For Medicinal Purposes: The Israeli Military Sector and the Coronavirus Crisis - Who Profits
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Flash Report
For Medicinal Purposes:
The Israeli Military Sector
and the Coronavirus Crisis
MAY 2020
The Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD), army Seemingly overnight, the Israeli Directorate
and state-owned and private military corpora- for Defense R&D (DDR&D) was transformed
tions have been at the forefront of the Israe- into a medical technology hub, top secret in-
li government’s coronavirus crisis response. telligence units were repurposed into medical
Their conspicuous involvement, hailed by intelligence gathering bodies, and the largest
the Israeli media as a demonstration of social Israeli military corporations became contrac-
solidarity and civic engagement, exposes the tors for the medical sector. These develop-
deep military bias that underpins the Israeli ments expose the dominance of the military
economy and political regime and the symbi- sector in Israeli commercial R&D and present
osis between the civilian sphere and the mili- new opportunities for military corporations
tary apparatus. to gain materially and symbolically from the
One of the features that stand out in the Is- crisis.
raeli case is the conversion of military produc- In this flash report, Who Profits will investi-
tion and Research and Development (R&D) gate the coronavirus-related activities of the
into a national medical business enterprise. Israeli military establishment and private en-terprises, focusing on new initiatives report- secret intelligence agency, and Israel’s Gener-
edly launched by the three largest and most al Security Service (GSS or Shin Bet). The NSC
lucrative Israeli military corporations: the was tasked with overall coordination at the
state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) national level, despite dubious qualifications
and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and in the fields of public health and economics.
the publicly traded Elbit Systems. The division of roles between the Mossad and
the Shin Bet in the crisis response paralleled
“A Fusion of Medicine and War” their respective domains of operations, inter-
– Israel’s Militarized Coronavirus national and domestic. The Mossad, which op-
Response erates a vast global network of covert agents
Israel’s militarized approach to the virus is routinely linked with confirmed and alleged
vividly captured in the IMOD’s National Coro- cases of extrajudicial assassinations,4 was de-
na Plan for Israel, a 31-page document pub- ployed in the area of medical equipment pro-
lished on 29 March 2020. The document re- curement.5 The head of the Mossad’s tech-
fers to the pandemic as “a fusion of medicine nology division told an Israeli journalist that
and war” and envisions a central role for the some of the equipment was obtained illicitly,
IMOD in matters of public health and eco- stating that “we activate our special connec-
nomic policy.1 Among other things, it presents tions in order to […] get our hands on stock
a public-private initiative to develop, opera- that someone else has ordered.”6 The Shin
tionalize and potentially export a centralized Bet, which operates in the occupied Palestin-
data system to rate the probability of indi- ian territory and within the Green Line, was
viduals being infected with the virus.2 Israeli swiftly authorized by the Israeli government
media reports revealed the private company to track confirmed coronavirus patients and
involved in the project is the Israeli spyware those around them.7 The considerable sur-
firm NSO Group. 3 veillance powers of the Shin Bet far precede
the current pandemic, and have long been
From the onset of the crisis, governmental
used against Palestinians on both sides of the
national security bodies have played a lead-
Green Line. According to Ynet, the tracking of
ing role in shaping and executing Israel’s coro-
coronavirus patients relies on a massive se-
navirus agenda. These include the National
cret database already in existence, known as
Security Council (NSC), operating under the
‘the Tool,’ which gathers continuous real-time
Prime Minister’s Office, the Mossad, Israel’s
1 National Corona Plan for Israel. Israeli Minis- 4 Black, Ian. Rise and Kill First: The Secret His-
try of Defense. 29 March 2020. tory of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations – review . The
2 Ibid. “This is why we have established in the Guardian. 22 July 2018.
IMOD in collaboration with the IDF [sic] and civilian 5 Holmes, Oliver. Israeli spies source up to
companies a centralized data system, into which we 100,000 coronavirus tests in covert mission. The
will ‘spill’ all the data…The system is ready to be opera- Guardian. 19 March 2020.
tionalized. It is the most advanced system in the world, 6 Dayan, Ilana. Commander of Mossad war
in my opinion, and will be replicated later (gladly!) all room for fighting coronavirus, in an interview with
over the world.” Uvda: Globally people are dying due to shortage of
3 Goichman, Rafaela. Ministry of Defense ventilators. That won’t happen in Israel. Channel 12,
Teamed Up with NSO to Rate the Probability of You 31 March 2020 (Hebrew).
