V-DIG Audit: Amazon

V-DIG Domain Audit: Amazon

Enterprise Technology Stack & Vendor Relationships

Amazon’s enterprise technology stack incorporates multiple Israeli-origin security and software vendors through AWS Marketplace and formal partnership arrangements. CyberArk, headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel, maintains AWS Partner Network status with its identity security and privileged access management solutions available via AWS Marketplace ¹. Check Point Software Technologies, founded in Tel Aviv, offers CloudGuard network security products through the AWS Marketplace ². SentinelOne, co-founded by Israeli entrepreneurs Tomer Weingarten and Almog Cohen, operates under a formal Strategic Collaboration Agreement with AWS covering integration of its Singularity platform with AWS security services and joint go-to-market initiatives ³. NICE Systems, Verint, and Palo Alto Networks similarly maintain marketplace listings on AWS ⁴. Cellebrite, an Israeli digital forensics company, offers its SaaS forensics platform via AWS Marketplace ⁵.

Amazon attempted to acquire Israeli cloud security company Wiz for approximately $23 billion in mid-2024; Wiz declined the offer and no acquisition was completed ⁶. No public evidence identified of any Israeli-origin technology embedded in Amazon’s core internal enterprise security stack — all documented relationships exist at marketplace, distribution, or partner-facing levels ⁴. No public evidence identifies Amazon holding vendor, licensing, or partnership relationships with Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, or Israel Aerospace Industries ⁷.

Surveillance, Biometrics & Retail Technology

Amazon’s retail technology operations include a documented commercial partnership with Israeli computer vision company Trigo Vision. In July 2022, Amazon partnered with Trigo Vision to deploy autonomous, cashierless checkout technology in Amazon Fresh grocery stores ⁸. Israeli business press reported in 2023 that Trigo continued expanding retail partnerships including Amazon Fresh deployments ⁹.

Amazon Rekognition, Amazon’s own facial recognition and computer vision service, has been subject of controversy regarding US law enforcement procurement ¹⁰. No public evidence identifies Amazon Rekognition being deployed by Israeli military or government bodies ⁴. No public evidence identifies Amazon holding confirmed relationships with AnyVision/Oosto, BriefCam, or Trax — all Israeli retail analytics vendors ⁴. No public evidence identifies Amazon using Israeli-origin predictive analytics, sentiment analysis, or workforce surveillance tools internally ⁴.

Cloud Infrastructure, Data Residency & Sovereign Cloud Participation

Amazon operates the AWS Israel Region (il-central-1) in Tel Aviv, comprising three Availability Zones launched in August 2023 ¹¹. The region is marketed explicitly for local data residency, low-latency access, and compliance with Israeli data sovereignty requirements ⁴. Amazon has announced planned investment of $7.2 billion through 2037 with an estimated $13.9 billion contribution to Israeli GDP ⁷. AWS Bedrock, Amazon’s generative AI platform, became available in the Israel Region in September 2025 ¹².

In October 2021, the Israeli government awarded a $1.2 billion cloud infrastructure contract designated Project Nimbus jointly to AWS and Google Cloud ¹³. The contract covers provision of cloud computing, storage, AI/ML platforms, and managed services to Israeli government ministries and agencies. Reporting by The Guardian and The Intercept confirmed the contract scope explicitly extends to the Israeli Ministry of Defence and the Israel Defence Forces, not solely civilian ministries ¹⁴¹⁰. The contract runs from May 2021 to May 2028 with an option to extend 132 months and includes a 20% reciprocal procurement/investment requirement in Israel ¹⁵. AWS services provided under Nimbus encompass general compute, storage, networking infrastructure alongside AI/ML platforms including Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock ¹².

Data stored, processed, or transited through AWS Tel Aviv Region is subject to Israeli law, including potential government access under compulsory process ⁴. Following the ICJ Advisory Opinion of July 19, 2024 finding Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory unlawful, no public announcement by Amazon suspended, modified, or cancelled Project Nimbus ¹⁶¹⁰. Following ICC arrest warrants for Israeli officials issued November 2024, no public statement by Amazon acknowledged or responded to the warrants in the context of Project Nimbus ¹⁰.

Defence, Intelligence & Security Sector Technology Relationships

Project Nimbus serves as the primary mechanism through which Amazon provides cloud and AI/ML services to Israeli military and intelligence entities. The contract scope confirmed includes services delivered to Israeli Ministry of Defence and IDF ¹⁴¹⁰. The IDF Intelligence Directorate uses AWS server farms for storing intelligence data on Gaza with unlimited storage capacity; this infrastructure has been used to confirm airstrikes ⁷¹⁷. Israeli weapon manufacturers including Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Elta are mandated to use Nimbus cloud services; Rafael migrated to AWS in June 2023 ⁷¹⁰.

Workers participating in the No Tech for Apartheid campaign raised documented concerns that AI and computer vision services supplied under Project Nimbus could be applied to military targeting or surveillance operations ¹⁶¹⁰. Amazon has not publicly confirmed specific military operational use cases ¹⁰. No public evidence identifies Amazon holding separate contractual relationships with Mossad or Shin Bet beyond the Project Nimbus umbrella ⁷. No public evidence identifies Amazon developing, selling, licensing, or maintaining offensive cyber capabilities, zero-day exploit tools, or digital weapons systems ⁴.

