Galactic Federation

The term and its scope

In the official testimony covered here, Galactic Federation names an arrangement the speakers present as fact, a coalition of non-human civilizations that maintains internal rules, holds agreements with at least one human government, and withholds open contact until humanity is judged ready. Press accounts noted the name's fictional pedigree, with Global News observing that the coalition Eshed described resembles the federation of Star Trek.³ The officials who use it, however, present it not as borrowed fiction but as a description of standing affairs.

Within the field's vocabulary the term is unusually strong. Non-human intelligence marks only that a suspected agent is not human, while Galactic Federation asserts plurality, organization, diplomacy, and policy. That reach is why the statements drew the coverage they did. The Galactic Federation of Light, a channeling-based movement, is a distinct topic covered in its own entry.

The Haim Eshed statements, December 2020

Career and standing

Haim Eshed, born in 1933, studied electronics engineering at the Technion, earned a doctorate in aeronautical engineering, and rose to brigadier general in the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate. He directed space programs for Israel's Ministry of Defense for nearly thirty years, overseeing the launch of some twenty Israeli satellites, including the Ofek reconnaissance series. He received the Chief of Staff Citation in 1967 and the Israel Defense Prize three times, for work that remains classified.^4,5 Isaac Ben-Israel, chairman of the Israel Space Agency, later said, "If I would have to choose one person to be called the father of Israel's space capabilities, it would be Haim Eshed."⁶ The December 2020 statements drew worldwide attention precisely because they came from a man with this record.

The interview and the statements

On December 4, 2020, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot published a Hebrew-language interview with Eshed, then 87, timed to the release of The Universe Beyond the Horizon, a book of conversations with author Hagar Yanai.^1,3,6 In the interview Eshed stated that an organized group of non-human civilizations, the Galactic Federation, exists and has been in contact with human governments, and that cooperation agreements have been signed with the United States, including what he described as a contract for experiments conducted on Earth.^1,5 He spoke of joint activity at an "underground base in the depths of Mars" involving American astronauts and representatives of the visitors.¹

On secrecy, the English translation carried in press coverage quotes him directly. "The Unidentified Flying Objects have asked not to publish that they are here, humanity is not ready yet," he said, adding, "They have been waiting until today for humanity to develop and reach a stage where we will understand... what space and spaceships are."¹ He said President Donald Trump was aware of the visitors and "on the verge of revealing" their existence, but was asked to hold back to avert "mass hysteria."^1,5 On his own timing he told the paper, "If I had come up with what I'm saying today five years ago, I would have been hospitalized," and presented the changed academic climate as his reason for speaking.³

The Jerusalem Post carried the statements into English within days, and by December 8, 2020 the story was running internationally through NBC News, The Times of Israel, Global News in Canada, The Hill in Washington, and many other outlets.^1,2,3,5,6

Institutional and scientific responses

Pentagon spokesperson Sue Gough declined to comment, and neither the White House nor Israeli officials offered an immediate response.¹ NASA answered queries by restating its standing position. "Although we have yet to find signs of extraterrestrial life, NASA is exploring the solar system and beyond to help us answer fundamental questions, including whether we are alone in the universe," a spokesperson said.⁷

Ben-Israel, while affirming Eshed's stature and putting the probability of extraterrestrial life "quite large," said of the federation account, "this is too much," and stated, "I don't believe there were any physical encounters between us and aliens."⁶ Dan Blumberg of Ben-Gurion University said the remarks took the discussion "to a completely bizarre place."⁶ Nick Pope, who once ran the British Ministry of Defence UFO desk, told NBC News the episode could be "some sort of practical joke or publicity stunt to help sell his book, perhaps with something having been lost in translation, or someone in the know is breaking ranks."¹ Eshed did not retract the statements, and the record of the interview stands as he gave it.

