Isreal, Spies and 9/11

As some of you may have seen, there are various rumors around the web and shortwave that allege (what I believe is incorrectly) that Israel had something to do with 9/11. Furthermore, many sites refer to a FoxNews article about the bust of an Israeli spy ring, and they claim the article was pulled from the website without explanation. I would dismiss that as all anti-Semitic insanity, but RottenNews, which lacks much of any political agenda, also had an article about the missing Fox article.
This is what I’ve gathered-

-Israeli spies were caught disguised as art students sneaking around restricted government property shortly after the 11th. I remember a TV station here in Houston talking about the arrest of some “suspicious men claiming to be Israeli art students surveying government property.”

-Israelis (or, “four Jews”) were detained after they were caught celebrating near the WTC as it was struck by planes.

-A massive Mossad wire tap project was uncovered shortly after the 11th.

So, what’s the Straight Dope? I’m positive they’re almost entirely bunk, but I’ve got no evidence of such.

You know, there are people who believe we didn’t land on the moon, either.

I believe this falls in the same category.

Far be it from me to get all dismissive (yeah, right), but these theories roam freely in the land of the tinfoil hat. Maybe we need a smiley for it. Copy that Jewish smiley and cut off the sideburns (or point them upward to symbolize the alien mind-control beams) and paint the yamulka grey.

Most of the terrorists in 9=11 were Saudis. All of them were Arabs. Are the Saudis and the Arabs working as spies for Israel? If you believe that I got a bridge I want to sell you. I’ll even give you a quit-claim deed to it.

IMO this is part of the vast propaganda promulgated by the Arabs, along with the massacre at Jenin, Israel sniping at innocent civilians, etc. (Now I know I’ll get a lot of flack for that comment.)

I don’t know what the true story is, but the Israeli art students story definitely made the rounds recently.

From Insight: Intelligence Agents Or Art Students?

From the Sun-Sentinel: Israeli art students suspected of spying

From the Associated Press: U.S. Deports Israelis Amid Warnings of Espionage Activities

From Newsday: Glance at Israeli Art Students

From the Cox News Service: U.S. deports Israeli spies who posed as art students

But don’t you know? It was OUR government that did the whole thing! And the Pentagon attack never happened!
:smiley:

Well, ya know, I put “mossad wiretap 9/11” into Google, and Hit #3 was this, a reposting of the supposedly deleted Carl Cameron FoxNews December 2001 series on Israeli spying.

http://www.firefox.1accesshost.com/cameron.html

However, a search of FoxNews reveals that the articles have not been pulled, or if they were, they’ve been put back–but you have to order a transcript.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,47491,00.html

“Surfacing in other outlets” is a link that goes to the FoxNews Israeli Art Student Story.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,47253,00.html

From what I can see of the December series, it was basically just a bunch of conspiracy theorist innuendo without much supporting evidence.

Uh huh. Classic “I alone know the truth” conspiracy theory stuff.

Refusal to believe official denials is also classic conspiracy theorist behavior.

So it looks to me like this Carl Cameron interviews a number of quote-unquote “sources”, cobbles together a quote-unquote “story” about an Israeli spy ring with a few fragments of facts in it, Fox goes ahead and runs it, and then has to pull it when various folks, not least of which are probably the Israelis, cry “foul”.

And then has to put it back when other people cry “foul” for different reasons, but now you have to order a transcript in order to read the whole thing.

That’s what it looks like to me.

As to the truth of the “Israeli spy ring” conspiracy theory–er, it’s late, and I’m tired of Googling.

You tell me. :smiley:

Israelis running intelligence ops in New York? Say it ain’t so!

Of course, New York remains a crucial financial center, as well as host of the United Nations building, so practically every country in the world has a consulate there, and all of them have run spies through at one point or another, for financial and/or industrial espionage, to track the spies of other nations, and let’s not forget that big U.N. thing.

If the Massad wasn’t running an intelligence op in New York on Sept. 11, then I’d be suspicious. Or at least extremely surprised.

That was my thinking. I’d imagine every nation in the world developed enough to have an intelligence agency has agents in the U.S. and that we (the U.S.) have agents in any nation in the world developed enough to learn anything about. Whether or not we’re on friendly or allied relations with them doesn’t even factor into it.

According to the book “by way of deception” which was written by a former mossad agent victor ostrovsky mossad ops In friendly terroitory are nothing new

Since according to the author the mossad knew of the beruit bombing in 1982 I’d be worried that they had info before hand and kept it hidden becuase it would help them out in some manner

They wouldnt be the first either didnt the cia get in trouble in france for economic espionage

They argued amnything that might jepordize american business/industry was fair game
Sidenote If anyone knows of other books or articles by the author of this book I’d like to get his thoughts on thecurrent crisis and the afghan situation

Althouhgh according to the book none of isreals actions or operations are a suprise

The cease-fire line between Israel and the West Bank has never been fortified, as Israeli governments do not recognize it as a border. Lack of a fence means that Palestinians can easily cross into Israel. Thousands enter illegally every day, looking for work, and so do suicide bombers and other attackers.