Spies

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.

JULY 5, 2026|BySUSANNAH SCHILD

A leafy fig tree, one thing the spies never let themselves taste.

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.

JUNE 18, 2026|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.

JUNE 8, 2026|ByHODAYA RAN, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

Parashat Shlah: The absolute truth

When fear overrides faith, even truth becomes distorted; this is the lesson of the spies in the desert.

JUNE 5, 2026|ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ

'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

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

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

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