The Paul Hellyer testimony

Career and standing

Paul Hellyer served as Canada's Minister of National Defence from 1963 to 1967 under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, where he carried through the unification of Canada's navy, army, and air force into a single service. He was Minister of Transport from 1967 to 1969 and held the post of senior minister, a deputy prime ministerial role, under Pierre Trudeau. At his death he was the longest-serving member of the Privy Council of Canada.⁸ The Canadian Encyclopedia records him as the first cabinet-level minister of a Group of Seven nation to state publicly that extraterrestrial visitors exist, the standing that gives his testimony its weight.⁹

The 2005 Toronto statement

Hellyer made that statement on September 25, 2005, before an audience of about five hundred at the University of Toronto's Convocation Hall, during the Toronto Symposium on UFO Disclosure and Planetary Directions. "UFOs are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head. That is my unequivocal conclusion," he told the hall.¹⁰ He recounted a sighting he had witnessed with his late wife and friends, and traced his conviction to Philip J. Corso's book The Day After Roswell and to a conversation in which, he said, a retired United States Air Force general confirmed the book's substance.^8,10

The 2013 Citizen Hearing on Disclosure

His fullest testimony came at the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure, convened at the National Press Club in Washington beginning April 29, 2013 by advocate Stephen Bassett's Paradigm Research Group. Some forty witnesses from ten countries gave more than thirty hours of testimony before six former members of the United States Congress, with former Representative Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick presiding.^11,12,13 The panelists were paid 20,000 dollars each plus expenses, and The Washington Post reported that the event was not an authentic proceeding of Congress.^13,14

In his testimony Hellyer stated that "at least four species" of non-human visitors have been "visiting Earth for thousands of years," and that "there are live ETs on Earth at this present time, and at least two of them are working with the United States government."¹¹ He named Zeta Reticuli, the Pleiades, Orion, Andromeda, and Altair as reported points of origin and said the visitors "may have different agendas."¹¹ He told the panel that environmental decline and wars over oil were delaying the benefits open contact could bring, and he read into the record a passage from contact author Jim Sparks's 2006 book The Keepers.^11,12,14

Later interviews, the 2014 book, and death

In an interview with the RT program SophieCo published December 30, 2013, Hellyer said his earlier estimate of between two and twelve species had grown, that "there are about 80 different species," and that among them "there is what is called a 'Federation' of these people and they have rules."¹⁵ Chief among them, he said, is that they do not interfere in human affairs unless invited.¹⁵

His 2014 book The Money Mafia, in the chapter "Full Disclosure," recounts a reported February 1954 meeting between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and extraterrestrial visitors at Edwards Air Force Base in California, at which an offer of assistance was refused.¹⁹ Of that decision Hellyer wrote, "The alternative was to accept the offer at face value, and rely on the Galactic Federation of Light, an alliance of advanced, spiritually oriented civilizations in this galaxy and beyond to protect us from the potential marauders."¹⁹ The book gives the fuller phrase in that passage, and a later chapter refers generically to "visitors from other planets and galactic federations."¹⁹ His recorded interviews speak of a "Federation," and this entry preserves each wording as he gave it.^15,19 He continued writing and speaking on the subject into his nineties and died in Toronto on August 8, 2021, at the age of 98.⁸

Circulation since 2020

The December 2020 interview gave the term its modern public life. Within a week the story had crossed from the Israeli weekend press into worldwide coverage, and Haaretz wrote that "the international media was agog," calling the episode "peak 2020."¹⁶ Cultural outlets ran satirical treatments, among them a question list in The Forward, and public queries prompted NASA's statement on the search for life.^7,17

The term did not fade with the news cycle. In disclosure discourse it became shorthand for the possibility that structured contact is already underway at government level. In contact-oriented and experiencer literature the term and close variants organize entire bodies of writing, as with the Galactic Federation of Worlds collection assembled on the exopolitics website of author Michael Salla from 2021 onward, which gathers accounts given by named contactees.¹⁸

Leading interpretations

These interpretations are not mutually exclusive, and careful readers often hold more than one at a time.

