Rania Dandan, 51, of Kiryat Motzkin, is accused of operating on behalf of Hamas on social media. According to the indictment, Dandan, who was arrested in recent weeks by police and the Shin Bet, acted for the terror group “out of a desire to support resistance against the State of Israel in light of the ongoing war, and thereby take part in assisting the promotion of Hamas’ goals.”
Police and the Shin Bet said she worked to assist Hamas’ fictitious profiles around the world in order to spread “false information intended to sow fear within Israeli society.” According to the two agencies, Dandan was part of an increase in the overseas activity of Hamas’ “West Bank arena,” which includes psychological warfare based on false information.
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Rania Dandan, who is accused of aiding Hamas
(Photo: from social media, in accordance with Section 27A)
The indictment against Dandan was filed by the Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office with the Haifa District Court. She was charged with contact with a foreign agent and attempted provision of services or means to a terror organization. According to the indictment, submitted by attorney Shikma Nahmias, Dandan operated over an extended period within several Telegram groups linked and maintained contact with group administrators, while having reasonable grounds to suspect they were actors connected to Hamas and operating on its behalf.
As part of her activity in the groups, the indictment states, Dandan edited, proofread and translated texts intended for publication on social media through fictitious profiles, and transferred content to group members and administrators for dissemination. She also wrote and sent content for publication and assisted in defining and guiding the use of fictitious profiles to strengthen their credibility and present them as authentic Israeli profiles.
After reports emerged of screens in public places in Israel being hacked and broadcasting pro-Hamas messages, Dandan allegedly suggested that she photograph barcodes from screens and devices in government offices, as well as at the postal service, banks, health maintenance organizations and public transportation stations in Israel. She allegedly planned to transfer the barcodes to Hamas operatives so they could hack the systems and broadcast pro-Hamas messages.
Dreamed of converting to Judaism
Dandan, who was born into an Arab Christian family and originally lived in Acre, moved several years ago to Kiryat Motzkin and has since lived intermittently there and in Acre. In recent months, however, she had been living in Kiryat Motzkin. In the past, over the course of several years, she attempted to convert to Judaism, but said in an interview with Walla that she encountered difficulties with the religious conversion system.
According to her account at the time, she decided to convert after divorcing her husband in 2006, when she was living in a room in an apartment in a religious Jewish neighborhood. “Every Sabbath I saw the religious families sitting together for the Sabbath meal and singing songs from the Bible,” she said then. “It really enchanted me. In the end, I decided to convert to Judaism and start anew.”
She later moved to Kiryat Motzkin and said she approached a well-known rabbi, who told her that in order to convert, she needed to live in a religious community for six months and then return with the community rabbi to the conversion court in Haifa. She claimed that no community was willing to accept her. After some time, she enrolled in Jewish studies for conversion at the Technion, but said that the rabbinical court in Haifa again told her she must be a member of a religious community for six months before a decision would be made.
“Even though I explained to him that communities do not want to take me in, it did not help,” she said at the time. “I told him I was willing to do anything, but I needed their support. I asked them to find a community and speak with a rabbi who would accept me for six months. He refused, and I left there deeply frustrated and in tears. It was extremely humiliating.”
Despite this, Dandan said she would continue trying, but as far as is known, she never completed the process. “When I studied the story of the Book of Ruth in class at the Technion, I was really shaken and cried,” she said. “During the studies, I felt everything she went through and all the difficulties she experienced until she was ultimately accepted into the people of Israel. I believe God chooses His people, and I believe I also need to be Jewish, and that in the end it will happen.”
One of her neighbors told ynet, “It is inconceivable that she is even suspected of such serious offenses. She has a complex life story, she went through a conversion process, and I do not believe she is connected to espionage cases. I cannot grasp that she is connected to this at all. What caused her to turn like this? Money?”