2026-01-29 01:09:PM <br/> Tags: #organization #AmericanJewry #Intel ![[image-224.png|455x308]] [^1] # Canary Mission - Canary Mission is an anonymous pro-Israel organization founded in 2015 that uses open source intelligence to compile and publish profiles of people deemed antisemitic or anti-Israel. - Canary profiles contain a photo, affiliations, antisemitic infractions, and links to the subject's social media profiles. - Although Canary Mission largely targets left wing progressive activists, all perceived opponents of Israel without political distinction are valid targets. - Canary Mission's intention is to blacklist opponents of Israel from future employment, education, public life, etc. [^9] - Canary Mission uses doxxing, intimidation, and public pressure campaigns to fight Israel's ideological enemies in the United States. - Canary Mission is, as described by James Bamford in a 2023 article in *The Nation*, "a massive blacklisting and doxxing operation directed from Israel."[^7] *Canary Mission is operated out of Israel in conjunction with the Israeli government. However, its activities and funding sources are largely American, which is why this page is contained int the "American Jewry" folder.* #### Founding - Canary Mission was founded in the aftermath of [[Operation Protective Edge (2014 Gaza War)]]. - The organization was launched to fight a rise in pro-Palestine activism on college campuses. - In 2018, a shadowy Israeli nonprofit called Megamot Shalom was revealed to be the likely organization behind Canary Mission.[^6][^7] - One of Megamot Shalom's board members is rabbi Ben Packer, an American-born Israeli. - Packer is known to distribute the literary works of [[Meir Kahane]], an extreme American-Israel religious Zionist political leader who was active in the 1970s and 80s. - In 2016, Packer celebrated [[Donald Trump]]'s hiring of [[Stephen Miller]] as a senior advisor to the president.[^8] *Stephen Miller wrote speeches for Trump during the 2016 campaign, became a top advisor in the first term, and has been front and center regarding immigration during Trump's second term.* - Packer is reported to have previously given Miller a tour of the West Bank. - Packer has been described as "[[Donald Trump]]'s biggest fan in the Middle East."[^8] #### Activities and Tactics - From its founding, Canary has been supported by the [[Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC)]] and the ICC's CEO [[Jacob Baime]]. - The ICC called Canary a "strong deterrent against anti-Semitism."[^3] - The [[Algemeiner Journal]] and [[Daniel Pipes]]' [[Middle East Forum]] have also voiced support for Canary.[^2] - In a 2025 article in *The Algemeiner*, Canary's tactics were likened to "pulling the hood off a Klansman."[^13] - Given the relative obscurity of most Canary Mission targets, their Canary profile ranks near the top search results when searching their name. - This is not an accident, if an admissions officer, employer, or government agency searches the web for background on an individual and their Canary profile is among the only results, they are likely suffer. - In 2025, Canary Mission took credit when the [[Donald Trump|Trump]] administration began deporting Israel-critical non-citizen students.[^9] - The Trump administration used Canary Mission to identify targets for deportation.[^10] *The deportation of students for their positions on Israel is a perfect example of right wing Jewish strategy. Pro-Israel Jews know that deporting people for criticism of Israel is unpopular. Their solution is to hide behind a popular position (deporting illegal immigrants) to advance Jewish interest. While the administration fails to deport a significant number of illegals, its surrogates and cheerleaders are claiming victory for deporting "anti-American Hamas-supporters." The bottom line: Trump delivers tangible victories for Jews and Israel while we get nothing.* - The only way to be removed from Canary Missions database is to issue an adequate public apology.[^11] - If Canary is satisfied with the apology, the subject (and their public apology) will be listed under the "Ex-Canary" section of the site. *As of writing this, there are 124 profiles listed under "Ex-Canary."* - The Israeli security/intelligence apparatus is known to use Canary Mission. - The Israeli internal security agency [[Shin Bet]] (similar to FBI) and the Israeli [[Ministry of Strategic Affairs]] are known to use Canary Mission profiles usually to reject entry to Israel/occupied territories.[^7] #### Funding - In 2018 it was revealed that Canary was being funded by the San Francisco Jewish Federation, a chapter of the [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)]].[^4] - The Jewish Federations are the largest Jewish fundraising network. The Federations are a core part of the American Jewish establishment. - The San Francisco Jewish Federation used its proxy, the Helen Diller Family Foundation to contribute $100,000 to Canary Mission in 2016. - Helen Diller was married to the late Jewish billionaire Sanford Diller, who contributed $6 million to a pro-[[Donald Trump|Trump]] Super PAC in 2016.[^7] - The $100,000 contribution was funneled through the [[Central Fund of Israel]], a U.S. based nonprofit used by Jewish donors to conceal their identities. - This contribution is only known due to an accidental naming of Canary Mission on a tax form filed by the foundation. - In an undercover investigative film called *The Lobby-USA*, [[Adam Milstein]] was revealed to be a large funder of Canary Mission.