Did the Dancing Israelis know that 9/11 was going to happen?

New information released by the FBI has brought fresh scrutiny to the possibility that the “Dancing Israelis,” at least two of whom were known Mossad operatives, had prior knowledge of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

For nearly two decades, one of the most overlooked and little known arrests made in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks was that of the so-called “High Fivers,” or the “Dancing Israelis.” However, new information released by the FBI on May 7 has brought fresh scrutiny to the possibility that the “Dancing Israelis,” at least two of whom were known Mossad operatives, had prior knowledge of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Shortly after 8:46 a.m. on the day of the attacks, just minutes after the first plane struck the World Trade Center, five men — later revealed to be Israeli nationals — had positioned themselves in the parking lot of the Doric Apartment Complex in Union City, New Jersey, where they were seen taking pictures and filming the attacks while also celebrating the destruction of the towers and “high fiving” each other. At least one eyewitness interviewed by the FBI had seen the Israelis’ van in the parking lot as early as 8:00 a.m. that day, more than 40 minutes prior to the attack. The story received coverage in U.S. mainstream media at the time but has since been largely forgotten.

The men — Sivan Kurzberg, Paul Kurzberg, Oded Ellner, Yaron Shimuel and Omar Marmari — were subsequently apprehended by law enforcement and claimed to be Israeli tourists on a “working holiday” in the United States where they were employed by a moving company, Urban Moving Systems. Upon his arrest, Sivan Kurzberg told the arresting officer, “We are Israeli; we are not your problem. Your problems are our problems, The Palestinians are the problem.”

For years, the official story has been that these individuals, while they had engaged in “immature” behavior by celebrating and being “visibly happy” in their documenting of the attacks, had no prior knowledge of the attack. However, newly released FBI copies of the photos taken by the five Israelis strongly suggest that these individuals had prior knowledge of the attacks on the World Trade Center. The copies of the photos were obtained via a FOIA request made by a private citizen.

IMG_3485.JPG

A high-quality photo, top, shows the area the dancing Israelis were staged

According to a former high-ranking American intelligence official who spoke to the Jewish Daily Forward in 2002, the FBI concluded in its investigation that the five Israelis arrested “were conducting a Mossad surveillance mission and that their employer, Urban Moving Systems of Weehawken, NJ, served as a front.” At least two of the men arrested were determined to have direct links to the Mossad after their names appeared in a CIA-FBI database of foreign intelligence operatives. According to one of their lawyers, one of the men, Paul Kurzberg, had previously worked for the Mossad in another country prior to arriving in the United States. Another of those arrested, Oded Ellner, subsequently stated on Israeli TV that the five Israelis had been in New York at the time “to document the event,meaning the attack on the World Trade Center.
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(See article for discussion of the photos that are in the report)

One of the 9/11 loose-ends coverups?

If images 5 and 7 were indeed taken the day prior to the attack, the question then becomes why the FBI officially concluded that the arrested Israelis had no prior knowledge of the attacks? One report from ABC News dated June 2002 suggests that the Bush administration intervened in the investigation. That report states that “Israeli and U.S. government officials worked out a deal — and after 71 days, the five Israelis were taken out of jail, put on a plane, and deported back home [to Israel].” If the Bush administration had cut a deal with Israel’s government to cover up the incident, it certainly would not have been the first time a U.S. presidential administration had done so on Israel’s behalf.

Further evidence that higher-ups in the administration intervened is the fact that then-Attorney General John Ashcroft personally signed off on the detainees’ release. Upon his entering the private sector as a lobbyist and consultant in 2005, the Israeli government became one of Ashcroft’s first clients.

A cover-up certainly seems to have happened to some extent, between the destruction of records of the investigation and the fact that official conclusions of the investigation do not add up. In the latter case, the FBI — in a file dated September 24, 2001– officially stated that they “determined that none of the Israelis were actively engaged in clandestine intelligence activities in the United States.” However, that conclusion was directly contradicted by U.S. officials a year later and by the fact that Israel’s own government subsequently acknowledged that the five Israelis had indeed been involved in “clandestine intelligence activities in the United States.”
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“Tourists” with cash-stuffed socks, box cutters, and explosives?

Beyond the photos and observed activities of the so-called “Dancing Israelis,” it is worth revisiting several other suspicious circumstances linked to their arrest that clearly show that the men in question were hardly the “tourists” they had claimed to be. One often cited example is the fact that one of the men, Oded Ellner, had a “white sock-like sack filled with $4,700 in cash,” as well as maps of the city with certain places highlighted, and box cutters. In addition, the van in which the Israelis were arrested was “oddly” lacking “equipment typically used in a moving company’s daily duties,” according to the FBI, and residue of explosives was found in the van.

