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Even IF these Israelis were spies, how could their entering government office buildings, etc. in Texas and Florida have given them the head's up on 9/11? According to Osama, most of the hijackers didn't even know the nature of their mission. And why would Israel go to all this trouble to learn of sabotage in the U.S., if Israel wasn't going to do anything with that information?

All nations spy on those nations which potentially impact them, and of course Israel and the U.S. spy on each other regularly. But naturally, Israeli spying is done to benefit Israel. We expect Israel to spy on us to get our technology and military plans; isn’t this more likely than their picking up 9/11 plans?

While Israeli spying would generally be intended to benefit Israel directly, it could also be done for indirect benefit. Possibly Israel would spy on Arabs here in order to help out the U.S., presumably in return for some other intelligence (or weapons and financial support, which we give them in droves). Given the legal difficulties imposed on the CIA and other federal agencies’ activities within the U.S., isn't it at least as possible that the Israeli art students, if they were spies, were actually spying with the knowledge of, and on behalf of, the CIA? Wouldn’t this explain why they were allowed to stay for so long? And wouldn't the U.S. government want to keep the arrangement secret, and to get them out of the country post 9/11, while denying their spy status?

So even if the shadyness can be assumed, one cannot assume evil intent on the part of the Israelis or the U.S. federal government or CIA.

isn't it at least as possible that the Israeli art students, if they were spies, were actually spying with the knowledge of, and on behalf of, the CIA?

Maybe. But maybe they had agents in the US government protecting them too. And when the spies got caught up in the post 9/11 dragnet, they couldn't cover for them anymore.