Formerly classified FBI documents shed light on weapons smuggling networks, intelligence gathering, and political activities carried out in the United States on behalf of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine and the newly established State of Israel during the 1940s and 1950s.
The documents detail how US authorities investigated connections between Zionist organizations, intelligence officials, businesspeople, and political activists at a time when Washington supported the establishment of a Jewish state but restricted arms shipments to the region.
The documents were published on October 21 by the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep), following Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests the organization first submitted in 2014. They are part of an FBI counterintelligence investigation file known as ISINT, which focused on Israeli intelligence services.
According to the released archive, the FBI had been actively investigating the matter since at least July 1949, during the tenure of longtime FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. The materials include surveillance records, suspicions of arms export violations, contacts with Israeli representatives, and activities involving networks that had emerged before Israel declared independence.
According to reports from the period, one shipment was concealed in crates labeled "used machinery." While the crates were being loaded onto a ship, one fell and broke open, revealing containers bearing markings identifying their contents as explosives belonging to the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The discovery prompted an investigation by police and the FBI. On January 15, 1948, the bureau announced the arrests of four suspects: Philip Alper, Moses Wolfson, Jack Dorfman, and Joseph Sager. All four were accused of making false statements about the shipment's contents in export documents.
The incident occurred after President Harry Truman's administration imposed restrictions on arms exports to Mandatory Palestine and neighboring countries in December 1947, seeking to prevent an escalation of fighting in the region.
Although Washington supported the UN partition plan, its political backing for the establishment of a Jewish state did not authorize private individuals in the United States to circumvent export restrictions.
The man who smuggled aircraft and founded Israel Aerospace Industries
The documents also address the activities of Al Schwimmer, a central figure in the establishment of the Israeli Air Force who later founded Israel Aerospace Industries.
Schwimmer and his associates worked to acquire American aircraft for Jewish forces fighting in the War of Independence, before the establishment of the IDF, despite US restrictions on military equipment exports.
In 1950, Schwimmer was convicted in the United States of conspiracy to violate the Neutrality Act and export control laws and was fined $10,000. The conviction also resulted in the loss of certain civil rights.
He later moved to Israel, founded Israel Aerospace Industries, and became one of the most prominent figures in the history of Israel's defense industry.
In 2001, President Bill Clinton granted him a presidential pardon, approximately 50 years after his conviction.
The Anti-Defamation League and Arab League documents
Another section of the FBI files concerns activities linked to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Jewish organization that combats antisemitism.
According to FBI records, individuals associated with the organization obtained documents concerning Arab League activities in New York through a chain of intermediaries.
One memorandum describes how Herman Edelsberg, an ADL official, explained to investigators how the documents came into the organization's possession.
According to the account, a man named Wahid al-Dali, identified as the nephew of a senior Arab League official, passed documents to a journalist he believed was sympathetic to the Arab organization's positions.
The journalist then passed the materials to Sanford Griffith, who was described as working on behalf of the ADL. Subsequently, 76 pages of documents were transferred to American officials and ultimately reached the FBI.
The records demonstrate US intelligence authorities' interest in how information about the Arab League was obtained. However, they do not, in themselves, establish that the ADL committed espionage or that its activities were directed by the Israeli government.
The organization, which over the years became a leading force in combating antisemitism and monitoring extremist groups in the United States, also faced legal criticism in later decades over its information-gathering practices.
In 1999, the ADL reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by Arab American and other groups.
The agreement included a commitment to delete certain information collected about the plaintiffs, as well as payments to cover legal expenses and contribute to a community fund.
The ADL denied engaging in illegal activities.
AIPAC founder also appears in FBI files
One of the notable names appearing in the FBI documents is Isaiah Leo Kenen, who later founded the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the influential pro-Israel lobbying organization in Washington.
According to the investigation, FBI documents refer to Kenen's connections with the Israeli delegation to the UN and his activities on behalf of the newly established state.
Separate records indicate that Kenen previously worked within Israel's public diplomacy apparatus and registered as a representative of a foreign principal under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
A January 1951 memorandum documents a conversation in which Kenen discussed the possibility of leaving government employment and establishing a private public relations business, potentially with the Israeli government as its first client.
A US Justice Department representative informed him that such an arrangement would require a new registration under the law, and Kenen agreed.
However, Kenen's activities during that period must be distinguished from AIPAC's current legal status.
AIPAC describes itself as an American organization representing American citizens and emphasizes that it is neither funded nor directed by the Israeli government. It is not registered as a foreign agent.
The fact that its founder previously registered as a representative of a foreign principal does not establish that AIPAC itself operates under Israeli government instructions or is legally required to register as a foreign agent.
Disclosure comes as AIPAC changes its political activities
The release of the historical documents comes at a sensitive time for AIPAC, amid growing controversy in the United States over its influence on congressional elections and American assistance to Israel.
Last week, the organization announced that it would stop formally endorsing candidates in elections and making direct contributions to them through its political action committee.
However, AIPAC clarified that it intends to continue raising money from American citizens to support pro-Israel candidates.
According to figures published in the United States, AIPAC members have contributed more than $90 million to candidates during the current election cycle, and the organization plans to expand its fundraising activities in the future.
The newly released historical files do not establish a direct connection between weapons smuggling and intelligence gathering during Israel's founding years and AIPAC's operations today.
Nevertheless, they offer a glimpse into the period when some of the networks connecting the Zionist movement, the US government, and American Jewish organizations were being established.
Security cooperation and intelligence concerns
According to the investigation, the documents also include records of a shortwave radio receiver operating in a private home in Brooklyn between 1946 and 1947, as well as an individual described as an enthusiastic supporter of David Ben-Gurion.
Investigators attempted to trace the communications links, but substantial portions of the records remain redacted.
As a result, the publicly available documents do not establish what was communicated or whether operational instructions were transmitted.
The disclosure also comes amid discussions in the US Congress about expanding security and intelligence cooperation with Israel, including in defense technology and the sharing of classified information.
The newly released documents illustrate that even as the strategic relationship between the two countries developed, US authorities were examining the potential risks of foreign intelligence activities on American soil from the earliest years of Israel's existence.
However, these are historical investigative files, portions of which remain redacted. Not everyone named in the documents was suspected of wrongdoing, and not every allegation investigated by the FBI resulted in criminal charges or a conviction.
Their release provides additional documentation of the complex relationship between the United States, the Zionist movement, and the newly established State of Israel, but does not constitute evidence of illegal activity by organizations operating today.
Follow us on GoogleSource: The Jerusalem Post · IDAN KWELLER
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