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Exclusive: How Israel’s Settlers Bypass U.S. Sanctions

Investigation published in Calcalist, Israel's leading economics newspaper.

Since the beginning of the year, the United States and other countries have adopted a tough stance, imposing sanctions on Israeli individuals suspected of being connected to settler violence and far-right organizations. Shomrim uncovers the tactics used to evade these sanctions – from cash-only donations and funneling money through relatives to creating buffers between potential donors and sanctioned individuals

The Quiet Wave: ‘What’s Happening Now in Russia Is Like a Plague – With Real Fascists’

Investigation published in Mako, one of the major Israeli news website.
Over the past two and a half years, around 85,000 Russians have fled to Israel to escape the Putin regime. Back home, they were artists, academics, journalists, and activists. In Israel, they are seeking a fresh start, coping with poverty, and trying to learn Hebrew. They won’t even consider returning to Russia: “I couldn’t breathe there.” Shomrim takes a look at the largest wave of aliyah you’ve never heard of.
AP News •

Far-right groups that block aid to Gaza receive tax-deductible donations from US and Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) — Under American pressure, Israel has pledged to deliver large quantities of humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. But at the same time, the U.S. and Israel have allowed tax-deductible donations to far-right groups that have blocked that aid from being delivered.Three groups that have prevented humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza — including one accused of looting or destroying supplies — have raised more than $200,000 from donors in the U.S. and Israel, The Associated...

Exclusive: Israel Dismissed Ukrainian Warnings About Iranian Drones and Declined Offers of Assistance

A Shomrim investigation. Published also in N12, Israel's most read media outlet.
Ukrainian officials said that they repeatedly offered knowledge and help to counter Iranian drones to Israel. Israel refused, and is now struggling to counter these drones over its own sky.
“Late in 2022, we started to send messages to Israel,” Oleksii Reznikov, the former Ukrainian defense minister, reveals in a conversation with Shomrim.
OCCRP •

Dubai Unlocked - OCCRP

From its humble days as desert tradepost to its current status as a global financial hub, Dubai has long served as a crossroads for commerce.
But it's not just financiers and footballers who are rubbing shoulders in the city’s glitzy skyscrapers and villa communities today.
Dubai has also become a meeting point for men and women from around the globe who have been accused of criminality and corruption.
With a reputation for financial secrecy, low taxes, and an ever-expanding spread of valu...

Investigation: How the UAE Became a Hub for Investments by Hezbollah, Drug Dealers and Putin Cronies

An international investigation, relying on a leaked database of real estate ownership in the United Arab Emirates, reveals that approximately 1,000 Palestinians from the West Bank possess property in the country, collectively valued at around $500 billion. As of 2022, Palestinians own roughly 1,500 residential properties in the UAE, with an average value of approximately $330,000 per property. Further scrutiny of the data indicates that the average investment of each Palestinian individual in th...
The Forward •

'Jewish enough to be murdered,' but not buried in a Jewish cemetery

The Kapshitter family did not have a chance on Oct. 7. That Saturday morning the four members of the family — the father, Evgeny (Zhenya), 37, the mother, Dina, 34, and their two small children, 8-year-old Aline and 5-year-old Eitan — were on their way back to their home in Be’er Sheva from a camping trip near Ashkelon, when they were ambushed by Hamas terrorists, who sprayed their car with bullets, killing them all. The horrors did not end there. Identification of the bodies took many days, and...

The Indonesian Front: ‘They’ve Got My Accounts, My email, My location. It’s crazy’

Shomrim has decided not to reveal the full names and other identifying details of most of the people interviewed for this article – but not necessarily because they requested it. We are not revealing their identities because, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, they have been subjected to an aggressive campaign of online harassment – a doxing attack. The practice of doxing – a portmanteau of “dropping documents” – has become prevalent among pro-Palestinian individuals and gr...

Shomrim - Iran's Cyber Onslaught: From Data Heist to Digital Warfare in Israel

On October 8th, as Israel only just began to wake up to the scope of the worst intelligence failure of its history, a previously unknown hacker group, “MalekTeam,” appeared online. “I am Malek. I have all of your personal information. Anyone who serves the Zionists is under my control,” they wrote in their first message on a popular messaging application. In the following weeks, the hackers who are believed to be tied to Iranian military intelligence, proceeded to publish tens of thousands of re...

Shomrim - Putin’s No Longer a Friend: Inside Russia’s Fake News Campaigns and Cyberattacks

For numerous years, the relations between Israel and Russia underwent fluctuations akin to a rollercoaster ride. However, in the past decade, it appeared that the historically tumultuous relationship had found stability, with the two nations cultivating warm and close ties. This perception was largely shaped by the consistent efforts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who sought to present himself as a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Netanyahu made multiple visits to Moscow, h...

Israel and Russia: The End of a Friendship?

Israel is an important partner for Russia in the Middle East, but amid the war in Gaza and Moscow’s rapprochement with Hamas, ties between the two countries are at their lowest in recent history. These tensions mark a break in Moscow’s long-standing efforts to present itself as a neutral mediator in the Middle East. Russia is increasingly aligning itself with Iran and its allies, and accordingly risks only being able to influence the region from its margins. 

