former israel PM Ehud Barak and Jeffrey Epstein's Alleged Ties

Defence affairs analysis

Some X users responded to Bennett's post by posting old press clippings of Epstein's purported relationship with Israeli officials, including a May 2023 story from The Wall Street Journal that was republished by The Times of Israel, which alleges that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak met with Epstein dozens of times starting in 2013.

Barak also met with Epstein monthly for nearly a year, beginning in December 2015, according to the WSJ.

In July 2019, The New York Times reported that Barak, then 77, received approximately $2.3 million in payments between 2004 and 2006 from a foundation associated with Epstein. Epstein also invested a reported $1 million in a limited partnership established by Barak in 2015.

Barak's purported ties to Epstein were even admonished by current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who at the time called for an investigation into their relationship.

Shadow Alliance

Former National Security Agency counterspy John Schindler wrote on his Top Secret Umbra blog in January 2024 that Epstein appeared to have been part of a shadowy Israeli influence operation characterized as MEGA.

"There's a venerable spook joke that you need to move on from counterintelligence work when, at least once a week, you stare at yourself in the mirror while shaving and think: 'I wonder who he's really working for?'" Schindler wrote.

He continued: "That's not a one-pedophile job and, given the industrial scale of Epstein's abuse over decades, with at least hundreds of victims, it would take a considerable retinue if not a small army to keep that sordid operation going and out of public view for any extended period."