V-MIL Audit: IBM

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

IBM maintains substantial direct contracting relationships with the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) spanning multiple decades and contract types. The company’s most significant engagement is a 2020 contract with the Israeli military, valued at approximately USD 1 billion, under which IBM and Malam Team serve as the main IT provider for three new Israeli military regional logistics centers for a 25-year period ¹. This represents IBM’s largest identified defense-related contract in the region and establishes long-term infrastructure support for Israeli military logistics operations.

In 2017, IBM secured a contract for the operation and maintenance of Israeli military computing centers, valued at more than USD 20 million ¹. Prior to this, in 2011, IBM contracted to supply the Israeli military with storage and central servers, with contract estimates ranging into the hundreds of millions of USD ¹. Earlier procurement activity includes IBM’s winning of a USD 20-30 million servers tender for the Israeli Ministry of Defense in 2007, financed by US military aid — this was IBM’s second consecutive win of this specific tender ¹.

IBM Israel maintains ongoing engagement with Israeli military ICT and Cyber Defense Directorate, having hosted a conference in March 2024 with approximately 100 participants from these military bodies ¹. Additionally, IBM’s subsidiary Red Hat provides infrastructure to the Israeli military’s Mamram Unit, which operates the operational cloud for the Israeli Defense Forces — the Red Hat OpenShift platform powers this military computing environment, launched in 2018 and serving thousands of operational users ¹. The Nimbus government cloud project, serving the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, is powered by Red Hat OpenShift container platform ¹.

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

IBM’s technology portfolio includes products and systems with direct application to military and defense deployments. Red Hat’s OpenShift platform serves as the infrastructure backbone for the Israeli military’s Mamram Unit operational cloud, a purpose-built military computing environment serving thousands of IDF personnel ¹. The Nimbus government cloud initiative provides Red Hat OpenShift container platform services to the Israeli government cloud infrastructure serving the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems — all defense primes involved in weapons systems manufacturing including the Iron Dome missile defense system ¹.

IBM designed and operates the central database system known as “Eitan” for Israel’s Population, Immigration, and Border Authority (PIBA). This system manages the national population registry including data on Israeli citizens, Palestinian citizens of Israel, residents of occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinians in the West Bank under military rule, Palestinians in Gaza, and residents of occupied Syrian Golan ². IBM won the original Eitan contract in 2017, valued at approximately $240 million, with additional contracts awarded between 2018 and 2021 worth over NIS 800 million (equivalent to more than $200 million) ². The Eitan system constitutes critical infrastructure for the Israeli government’s population management and permit regime in occupied territories.

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

No public evidence identified. IBM is not a manufacturer of heavy construction equipment, earthmoving machinery, armored vehicles, or demolition equipment. This section is structurally inapplicable to IBM’s product portfolio.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

IBM maintains contractual relationships with major Israeli defense prime contractors through both direct and subsidiary channels. IBM, together with Elbit Systems, was awarded several contracts to digitalize services and data storage for the Israeli Border Authority under the Marom (E-Visa) project ¹. This project represents IBM’s direct integration with Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s largest defense electronics companies.

Through the Nimbus project, IBM subsidiary Red Hat provides OpenShift cloud computing services to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, both major Israeli defense prime contractors involved in strategic weapons systems including Iron Dome, Arrow, and David’s Sling missile defense systems ¹. IAI and Rafael represent central nodes in Israel’s defense industrial base, and IBM technology infrastructure supports their operations through the government cloud contract.

Malam Team, IBM’s primary local partner in the $1 billion logistics centers contract, owns 50% of Eltel Technologists Ltd, a joint venture with Elta, which is a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) ³⁴. Eltel provides checkpoint scanners in the occupied Palestinian territories, establishing a direct connection between IBM’s partnership arrangements and infrastructure supporting Israeli checkpoint operations in the West Bank ³. Another Malam Team subsidiary, Malam Systems, operates an IT service and development center in the illegal settlement of Beitar Illit in the West Bank, creating a settlement enterprise nexus through IBM’s partnership with Malam Team ³.

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

IBM’s 2020 $1 billion contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defense specifically covers IT services for three new military regional logistics centers, providing logistical sustainment infrastructure for the Israeli Defense Forces ¹. This contract represents the most substantial element of IBM’s identified engagement in logistical sustainment and base services for the Israeli military, establishing long-term (25-year) operational support for military logistics operations.