[^12] - Michael Leven - Donated $50,000 to Canary Mission - Former top executive of Las Vegas Sands Corp., the gambling empire of prolific Israel-first Jewish billionaire [[Sheldon Adelson]].[^14] - Leven is the co-chair of the "Boca Raton Cabinet," a leadership subset of [[Birthright Israel]].[^15] - The Ann and Robert Fromer Charitable Foundation gave $20,000 to Canary Mission in 2023.[^14] - The donation was funneled through the [[Central Fund of Israel]]. - Robert Fromer is a board member of [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP)]].[^14] #### Figures - Jonathan Bash - British rabbi living in Jerusalem - Bash is one of the only known figures behind Megamot Shalom, the Israeli nonprofit behind Canary Mission.[^7] - Helen Diller Foundation - Earmarked $100,000 for Canary Mission by accident in 2016.[^7] [^4] - [[Adam Milstein]] - Milstein has been repeatedly named as Canary Mission's most prominent funder. Milstein was outed as funding Canary by Eric Gallagher, a former official of [[The Israel Project]].[^12] Milstein is a prolific backer of pro-Israel causes in the United States. #### Recommended Reading - Spyfail - James Bamford #### References [^1]: [Source](https://mondoweiss.net/2019/01/university-california-distance/) for the logo [^2]: “Canary Mission,” _Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Mission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Mission). [^3]: Josh Nathan-Kazis, “A New Wave of Hardline Anti-BDS Tactics Are Targeting Students, And No One Knows Who’s Behind It,” _Forward_, August 2, 2018, [https://forward.com/news/407127/a-new-wave-of-hardline-anti-bds-tactics-are-targeting-students-and-no-one](https://forward.com/news/407127/a-new-wave-of-hardline-anti-bds-tactics-are-targeting-students-and-no-one). [^4]: Josh Nathan-Kazis, “REVEALED: Canary Mission Blacklist Is Secretly Bankrolled by Major Jewish Federation,” _Forward_, October 3, 2018, [https://forward.com/news/411355/revealed-canary-mission-blacklist-is-secretly-bankrolled-by-major-jewish](https://forward.com/news/411355/revealed-canary-mission-blacklist-is-secretly-bankrolled-by-major-jewish). [^5]: “Central Fund of Israel,” _Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Fund_of_Israel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Fund_of_Israel). [^6]: Josh Nathan-Kazis, “Documents Reveal Board Of Shadowy Charity Linked To Canary Mission,” _Forward_, October 15, 2018, [https://forward.com/news/411881/documents-reveal-men-behind-megamot-shalom-mysterious-charity-tied-to/](https://forward.com/news/411881/documents-reveal-men-behind-megamot-shalom-mysterious-charity-tied-to/). [^7]: James Bamford, “Who Is Funding Canary Mission? Inside the Doxxing Operation Targeting Anti-Zionist Students and Professors,” _The Nation_, December 22, 2023, [https://web.archive.org/web/20260111022914/https://www.thenation.com/article/world/canary-mission-israel-covert-operations/](https://web.archive.org/web/20260111022914/https://www.thenation.com/article/world/canary-mission-israel-covert-operations/). [^8]: Michael F. Brown, ““Fire up the bulldozers,” says Trump’s biggest fan in Jerusalem,” _Electronic Intifada_, January 19, 2017, [https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/michael-f-brown/fire-bulldozers-says-trumps-biggest-fan-jerusalem](https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/michael-f-brown/fire-bulldozers-says-trumps-biggest-fan-jerusalem). [^9]: Zack Beauchamp, “This Pro-Israel Group Keeps a Blacklist. Now It’s Taking Credit for Deportations,” _Vox_, April 25, 2025, archived via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20250424231942/https://www.vox.com/politics/410125/canary-mission-the-pro-israel-group-taking-credit-for-student-deportation-explained. [^10]: Asaf Elia-Shalev, “The Trump Administration Used Canary Mission to Target Students, Deportation Filing Confirms,” _Forward_, July 11, 2025, [https://forward.com/fast-forward/754318/the-trump-administration-used-canary-mission-to-target-students-deportation-filing-confirms](https://forward.com/fast-forward/754318/the-trump-administration-used-canary-mission-to-target-students-deportation-filing-confirms). [^11]: “Ex-Canary,” _Canary Mission_, [https://canarymission.org/ex-canary](https://canarymission.org/ex-canary). [^12]: Asa Winstanley and Ali Abunimah, “Censored Film Names Adam Milstein as Canary Mission Funder,” _Electronic Intifada_, August 27, 2018, [https://electronicintifada.net/content/censored-film-names-adam-milstein-canary-mission-funder/25356](https://electronicintifada.net/content/censored-film-names-adam-milstein-canary-mission-funder/25356). [^13]: Mitchell Bard, “Jewish Ambivalence About Fighting Antisemitism,” _Algemeiner_, April 13, 2025, [https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/04/13/jewish-ambivalence-about-fighting-antisemitism/](https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/04/13/jewish-ambivalence-about-fighting-antisemitism/). [^14]: Alex Kane, “Canary Mission’s Newest Funders,” _Jewish Currents_, April 4, 2025, [https://jewishcurrents.org/canary-missions-newest-funders](https://jewishcurrents.org/canary-missions-newest-funders). [^15]: “Who We Are,” _Birthright Israel Foundation_, [https://birthrightisrael.foundation/who-we-are](https://birthrightisrael.foundation/who-we-are).