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Zionist extremists say they’re ‘mainstream’, and that’s the problem

Betar

New York’s state attorney general has ordered far-right Zionist group Betar USA to stop its violent activities. In response, the extremists insisted they represent “mainstream Zionism“. The thing is, that’s precisely the problem.

‘Instigating or encouraging violence’

Betar hasn’t just been giving the Trump administration the names of pro-Palestinian individuals in the hope that it will seek them out. A statement related to the New York decision said it has also been:

instigating or encouraging violence against individuals, threatening protesters, and harassing individuals exercising their civil rights

The Canary reported in February 2025 that Betar had placed a pager in the jacket of Jewish author Norman Finkelstein, a longstanding critic of Israel‘s settler-colonial crimes. This was a clearly threatening reference to the previous year’s Israeli terrorist attacks that killed 12 and injured around 4,000 civilians in Lebanon.

We also reported on Betar intimidating UN expert Francesca Albanese for calling out Israel’s genocide in Gaza, ensuring the cancellation of an event she was going to attend.

As we explained, Betar hasn’t just advocated for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and opposed ceasefires. It has also openly targeted Jewish voices critical of Israel’s war crimes, calling them its “enemies“.

It’s so bad that even the pro-Israel ADL lobby group labelled it an extremist group.

When Betar say they’re ‘mainstream,’ believe them

Betar, however, consistently insists that it’s “mainstream”

Likud is the party of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, the men the International Criminal Court (ICC) wants to arrest for overseeing war crimes in Gaza. Numerous Likud politicians, meanwhile, have used genocidal language to speak about Palestinians. Politicians from other parties have done so too.

Betar, Likud and Netanyahu may indeed represent “mainstream Zionism” today, though. Because the vast majority of Jewish Israeli citizens support the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland. And in spring 2024, well into the genocide in Gaza, just 4% of Jewish Israelis thought their army’s actions had “gone too far”.

According to one survey, Mondoweiss explains:

roughly 75% of Jewish Israelis agree with the idea that “there are no innocents in Gaza,”

Mondoweiss adds that:

genocidal thinking has always been a part of the Zionist project in one way or another, fueled by its settler-colonial logic of elimination.

In short, holding Betar to account for its actions and words is just one step towards tackling extremism. To really tackle it, the world needs to recognise the normalisation of extreme views in Israel. And before any true progress towards peace can come, the international community must hold Israel to account for its brutal, genocidal occupation of Palestine.

Featured image via The Intercept

By Ed Sykes

This post was originally published on Canary.