Two major Jewish organizations have defended European digital activists barred from entering the United States by the Trump administration, citing their work combating
antisemitism online.
The U.S. State Department announced late Tuesday that five European digital speech activists, including British researcher Imran Ahmed, would face visa restrictions. Ahmed has advised Jewish federations on social media strategies and co-authored reports exposing how platforms like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) amplify antisemitic content. Other affected activists include leaders of HateAid and the European Union of Jewish Students, groups involved in lawsuits against X over online antisemitism and Holocaust denial.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the move as a crackdown on “censorship.” In a post on X, he claimed, “For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.”
Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) sharply disagreed. Dennis Bernard, JFNA’s head of government relations, called Ahmed “a valuable partner in providing accurate and detailed information on how social media algorithms have created a bent toward antisemitism and anti-Zionism.” JCPA CEO Amy Spitalnick described Ahmed’s targeting as “part of the broader weaponization of the federal government to go after perceived political enemies and advance an extremist agenda.”
Ahmed has collaborated with both organizations for years, presenting findings at JFNA’s General Assembly, the Jewish Funders Network, and the Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh. His research has tracked antisemitic activity on multiple platforms, including a spike following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Other visa-restricted figures include HateAid leaders Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, who have worked to hold X accountable for spreading antisemitic content, and Avital Grinberg, former head of the European Union of Jewish Students. Grinberg said the State Department’s actions “are dangerous for people like us,” emphasizing the importance of organizations that provide tools to counter online hate.
The State Department framed the restrictions under a 2025 visa law aimed at “foreign nationals who censor Americans.” Officials accused the activists of seeking to manipulate U.S. platforms, including efforts to deplatform figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The move reflects a growing clash between U.S. conservatives, who view European tech activism as a threat to free speech, and Jewish organizations pushing for stronger regulation of online antisemitism. HateAid called the visa restrictions “an act of repression by a government increasingly disregarding the rule of law,” pledging to continue their work despite the U.S. sanctions.
Grinberg described the restrictions as largely symbolic: “It’s just a statement. Like, OK, two people cannot enter the U.S. … For me, it’s more a performative act.” Still, she emphasized the ongoing need for watchdogs and activists to counter the rising tide of antisemitism online. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.