The images of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11th are seared into the memory of millions globally. Amidst the widespread shock and horror, a New Jersey resident, Maria, witnessed something unusual that led to the questioning of five young Israeli men and their potential links to Israeli intelligence.
From her apartment building in New Jersey, Maria had a clear view of the World Trade Center. Shortly after the first plane struck the North Tower, a neighbor alerted her to the unfolding catastrophe. Grabbing her binoculars, Maria watched the devastation in lower Manhattan. However, it wasn’t just the disaster that captured her attention; it was the behavior of a group of men nearby.
Maria recounts seeing three young men positioned on the roof of a white van in her apartment building’s parking lot. “They seemed to be taking a movie,” she stated. These men were filming or photographing themselves with the backdrop of the burning World Trade Center towers, a scene of unimaginable tragedy. What struck Maria as deeply unsettling were the expressions on their faces. “They were like happy, you know… They didn’t look shocked to me. I thought it was very strange,” she explained.
This unusual behavior aroused Maria’s suspicion to such an extent that she noted down the van’s license plate number and contacted the police. The situation quickly escalated, and the FBI became involved, issuing a statewide alert for the van.
The Urban Moving Van and the Arrest
The license plate traced back to a van belonging to Urban Moving Systems. Around 4 p.m. on September 11th, the van was located on a service road near Giants Stadium in New Jersey, off Route 3. A police officer initiated a stop and discovered five men, aged between 22 and 27, inside the vehicle. The men were apprehended at gunpoint and handcuffed by the police.
The arresting officers reported several factors that heightened their suspicion. One of the men had $4,700 in cash concealed in his sock. Another carried two foreign passports. A box cutter was also found in the van. Perhaps most surprisingly, the five men identified themselves as Israeli citizens.
“We Are Not Your Problem”: Statements and Implications
According to the official police report, one of the passengers admitted to being on the West Side Highway in Manhattan “during the incident,” referring to the World Trade Center attack. The driver of the van, Sivan Kurzberg, made a statement to the officers that further fueled suspicion: “We are Israeli. We are not your problem. Your problems are our problems. The Palestinians are the problem.” The other men in the van were identified as Paul Kurzberg, Yaron Shmuel, Oded Ellner, and Omer Marmari.
This incident of the “dancing israelis,” as it became known, raised numerous questions and became a point of intense speculation in the aftermath of 9/11, particularly concerning possible foreknowledge and the activities of Israeli nationals in the vicinity of the attacks.
