Amid the controversies in the U.S. over the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, claims are circulating online that they are trained by the Israeli military. This is leveled as an accusation, often presented as an established fact. It is not.
The Israel Defense Forces do not train ICE. There is no such program, agreement, or relationship. This is not a matter of interpretation. It is a conspiracy theory.
If such a relationship were real, it would be impossible to hide. Formal cooperation between government agencies leaves extensive documentation. Memoranda of understanding, budget allocations, congressional oversight records, and materials accessible through the Freedom of Information Act would all exist. None do.
ICE agents are trained in the United States through U.S. federal law enforcement programs and through ICE’s own academies. That is the entirety of their training pipeline.
What does exist is routine cooperation between the United States and Israel on counterterrorism and intelligence, the same type of cooperation the United States maintains with many allied countries. This cooperation occurs at the national level and involves intelligence agencies and relevant components within the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. It is focused on strategic information sharing related to national security threats, not immigration enforcement or domestic policing.
On occasion, senior U.S. officials from various agencies participate in small executive-level seminars or briefings organized by civilian organizations. These programs are limited in scope, focused on counterterrorism, and designed for policymakers rather than operational personnel. They are not field training, they are not aimed at rank-and-file agents, and they are not run by the IDF. They are briefings, not secret pipelines of control.
The persistence of the “IDF trains ICE” narrative is not accidental, and it is not new. Throughout the twentieth century, antisemitic conspiracy theories repeatedly accused Jews of secretly controlling governments, police forces, and systems of violence. The allegation was rarely framed openly. Instead, Jews were portrayed as operating from behind the scenes, manipulating power while remaining hidden from view.
The structure of the conspiracy never evolved. Only the language did. After the protests following George Floyd’s death, the same narrative resurfaced, rebranded in activist terms. Instead of claiming that Jews controlled the state, the allegation became that Israeli security forces trained American police and immigration authorities. The implication was unchanged. Jews were again cast as the hidden architects behind systems of violence, now framed through the language of social justice rather than explicit antisemitism.
When public figures repeat claims that ICE is trained by the IDF without evidence, they are not exposing injustice or drawing meaningful connections. They are recycling an old conspiracy theory in modern vocabulary. The result is the same. Jews are portrayed as puppet masters behind everything their critics oppose.
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