AI, Algorithmic & Autonomous Systems

The Project Nimbus contract confirmed scope includes Amazon SageMaker for machine learning model training and deployment infrastructure and Amazon Bedrock for foundation model access, provided to Israeli government including Ministry of Defence and IDF ¹². Specific operational applications within Israeli government or military workflows have not been publicly disclosed by Amazon ¹⁰.

Amazon acquired Israeli MLOps and data science platform startup Iguazio in April 2023 ¹⁸. Post-acquisition, Iguazio was integrated into AWS AI/ML product offerings. No public confirmation identifies Iguazio-specific technology deployed as part of Project Nimbus services to Israeli government ¹⁸. No public evidence identifies Amazon’s AI models being trained on civilian population data, intercepted communications, or surveillance-derived datasets from Israel or occupied Palestinian territories ⁴. No public evidence identifies Amazon providing autonomous target generation, automated threat detection for weapons deployment, or autonomous tracking systems to Israeli military ¹⁰.

Technology Ecosystem & R&D Footprint

Amazon operates R&D and engineering centres in Tel Aviv and Haifa, Israel, with focus areas including cloud infrastructure, semiconductor/chip design, and machine learning ¹⁹. The Tel Aviv centre addresses cloud infrastructure and ML research; the Haifa location historically associates with chip and hardware development ¹⁹. Pre-pandemic headcount in September 2020 was approximately 1,150 employees with plans to hire 150 more ⁹. Amazon Development Center has been registered in Israel since August 2014 at 121 Menahem Begin Road, Tel Aviv ⁷.

Amazon acquired Israeli semiconductor startup Annapurna Labs in January 2015 for approximately $350 million ²⁰. Annapurna Labs, founded in Yokneam, Israel, produces ARM-based system-on-chip designs that directly powered the AWS Graviton processor family and AWS Nitro system-on-chip — foundational to AWS infrastructure ²⁰. The Iguazio acquisition in April 2023 added Israeli MLOps and data science capabilities to AWS ¹⁸. The attempted $23 billion acquisition of Wiz did not proceed ⁶. No public evidence identifies Amazon holding strategic investments in Israeli venture funds beyond direct acquisitions ⁴. No public evidence identifies formal patent co-development or licensing agreements between Amazon and Israeli academic institutions ⁴.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Regulatory History

Multiple civil society organisations have documented Amazon’s relationships with Israeli state entities. The Who Profits Research Center database profiles Amazon with primary documented bases: Project Nimbus cloud and AI services to Israeli government and military, the AWS Israel Region infrastructure, the Trigo Vision partnership, and the Annapurna Labs acquisition ⁷. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Investigate database lists Amazon under “Gaza Genocide” and “Military Contractors/Suppliers/Logistics” categories, documenting AWS role in facilitating computing power and AI tools for Israel’s military operations ¹⁷.

The UN Special Rapporteur report A/HRC/59/23 titled “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide” dated July 2025 explicitly names Amazon in paragraphs 36-43 as a technology company enabling Israel’s occupation and alleged genocide ²¹. Human Rights Watch published a December 2023 report addressing digital surveillance in occupied territories and technology company relationships with Israeli state bodies ²². Amazon is NOT included in the Don’t Buy Into Occupation (DBIO) financial relationship tracking database, which focuses on accommodation platforms, heavy equipment, and banks rather than cloud infrastructure providers ²³.

The No Tech for Apartheid coalition comprising Amazon and Google workers alongside civil society groups has run sustained public campaigns against Project Nimbus since 2021, with significant escalation in April and May 2024 and continuing through 2024-2025 ¹⁶²⁴²⁵. The campaign specifically documents Amazon’s and Google’s cloud and AI contracts with Israeli Ministry of Defence and IDF and calls for contract cancellation. In April 2024, coordinated employee protests occurred at Amazon offices in Seattle and New York ²⁴²⁵. Amazon terminated employees who participated in protests; Ahmed Shahrour was terminated in October 2025 ²⁶²⁷. NLRB unfair labour practice charges were filed by terminated workers and accepted for investigation ²⁸.

Keith Alexander, a retired four-star U.S. Army general, former NSA Director (2005-2014) and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command (2010-2014), served on Amazon’s Board of Directors from September 2020 to April 2026, chairing the board’s Security Committee ²⁹³⁰. This board composition brought defence contracting expertise during the JEDI contract dispute. Amazon sells products from Achdut-Achva, an Israeli food company based in the Ariel West Industrial Zone in the West Bank settlement, on its online platform ⁷. Amazon previously offered free shipping to Israeli settlements in the West Bank while charging Palestinians up to $24; this policy was reversed in March 2020 after criticism ³¹. No public evidence identifies regulatory inquiries, export control actions, or sanctions-related investigations specifically concerning Amazon’s technology sales to Israeli state entities ⁴.

End Notes