The horrific events of September 11th, 2001, remain etched in the memory of millions worldwide. Amidst the widespread shock and grief, a New Jersey resident witnessed something unusual that sparked an investigation into five young Israeli men and their potential links to Israeli intelligence.
Maria, a homemaker who requested anonymity, had a clear view of the World Trade Center from her apartment in New Jersey. Shortly after the first plane struck the North Tower, a neighbor alerted her to the unfolding catastrophe. Grabbing her binoculars, Maria watched in disbelief as smoke billowed from the iconic skyscraper. However, her attention was soon drawn to a peculiar scene unfolding closer to home.
From her vantage point, Maria observed 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 recounted. These men were not merely documenting the unfolding tragedy; they were filming themselves with the burning World Trade Center as a backdrop. It was their demeanor, more than their actions, that struck Maria as deeply unsettling. “They were like happy, you know… They didn’t look shocked to me. I thought it was very strange,” she explained.
এতটাই disturbed by their behavior, Maria noted down the van’s license plate number and contacted the local police department. Her call quickly escalated the situation, bringing the FBI into the picture and triggering a statewide alert for the van.
The license plate traced back to Urban Moving Systems, a company based in Weehawken, New Jersey. Later that afternoon, around 4 p.m., the van was located on a service road near Giants Stadium off Route 3. A patrol officer initiated a traffic stop, encountering five men inside, ranging in age from 22 to 27. The officers, with guns drawn, ordered the men out of the vehicle and placed them in handcuffs.
The subsequent search of the van and its occupants revealed several details that heightened the officers’ suspicions. One of the men had $4,700 in cash concealed in his sock. Another carried multiple foreign passports. A box cutter was also discovered in the van. However, the most unexpected revelation came when the five men identified themselves as Israeli citizens.
During questioning, according to the police report, one of the passengers admitted they had been on the West Side Highway in Manhattan “during the incident,” referring to the World Trade Center attack. Sivan Kurzberg, the van’s driver, made a statement that further fueled the controversy: “We are Israeli. We are not your problem. Your problems are our problems. The Palestinians are the problem.” The other men were identified as Paul Kurzberg, his brother, Yaron Shmuel, Oded Ellner, and Omer Marmari.
This incident involving the “Five Dancing Israelis” and the Urban Moving van remains a point of intense discussion and speculation in the context of the 9/11 attacks, raising questions about their motives and the nature of Urban Moving Systems.
