Brazilian-Israeli Military Ties

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Br az i l s m i l i ta r y

r e la t ion s w i th I sr ae l

I n d e x

1 . Sum m ary and Recom m endat ions p . 2

2 . Braz i l s sup por t o f the Is rael i a rm s ind us t r y p . 5

3 . Overv iew o f th e in t erests o f Israe l i ar m s pr oducers inBraz i l

p . 8

4 . Cont r adic t in g th e econom ic, legal and po l i t icalf r am ew o r k o f B r a zi l

p. 20

Annex 1 : Elb i t and IA I : Com p l i c i t i n I s rael i hu m an r igh tsv io la t ions

p. 26

Th e Palest in i an Gr assr oots Ant i Apar t he id W al l Cam paig nMarch 2011

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1 . Su m m ar y an d Reco m m en d at i on s

This repor t de ta i ls the ac t ive suppor t o f the Braz i l ian s ta te fo r the Is rae l i a rms indust ry aswel l as the Is rae l i in te res ts in and pro f i ts f rom Braz i l s mi l i ta ry and defense indust ry . I t

f ina l ly conf ro nt s th ese r eal i t ies w i th t he f ram ew or k o f econom ic , legal and po l i t i cal in ter estsand ob l iga t ion s o f Braz i l .

Based on 2 00 5 - 20 10 Is r ael i a rm s expor t d a ta, th e SIPRI has conc lud ed tha t Br azi l i s the f i f th

la rgest im por te r o f I srae l i ar m s.1 Sever a l m ajor p r ogram s s igned betw een Is rae l and Br azi l

a re al r eady w or th c lose to one b i l l io n US$ .2

Braz i l s suppor t to Is rae l i a r m s indust ry :

Br azi l s igned a secur i ty cooper a t ion agreem ent w i th Is rael a t the end o f Nov emb er 201 0

to faci l i t a te m i l i t a ry coopera t ion and cont r acts . The Br azi l ian Ar m ed For ces opened an o f f ice in Te l Av iv in 20 03 .

Braz i l regu lar ly rece ives f rom Is rae l and sends Is rae l po l i t i ca l and s ta te sponsoredeconom ic de legat ions w i th the a im o f s t reng then ing m i l i t a ry t i es.

Braz i l s LAAD Defense Expo annua l ly hosts the most impor tant Is rae l i a rms companies .

(Next expos i t io n : Apr i l 2 011 , R io de Jane i ro .)

Br azi l ian o f f ic ia ls are on r ecor d t o have he lped Isr ael i a rm s com panies to enter in cont actw i th a rm ed fo rces in o th e r La t in Am er i can coun t r i es.

In ter ests o f Israe l i a r m s pr oducers in Braz i l :

Th is repo r t does no t cover a l l i n te rest o f I srael i a rm s p rodu cers bu t m ere ly aim s to show case

som e exam ples.

Elbit System s: prov ides weapons tha t the Is rae l i mi l i ta ry uses fo r the k i l l ing o f c iv i l ians and ex t ra-

ju d i ci al k i l l i n gs. I t fu r t h er p r ov id es eq u ip m en t t o t h e Ap ar t h ei d W al l an d t h e

set t lements .

has bou ght t hr ee Br azi l ian arm s com pani es: AEL, Ar es Aero esp ecia l e Defesa SA (" Ar es")

and Per iscop i o Equ ip ament os Opt r on icos SA ( "Per iscop i o") . has num ero us con t r ac ts w i th the B raz i l i an m i l i t a ry , i nc lud ing fo r t he p r est ig ious Guaran i

p ro jec t .

hopes to ga in fu r th e r con t racts fo r t h e Olym p ics and the W or ld Cup in B r azi l .

I srae l i A i r c ra f t Indust r ies ( IA I ) : prov ides weapons tha t the Is rae l i mi l i ta ry uses fo r the k i l l ing o f c iv i l ians and ex t ra-

ju d i ci al k i l l i n gs. I t fu r t h er p r ov id es eq u ip m en t t o t h e Ap ar t h ei d W al l an d t h e

set t lements .

1 h t t p : / / a rms t rade .sip r i . org / a rm st rade / h tm l / expor t _va lues .php 2 h t tp : / / defense-update.com/ w p/ 201 1032 1_braz i l_defense_cooperat ion.htm l


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has fo r m ed a jo in t vent ur e ca l led EAE w i th Synergy Grou p. IA I s subsid i a ry Bedek u sesTAP M& E Braz i l m a in tenance and pr oduct i on centers in R io de Jane i ro and Por t o A legre

a i rpo r t s . has numerous con t rac ts w i th the B raz i l i an mi l i t a ry and cu r ren t l y a ims to w in o the r

con t racts w i th Embr aer .

I srae l i M i l i t a r y Indust r ies ( IM I ) : i s jus t as m any o th er Is rael i a rm s com panies deep ly i nvo l ved in cor r up t ion cases and

br i be ry o f p ub l i c o f f i cia l s

has g iven Taur us the l i cense to p r oduce i ts Tavor r i f les in Br azi l .

The B raz i l i an a rm y buys the Tau ru s p roduced Tavo r r i f l es.

Others: Num erous o ther Is rae l i ar m s and hom eland secur i ty com panies have got ten cont r acts in

B raz i l and w i th the B raz i l i an m in i s t r y o f Defense.

The I sr ae l i m i l i t a ry i n dus t r y po in t s a t b i l l i ons o f do l l ars o f con t r acts i n p r epar at ion o f t he

201 4 W or ld Cup gam es and the 2016 Olymp ic Gam es in B raz i l .

Contrad ict ing Braz i l s lega l and po l i t ica l f ram ew ork :

Lega l ob l iga t i ons: Brazil, as a signatory of the most relevant instruments of international law, has an obligation of

non-recognition and non-assistance to violations of international law.

The current military relations between Brazil and Israel imply a violation of the duties of thirdstates regarding violations of international law:

o Braz i l fac i l i ta tes economic benef i ts fo r companies tha t d i rec t ly cont ravene the IVGeneva Convent ion , thereby assis t ing in th e main t enance o f an un law fu l s i tu a t ion .

o Braz i l hos ts representa t ives o f companies tha t d i rec t ly cont ravene the IV Geneva

Convent ion and in some cases persons accused o f w ar c r im es.

o Braz i l fac i l i ta tes the presence o f companies tha t d i rec t ly cont ravene the IV Geneva

Conven t ion on i t s ow n te r r i t o r y , en ter in g thereby in d i r ec t o r i nd i r ect comp l i ci t y w i thv io la t i ons o f i n te rna t ional l aw .

o Braz i l fac i l i ta tes re la t ions between i ts own economy and c i t izens and companies

d i r ect ly in vo lved in v i o la t ions o f the IV Geneva convent ion . Expor t i s t he l i f e l i ne fo r t he I s rae l i a rms indus t r y up to 70% o f I s rae l i a rms a re

p roduced fo r expo r t . Wi thou t the I s rae l i a rms indus t r y I s rae l wou ld no t be ab le to

main ta in the occupat ion or to cont inue to lead wars , such as those aga ins t Lebanon in

200 6 and agains t Gaza in 2008 / 9 , bo th o f t hem st r ong ly condem ned by B r azi l .

Br az i l s po l i t ica l i n t e rests : Br azi l has r ecogn ized the Palest in ian sta te in th e bord ers o f 1967 . Is rael i a rm s ind ust r y is

consc ious ly pro f i t ing f rom on the ongo ing occupat ion o f the OPT as i t deve lops i tsweapons thanks to the exper ience gathered in the occupat ion . The suppor t fo r the

Is rae l i a rms indust ry there fore cont rad ic ts c lear ly the s ta ted suppor t o f the Braz i l iangovernm ent fo r t he cr eat io n o f a Palest in ian sta te in the 196 7 bor ders .


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The A rab w or l d i s po ten t ia l l y a ma jo r expo r t dest ina t ion fo r B raz i l i an w eapons. A c i r c lewhereby I s rae l uses B raz i l t o p roduce weapons o r pa r take in the p roduc t ion o f

w eapons that shou ld be so ld to t he A rab w or ld w i l l l i ke l y r a i se se r ious concern in th epopu la t i ons and some govern m en ts .

St r engthen ing t i es w i th I srae l i arm s p roduce rs and p r i va te secu r i t y m i l i t a ry com pan ies

(PSM C) sets a poor pr ecedent in te r m s o f accoun tab i l i t y , consider ing Is rae l s sup por t o frep r essive r egim es and ro l e i n p r o f i t i ng and fos ter in g f rom ins tab i l i t y i n t he 60s , 70s and80 s. Second ly , m i l i t a ry t ies w i th Is rael leaves e lem ents in p lace w h ich cou ld sup por t o r

fo rm oppress ive , and a t the most ex t reme ant i -government ac t iv i ty , in a g iven count ry .

F ina l ly , even i f m i l i t a ry t ies pose no t h r eat to a count r y s stab i l i t y , sup por t o f th e Isr ael i

m i l i t a ry i ndu st r y casts doub t on a gove rnm en t s comm i tm en t to hum an r i gh ts .

Recommendat ions:

Given th e above, w e ur ge th e Br azi l ian s ta te to s top a l l m i l i t a ry r e lat io ns w i th Is rael , and in

pa r t i cu la r t o :

Not r a t i fy , and to cancel , th e secur i ty coop era t ion agreement w i th Is rael .

Close dow n t he o f f ices o f the Br azi l ian Ar m ed For ces in Is rael .

Mod i f y the p rocu remen t regu la t i ons o f t he B raz i l i an a rmy to ensu re tha t compan iesv io la t i ng in te rn a t ional l aw a re excluded f rom con t r acts .

Bar comp an ies i nvo lved in v io lat i ons o f i n te rna t iona l l aw f rom estab l i sh ing t hemselveson Br azi l ian te r r i to r y v ia acqu is i t ion s o f comp anies, jo in t ventu r es or l i cens ing.

Ensure compan ies v io la t i ng in te rna t iona l l aw a re exc luded f rom the con t rac ts fo r t he

W or l d Cup and the Olymp ics as spo r t s tha t aw ards w ar c r im ina ls canno t be fai r p lay .

Bar comp an ies v io la t i ng in te rna t iona l l aw f rom pa r t i c ipa t ing in t he LAAD De fense Expo .

Du ly p rosecu te I sr ae l i suspec ts o f wa r c r im es and c r im es agains t hu m an i t y w hen they a ref o u n d i n i t s t er r i t o r y .

Do ing bus iness w i th the I s rae l i a rms indus t r y se r ious ly undermines B raz i l s suppor t o f

Palest in ian po l i t i ca l and h um an r igh ts , as any cont r acts d i rec t ly suppor t th e const r uc t ion o f

se t t lem ents and th e W al l , w h ich ensure th a t a Pa lest in ian s ta te w i l l no t be estab l ished, asw el l as p rov ide f i nancia l suppor t and in cen t i ve fo r com pan ies close ly t i ed w i th t he hum anr igh ts v io la t ions car r ied out by the Is rae l i mi l i ta ry . Th is ensures tha t co lon ia l ism and

occupa t ion rema in p ro f i t ab le , a l l ow ing these compan ies to con t inue to p ro f i t f r om Is rae l i

w ar c r im es w h i le cast ing doub t on t he Braz i l i an gover nm en t s comm i tm en t to hum an r i gh ts

and i t s al l iances and in teres ts in t he w ider r egion. I t i s unaccept ab le tha t Br azi l h and overthe i r taxpayer s m oney to t hese com panies, and in th e end , a decis ion m ust be m ade betw een

deal ing w i th I srae l o r stand ing w i th the Palest i n ian peop le .


