Declassified FBI Files Reveal Early U.S. Counterintelligence Probe into Israeli Espionage and Smuggling Networks
The Israel Lobby Archive announces the public release of heavily redacted, declassified FBI files detailing a massive U.S. counterintelligence investigation code-named "ISINT" (Israeli Intelligence Service, Espionage - IS). Initiated under former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, the newly uncovered documents reveal that the U.S. government actively monitored and wiretapped early Israeli diplomats, prominent Zionist leaders, and underground weapons smuggling networks operating on American soil during the 1940s and 1950s.
The file—FBI File 65-58700—was secured via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep) starting in 2014. After years of administrative delays, high cost assessments, and extensive negotiations, the FBI has released the documents across five separate tranches. The files detail widespread federal surveillance of critical historical figures, including AIPAC founder Isaiah L. Kenen, IDF arms procurement operative Yaakov Malkin, Jewish Agency weapons smuggling financier Nahum Bernstein and various high-ranking diplomats and military intelligence officers.
According to the unsealed records, U.S. counterintelligence operations tracked an array of sophisticated, unauthorized, and highly damaging operations targeting American institutions designed to bypass federal laws and manipulate public opinion including:
- Clandestine Munitions Pipelines: Documenting how front companies like New York’s Ultramar International Corp. illegally purchased and smuggled surplus World War II combat aircraft to the fledgling state.
- High-Level Wiretapping and Mail Interception: Tracking the transnational networks of pre-state paramilitary and terrorist movements such as the Haganah, Irgun, and Stern Gang.
- Intelligence Leaks: Revealing an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) operation that utilized a New York Times foreign correspondent to secure secret Arab League documents and pass them to friendly U.S. State Department officials.
- Explosives Diversions Endangering Civilians: The Alper group diverting explosives purchased from the War Assets Administration through mislabeled civilian shipments in New York.
The launch of the ISINT investigation in July 1949 marked a pivotal and deeply obscured chapter in U.S. counterespionage efforts against Israel. These records arrive amidst plummeting American public opinion toward Israel as Israeli operatives and U.S. politicians under the influence of Israel's lobby continue trying to inveigle Israel into the US Department of Defense. A recent procedural vote to advance the Senate version of the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (containing Section 1217, the US-Israel FUTURES Act) failed 50–46, falling short of the 60 votes needed for cloture. Examination of IsraelLobby.org/ISINT may convince policymakers it would be better to keep Israel outside the national security establishment rather than giving it free reign inside.
By bringing these raw, redacted files to light, IRmep provides historians and the public an unfiltered look at how early Israel influence and espionage campaigns directly violated with U.S. neutrality and arms export laws and the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The complete, multi-part PDF collection of FBI File 65-58700, featuring the original interim release letters and detailed archivist descriptions of each section, is now fully accessible to researchers, journalists, and the public.
To view the declassified files and read the complete architectural breakdown, visit the official repository at: https://www.israellobby.org/ISINT/default.asp.
About the Israel Lobby Archive:
The Israel Lobby Archive is a research initiative managed by the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, Inc. (IRmep). The archive is dedicated to preserving, organizing, and digitizing declassified government documents to foster a transparent understanding of foreign lobbying, law enforcement actions, and policy formulation within the United States. | 
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