Israeli art students

See related article: Culture of Israel.

Israeli art students exist in fairly large Israeli artist colonies in Israel and have gained notice in the United States in a number of ways. For example, they have migrated to trendy art centers in New York City such as in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, known as The Village, SoHo and Tribeca. These young Israeli artists have created paintings and works of art and in order to raise some money for themselves, some have gone door to door in major American cities, such as in Manhattan, and have attempted to sell works of art to workers and people in offices and businesses.

During the first half of 2001, individuals saying they were Israeli art students began showing up at United States federal government offices and the homes of U.S. federal officials, attempting to sell art work. In March, 2001 the American Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive (ONCIX) described these individuals, and noted that there were possibly two different groups describing themselves as "Israeli art students", one with "an apparently legitimate money-making goal" and a "second, perhaps a non-Israeli group" which possibly had "ties to a Middle Eastern Islamic fundamentalist group". ONCIX directed U.S. government employees to report these kinds of activities to security officials.[1]

Some of the government buildings at which these individuals appeared housed offices of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). At least one (and perhaps a few more) American federal law enforcement agents became suspicious of these individuals and started an investigation into the possibility that they were attempting to gain information from government employees. Someone inside the DEA assembled a report documenting their activities and concluded the Israeli art student phenomenon may have been "an organized intelligence gathering activity," and alleging that the individuals were not enrolled in art universities, that the art itself was made in China, and that the individuals had backgrounds with the Israeli military in areas of intelligence, surveillance,and explosives. However, the report was not an official DEA report, and it is unclear how many DEA agents were involved in writing the report or how many believed its contents or conclusions to be accurate. Subsequent stories in Fox News the Associated Press and Le Monde reported claims that Israeli criminal networks and/or the Israeli government's intelligence establishment had used the cover of Israeli art students to conduct espionage and surveillance activities in the United States and Europe. The Arab press and conspiracy theorists took up the stories, often linking them to various 9/11 conspiracy claims regarding Jews or Israel.[2]

On March 6 2002 the Washington Post published an article stating that the alleged DEA report was actually an unofficial draft by a disgruntled DEA official. According to the Post "allegations ... of a massive U.S. probe of Israeli spies appear to have been circulated by a single employee of the Drug Enforcement Administration who is angry that his theories have not gained currency ... [and who] appears to be leaking a memo that he himself wrote." The Post also reported, "a wide array of U.S. officials yesterday dismissed reports that the U.S. government had broken up an Israeli espionage ring ..." Justice Department official Susan Dryden characterized the allegations as an "urban myth." Immigration official Russell Bergeron said the arrests of young Israelis were "routine, normal cases ... I have no knowledge of any espionage-related issues with these people."

Links claiming Israeli art student conspiracy

Skeptical links

Reports of Israeli Spy Ring Dismissed