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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein "never worked for the Mossad" after the claim gained greater attention when it was recently posited by Tucker Carlson.
Carlson had raised the question of whether Epstein was running a blackmail operation on behalf of Israeli intelligence during his Friday, July 11 speech to the conservative youth group Turning Point USA, saying "every single person in Washington, D.C., thinks that."
It comes as President Donald Trump and his administration are under intense pressure from the MAGA base, who believe officials are continuing a cover-up about Epstein and his activities, including an alleged client list of high-profile figures that the Department of Justice (DOJ) said does not exist.
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Jeffrey Epstein Claim 'Totally False'
Bennett responded to former Fox News host Carlson and others discussing the claim about the late pedophile in a post on X, noting that Israeli intelligencehad "reported directly to me" so he could answer "with 100 percent certainty."
"The accusation that Jeffrey Epstein somehow worked for Israel or the Mossad running a blackmail ring is categorically and totally false," Bennett said.
"Epstein's conduct, both the criminal and the merely despicable, had nothing whatsoever to do with the Mossad or the State of Israel. Epstein never worked for the Mossad.
"This accusation is a lie being peddled by prominent online personalities such as Tucker Carlson pretending they know things they don't.
"They just make things up, say it with confidence and these lies stick, because it's Israel. There's a vicious wave of slander and lies against my country and my people, and we just won't take it anymore."
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Where Did Epstein's Money Come From?
Carlson questioned the source of Epstein's wealth during his speech on Friday. Epstein's fortune was made through finance, and his philanthropy, particularly in the field of science, made him a very well-connected figure in politics and academia.
Some of the world's best-known and most powerful people traveled on his jet to his private Caribbean island. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for child sex trafficking and other offenses.
Many in the MAGA movement believe Epstein secretly recorded people from the elite abusing underage girls that he had procured for them so he could blackmail powerful people, a theory that is at the core of the client list allegation.
The DOJ has said there is no credible evidence to support these claims.
"How does a guy go from being a math teacher at the Dalton School in the late 70s with no college degree to having multiple airplanes, a private island, and the largest residential house in Manhattan?" Carlson said in his Turning Point speech.
"Where did all the money come from?"
Carlson Denies Mossad Question Is Antisemitic
Carlson then said it is possible that Epstein, who had connections to Israeli politicians, including former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, was working on behalf of Israel, and defended the right to ask that question.
Historically, antisemitic conspiracy theories have revolved around the idea that a shadowy and evil Jewish elite secretly controls the world, and ritualistic child abuse is a common trope within them.
But Carlson rejected the idea that asking such things about Epstein was born from a hatred of Israel or antisemitism, pointing to the unique circumstances that raised important—and he felt unanswered—questions about what the late financier was up to.
"Were you working on behalf of Mossad? Were you running a blackmail operation on behalf of a foreign government? By the way, every single person in Washington, D.C., thinks that," Carlson said on Friday.
Carlson continued that "everybody has been so brainwashed into thinking that's somehow an expression of hate or bigotry when it's not. It's a baseline question that every U.S. citizen has a right to an answer on."
If the speculation regarding Epstein and the Mossad is not true, Carlson said, "then just tell me how it's false. But don't call me a lunatic."
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
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