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2 . Br az i l s sup por t o f the I sr ael i ar m s ind ustr y

Br azi l s a rm s ind ust r y is fostered by sta te benef i ts, and m i l i t a ry cont r acts ar e conc lud ed byth e m in istr y of defense or oth er state agencies, such as th e feder al pol ice. Th e state as a m ain

cont r actor estab l ishes a clear econom ic po l icy fo r th e defense ind ust r y . Th ere fore , w h i le w ear gue that a s tate has the du ty to i n te rvene w hen comp an ies registe red o r ope ra t ing in i t s

te r r i t o r y a re i nvo lved in g r ave v io lat i ons o f i n te rna t iona l l aw and hum an r i gh ts , i n t he case o fthe m i l i t a ry r e lat io ns betw een Br azi l and I s rael th e case is actu a l ly one o f th e sta te d i r ect lyp romot ing and fac i l i t a t i ng comp l i c i t y w i th compan ies i nvo lved in g rave v io la t i ons o f

i n te rn a t ional l aw .

Braz i l fac i l i ta tes the re la t ions w i th Is rae l i companies invo lved in grave v io la t ions o f

i n te rn a t ional l aw in num erous w ays, among them :

1) Agreem ent on Secur i ty coopera t ion w i th Is rae l

Br azi l h as r ecent ly s igned an agreement on secur i ty coopera t ion . Th is w as r evea led by the

Is rael i n ew spaper M aar iv . Accor d in g the paper , Defense Min is ter Ehud Barak and Chie f o f

Secur i ty in the Defense Min is t ry Amir Ka in s igned the agreement fo r secur i ty coopera t ion

between the two count r ies a t the end o f November 2010. Braz i l s in te l l igence a f fa i rsm in i ster s igned the agreement o n th e Braz i l ian side .

The sam e ar t ic le add s tha t :

A marke t va lued a t b i l l ions o f do l la rs has opened up to the de fense indus t r ies , a f te r a f i rs t agr eem ent o f i ts k in d w as signed fo r cooper a t i on be tw een Is rae l and Braz i l . There a re a l ready severa l g i an t dea ls on t he tab le be tw een I sr ae l Aer ospace Indu st r ies ( I AI ) , Elb i t and Rafae l w i t h Br az i l . [] W i t hout t he agr eem ent , w h ich is sim i la r to agr eem ents th a t Is rae l has signed wi th o ther count r ies , i t wou ld no t be poss ib le to car ry ou t the dea ls , wh ich a re a t a h igh leve l o f secur i t y c lassi f i cat i on. 3

Unsurp r is ing ly the sign ing o f th is agr eem ent has been fo l low ed by a nu m ber o f acqu is i t ion s

of Braz i l ian com panies by and cont r acts w i th I s rael com panies a t the beg inn i ng o f 2011 .

I t i s un for tunate tha t such a s t ra teg ic agreement has been s igned by Braz i l w i thout anypu b l ic d i scussion r egard i ng th e issue.

3h t t p : / / co tere t .com/ 2010 / 12 / 02 / m aar i v -% E2% 80% 9Cexc lus ive% E2% 80% 9D - israel -and-b razi l - sign -m a jo r -

secur i t y -cooperat ion-agreement /


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2) Is rae l i o ff ice o f the Braz i l ian Ar m ed Forces

In 2 003 t he Braz i l ian Arm ed For ces opened an o f f ice in T e l Av iv4 . No in form at ion is ava i lab le

r egard i ng th e pur pose o f th is o f f ice , w h ich m ight ser ve as a hub fo r econom ic re la t ions as

w el l as t ra in ings o r i n fo r m at ion exchange.

3 ) Pol i t ical and state sponsore d econom ic delegat ions

Many o f the arms t rade agreements have been s igned dur ing or shor t ly a f te r v is i ts o f s ta te

sponsored Braz i l ian de legat ions to Is rae l i po tent ia l par tners or v is i ts o f Is rae l i de legat ions

w elcomed by the B r azi l i an po l i t i cal au tho r i t i es and leade rsh ip .

To n ame on ly t w o , i n Novem ber 20 09 t he de legat ion accompany ing I s rael i p residen t Sh im on

Peres inc luded among the 40 bus inessmen some o f the most impor tant a rms companies .Th i s v is i t w as fo l low ed by the t r ip o f Defense Min is ter N e lson Job im to Is rae l , w ere he met

w i th rep r esen tat i ves o f t he I s rael i a rm s indust r y .

4) LAAD Lat in Am er ica Aero and D efense Expo

LAAD Defense & Secur i ty is the most impor tant t rade show for the defense and secur i tyindust ry in La t in Amer ica and takes p lace every two years , b r ing ing together Braz i l ian and

in ternat iona l companies tha t spec ia l ise in supp ly ing equ ipment and serv ices to a l l th reem ajor ser v ices of t he arm ed for ces, po l ice, specia l for ces and secur i t y ser v ices, as w el l asconsu l t an ts and governm ent agenc ies. Th e expo is spon sor ed by t he m in is t r y o f d e fense, th e

Braz i l i an mi l i t a ry and the min i s t r y o f f o re ign a f fa i r s and a t tended by the ma jo r po l i t i ca l

au th o r i t i es o f t h e coun t ry , i nclud ing the p r esiden t .

In 20 11, once again a l l m a in Isr ael i a rm s comp anies the lar ge m ajor i t y w i th a pr oven t r ack

reco rd o f d i rec t i nvo lvemen t i n v io la t i ons o f i n te rna t iona l l aw , human r i gh ts andin ternat iona l humani ta r ian law are inv i ted as exh ib i to rs . For the Is rae l i bus inesses theLAAD has been a l ready in the past a pr iv i leged space fo r cont rac ts and jo in t ventures in

B raz i l and beyond .

The LAAD is there fore a s ta te sponsored p la t fo rm for Is rae l i companies invo lved in

v io la t i ons o f i n te rna t iona l l aw to ga in p ro f i t s and to expand the ne t o f comp l i ci t y i n B r azi l

and the r egion .

4 Mi nis t ry of Defense, Braz i l , Evaluat ion of fore ign pol icy 20 03 2010 , chapter 2.4.5. p .3


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5) Publ ici ty for I srae l in La t in Am er ica

At leas t in one case i t has been repor ted tha t Braz i l ian o f f ic ia ls have inv i ted the i r La t in

Amer ican counterpar ts to par t ic ipa te in a presenta t ion o f Is rae l i a rms, there fore ac t ing as

pub l i c r e lat i ons agen ts fo r t he I s rael i a rm s indust r y i n the r eg ion .

The 2009 demons t ra t i on o f IA I s Heron UAVs no t on ly i nc luded seve ra l m in i s te rs o f t heBraz i l ian government and Braz i l ian armed forces o f f ic ia ls , who were there to pra ise theHeron ' s ab i l i t i es . IA I repo r t s tha t t he demons t ra t i on was a l so a t tended by h igh - rank ing

m i l i t a ry and c i v i l i an r ep r esen ta t i ves f rom a num ber o f Lat in Am er i can coun t r i es, w ho w ere

inv i ted by t he Braz i l ian federa l po l i ce. 5

Fu r th erm ore , t he f ram ewor k o f Sou th and La t in Am er i can coopera t ion and in teg ra t i on such

as th e Conse jo de Defensa Sur amer icano o f th e UNASUR aim s am ong o t hers to p rom ote the

exchange and coopera t ion in the f ie ld o f the defense indust ry . 6 The po l icy dec is ions and

jo i n t ven t u r es o f Br az i l as t h e b igg est eco n om y an d ar m s p r od u cer i n t h e su bco n t i n en tther e fore have a d i r ect r egiona l e f fec t as w e l l . The c lose in tegra t io n b etw een t he Br azi l ianand the I s rae l i a rms indus t r y ensu res a doo r fo r I s rae l i a rms indus t r y to o the r Sou th

Amer i can marke ts , wh ich in some cases wou ld no t be so in te res ted in coopera t ion w i th

Is rael i com panies.

5h t t p : / / w w w .ia i .co .i l / 12021-38947 -EN / Company In fo -Presen tPastFu tu re .aspx6h t t p : / / w w w .cdsunasur .o rg / index .php?op t ion=com_conten t&v i ew =ar t i c le& id =78&I t em id=188& lang=es


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3 . Over v iew of the in t er ests o f I sr ael i ar m s

pr oducer s in Br az i l

Th is repo r t does no t cover al l i n te rest o f I srae l i ar m s p rodu cers bu t m ere ly aim s to show case

som e exam ples.

a) Elb i t System s Ltd.

Elb i t h as been ac t ive in Br azi l fo r th e past 1 5 years , accord ing to th e com pany s pr esident ,"W e iden t i f i ed th e po ten t ial o f t h i s coun t ry ear l y on , and w e w ere the f i r s t [ o f t he I srae l i

f i r m s] t o becom e par t o f the i r la rge and very advanced aerospace indust r y ." 7

The company ' s to tal ope ra t ions in the B raz i l i an m arke t to ta led $750 m i l l i on ove r th e past 1 5

years and reached a h igh o f $70 mi l l ion in 2008. E lb i t Sys tems is now ant ic ipa t ing 30%annual g row th fo r th e next 5 years and 2 010 seems set to b ecom e an except ion a l ly good year

fo r E lb i t i n B raz i l .8

Elbi t s involvem ent in I sr ael i v io lat ions of inter nat ion al law

Attacks on civ i l ians an d e xtr a judi cia l assassinat i ons: Elb i t p r ov id es a var ie ty o f UAVs

to the Is rae l i Occupat ion Forces ( IOF) .9 The Pa les t in ian Center fo r Human Rightsdocumented tha t the IOF has used these UAVs in a t tacks tha t k i l led dozens o f peop le

du r ing the Gaza war and po in ts ou t t ha t I s rae l i ope ra t ions were in tended to ha rm

Palest in ian civ i l i ans in v io la t ion o f in t ernat ion a l law r equ i r ing d is t inc t ion o f c iv i l ians and

propor t iona l i ty . Wi l fu l k i l l ings are cons idered a grave breach o f the IV GenevaConven t ion . I n one at tack , 12 w orsh ippe rs w ere k i l l ed , and 30 w ere wou nded (3 w ou ld

la te r d ie o f t he i r wounds , b r ing ing the to ta l t o 15 ) .10 In ternat iona l o rgan iza t ions a lsodocum ented the ro l e o f UAVs in s t r ikes on ta rget ing c iv i l ians . HRW d ocum ented six c lear

cases of r eckl ess at tacks on c iv i l ians, r esul t i ng in 2 9 d eath s, usin g Elb i t UA Vs.11

7h t t p : / / w w w .de fensenew s .com/ osd_s tory .php?sh=VSD L& i=40365 478h t t p : / / w w w .haare t z.com/ pr in t -ed i t i on / bus iness/ e lb i t - sys tem s-h i r i n g - loca ls- t o -w in - la rge-b raz i l i an - t enders -

1.4432 9

I b i d , p. 1110 See PCHR, Targ et ing C ivi l i ans, p . 52. For d i f ferent n um bers on the n um ber of UAV s t r ik es, see also: al M ezanCenter for Hum an R ights ,Cast Lead in N um bers , 2009 , p. 1711 See: HRW , Precisely Wrong


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Construct ion of the Wal l and the set t lements. Elbi t and i ts subsid iar ies supply andin corpor ate electron ic detect ion fences and LORROS sur vei l lance camer as for th e W al l i n

th e Jeru salem ar ea, as w el l as aroun d th e i l legal Ar i e l set t lem ent; developed unm annedgrou nd v ehic les (UGVs), w hich are used to h elp patr o l r out es along the buf fer no-go zone;

Elbi t s TORC2H system , w hich is designed to enhance bord er patr o l act iv i t ies by col lect ing

data and dissem inat in g i t to t r oops, has been in sta l led in Isr ael s cent r a l com m and cent r e,faci l i t a t ing r emo te sur vei l lance of speci f ic areas along th e Wal l .12 Const ruc t ion o f the W al land the set t lements are grave v io lat ion of IV Geneva Convent ion as per, for example, the

advi sor y opin ion of t he Int ern at ional Cour t of Just ice on th e W al l , July 9 200 4.

