The Israeli art student spy ring refers to a spring 2001 report by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive describing so-called “Israeli art students” who tried to illegally access a number of federal buildings using counterfeit visas. John Kiriakou says several of them lived on the same block in Hollywood, Florida as 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta and other hijackers.[1]
The “dancing Israelis”
Kiriakou connects the art-student network to the “dancing Israelis,” a group stopped by the NYPD in a white panel van on the day of the September 11 attacks. When first stopped, they insisted, “No, no, we’re friends. You don’t want us. You want the Arabs. The Arabs are the enemy. You should focus on the Arabs, not us. We’re friends. We’re Israeli.” Kiriakou’s assessment: “Well, they were spies. They were Israeli spies.”[2]
He places the episode in a broader pattern: Israel, he says, infiltrates American society around military bases and defense contractors to steal information the same way Russia, China, and Cuba do, because Israel is not content with receiving 99% of American weapons systems and wants the remaining 1% — “they are willing to risk the very relationship” with Washington to get it.[3]
Release rather than prosecution
Kiriakou says the detained Israelis were ultimately released and sent back to Israel simply because they were Israeli — a decision made by the U.S. attorney general in coordination with the president, chief of staff, or national security adviser. Nationals of any other country caught in the same circumstances, he says, would likely still be imprisoned for espionage.[4]