Catching Coronavirus. TheMarker, 29 March, 2020. 7 Konrad, Ido. Equating coronavirus with ter-
For more on the involvement of NSO Group, see NSO ror, Netanyahu turns surveillance powers on Israelis.
Group: Technologies of Control, Who Profits, May +972 Magazine, 15 March 2020.
2020.
2 | For Medicinal PurposesIsrael’s militarized coronavirus response. Photo by Activestills. 29 April 2020
data on all Israeli citizens.8 The Shin Bet is navirus.11 According to media reports, two
deeply involved in the Israeli policy of target- elite intelligence units, Unit 8200, the signals
ed assassinations, drafting the death-lists and intelligence unit, and Unit 81, the intelligence
providing the intelligence for the Israeli air division’s technology unit, now conduct coro-
force to carry out.9 In September 2019, Am- navirus-related medical research.12
nesty International reported the state-sanc- Tellingly, technological efforts to address the
tioned torture of Palestinian detainee Samir virus on the national level have not been
Arbeed by Shin Bet interrogators.10 spearheaded by Israel Innovation Authority
The Intelligence Division of the Israeli army (IIA) or the Ministry of Science and Technolo-
has also become involved in the national gy, but by the Directorate of Defense Research
coronavirus response, establishing a National and Development (DDR&D), a joint body of
Information and Knowledge Center on Coro- the IMOD and the Israeli military, operated
by both military personnel and civilians and
8 Bergman, Ronen and Shvartztuch, Ido. responsible for the development of weapon-
“The Tool” is exposed: The secret GSS database that ry and the technological infrastructure of the
collects your SMS texts, calls and locations. Ynet+, 27
March 2020 (Hebrew).
9 Weizman, Eyal. Hollow land: Israel’s architec-
ture of occupation. Verso books, 2012, p. 241. 11 National Information and Knowledge Center
10 Israel/ OPT: Legally-sanctioned torture of on Coronavirus. Gov.il (Hebrew).
Palestinian detainee left him in critical condition. Am- 12 Berkovitz, Uri. Hush-hush IDF intel unit takes
nesty International, 30 October 2019. on Covid-19. Globes, 20 April 2020.
3 | For Medicinal PurposesIsraeli military.13 tion and raison d’être, the continued military
The DDR&D’s director, Brigadier-General control over a civilian Palestinian population.
(Res.) Dani Gold, was appointed head of a The daily repression of Palestinians remains
newly formed National Technological Center the army’s ‘essential’ work. According to the
to Fight Coronavirus, which Defense Minister official magazine of the Israeli army, protec-
Naftali Bennett described as a “commando tive equipment, including surgical masks and
unit” for identifying advanced technologies.14 gloves, and other measures ensure soldiers
The Directorate established a ‘National Emer- can continue to raid Palestinian homes in
gency Team’ comprised of government minis- the occupied West Bank and patrol the fence
tries (Defense, Health and Finance), the Israeli around the besieged Gaza at minimal health
army, military industries, IIA, tech companies, risk to themselves.16 Moreover, since the cri-
hospitals and academic institutions. The Cen- sis began, there have been multiple reports
ter provides the institutional framework for of Israeli airstrikes in Syria,17 raising the pos-
many of the recent collaborations between sibility that Israel is taking advantage of the
Israel’s military companies and medical ci- global health crisis to make strategic geopo-
vilian firms, hospitals and academics in the litical gains.18
medical field.
Militarism on Meds – Israel’s Military
This framework provides a potential business Industries and Coronavirus-related
development model for the Israeli military Tech
sector in the medical market. As the direc-
tor of the Government Companies Authori- The coronavirus crisis offers a window into
ty told the Israeli newspaper Globes, “These the workings of the transfer of Israeli military
are two kinds of industries where there’s big knowledge to civilian industries, in this case
money, the industries developing means of to the medical industry.