For a detai led l egal analysis see Annex I .

Pr esence in Brazi l :

AEL,Ar es Aer oespecial e Defesa SA ("Ar es") an d Per iscopio Equip am entos Optr onicos SA

("Periscopio")

Elb i t made a se r ious commi tmen t to the B raz i l i an marke t i n Ju l y 2001 , when i t acqu i red

Aeroe lect r on i ca Ind ust r ia de Com pon entes Av ion icos (AEL) . Th e $2.3 m i l l ion deal gave E lb i t

cont r o l o f th e m ajor i ty o f the shares, a l low ing i t to u se AEL 's fac i l i t ies fo r th e sys tem supgrade o f B raz i l i an a i r f o rce Nor th rop F -5s .13 The dea l was par t o f a po l icy a imed a tope ra t ing loca l com pan ies i n o r de r to w in govern m en t tende rs.14

AEL is located in Por to A legre and employs some 130 workers . The company deve lops andmanufac tures av ion ic sys tems so ld in Braz i l and th roughout La t in Amer ica , and prov ides

main tenance serv ices fo r these sys tems. For E lb i t i t per forms eng ineer ing , manufac tur ing

and log is t ic suppor t ac t iv i t ies fo r de fense and commerc ia l app l ica t ions under taken by the

Israe l i com pany in B raz i l .15

I n December 30 2009 E lb i t acqu i red two o the r B raz i l i an a rms manu fac tu r ing compan ies :Ares Aeroespecia l e Defesa SA ("Ares") and Per iscopio Equipamentos Optronicos SA(" Per iscop i o") . The deals inc lud ed a to t a l o f dozens o f m i l l ion s o f Braz i l ian rea ls. Th ough

Elb i t h as taken ow nersh ip o f th e com panies, i t has assur ed the sel l in g shareho l ders tha t t hey

w ou ld be kep t i n t he m anagemen t o f t h e com pan ies.Ar es and Per iscop io are w or k in g in th e sector o f e lec t ro n ic defense sys tem s and pr ov ide th e

Braz i l i an a rmy as we l l as o the r marke ts i n Sou th Amer i ca w i th a number o f d i f f e ren t

products . They are located in the area o f R io de Jane i ro and employ around 70 workers .16

12 I b i d 13 h t t p : / / w w w .f l i gh tgloba l .com/ ar t i c les / 2001 / 08 / 07 / 134345 / e lb i t -becomes-ma jo r i t y - shareho lder - in -ael .h tm l14

h t t p : / / w w w .haare t z.com/ pr in t -ed i t i on / bus iness/ e lb i t -sys tems-h i r i ng - loca ls- t o -w in - la rge-b raz i l i an - t enders -1.4432 15 h t t p : / / w w w .sec in fo.com/ d14D 5a.s1kB3.h tm 16 h t t p : / / w w w .g lobes.co.i l / serveen / g lobes / docv iew .asp?d id=1000612 347


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Contracts:

Braz i l ian A i r Force , 20 01 : Wor k begins under con t racts fo r t he B raz i l i an F -5 A i r c ra ftM odern iza t ion P rog ram. The p r og ram ca l l s fo r t h e upg rade o f 46 F-5 a i r c ra ft f o r t he

Braz i l ian A i r Force, and E lb i t cont rac ts are w i th Embraer and the Braz i l ianGovernm en t , w i th a to ta l va lue o f app rox im ate l y $230 m i l l i on , t o be pe r fo rm ed over

an eight -year per iod . In January 2 007 , E lb i t Sys tems w as aw arded an add i t iona l o r der

f rom the Braz i l ian Government to in tegra te fu r ther advanced capab i l i t ies in the F-5a i rc ra f t and as w e l l the estab l ishm ent o f an in -coun t r y m ain tenance cent er based a tAEL.17

Braz i l ian A i r Force , 2002 : Elb i t Sys tem s is aw arded cont r acts by th e Braz i l ianGovernmen t and by a subs id ia ry o f t he B raz i l i an a i r c ra f t company Embrae r Empresa Bras i le i ra de Aeronaut ica S.A. (Embraer ) fo r the product ion and log is t ic

sup por t ph ases o f the AL-X Sup er Tucano a i rc ra f t p r ogram for the Braz i l ian A i r Force.The con t r acts ar e valued a t m ore than $80 m i l l i on and w ere per fo rm ed over a per iodo f app rox im ate l y fou r years .18

Braz i l ian A i r Force , 20 07 : The Braz i l ian Govern m ent and Emb r aer exerc ise opt ion s

for av ion ic sys tems for an add i t iona l 23 AL-X a i rc ra f t . De l iver ies are schedu led

t h r o u gh 2 0 0 9 .19

B r a z i l i a n A i r F o r c e , 2 0 0 8 : Elb i t w ins a cont rac t by the Braz i l ian a i rc ra f t

manufac turer Embraer to prov ide av ion ics and EW systems for the AMX Jet upgrade

prog ram fo r the B raz i l i an A i r Fo rce . The con t rac t i s f o r a to ta l amoun t o fapp rox ima te l y $187 mi l l i on , and the f i r s t phase o f t he p rog ram, fo r t he amoun t o f

app r ox im a tel y $67 m i l l i on , has been im p lemen ted . The con t ract i s t o be pe r fo r m ed

thr ough 201 4. E lb i t subsid i a ry E l is ra , as w e l l Braz i l ian subs id ia r y AEL, are per for m ing

s ign i f i can t po r t i ons o f t he p rog ram.20 Elb i t s who l l y -owned B raz i l i an subs id ia ryAeroe le t ro n ica S.A. (AEL) in Por t o A legre , Br azi l w i l l supp ly t he cent r a l bat t le m ission

computer o f the AMX, as we l l as d isp lay sys tems, the ammuni t ion managementsystem and addi t ional systems. Elb i t s Israel i subsid iary, El isra Electronic Systems

L td ., w i l l supp ly the e lec t ron ic w ar fare (EW ) systems as a m ajo r subcon t r acto r to AEL .

AEL is a l ready execut ing av ion ics sys tems upgrades under prev ious cont rac ts fo r

Braz i l s 46 modern ized F-5BR f igh ters (2001, 2007) , and or ig ina l av ion ics andequ ipmen t o rde rs fo r 99 EMB-314 Super Tucano obse rva t ion and l i gh t a t tackt u r b o p r o p s ( 2 0 0 2 , 2 0 0 7 ) i n 2 0 1 1 .

17h t t p : / / google.b rand .edgar -

onl ine.com/ EFX_dl l / EDGARpro.d l l?FetchFi l ingHT ML1 ?Sess ionID=P15OW0RaIQA0p9 d& ID=524 626818

h t t p : / / google.b rand .edgar -

onl ine.com/ EFX_dl l / EDGARpro.d l l?FetchF i l ingHTM L1?Sess ionID=P15OW0RaIQA0p9 d& ID=524 626 819 h t t p : / / google.b rand .edgar -

onl ine.com/ EFX_dl l / EDGARpro.d l l?FetchFi l ingHT ML1 ?Sess ionID=P15OW0RaIQA0p9 d& ID=524 626820 h t t p : / / w w w .sec in fo.com/ d14D 5a.s1kB3.h tm


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B r a z i l i a n A r m y , 2 0 0 9 : Elb i t sco res i t s f i r s t con t rac t w i th the B raz i l i an A rmy fo r

unm anned tu r r ets to be insta l l ed on a rm ored pe rsonne l car r i e rs .21

Th e Guar an i pr o ject : AEL subs id iary has w on a $260 m i l l i on con t rac t f o r unm anned

veh ic le gun tu r re ts fo r Braz i l s Guaran i p ro jec t . Th is cont rac t is a fo l low up to the2009 con t rac t when E lb i t de l i ve red the f i r s t unmanned tu r re ts to B raz i l . The new

tu r re ts moun t 30m m au tom at i c cannon s and w i l l be i n tegra ted on VBTP-MR Guaran i66 armored veh ic les deve loped by Iveco, accord ing to Defense Update , an Is rae l i

pub l i ca t i on . The a rmored UT-30BR tu r re t sys tem inc ludes a coax ia l moun t fo r a

7 .62 m m m ach in e gun , an advanced fire control system with automatic target tracking,

ba l l i s t ic comput ing , sensors management and d isp lays . De l iver ies o f the unmanned

tu r re ts w i l l be dete rm ined acco r d ing to a schedu le and a m u l t i yea r fund in g p ro f i l e tobe def ined by th e par t ies.22

T h i s p r o j ect t h a t w i l l p r o v i d e t h e B r a zi l i an a r m y w i t h 3 0 0 0 n ew t a n k s w i t h i n 2 0 3 0star t ed in 20 07 . F iat subs id ia ry IVECO wo n th e cont r act to d evelop t he new tanks in

Br azi l . The 18 ton t anks w i th am ph ib ic opt io n are prod uced in Sete Lagoas23 .

