Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that the “unusually close relationship” between former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Jeffrey Epstein disproves conspiracy theories suggesting the latter had ties to Israeli intelligence services, following the recent release of documents by U.S. authorities. According to the Times of Israel, Netanyahu stated Friday that the close connection between former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the notorious financier, who was convicted of sex crimes, proves that Epstein was not operating as an Israeli agent, countering theories widely circulated online.
Read: Jeffrey Epstein: Inside his network of wealth, power and influence
Netanyahu: “Epstein’s close relationship with Ehud Barak doesn’t suggest cooperation with Israel, but the opposite”
“Jeffrey Epstein’s unusually close relationship with Ehud Barak does not indicate that Epstein worked for Israel. It proves exactly the opposite,” Netanyahu wrote in English on his X platform post. In the same post, the Prime Minister launched a scathing attack against his former political rival, arguing that “obsessed with his electoral defeat more than two decades ago, Barak has been attempting for years, in an obsessive manner, to undermine Israeli democracy, collaborating with anti-Zionist radical Left in failed attempts to overthrow Israel’s elected government.”
Netanyahu added that “Barak’s personal obsession led him to engage, publicly and behind the scenes, in actions to undermine Israel’s government, including inciting mass protest movements, cultivating unrest and spreading false narratives in the media,” referring to Barak’s public support for mobilizations against the government’s controversial judicial reform efforts.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s statements came in the wake of the recent release by the U.S. Department of Justice of millions of internal documents related to Epstein. The documents, made public last week, revealed and confirmed his relationships with a series of prominent figures from politics, finance, academia and business, including Barak. The latter succeeded Netanyahu as Prime Minister from 1999-2001 and subsequently served as Defense Minister in his government from 2009 to 2013.
Business and personal relationships between Barak and Epstein
Barak’s business and personal relationships with Epstein have been known for years, although there is no evidence proving any wrongdoing by the former Prime Minister, who also served as Chief of Staff and was Netanyahu’s commander in the elite Matkal unit. Meanwhile, there is no evidence of Epstein’s ties to Israeli intelligence services Mossad. Conversely, in an email responding to an invitation to visit Israel, Epstein reportedly rejected it, characteristically stating: “I don’t like Israel. Not at all.”
However, following a previous release of files by the U.S. Department of Justice, in which Epstein claimed he had an advisory role in Barak’s 2019 election campaign, Netanyahu had in November shared an article from an anti-Israeli socialist outlet, which argued—based on the Epstein-Barak relationship—that the financier had previously worked for Israeli intelligence services.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges involving prostitution, including soliciting a minor. In 2019, he was arrested again on federal charges for sex trafficking of minors. That same year he was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell, with authorities attributing his death to suicide. The U.S. Department of Justice began releasing Epstein-related files last year, under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed after months of intense public and political pressure and requires the U.S. government to open its files on the deceased financier, as well as his close associate and former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Last week’s release represents the largest document “leak” to date around the case, which continues to burden the American political scene, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration struggles to shake off the shadows created by his past personal relationship with Epstein.
Criminal investigations around the financier have for years fueled online “researchers,” conspiracy theories and intense reactions, including from Trump supporters, who speak of government cover-ups and demand full investigation of the case.
