A 21-year-old American student at a Jerusalem seminary has been indicted on espionage charges, the first case of its kind involving a US citizen in Israel’s widening crackdown on Iran-linked spying networks.
Eli Lavon faces two counts of contact with a foreign agent and 14 counts of communicating information that could benefit an enemy. The indictment says it started in November 2025. Lavon was visiting relatives in the US when he responded to a job posting on Telegram. A month later, someone claiming to represent Iranian intelligence reached out and started giving him tasks.
The tasks? Film an abandoned building in a religious Jerusalem neighborhood. Record footage inside a grocery store. Hide a cigarette pack with a note reading “The job is complete” in a mall trash can. He was paid in cryptocurrency for each assignment. The total: roughly $1,379 from two separate handlers.
After cutting off contact with the first handler, Lavon started communicating with a second one. That handler wanted names of fellow seminary students. Lavon refused. His attorney, Raz Bar Tzvi, says being contacted online by a foreign actor doesn’t make someone a spy, and that the facts don’t support the charges.
But Israeli authorities see it differently. Israel has indicted roughly 60 people on Iran-related espionage charges since 2023. Officials say several sites surveilled by recruits were later hit in Iranian missile attacks. The case shows how foreign intelligence agencies use the digital sphere to find and operate people inside Israel.
Not bad for less than $1,400 in crypto payments — if the charges hold.