B r a z il ia n a r m y , 2 0 1 0 : I n December 11 B raz i l r epo r ted ly bough t two Hermes 450

UAVs and one ground s ta t ion f rom Por to A legre-based Aeroe le t ron ica fo r mi l i ta ry

use.24

B r a z il ia n a r m y , 2 0 1 1 : Tw o Herm es 450 UAVs pu rchased fo r m i l i t a ry use.25

b) Isr ae l i Ai r force Indust r ies ( I A I ) :

IA I s involvem ent in I sr ae l i v io la tions o f in ter nat ional law

Attacks on civ i l ian s and extr a jud ic ia l assassinat i ons. IA I p r ov id es a var ie ty o f UAVs toth e IOF26 and i s a ma jo r supp l i e r o f w eapons to t he I srae l i ar m ed fo rces, p r ov id ing am ong

other th ings miss i les and combat a i rc ra f t . The Pa les t in ian Center fo r Human Rights

21 h t t p : / / w w w .arm y-gu ide .com/ eng/ a r t i c le/ a r t i c le.php?fo rumI D =127422 h t t p : / / w w w .up i .com/ Business_N ew s / Secur i t y - I ndus t r y / 2011 / 01 / 06 / B razi l - con t rac t s- f or -unm anned-gun-

t u r r e t s/ U PI -6652129433 9687 / # ixzz1FRaxcSGp23h t t p : / / w w w .a fcea .o rg / s igna l/ signalscape / index .php / 2011 / 01 / e lb i t - t o -p rov ide-unm anned-t u r r e t -systems-

to-braz i l / 24

h t t p :/ / w w w .n eg ed n esh ek .o r g / ex p o r t s/ u a vs ; h t t p : / / w ander ing raven .w ordpr ess.com/ category / i s rael i -a rms-company25 h t t p :/ / w w w .n eg ed n esh ek .o r g / ex p o r t s/ u a vs26 H R W , Precisely Wrong, p. 11


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docum ented tha t th e IOF has used UAVs in a t t acks tha t k i l led dozens o f peop le dur ing theGaza war and po in ts ou t t ha t I s rae l i ope ra t ions were in tended to ha rm Pa les t i n ian

c iv i l i ans in v io la t i on o f i n te rna t iona l l aw requ i r i ng d i s t i nc t i on o f c i v i l i ans andpropor t iona l i ty . Wi l fu l k i l l ings are cons idered a grave breach o f the IV Geneva

Conven t ion . I n one at tack , 12 w orsh ippe rs w ere k i l l ed , and 30 w ere w ound ed (3 w ou ld

la te r d ie o f t he i r wounds , b r ing ing the to ta l t o 15 ) .27 In ternat iona l o rgan iza t ions a lsodocum ented the ro l e o f UAVs in s t r ikes on ta rget in g civ i l ians . HRW docum ented six c learcases of reckl ess at t acks on c iv i l ian s, r esul t i ng in 29 deaths, using IA I UAVs.28

Const ru ct ion o f the W al l and th e se t t lem ents. Through subs id ia ry TAMAM, IA I

prov ides surve i l lance techno logy fo r the Wal l , in par t icu lar a var ian t o f the P lug- in

Optronic Payload (POP), or ig inal ly designed for hel icopters. The POP includes a focalp lane ar r ay the rm a l im ager , co lo r cam era and lase r po in te r [ and w ork s] a t r anges o f afew m i les .29 The const ruc t ion o f the Wal l and the se t t lements is a grave v io la t ion o f IV

Geneva Conv ent ion as per , fo r exam ple , th e adv i sor y op i n ion o f the In t ernat io na l Cour t o f

Just ice on t he W al l , Jul y 9 2 00 4.

For a detai led l egal analysis see Annex I .


Bedek an d EAE

Bedek: Bedek is the subsid iary of Israel Aerospace Industr ies, a mult inat ional company

ser ving custom ers ar oun d th e globe. Bedek pr ovid es com pr ehensive m aint enance ser v ices for

aircraf t , engines and components, inc luding heavy maintenance, modi f icat ions, upgrades,conversions and development programs. Bedek has paral le l conversion l ines in Israel and in

Braz i l .30

Bedek uses TAP M&E Braz i l ( fo rmer ly VEM Main tenance & Eng ineer ing) main tenance

cen te rs . TAP M&E Braz i l has a round 2 ,650 emp loyees d i s t r i bu ted among two la rge

M aint enance Cent ers at Rio de Janeir o-Galeo and Por to Al egre air por ts.31

27 See PCHR, Targ et ing C ivi l i ans, p . 52. For d i f ferent n um bers on the n um ber of UAV s t r ik es, see also: al M ezanCenter for Hum an R ights ,Cast Lead in N um bers , 2009 , p. 1728 See: HRW , Precisely Wrong29

See sour ces ci ted on Stop t he W all s fact sheet Compa nies Bui ld ing t he Wal l avai lab le at :h t t p : / / s t op thew a l l .o rg / f ac t sheet s / 2089 .sh tm l30

h t t p : / / w w w .ia i .co .i l / 16415-en / Groups_BEDEKAv iat ionGroup .aspx31

h t t p : / / w w w .av iat ionw eek .com/ aw / gener i c / s t ory_gener i c .j sp?channe l=om &id =new s / om12 08 in t v .xm l& head l ine=Bedek% 20Av ia t ion% 20Group :% 20D any% 20K le iman&nex t=0


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EAE: On March 30 , 2009 the Is rae l Aerospace Indust r ies Board o f D i rec tors conf i rmed thec rea t ion o f a j o in t ven tu re w i th the B raz i l i an co rpo ra t ion Synergy Group , con t ro l l ed by

b i l l iona i re CEO German Ef romov ich . Each par ty w i l l invest an in i t ia l sum of approx imate ly$750 ,00 0 to es tab l ish EAE, w h ich w ants to be act iv e in th e Braz i l ian m ark et as w e l l as o ther

po ten t ia l La t in Amer i can marke ts . The March 2009 announcemen t s ta ted as we l l t he

in t ent ion to set u p i ts o f f ices in R io de Janei r o and Sao Pao lo , w i th in i t ia l indu st r ia lcapabi l i t ies at Synergy's shipyards and aerospace faci l i t ies. More faci l i t ies wi l l be added in

acco rd ance w i th t he grow th o f t he com pany32

Th is j o in t com pany w i l l p r ov ide m a in tenance and cus tom er suppor t se rv i ces fo r IA I ' s va r ioussys tem s in u se in L at in Am er ica , inc lud ing UAVs.33 The JV Com pany w i l l a lso expand i ts scop e

of act iv i t ies v ia the acquis i t ion of local companies. In i ts defense act iv i t ies, the JV Company

w i l l of fer advan ced system s, such as UAVs, m issi le system s, r adar s, e lectr on ic w arfar e and

inte l l igence systems.34

The agr eem ent betw een IA I and Em br aer i nc ludes as w e l l a pact , un der w h ich t hey p ledge toincr ease co-opera t io n in ar eas cover in g unm anned a i r veh ic les, m ul t i -m ission r adars , iner t ia l

nav igat ion sys tems, mar i t ime p la t fo rms and sys tems and border and coasta l de fence

system s. I t a lso spans upgr ade and con vers ion ser v ices fo r c iv i l ian and m i l i t a ry a i r c ra f t .35

EAE w i l l w o r k on the co-developm en t o f p r o jec ts w i th the B raz i l i an m in i s t r y o f de fense , the

Br azi l ian Ar m ed Forces and i t s resear ch and deve lopm ent in s t i tu t ions , as w e l l as academ ic

ins t i t u t i ons and o ther loca l com panies. EAE w i l l a lso br oaden i ts scope to inc lud e st r a tegicacqu i si t i ons o f loca l com panies in Br azi l 36 .

Contracts:

V a r i o u s, 2 0 0 4 o n w a r d s: The f i r st de l iver y o f Bedek m ade B767 -200BDSF upgrades

for Braz i l ian a i rp lanes was a t the beg inn ing o f 2004 ( to ABX) , fo l lowed by 25 767-

20 0BDSF conver ted in Is rae l and in Br azi l , w h ich are cur r ent ly f ly in g fo r ABX, TAM PA,and Star A i r . Other a i rc r a f t a re pr esent ly un der convers ion .37

Federa l po l ice , 2009: On August 3 2009 IA I 's Heron UAV had a successfu l

dem onst r a t ion in Br azi l a t the request o f the Braz i l ian feder a l po l ice , w h ich is test in gUAV use fo r severa l purposes, inc lud ing border secur i ty , and smuggl ing , na tura lr esour ce th e f t , and d ru g t r a f f ick in g concer ns . The dr ones f lew in t he s tate o f Par ana,and the region of San Miguel de Iguacu. Fol lowing a ser ies of tests, the team decided

that IA I 's Heron UAV was best su i ted to what the po l ice wanted: re lay ing data and

32h t t p : / / w w w .ia i .co .i l / 32981-39455 -en / de fau l t .aspx

33 h t t p : / / w w w .ia i .co .i l / 35344-39749-EN / Med iaRoom_N ew sArch ives_2009 .aspx34 h t t p : / / w w w .ia i .co .i l / 12021-38947-EN / Company In fo -Presen tPastFu tu re .aspx35

h t t p : / / w w w .f l i gh tgloba l .com/ ar t i c les / 2011 / 01 / 05 / 351498 / ia i -o f f ers -sys tem s- fo r -em braers -kc-390-p rogramme.h tm l 36 w w w .ia i .co .i l / 32981-39455 -en / de fau l t .aspx37 h t tp : / / w w w .ia i .co.i l / 3299 8-338 85 EN/ Bus inessAreas_MROConvers ion_CargoConvers ions.aspx


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in t e l l igence in r eal t im e, car r y in g a nu m ber o f sensors sim ul t aneously , and emp loy i ngsa tel l i t e com m un ica t ions and Au tom at i c Takeo ff and Land in g (ATOL) .38

Federal pol ice, 20 10 : On November 12 2010 Mi l i tary Force Channel reported that an

off icia l of the defense m inistr y had infor m ed them t hat IAI s igned a 350 m i l l ion US dol lars

contract to pro vide the Brazi l ian nat ion al pol ice w i th Heron UAVs.39 The deal w as a tw oph ase deal. Th e f ir st phase includes the tr ansfer of thr ee un m anned aerial vehicles along

with accompanying equipment, inc luding a base stat ion and contro l and inspect ion

systems to the Rio federal police. The second phase added 11 addit ional drones.40 The

sour ce for the M i l i t ary Force Channel added th at th e dro nes w i l l be used as w el l tosupp or t secur i ty m easur es dur ing the 2014 W or ld Cup and the 2016 Olym pic Games in

Brazi l , and that the del ivery of the drones wi l l s tar t in a few months. He fur thermoreexplained th at Br azi l ian pol ice is cur r ent ly being t ra ined in Isr ael to use the UAVs.

Braz i l ian army, unc lear : IA I i s f u r t he r supp ly ing r ada r systems fo r an Embr ae r - led

up grade to the Br azi l ian navy 's Doug las A-4 s t r ik e ai r c ra f t . The Is rael i com pany w i l la lso ov erhau l the f igh t er 's eng ines.41

B r a zi l ia n a r m y , 2 0 1 1 : I n January 201 1 F l i gh tg lobal r epo r ted tha t IA I h ad o f fe red i t s

sys tems, inc lud ing cockp i t and a i rc ra f t se l f -p ro tec t ion sys tems, fo r poss ib le

in teg ra t i on w i th Embr ae r ' s developm en tal KC-390 tanker / t r anspo r t 42 .

Sour ces say Em br aer is also o f fer ing spec ia l m ission a i rc ra f t equ i pp ed w i th e lec t ro n icin te l l igence or a i rborne ear ly warn ing sys tems based on the exper ience o f IA I . Thecom pany 's E l ta System s subs id iar y h as a l ready d evelop ed surv e i l lance der i va t ives o f

th e Gulfstr eam G55 0 bu siness jet 43 .

