OT: The Israeli "art student" mystery (can a salon.com-member post the complete story?)
yvesscuf
For almost two years, hundreds of young Israelis falsely claiming to
be art students haunted federal offices -- in particular, the DEA. No
one knows why -- and no one seems to want to find out.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Christopher Ketcham
May 7, 2002 | In January 2001, the security branch of the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Agency began to receive a number of peculiar reports from
DEA field offices across the country. According to the reports, young
Israelis claiming to be art students and offering artwork for sale had
been attempting to penetrate DEA offices for over a year. The Israelis
had also attempted to penetrate the offices of other law enforcement
and Department of Defense agencies. Strangest of all, the "students"
had visited the homes of numerous DEA officers and other senior
federal officials.
As a pattern slowly emerged, the DEA appeared to have been targeted in
what it called an "organized intelligence gathering activity." But to
what end, and for whom, no one knew.
Reports of the mysterious Israelis with an inexplicable interest in
peddling art to G-men came in from more than 40 U.S. cities and
continued throughout the first six months of 2001. Agents of the DEA,
ATF, Air Force, Secret Service, FBI, and U.S. Marshals Service
documented some 130 separate incidents of "art student" encounters.
Some of the Israelis were observed diagramming the inside of federal
buildings. Some were found carrying photographs they had taken of
federal agents. One was discovered with a computer printout in his
luggage that referred to "DEA groups."
In some cases, the Israelis visited locations not known to the public
-- areas without street addresses, for example, or DEA offices not
identified as such -- leading authorities to suspect that information
had been gathered from prior surveillance or perhaps electronically,
from credit cards and other sources. One Israeli was discovered
holding banking receipts for substantial sums of money, close to
$180,000 in withdrawals and deposits over a two-month period. A number
of the Israelis resided for a period of time in Hollywood, Fla. -- the
small city where Mohammed Atta and three terrorist comrades lived for
a time before Sept. 11.
Eric Benchimol
up the WTC. Wow, Salon.com, eh? What a reputable news source - it must be
true!
Eric
In article <c225b77f.0205...@posting.google.com>,
Joey Coco
news:2NPB8.42$j0I...@news02.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com...
>
> Ah, this is a new one! a very original take on the Jewish conspiracy to
blow
> up the WTC. Wow, Salon.com, eh? What a reputable news source - it must
be
> true!
Ofcourse you're completely unbiased.
--
Joey Coco
http://www.joeycoco.com
"...on June 8, flesh will not be enough. I will take Lennox's title, his
soul and smear his pompous brains all over the ring when I hit him."
leeharrisonline.com
>
>up the WTC. Wow, Salon.com, eh? What a reputable news source - it must be
>true!
>
>Eric
Actually-it is true-there were some AP stories last year about "People claiming
to be Israeli Students" lingering around Gov't buildings in Dallas "selling
art" and being caught with diagrams of said buildings, then being deported.
I've run into the exact same guy twice in 2 different cities selling art,
claiming to be from "Russia"-the art is horrible silver unicorns and such.
Lee
The Hundred Song Album Project: http://www.mp3.com/leeharris100
Online Diary, yada yada: http://www.leeharrisonline.com
Brett
http://www.wfaa.com/localnews/investigates/stories/WFAA_BS_Art-student.466325c.html
Or this?
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/2792058.htm
Maybe the AP is reputable?
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAQS1FAGYC.html
Did you actually read the entire story?
I guess not, this is from a little further in:
"The document detailing most of this information was an internal DEA
memo: a 60-page report drawn up in June 2001 by the DEA's Office of
Security Programs. The document was meant only for the eyes of senior
officials at the Justice Department (of which the DEA is adjunct), but
it was leaked to the press as early as December 2001 and by mid-March
had been made widely available to the public. "
If you had read the entire article, you would know that there is no
mention of a Jewish conspiracy to blow up anything.
Wow, you only hear what you want to, eh? It doesn't jive with your
bias - it must be false!
eri...@DELETETHISrogers.com (Eric Benchimol) wrote in message news:<2NPB8.42$j0I...@news02.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>...
Cat Vutt
"leeharrisonline.com" <juven...@aol.compople> wrote in message
news:20020507123241...@mb-fc.aol.com...
>
> I've run into the exact same guy twice in 2 different cities selling art,
> claiming to be from "Russia"-the art is horrible silver unicorns and such.
Actually, that was me. And it's not a unicorn, it's a graphic
representation of my repressed psyche. But let's not quibble on details.
Suffice it to say, I am from Russia, but I am now selling authentic Russian
Dressing, with a free packet of crutons for only $19.95 American bucks or,
for a limited time only, FREE with a simple explanation of how one would go
about toppling your government. Thank you for your time, and please stop in
the lobby to see our selection of colorful Russian lapel pins which are not,
I repeat, NOT recording devices of any kind.
-Catva Vuttska.
SapphireBlue
speeding ticket. He wasn't buying it. The man had absolutely no sense of
humour. Go figure.
--
SapphireBlue (o:
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The river delights to lift us free,
if only we dare to let go.
"Cat Vutt" wrote: