Palestinian organisations in US targeted by pro-Israeli groups

Palestinian groups in the US are increasingly being targeted by pro-Israeli organisations, according to a report released by two legal advocacy groups on Wednesday.

Palestine Legal said it had been called to respond to nearly 300 attempts to suppress pro-Palestine activism over the past 18 months, according to the report co-authored by the Centre for Constitutional Rights.

"These numbers aren't telling the full story," said Dima Khalidi, director of Palestine Legal, reported The Guardian. "They are really the tip of the iceberg with incidents that go unreported."

According to the report, Israeli groups try to constrain pro-Palestinian activism by saying it such work is anti-semitic.

"We're not just talking about a handful of isolated incidents. This is really a widespread problem that affects hundreds of people across the country," said Khalidi.

Reportedly, most of the incidents took place on university campuses that have been the focus of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which encourages organisations and institutions to remove financial commitments from Israel.

Israeli groups and politicians have said the movement is anti-semitic and aimed to "delegitimise" Israel.

The report documents a wide range of incidents from criminal investigations and lawsuits to the suspension of pro-Palestine groups.

These include an incident in May, when a pro-Israeli group launched a website that profiled people associated with pro-Palestinian student groups to damage their employment prospects.

"It is your duty to ensure that today's radicals are not tomorrow's employees," the Canary Mission website said.

The report's authors ask universities to raise awareness of activities they believe suppress pro-Palestine groups' right to freedom of speech. They also call on the US government to be clearer about the difference between criticising Israel's policies and genuine anti-semitism.