38 h t t p : / / w w w .ia i .co .i l / 35344-39749-EN / Med iaRoom_N ew sArch ives_2009 .aspx39 h t tp : / / m i l i tar y forceschannel .es.t l / not ic ias-Bras i l .h tm 40 h t t p :/ / w w w .n eg ed n esh e k .o r g / ex p o r t s/ u a vs41 h t t p : / / w w w .f l i gh tgloba l .com/ ar t i c les / 2011 / 01 / 05 / 351498 / ia i -o f f ers -sys tem s- fo r -em braers -kc-390-

p rogramme.h tm l 42 i b i d .43 h t t p : / / w w w .f l i gh tgloba l .com/ ar t i c les / 2011 / 01 / 05 / 351498 / ia i -o f f ers -sys tem s- fo r -em braers -kc-390-p rogramme.h tm l


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I sr ae l i M i l it a ry I n d u str i es ( I M I ) :

Case study 1 : IM I s involvem ent in cor r upt ion

I srae l s $6 b i l l i on a rm s indust r y , w h ich in 20 02 m ade up som e 25% o f I srae l i expo r t s ,44 h as

fo r y ea rs re l i ed on comm issions to w in con t r ac ts a round the w or ld . These com m issions

or br ibes - account fo r u p to 10 - 15 % of to ta l fo r e ign sales.45 De facto, the existence ofagen ts tak ing com m issions f rom the a rm s com pan ies, w h ich m ay t hen be used fo r b r ibes, i s

a no r m in the I srael i a rm s indu st r y .

Only in 2009 was IMI accused by Ind ia and Kazakhstan o f la rge sca le cor rupt ion o f pub l ic

of f ic ia ls.

Ind ian au tho r i t i es have b lack l i s ted IM I i n 200 9 ow ing to co r ru p t ion charges posed by the

Ind ian Cent ra l Bureau o f Invest iga t ion . A t the end o f 2010, the b lack l is t ing order has been

r enew ed based on a CBI char ge sheet.46

The Ind ian b lack l is t w as th e gr avest econom ic se tback fo r IM I , i t i s by fa r no t th e on ly case. In

2009, a mi l i ta ry cour t in Kazakhstan sentenced former deputy defence min is ter and anIsrael i bus in essm an to 11 year s in ja i l on cor r upt ion charges and th e at t emp t to se l l de fec t ive

m i l i t ar y h a r d w ar e f r o m I sr a el .47

The nam es o f the Is rael i com panies inv o lved w ere not g iven in t he o f f ic ial Kazakh s ta tem ent ,but ear l ie r pub l ica t ions suggest tha t these might be So l tam Systems and Is rae l Mi l i ta ry

Indust r ies ( IMI ) . Is rae l i bus inessman Bor is She inkman is a fo rmer Sov ie t a rmy co lone l and

an agen t o f So l tam and IM I . Depu ty De fense M in i s te r Khaz imu ra t M ayerm anov i s repo r ted lysuspected o f accept in g br ibes in h is pos i t ion as r espon sib le fo r w eapon pu r chases fo r the

sta te . She ink m an is suspected o f p r om ot i ng the deal th r ough h i s persona l connect io n to the

Kazakh defense estab l ishm ent , inc lud ing M ayer m anov.48

44 h t t p : / / w w w .g lobes .co.i l / serveen / g lobes / D ocView .asp?d id=685987& f id=172445 h t t p : / / w w w .m a in just i ce.com/ justan t i cor r up t ion / 2010 / 01 / 29 / i s rae ls-acens ion-t o -oecd-mar red-by -cu l t u re -

o f -b r ibe ry / See as wel l E lb i t , whose so-cal led market ing and sel l ing expenses in 2009 were $251 mi l l ion (8.9% ofrevenues) , as com pared to $198 .3 m i l l ion (7.5% of r evenues) in 20 08. Elb i t s annual repor t 20 09 s tates that

th is increase is due in par t icu lar to some markets , among which Braz i l .( h t t p : / / w w w .sec in fo.com/ d14D 5a.r1yPk .h tm)46

h t tp : / / w w w .tehelka.com/ story_m ain47.asp?f i lename=Ws241 110 DEFENCE.asp47 h t t p : / / w w w .haare t z.com/ new s / kazakhstan-m i l i t a r y -hardw are-bough t - from - israel - f law ed-1 .27405548 h t t p : / / w w w .haare t z.com/ pr in t -ed i t i on / new s / kazakh-m in is t er -a r rested-in - i s rael i - arm s-sa les -b r ib e -case-1.274065


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At th e beg inn i ng o f th is year a d ispute in Guatemala over i r r egu lar i t i es in th e acqu is i t ion o fIMI r i f les s tar ted . The min is t ry o f In ter io r has announced a t the end o f January new

acqu isi t i on o f IM I w eaponry c lea r l y adm i t t i ng th e lack o f a pub l i c cal l f o r subm issions .49

Case study 2 : IM I pr of i ts f rom the occup at ion

W hi le the en t i r e I srael i m i l i t a ry i n dus t r y h eav i l y p r o f i t s from the occupat ion , IM I i s per haps

one o f the mo st exp l ic i t about th is connect ion .

In a documentary done by the D iscovery Channe l , wh ich seems more a corpora te

adver t i sem ent , th e com pany show s im ages o f Is rae l i so ld ie rs occupy in g Palest in ian c i t ies,

p r obab ly Hebron o r Nab lus, t o p roov e the i r po in t t ha t t he Tavo r R i fl e has been developed fo r

u r ban comba t and t ested con t inuous ly s ince the year 200 0 m aybe no t co inciden t l y th estar t o f th e second In t i fada and th e la rge scale k i l l in g o f Palest in ian c iv i l ians .50

In 20 09, the IOF eva luated th e Tavor assau l t r i f le s per for m ance in the Gaza f igh t ing . I .M .I .D i recto r U r i Am i t s tated tha t t h e IOF s answ er to feedback r equests f rom IM I w as tha t t he

w eapon is excel len t and ther e is no th ing to f ix . 51 Th e br u t a l Cast Lead Oper a t ion t ha t k i l ledover 1 40 0 Palest in ians in Gaza w as th e last t est fo r th e r i f le tha t w as f i r s t used in Opera t ion

Defens ive Sh ie ld , w h ich i nc luded the r e- invas ion o f t he W est Bank and t he m assacre in Jen in .

The re i s an in t im ate l i nk w i th t he occupat ion and th e war c r im es comm i t ted by th e I srae l im i l i t a ry agains t th e Pa les t in ian p opu la t ion . Isr ael i w eapon s ar e developed b ecause o f theneeds o f the occupat ion and f ine- tuned w i th the feedback o f the so ld ie rs us ing them in the

w ars agains t th e Pa lest in ian and Ar ab popu la t ions .

Fo re ign gove rnmen ts acqu i r i ng I s rae l i weapons a re no t on ly buy ing the f ru i t s o f t he

occupa t ion bu t as w e l l ensu r ing th a t t he I s rael i a rm s indus t r y can con t inue to p r oduce eve r

m or e soph is t icated w eapon s to supp r ess and k i l l Palest in ians .


T a u r u s

Taur us, a Braz i l ian arm s m anufactu r er based in Por t o A legr e has becom e the manu factur er

fo r the new TAVOR assau l t r i f le TAR-21. Th e Braz i l ian m ade Isr ael i r i f le w as pr esented fo rthe f i r s t t ime a t t he LAAD 2009 by Tau rus . Tau rus p roduces the Tavo r r i f l es w i th a 20%

49 h t t p : / / w w w .m ingob .gob .g t / i ndex .php?op t ion=com_conten t& v iew =ar t i c le& id=348 :m in is t ro - in f o rma-sobre -

compra-de-armas-y-equipo-para- la-pnc-&cat id=69:armas&I temid=57 50 h t t p :/ / w w w .y o u t u b e.c om / w a tc h ?v = 0 N 7 X0 p v h Q4 w 51 h t t p : / / i s rae lm i l i t a r y .ne t / show thread .php? t=9938


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techn o logy t r ansfer ever y year . Tavor T AR-21 is a 5 .56 m m bu l lp up ca l iber . I ts developm ents ta r ted in 1991 by IMI ( I s rae l M i l i t a ry Indus t r i es ) i n coopera t ion w i th the I s rae l i m i l i t a ry .

The Colom bian m i l i t a ry h as acqu i r ed the r i f le as w e l l fo r i t s spec ial fo r ces .

In Ap r i l 2010 Taurus w as expect ing to sta r t t ests i n th e mi l i t a ry test i ng f i e ld o f Maram ba ia,R io de Janei r o , fo r t he Tavor by th e Br azi l ian arm y, w h ich w ants to r enew i ts r i f les . I f the

p r oduc t i s app r oved , Tau ru s and IM I w i l l i nvest US$ 22 m i l l i on i n a p roduc t ion l i n e i n Son

Leopo ldo (RS) . Tau rus exp la ined t ha t t he idea w as to bu i l d a new 50% - 50% jo in t ven tu r e

w i th IM I and w as hop in g the com pany cou ld sta r t w o rk ing w i th in 2 year s, emp loy ing som e

80 w ork e rs and p rod uc ing as w el l f o r expo r t t o o the r La t in Am er i can coun t r i es.52

Contracts:

B r a z i l i a n a r m y , 2 0 1 0 : Last year in M arch, Braz i l w as look i ng to r ep lace the IM BELM D-2 ser v ice r i f le (and M D-3 & M D-4 var ian t s) . The M D ser ies o f r i f les is based on t he

FN FAL des ign, bu t ins tead o f a FAL t i l t ing bo l t i t has a M16 s ty le ro ta t ing bo l t . ABr azi l ian gener a l has said t ha t th r ee r i f les are in t he ru nn i ng fo r adopt io n . These ar e

the FN SCAR, th e IM BEL MD-97 A2 and the IM I Tavor p r oduced by Taur us .53

Other com panies:

Other I srael i com pan ies al so w on dea ls th r oughou t 200 9 , p r im ar i l y w i th t he B razi l i an A i r

Force.

A i r c r a f t , 2 0 0 2 : Valued a t $91.6 mi l l ion , a f ive-year lease covered 12 Kf i rs (o lder

Is rae l i f igh ter je t ) and spares . A group f rom the Braz i l ian a i r fo rce has t rave led toIs rae l to examine and se lec t 12 Kf i rs f rom the Is rae l i a i r fo rce 's s tored f lee t , to bede l ivered next year .54

Storage systems, 2002: Defense Indust r ies In ternat iona l , a prov ider o f persona l

m i l i t a ry and c i v i l i an p ro tect i ve equ ipm en t and supp l i es, received an in i t i a l o rde r fo r$250 ,000 o f i t s p rop r ie ta ry con t ro l l ed d ry s to rage sys tems f rom the B raz i l i an A i r

Force. I f sa t is f ied , the Braz i l ian government is an t ic ipa t ing a mul t i -mi l l ion do l la rfo l l ow on con t r act . I n 2 003 the com pany r epo r ted the successfu l pene t ra t i on o f t he

52

h t t p : / / desar ro l l oyde fensa .b logspo t .com / 2010 / 04 / nuevo-f usi l - de-asa l t o -b rasi l eno-t avor .h tm l 53 h t t p :/ / w w w .t h ef i r ea r m b l o g.c om / b l o g/ 2 0 1 0 / 0 3 / 3 1 / b r az i l- lo o k i n g- fo r - n ew - se r v ic e- r i f le/ 54 h t t p : / / w w w .f l i gh tgloba l .com/ ar t i c les / 2002 / 08 / 06 / 152934 / b raz i l - leases -12-k f i r s -un t i l - f -x -b r -decis ion -i s-made.h tm l


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Sou th Amer i can marke t , rece iv ing new and fo l l ow-on o rde rs to ta l l y more than $1

mi l l i o n .55 I t i s unc lear i f any o f these cont r acts w ere f rom Braz i l .