killing people, and the industries developing Previous research by Who Profits exposed the
means of saving them.”15 As will be discussed ways in which the commercialization of occu-
in the following section, since the launch of pation-generated Israeli military know-how
the DDR&D-directed Center, there has been a extends beyond the security industry and into
rapid proliferation of coronavirus-related pro- civilian markets. The state military apparatus
posals, products and projects, involving Israeli functions as a laboratory, a reference, a cli-
government authorities, private capital, aca- ent and an incubator for Israeli technological
demic research bodies and hospitals. innovation. From underwater walls to crowd
It should be emphasized that its newfound control weapons to biometric systems, Isra-
medical calling has not taken the Israeli mil-
16 Barel, Merav, Van Zayden, Batya, Greenberg
itary apparatus away from its primary func- Cohen, Einav and Neustein, Lior. Adjusted training,
surgical gloves and dispersing the force: How does
one maintain operational preparedness under the
13 DDR&D- Directorate of Defense Research & coronavirus pandemic?. IDF [sic] Editorial Board, 22
Development. Israeli Ministry of Defense. Accessed 11 March 2020 (Hebrew).
May 2020. 17 Salama, Daniel, Zeitoun, Yoav and Blumen-
14 DDR&D: Emergency team to address the thal, Itay. Syria: Israel attacked in the northern region.
COVID-19 pandemic. Israeli Ministry of Defense. Ac- Ynet, 5 May 2020 (Hebrew).
cessed 11 May 2020. 18 Harel, Amos. Analysis Under Cover of
15 Barkat, Amiram. Weapons against coronavi- COVID-19, Israel Seems to Intensify Its Attacks Against
rus. Globes, 1 April 2020. Iran in Syria. 5 May 2020.
4 | For Medicinal Purposesel’s prolonged occupation provides a fertile of technology companies engaged in product
breeding ground for the development and development based on military technologies
application of new technologies of control. originating in Rafael for civilian markets.22 El-
Contracts with the Israeli military serve as a bit Systems provides products and solutions
“’business card’”19 for companies among po- in a number of commercial fields, including
tential customers, giving them a competitive medical instrumentation.23 Previous research
edge. The importance of the military estab- by Who Profits showed all three have adapt-
lishment as a buyer of security products is ed military capabilities for use in the growing
material as well as reputational, creating the agritech industry: IAI converted drones for
initial local demand and facilitating the emer- agricultural use, Rafael subsidiary mPrest col-
gence of local industry.20 Finally, the military laborated with Netafim on a digital irrigation
and state-owned military industries form a platform and Elbit is a member of a research
highly effective training ground for tech work- consortium around plant identification tech-
ers, many of whom, upon leaving the military, nologies.24 The current public health crisis
come to occupy key positions in the private presents these corporations with new pros-
high-tech sector, carrying with them the tech- pects for material and symbolic gain. The
nical know-how as well as the informal net- ability to diversity their product offering is es-
works obtained over the course of their mil- pecially significant as the pandemic threatens
itary careers. to impact global defense supply chains and
In surveying the Israeli technological response governments’ budgetary priorities.25 More-
to the coronavirus pandemic, the involve- over, with the number of critically-ill patients
ment of the three largest players in the Israeli in Israel stabilizing around 100,26 the potential
military sector stands out. IAI, Rafael and El- for future export is undeniable.
bit Systems have reportedly been involved in
Ventilators
numerous coronavirus-related initiatives, in-
cluding the manufacturing of ventilators and One of the first initiatives undertaken by the
the conversion of remote monitoring capabil- DDR&D was pairing Israeli ventilator manu-
ities for medical use. facturers with military industries, using the
production capabilities of the latter to in-
While IAI, Rafael and Elbit derive most of their
crease output.27 The DDR&D’s director told
revenues from defense and security markets,
the Israeli media that “our military industries
all three are active in civilian markets, either
have extraordinary abilities to produce rapid-
directly or through their subsidiaries. In 2018,
IAI reported that 28% of its revenues came 22 Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, 2018
from civilian markets.21 Rafael holds 49.9% Annual Report, p. 13. On file with Who Profits.
23 Elbit Systems, 2019 Annual Report. On file
of Rafael Development Corporation (RDC),
with Who Profits.
a private company that manages a portfolio 24 Agribusiness as Usual Agricultural Technol-
ogy and the Israeli Occupation. Who Profits, January
19 Israel Aerospace Industries, 2018 Annual 2020.
Report, p. 124. On file with Who Profits. 25 Sreekumar, Arjun. How COVID-19 Will Impact
20 Gordon, Neve. “The political economy of the Defense Industry. The Diplomat, 27 March 2020.
Israel’s homeland security/surveillance industry.” The 26 Covid-19 in Israel. Haaretz. Accessed 11 May
New Transparency: Surveillance and Social Sorting 28 2020.