Documentation and research record

What exists is on-the-record testimony and the press record built around it. For Eshed, the primary document is the December 4, 2020 interview, with its English translations and the international coverage that preserved the key quotations.^1,2 For Hellyer, the record includes the 2005 Toronto speech, the recorded testimony of the 2013 hearing, his books, and his broadcast interviews.^10,12,15,19 Both men identified the bases of their statements. Eshed spoke from a career inside Israel's defense space programs, while Hellyer cited published contact literature and private confirmations he said he received from retired officers.^3,10,14

What does not yet exist in public is documentary corroboration. No government has released agreements, facility records, or files bearing on a federation, and the agencies asked about the statements declined comment or restated standing positions.^1,7 This is a record built from first-person testimony by senior officials rather than from files, and that is its shape as it stands. The testimony is precisely dated, sourced, and quotable, and the questions it raises wait on records that governments have not produced.

The record and open questions

Documented: Haim Eshed directed space programs for Israel's Ministry of Defense for close to thirty years and received the Israel Defense Prize three times.^4,5 In a December 4, 2020 interview with Yediot Aharonot he stated that a Galactic Federation exists, that agreements have been signed with the United States, and that open contact awaits humanity's readiness.^1,2 Paul Hellyer, Canada's former defence minister, said in 2005 that UFOs are real, testified in 2013 that at least four species have been visiting Earth, and described a Federation of species with rules of non-interference in a late 2013 interview.^10,11,15 NASA restated that it has yet to find signs of extraterrestrial life, and Israeli space officials distanced themselves from Eshed's account while affirming his career.^6,7

Reported: The content of the testimony, a coalition of civilizations, signed agreements, a facility associated with Mars, species working alongside the United States government, and rules deferring open contact, rests on the word of the two officials and the sources they cited. Neither man produced documents, and each described his knowledge as arising from position, conversation, and study rather than from records he could release.^1,11,14

Open questions: Whether an organized non-human coalition stands behind the testimony is the question the field is working on. The seniority of the witnesses is documented and their statements held consistent across years, which is why the accounts are taken seriously and pressed for records. What remains is how testimony of this rank should be weighed while the files stay closed, and whether any agreement the officials described will surface in an archive.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Galactic Federation?

In this usage it is the name that appears in public statements by former defense and space officials for an organized coalition of non-human civilizations described as being in structured contact with human governments. The term entered wide circulation in December 2020, when Haim Eshed, who directed space programs for Israel's Ministry of Defense for close to thirty years, used it in a newspaper interview.^1,2

Who is Haim Eshed and what did he say?

Haim Eshed is a retired brigadier general and professor who headed the space directorate of Israel's Ministry of Defense for close to thirty years and received the Israel Defense Prize three times. In a December 2020 interview with Yediot Aharonot he said that a Galactic Federation of non-human civilizations exists, that it has agreements with the United States, and that its members are waiting for humanity to reach readiness before showing themselves.^1,4,5

What did Paul Hellyer testify?

Hellyer, Canada's Minister of National Defence from 1963 to 1967, said in Toronto in September 2005 that UFOs are as real as the airplanes that fly overhead. At the 2013 Citizen Hearing on Disclosure in Washington he testified that at least four non-human species have been visiting Earth for thousands of years and that two were working with the United States government. In a late 2013 interview he said the visitors have a Federation with rules, including non-interference in human affairs.^10,11,15

Is the Galactic Federation the same as the Galactic Federation of Light?

No. This article covers the term as used in public statements by named former officials. The Galactic Federation of Light, a channeling-based movement, is a distinct topic covered in its own entry. Hellyer's 2014 book The Money Mafia does use the fuller phrase in the passage quoted in this article.

How have institutions responded?

NASA said it has yet to find signs of extraterrestrial life while it continues searching. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on Eshed's statements. Isaac Ben-Israel, chairman of the Israel Space Agency, praised Eshed's career while saying he does not think physical encounters have taken place. The Washington Post reported that the 2013 hearing at which Hellyer testified was not an official proceeding of Congress.^1,6,7,14

What remains open?