Air - to -a i r m issi les, 2 00 6: From 2006 2008 , Derb y a i r - to -a i r m issi l es w ere sh ipp ed

f rom Is rae l t o B raz i l f o r use by the B raz i l i an A i r Fo rce s modern ized F -5E (F -5M)comba t a i r c ra f t .56 Presum ably th i s w as don e th r ough a deal w i th Rafael , the deve loper

o f the Derby m issi le .57

In add i t ion t o these cont r acts , severa l f i r m s w ere l i sted by t he Isr ael i Gover nm ent s Expor t

and In ter nat ion a l Cooper a t ion Ins t i tu te as oper a t ing in Br azi l .

Expor t Erez : L is ted as a manufac turer and deve loper o f mi l i ta ry and defenseequ ipm en t and in vo lved in m i l i t a ry , po l i ce and ci v i l i an m arke ts w or ldw ide , i nc lud ing

Br azi l and sever a l m or e Lat in Am er ican count r ies.

Rabintex : Manufac tures and d is t r ibu tes ba l l i s t ic and b las t p ro tec t ion equ ipment , asw el l as com pr ehens ive eng ineer ing so lu t ions fo r m obi l i ty and m odi f ica t ions o f tact ica l

com bat v eh ic les.

I .T.L. Optronics Ltd : Engaged in the deve lopmen t , p roduc t ion and marke t ing o fadvanced sys tem s and so lu t ion s fo r th e defense, w ar fare and secur i ty ind ust r ies. Th ecompany focuses on the f ie lds o f e lec t ro opt ics , nav igat ion sys tems, cont ro l and

sup erv is ion system s, and r epor ted ly h as had dea l ings in t he Braz i l ian m arket .58

Addi t iona l companies are a l ready prepar ing for cont rac ts for the 2014 Wor ld Cup

gam es and the 20 1 6 Olym pic Gam es.

Ou t o f 7 comp an ies refer r ed to i n a new spaper r epo r t 59 six have p roven l i n ks w i th I sr ael i

v io la t io ns o f the IV Geneva conv ent ion and/ or h ave been in vo lv ed in susp ic ion s o f esp ion ageact iv i t ies:

NI CE System s Ltd.

NICE is bu i l t o n Is rae l i in t e l l igence techno logy w i th close t ies to the governm ent . The

com pany w as fo rm ed in 1 986 by seven veterans o f Un i t 820 0. I t h as on a t least on e occasion

show n up on t he radar o f U.S. counter in t e l l igence. Dur ing 20 00-2 001 , w hen agent s at t he FBIand the CIA began invest iga t ing a l legat ions tha t Is rae l i na t iona ls pos ing as "ar t s tudents"

55 h t t p : / / f i ndar t i c les .com/ p / a r t i c les / m i_m 0EIN / i s_2002_May_23/ a i_861873 39 / 56

SIPRI Arm s Transfers Database57 h t t p : / / w w w .de fesanet .com.br / f ab / a -dar t e r_e .h tm 58 h t t p : / / w w w .de fensenew s .com/ osd_s tory .php?sh=VSD L& i=403654 759 h t t p : / / w w w .g lobes .co.i l / serveen / g lobes/ docv iew .asp?d id=10005665 60


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w ere in fact cond uct in g esp ionage on U.S. so i l , one w as d iscovered to be an em ployee w i thNI CE System s.60

Ver int System s In c.Verint Systemsis a subsidiary of Comverse and 50 percent of its R&D costs are reimbursed by theIsraeli Ministry of Industry and Trade. Since the 1990s, federal agents have reported systemic

communications security breaches at the Department of Justice, FBI, DEA, the State Department,

and the White House. Several of the alleged breaches, these agents say, can be traced to two hi-tech communications companies one of which is Verint Inc. - that respectively provide major

wiretap and phone billing/record-keeping software contracts for the U.S. Government.61

Elsec, a subs id ia ry o f E lb i t Sys tems L td .

For Elb i t , see above.

Elta System s, a subs id ia r y o f Is rael Aer ospace Ind ust r ies L td . ( IA I )

For IAI , see above.

M agal Securi t y System s Ltd.

M agal has been in vo lv ed w i th fencing in Gaza since 200 1, w hen i t w on severa l cont r acts fo r

$2 m i l l i on and $1 .4 m i l l i on t o car r y ou t resto r at i on w or k on sec t ions o f t he elect r on ic fence.

I n 2002 , the company rece ived a $1 .5 mi l l i on o rde r f rom the I s rae l i M in i s t r y o f De fense(MOD) to i ns ta l l add i t i ona l Pe r ime te r In t rus ion De tec t ion Sys tems a long the bo rde r . The

company i s a l so one o f t he m a in p layers i nvo lved w i th the W a l l . A l so in 200 2 , i t annou ncedtha t the MOD has awarded i t 80% o f the b ids i ssued a t t he t ime fo r t he ins ta l l a t i on o f

in t rus ion detec t ion sys tems a long the seam l ine , approx imate ly 125 k i lometers ; the to ta l

va lue w as $15 m i l l i on .M agal w on a $4 .2 con t r ac t t o ou t f i t 40 m ore k i l om e ters o f t he W al l i n2 0 0 5 . Late r i n the year i t t oo k a sim i la r con t r ac t f o r ano the r $6 .1 m i l l i on . I n p a r t i cu la r , t hecom pany p ro v id es i ts BVS-500 0 fence.62

M agna BSP Ltd.

M agna BSP Ltd. has been foun ded i n 20 01 and sup pl ies i t s BiScopi c Prot ect i on ( BSP) con cept

to t he I srael i m i l i t a ry fo r t h e cons t ruc t i on o f t h e i l l egal W a l l .63

Opgal Ltd.

No in fo rm a t ion avai l ab le.

60

h t t p : / / w w w .stop thew a l l .o rg / dow n loads/ pd f / SA- I sa re l- repor t -09 .pd f61 h t t p : / / w w w .stop thew a l l .o rg / dow n loads/ pd f / SA- I sa re l- repor t -09 .pd f62 h t t p :/ / w w w .st o p t h ew a ll .o r g / d o w n l o ad s/ p d f / c om p a n i esb u i l d i n gw a l l.p d f63 h t t p : / / w w w .m agnabsp .com / produc t s/ bsp .aspx?produc tType=BSP


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4 . Cont r adi ct in g th e legal an d p ol i t ical

fr a m e w or k o f B r a zi l

a) Br azi l s legal obl igati ons

Br azi l 's const i tut ion

Accor d in g to Ar t i cle 4 o f Br azi l s const i tu t ion The in t e rna t iona l r e la t ions o f the Feder a t ive Repub l i c of Bra z i l a re gover ned by th e fo l low ing pr inc ip les :

I ) n a t i ona l in dependence; I I ) p reva lence o f hum an r igh ts ; I I I ) se l f -de ter m ina t ion o f th e peop les; IV ) n on - in terven t ion ; V) equa l i ty am ong the Sta t es ;VI) defence of peace;VI I ) peacefu l se t t lem ent o f con f l ic ts; V I I I ) r epud ia t ion o f te r ro r i sm and r ac ism ; IX) coopera t i on am ong peop les fo r t he p rogr ess o f m ank i nd ; X) g ran t ing o f po l i t i ca l asy lum .

I t i s c lea r tha t mi l i t a ry re la t i ons w i th I s rae l wh ich invo lve many compan ies d i rec t l y

con t r i bu t ing to war c r imes and b reaches o f i n te rna t iona l human i ta r ian and human r i gh tslaw con t rad ic t s the in ten t ion under l y ing a l l o f t hese p r inc ip les and d i rec t l y con t rad ic t s

sever a l o f th em in c lud in g pr evalence o f hum an r igh t s and se l f -determ inat ion o f the peop le .

These r e lat io ns clear ly cont r ad ic t the pr i nc ip le o f coop era t ion am ong peop le fo r the progr ess

of hum ank in d and t he defence o f peace as i t r ew ards Is rael fo r i ts cur r ent po l ic ies and

pr act ices o f system ical ly v io la t in g the hum an r igh t s o f th e Pa lest in ian peop le .

I n t e r n a t i o n a l la w :

Brazil is a signatory of the main instruments of international law, including the IV Geneva

Convention. Under th e law on s ta te- respon sib i l i t y , a l l sta tes and in t er -s tate or gan iza t ion s are

un der a lega l ob l igat ion to :

not r ecogn ize and r ender a id or assis tance in m ain ta in in g the un law fu l s i tua t ion , andcoopera te i n o r de r t o end in t er na t ional l y w r ong fu l ac ts;


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ensur e e f fec t ive rem edies and r epara t ions fo r t he v ic t im s.64

H igh Cont rac t ing Par t ies to the Four th Geneva Convent ion are , moreover , under the lega l

ob l iga t ion to ensur e respect o f the Convent ion by t he Occupy in g Pow er .

Sta te par t ies to the Geneva Convent ions and the 1977 Pro toco l , the Convent ion fo r the

Sup pr ession and E l im inat ion o f the Cr im e o f Apar t he id , and/ or the Rome Sta tu t e have a legal

ob l i gat ion to fac i l i t ate / ensu r e c r im ina l i nvest igat ion , p rosecu t ion and pun ishm en t o f t hose

respons ib le i n l i ne w i th the p r ov i s ions o f t hese inst r um en ts .

A l l o f the above have recent ly been app l ied to Is rae l by the In ternat iona l Cour t o f Jus t ice

(20 04 w al l op in ion ) and th e UN Fact Find ing M ission on th e Gaza Conf l i c t (200 9; Go lds toneRepor t ) , and the i r recommendat ions have been endorsed by the UN Human Rights Counc i l

and t he Genera l A ssemb ly .

Many o f t he I s rae l i m i l i t a ry and home land secu r i t y compan ies a re d i rec t l y i nvo lved inv io la t i ons o f i n te rna t iona l l aw and / o r w ar cr i m es, such as:

t he const r uc t i on o f t he W a l l

th e const r uc t ion and m ain tenance o f the se t t lem ents

know ing ly p rov id in g w eapons that a re used fo r w ar c r im es

The current military relations between Brazil and Israel therefore imply violations of one or more

of the duties of third states regarding violations of international law:

Th e Braz i l ian sta te de fac to sponsors the c reat ion o f benef i ts fo r com panies th a t a re

cont raven ing d i rec t ly the IV Geneva Convent ion . Thereby i t a ids and ass is ts the

m a in tenance o f an u n law fu l s i t ua t ion .

Th e Braz i l ian s ta te hosts repr esenta t ives o f com panies th a t a re d i r ect ly cont r aven in gth e IV Geneva Conv ent ion and i n som e cases persons accused o f w ar c r im es.

The Braz i l ian s ta te fac i l i ta tes the presence o f companies d i rec t ly v io la t ing the IV

Geneva Conven t ion on i t s own te r r i t o ry , en te r ing the reby in d i rec t o r i nd i rec t

comp l i c i t y w i th v io la t i ons o f i n te rna t iona l l aw .

Th e Braz i l ian s ta te fac i l i ta tes r e lat io ns betw een i t s ow n econom y and c i t izens and

com panies d i r ect ly i nvo lved in v io la t ions o f the IV Geneva convent ion .

Expor t i s t he l i f el i ne fo r t h e I sr ae l i arm s indus t r y up t o 70% o f I srael i a rm s are p r oduced

fo r expo r t . Wi thou t the I srael i a rm s indus t r y I srae l w ou ld s imp l y no t be ab le to ma in ta in theoccupat ion o f Pa les t in ian land and wou ld not be ab le to cont inue to lead wars such as the

w ar aga inst Lebanon in 2 006 and the w ar aga inst Gaza in 20 08 / 9 , bo th o f t hem st r ong ly

condem ned by B r azi l .

