by Steve Kramer         

In 1947 and 1948, in advance of Israel declaring its independence, Israel found itself at a disadvantage militarily and demographically to its Arab neighbors. With only about 600,000 Jews residing in Mandatory Palestine, living under British rule since the early 1920s, the Jews were threatened by Arabs who had lived in Palestine for generations. Many more Arabs had entered Palestine from No.Africa or Arabia to gain employment generated by Jewish development in the first half of the 20th century. There were also small minorities of Druze, Circassians, and Samaritans scattered within Palestine. Urban centers like Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, and Hebron had mixed populations of Jews and Arabs, while most rural areas were predominantly Arab Muslim. See NOTE 1.

The Arab nations surrounding the Jewish settlements had armies, for example, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. Even more so, the British-officered Arab Legion of Jordan threatened the nascent Jewish state. The United States and the United Nations imposed blanket bans on selling any weapons or military-grade equipment to the Jews. Despite this, individuals like Al Schwimmer and organizations such as the Jewish Agency’s U.S. arms smuggling network clandestinely procured and transported weapons to support the Yishuv (pre-state Israel). See NOTE 2.

So, restricting arms sales to Israel is nothing new. In recent years, several countries have imposed restrictions or suspensions on arms sales to Israel, including the United Kingdom, which suspended 30 out of 350 export licenses in September 2024 due to concerns over international humanitarian law “violations”; Italy halted new arms shipments in January 2024, honoring prior contracts but ceasing new approvals; Spain banned arms exports since October 2023; and Canada suspended new permits in January 2024. Additionally, the Netherlands ceased exporting F-35 parts in February 2024 following a court ruling, Belgium suspended specific licenses in February 2024, and Ireland. The government of Ireland has vowed not to use Israeli defense equipment as part of their military procurement program. These actions reflect growing, slanted international scrutiny over Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

Other countries, such as Japan, have imposed restrictions or bans on arms sales to Israel due to concerns over military actions in Gaza. Despite these measures, the impact on Israel’s military capabilities has been limited, as the majority of its arms imports come from the United States and Germany.

The United States is the largest supplier of military equipment to Israel, accounting for approximately 69% of its major conventional arms imports between 2019 and 2023. Germany follows as the second-largest supplier, providing about 30% of Israel’s arms imports during the same period. Other countries, including Italy, the United Kingdom, and France, have historically supplied arms to Israel, though some have imposed restrictions or suspensions on such exports in recent years.

Israel exports military equipment to numerous countries, with key buyers typically including the United States, India, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, and several nations in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Specific exports vary by year and include drones, missile systems, radar, and cybersecurity technology. Some of those who boycott Israeli arms manufacturers  nevertheless find it necessary to purchase Israeli arms.

As of 2021–2025, the United States led global arms exports with 42% market share, followed by France at 10%, Russia at 7%, Germany at 6%, and China at 6%. These figures are based on data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Between 2021 and 2025, Israel accounted for approximately 4.4% of global arms exports, ranking as the seventh-largest exporter worldwide. This growth reflects a 56% increase over the previous five-year period, driven by high demand for air defense systems.

The European countries in particular include some of the worst example of countries who defame Israel while welcoming the influx of Muslims who have radically changed their countries – for the worse. Since Israel’s Declaration of Independence, some Western democracies have hindered Israel while backing non-democratic countries which defame Israel or are enemies of Israel. I see only a bleak future for those Western European countries (and Canada and Australia) which have radically altered their populations with immigrants who have little or no inclination to assimilate. The truth is that Israel has more in common today with a country like the United Arab Emirates than with shortsighted countries like Spain and France.

NOTE 1:

Under the British Mandate, the 1922 census data shows about 752,000 Muslims, 76,000 Christians, and 83,000 Jews in what was called “Palestine”. But by the 1940s, the non?Jewish population was roughly 1.1–1.2 million, with Jews making up about one?third of the total population. Palestine was a diverse region under Ottoman rule until 1917 and then under the British Mandate. Its inhabitants included: Arab Muslims (the majority), mostly Sunni, living in cities, towns, and rural villages. Arab Christians were concentrated in cities like Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jaffa. Jewish communities, Jerusalem and Safed had long-established Sephardic and Mizrahi populations. Newer Ashkenazi immigrants began arriving in waves of aliyah starting in the late 19th century. [Chat GPT]

NOTE 2:

“In 1947, Al Schwimmer volunteered to help the Haganah acquire aircraft and began smuggling surplus war planes to Israel via Czechoslovakia. He also recruited pilots and crews to fly the planes, mostly WWII veterans (not necessarily Jewish), that initiated the Israeli Air Force. In 1950, Schwimmer was convicted by U.S. authorities for violating the Neutrality Act because of his plane smuggling operation. He was fined and stripped of his veteran benefits, but never imprisoned. He was pardoned in 2001 by then President Bill Clinton.” (https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/al-schwimmer)