The public record has not yet settled whether the coalition the two men described exists. The testimony is on the record, dated and precisely attributed, and no government has released documents that corroborate it. The live question for the field is how to weigh senior-official testimony of this kind while the supporting files stay closed.^1,7

Sources and further reading

1. Suliman, Adela, and Paul Goldman. "Former Israeli space security chief says extraterrestrials exist, and Trump knows about it." NBC News, December 8, 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weird-news/former-israeli-space-security-chief-says-extraterrestrials-exist-trump-knows-n1250333
2. Reich, Aaron. "Former Israeli space security chief says aliens exist, humanity not ready." The Jerusalem Post, December 10, 2020. https://www.jpost.com/omg/former-israeli-space-security-chief-says-aliens-exist-humanity-not-ready-651405
3. Elliott, Josh K. "Aliens and 'Galactic Federation' exist, ex-Israeli space chief says." Global News, December 8, 2020. https://globalnews.ca/news/7508152/aliens-galactic-federation-israel-trump/
4. Wikipedia. "Haim Eshed." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Eshed
5. The Hill. "Israel's ex-space boss: Trump was 'on the verge' of revealing extraterrestrials' existence." December 8, 2020. https://thehill.com/homenews/news/529300-israels-ex-space-boss-trump-was-on-the-verge-of-revealing-extraterrestrials/
6. Jeffay, Nathan. "Israeli space chief says aliens may well exist, but they haven't met humans." The Times of Israel, December 10, 2020. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-space-chief-says-aliens-may-well-exist-but-they-havent-met-humans/
7. Snopes. "Galactic Federation? NASA Releases Statement Following Alien Rumors." December 8, 2020. https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/12/08/galactic-federation-nasa-aliens/
8. Wikipedia. "Paul Hellyer." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hellyer
9. The Canadian Encyclopedia. "Paul Hellyer." https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-hellyer
10. Exo News. "Tenth Anniversary of the Hon. Paul Hellyer breaking the UFO truth embargo." 2015. https://exonews.org/tenth-anniversary-of-the-hon-paul-hellyer-breaking-the-ufo-truth-embargo/
11. HuffPost Canada. "Paul Hellyer, Ex-Defence Minister, Believes In Aliens." 2013. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/paul-hellyer-ex-defence-minister-believes-in-aliens-video_n_3390295
12. Vijayvaani. "Citizen hearing on UFO disclosure: A summary report." 2013. https://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=2806
13. Wikipedia. "Disclosure movement." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disclosure_movement
14. Newsweek. "Fact Check: Was Letter Sent by Aliens Read Out at Congress UFO Hearing?" 2023. https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-letter-sent-aliens-read-congress-ufo-hearing-1817594
15. RT, SophieCo. "If we down at least one UFO we'll be facing an interstellar war - Former Defense Minister of Canada." December 30, 2013. https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/137959-anadaminister-defense-ufo/
16. Dayan, Linda. "Forget Trump and Bibi. You'd Much Rather Read About the Alien Galactic Federation." Haaretz, December 13, 2020. https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2020-12-13/ty-article/.premium/forget-trump-and-bibi-youd-much-rather-read-about-the-galactic-federation/0000017f-db23-df9c-a17f-ff3b85210000
17. Grisar, PJ. "Israel's former space security chief says there's a 'Galactic Federation.' We have some questions." The Forward, December 8, 2020. https://forward.com/culture/459898/israels-former-space-security-chief-says-theres-a-galactic-federation-we/
18. Exopolitics.org. "Galactic Federation of Worlds." Article collection, 2021 onward. https://exopolitics.org/gfw/
19. Hellyer, Paul T. The Money Mafia: A World in Crisis. Trine Day, 2014. Chapters "Full Disclosure" and "An Action Plan for the Redemption of America and Humankind."