Canary Mission

{{Infobox website

| name = Canary Mission

| logo = Logo of Canary Mission.webp

| logo_size = 125px

| logo_alt = The logo of Canary Mission, depicting a canary inside of a circle

| url = https://canarymission.org/

| commercial = No

| type = Database of student activists, professors and organizations the site considers to be anti-Israel or antisemitic

| language = English

| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2014}}

| current_status = Active

}}

Canary Mission is an anonymously run doxing{{Cite news |last=Bamford |first=James |date=2023-12-22 |title=Who Is Funding Canary Mission? Inside the Doxxing Operation Targeting Anti-Zionist Students and Professors |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/world/canary-mission-israel-covert-operations/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |work=The Nation |language=en-US |issn=0027-8378}} website established in 2014 that publishes the personal information of students, professors, and organizations that it describes as anti-Israel or antisemitic, focusing primarily on people at North American universities.{{Cite news|url=https://forward.com/news/national/407127/a-new-wave-of-hardline-anti-bds-tactics-are-targeting-students-and-no-one/|title=A New Wave Of Hardline Anti-BDS Tactics Are Targeting Students, And No One Knows Who's Behind It|last=Nathan-Kazis|first=Josh|date=2 August 2018|work=Forward}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.jta.org/2018/08/27/news-opinion/united-states/pro-israel-donor-adam-milstein-denies-report-funds-canary-mission|title=Pro-Israel donor Adam Milstein denies report that he funds Canary Mission|date=27 August 2018|newspaper=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|access-date=16 September 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://mondediplo.com/2018/09/02israel-lobby|title=The truths that won't be heard|last=Gresh|first=Alain|date=September 2018|work=Le Monde Diplomatique|access-date=16 September 2018}} Critics have described it as weaponizing the accusation of antisemitism in order to silence critique of Israel.

Canary Mission's published materials have been described as a blacklist. Profiles are publicly-available online and intended for wide use, and Canary Mission may actively send them to employers.{{cite book |last=Maira |first=S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=McU3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 |title=Boycott!: The Academy and Justice for Palestine |publisher=University of California Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-520-29488-2 |series=American Studies Now: Critical Histories of the Present |page=94 |access-date=2018-10-22}} Known users of the profiles include Israeli intelligence organizations Ministry of Strategic Affairs{{Cite web |last=Landau |first=Noa |date=2018-10-04 |title=Israel Uses Canary Mission Blacklist Info To Bar Activists |url=https://forward.com/news/411453/israel-uses-canary-mission-blacklist-info-to-bar-activists/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=The Forward |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Landau |first=Noa |date=4 Oct 2018 |title=Official Documents Prove: Israel Bans Young Americans Based on Canary Mission Website |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2018-10-04/ty-article/.premium/official-documents-prove-israel-bans-young-americans-based-on-canary-mission-site/0000017f-e5c4-df2c-a1ff-ffd5b4150000 |work=Haaretz}} and Shin Bet, which interrogate and deny entry to American citizens.{{cite news |last1=Thrall |first1=Nathan |title=BDS: how a controversial non-violent movement has transformed the Israeli-Palestinian debate |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/14/bds-boycott-divestment-sanctions-movement-transformed-israeli-palestinian-debate |access-date=17 December 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=14 August 2018}}{{Cite web |last=Nathan-Kazis |first=Josh |date=2 August 2018 |title=Canary Mission's Threat Grows, From U.S. Campuses To The Israeli Border |url=https://forward.com/news/407279/canary-missions-threat-grows-from-us-campuses-to-the-israeli-border/ |access-date=16 September 2018 |website=Forward}} In March 2025, multiple foreign students with Canary Mission profiles were detained by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Canary Mission's work toward silencing critique of Israel is controversial. Its tactics have been compared to McCarthyism{{Cite news |last=Nathan-Kazis |first=Josh |date=27 Feb 2018 |title=Twitter Account Blacklisting pro-Palestinian Activists, anti-Semites Deactivated |url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/twitter-account-blacklisting-pro-palestinian-activists-deactivated-1.5850607 |access-date=16 September 2018 |work=Haaretz}} and the makeup and reliability of profiles have been questioned.

