# Isreal, Spies and 9/11 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489 "2002-04-13T22:41:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/1 "2002-04-13T22:41:17Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Jeremy\_s\_Evil\_Twin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Jeremy\_s\_Evil\_Twin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeremy_s_Evil_Twin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/2 "2002-04-13T23:38:47Z")
You know, there are people who believe we didn’t land on the moon, either. I believe this falls in the same category. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/3 "2002-04-14T01:03:20Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/4 "2002-04-14T01:13:53Z")
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.) ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/5 "2002-04-14T01:30:41Z")
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?](http://www.insightmag.com/main.cfm/include/detail/storyid/207226.html) From the _Sun-Sentinel_: [Israeli art students suspected of spying](http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:gl076XgkII4C:www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/search/sfl-scspies07mar07.story+Israeli+art+students&hl=en) From the _Associated Press_: [U.S. Deports Israelis Amid Warnings of Espionage Activities](http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAQS1FAGYC.html) From _Newsday_: [Glance at Israeli Art Students](http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:sN9Vzs8qnEkC:www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-spy-glance0309mar08.story%3Fcoll%3Dsns-ap-politics-headlines+Israeli+art+students&hl=en) From the _Cox News Service_: [U.S. deports Israeli spies who posed as art students](http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0305israelispies-ON.html) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/6 "2002-04-14T01:35:03Z")
But don’t you know? It was OUR government that did the whole thing! And the Pentagon attack never happened! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/7 "2002-04-14T03:34:22Z")
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](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](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,47491,00.html) > [@](#): > > Carl Cameron Reports: The Israeli Spy Ring > Friday, March 08, 2002 > > It has been more than 16 years since a civilian working for the Navy was charged with passing secrets to Israel. Jonathan Pollard pled guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and is serving a life sentence. At first, Israeli leaders claimed Pollard was part of a rogue operation, but later took responsibility for his work. > In December, Fox News learned that some U.S. investigators believe that there are Israelis again very much engaged in spying in and on the United States. Fox News Channel correspondent Carl Cameron broke the story that is only now surfacing in other outlets. > > To order a transcript of the report, click here. “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](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. > [@](#): > > There is no indication that the Israelis were involved in the 9-11 attacks,but investigators suspect that they [sic] Israelis may have gathered intelligence about the attacks in advance, and not shared it. A highly placed investigator said there are -quote – “tie-ins.” But when asked for details, he flatly refused to describe them, saying, – quote – “evidence linking these Israelis to 9-11 is classified. I cannot tell you about evidence that has been gathered. It’s classified information.” Uh huh. Classic “I alone know the truth” conspiracy theory stuff. > [@](#): > > A spokesman for the U.S. – excuse me, the Israeli embassy here in Washington issued a denial saying that any suggestion that Israelis are spying in or on the U.S. is – quote – “simply not true.” 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. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/8 "2002-04-14T05:12:05Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/9 "2002-04-14T06:00:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Israelis running intelligence ops in New York? Say it ain’t so! 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. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/10 "2002-04-14T07:19:31Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isreal-spies-and-9-11/103489/11 "2002-04-15T20:18:52Z")
> **[FindLaw Legal Blogs - FindLaw](https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/)** > > Get the latest legal news and information, and learn more about laws that impact your everyday life by visiting FindLaw Legal Blogs. 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.