“The Nova community was built on the ideals of peace, freedom, and unity through music,” reads a solemn message from the Tribe of Nova Foundation, which was immediately re-broadcast on social media by at least one former official Israeli propagandist. “Our festival was a space where people came together – across cultures and beliefs – to celebrate life. That’s why we believe that even in the face of ignorance or provocation, our response must be rooted in empathy, not hate.”

A review of one of the group’s cofounder’s online activities, however, reveals that rather than the peace-loving hippie he purports to be, he’s taken an active and ambitious role in Israeli intelligence operations in the time since October 7.

On Oct 8, Arnin co-founded “Cobalt Complex, an autonomous OSINT & civilian web intelligence (WEBINT) operations center that operated independently to support Israel’s intelligence apparatus at the outset of the Iron Swords War,” he wrote on his LinkedIn profile, using the official Israeli euphemism for its genocidal siege of Gaza.

“The operations center provided an operational solution to a critical gap, as Israel lacked OSINT capabilities until that point,” Arnin continued.

The ad-hoc intelligence operation apparently proved such a success that within months, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant “nationalized the complex, integrating it into Aman (IDF Intelligence Directorate) along with all its assets” – an action, Arnin wrote, “that continues to serve Israel’s national security to this day.” The description is accompanied by an undated photo of Arnin walking side-by-side with Gallant, deep in conversation.