One of the most notable revelations during the recent 12-day-long war between Iran and the Zionist regime was the deeply intertwined relationship between Israeli academic and scientific institutions and its military-industrial complex.

A key indicator of this nexus is the physical proximity of numerous Israeli universities and R&D centers to military bases and command units. Iranian forces, in a targeted campaign, destroyed several of these sites with precision. While many of these academic institutions ostensibly pursued scientific advancement, in reality, they served as the engine driving Israel’s military development and provided direct support to its armed forces.

The Parallel Growth of Universities and Military Complexes:

An analysis published by the Mail & Guardian observed that the expansion of Israeli higher education institutions has been closely linked to the growth of its military industries. Although established as public entities, these universities were later repurposed to support instruments of warfare and violence.

After the establishment of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1918, the Zionist movement went on to establish two additional higher education institutions in occupied Palestine. The Hebrew University was the first Israeli university dedicated to academic research in various fields. The Technion was designed as an engineering hub, while the Weizmann Institute committed itself to scientific research for state purposes. During the intense military campaigns leading up to the formation of the Israeli regime in 1948, Zionist leadership officially integrated these three universities into the national framework of strategic institutions.

Biological Weapons Hidden in Israeli Academia:

In 1946, the Zionist paramilitary group Haganah launched the HEMED scientific unit, establishing bases across all three campuses. These universities soon became epicenters for weapons research and development.

In February 1948, a doctoral student in microbiology at the Hebrew University founded the biological division of HEMED and assumed leadership. By April of the same year, this unit had developed strains of typhoid and dysentery bacteria for potential use as biological weapons.

In the spring of 1948, Haganah and other Zionist military groups began large-scale campaigns to expel Palestinians and seize their lands. HEMED supported these efforts through its research in chemistry, biology, nuclear science, and warfare, assisted by university students and researchers.

The biological agents developed by HEMED were employed in the highly secretive “Cast Thy Bread” operation, a biological warfare campaign aimed at contaminating Palestinian water supplies. The plan was personally supervised by then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and intended as a mechanism to prevent the return of expelled Palestinians to their villages.

On May 13, 1948, just before the outbreak of full-scale war, the Cast Thy Bread operation was executed in the Palestinian village of Beit Mahsir, which had recently been depopulated.

Planned Poisoning Campaigns Against Palestinians:

As part of Haganah’s broader military campaign to depopulate major Palestinian cities in the weeks leading to the 1948 war, typhoid and dysentery bacteria were used to poison Palestinian civilians still residing in these areas. In early May, Haganah operatives contaminated water sources in Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem as well as the central aqueduct that supplied the coastal city of Acre. While this resulted in outbreaks of disease, it did not have the incapacitating effect initially intended.

When the operation expanded to target Egyptian and other Arab military forces, Zionist agents were eventually captured, and Arab nations submitted formal complaints to the United Nations Security Council. In response, Abba Eban, representative of the Jewish Agency, accused Arab states of “anti-Semitic provocation,” vehemently denied the biological attacks, and attempted to halt further investigations.

By December 1948, the Cast Thy Bread operation was officially suspended by the Israeli military and political leadership.

However, this was only the beginning of the Zionist regime’s militarization of its academic institutions, laying the groundwork for the eventual emergence of high-tech military corporations like Rafael, deeply embedded within the Israeli educational and scientific infrastructure.

Recruitment of Students and Professors for Military Research:

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, all branches of the HEMED scientific unit were activated, and professors and students from Israel’s three main universities were recruited to conduct military research and experimentation. The Weizmann Institute officially handed over its facilities and infrastructure to the Haganah and later to the newly formed Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

At the same time, the central recruitment committee of the fledgling Zionist government relieved all Weizmann researchers and staff from regular military duties and formally categorized them as soldiers due to their strategic scientific activities.

Senior researchers, employees, and students at the institute worked continuously in rotating shifts, operating on a 24/7 basis. Academics and students across the three institutions began developing and manufacturing various weapons, including plastic explosives, rockets powered by synthetic propellants, mortar shells, artillery rounds, and ignition mechanisms for napalm, tear gas, and landmines.

