Democratic Majority for Israel condemns WaPo for ‘antisemitic’ story on right-wing Betar

The nonprofit Democratic Majority for Israel condemns the Washington Post for an article on the right-wing Jewish group Betar.

The front page article focuses on Betar’s support for the deportation of foreign activists by the Trump administration. Betar has backed the deportations on social media and shared lists of activists it wants ejected from the country, but there is no evidence the group has influenced the Trump administration.

Democratic Majority for Israel says “Betar does not speak for us,” but condemns the article for linking Betar to the deportations, despite the lack of evidence.

“We are also taken aback that, at a time of rising antisemitism, the Washington Post would echo antisemitic tropes by publishing a front page story suggesting a small, extremist group is responsible for Donald Trump’s deportation policy,” DMFI director Mark Mellman says in a statement.

“The decision is especially troubling when the Post admits, in the story’s fifth paragraph, that it ‘couldn’t determine whether the group played a role in the Trump administration’s decision to target deportees,” Mellman says.

Centuries-old antisemitic myths claim that cadres of Jews pull the strings of political power from the shadows.

The Department of Homeland Security also denies a connection between Betar and the deportations, telling the Washington Post that immigration enforcement “is not working with or received any tips through the ICE Tip Line from the group identified as Betar.”

The article also notes that, “there’s no direct evidence that Betar influenced the government’s decision to pursue” activists.