A coalition of anti-Israel activist groups in New York is set to host a fundraiser for two convicted men and a third awaiting trial in cases tied to anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incidents, including the vandalism of a Pittsburgh Chabad center.
The event, titled “Repression Breeds Resistance,” is scheduled for Friday at Widdi Catering Hall in Brooklyn. Organizers say it will raise money for Jakhi McCray, Tarek Bazrouk and Mohamad Hamad.
More than two dozen groups are sponsoring the event, including PAL-Awda and CUNY for Palestine.
Jayne Zirkle, communications director for EndJewHatred, told JNS that the participation of campus-affiliated groups such as CUNY for Palestine “openly encouraging and providing support for terrorism and extremist ideologies, including radical Islamist agendas, represents a serious challenge that universities can no longer ignore.”
Zirkle noted that these organizations have crossed the line from political expression into promoting and justifying violence, and that universities should hold participating campus groups accountable.
“Universities are creating an environment where Jew-hatred and extremism can take root,” she said.
McCray, a Brooklyn activist, pleaded guilty in April to federal arson charges after admitting that he set fire to 10 New York City Police Department vehicles and a trailer in a secured police lot in Brooklyn in June 2025, causing an estimated $800,000 in damage. Prosecutors said the attack strained police resources ahead of planned anti-Israel demonstrations. McCray, who blamed his indictment on state “repression” of the anti-Israel movement, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
Bazrouk, of New York City, was sentenced in October 2025 to 17 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a hate-crimes conspiracy charge stemming from a series of assaults on Jewish victims in New York City between 2024 and 2025. Federal prosecutors said he targeted victims because they were Jewish or were perceived to be Jewish.
Hamad, of Coraopolis, Pa., is awaiting trial on federal charges related to the vandalism of Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh on July 29, 2024. Prosecutors allege that Hamad and a co-defendant spray-painted anti-Israel graffiti, including “Jews 4 Palestine” and an inverted red triangle, on Jewish communal property because of the Jewish identity of those associated with the institutions.
