Israeli defense ministry and firms funneled millions to US university weapons research, often hidden
An investigation found that Israel's Ministry of Defense and major defence companies directed over $15 million to U.S. university weapons research, frequently missing from federal disclosure records.
Drop Site News’ investigation traced financial connections spanning two decades between Israel’s Ministry of Defense, leading defence manufacturers and a range of U.S. higher-education institutions. Records from 2004 to 2025 show more than $15 million directed toward weapons-related research through grants, tuition assistance and other institutional funding, with many entries absent or inconsistently logged in federal disclosure systems.
Prominent universities—including Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, Harvard, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, the University of Connecticut, the University of Maryland and UC Berkeley—received money from firms such as Elbit Systems, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries. At the University of Connecticut, a Ministry-of-Defense-backed project on impact-point prediction for short- and medium-range projectiles obtained $668,456, while a magnetic-field detection study earned $251,336 over the same period.
U.S. law requires reporting of foreign gifts exceeding $250,000 annually, yet the probe found numerous instances where this threshold was not met in official filings. The disclosure comes as diplomatic friction rises following Israeli strikes that Washington deemed unnecessary escalation.
Why it matters
Undisclosed foreign defense funding to U.S. campuses raises transparency and security concerns.
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