Background

Jacob Baime is the Executive Director of the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC), a U.S.-based organization that coordinates pro-Israel advocacy and intelligence-gathering efforts on American college campuses. Under Baime’s leadership, the ICC has developed strategies to monitor, counter, and disrupt pro-Palestinian activism, particularly the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Featured in The Lobby – USA

Baime was prominently featured in Al Jazeera’s undercover documentary The Lobby – USA. In the film, Baime described the ICC’s approach to targeting pro-Palestinian activists as “psychological warfare.” He detailed the use of anonymous websites and targeted digital campaigns to conduct opposition research and disseminate information about activists critical of Israel. Baime cited Canary Mission—a site that publishes profiles of students and academics accused of anti-Israel activity—as a key example of these tactics

“With the anti-Israel people, what’s most effective, what we’ve found at least in the last year, is you do the opposition research, put up some anonymous website, and then put up targeted Facebook ads… Canary Mission is a good example. It’s psychological warfare.”
— Jacob Baime, The Lobby – USA

Baime explained that these efforts are designed to force activists to spend time defending themselves, thereby reducing their capacity to organize against Israel. He stated that the ICC had a research budget of approximately $2 million dedicated to these campaigns

Coordination and Funding

The documentary revealed that Baime and the ICC coordinate closely with the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs, a government agency involved in global campaigns against the BDS movement and pro-Palestinian activism. Baime acknowledged the use of “corporate level, enterprise-grade social media intelligence software” to rapidly identify and track campus events and activists

Baime was also shown interacting with Adam Milstein, a prominent pro-Israel philanthropist. While Milstein has publicly denied funding Canary Mission, undercover footage and interviews in the documentary identified him as a key financier of the site. The film documents private discussions between Baime and Milstein at advocacy conferences, suggesting a level of coordination between funders and operational leaders of these campaigns.

Methods and Impact

• Anonymous Websites: Baime described the creation and promotion of anonymous websites—such as Canary Mission—to publicize opposition research on activists.
• Targeted Digital Campaigns: ICC uses targeted Facebook ads and social media campaigns to amplify the reach of these sites.
• Surveillance and Intelligence: The ICC employs advanced digital tools to monitor pro-Palestinian events and activists in real time.
• Coordination with Israeli Government: Baime admitted to direct coordination with the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs for these operations.

Broader Context

The tactics described by Baime in The Lobby – USA have raised concerns about transparency, privacy, and the impact on free speech in academic settings. The exposure of these methods has led to increased scrutiny of pro-Israel advocacy groups’ influence and their covert operations targeting student activists in the United States

Social Media:

Twitter/X: @JacobBaime​

Instagram: @jacobbaimeicc​Instagram

LinkedIn: Jacob Baime