64 UNGA Resolut ion A/ Res/ 60/ 147, Basic Pr inc ip les and Guidel ines on th e R ight t o a Rem edy and Reparat ion

for V ic t ims of Gross V io lat ions of In ternat ional Human R ights Law and Ser ious V io lat ions of In ternat ionalH um an i t a r ian Law , 21 March 2006 .


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b) Br azi l s pol i t ical inter ests

Braz i l has pos i t ioned i tse l f in the las t decade as one o f the key p layers in in ternat iona l

po l i t i cs and has g i ven pa r t i cu la r a t ten t ion to bu i l d ing i t s re la t i ons and ro le i n the Midd le

East.

1) Th e Pa lest in ian s ta te

Br azi l has recogn ized th e Pa lest in ian s tate in t he bor ders o f 1967 and has w i th t h is taken aleadersh ip r o le in t he reg ion and g loba l ly , as th is decis ion has been fo l low ed by s im i la r

recogn i t i ons by a hos t o f coun t r i es i n La t in Amer i ca and the upg rad ing o f t he d ip loma t i c

sta tus o f the PNA in Eur opean coun t r ies.

Braz i l s po l i t i ca l in teres t shou ld there fore be to ensure tha t i t does not suppor t any ac t ions

or act iv i t i es tha t a re cont r aven in g the cr eat io n o f a Pa lest in ian s tate in th e 1967 bor ders .

Is rae l i a rms indust ry exp l ic i t l y bu i lds i tse l f no t on ly on the wars aga ins t the Pa les t in ian

peop le and Arab s ta tes but on the ongo ing occupat ion o f the OPT. The arms indust rydeve lops i ts w eapon s th anks to th e exper ience gathered in t he occup at ion o f t he OPT and

uses the ongo in g occup at ion as an occasion to show case the e f f iciency o f th e i r w eapon r y .

The suppor t f o r t he I srae l i arm s indus t r y t he re fo re con t r ad ic t s clear l y the s tated suppor t o f

the Br azi l ian governm ent fo r t he cr eat io n o f a Palest in ian sta te in the 196 7 bor ders .

2 ) R e la t i on s w i t h t h e A r a b w o r l d

Braz i l has bu i l t up the South Amer ican Arab Summit , par t ic ipa ted as the so le Lat in

Amer ican representa t ive a t the Annapo l is Conference, and under l ined th rough the jo in t

Turk ish-Braz i l ian in i t ia t ive on the quest ion o f I ran s nuc lear asp i ra t ions the in teres t and

capaci t y t o m ove fo rw ar d new in i t i a t i ves to t he reso lu t i on o f con f l i ct s .

The po l i t i cal r e lat ion s deve loped w i th t he Arab w or ld h ave led as w e l l to a greater d egr ee o fcommerc ia l exchange and d i rec t investment o f the Arab wor ld , Turkey and I ran . These

coun t r i es cons t i t u te a vas t marke t fo r B raz i l s c i v i l and mi l i t a ry p roduc ts and a re s t rong

potent ia l investors .

The A rab wor ld i s cu r ren t l y undergo ing d ramat i c changes , wh ich the B raz i l i an fo re ign

m in is t r y has in a r ecen t decla ra t i on exp l i ci t l y supp or t ed and added :

N essa ocasio, com base nos laos hu m anos e cult ur a is , bem como nas aspir aes queas unem, as duas reg ies a f i rmaram que, para p romover a paz , a segurana e a es tab i l idade mund ia is , a cooperao b i - reg iona l deve ser nor teada pe lo compromisso com o m ul t i la t e ra l ismo, o respe i to ao Di r e i to In t e rnac iona l e a obser vnc ia dos Di r e i tos Hum anos e do D i re i to In te rnac iona l Human i t r io 6 5

65 h t tp : / / w w w .i tam araty .gov.br / sala-de- im prensa/ notas-a- impr ensa/ si tu acao-nos-paises-arabes


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The cur r ent d ynam ics r egard i ng the issue o f de fense and Br azi l s r e lat io ns to th e Mid d le Eastare descr ibed in chapter 2.4.5. (Middle East Defense) of the Evaluat ion of Brazi l s foreign

po l i cy 2003-201 0 66 :

A aproximao pol t ica em temas de Defesa entre o Brasi l e os Pases rabesacom pan ha, no que toca s d i f erenas em r e lao a pol t icas pregr essas, o quad r o geraldas re laes Brasi l -Pases rabes no Governo Lula, ou seja, houve aprofundamentoindito das re laes, com as pol t icas setor ia is , como Defesa, acompanhadas de sl idoadensam ento da s re laes pol t icas.No campo comerc ia l , o Bras i l buscou re tomar espao na reg io para sua inds t r ia mi l i tar , pois a posio pr iv i leg iada que o pas desfrutou nesse campo nos anos 70 e 80,com des taque para o fo rnec imento de mater ia l b l ico para o I raque, hav ia s ido comple tamente e rod ida ao longo dos anos 90 . A es t ra tg ia b ras i le i ra fo i , inc lus ive ,apo ia r a inds t r ia nac iona l ao mesmo tempo em que fo r ta lec ia os laos po l t icos e estratgicos entre o Brasi l e os pases da regio, procurando fazer com que essaexpanso se tor na sse sustent vel.

How ever , w h i l e the A rab W or l d i s clear l y a cen t r a l mark e t fo r B r azi l s ar m s indu st r y , tw o o fthe th ree B raz i l i an compan ies men t ioned in the same documen t wh ich a re l ook ing fo r

marke ts i n the A rab wor ld (Embrae r , AEL) a re a l ready deep ly i nvo lved w i th I s rae l i a rms

indu st r y o r p r ope r t y o f I s rael i comp an ies.

T h e n ew g o v er n m en t s i n t h e A r a b w o r l d w i l l l i k el y b e m o r e aw ar e a b o u t h u m an r i g h t s an dr espect fo r in tern at iona l law , inc lud ing th e ob l iga t ion s fo r n on-assis tance to v io la t io ns o f the

IV Geneva Conv ent ion and t he ru les o f the boycot t l aw s o f the Arab League. Th ey w i l l be

for ced to r espect the w i l l o f the peop le .

In o r de r to con t inu e the st r a teg ic re la t i ons w i th t he A rab wor ld , a c lea r comm i tm en t fo rr espect o f in ter nat ion a l law in th e case o f Pa les t ine w ou ld b e ver y w e l l received and h e lp tomain ta in ex is t ing and to open new avenues fo r coopera t ion . A c i rc le whereby Is rae l uses

Braz i l t o p r oduce w eapons o r p a r take in the p r oduc t ion o f w eapons tha t shou ld be so ld t o

the A rab wor ld w i l l l i ke l y r i se conce rn in the popu la t i ons and some gove rnmen ts . B raz i l

w ou ld d e facto a l low Is rael to avo id Ar ab League boycot t law s.

3) Is rae l i secur i ty forces in La t in Am er ica

M i l i t a ry t ies w i th Is rael do n ot on ly fue l an occupat ion th a t af fects Pa les t in ians , bu t a lso have

negat ive e f fec ts on Sout h Am er ica . F i rs t o f a l l , st r engthen ing t ies w i th Is rael i a rm s prod ucersand pr iva te secur i ty mi l i ta ry companies (PSMC) se ts a poor precedent in te rms o faccountab i l i t y , cons ider ing Is rae l s suppor t o f repress ive reg imes and ro le in pro f i t ing and

fos ter ing f rom ins tab i l i t y in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Second ly , mi l i ta ry t ies w i th Is rae l leaves

elemen ts i n p lace w h ich cou ld suppor t o r f o rm opp r essive , and a t t he m ost ex t rem e an t i -

government ac t iv i ty , in a g iven count ry . F ina l ly , even i f mi l i ta ry t ies pose no th reat to a

66 h t t p : / / w w w .i t amara t y .gov .b r / t emas/ ba lanco-de-po l i t i ca -exte rna-2003-2010 / 2 .4 .5 -o r ien te-med io -defesa/ v iew


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coun t ry s s tab i l i t y , suppor t o f t he I s rae l i m i l i t a ry i ndus t r y cas ts doub t on a gove rnmen t sco m m i t m en t t o h u m an r i g h t s.

I s rae l i m i l i t a ry t rade in Sou th Amer i ca has p ro f i t ed f rom, and a t t imes pe rpe tua ted ,

ins tab i l i t y i n t he r egion . Du r ing th e 1981 w ar be tw een Ecuador and Peru , I srae l supp l i ed

bo th s ides; t he fo rm er w i th w eapons and am m un i t i on , and t he lat te r w i th advanced r adar 67 .I s rae l has p ro f i t ed f rom the cu r ren t t roub le i n the bo rde r reg ion be tween Ecuador andColombia , se l l ing drones to Ecuador in 2008 68 and supp ly ing the Co lomb ian mi l i t a ry w i th

UAVs, arm s, amm uni t ion and e lect r on ic equ ip m ent .69

I n add i t i on to p r o f i t i ng f rom con f l i ct , I srael has al so a ided som e o f t he w or st r eg im es on the

con t inen t , am ong them the jun tas o f Ch i l e and A rgen t ina w here i t supp l i ed a rm s and t ra ined

the p o l ice fo r ces .70 I t w as one o f n in e coun t r ies th a t recogn ized Gar c ia M eza s coup in Bo l iv iai n 1 9 8 0 .71 I s rae l i adv iso rs t ra ined pa rami l i t a r i es tha t wou ld fo rm the Co lomb ian dea th

squads, and today i t i s c lose ly t ied w i th Co lombia , wh ich i t cont inues to suppor t desp i te

condem na t ions from hum an r i gh ts o rgan izat ions .72 Fur th erm or e, Is rael has been invo lv ed inr egion a l r igh t w ing coup s. I t t r a ined the fo rces o f Guatem alan d i c ta tor Ro is M ont t73 an d w aspossib l y i n vo lved in t he coup in Ecuador , w here i t l a ter t r a ined th e m i l i t a ry , al t hough t he re i s

not ex tens ive ev idence.74

Given th is t rou b led h i stor y , i t i s un fa thom able tha t m any o f th ese coun t r ies are once aga in

bu i l d in g up m i l i t a ry t ies. Is rael has ef fec t ive ly n ot been pun ished for th e cho ices i t m ade top r ov ide m a ter ia l suppor t f o r t he hum an r i gh ts abusers , coups and b loodshed o f t he 1970 s

and 80s. Welcoming Israel i companies and engaging in business as usual sets a dangerous

precedent , and does not encourage companies to th ink tw ice about suppor t ing repress ive

reg imes o r g rou ps .

