A shocking scene unfolded in Washington Square Park, in the heart of New York City, and a video was initially removed by Instagram. David Spevak, the anti-Zionist Jewish creator of the "David Says Stuff" account, recounts being approached by two men claiming to be Palestinian students from Gaza . Wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags, the two men allegedly told him they had participated in the atrocities of October 7, 2023, even going so far as to confess to the rape and murder of a woman and the killing of a child. But it was all a fabrication: the two men were actually Israelis involved in a pro-Israeli publicity stunt, playing the role of Palestinians to elicit a compromising reaction on camera. This manipulation tactic employs Mossad methods: false identities, infiltration, provocation, and exploitation of the target's reaction. After his initial post was removed, Spevak reposted his account and urged his followers to download it immediately.
Two men present themselves as "Palestinian students"
David Spevak begins his testimony in Washington Square Park. He explains that he was near a fundraising booth for the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organization, the Israeli organization that assists disabled veterans of the IDF. Two men wearing keffiyehs and openly displaying their support for Palestine approached him. Spevak says they introduced themselves as "Palestinian students ." He initially took them at their word and engaged in conversation. The two men then asked him if he supported the Palestinian "resistance ." For Spevak, an anti-Zionist Jewish activist and supporter of the Palestinian cause, this question was the starting point of an exchange that would quickly take a far more disturbing turn.
Photos of victims of October 7th to provoke his reaction
According to his testimony, his interlocutors then produced images of Israeli victims of the October 7 massacre and placed them in front of him. One of the men showed him a photograph of a woman who had been killed in the attack . Spevak explains that his interlocutor did not simply ask him what he thought of her fate; he claimed to have personally participated in the violence committed against her. He allegedly stated that he had raped this woman several times before stabbing and killing her . The provocation continued with the image of a child. Again, according to Spevak, the other man claimed to have killed this child because he had grown up and one day become an IDF soldier. At that moment, Spevak believed he was facing two Palestinians personally claiming responsibility for atrocities committed against Israeli civilians.
A trap designed to elicit a compromising reaction
The mechanics then become much clearer. The two men don't simply pretend to be Palestinians; they invent atrocities, which they themselves attribute to Palestinians, and recount them in the first person to an anti-Zionist Jewish activist whose reaction they seek . If Spevak continued to claim he supported the "resistance" after the alleged confessions of rape and murder, the footage could then be used to portray him as an activist who condoned the rape of an Israeli woman and the murder of a child. The camera thus becomes a central element of the scheme: to fabricate a situation, push the interviewee into a corner, and obtain a few seconds that can be taken out of context and subsequently disseminated on social media.
The so-called Palestinians were in reality Israelis.
The trap, however, began to backfire when bystanders identified the two men. According to Spevak's testimony, they were neither Palestinians nor students from Gaza: they were Israelis who had served in the Israeli army . The keffiyehs, the Palestinian flag, their supposed Palestinian identity, and above all, the atrocities they had just claimed responsibility for, were therefore nothing but a charade. Spevak stated that once unmasked, the two men left the premises, went into a restroom, abandoned their appearance as Palestinian militants, and then joined the Israeli group gathered around the booth. This transformation, according to his testimony, definitively revealed the deception.
Israelis themselves invent atrocities in the name of the Palestinians
This is the most astonishing aspect of this operation. The stories of rape, the murder of a woman, and the killing of a child were allegedly not recounted by Palestinians claiming responsibility for their crimes. They were allegedly fabricated and recited by Israelis disguised as Palestinians. They thus created two profiles of "Palestinian terrorists" capable of coldly describing their supposed atrocities, with the aim of eliciting a reaction from an anti-Zionist Jewish activist. The manipulation, therefore, is not simply about concealing one's identity: it involves artificially constructing a monstrous Palestinian narrative, then confronting a target with this narrative in an attempt to compromise them.
A manipulation worthy of Mossad's methods
False identity, infiltration of the opposing camp, a prepared scenario, provocation of a target, a camera ready to record their reaction, and then the possibility of exploiting the footage: the mechanism bears a striking resemblance to the infiltration and manipulation methods associated with Mossad and Israeli intelligence services . Israelis pose as Palestinians, fabricate heinous crimes in the name of Palestinians, and seek to elicit a reaction on camera that can be used against their interlocutor. The method is clumsy enough once exposed, but potentially devastating if only a few carefully selected seconds were subsequently released.
Behind the operation is an organization linked to Israeli diplomacy.
The men shown in this case operate within an environment far removed from an isolated, impromptu initiative on a New York sidewalk. Frontline Advocates publicly claims responsibility for public relations activities in the United States with former Israeli soldiers and states that it works in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The organization sends veterans, officers, and former members of the IDF special forces to university campuses and locations where pro-Palestinian mobilizations are significant. Its operations rely in part on public confrontations that are subsequently transformed into digital content. The booth visible in the video bears the name of the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organization, an organization dedicated to disabled veterans of the IDF.
Instagram removes the video, Spevak puts it back online
The scandal then took a particularly embarrassing turn on Instagram. David Spevak claimed that his video exposing the entire manipulation had been deleted the first time he posted it . He then reposted it with a warning displayed in huge letters: "Video deleted once: download and share it now!" In the caption, he emphasized: "They deleted this video the first time I posted it, and they could do it again. Download and share it before it disappears." The repost went viral: screenshots show 77,100 likes, 4,032 comments, 19,700 reposts, and 36,000 shares.
The manipulation exposed
Instagram did not provide an explanation in the materials accompanying this repost to determine why the initial video was removed. However, this removal ultimately gave considerable exposure to Spevak's testimony. And this testimony reveals a far more troubling scheme than a simple altercation between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian activists: Israelis allegedly disguised themselves as Palestinians, fabricated confessions of rape and murder, and then attempted to provoke an anti-Zionist Jewish activist on camera in order to elicit a reaction that could be used against him. This manipulation operation was based on concealment, infiltration, and the fabrication of a false reality. These methods undeniably bear the hallmarks of techniques long associated with Mossad.