The Militarization of Academia Began in 1948:

The end of the 1948 war marked the beginning of the full-scale militarization of Israeli universities. The Weizmann Institute emerged as a core pillar of the military science corps, alongside the Technion, becoming a key scientific-military center for the Zionist regime. Senior faculty and administrators from both institutions later led the development of Israel’s advanced weapons industry, leveraging scientific legitimacy as the foundation of the regime’s military strength.

Rafael: A Pioneer in Israeli Weapons Development:

In 1952, HEMED was placed under the authority of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, where academic scientists began to exert a growing influence. It was restructured as the Research and Design Directorate, led by David Bergmann, one of the founders and senior officials of the Weizmann Institute.

By 1958, the directorate evolved into the Armament Development Authority, more widely known by its Hebrew acronym, Rafael. Rafael has become one of Israel’s leading state-owned weapons manufacturers and a principal supplier to the Israeli military. It is primarily known for developing missiles, armor systems, and weapons for tanks, jet aircraft, and naval forces. Rafael’s technologies have been deployed throughout the occupied Palestinian territories and are now exported globally. Still rooted in the scientific legacy of the Weizmann Institute and the Technion, Rafael brands itself as “the national laboratory of the Zionists.” Rafael, however, was not the only military-industrial entity born from Israeli academic institutions.

In 1954, the Technion, with state support, established an aeronautical engineering unit. This division tailored its curriculum to meet military needs, and its faculty and students played a central role in founding Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a company that went on to produce Israeli-designed fighter jets and missiles. Today, IAI is one of the premier arms manufacturers for the Israeli regime, supplying jet aircraft, drones, and weapons systems to the IDF and marketing them globally as “battle-proven products.”

The Roots of the Israeli Military Industry Lie in Academia:

Since their inception, these military industries have been deeply embedded within the Technion and other academic institutions to the extent that it has become difficult to distinguish between university research and defense R&D in Israel.

Scientists and engineers frequently shuttle between universities and defense companies, with students often being recruited directly into defense roles. These companies, in turn, fund the construction of major labs at the Technion and employ entire networks of faculty exclusively focused on military research.

Researchers at these institutions have developed a wide array of technologies, including next-generation missiles and drones, which are later produced by Rafael, IAI, and other Israeli defense firms, then integrated into the Israeli military’s arsenal.

Although the Technion is often regarded as a leading academic institution in industrial innovation, it is far from alone. Israeli universities not only support the military through weapons development but also by actively training soldiers. All state universities in Israel devote their facilities, faculty, and academic expertise to advancing the military agenda. They contribute to the regime’s security through specialized educational programs, degree conferrals, and career development pathways tailored for soldiers and military personnel.

One such initiative is Atuda, a specialized academic-military program administered jointly by the Israeli army, the Ministry of Defense, weapons manufacturers, and the Directorate for Weapons Development and Technological Infrastructure and coordinated through the Israeli academic system. Atuda was developed to produce a cadre of highly educated and technically trained military officers, complementing a broader national program that recruits high school seniors into military-academic tracks.

Scholarships in Exchange for Military Service:

Through the Atuda program, the Israeli military offers over 50 academic degree tracks across all public universities in Israel. These programs provide tuition coverage and needs-based financial aid to participants in exchange for extended military service as commanders or officers. Atuda recruits are first drafted into mandatory military service, then released temporarily to complete academic degrees and basic training, and finally return to serve a minimum of six years in active duty.

This elite military-academic pathway has long served as a critical conduit between Israel’s university system, military leadership, and defense technology sectors. According to senior military officials and academic administrators, the outcomes of this program have been “strategically vital.” They claim Atuda has become a cornerstone of Israel’s technological capabilities and global competitive edge in the defense market.

Graduates of Atuda programs, often trained in physics, mathematics, and computer science, have assumed key roles in the research and development arms of Israel’s military complex. Some have gone on to launch private security and defense companies worth millions of dollars.

The relationship between Israel’s military industries and its universities has always been symbiotic. Academic institutions continue to provide campuses, infrastructure, students, and faculty to help develop technologies and weapons that are used against Palestinians. These technologies are later marketed globally as “battle-tested products.”

Israeli universities, by collaborating with state agencies and arms manufacturers that sustain the occupation and apartheid system, have become the academic arm of the Israeli security establishment, actively complicit in its crimes.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.