocket, saying: “Not enough. We demand blood in Gaza!”

Betar is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) that does not aim at tax-exempt donations while publicly flying from the science of priests-a Jewish terrorist movement-and inciting violence outside mosques and protests.

Cash party, which the United States described in 2004, was only removed for … pic.twitter.com/t5xr0dhqie

– The soldier (Provvstruth) March 11, 2025

On Tuesday, Israel launched a blow in Gaza in Gaza after the collapse of talks in the second stage of the ceasefire, killing more than 400 people, including 174 children and women. Israel has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023. The brutal Israeli response came after Hamas carried out an attack in Israel, killing 1139 people, taking about 250 prisoners, and dozens of them remained in Gaza.

Bitar’s social media accounts have published letters calling for violence and expelling the Palestinians from their lands. In one mailThe group said it “supports the plan to remove the Palestinians from Gaza.”

Yunus, a civil freedom lawyer, remembers how in January, Betar us said in a post about X that they will give standing on Hind Rajab, a six -year -old girl who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year.

Betar US is classified as an “extremist group” by the Anti -Distortation Association (ADL), a group of Jewish call that has been established more than a century ago to combat anti -Semitism.

However, Levy said in his statement to the island that the group was a “prevailing” Zionist organization and represented “the majority of the Zionist and Israeli public.”

Levy refused to put ADL marks for Betar as “extremist”. He said that ADL was “radical, left, waking up.” “Anyone calling the extremists Bitar calls the extremism of Zionism,” he said.

Do we support Betar for us to deport Trump?

Quite, he says.

Levy said: “Those who come to the United States with visas or as voluntary citizens who have no right to participate in the events of Hamas or support terrorist organizations,” Levy said. “We support the Trump administration policy.”

However, Trump administration officials have not yet provided any evidence linking those detained – including Khalil – with any support for Hafs or other organizations listed as “terrorist” groups in the United States.

Khalil, who was presented at a detention facility in Louisiana, said on Tuesday that he was a “political prisoner” in his first comments since his arrest by the Ministry of Internal Security on March 8. books.

On March 7, before his arrest, Khalil wrote an email to Katrina Armstrong, the temporary president of the University of Colombia, asking her to “protect international students from defeating and deportation”, citing threats by Betar.

Yunus, a lawyer for freedom of expression, said that arrest “speaks to absolute madness and terrorism at the present moment,” especially if the “President of the United States” takes Bitar’s advice about who nominates – something that has not been confirmed yet.

Betar, at the same time, the Trump administration wants to do more.

“While we thank the Trump administration, we urge many deportations and faster,” said Levy, a spokesman for Bitar.

Are there other groups that support the Trump campaign?

Yes, but to different ranges.

• ADL- The group called the campus protests as anti-Semitism, and Trump’s executive orders have supported the anti-Semitism in universities. However, collective deportation campaigns did not publicize publicly.
• Mothers against Maca (MACA)-The group claims to combat alleged anti-Semitism on the university campus and welcomed Trump’s executive orders. He supports the deportation of Khalil and other pro -Palestinian activists who describe him as Hamas supporters.
• Mission Canary – It is an online database “documenting individuals and organizations that enhance the hatred of the United States, Israel and Jews on the campus of universities in North America and beyond.” It publishes personal information about the people and institutions that it considers hostile to Israel or anti -Semitic. He welcomed the arrest of Khalil and called for the arrest of more students and faculty.

Is the planned deportation legal?

Trump’s legal threats remain very controversial.

According to Ayob from ADC, Trump’s deportation orders are technically implemented. The administration has the authority to cancel foreign students ’visas under certain circumstances – that is, if a person participates in fraud, or considers a threat to national security, experts say.

However, Yunus has argued that the first amendment to the US constitution “does not distinguish the application on the basis of migration,” and that this deportation is “illegal.”

Khalil’s lawyers approached the courts to ban his deportation.

On a wider scale, civil rights groups are concerned about what they consider a campaign of freedom of expression, which is protected by the first amendment.

Ayoub said that universities are responsible for protecting students.

“Universities must stand beside all students to exercise the first amendment rights to freedom of expression. They cannot participate in distorting students or publishing information about them.”

He warned that this situation creates a “chilling effect” where students are afraid of speaking, which affects not only Palestinian activists, but all other activists.

Osama Abrachid, the executive director of American Muslims of Palestine, chanted similar concerns, saying that universities “completely surrendered to pressure from adult donors and Trump administration.”

“This is some of the most difficult times when you are a conscience student and a global citizen,” he told Al -Jazeera.

Yunus, a lawyer for freedom of expression, said with Trump’s executive orders and groups such as Betar Us targeting students, foreign citizens, in particular, must obtain a legal advisor directly before engaging in pro -Palestine activity.

She said, “Unfortunately, what is most to do is the commitment of silence now.”