The unstated reason Israeli companies are being disinvited from European arms fairs ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Friday, August 29, 2025

The unstated reason Israeli companies are being disinvited from European arms fairs

Israel will not set up a national pavilion at the DSEI UK 2025 exhibition scheduled to take place in London Sept. 9-12, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced on Friday.

The reason, according to the ministry’s statement, is “the British government recently imposed unilateral restrictions on the official Israeli government and military representatives participation in the exhibition.”

This is the third European defense exhibition in which Israel has been penalized. Defense News recently reported that Israeli companies were banned from participating in the Dutch NEDS exhibition, which is expected to take place this November.

In June, the Israeli pavilions at the Paris Air Show were blocked with black walls after being asked not to display what were labeled “offensive weapons.”

The reasons given for these restrictions are all over the place. Saying that "offensive weapons" cannot be shown at an arms fair is pretty absurd. NEDS used the excuse of potential "social unrest" - last year protestors clashed with police and broke windows. But they also added that allowing Israeli firms to exhibit while the Dutch government advocates sanctions would create contradictions.

When multiple reasons are given for the same decision, chances are the real reason is not being said out loud.

Right now, European countries are increasing their defense budgets dramatically as a result of the war in Ukraine. The weapons that are most desired are the ones Israeli defense firms are the best at: drones, counter-drone technologies, air defense systems (like the Iron Dome and David's Sling), and advanced munitions.

This puts Israeli firms in direct competition with major European defense companies like Leonardo (Italy), Rheinmetall (Germany), and BAE Systems (UK).

Israeli defense firms have been booming since the Gaza war. Unlike their competitors, many of their systems are battle tested. European countries don't want to risk spending hundreds of billions of euros on systems that might be second best. IAI, Elbit and Rafael have order backlogs of some $70 billion between them - the bulk of which is from European customers.

It is not difficult to picture how other defense firms want to keep Israeli products out of arms expos. Governments and event organizers can claim they are acting on "moral" or "security" grounds, when in reality, they may be quietly pleased to remove major competitors from showcase events.