Rafi Shlomo

Rafi Shlomo served as Director of Protective Services at the Israeli Permanent Mission to the United Nations, and simultaneously as Ehud Barak's personal security chief during Barak's periods in New York. DOJ-released emails, first reported by Drop Site News in February 2026 and confirmed by Al Jazeera on February 19, 2026, document that Shlomo personally controlled physical security and conducted background checks on cleaning staff and building personnel at 301 East 66th Street, a Manhattan apartment building technically owned by a company linked to Epstein's brother Mark Epstein but operationally controlled by Jeffrey Epstein, where Barak maintained a residence. The property also housed underage models and other Epstein associates. Beginning in early 2016, Shlomo coordinated directly with Epstein's staff to install and manage a surveillance and access-control system at the building. Barak's wife Nili Priell discussed the installation of "sensors sticked to the windows" and the ability to "remotely control access to the premises" in email exchanges with Epstein's longtime assistant.

Shlomo held meetings with building staff and vetted employees on behalf of the Israeli mission. By November 2017, Shlomo had been replaced at this function by another Israeli mission official who continued managing security and surveillance. The arrangement represents the Israeli government's official diplomatic security apparatus, operating through UN mission personnel, conducting physical and electronic counterintelligence-style operations inside a property that Epstein controlled and that was at the center of his abuse network. Al Jazeera noted this meant the Israeli mission to the UN was effectively providing state-level security services to a building controlled by a convicted sex offender.