(2009). P. 24 27 Etzion, Udi. Head of MOD emergency team:
21 Israel Aerospace Industries, 2018 Annual “We will supply ventilators in a short period time”.
Report, p. 154. On file with Who Profits. Calcalist, 29 March 2020 (Hebrew).
5 | For Medicinal Purposesly and in large quantities any component, for tilators,34 while Baya Technologies specializes
weapons or ventilators, and to eliminate the in manufacturing sensitive electronic systems
dependence on import.”28 According to an in- for both military and medical industries.35 A
terview with the head of the Mossad’s tech- blog entry by Rafael stated the company was
nology division, the Mossad also procured, assisting in the procurement of difficult-to-ob-
“by circuitous means,” vital information for tain components and in establishing produc-
the production of ventilators.29 tion infrastructure.36
On 31 March 2020, IAI stated in a press re- Finally, Elbit Systems was selected by the
lease that the DDR&D, the Production and IMOD, the DDR&D and the Ministry of Health
Procurement Directorate of the IMOD, the to establish a serial production line to manu-
private Israeli firm Inovytec Medical Solutions facture large quantities of LifeCan One venti-
and a classified IAI missile production depart- lators, based on technology developed by the
ment established a production line for Vent- Israeli medical startup LifeCan Medical.37
way Sparrow ventilators.30 According to Cal-
calist, the production department in question Remote Monitoring
manufactures surveillance satellites for the Whereas the manufacturing of ventilators
IMOD and international customers.31 IAI en- primarily leverages the production capacity
gineers also reportedly took part in a collabo- of the military sector, a series of technologi-
ration between the electronics division of the cal projects seek to adapt Israeli military tech-
Air Force, Microsoft Israel and other bodies nologies, developed in the context of Israel’s
to convert manual respirators into automated prolonged occupation of Palestinian and Syri-
ones.32 an land, for civilian medical use.
Rafael and the private Israeli companies Flight Among these projects is a joint initiative of El-
Medical and Baya Technologies are likewise bit Systems and Elta Systems, a wholly owned
engaged in mass production of ventilators.33 subsidiary of IAI, carried out in the framework
Flight Medical is a developer of portable ven- of the DDR&D’s National Technological Cen-
ter, to develop a remote patient monitoring
system for coronavirus patients.38 According
28 Etzion, Udi. A peek into Israel’s ventilators
production line.Calcalist, 6 April 2020 (Hebrew). to TheMarker, the system is based on Elbit
29 Dayan, Ilana. Commander of Mossad war and Elta’s radar and optics systems, as well as
room for fighting coronavirus, in an interview with
technologies developed by the Israeli startups
Uvda: Globally people are dying due to shortage of
ventilators. That won’t happen in Israel. Channel 12,
31 March 2020 (Hebrew). 34 Flight Medical Homepage. Accessed 11 May
30 In Accordance with the Directive of the 2020.
Minister of Defense, Naftali Bennett: The Ministry of 35 Etzion, Udi. A peek into Israel’s ventilators
Defense, IAI and Invoytec will Begin the Serial Produc- production line.Calcalist, 6 April 2020 (Hebrew).
tion of Israeli-developed Ventilators. Press release. 36 Fighting the Coronavirus with Powerful
Israel Aerospace Industries. 31 March 2020. Accessed Technologies. Rafael Blog. Rafael Advanced Defense
11 May 2020. Systems, 16 April 2020. Accessed 11 May 2020.
31 Etzion, Urdi. Coronavirus brings military 37 Globes Correspondent. Elbit Systems to
industries into a new battlefield. Calcalist, 31 March produce LifeCan Medical ventilators. Globes, 10 April
2020 (Hebrew). 2020.