Operations

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". The website has been described as a blacklist and its thousands of profiles were selected for inclusion by Canary Mission's unnamed editors. Profiles are constructed using public information from social media and often contain detailed personal information, such as childhood photos. Some profiles document prominent white supremacists, including Identity Evropa members. Canary Mission has removed certain profiles of people who published apology essays on the site.

= 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".{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/mcmaster-university-anti-semitic-tweets-sphr-1.4454674|title='Death to Israel' tweets linked to Palestinian rights student group at McMaster|date=18 December 2017|newspaper=CBC}} The university actively reviewed the "disturbing social media post", 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".{{cite news|url=https://www.cjnews.com/news/canada/mcmaster-coy-dealt-anti-semitic-tweets|title=McMaster tight-lipped on how it dealt with anti-Semitic tweets|last=Csillag|first=Ron|date=28 February 2018|website=The Canadian Jewish News|language=en-US}}

In April 2018, during a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign at George Washington University, flyers with Canary Mission's logo were posted around the university denouncing a planned student senate vote.{{Cite web|url=https://mondoweiss.net/2018/04/washington-university-threatening/|title=George Washington University divestment vote cancelled due to safety concerns following threatening anti-BDS posters|last=Rubin|first=Jesse|date=17 April 2018|website=Mondoweiss|access-date=16 September 2018}} 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. In September 2018, Canary Mission released a report on the vote, highlighting reputed antisemitic and anti-Israel tactics used to promote the vote.{{cite news|url=https://www.jns.org/recent-report-highlights-anti-semitic-tactics-used-by-sjp-members-amid-bds-debate-at-george-washington-university/|title=Report highlights anti-Semitic tactics used by SJP members amid BDS debate at GW|last=Richman|first=Jackson|date=28 September 2018|website=JNS.org|language=en-US}}

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), 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".{{cite news|url=http://jewishjournal.com/news/nation/234597/signs-anti-semitism-florida-state/|title=Signs of Anti-Semitism at Florida State|last=Bandler|first=Aaron|date=30 May 2018|work=Jewish Journal}} 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".{{cite news|url=http://jewishjournal.com/news/nation/234732/fsu-sjp-attempts-distance-accusations-anti-semitism/|title=FSU SJP Attempts to Distance Itself from Accusations of Anti-Semitism|last=Bandler|first=Aaron|date=4 June 2018|work=Jewish Journal}}

= 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.{{Cite web |last=Prater |first=Nia |date=2025-03-28 |title=The Pro-Israel Group That Led to Rumeysa Ozturk's Arrest |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/rumeysa-ozturk-tufts-canary-mission.html |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=Intelligencer |language=en}} 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. 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.{{Cite news |last1=Sanders |first1=Hank |last2=Kanno-Youngs |first2=Zolan |date=2025-03-20 |title=D.H.S. Detains a Georgetown University Academic |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/us/politics/georgetown-suri-detained.html |access-date=2025-03-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Use of Canary Mission listings

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. 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.{{cite news |last1=Nathan-Kazis |first1=Josh |last2=Zaltzman |first2=Lior |date=3 October 2017 |title=Shadowy Blacklist Of Student Activists Wins Endorsement Of Mainstream Pro-Israel Group |url=https://forward.com/news/national/383938/shadowy-blacklist-of-student-activists-wins-endorsement-of-mainstream-pro-i/ |access-date=2020-01-16 |website=The Forward |language=en-US}}{{cite news|url=https://jacobinmag.com/2018/04/mccarthyism-canary-mission-bds-palestine-blacklist|title=The Anti-BDS Smear Campaign Escalates|last=Palumbo-Liu|first=David|date=4 September 2018|website=Jacobin Magazine}}[https://books.google.com/books?id=McU3DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22canary+mission%22&pg=PA94 Boycott!: The Academy and Justice for Palestine], University of California Press, Sunaina Maira, page 94 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".[https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-trolls-of-academe-making-safe-spaces-into-brave-spaces/#! The Trolls of Academe: Making Safe Spaces into Brave Spaces], Los Angeles Review of Books, W. J. T. Mitchell, 5 January 2018

