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Canary Mission
Website established in 2014 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Canary Mission is an anonymously run antisemitism and anti-Israel watchdog website established in 2015.[1] The site publishes information about students, professors, and organizations that have engaged in antisemitic or anti-Israel behaviors and focuses primarily on people in North America.[2][3][4][5]
Canary Mission's published materials have been described as a blacklist.[6][7] Profiles are publicly available online and intended for wide use, and Canary Mission may actively send them to employers.[8]
Canary Mission's work toward silencing critique of Israel is controversial.[6][9][7] Its tactics have been compared to McCarthyism.[10][4]
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Collaboration with government authorities
Allegations have been made that Israeli intelligence organizations, such as the Shin Bet, use Canary Mission profiles.[5] The Ministry of Strategic Affairs[5][11][12] used a Canary Mission profile during the attempted deportation proceedings against Lara Alqasem.[13] The Israeli government has been accused of using Canary Mission data at border control.[14][12][15][16] In March 2025, multiple foreign students with Canary Mission profiles were detained by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for allegations of supporting terror.[17] Canary Mission has also been accused of working with the FBI.[18]
2025 federal trial admission
In July 2025, a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) testified in a federal trial that his team used Canary Mission as a source to investigate a number of student protesters that were foreign nationals.[19] Court records from a federal lawsuit revealed that senior Trump administration officials relied heavily on Canary Mission, in order to identify foreign students and academics who violated the terms of their visa.[20][21][22]
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Activities
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According to its website, Canary Mission compiles profiles of students, professors, and organizations that "promote hatred of the US, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses".[3] Profiles are constructed using public information such as social media[23] and often contain detailed information.[16] Some profiles document prominent white supremacists, including Identity Evropa members and Goyim Defense League (GDL) members.[16] Canary Mission has an "Ex-Canary" process where profiled individuals can request to have their profile removed from the website if they write an apology essay that can be published on the site.[4][16]
2017–2018
In December 2017, Canary Mission reported on what it alleged were antisemitic tweets posted by students associated with Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) at McMaster University. The tweets were written between 2011 and 2017 and contained support for Adolf Hitler as well as calls for the death of Israel and Zionists. SPHR, in response, said it "condemns all forms of anti-Semitism within our organization", and that the referenced comments were "intolerable in every sense".[24] The university actively reviewed the "disturbing social media post",[24] but did not publish the results of its review since "it is not our practice to provide details of any actions taken or sanctions applied with regard to individual students".[25]
In April 2018, during a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign at George Washington University, flyers with Canary Mission's logo were strewn around the university, along with other flyers denouncing a planned student senate vote.[26] On the day of the vote, two adult men wearing canary costumes performed a dance in the lobby of the building where the vote was taking place.[2] In September 2018, Canary Mission released a report on the vote,[27] highlighting reputed antisemitic and anti-Israel tactics used to promote the vote.[28]
In May 2018, Canary Mission released a report on social media posts by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter members at Florida State University (FSU),[29] saying that 36% of the social media posts by SJP members were "endorsements or promotion of terror as well as calls for intifada and violence against Jews".[30] The FSU SJP chapter subsequently released a statement writing that they "entirely condemn and denounce the racist, anti-Black, and anti-Semitic statements made by some of the individuals who were previous students and members of our SJP chapter", and commenting that some of the social media posts were "legitimate criticisms of Israeli governmental policies and practices, even though they are presented as anti-Semitic." According to Canary Mission, FSU SJP's response did not condemn social media posts that "called for intifada and violence against Jews".[31]
2019
In January 2019, a news story emerged about a doctor in Ohio named Lara Kollab who was fired over antisemitic social media posts documented and exposed by Canary Mission.[32][33] Kollab issued an apology that Canary Mission rejected.[34]
2020
In May 2020, during a third reading of Missouri Senate Bill 739 "Anti-Discrimination Against Israel Act,"[35] representatives Jered Taylor and Nick Schroer testified in support of the bill. Their testimony referenced social media posts made by Neveen Ayesh, who had opposed the bill.[36]
The controversial social media posts were documented by Canary Mission and read on the Missouri senate floor as a way to discredit Ayesh as a witness. Missouri SB739 was passed and signed into law by Governor Mike Parson.[37][38]
2021
In November 2021, Canary Mission published a report on University of Southern California student Yasmeen Mashayekh, who posted anti-semitic hate speech on social media. Mashayekh was a DEI senator in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Senate.[39] By April of 2022, Mashayekh claimed to no longer be a DEI senator.[40] Canary Mission's report also detailed the large amount of support Mashayekh received from other known anti-Israel activists such as Nerdeen Kiswani and Mohammed El-Kurd.
