September 11, 2001: Israeli Special-Ops Passenger Shot or Stabbed by Hijackers?
An FAA memo written on the evening of 9/11, and later leaked, suggests that a man on Flight 11 was shot and killed by a gun before the plane crashed into the WTC. The “Executive Summary,” based on information relayed by a flight attendant to the American Airlines Operation Center, stated “that a passenger located in seat 10B [Satam Al Suqami] shot and killed a passenger in seat 9B [Daniel Lewin] at 9:20 am.” (Note that since Flight 11 crashed at 8:46, the time must be a typo, probably meaning 8:20). A report in Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz on September 17 identifies Lewin as a former member of the Israel Defense Force Sayeret Matkal, Israel's most successful special-operations unit. [ UPI, 3/6/02 ] Sayeret Matkal is a deep-penetration unit that has been involved in assassinations, the theft of foreign signals-intelligence materials, and the theft and destruction of foreign nuclear weaponry. Sayeret Matkal is best known for the 1976 rescue of 106 passengers at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. [ New Yorker, 10/29/01 ] Lewin founded Akamai, a successful computer company, and his connections to Sayeret Matkal remained hidden until the gun story became known. [ Guardian, 9/15/01 ] FAA and American Airline officials later deny the gun story and suggest that Lewin was probably stabbed to death instead. [ UPI, 3/6/02; Washington Post, 3/2/02 (B) ] Officials assert that the leaked document was a “first draft,” and subsequently corrected, but declines to release the final draft, calling it “protected information.” However, an FAA official present when the memo was drafted will dispute the FAA's claim, asserting that “[t]he document was reviewed for accuracy by a number of people in the room, including myself and a couple of managers of the operations center.” [ World Net Daily, 3/7/02 ]

September 11, 2001: Five Israelis Arrested for Puzzling Behavior near WTC
Five Israelis are arrested around 4:30 pm for “puzzling behavior” related to the WTC attacks: filming the burning WTC from the roof of their company's building near Liberty State Park, New Jersey, then shouting in what was interpreted as cries of joy and mockery. A neighbor spotted them and called the police and the FBI. The police tracked them down in a van with the words “Urban Moving Systems” written on the side. [ Bergen Record, 9/12/01; Ha'aretz, 9/17/01 ] One man was found with $4,700 in cash hidden in his sock, another had two passports on him, and a box cutter was found in the van. [ ABC News, 6/21/02 ] Investigators say that “[t]here are maps of the city in the car with certain places highlighted... It looked like they're hooked in with this. It looked like they knew what was going to happen.” [ Bergen Record, 9/12/01 ] One of these Israelis later says, “our purpose was to document the event.” [ ABC News, 6/21/02 ] The FBI later concludes at least two are Mossad agents and that all were on a Mossad surveillance mission. The FBI interrogates them for weeks. [ Forward, 3/15/02 ] They are held on immigration violation charges, but are released 71 days later. [ ABC News, 6/21/02 ] Their names are later identified as Sivan and Paul Kurzberg, Oded Ellner, Omer Marmari, and Yaron Shmuel. [ Forward, 3/15/02 ]

September 11, 2001: Former Israeli Prime Minister: 9/11 Very Good for Israeli-US Relations
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when asked what the 9/11 attacks means for relations between the US and Israel , replies, “It's very good.” Then he edits himself: “Well, not very good, but it will generate immediate sympathy.” [ New York Times, 9/12/01 (C) ] A week later, the Village Voice states, “From national networks to small-town newspapers, the view that America's terrible taste of terrorism will finally do away with even modest calls for the restraint of Israel's military attacks on Palestinian towns has become an instant, unshakable axiom. ... Now, support for Israel in America is officially absolute, and Palestinians are cast once again as players in a global terrorist conspiracy.” [ Village Voice, 9/19/01 ]

September 14, 2001: Head of Shadowy Company Flees US
Dominick Suter, owner of the company Urban Moving Systems, flees the country to Israel . The FBI later tells ABC News, “Urban Moving may have been providing cover for an Israeli intelligence operation.” Suter has been tied to the five Israeli agents caught filming the WTC attack. The FBI had questioned Suter around September 12, removing boxes of documents and a dozen computer hard drives. However, when the FBI returns a few days later, he is gone. [ Forward, 3/15/02; New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, 12/13/01; ABC News, 6/21/02 ]

September 29-30, 2001: Suspected Mossad Agents Detained, Released
Police in the Midwest stop six men carrying suspicious documents. They possess photos and descriptions of a nuclear power plant in Florida and the Trans-Alaska pipeline, and have “box cutters and other equipment.” All six have Israeli passports. They are released the same day after their passports are shown to be valid, but before anyone interviews them. The FBI is reportedly furious about their release. [ Miami Herald, 10/3/01; Knight Ridder, 10/31/01; Times of London, 11/2/01 ] The six men may have been Mossad agents. In addition to snooping on the DEA and Islamic militants, some Mossad agents in the “art student spy ring” have been caught trying to break into military bases and other top-secret facilities (see March 23, 2001). [ Salon, 5/7/02 ]

October 16, 2001: Several Arrested for Curious Sears Tower Surveillance
Two men, Moshe Elmakias and Ron Katar, are arrested after being found with a detailed video of the Sears Tower in Chicago. In addition, a woman named Ayelet Reisler is found with them, carrying conflicting identification information. They are arrested for illegal dumping, using a van with the name Moving Systems Incorporated. The video contains extensive zoom in shots of the Sears Tower; it is not known when the video was filmed. [ Philadelphia Mercury, 10/18/01 ]

November 20, 2001: Israelis Who Videotaped WTC Attack Are Released, Deported
The five Israelis arrested on 9/11 for videotaping the WTC attack and then cheering about it (see September 11, 2001) are released and deported to Israel . Some of the men's names had appeared in a US national intelligence database, and the FBI has concluded that at least two of the men were working for the Mossad, according to ABC News. However, the FBI says that none of the Israelis had any advanced knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, and they were released as part of a deal between the US and the Israeli government. After their release, they claim to have been tortured. [ Forward, 3/15/02; ABC News, 6/21/02 ]

November 23, 2001: More Israelis Arrested in Wake of 9/11
The Washington Post reports that “[a]t least 60 young Israeli Jews have been arrested and detained around the country on immigration charges since the September 11 attacks, many of them held on US government officials' invocation of national security.” An INS official who requested anonymity says the use of the term “special interest” for Israelis being held in Cleveland, St. Louis, and other places means the case in question is “related to the investigation of September 11th.” [ Washington Post, 11/23/01 ] Most of them are deported. However, Intelligence Online claims that “For the overwhelming majority of the ring's members expelled, there was no problem at all with visas, and in the lists we only found a few minor cases of expired visas."” [ Agence France-Presse, 3/6/02 ]

End Part II