Structure and funding

Canary Mission does not publish information about who operates or funds it.{{Cite web |last=Kane |first=Alex |date=2018-11-22 |title="It's Killing the Student Movement": Canary Mission's Blacklist of Pro-Palestine Activists Is Taking a Toll |url=https://theintercept.com/2018/11/22/israel-boycott-canary-mission-blacklist/ |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Canary Mission: Mystery website demonising pro-Palestine students exposed |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/canary-mission-mystery-website-demonising-pro-palestine-students-exposed |access-date=2025-03-23 |date=2018-08-29|website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Hussain |first=Murtaza |date=2020-10-04 |title=The Real Cancel Culture: Pro-Israel Blacklists |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/10/04/israel-palestine-blacklists-canary-mission/ |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}} 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. They also reported that Canary Mission perfectly articulated its vision and strategy in its April 2015 debut video. The two-minute clip features images of Jews with yellow stars on their clothes, followed by images of hijab-clad women waving Palestinian flags. The video's female narrator closes by saying, "It is your duty to ensure that today’s radicals are not tomorrow’s employees."

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.{{Cite web|url=https://canarymission.org/|title=Donate Today|last=Canary Mission|date=13 October 2018}} Multiple pro-Israel organizations have denied having any affiliation with Canary Mission.

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.{{cite news | url=https://www.jpost.com/Blogs/The-Cutting-Edge/Inside-Canary-Mission-416703 |title=Inside Canary Mission |author-link=Edwin Black |first=Edwin |last=Black |date=May 11, 2016 |newspaper=Jerusalem Post}}

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.{{Cite news |last1=Nathan-Kazis |first1=Josh |last2=Zeveloff |first2=Naomi |date=3 October 2018 |title=Revealed: Canary Mission Blacklist is Secretly Bankrolled by Major Jewish Federation |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/revealed-canary-mission-blacklist-is-secretly-bankrolled-by-major-jewish-federation-1.6528545 |access-date=3 October 2018 |work=Haaretz}} Soon after the exposure, JCFSF announced that they would cease funding Canary Mission.{{cite news |last=Nathan-Kazis |first=Josh |date=4 October 2018 |title=Following Forward Report, Federation says it will no longer fund Canary Mission |url=https://forward.com/news/national/411426/breaking-after-forward-report-federation-says-it-will-not-fund-canary/ |work=The Forward}}

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.{{cite news |last=Nathan-Kazis |first=Josh |date=11 October 2018 |title=Jewish Charity Admits Funding Group Tied To Canary Mission Blacklist |url=https://forward.com/news/411895/second-major-jewish-charity-admits-funding-canary-mission-blacklist/ |work=The Forward}} Soon after, JCFLA also announced that they would suspend grants to Megamot Shalom.{{Cite web |last=Dolsten |first=Josefin |date=October 15, 2020 |title=LA Jewish group pulls funding for Canary Mission-linked NGO |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/la-jewish-group-pulls-funding-for-canary-mission-linked-ngo/ |access-date=April 4, 2024 |website=The Times of Israel}}

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.{{Citation|title=The Lobby - USA, episode 1| date=3 November 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lSjXhMUVKE|language=en|access-date=2020-01-16}} In a statement to JTA, a spokesperson for Milstein denied that he funded Canary Mission.{{Cite web |date=27 August 2018 |title=Pro-Israel donor Adam Milstein denies report that he funds Canary Mission |url=https://www.jta.org/2018/08/27/news-opinion/united-states/pro-israel-donor-adam-milstein-denies-report-funds-canary-mission |access-date=16 September 2018 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Clifton |first=Eli |date=2025-04-02 |title=Pro-Israel Group That Attacked UPenn Was Funded by Family of UPenn Trustee |url=https://theintercept.com/2025/04/02/penn-israel-canary-mission-peisach/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Canary Mission's Newest Funders |url=https://jewishcurrents.org/canary-missions-newest-funders |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Jewish Currents |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Ryan |first=Isha Chitirala, Finn |title=Penn trustee's family foundation donated $100,000 to Canary Mission, 2023 tax form shows |url=https://www.thedp.com/article/2025/04/penn-peisach-trustee-canary-mission-donation |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=www.thedp.com |language=en-us}} The foundation's treasurer, Jaime Peisach, is married to University of Pennsylvania trustee Cheryl Peisach.

Controversy and criticism

The filmmaker Rebecca Pierce described Canary Mission as using {{"'}}McCarthyist tactics' and employing 'open racism{{'"}}.[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/27/website-targets-pro-palestinian-students-harm-job-prospects Website targets pro-Palestinian students in effort to harm job prospects], Amanda Holpuch, 27 May 2015, The Guardian 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.