2022
In June 2022, Canary Mission published a profile on Ismail Quran, a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio who posted antisemitic hate speech to social media. Quran had been honored with a police officer of the year award before coming under investigation when news of his social media posts broke.[41]
The mayor of Cleveland Justin M. Bibb and the Cleveland chief of police Wayne Drummond released a statement in August 2022 that said "We are frustrated and disappointed that no charges can be filed against Officer Ismail Quran, despite extensive internal investigations by the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP), the City Prosecutor, and the Law Department."[42]
2023
In May 2023, Canary Mission published a report detailing how anti-Israel activists prominent with the organization Within Our Lifetime were the perpetrators of violent attacks on Jewish New Yorkers. The report outlined 8 violent incidents spanning May 2021 to April 2022, where WOL activists assaulted identifiably Jewish individuals.[43]
2024
In February 2024, neo-Nazi Michael Weaver, a member of the Goyim Defense League, lost a libel lawsuit that he filed and was forced to pay the defendant $20,000 in legal fees.[44] The defendant had reportedly written in an online review that a "neo-Nazi" and "member of the KKK" who is a "known felon of hate crimes" was denouncing her business.[45] Weaver's antisemitic views were documented in a Canary Mission profile, and the judge ruled that the defendant's inferences were "reasonable". Weaver lost the case.[44][45]
In February 2024, Canary Mission published a report showing collaboration between Within Our Lifetime and Decolonize This Place.[46] The report alleged that Nerdeen Kiswani, the founder of WOL, and Amin Husain, the founder of DTP, were responsible for the unrest in New York City following the October 7 attacks in Israel.[47] Examples include a protest outside of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center[48] and the Nova Exhibition,[49][50] a memorial installation detailing the attacks at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023.[51] An attendee at the Nova Protest waved a flag with Hezbollah's logo.[52] The report further alleges that these disruptions followed a premeditated plan that pre-dated the attacks in Israel. The report also included social media posts from Kiswani supporting the October 7th, 2023 attacks on Israeli civilians.[46]
2025
Various foreign students with Canary Mission profiles have been arrested under the Trump administration in March 2025, including Mahmoud Khalil of Columbia University and Rümeysa Öztürk of Tufts.[17] Öztürk's name and photo were posted to Canary Mission shortly after her only known pro-Palestine activism, co-writing an op-ed in the student newspaper that criticized the administration's handling of student demands such as acknowledgement of Palestinian genocide and divestment from Israel companies.[17] A Canary Mission's profile of Mapheze Saleh may have influenced the arrest of her husband, Georgetown University graduate student Badar Khan Suri. According to a lawyer for Suri, he had no criminal record and was arrested because his father-in-law was documented as a former adviser to a Hamas leader.[53]
In July 2025, testimony by a senior official with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations in federal court confirmed that a Department of Homeland Security team created a target list of anti-Israeli student protestors that was largely based on the Canary Mission lists. Analysts would then do further research and pass on some cases to the Department of State.[54]
In addition, a lawsuit was filed in March 2025 in New York against Nerdeen Kiswani as the head of Within Our Lifetime,[55] Maryam Alwan as the representative for Students for Justice in Palestine at Columbia University, Cameron Jones as the representative of Jewish Voice for Peace at Columbia-Barnard, and Mahmoud Khalil as the representative of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, known as CUAD.[56] The suit alleged that the defendants were guilty of "aiding and abetting Hamas' continuing acts of international terrorism." Canary Mission profiles and reports were used as evidence in the lawsuit.[57][58]
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Use of Canary Mission listings
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The Israeli security services have reportedly used content from Canary Mission to screen profiled individuals at Ben Gurion Airport. They also have reportedly used claims made on the website to justify decisions to deport people from Israel.[16] Profiles hosted on Canary Mission may harm the employment opportunities of those listed, particularly students and untenured faculty, by making available their statements to potential employers in a readily available online profile.[59][60][61] According to W. J. T. Mitchell, who has a Canary Mission profile, prospective employers see Canary Mission profiles appear at the top of Google search results for students and recent alumni who do not have a "very deep set of achievements".[62]
