Israel turns to haredi influencers to combat Iranian recruitment campaign

Israel is turning to influential haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbis and social media personalities to help combat a growing Iranian campaign to recruit Israeli citizens online for espionage and other crimes, according to a report published on Saturday by The New York Times.

The outreach comes after at least 60 Israeli citizens were indicted on charges of cooperating with Iran in plots targeting Israel's security.

Investigators say Iranian handlers have recruited Israelis online to carry out tasks ranging from photographing military bases and other sensitive sites to stockpiling weapons for terrorist attacks, as well as carrying out arson, assaults and murder plots.

Police say the campaign has targeted Israelis from across society, using sophisticated psychological tactics to persuade or coerce people into working against their country.

“A number of suspects have been exposed for spying for the enemy,” police investigator Amichai Panetta told the Times. “Some of them carried out their deeds during wartime and helped the enemy realize its plans on Israeli soil.”

At least nine of those recruited were from the haredi community, according to the report, while many additional investigations remain under court-ordered gag orders.

The Times reported that many recruitment attempts begin on the Telegram messaging app, where Iranian operatives cast a wide net using what one source described as "fishing expeditions and luck" in hopes of finding someone willing to work for relatively small sums of money.

The assignments typically begin with simple requests before escalating into more serious criminal activity. In some cases, Iranian handlers allegedly resort to blackmail, threatening to report recruits to Israeli authorities for earlier offenses if they refuse to continue cooperating.

Other recruitment efforts are more direct. Thousands of Israelis have reportedly received spam text messages offering cash in exchange for working for Iranian intelligence. The messages often instruct recipients to contact an Iranian embassy in another country or communicate directly with an Iranian intelligence operative.

“My wife gets an SMS every other day claiming to be from Iranian intelligence and offering a big reward,” said Shalom Ben-Hanan, a former Shin Bet official, who added that even if only one or two people respond to such messages, it’s worth the time and effort Iran spends on sending them.

Ben-Hanan also said the campaign serves a broader psychological purpose by creating anxiety among the public. Anecdotal reports from across Israel suggest many people receive such messages regularly, with some saying they feel deeply unsettled by being contacted directly by an enemy state.

In response, Israeli authorities have enlisted prominent rabbis to warn their communities about the risks of Iranian recruitment efforts.

"'I am begging you, there is no greater blasphemy than seeing a Torah-abiding, observant Jew betray his people,” said Rabbi Yigal Cohen, a member of Israel’s chief rabbinical council with an influential social media presence, in a video he posted recently.

Israel Cohen, another respected rabbi with a widely followed radio program in the haredi community, has also issued public warnings and worked closely with security officials, encouraging other rabbis to join the campaign.

He told the Times that members of his community were “in shock” when they first heard that some among them had been working for Iran, but quickly they “understood the need to warn against the danger and stop it before it spread further.”