Israel is so concerned about homegrown Iranian spies it is launching a PR campaign to dissuade them
Dozens of Israelis have been arrested in recent months on suspicion of spying for Iran
Israeli emergency responders work at a building where four people were killed by an Iranian missile strike in Beersheba on June 24. Photo by Erik Marmor/Getty Images
(JTA) — Dozens of Israelis have been arrested in recent months on suspicion of spying for Iran, prompting the Israeli government to launch a PR campaign designed to dissuade collusion.
Titled “Easy Money, Heavy Price,” the campaign will include ads on radio, websites and social media meant to convince Israelis that spying for the country’s sworn enemy is not worth the costs.
The campaign launches weeks after Israel waged an aggressive military campaign against Iran’s nuclear sites and was battered by hundreds of Iranian missiles before reaching a ceasefire agreement after 12 days.
It also follows a string of recent news reports of Israelis who have been arrested for conducting espionage activities on Iran’s behalf. The activities have included photographing military and sensitive sites, moving purported weapons within the country and laying the groundwork for assassination plots, according to the reports.
At least one man who was arrested had physically traveled to Iran to meet with his handlers, who wanted him to assassinate a former prime minister, Naftali Bennett, the Economist reported in February.
The plots have largely preyed on economically vulnerable Israelis with relatively weak social ties. In one high-profile case, police arrested two young men in Tiberias on June 15, according to the Times of Israel. The two were each promised $60,000 to assassinate a top Israeli scientist.
Some watchdogs say the country’s political divisions may also be undercutting pressure not to commit treason against Israel.
“No wonder that in such a chaotic reality, more and more Israelis have less and less inhibitions and are ready to break the taboo that you don’t betray your country,” a scholar of Israel studies told the Economist.
The PR campaign comes from Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate along with the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service. It aims to “raise awareness of the phenomenon of Israeli citizens cooperating with Iran, carrying out security missions for Iran inside Israel, and thus colluding with the enemy during war,” according to a release from the Israeli government’s press office.
Shin Bet said the phenomenon appeared to be driven “most often out of greed for money.” The campaign will warn the public that severe security offenses carry a penalty of up to 15 years of imprisonment.
Over the past year, Shin Bet and the Israeli police have found more than 25 instances of Israelis being recruited by Iran to carry out various missions, and more than 35 Israelis have been indicted on severe charges, according to the press office. Officials have said elsewhere that they believe that potentially hundreds of Israelis have been working on behalf of Iran, in an effort that Iran accelerated within the past couple of years.
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