Peter Hatch, the assistant director for the Office of Investigations within the Department of Homeland Security, testified in federal court that in March 2025, senior officials of the Homeland Security Investigations agency within DHS created a "tiger team" of analysts to investigate over 5,000 student protesters listed on Canary Mission. Hatch said that between 100 and 200 reports of analysis on student protestors were produced.[63][64]
Many critics of Canary Mission say the profiles are used to silence Palestinian activism.[58]
Since 2016, over 41 Cornell activists and organizers have had their personal information posted online by Canary Mission. In the words of Ibtihal Malley, a Barnard alumna who is profiled on Canary Mission, "Some members get put on Canary and decide it isn't worth it in the long run."[65][66]
Structure and funding
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Canary Mission does not publish information about who operates or funds it.[5][6][9][7] In 2018, The Intercept reported that the website was adding students to its lists solely following their participation in Students for Justice in Palestine activities. The site also has a page dedicated to SJP.[67] Canary Mission described its vision and strategy in its April 2015 debut video.[68] The two-minute clip features images of Jews with yellow stars on their clothes, followed by images of a hijab-clad woman screaming "Go back to the oven! You need a big oven, that’s what you need!" while other protestors waved Palestinian flags. The video's narrator closes by saying, "It is your duty to ensure that today’s radicals are not tomorrow’s employees."[6]
Although Canary Mission's website states that it is a nonprofit organization, no organization with the name Canary Mission is registered with the IRS. While Canary Mission's website provides a way to donate to the organization via debit or credit card, there is no public record of Canary Mission's sponsors or donors.[3][69] Multiple pro-Israel organizations have denied having any affiliation with Canary Mission.[16]
According to Edwin Black, extreme antisemitic comments, as well as outright threats of violence, have been directed towards Canary Mission. Following the threats, Canary Mission became even more cautious and avoided disclosing its physical location or identity. According to Canary Mission's blog, "many of our detractors just want to know who we are so they can physically harm us", which, according to Black, has caused Canary Mission to restrict its communications with journalists. Black, who says he was able to verify Canary Mission's location and operations, says they are a group of students and ex-students working in a medium-sized office in an American city.[70]
In October 2018, The Forward and Haaretz reported that Canary Mission received funding from the Hellen Diller Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco (JCFSF), and that the website's operations were headed by Jonathan Bash through an Israeli charity named Megamot Shalom.[71] Soon after the exposure, JCFSF announced that they would cease funding Canary Mission.[72]
The Forward also identified the Jewish Community Federation of Los Angeles (JCFLA) as a major donor to Megamot Shalom, having donated a sum of $250,000 in 2016–2017.[73] Soon after, JCFLA also announced that they would suspend grants to Megamot Shalom.[74]
The Lobby – USA, an undercover investigation by Al Jazeera into Israel's covert influence campaign in the United States, reported that Adam Milstein was a major source of funding for Canary Mission.[75] In a statement to JTA, a spokesperson for Milstein denied that he funded Canary Mission.[76]
In April 2025, The Intercept reported a $100,000 donation to Canary Mission from the Natan and Lidia Peisach Family Foundation, a non-profit backing pro-Israel groups.[77][78][79] The foundation's treasurer, Jaime Peisach, is married to University of Pennsylvania trustee Cheryl Peisach.[77][78][79]
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Reception
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Support
Despite its controversial nature, Canary Mission has received support from the likes of Algemeiner,[80] Middle East Forum,[81] and Israel Campus Coalition.[82]
Canary Mission has also worked and collaborated with a number of other pro-Israel advocacy groups such as StopAntisemitism and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.[83]
Additionally, pro-Israel and politically conservative influencers frequently shared Canary Mission media. Examples include actors James Woods,[84] Michael Rapaport,[85][86] and Dean Cain,[87] political commentator Mark Levin,[88] journalists Andy Ngo,[89][90] Katie Pavlich,[91] and Marina Medvin,[92] and author Aviva Klompas.[93]
Opposition
Critics have described Canary Mission as weaponizing the accusation of antisemitism in order to silence critique of Israel.[5] They were even described in one article as "The most notorious anti-Palestinian campus operation."[18]
Filmmaker Rebecca Pierce described Canary Mission as using "'McCarthyist tactics' and employing 'open racism'".[94] Writers for Le Monde Diplomatique and Jewish academics have compared Canary Mission's practice of extorting apologies from targeted individuals in exchange for amnesty to that of authoritarian regimes and McCarthyism in the United States.[10][4]