32 Ibid; Etzion, Udi. Head of MOD emergency 38 Cohen, Sagi. Without a doctor’s touch: An
team: “We will supply ventilators in a short period Israeli system will remotely monitor temperature
time”. Calcalist, 29 March 2020 (Hebrew). and breathing in coronavirus patients. TheMarker, 31
33 Ibid. March 2020 (Hebrew).
6 | For Medicinal PurposesAn Israeli drone documented in a Great March of Return demonstration. Gaza. Photo by Activestills. 10 August 2018
Neteera, Vayyar and EchoCare.39 A highly sen- track suspects through the Israeli-controlled
sitive radar would measure a patient’s pulse streets of East Jerusalem, where three in five
and respiratory rate while a thermal camera residents are Palestinian.42
would measure their body temperature; at a In early April, Calcalist reported that AnyVi-
later stage, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) com- sion will begin to deploy thermal cameras at
ponent may be added to cross analyze the a Tel Aviv hospital that can remotely measure
data.40 body temperatures and determine whether
Another company to join the business of coro- high temperature is the result of a disease or
navirus-related tech is the Israeli facial rec- of physical exertion.43 The system is based on
ognition firm AnyVision, whose surveillance IAI MiniPOP44 thermal cameras. According to
products have been deployed in the occupied Calcalist, the technology was originally devel-
West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Com-
pany technology has been used in military surveils Palestinians. TheMarker, 14 July 2019 (He-
brew).
checkpoints and on existing CCTV networks 42 Solon, Olivia. Why did Microsoft fund an
within the West Bank to monitor and surveil Israeli firm that surveils West Bank Palestinians? NBC
Palestinians,41 as well as by Israel Police to News, 28 October 2019.
43 Kabir, Omer. Face Recognition Startup AnyVi-
sion to Deploy Thermal Cameras at Tel Aviv Hospital.
39 Ibid. CTech, 7 April 2020.
40 Ibid. 44 MiniPOP Lightweight Payload for Day/Night
41 Ziv, Amitai. Scoop: The curious Israeli start- Observation System. Israel Aerospace Systems. Ac-
up that operates clandestinely in the territories and cessed 11 May 2020.
7 | For Medicinal Purposesoped for military warships and drones.45 of Israeli hospitals.49 The ReDS system is re- A similar product, designed to identify peo- portedly already in use in Italy and the United ple with fever in public places, was developed States.50 Sensible Medical CEO Amir Ronen by Rafael using the thermal imaging cameras told Haaretz that the system’s core technol- of its partially-owned (49.9%) subsidiary Op- ogy is a military technology, “intended to see gal. According to the company’s blog, “These through walls for urban warfare or locating highly sensitive cameras, which are used in survivors under debris.”51 the homing devices attached to our missiles, can detect and measure heat from a signifi- cant distance.”46 Following a pilot in two Is- raeli hospitals, the product is currently in op- erational use. In the future, the blog further states, such cameras may also be deployed in places such as malls and shops. While the presence of Israel’s biggest mili- tary players in the initiatives of the National Technological Center to Fight Coronavirus has been far-ranging and ubiquitous, there are additional channels for the transfer of knowl- edge from the state military apparatus to the private medical sector. Various Israeli military intelligence and computer engineering units and training programs function as a “conveyor belt” for hundreds of Israelis, many of whom migrate to the private high-tech industry.47 A case in point is the Israeli start-up Sensi- ble Medical, composed largely of veterans of Unit 81, the top-secret technological unit of the Israeli military’s intelligence division.48 Haaretz reported the company is piloting the use of its ReDS lung fluid monitor to monitor the lungs of coronavirus patients in a number 45 Kabir, Omer. Face Recognition Startup AnyVi- sion to Deploy Thermal Cameras at Tel Aviv Hospital. CTech, 7 April 2020. 46 Fighting the Coronavirus with Powerful Technologies. Rafael Blog. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, 16 April 2020. Accessed 11 May 2020. 49 Ibid. 47 Gordon, Neve. “The political economy of 50 Sensible Medical ReDS Lung Fluid Monitor to Israel’s homeland security/surveillance industry.” The Help COVID-19 Patients in Italy, US and Other Coun- New Transparency: Surveillance and Social Sorting 28 tries. News. Sensible Medical. 16 April 2020. Accessed (2009). 11 May 2020. 48 Cohen, Sagi. Pilot in hospitals: A radar to 51 Cohen, Sagi. Pilot in hospitals: A radar to warn about deteriorating condition of coronavirus warn about deteriorating condition of coronavirus patients. Haaretz, 30 April 2020 (Hebrew). patients. Haaretz, 30 April 2020 (Hebrew). 8 | For Medicinal Purposes
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