Spies

US advances nomination of Clayton, Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence

Many senators were eager for Clayton to take up the post because they are unhappy with interim director of national intelligence, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, a Trump loyalist.

|ByREUTERS
Jay Clayton, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.
A leafy fig tree, one thing the spies never let themselves taste.

Hiking the Holyland: On Derech Ha’Avot, tasting the sweet fruits the spies failed to see

Along Derech Ha’Avot, green grapes and ancient steps evoke memories of the biblical spies, the fruits of the land, and the lesson of being in Israel without fear.

|BySUSANNAH SCHILD
The US Capitol building is illuminated the night the Senate passed a short-term government funding bill, more than a month into the longest US government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 10, 2025.

Trump pauses Senate efforts to confirm Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence - report

Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that Clayton would not be there because lawmakers had allowed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to lapse.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
The silhouette of a person, with Iran's flag in the background (illustrative).

Israeli man suspected of carrying out missions for Iranian intelligence

The suspect allegedly began contact with an Iranian operative through social media in late 2025 and agreed to carry out tasks in exchange for money.

|ByHODAYA RAN, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

Mossad infiltration? IRGC warns Iranians against growing recruitment by foreign spies

"There are many dissatisfied people in Iran. Large parts of society are impoverished," former Israeli intelligence officer Oded Ailam said.

JULY 22, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF, REUTERS
The silhouette of a person, with Iran's flag in the background (illustrative).

'The Illegals': Soviet infiltration, observation, and subversion into the West - review

Shortly after the 1917 October Revolution, Meir Abramovich Trilisser, the forerunner of the KGB, introduced the “illegals” as a weapon into an anti-Communist West

JULY 19, 2025ByCOLIN SHINDLER
ELENA VAVILOVA, photographed in the 1980s, was a colonel in the KGB First Chief Directorate Foreign Intelligence Service until 2010.

UK discovers Russian 'espionage tool', sanctions GRU officers over cyberattacks

"GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilize Europe, undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens," Foreign Minister David Lammy said.

JULY 18, 2025ByREUTERS
GRU, Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate logo is reflected in an eye in this picture illustration taken October 4, 2018.

Betrayal among us: How the enemy found allies inside Israel - opinion

That citizens would align with a regime openly committed to Israel’s destruction is a symptom of something deeper: a broken civic contract and a loss of shared purpose.

JULY 8, 2025ByILAN MOR
The silhouette of a person, with Iran's flag in the background (illustrative).

This week in Jewish history: Altalena, sin of the spies, Jews expelled from France

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

JUNE 21, 2025BySTEVEN DRUCKER
BYSTANDERS WATCH as the ‘Altalena’ burns after being shelled near Tel Aviv on June 22, 1948

Parashat Shelach: Seeing giants, choosing hope

The 10 spies teach us what happens when fear rules the heart. The ma’apilim teach us of the danger of forcing reality to revive an old fantasy.

JUNE 20, 2025ByNECHAMA GOLDMAN BARASH
An illustrative image of a grasshopper.

Parashat Shelach: Believe in yourselves

The Torah recounts the argument that erupted between the 10 pessimistic spies and Joshua and Caleb, the two optimistic ones.

JUNE 20, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
The Grapes of Canaan by James Tissot (circa 1900). Although the 12 spies brought back a cluster of grapes so large that it took two men to carry it, only two of the 12 brought back a good report of the land.

Easy cash, false identities, and dating scams: Iran's method of recruiting Israelis

Since October 7 and the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Israeli security forces have noted a significant rise in espionage recruitment of Israeli citizens by Iran.

JUNE 12, 2025ByEFRAT FORSHER
Iranians attend a gathering in support of Gaza, in Tehran, Iran April 9, 2025.

Three alleged Iranian spies appear before British court for intent to target journalists

The Iranian nationals were alleged to have been targeting the opposition-aligned news outlet, "Iran International."

JUNE 7, 2025ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Police officers work as people gather outside the Old Bailey after British police officer Martyn Blake was acquitted of the 2022 murder of Chris Kaba, in London, Britain, October 21, 2024.

Shin Bet thwarts Iranian plot to use Israelis to spy on Defense Minister Katz

Both Israelis, from the town of Nesher, were lured in by Tehran due to millions in gambling debt and the promise to help pay off their debts.

MAY 20, 2025ByYONAH JEREMY BOB