# Dancing Israelis Five Israeli men were arrested in New Jersey on September 11, 2001 after a witness reported they appeared celebratory as the Twin Towers were hit. An FBI investigation linked two of the men to Mossad before all five were released without charges, and the case became a long-running fixture of 9/11 conspiracy content that spiked again in 2019 when seized photos surfaced through a Freedom of Information Act request. ## Origin On the morning of September 11, 2001, a New Jersey resident identified only as "Maria" called police to report five men on a nearby rooftop appearing to high-five and film as the World Trade Center burned[1]. Police later stopped a white Urban Moving Systems van carrying Sivan Kurzberg, Paul Kurzberg, Oded Ellner, Yaron Shimuel and Omar Marmari and reported finding box cutters, roughly $4,700 in cash stuffed in a sock, and foreign passports[3]. Bomb-sniffing dogs reportedly reacted to the van as if detecting explosives[5]. FBI investigators concluded that Sivan and Paul Kurzberg had Mossad ties, but all five were released without charge after being held for several weeks[3]. In a later Israeli TV interview, one of the men stated their purpose was to "document the event," wording skeptics seized on as evidence of foreknowledge[1]. - **Platform:** News media (2001-2002) / Conspiracy forums (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2001 ## Overview Online, the Dancing Israelis story circulates as a mix of short retellings and the FBI's 2019 photo release. A typical post shows one or two frames of the men appearing to smile or film with the burning towers behind them, with a caption about the Mossad finding or the "document the event" quote[1]. The five identified men, Sivan Kurzberg, Paul Kurzberg, Oded Ellner, Yaron Shimuel and Omar Marmari, are usually named together[2]. Dancing Israelis gets recycled on Twitter, 4chan and 9/11 skeptic forums as a reference point for claims that Israel had advance knowledge of the attacks[3]. MintPress News writers used the FOIA images to argue for Mossad foreknowledge, which amplified the story on conspiracy aggregators[4]. At one Turning Point USA speaking stop, a question asker in a MAGA hat raised the case to press founder Charlie Kirk on the group's stance toward Israel[3]. ## How to Use Dancing Israelis posts typically reproduce one of the FBI's 2019 photos and attach a one-line claim about the Mossad finding, the "document the event" quote, or the Urban Moving Systems van. The term is often used in 9/11-anniversary threads or as a response in debates about Israel and U.S. foreign policy. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Dancing Israelis? It refers to five Israeli men, Sivan Kurzberg, Paul Kurzberg, Oded Ellner, Yaron Shimuel and Omar Marmari, arrested on September 11, 2001 after a witness reported them acting celebratory as the Twin Towers burned[3]. ### Where did Dancing Israelis come from? The arrests happened in New Jersey on 9/11 after a resident identified as "Maria" called police about men on a nearby rooftop appearing to film and high-five[1]. ### What does Dancing Israelis mean? The term is used in 9/11 conspiracy content to argue that the five men's behavior and FBI-confirmed Mossad links to two of them suggest Israeli foreknowledge of the attacks[4]. ### How do you use Dancing Israelis? Posts typically reproduce one of the FBI's 2019 FOIA photos with a caption about the Mossad finding or the "document the event" quote from an Israeli TV interview[2]. ### Is Dancing Israelis still popular? The story regained traction in 2019 after the FBI's FOIA photo release and MintPress News coverage, and it is still invoked in 9/11 conspiracy posts and political trolling[4]. ## References 1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20020802194310/https://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/DailyNews/2020_whitevan_020621.html]() 2. [https://www.scribd.com/document/409691150/FOIA-Release-of-9-11-Dancing-Israelis-thru-the-FBI]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dancing-israelis]() 4. [https://www.mintpressnews.com/newly-released-fbi-docs-shed-light-on-apparent-mossad-foreknowledge-of-9-11-attacks/258581/]() 5. [https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/08/321316.html]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/dancing-israelis Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library