Of the explosive residue, the declassified FBI report states:

A search of the van and individuals was conducted at the time of the vehicle stop. The vehicle was also searched by a trained bomb-sniffing dog which yielded a positive result for the presence of explosive traces. Swabs of the vehicle’s interior were taken, and those samples were sent to the FBI laboratory for further analysis. Final results are still pending.”

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9/11 as a big — and acknowledged — Israeli win

If the “Dancing Israelis”, and more broadly the Mossad and the Israeli government, had foreknowledge of September 11, why would they remain silent and not attempt to warn the American government or public of the coming attacks? In the case of the “Dancing Israelis,” why would Israelis celebrate such an attack?

One of the detained “Dancing Israelis,” Omer Marmari, told police the following about why he viewed the September 11 attacks in a positive light:

Israel now has hope that the world will now understand us. Americans are naïve and America is easy to get inside. There are not a lot of checks in America. And now America will be tougher about who gets into their country.”
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When asked, on the day of the 9/11 attacks, how the attacks would affect American-Israeli relations, Benjamin Netanyahu — the current Israeli prime minister — told the New York Times that “It’s very good,” before quickly adding “Well, not very good, but it will generate immediate sympathy.” He then predicted, much as Marmari had, that the attacks would “strengthen the bond between our two peoples, because we’ve experienced terror over so many decades, but the United States has now experienced a massive hemorrhaging of terror.”

Netanyahu, in a candid conversation recorded in 2001, also echoed Marmari’s claim that Americans are naïve. In that recording, Netanyahu said:


I know what America is. America is something that can easily be moved. Moved to the right direction. … They won’t get in our way. They won’t get in our way… 80 percent of the Americans support us. It’s absurd.

This article is very long and has lots of links that I have left out so I recommend you read the whole thing.

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lotlizard's picture

Then everyone tried to force it to disappear down the memory hole.

But that doesn’t work so well on those of us with Asperger’s syndrome. We may be socially inept and lacking in that there “emotional IQ,” but we do become extremely counter-suggestible i.e. ornery, when it comes to authorities trying to make us deny our own vivid memories.

https://forward.com/news/national/325698/spy-rumors-fly-on-gusts-of-truth/

http://www.historycommons.org/searchResults.jsp?searchtext=urban+moving+...

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=carl+cameron+four+part+series+fox+israel+9%2F11

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mimi's picture

@lotlizard

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Raggedy Ann's picture

eye witness account of seeing "Muslims" cheering the attacks. It was ISRAELI's! Of course, months ago, in the WW, Lookout posted a link to a fellow who followed the Israeli link and calls them out as responsible. I'd have to go back and find it, but I could because I sent that video to a friend, so it's also in my email. I've never doubted this story. Here's more proof. Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Lookout's picture

@Raggedy Ann

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XHm56O2NTI]
https://www.corbettreport.com/911-suspects-dancing-israelis/

Those willing to be open minded should check out these truther sites:

http://911truth.org/

https://www.ae911truth.org/

http://pilotsfor911truth.org/index.html

If, as I suspect, 911 was a false flag the entire war of terror should focus on the worlds primary terrorists...the CIA, FBI, and Israel's Mossad.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Wink's picture

@Lookout

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

mimi's picture

@Lookout
Has that something to do with open mindedness or for closed mindedness? That was posted online in 2016?

I am confused. Why is this brought to our attention?. Can you explain a little bit about it and what the corbett report used to be?

I feel someone wants to test my gullibility.

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mimi's picture

@Lookout @Lookout
articles you linked from truth.org years ago. I also remember that I was reprimanded for it by a well known front page writer on TOP and it was clear that I was supposed to shut up and not be ridiculous. That must have been way before 2015.

ok, I am glad that I am a ridiculous person and forget everything. It's convenient.

Why is all of that on the table again? ok. sorry I had to read the essay again. Never mind.

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Lookout's picture

@mimi

Folks in the US can't even admit 911 might be a false flag so that was the reason for the comment on being open minded.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

mimi's picture

@Lookout

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snoopydawg's picture

@Lookout

This information is just as amazing as the 28 pages that were finally released that showed how some people in the Saudi government had supported the Saudi terrorists that attacked the towers. This was hidden from us for years and finally released during Obama's tenure. But how many remember this being discussed for weeks on the news? I used to have a photo of "Bandar" Bush having a great time with George and Dick and they were all smiles. Yeah really funny...