While Israel and the Soviet Union h...

Shomrim - How Israel Failed to Halt Hamas’ Cryptocurrency Fundraising

According to the most conservative estimates, since the terrorist organization Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 it has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for its military projects. Some of this money flowed through open channels, primarily the cash-filled suitcases that arrived from Qatar – with the knowledge and approval of the Israeli government. The money was earmarked for the “rehabilitation of Gaza,” but eventually ended up in Hamas’ coffers. There were also clandestine tran...
The Moscow Times •

Belarus Ensnares Exiled Dissidents With Policies Forcing Their Return - The Moscow Times

“It was hard for me there, I wanted to come back all the time,” Alexander Pipkin, his eyes downcast, said in an interview on Belarusian state television at the end of August. 
In the interview, Pipkin is presented as a repenting doctor, formerly part of the Belarusian opposition in exile, who decided to return to his homeland after becoming disillusioned with life in the West. 
Such interviews have become a fixture on state television as Minsk now seeks to lure its citizens living in exile to re...
The Insider •

Israeli spyware Pegasus aids in surveilling journalists and activists worldwide

In recent days, digital security organizations Access Now and Citizen Lab revealed that Israeli spyware, known as Pegasus, had been utilized to monitor Galina Timchenko, the executive editor of Meduza. This software is not sold to Russia, and the perpetrator behind the attack remains unknown. However, this is not the first instance where journalists, activists, and human rights advocates have been affected by the Israeli spyware.
The Moscow Times •

Having Fled War, Russian Emigres in Israel Find Themselves Drafted to IDF - The Moscow Times

Alice, a 17-year-old photographer, fled Russia for Israel shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine. Months later, she was summoned to serve in the Israeli army. 
“I left Russia because of the war, and I cannot imagine myself serving in any army, in any country,” Alice told The Moscow Times in a phone interview. 
“I don't want to have anything to do with killing people at all. Even if I don’t do it myself, I don’t want to wear the same uniform as people who, for whatever reason, kill others....
The Moscow Times •

3 Years After Anti-Lukashenko Protests, Belarusians in Ukrainian Army Seek to Enact Change Through Force - The Moscow Times

Andrzej Kshetussky was one of hundreds of thousands of Belarusians who peacefully protested against the fraudulent re-election of their country’s longtime leader, Alexander Lukashenko, in 2020. 
Three years after those protests were brutally repressed, he is now fighting alongside the Ukrainian army against invading Russian forces. 
“We lost all protest infrastructure [and] oppositional organizations in the country,” Kshetussky told The Moscow Times ahead of the anniversary of the August 2020 el...
The Insider •

“It is truly shocking to see how much they've been brainwashed”: confessions of sex workers who cater to Russian soldiers

Among those who have an intimate understanding of the emotional state and thought patterns of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine are sex workers, who are privy to their innermost secrets. In an interview with The Insider, these women revealed how the war has profoundly affected the soldiers' mental well-being, leading to a crisis in the sex industry while simultaneously seeing a surge in demand for dominatrix services.Sex worker D.: “They say the front line is hell, but still they return there...
The Moscow Times •

Russian Theater Escapes Repression at Home for Revival in Israel - The Moscow Times

Nikolai Dreiden, a theater and film director, strolls along the beaches of Tel-Aviv, Israel, speaking with passion about his work and the influence of his family. He comes from a well-known lineage in the Russian theater and cinematographic world: his grandfather, Simon, was a theater critic imprisoned under Stalin, and his father, Sergei, was a famous theater and film actor. Despite having arrived in Israel only a year ago, he does not feel like a foreigner. "Israel is my home, I do not feel li...
The Insider •

The resurgence of “military-patriotic” training in schools, kindergartens and clubs

Russian schools are witnessing a growing presence of Kalashnikov assault rifles, which find their place alongside blackboards and learning materials. As of September 2023, basic military training will be incorporated into the official Russian school curriculum. This shift has even extended to some kindergartens, where children are being taught how to properly assemble an assault rifle. Meanwhile, military-patriotic clubs are taking over spaces previously used for creative activities.The assault...

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Foreign Policy Research Institute •

The Struggle Israel - Foreign Policy Research Institute

We take a jaunt south to explore the people and politics behind Israel’s Ukraine policy. What do Israel’s leaders want from this war, and how do more locational considerations fit in? What does the local population with roots in the former Soviet Union make of all this?
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We take a jaunt south to explore the people and politics behind Israel’s Ukraine policy. What do Israel’s leaders want from this...
The Moscow Times •

Russia's Difficult Balancing Act Between Israel and Iran - The Moscow Times

Israel and Iran's exchange of strikes over the past week has fueled fears that the longstanding enmity between the two countries could spill over into all-out war as Israel continues its offensive on Gaza in the wake of the attack on Israel by the Tehran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Moscow has traditionally tried to maintain relations with all the major powers in the Middle East. But the war in Ukraine has brought Moscow and Tehran especially close, with the same Shahed drones that t...