Epstein funded anti-Palestine groups, including one aiding Zionist settlements, US documents reveal

Convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein funded anti-Palestine group Friends of Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) and Jewish National Fund (JNF), that helps build illegal Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank, according to FBI documents recently published by the US Justice Department.

The documents show that the Jewish American multi-millionaire Epstein sent $25,000 to the FIDF, which calls itself an "official organisation" authorised to collect charitable donations on behalf of the soldiers of the Israeli army across the US.

According to the documents, Epstein also donated $15,000 to the nonprofit organisation JNF.

On the JNF’s official website, the nongovernmental organisation says it "gives all generations of Jews a unique voice in building a prosperous future for the land of Israel and its people."

An undercover FBI informant "became convinced" that Epstein was an Israeli spy, according to a document that is among millions of pages released recently by the Justice Department.

The government record recounts the informant, known in government-speak as a confidential human source (CHS), recalling that Epstein's Jewish attorney, Alan Dershowitz, told then-US Attorney of the Southern District of Florida, Alexander Acosta, "that Epstein belonged to both US and allied intelligence services."

"CHS shared phone calls between Dershowitz and Epstein during which he/she took notes. After these calls, Mossad would then call Dershowitz to debrief. Epstein was close to the former Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, and trained as a spy under him," the document says.

Noting that Barak "believed Netanyahu was a criminal," it said the informant "became convinced that Epstein was a co-opted Mossad Agent" amid regional rivalries involving Israel.

Ties with Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintains that Epstein "did not work for Israel."

In his first public comment on the Epstein documents, Netanyahu wrote on US social media company X that Epstein's "unusual close relationship with Ehud Barak doesn't suggest Epstein worked for Israel. It proves the opposite."

The latest batch of Epstein-related documents released by the Justice Department last week mentions several high-profile figures, including Dershowitz, as well as members of the political and financial elite.

Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

In 2008, he pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Florida and was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution, but critics and rape survivors call the relatively minor conviction—approved by Acosta—a "sweetheart deal."

His victims have alleged that he operated a sprawling sex trafficking network that was used by members of the wealthy and political elite.

Persistent reports have claimed that Epstein was a Mossad asset for blackmail operations, often tied to his Jewish background and Israeli connections.

According to ex-Israeli intelligence officer, Ari Ben-Menashe, Epstein and his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell worked for Israeli intelligence since 1980s.

Maxwell's father, Robert Maxwell, was called a Mossad asset by Epstein.

In March 2018, Epstein wrote to an unknown recipient, quoting extensively from a book that alleged Maxwell was murdered by Israeli spies for threatening to reveal the work he had done for them.

Epstein alleged Maxwell threatened to reveal Mossad operations unless paid £400 million to rescue his failing business.

Maxwell's death in November 1991 remains shrouded in mystery, following a fall from his boat near the Canary Islands.

ICC fugitive

Netanyahu is himself facing an ongoing criminal trial on corruption charges.

These charges stem from Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000, where he was indicted in late 2019 for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

In November 2025, Netanyahu formally requested a pardon from President Isaac Herzog to end the proceedings preemptively before any conviction. This request remains unresolved. US President Donald Trump publicly called for the cases to be dropped.

Netanyahu is also a fugitive of the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant against the Israeli leader for his role in Gaza genocide.