Anti-Israel Groups ‘Amplifying’ Messaging of Terror Groups, Iran-Backed Info Ops, US Lawmakers Hear in Testimony

Anti-Israel activist groups are “amplifying” the violent messaging of terrorist groups and Iran-linked information operations, which seek to incite hate crimes against Jews as revenge for the war in Gaza, experts testified to a US congressional panel on Wednesday.

The Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee of the US House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on Capitol Hill, titled “The Rise of Anti-Israel Extremist Groups and Their Threat to US National Security,” to discuss the ongoing surge in antisemitic incidents across the country.

“America’s Jewish community is under attack, and we need to take decisive action to save lives and mitigate the escalating threats,” said Kerry Sleeper, deputy director of intelligence and information sharing at the Secure Community Network.

Sleeper noted that his organization has identified a “notable increase” in the number of antisemitic threats from foreign terrorist organizations and allied media organizations, warning that these threats “will likely persist for several years.”

He added that these organizations are using the recent shooting of two Israeli embassy aides in Washington, DC and firebombing of a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado as recruitment tools to incite more violence as “retribution” for Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Sleeper explained, anti-Israel “propaganda networks” in the US, such as Within Our Lifetime (WOL), Unity of Fields, and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), are actively “amplifying messaging consistent with foreign terrorist organizations and Iranian-backed information operations.” Although all of these groups do not share a direct connection to foreign terrorist groups, they “help blur the line between protest and incitement.”

These organizations are also actively “justifying” and “glorifying” violence against American Jews “in the name of Gaza,” Sleeper said.

Prosecutors say the man charged for the Boulder firebombing yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack. The suspect also told investigators that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people,” according to court documents.

Less than two weeks earlier, the suspect charged for the double murder in Washington also yelled “Free Palestine” while being arrested by police after the shooting, according to video of the incident. The FBI affidavit that supported the criminal charges against the man stated that he told law enforcement he “did it for Gaza.”

Sleeper said on Wednesday that every analytic brief produced by his group since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of Israel has revealed a swell in antisemitic threats, “exacerbated by online incitement by Iranian-linked groups and designated foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS.”

He urged Congress to begin producing strategies to combat the surge in antisemitic terror threats: “We are long overdue for a national strategy to specifically combat targeted violence against the Jewish community.”

Oren Segal, senior vice president of counter-extremism and intelligence at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), warned that online platforms are spreading rhetoric justifying violence by calling on anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists to “bring the war home.” He said that online platforms are allowing foreign terrorist groups “to share and promote their propaganda to thousands across the US and across the globe.”

Segal then outlined a series of steps he believes Congress should take to combat the increase in antisemitic threats.

He suggested that US lawmakers increase funding for the non-profit security grant program to protect vulnerable houses of worship and community centers, invest in community violence prevention units, grant the Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism with additional powers, pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act, and penalize antisemitic online platforms by enforcing laws regarding providing support for terrorist groups.

“The time is act is now,” Segal warned.

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