News Brief
Why Did the FBI Show Up at Alison Weir's Door? Critics of Israel Say They Know the Answer
Journalist and author Alison Weir has raised concerns over what she describes as an unsettling visit from the FBI, alleging that agents showed up at her home unannounced to question her.
In a public statement on November 18, Weir revealed that she was approached by agents who informed her the visit was connected to a matter involving Press TV, the Iranian state-owned news outlet. She said she asked agents to allow a family member to be present before continuing the discussion, during which she learned the agents had been directed by one of their offices to "check in with certain people."
The encounter has drawn attention amid growing fears among advocates for Palestinian rights, who say federal authorities are targeting individuals critical of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. The FBI has declined to comment on the visit or clarify whether it is part of a larger investigation.
FBI agents suddenly showed up at my home recently. They asked me about a person whose name I didn't recognize. I asked to have a family member present and ascertained from the agents that one of their offices had asked them to check in with certain people in regard to something...
- Alison Weir (@alisonweir)
The U.S. government's targeting of Iran's PressTV has been ongoing since June 2021, when its website domain was seized. Despite this, the channel has continued to interview guests from the United States and maintain correspondents there. Among its guests has been Weir, who says she has been interviewed by PressTV multiple times over the years without issue-until now.
Weir, best known for her book "Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the United States was used to create Israel." also runs the website " If Americans Knew," which offers critical perspectives on occupied Palestine. Following the FBI's unexpected visit to her home, Weir expressed concern over what she perceives as a coordinated effort to suppress dissenting views on Israel.
"It would appear someone is now trying to set the stage to silence dissent on Israel-Palestine in the United States by trumping up 'connections with Iran,'" Weir said, noting that other pro-Palestine activists have reported similar visits from the FBI.
On November 1, pro-Palestinian TikTok influencer Guy Christensen faced a harrowing 𝕏 ordeal when his family's home was encircled by police vehicles. Authorities informed him that an individual had impersonated him, making bomb threats against several synagogues. Christensen, en route to a speaking engagement with Green Party figures Jill Stein and Butch Ware, was detained at the airport for questioning and is now under FBI investigation. When he inquired about the impersonator's identity, officials disclosed that the caller had used a VPN, obscuring the origin of the call.
I'm finally speaking out.
I was targeted by a Zionist who impersonated me to the FBI in an attempt to put me on a No Fly List.
This is the story of what happened. This is what Zionists do to people who try to help Palestinians: pic.twitter.com/e1FSh33COo
- YourFavoriteGuy (@guychristensen_)
I was targeted by a Zionist who impersonated me to the FBI in an attempt to put me on a No Fly List.
This is the story of what happened. This is what Zionists do to people who try to help Palestinians:
In June, U.S. human rights activist Osama Abuirshaid revealed he had been placed on an FBI watchlist without explanation. Speaking to Turkish media outlet Anadolu Agency, Abuirshaid described harassment that he believes was motivated by his advocacy for Palestinian rights.
Months earlier, on March 19, an Egyptian-American woman faced a similar experience when FBI agents arrived at her home over screenshots of Facebook posts. A video of the encounter, in which she repeatedly asked the agents to leave and referred them to her attorney, went viral, garnering millions of views. Her comment, "This is America," as she confronted the agents sparked widespread debate about federal overreach and the implications for freedom of expression.
According to the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project at the City University of New York, government surveillance targeting Muslims, Palestinians, and Arabs expressing support for Palestine has surged since the onset of the war in Gaza.
However, the scrutiny has not been confined to minority groups. U.S. civil rights organization Palestine Legal reported that as early as February, it received multiple accounts of FBI agents visiting activists in response to social media posts criticizing what the activists described as Israel's "genocide of Palestinians in Gaza."
The FBI's discriminatory targeting of people who speak up for Palestinian rights on social media is an attempt to silence popular criticism of Israel. You have a right to speak up against genocide. You have a right to refuse to speak to FBI agents without an attorney present.
- Palestine Legal (@pal_legal)
It was revealed earlier this year that, under pressure from U.S. members of Congress, the FBI began monitoring pro-Palestine student protesters who had set up encampments on college campuses. Pro-Israel groups in the United States reportedly lobbied for warrantless surveillance of these student-led demonstrations..
While the FBI focused on surveilling anti-war protesters and investigating its own citizens, reports emerged that an ex-Israeli special forces agent had infiltrated a student encampment at UCLA. The former operative suggested the operation may have been conducted in coordination with the Los Angeles Police Department. Requests for comment from Middle East Eye regarding the incident went unanswered.
Feature photo |Alison Weir
Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show 'Palestine Files'. Director of 'Steal of the Century: Trump's Palestine-Israel Catastrophe.' Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47