Additional logistics-related engagements include the 2017 operation and maintenance contract for Israeli military computing centers valued at more than USD 20 million, which supports military base computing infrastructure ¹. The 2011 storage and servers supply contract, valued in the hundreds of millions of USD, further establishes IBM’s role in providing the hardware infrastructure supporting military base operations ¹.

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

No direct weapons manufacturing role identified. IBM does not appear as a prime contractor or licensed manufacturer of lethal weapons systems. However, through the Nimbus project, IBM subsidiary Red Hat provides cloud computing infrastructure to defense primes Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, both of which are involved in strategic weapons systems including Iron Dome, Arrow, and David’s Sling missile defense ¹. Red Hat OpenShift powers the operational cloud infrastructure serving these defense primes, providing the technological backbone for their weapons systems development and operational activities.

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

No public evidence identified of specific US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), EU ECJU, UK ECJU, or German BAFA export license decisions for IBM products to Israeli military end-users. IBM files annual export compliance disclosures under US Export Administration Regulations (EAR) with the Bureau of Industry and Security, but no publicly disclosed license denials, revocations, or enforcement actions specific to Israeli military end-users were identified in open sources. Export license application data for specific transactions is not publicly available in comprehensive form.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

IBM has been subject to significant scrutiny from civil society organizations and international bodies regarding its Israeli military-related activities. IBM is listed on the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) BDS divestment shortlist, with the stated basis that “It provides technologies to the Israeli military and operates Israel’s discriminatory population registry” ⁵.

IBM is explicitly named by United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in report A/HRC/59/23 titled “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide” (July 2025) as one of 48 corporate entities providing technology enabling Israel’s “economy of genocide” ⁶. This represents formal naming by a UN human rights mechanism.

Who Profits documents IBM’s contracts with Israeli military and government bodies, categorizing IBM under technology/IT services rather than direct weapons supply ¹. The organization’s research forms the foundational evidence base for many subsequent civil society and institutional engagements.

IBM’s inclusion in the UN OHCHR database of business enterprises involved in Israeli settlements was noted as potentially meeting criteria; however, a direct database entry confirming IBM’s specific presence was not directly verified through available search results ⁷. The UN Human Rights Council resolutions 31/36 and 53/25 provide the mandate for this database.

IBM was not a primary target of the No Tech for Apartheid campaign, which focused primarily on Google and Amazon’s Project Nimbus contract. IBM was not a Project Nimbus bidder or awardee, distinguishing IBM’s position from the more prominent civil society campaigns targeting other technology firms ¹.

Controlling Principals

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna serves on the Board of Directors of Northrop Grumman, a major US defense contractor ⁸. This direct board-level connection to a US defense prime establishes a controlling principal relationship with the defense industry.

In June 2024, CEO Arvind Krishna stated: “We try to operate with the principles that are encouraged by the governments of the countries we are in… We operate in Israel, but we also operate in Saudi Arabia. What do those countries want us to do? And what is it they consider to be correct behavior?” ⁸. This statement indicates IBM defers to host government priorities rather than applying independent human rights assessments, representing a documented approach to governance that prioritizes government alignment over autonomous ethical frameworks.

Uri Hayik, CTO of IBM Israel, spent 26 years in the Israeli Air Force, including serving as former Chief Information Officer of the Israeli Air Force and Commander of OFEK (IAF ICT unit), and currently serves on the IBM Israel management board ¹. This establishes deep embedded connections between IBM Israel leadership and Israeli military intelligence and cyber commands.

Constructive Notice

IBM’s Israeli operations continued following the July 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion finding Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory unlawful, without any announced policy response, withdrawal from Israeli operations, or public acknowledgment of the Opinion in any corporate disclosure or press release identified through April 2026. Following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) November 2024 arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, no IBM corporate disclosure, press statement, or policy change has been identified. IBM’s 2024 and 2025 proxy statements contained no shareholder resolution specifically addressing IBM’s Israeli military, defence, or occupation-related activities, contrasting with Google (Alphabet) and Amazon which faced material shareholder resolutions on Project Nimbus.

Settlement Nexus

Malam Team subsidiary Malam Systems operates an IT service and development center in Beitar Illit, an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. IBM’s partnership with Malam Team on the $1 billion logistics centers contract creates a direct nexus to settlement enterprise through this joint venture arrangement ³. The IBM-designed Eitan system for PIBA records information on Palestinians in West Bank under military rule and Gaza, facilitating the permit regime and movement restrictions that constitute core infrastructure of the occupation ².

End Notes