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. 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. The site has been criticized for listing both anti-Israel activists and white supremacists, seemingly grouping them together.{{cite news |last1=Syed |first1=Zayna |date=1 March 2019 |title=Canary Mission blacklists students, faculty for pro-Palestine views |url=https://www.michigandaily.com/news/community-affairs/canary-mission-blacklists-students-faculty-pro-palestine-views/ |access-date=11 October 2023 |work=The Michigan Daily}}

Pro-Palestinian sources have denounced Canary Mission's activities as an attempt to silence critics of Israel on American college campuses through intimidation.{{Cite web|url=https://mondoweiss.net/2018/08/communal-palestines-advocates/|title=We need a communal response to Israeli gov't and Canary Mission attacks on Palestine's advocates|last=Herbst|first=Robert|date=6 August 2018|website=Mondoweiss|access-date=16 September 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/uc-davis-students-fight-back-against-canary-mission|title=UC Davis students fight back against Canary Mission|last=Barrows-Friedman|first=Nora|date=7 June 2018|website=Electronic Intifada|access-date=16 September 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/2018/04/18/exposing-canary-mission|title=Exposing Canary Mission|last=Committee on American Freedom|website=Middle East Studies Association|date=18 April 2018 |access-date=16 September 2018}} 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. Some pro-Israel organizations have also criticized Canary Mission for its aggressive tactics.{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-parts-of-censored-al-jazeera-documentary-on-pro-israeli-lobby-leaked-1.6432835|title=Parts of Censored Al Jazeera Documentary on D.C. Israel Lobby Leaked|last=Tibon|first=Amir|date=30 August 2018|work=Haaretz|access-date=16 September 2018}}

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.

In February 2018, Twitter briefly suspended Canary Mission's account, 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.{{Cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/news/nation/231538/organization-fighting-anti-semitism-locked-twitter-exposing-anti-semitic-tweet/|title=Organization Fighting Anti-Semitism Locked Out of Twitter for Exposing an Anti-Semitic Tweet|last=Bandler|first=Aaron|date=5 March 2018|website=Jewish Journal|language=en-US}} 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."{{cite news|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1573226|title=US website using hatred to silence criticism of Israel|date=23 October 2019|work=Arab News|first=Ray|last=Hanania|access-date=24 June 2023}}

Canary Mission has been criticized for targeting Jewish organizations critical of Zionism, such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), IfNotNow, and Mondoweiss.{{Cite news |date=2019-01-17 |title=Dear Canary Mission, If You're Reading This, I'm Not Afraid of You |url=https://newvoices.org/2019/01/17/dear-canary-mission-if-youre-reading-this-im-not-afraid-of-you/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=New Voices |language=en-US |last1=Jasper |first1=Zoe }}{{Cite web |last=Syed |first=Zayna |date=2019-03-01 |title=Canary Mission blacklists students, faculty for pro-Palestine views |url=http://www.michigandaily.com/news/community-affairs/canary-mission-blacklists-students-faculty-pro-palestine-views/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=The Michigan Daily |language=en-US}} The site profiles Jewish students affiliated with such organizations; listing JVP as having promoted BDS.{{Cite web |date=2018-08-03 |title=Anonymous Online Blacklist Canary Mission Is Getting Scarier |url=https://forward.com/news/407279/canary-missions-threat-grows-from-us-campuses-to-the-israeli-border/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=The Forward |language=en}} Canary has justified such profiling by stating JVP "dismisses and enables anti-Semitism."{{Cite web |title=Jewish Voice for Peace |url=https://canarymission.org/organization/Jewish_Voice_For_Peace |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=canarymission.org}}{{Cite web |title=IfNotNow |url=https://canarymission.org/organization/IfNotNow |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=canarymission.org}} JVP has responded by condemning Canary Mission as "anti-Muslim" and racist.{{Cite web |title=Just Released - JVP Stands Up to Canary Mission With Powerful Video {{!}} Common Dreams |url=https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2018/11/16/just-released-jvp-stands-canary-mission-powerful-video |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=www.commondreams.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=wpengine |date=2016-05-13 |title=Canary Mission |url=https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2016/05/13/canary-mission/ |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=JVP |language=en-US}}