In a recent episode of “Going Underground” hosted by Afshin Rattansi, former Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben‑Menashe painted a stark picture of Washington as “trapped by the Israelis,” with Jeffrey Epstein cast as a key instrument of leverage.
Ben‑Menashe, whose past claims about covert operations have made him both sought‑after and heavily disputed, reprises his longstanding assertion that Epstein was effectively working for Israeli intelligence.
According to Ben‑Menashe, Epstein was “one of their tools to trap” American leaders, including former President Bill Clinton and then‑Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. He alleges that during the 1990s peace process, Clinton and Barak were both being blackmailed over Epstein, and that this pressure helped scuttle a near‑agreement with Yasser Arafat that could have produced a two‑state solution. Barak’s documented personal and professional ties to Epstein—including dozens of meetings reported by major outlets—have already raised questions about their relationship.
Ben‑Menashe extends the claim into the present, arguing that Israel now holds Donald Trump “captive” over Epstein‑related material, despite Trump’s image as a deal‑making maverick capable of cutting peace deals from North Korea to Palestine. He cited a Wall Street Journal item on Trump’s birthday card to Epstein as an example of kompromat that can be surfaced or buried as needed. In his telling, Trump could “end the genocide right now” in Gaza simply by ignoring whatever Epstein‑linked accusations might be thrown at him and allowing “morality” to override fear.
If even a fraction of Ben‑Menashe’s story is accurate, the real question is not just what Israel has on Trump, but how long U.S. policy toward Gaza has been shaped in the shadows by men like Jeffrey Epstein and other agents working for the state of Israel. One thing has become abundantly clear: The United States is too beholden to Israel and powerful Zionist networks.
