Israeli Government Installed Security System at Epstein-Linked NYC Apartment, Emails Show
Newly released Justice Department emails confirm the Israeli government installed and maintained security infrastructure at a Manhattan apartment building controlled by Jeffrey Epstein, raising new questions about how foreign officials interacted with Epstein’s network. Reporting from independent outlet Drop Site News and corroborated by international summaries shows officials from Israel’s mission to the United Nations coordinated access and surveillance arrangements at the property.
The emails indicate the operation began in early 2016 at 301 East 66th Street — a building technically owned by a company linked to Epstein’s brother but used by his organisation and frequently by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Agents affiliated with Israel’s UN mission corresponded regularly with Epstein’s staff over alarm systems, remote access controls and lists of authorised visitors.
According to the correspondence, Barak’s security detail from the Israeli mission conducted background checks on cleaners and employees and personally controlled guest access to the residence. One exchange noted alarms with six window sensors and the ability to “neutralise the system from far,” requiring coordination before entry.
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The emails show Epstein personally authorised physical changes needed to install the equipment, with his assistant indicating it was acceptable. Officials associated with the Israeli mission continued to engage Epstein personnel about security needs through at least 2017.
Critics note the setup may reflect security for a former head of government rather than operational service for Epstein’s benefit, as some social commentary and analysis has suggested.
While the arrangement may align with practices providing protective services to ex-officials, it underscores unusually direct interaction between a foreign government’s security personnel and a convicted sex trafficker’s staff. Barak and official Israeli representatives have not publicly addressed these documents. The revelations come amid wider releases of Epstein-related emails and records from the DOJ. What investigators will probe next is whether any legal or diplomatic boundaries were crossed.
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