The dancing Israelis weren't the only ones that knew an attack was coming because the government warned people to stop flying in June that year. Quite a few people were told not to go to work that day too.

Israel is still spying on us. You'd think that after the Al Jazeera report came out that our government would cut all ties with Israel and Saudi Arabia...LMAO! Just recently it was discovered that Israel is spying on journalists through the Whatsup app. Have you heard anything about this?

ByeDone said that even if Israel wasn't there then we'd have to create them. Not sure what this means. Sure would be nice if someone asked him about this huh?

It's was during Obama's tenure that people were told that photos of them had been deleted. Why did he say that?

Great addition to the essay!

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Lookout's picture

@snoopydawg

Israel has been caught red-handed engaging in systematic election-meddling in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Facebook responded by banning an Israeli company engaged in a “fake news” influence campaign
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP-0sk59qY8 (5 min)
Surprise surprise...I mean Bibi speaks to congress and the Prez.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/05/16/596119/Facebook-Israel-privacy...

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout Amazing what we have been told by the government and what has been documented.
You'd almost think lying to us was a plan.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Raggedy Ann's picture

@Lookout
That wasn’t the video, but it was new to me, thanks for posting it. The one I’m thinking about was an interview with a fellow who followed the clues to Israel. I can search my email tomorrow at work, where I have a desktop - easier to search. I’ll check back in.

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

the riverside spot where the iconic views of the New York skyline are photographed and another on a more nondescript street. Both later moved to other towns. Their homes and the "main drag" are about all I remember of the Weehawken from my early childhood visits.

Heartwarming to know that Omer and Bibi were able to find the bright side to 3000 deaths on 911, isn't it? /s

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I never knew about any of the back story. This plus the fact that the hijackers were Saudis really adds up to an attack by Israel and Saudi Arabia to provoke the US into war in the ME with their enemies - with or without the beforehand knowledge of the Bush administration. If anyone hacked our freaking elections, Israel might be the first place to look.

Thanks for posting this Snoop.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

@dkmich I was already at the point where I refused to listen to Bush. I completely missed out on the background of his remarks.
What is most interesting to me is that the FBI was angry they had not been included in the plan, whereas most of the truther stuff I have read suggests they were part of it.
Really an interesting essay and comment links.
Thanks, everyone.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

snoopydawg's picture

@dkmich

But Russia right? It's well known that Israel has been supporting our government for ages, but during this Russian propaganda campaign no one has brought that up. Or that Flynn was talking to someone in Russia for Israel. Bibi asked Kushner to do that because the UN was going to censor Israel for its illegal settlements and Bibi wanted Russia to vote against it.

But as I said in another comment here no one seemed to blink an eye at the Saudi government's involvement in the attacks. Either.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

We get bad, grainy black and white photocopies of photocopies? Because the originals were destroyed? WTF? Because ... they were not considered to be important documentation of one of the most significant events in our history? Or something? And only 14 out of 70-some-odd? With the faces of the people involved redacted? When a large part of the question at issue is precisely whether they were conspicuously celebrating? WTWTF?

Apparently, they think we can't handle the truth.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

mimi's picture

@UntimelyRippd

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@mimi
copies are being withheld from us. Supposedly "destroyed", though that's a dubious claim, since it appears that they were scanned into digital jpeg format. then printed out on a printer of some kind, and then copied again using black-and-white mode (no grayscale). it's ridiculous.

this is the kind of stuff that makes me want to throw rocks at people who think Assange is an idiot because he thinks there shouldn't be any government secrets at all. i don't even know whether he's said that, but the more important flip side is that even if there are some things the government ought to keep secret, almost everything that the government keeps secret should not be kept secret. these photos should have been released, in full color and high resolution, a long, long time ago.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

mimi's picture

@UntimelyRippd

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snoopydawg's picture

@UntimelyRippd

and nothing came from that either. Except that congress decided that she should be rewarded for what she did and be appointed to run the CIA.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

wendy davis's picture

i'd cued it up to use in next diary on 'the coming deal of the century', a stanley cohen (yanno, that self-loathing jew) piece describing the need for palestinian resistance, etc. i think i'll still use a few excerpts. ain't webb a peach of an indefatigable journalist?

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Steven D's picture

Your account will be suspended.
Just after you are reported for antisemitism.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

mimi's picture

@Steven D @Steven D @Steven D (corrected typo)
it never ends, doesn't it. I heard that before.

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mimi's picture

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mimi's picture

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