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Ultra-Orthodox Israeli man from Beit Shemesh charged with espionage

Hasidic man and two other Israelis were reportedly unwittingly recruited by Iranian intelligence agents to conduct a campaign of intimidation and psychological warfare in Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s internal security agency recently arrested three Israeli citizens suspected of working on behalf of an Iranian agent, the Shin Bet agency revealed Tuesday afternoon.

At midnight between June 26th and 27th, a large number of Israeli security forces and police officers were deployed to the predominantly ultra-Orthodox Dalet 1 neighborhood of Ramat Beit Shemesh.

Officers forcibly entered an apartment in the neighborhood and arrested a 21-year-old ultra-Orthodox man from the Vizhnitz Hasidic movement, fueling reports the suspect had been unwittingly duped into serving as an agent for Iranian intelligence.

Spy espionage

Screenshot of conversation with Iranian agent. (Shin Bet)

On Tuesday, the Shin Bet revealed the suspect’s identity, confirmed that he was arrested for allegedly working on behalf of Iran, and adding that he had recruited two other Israeli civilians who have also been arrested.

The suspect, 21-year-old Elimelech Stern, was charged Tuesday at the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office maintaining ties with a foreign agent.

According to an investigation conducted by the Shin Bet and the police department’s Lahav 433 unit, Stern was recruited by Iranian agents via the Telegram social media platform, operating under the moniker “ANNA ELENA.”

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The agent operating the fictitious profile claimed to be living in London, and offered to pay Stern significant sums of money for a variety of tasks.

For example, Stern was asked to hang posters in Tel Aviv, stash money at different points in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, deliver packages containing a severed animal or doll head along with a threatening message and a knife to be placed at the doors of Israeli citizens, and to set fire to a forest – all apparently part of a campaign of intimidation and efforts to sow fear among Israelis.

The two other suspects arrested in connection with the investigation have been released, the Shin Bet said.