A major bit of blowback against Jewish activist groups has occurred, and it bodes ill for internet liberties.  Turnabout is not always fair play.

First, it is necessary to describe the pro-Jewish, pro-Israel projects that started this dance.

About ten years ago, Canary Mission was started with the stated purpose of exposing anti-Israel, pro-Islamic radicals in academia.  One may have agreed with their mission, but their methods were questioned.  Essentially, they exposed teachers, students, etc. on an easily accessible public blacklist.  It was accused of being McCarthyesque.

No one can doubt that working to protect the safety of the Jewish people is good, but is exposing dumb students the way to go about it?  Kids act stupid in their late adolescence (their college years), and branding them can really disrupt their lives.

This video by Canary Mission explains the organization’s purpose.

Other Jewish organizations, such as The Forward, have been suspicious of Canary Mission’s approach.

Canary Mission, which has operated in strict secrecy since its inception in 2015, posts political dossiers on undergraduates who are critical of Israel. It has drawn increasing criticism in recent months, including from pro-Israel students who say its work is counterproductive. Canary Mission’s defenders say it is a legitimate weapon against antisemitism.

Now, to be sure, Canary Mission has dampened some degree of pro-Palestinian activism, as some students have expressed fear that being exposed on Canary Mission would destroy their future job opportunities.

Another pro-Israel group, StopAntisemitism.org, goes a bit farther and actively tries to dox people, which often gets them fired.

I know some at AT may say, “Good!  They deserve it!” 

But dangerous blowback has occurred.

Pro-Palestinian groups are now exposing people who have expressed support for Israel using intemperate words.  One group is Raven Mission.  They are the dark side of the Force, mimicking Canary Mission, and they are getting supporters of Israel doxxed.  On this page, and this page, they are trying to get one prominent person fired.

The following case is scarier.

Dr. Klugman, a doctor at John Hopkins, was outed on Raven Mission, and was in for the professional fight of his life.

This is a major counter-attack.

Another pro-Paletinian site called StopZionistHate — which mimics StopAntisemitism — has called for personal information on people.

On this Instagram page, StopZionistHate boasts about the people it has already gotten fired.

A similar X (Twitter) channel, StopArabHate (poorly named), doxxed this Jewish nurse and got her fired.  See also here, here, here, and here for other potential victims.

Both sides, the pro-Israel and pro-Palestine, seem to be using sock-puppet robots, from what I see, to give the appearance of broad support for their exposures.

There has been much ado made about the posters of the Kidnap Victims.  People who tear down the posters are being doxxed.

Good, you might say.  Let them be doxxed.

But now the pro-Palestinians are playing the same game.  They have posters, too, and they are going back years.  If supporters of Israel find the Palestinian posters offensive and tear them down, then supporters of Israel will also get videoed and get doxxed.

Now, some might say, “Payback is a b----.”

But while the methods are similar, the results will not be.

StopZionistHate, StopArabHate, Raven Mission, and TruWire (which seems to have been closed) all seem to be affiliated.

CanaryMission.org, the pro-Jewish, pro-Israel group that started it all, is now accusing StopZionistHate of antisemitism.  It has outed Abdullah Hassan as the driving force behind these accounts.

I have no love for the opinions of Abdullah Hassan, but Canary Mission has a problem.  The people running it hide their own staff from the public, and I have to suspect that now there will be attempts to expose Canary Mission.

At the present moment, the anti-Israel, anti-Jewish forces behind StopZionistHate, Raven Mission, and StopArabHate do not seem to be as professionally run as Canary Mission or StopAntisemitism.org, but they have the potential to do more damage in the long run.

This is truly ugly beyond all measure.

The internet has become a battleground to destroy people’s lives.  Given the rising tide of antisemitism, the potential for groups like Raven Mission to do some serious damage will only increase.

The only advice I can give people is to be very, very careful what you say on the internet.  Everyone says ugly statements from time to time.  Human beings are fallen.  However, the internet is forever.  Both sides are using Big Brother technology to track, record, and dox people.

Image via Pexels.