The Secret Backdoor

Israel stands as one of the United States’ strongest allies. Since its creation in 1948, Israel and the United States have enjoyed a strong bilateral relationship where the United States provides exceptional amounts of financial support. In return, the small nation-state conducts joint military exercises and military research alongside the United States. However, the military alliance between these two countries, which dates back to the mid-twentieth century, also served as a backchannel for Soviet espionage during the Cold War. 

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were two of the most advanced intelligence centers in the world. The race for intelligence gathering during the Cold War became known as Cold War espionage. Although this act relied mostly on military and civilian agencies in their pursuit of information, the young state of Israel unknowingly became a tool for the Soviet Union. 

Upon the creation of Israel in 1948, Zionist leaders wanted to attract Jewish populations from around the world, and in order to encourage Jews from around the world to come to Israel, the state needed to make immigration as accessible as possible. This is why the Law of Return, which grants every Jew in the world the right to settle in Israel, has been regarded as an easy pathway to citizenship. To be eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, an applicant must meet the following requirements: (1) be a family member of someone recognized as Jewish who entered Israel before March 19, 1970 and received a permanent residence permit, (2) not be registered as "Jewish" in the Population Registry, (3) not have been granted Israeli citizenship through naturalization. 

In order to flee from the repressiveness of the Soviet Union, many Jewish immigrants migrated from the Soviet Union to Israel seeking protection. Israel was an accessible option because initially, when applying for citizenship, under the Law of Return, there was no explicit definition of Jewish identity. This was until the Knesset amended the law in 1970 by adding the definition that, “for the purpose of this law, a ‘Jew’ means a person born to a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another religion”. However, this definition falls short of addressing what kind of conversion is necessary to be considered Jewish. 

Unfortunately, the lack of specificity opened the door for abuse, as among the Jewish migrants seeking a better life, there were others who took advantage of the ease of gaining an Israeli passport and migrated to Israel under false pretenses, specifically on the Soviet front. Even before the Cold War, Russian migration into Israel had been fairly common, but following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the number of migrants pouring into Israel skyrocketed. 

However, there was a negative side to this immigration—the arrival of the Russian mafia. Benefiting from a prosperous economy, Israel attracted the attention of foreign investors, including illegal actors. Unfortunately, as a result, Israel became a prime target for Russian criminal elements because it easily bestowed citizenship on anyone who could show documents proving they were Jewish. Israel became a safe haven for organized crime as a result of a controversial law passed in the Knesset. 

This led to a negative stereotype of Russian immigrants in Israel, but the increased Russian immigration posed a threat to one of Israel’s closest allies, the United States. Alongside members of the Russian mafia migrating to Israel, members of Russian intelligence, or the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB), were also migrating to Israel in hopes of infiltrating the political system—giving them easier access to the United States. 

From 1954-1991, the KGB, also known as the Committee for State Security in English, was the main security agency of the Soviet Union. This agency was responsible for gathering information both domestically and internationally. While the KGB conducted most of its activities domestically on Soviet soil and targeting citizens, they would also operate internationally by posing as journalists or even businessmen.

Specifically, Soviet records confirm the existence of an extensive Soviet spy ring in Israel that included Knesset members, senior IDF officials, engineers and members of the Israeli intelligence community. One of the prime goals of the Soviets was to penetrate the Israeli political system. To infiltrate the Israeli political system, the KGB had to get soviet nationals into Israel first— a task made easy due to the fluidity of the Law of Return. Once in the system, these spies could begin recruiting officials already entangled in the Israeli political system or even climbing the ranks themselves. 

 Now that the spies were granted Israeli citizenship, the world truly was their oyster, and the path into the United States was no longer plagued with obstacles. Hiding behind Israeli passports, spies had a direct line to infiltrate the United States. While there is a shortage of direct evidence that Soviet spies used Israeli citizenship as a way to gain access to the United States, it is undeniable that arming loyal Soviet agents with Israeli passports allowed the KGB to disseminate spies worldwide with ease. While regular Soviet migrants were usually turned back, because Jewish people were one of the ethnic groups most prone to facing persecution under the Soviet Union, their path to the United States was easier. However, an Israeli passport provided an easy way to bypass American authorities and gain easy access to the country. 

The conflicting priorities during the Cold War culminated in the perfect opportunity for espionage. While the paranoia of the United States experienced during the Cold War led it to turn away Soviet Jews fleeing persecution, there was innovation on the Soviet front. The Soviets needed a new way into the United States and Israel’s passport system was a ticking time bomb. Ultimately, the Law of Return, which was supposed to attract Jewish people from all over the world, became a golden ticket. The leniency offered by the law welcomed opportunists from the Soviet Union as well. All in all, this law made Israel vulnerable to Soviet intelligence operations and in put the United States in the crossfire, as Soviet agents gained a new identity and a new passport to help fuel their missions back home.

Photo credits: Swapnil1101, 2022