An American citizen studying at an ultra-Orthodox seminary in Jerusalem has been indicted on espionage charges, in what authorities say is the first prosecution of a U.S. national amid a widening crackdown on Israelis recruited to spy for Iran.
Those tasks allegedly included filming an abandoned building in a religious Jerusalem neighborhood and recording footage inside a grocery store. In one instance, prosecutors say, Lavon was told to conceal a cigarette pack containing a note reading "The job is complete" in a trash can at a Jerusalem shopping mall.
He was paid in cryptocurrency for the material he provided, communicating through two Telegram accounts and three phones, according to the charges.
Lavon's attorney, Raz Bar Tzvi, told CNN that being contacted online by a foreign actor doesn't make someone a spy, and argued the facts described in the indictment don't support the charges. He declined to say how his client would plead.
Israel has indicted roughly 60 people on Iran-related espionage charges since 2023; officials say several sites allegedly surveilled by such recruits were later struck in Iranian missile attacks.
