Former Israeli Military Intelligence Officer Detained by ICE After New Hampshire Kidnapping Conviction

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a transgender Israeli woman named Alon on 20 August in Concord, New Hampshire, days after she sought a transfer to a women's prison and access to transgender medical care while serving a state sentence.

ICE, using Alon's former name Avishay in its public statement, described her as "a criminal illegal alien from Israel" taken during targeted operations.

"Alon's criminal history includes conviction for criminal threat against person with deadly weapon, kidnapping, and drug possession," ICE said.

The conviction stems from a September 2024 incident in Dover, New Hampshire. Alon suspected a male acquaintance had drugged her with GHB and, according to the indictment, held two loaded handguns, one fitted with a silencer, and pointed one at the victim during a confrontation the indictment characterizes as a kidnapping. The plan was reportedly foiled when police, responding to a report of a suspicious car outside Alon's home, heard the victim's cries for help.

The Jerusalem Post, cited by Middle East Eye, reported that a friend, Brian Levy, had suggested interrogating the acquaintance. Alon was tried as a male defendant despite identifying as a woman, and was sentenced on 7 July to two to six years in state prison.

Military service and civilian career

Before the case, Alon served in Unit 81, a division of Israel's Intelligence Directorate that the Jerusalem Post describes as one of the military's most classified units, specializing in technology for special operations. Middle East Eye's reporting on the unit's function relies on that outlet's characterization and has not been independently corroborated in this record.

Alon's lawyers told the Jerusalem Post that after leaving the military and transitioning gender, she held senior engineering positions at Amazon and Microsoft.

After sentencing, Alon launched legal proceedings challenging her placement in a men's facility, seeking both transgender medical care and transfer to a women's prison. Instead of a transfer, she was moved out of state custody and into ICE detention on 20 August, where she now faces deportation to Israel.

The case surfaces a rare, documented instance of a former Israeli military intelligence officer facing US criminal prosecution and immigration enforcement, set against the backdrop of the broader intelligence and personnel pipeline that runs between Israeli military service and US technology and defense sectors.