The Forward reported that while some of the profiles include content that is "genuinely troubling", such as antisemitic social media posts, other accusations made by the website are misleading. One such profile accused a student of "demonizing Israel" because the student had made an announcement at a Hillel International–sponsored dinner critical of Donald Trump's decision to move the United States embassy to Jerusalem.[16] According to Israeli attorney Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man, Canary Mission's information is "often neither reliable, nor complete, nor up to date". She said that the site should not be used by Israeli border officials as it does not meet the reliability standards mandated by Israeli law.[16] The site has been criticized for listing both anti-Israel activists and white supremacists, seemingly grouping them together.[95]
Critics also claim that Canary Mission profiles may harm employment opportunities. An article from October 2023 referenced a law graduate that had a job offer rescinded and implied that it was because of the applicant's Canary Mission profile.[96][97] A month later, dozens of law firms put out an open letter calling on universities to take action in response to reports of antisemitism on their campuses.[98][99]
An article by The Intercept from 2024 interviewed a number of professors that were fired or faced disciplinary action from their universities. The article implies that Canary Mission profiles played a role in the disciplinary action, and many of the professors interviewed have profiles on the site.[100]
Some Jewish and pro-Israeli students have said that pro-Palestinian students and faculty have suspected them of colluding with Canary Mission, blaming them even when they were not involved with Canary.[16]
In February 2018, Twitter briefly suspended Canary Mission's account,[10] for exposing a 2017 tweet by a pro-Palestinian activist that "modified Adele's lyrics to say 'Set Fire to the Jews'". According to Twitter, they made an error in blocking Canary.[101] In October 2019, Ray Hanania argued that Canary Mission was silencing legitimate criticism of Israel. He added:
Imagine the outrage that would be expressed if there was a website that maintained a public list of Jews, publishing their photos and personal information simply because they were active supporters of Israel. Well, you would have to imagine it because it doesn't exist. But you don't have to imagine a website that shows the photos and personal information of Arab Americans who support Palestinian rights and is filled with vicious accusations of them being "anti-Semitic" and even "anti-American."[102]
Canary Mission has been criticized for targeting Jewish organizations critical of Zionism, such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), IfNotNow, and Mondoweiss.[103][104] The site profiles Jewish students affiliated with such organizations; listing JVP as having promoted BDS.[105] Canary has justified such profiling by stating JVP "dismisses and enables anti-Semitism."[106][107] JVP has responded by condemning Canary Mission as "anti-Muslim" and racist.[108][109]
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Lawsuits and criticism
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Kinza Khan
In July 2024, the Chicago branch of the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) attempted to sue Canary Mission on behalf of Kinza Khan. Khan was the subject of a viral video where she was allegedly involved in tearing down posters of Israelis being held captive by Hamas. Canary Mission subsequently profiled Khan. Khan was the plaintiff in two lawsuits against Canary Mission but both suits were dismissed by the judge.[110] CAIR is also representing Laila Ali who was reportedly fired after video surfaced of her tearing down Hamas hostage posters.[111][112]
Amer Zahr
Lawsuits against Canary Mission are often described as difficult or impossible by opponents to the organization. Amer Zahr posted a video about suing Canary Mission[113] and said:
Can you sue the Canary Mission? I said, well, you can't sue someone for saying stuff about you that's true and everything that the Canary Mission writes about me is true. I mean they characterize it in a way that I would not agree with, right? By calling me a terrorist, whatever, I don't know what that word means anymore. And so sometimes when I'm going to perform at places and they want me to send them my bio, I just send them my Canary Mission profile.
Amin Hussain
Former New York University professor Amin Husain[114] made similar remarks:[115]
One of the best biographies I have is on Canary Mission. It's endless. The citations are better than I could ever imagine. And everything they cite to is true.
Others
Pro-Palestinian sources have denounced Canary Mission's activities as an attempt to silence critics of Israel on American college campuses through intimidation.[116][117][118] In response, pro-Palestinian activists have started a website called Against Canary Mission, and say they intend to host profiles of people targeted by Canary Mission in order to portray their activism in a positive light.[116][117] Some pro-Israel organizations have also criticized Canary Mission for its aggressive tactics.[119]
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References
External links
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