By Alireza Akbari

On January 29, Betar US, the American branch of the Betar Zionist movement, announced a new smear campaign targeting participants in pro-Palestine protests held worldwide in memory of Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl killed a year ago in Gaza by Israeli forces.

The campaign is part of the Zionist group’s ongoing “deportation efforts,” which involve documenting protest attendees and reporting them to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Join us at the jihad rally as we assist @ICEgov in deportation efforts,” the group wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in a veiled warning to those who planned to participate in the protest.

“We will document all attendees, and even those in keffiyahs and masks will be identified… Betar will submit names of attendees to @realDonaldTrump!” the self-described “right-wing Zionist” group added with reports indicating that it has used facial recognition technology to identify people at pro-Palestine vigils and protests across the United States.

Founded in 1923 by Ze’ev Jabotinsky, a Zionist figure, and named after Brit Yosef Trumpeldor, Betar US actively spreads Zionist propaganda and in recent months, the group has intensified efforts to identify foreign students in the US who participate in anti-Israel protests, seeking their deportation.

Reports indicate that Betar US has been extensively employing AI-driven facial recognition technology and tip-offs to track and identify pro-Palestine demonstrators in various American cities.

The group has through its social media channels urged the new US administration led by Donald Trump to vet the collected data and take action against individuals openly supporting Palestine.

Just a day after Trump signed an executive order on January 29 to revoke visas and deport non-citizen college students participating in pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses, the Betar US scaled up its vicious smear campaign against people taking part in pro-Palestine rallies.

“We are just getting started. Attention to all @NationalSJP and @WOLPalestine and jihadis. We will document all rallies nationwide in coordination with @ICEgov and the @realDonaldTrump administration,” Betar US posted on social media on February 1, 2025.

On the night of January 30, the Terror Watch Agency and Betar US jointly released the name of Hind Rajab vigil attendee Mohammad Alhamood, declaring, “This marks the beginning of the list promised by Betar to the Trump administration.”

On January 30, Betar US shared a video on social media showing Mohammad Alhamood being filmed—reportedly by a supporter of the pro-Zionist movement. The video was captioned, “Why is this man from Gaza on America’s streets attending a pro-Hamas rally protected by the @NYPD?”

In the footage, Alhamood was heard saying, “I’m from Gaza… I’m Palestinian… I have family in Gaza… Rafah.”

A day later, Betar US posted photos of Alhamood, labeling him a “loud and proud” supporter of Hamas.

“Meet the loud and proud Hamxs supporter Mohammad Alhamood,” the group wrote on January 31.

Betar US’s smear campaign against Mohammad Alhamood aligns with the group’s broader “deportation efforts” targeting pro-Palestine activists, professors, students, and even journalists.

After a video surfaced online showing Chinese student Liu Lijung at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) being handcuffed, Betar US took credit for her targeting.

“Indeed, she was on our list, and many more are as well,” the group posted on X on February 1.

Lijung was reportedly arrested in May 2024 at a pro-Palestine protest against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which came to a halt recently following a ceasefire agreement with Israel and Hamas.

Lijung’s student visa was reportedly revoked under Trump’s executive order, which directs federal agencies—including the Departments of Education, State, and Homeland Security—to monitor and report foreign students and staff involved in such demonstrations.

Social media activist Stewart Peters reacted to Lijung’s arrest, posting on X, “This week it’s this Chinawoman, next week it’s you and me.”

Betar US responded to his post, writing, “Yea. It is. Get out if you support jihad and a free Palestine.”

The pro-Zionist group’s smear campaign continued with more targets. Betar US and the Terror Watch Agency shared a photo of a woman identified as Asma Mahmoud Aljundi, seemingly in her 30s.

“They will not wear masks to terrorize Jews anymore. We have said this again and again. Those who harass @SloanRachmuth and other brave strong Jews will pay a price,” they wrote.

As part of its ongoing smear campaign against pro-Palestine activists, Betar US shared footage of a rally in Brooklyn, led by Palestinian-American activist Nerdeen Kiswani and wrote, “They must go!”

In the video, Kiswani, the founder and chair of Within Our Lifetime, was seen wearing a keffiyeh and walking ahead of a group of protesters carrying Palestinian flags.

“With terror flags, Nerdeen Kiswani is calling for violence and death to the Jews. While the @NYPD allows them to terrorize NYC by blocking the Brooklyn Bridge we will monitor all their rallies for @ICEgov. They must go!” Betar US wrote.

Another target was Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian philosophy student at Columbia University.

On January 31, a self-described private Jewish surveillance force involved in anti-Palestine activities, including harassing pro-Palestine activists, Shirion Collective announced on X, “Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student on a visa, has been officially entered into the deportation database under President Trump’s executive order targeting campus anti-Semitism.”

Betar US escalated Zionist groups’ campaign against Mahdawi by sharing a clip of his interview with 60 Minutes, the CBS news magazine, captioning it: “Deport.”

In the interview, Mahdawi explained his stance. “The fight for the freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand-in-hand because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“I was shocked, and I walked directly to the person and told him, ‘You don’t represent us because this is not something that we agree with,’” Mahdawi explained, referencing the student who had shouted “Death to Jews” during anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.

The Zionist group also targeted Columbia University’s Middle East Institute professor Mahmoud Abdou, referring to him on social media as “A bas** jihadi who must go.”

Other academics and activists named in Betar US’s smear campaign include Dana Alhasan, Assistant Professor at the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health; Jack Poulson, Executive Editor of the nonprofit Tech Inquiry; and William Lafi Youmans, Associate Professor at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs.

In addition to compiling a list of activists, students, professors, and journalists—an effort activists have condemned as an attempt to suppress pro-Palestine advocacy among foreign students in the US—Betar US has also sought to instill fear among pro-Palestine students.

Recently, the supporters of the Betar US targeted students at The New School, a university in New York City, by offering them “beepers” in what was described as an intimidation tactic.

“You want a beeper? I have a beeper for you. Do you like a beeper?” a man filming a group of university students was heard saying.

Betar US later posted this video on social media, writing, “We hand out beepers at @TheNewSchool. One of these students is on our list to deport as appears to be on a student visa. They call security instead of accepting the beepers!”

This Zionist group has also advertised the distribution of “beepers” for “Zionist activities”, with a post on X. “We have beepers for Zionist activists nationwide—dm us.”

In addition, analysts have pointed out that the group has broadened its pro-Zionist efforts, invoking the issue of “anti-Semitism” in cities and universities where pro-Palestine protests are being held.

On February 1, 2025, the X page Jews Fight Back shared a post, stating, “If college students stormed campuses in KKK hoods, how long do you think they’d last? Ten minutes? Five? Yet here we are, over 15 months deep into this madness, and students are still running around terrorizing their Jewish peers, faces wrapped in keffiyehs.”

In response, Betar US posted on social media, “Jews must rise up. Enough is enough.”

The Zionist group then turned its attention to pro-Palestine rallies, specifically referencing demonstrations in Austin, Texas, held in mid-October 2023, where thousands of participants waved Palestinian flags and chanted “Free Palestine.”

Betar US wrote on X, “In Austin, Texas, we will immediately form @ICEgov to document all pro-Palestine events.”

In its latest tweet on Monday, the Zionist group admitted that it was the “most hated Zionist group in America,” adding in an inquisitive manner – “Think we are doing good?”

In another post, it legitimized the Israeli killing of journalists in Gaza, calling them “jihadis masquerading as journalists, while sharing a screenshot of The Intercept story.

“These aren’t media outlets these are jihadis masquerading as journalists. The same as those in Gaza who pretend to be journalists,” the group stated.