Israeli Space Chief Says Aliens Likely Exist, but They Haven’t Met Humans

sunrise earth from space
Pixabay
Deborah Brand

The chances of extraterrestrial life are high and while an Israeli defense expert who last week claimed aliens have formed a “Galactic Federation” with humans and President Donald Trump knows about it may have taken things too far, he shouldn’t be dismissed entirely, the head of Israel’s space agency told The Times of Israel.

Haim Eshed, a well-respected professor and the former head of Israel’s Defense Ministry’s space directorate, drew headlines around the world for claiming that humans in Israel and the U.S. have been in contact with extraterrestrials for years, as Breitbart News reported.

“The Unidentified Flying Objects have asked not to publish that they are here, humanity is not ready yet,” Eshed told the Hebrew-language Yediot Aharonot newspaper.

Eshed, an 87-year-old retired general, said President Donald Trump is aware of the aliens and was “on the verge” of disclosing their existence but the Galactic Federation felt that it would generate mass hysteria and humanity needed to “evolve and reach a stage where we will… understand what space and spaceships are.”

Trump in May inaugurated the fifth branch of the U.S. Army, its Space Force, saying, “Space is going to be the future, both in terms of defense and offense … we’re now the leader on space.” as he was presented with the official flag of a newly created military branch, Space Force.

The aliens, it seems, are seeking to understand “the fabric of the universe.”

Eshed, who was in charge of the launch of numerous Israeli satellites into space, said cooperation agreements had been signed between Americans and the extraterrestrials, including a “secret underground base in Mars” where representatives from both species meet.

“There is an agreement between the U.S. government and the aliens. They signed a contract with us to do experiments here,” he said.

Eshed’s claims were mocked across social media. One Twitter user wrote: “As if 2020 could not get any weirder, prominent Israeli general & professor Haim Eshed claims the U.S. and Israel have been in contact with aliens for years.”

However, Isaac Ben-Israel, chairman of the Israel Space Agency, maintained that while Eshed went too far with his claims, his seriousness shouldn’t be questioned and his renown as a leader in his field is justified. “If I would have to choose one person to be called the father of Israel’s space capabilities, it would be Haim Eshed,” Ben-Israel told The Times of Israel on Thursday.

Ben-Israel added as knowledge of space has grown over the last decade, it has become increasingly common for serious scientists to believe in aliens. “Is there intelligent life outside [Earth]? 10 years ago most scientists believed chances are very low. We now believe chances are significant,” he told the paper.

“This doesn’t mean there’s a ‘Galactic Federation’ and they landed on earth — this is too much — but much of the scientific community believes the chance of detecting life in outer space is considerable, not small,” he said.

“I also think the probability is quite large. Still, in my interpretation, I don’t believe there were any physical encounters between us and aliens,” Ben-Isaac said.

“I’ve known Haim Eshed for 40 to 50 years, and he was always a visionary and very creative.

“Without his capacity for long-term vision you couldn’t have dreamed Israel would be one of very few countries with independent space capability,” he said. “But sometimes creativity comes with ideas that are not accepted by others. One of these relates to UFOs and intelligent extraterrestrial creatures.”

According to the report, Eshed arrived at his theory by gathering real information, including records of non-coherent signals from space, but misinterpreting it.

“There is a lot of information gathered by Americans and it’s a matter of interpretation,” said Ben-Israel. “Most people including myself interpret everything reported as natural phenomena; some people interpret it as something different. If you have a very creative mind, you push toward the second option.”

Another Israeli space expert, Dan Blumberg, said while Eshed is still respected as a serious scientist, his revelations in the Yedioth article was  “bizarre.”

“I know Haim Eshed well, and have enormous respect for him,’ said Blumberg, head of the Earth and Planetary Image Facility at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. “It’s a viable and legitimate discussion, but it has been taken to a completely bizarre place by the article.”

Eshed told Yedioth he was only disclosing this information now because people were more willing to accept it.

“If I had come up with what I’m saying today five years ago, I would have been hospitalized,” he said. “Today, they’re already talking differently. I have nothing to lose. I’ve received my degrees and awards, I am respected in universities abroad.”

Follow @danandeborah on Twitter

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.