The re fusa l to cu t mi l i ta ry t ies can s t i l l be potent ia l ly destab i l i z ing fo r count r ies in South

America. Leo Gleser, president of the ISDS, accompanied Israel i President Peres on t r ip to

B raz i l .75 I n the 1980s , G lese r was invo lved in t ra in ing the in famous Ba t ta l i on 316 in

Honduras .76 Former Ba t ta l i on 316 members , s ince in teg ra ted in to the Honduran po l i ce

67 Bahbah, Is rael s Mi l i t ary Relat ionship w i th Ecuador and Argent in a , p .8168

h t t p : / / w w w .jpost .com/ serv le t / Sa tel l i t e?c id=121413269168 8& pagename=JPAr t i c le% 2FShow Fu l l69 h t t p : / / en .m ercopress .com / 2008 / 02 / 07 / co lomb ian-de fense-m in i st e r - says- t i es -w i t h - i s rae l-a re-st rong70 I s rael w as even m ore invo lved w i t h t h e r igh t w ing governm ents o f Cen t ra l Amer ica t ha t f o l l ow t he samepat tern. The d i c tatorship of N icaragua, for exam ple, had Is rael i suppor t s ince the 19 50s. This expanded great lyw hen the US cut of f m i l i tary a id; see Bei t -Hal lahmi , The Israel Connect ion, London , 198 871 Bei t -Hal lahmi , The Israel Connect ion, p. 10 472 h t t p :/ / w w w .h r w .o r g/ en / n ew s/ 2 0 0 9 / 0 6 / 2 6 / c ol o m b i a- ob a m a -sh o u l d -p r e ss- u r i b e- r i gh t s- 073 Bei t -Hal lahmi , The Israel Connect ion, p. 7974 Bahbah, B ishara Is rael s Mi l i tar y Relat ionship w i th Ecuador and Argent in a, Jour nal of Palest in e Stud ies, Vol .15, No. 2 (W inter , 1986 ) , p . 7875 h t tp : / / w w w .m fa.gov.i l / MFA/ Governm ent / Com m uni ques/ 200 9/ President_Peres_state_v is i t_Braz i l_Argent ina_

9-Nov-2009.htm 76 In the i r book, Dangerou s L iason: The Ins ide Story of the US- Israel i Cover t Relat ionship ( HaperCol l ins ,

1991 , p. 224-5) , Andrew and Les l ie Cockbur n a lso w r i t e that IDF Col . Leo Gleser s pr ivate f i r m , In tern at ionalSecur i t y and Defense Systems ( ISDS) , pr ov ided t r a in ing in 198 4 for a secret Hond ur an arm y un i t , the 316


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forces, p layed a ro le in the 2009 coup against Zelaya and are accused to beat ing, arrest ingand to r tu r ing an t i - coup ac t i v i st s .77

In add i t ion to the repercuss ions o f the i r t ra in ing programs, PMSCs cou ld themselves a lsop lay a destab i l i z ing r o le . Som e PM SC m ay ac t as a f ron t fo r fo r e ign gover nm ent op era t ion s ,

and o ther t imes are employed by s ta tes to opera te in areas where open and o f f ic ia li nvo lvem en t w ou ld be em bar rassing .78 These fac to rs do no t bode w e l l w hen taken in l i gh t o f

I srae l s h i sto r i cal suppor t f o r r i gh t -w ing gove rnm en ts (and cu r ren t an t ip athy t ow ards thoseru nn in g on p rog ressive p lat fo r m s) .79

Fina l ly , whether or no t mi l i ta ry t ies can p lay a destab i l i z ing ro le , i t i s g ross ly inappropr ia te

for governm ents elected pr om is ing soc ial jus t ice and a respect fo r hu m an r i gh ts to engage in

m i l i t a ry r e lat i ons w i t h I s rael .

Bat ta l ion, in a deal ar r anged b y th e CIA. The 316 Bat ta l ion w as later im pl icated in a s t r i ng of d i sappearances,

tor t ure and pol i t ica l assass inat ions. h t t p :/ / w w 4 r e p o r t .co m / st a ti c/ 4 2 .h t m l 77 h t t p:/ / w w 4 r ep o r t .co m / st at i c/ 7 6 2 2 an d h t t p :/ / w w w .t h en a t i on .c om / d o c/ 2 0 0 9 1 0 2 6 / g r ad i n78 For t r ansfer r ing p otent ia l ly em barr ass ing operat ion s to pr ivate cont r ac tors see: Haapiseva-Hunter , Jane,

Israel i for eign pol icy: Sout h Afr ica and Cent ral Am erica, 199 6, p. 15 5. For t he possibi l i t ies of PMSCs asgovernm ent f r onts , see: Fred Schr e ier and M ar in a Capar in i , Pr i vat is ing Secur i t y : Law , Pract ice and Governance

of Pr ivate M i l i tary and Secur i t y Companies , Geneva, Mar ch 200 5. The author s note that w hi le some PM SCshave been govern m ent f ron ts , i t is not the norm .79 Bol iv ia and Venezuela are tw o exam ples of the la t ter . Both pu l led the i r am bassadors f rom Tel Av iv over theGaza w ar.


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ANNEX I

Elb i t and I A I : Com pl ici t in I sr ae l i hum an r ights

v io la t ions

This documenta t ion p rov ides an ana lys is o f the compl ic i ty o f E lb i t and IAI the Is rae l i

com pan ies most heavi l y invo lved in the Braz i l i an w eapons m arke t and a r m s indust r y w i th Isr ae l i w ar c r im es and h um an r igh t s v io la t i ons. W e w i l l be focusing on t he UAVs pr oduced by Elb i t an d IAI t o show case how th ei r w eapons ar e in ten t i ona l ly used by the IOF fo r w ar c r im es. I t is im possib le fo r E lb i t and IAI no t t o be awar e of th i s use o f the i r p r oduc ts: a fac t tha t im p l ies compl i c i ty o f the com pan ies th a t con t i nue to p rov ide the i r w eapons. W e ar e fu r th er look ing a t th e invo lvement o f E lb i t and IAI i n th e const r uc t ion o f t he Wal l an d th e se t t lement s as con t r ac ts fo r th e bu i l d ing and m ain t enance o f these w ar c r i m es const i tu te d i rec t comp l ic i ty .

Thr oughout th e second In t i fada, du r ing the w ar on Lebanon, to th e bru t a l at t ack on Gaza, th eIs rael i a rm ed forces r egu lar ly and system at ical ly car r ied out acts tha t a re ser iou s v io l a t ions

o f i n te rn a t ional and hu m an i tar ian law and a t t im es amoun t t o w ar c r im es. The assassina t ion

of unarmed Pa les t in ians , the in tent iona l bombardment o f c iv i l ian areas and the

pr emedi t a ted co l lect iv e pu n ishm ent o f en t i r e popu la t ion cent ers are standar d pr act ice .80

UAVs are c r i t i ca l too ls fo r the Is rae l i mi l i ta ry , enab l ing many o f the above-ment ioned ac ts .

Th e Isr ael i ar m ed for ces use UAVs d i r ect l y for assassin at io n m ission s, as w el l as to gath erin te l l igence, acqu i re ta rgets and ass is t in bombings and a i r s t r ikes . The ro le UAVs p lay in

Is rael i w ar c r i m es, and m or e spec i f ica l ly in t he k i l l in g o f civ i l ians, has been d ocum ented byevery major Pa les t in ian human r igh ts organ iza t ion , fo r example a l Haq, the Pa les t in ian

Center fo r Human Rights (PCHR), and a l Mezan, as we l l as h igh ly respected in ternat iona l

o rgan izat ions l i ke Hum an R igh ts W atch ( HRW) and Am nesty In te rn a t ional (A I ) . D isregard ing

ongo ing v io la t ions o f Pa les t in ian r igh ts be ing car r ied out w i th the i r p roducts , E lb i t Sys temsand IA I con t inue to p r ov ide techno logy and ha rdw ar e to the I sr ae l i arm ed fo rces.81

80 See for exam ple: Amnesty In ternat ion al , Fuel l ing conf l i c t : Fore ign ar m s suppl ies to Isra e l / Gaza, Febru ary200 9; PCHR, Extr a-Judic ial Execut ions as Israel i Gover nm ent Pol icy, June 200 8; Hum an R ights Watch, PreciselyW r ong: Gaza Civ i l ian s Ki l led by Israel i Dr one-Laun ched Missi les, Jun e 200 9; al Haq , Ext ra jud ic ia l K i l l i ngs : A l -Haqs Backgroun d Br ie f on Isra e l s Ex t ra ju d ic ia l K i l l i ngs in t he OPT, Novem ber 20 06; PCHR, Tar geted Civ i l ia ns, 200 981

This is not surpr is ing. IAI i s a state-ow ned com pany, and w hi le both E lb i t and Aeronaut i cs Defense Systemsare pr i vate, they are deeply enm eshed w i th the Is rael i m i l i tary establ ishm ent . For in s tance, Aeronaut ics boasts

a board of d i r ector s w i th m embers of the defense establ ishment as w el l cooperat ion w i th Is rael i In te l l igenceCrop s. in developing the Aer ostar UAV.


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Elb i t and IA I a re al l i nvo lved in bu i l d ing and m ain ta in ing the W a l l and / o r set t l em en ts i n theW est Bank. Both govern m ent and pr iva te funds have d iv ested f r om E lb i t Sys tems as a resu l t

o f th i s inv o lvem ent . Th e Norw egian Govern m ent Pension Fun d, fo r in s tance, d iv ested f r omElb i t a f te r i t s E th ica l Com m it t ee foun d th a t , E lb i t supp l ies a sur ve i l lance system th at is par t

o f t he sepa ra t ion ba r r i e r be ing bu i l t by the I s rae l i gove rnmen t i n the Wes t Bank . The

cons t ruc t i on o f pa r t s o f t he ba r r i e r may be cons ide red to cons t i t u te v io la t i ons o fin t ernat io na l law , and E lb i t , th rou gh i ts sup p ly cont r act , i s thus he lp ing to sus ta in thesevio lat ions. 82

The re a re th r ee m a in a reas w here these com pan ies con t r i bu te d i r ect l y o r i nd i r ect l y t o g ross

v io la t i ons o f i n te rna t iona l and human r i gh ts l aw : attacks against c iv i l ians, extr a judi cia l

k i l l ings, an d b u i l d i n g a n d / o r m a i n t a in i n g t h e Ap a r t h e i d W a l l a n d se t t le m e n t s .

I . Attack s against civi l i an s

The r o le o f I sra e l i com pa nies

Both , E lb i t and IA I assis t th e Is rael i a rm ed for ces in i ts a t tacks agains t c iv i l ians , e i ther byprov id ing equ ipment used to fac i l i ta te the a t tacks or fo r the a t tacks themselves, w i th the

know ledge that t he i r p r oduc ts w i l l be used in such a manner . I n pa r t i cu lar :

I A I : Prov i des a var ie ty o f UAVs used not o n ly fo r i n t e l l igence gather in g and t a rgetacqu i si t i on , bu t a lso a t tack oper a t ions .83 IA I i s a m a jo r supp l i e r o f w eapons to t he I srae l i

a rm ed forces, p r ov id ing amon g o th er th in gs m issi les and comb at ai r c ra f t .

Elbi t : Prov id es a var ie ty o f UAVs used not on ly fo r i n t e l l igence gather ing and t a rget

acqu i si t i on , bu t a lso a t tack o pera t io ns .84 Elb i t a lso pr oduces gu idance sys tem s for bom bs,

sigh ts fo r r i f les, and a var ie ty o f techno lo gy fo r m i l i t a ry a i rc r a f t .85

Cont r ibu t ing to v io la t ions o f in ter na t iona l l a w

Art ic les 48, 51 and 52 in Add i t iona l Pro toco l I o f the Geneva Convent ions requ i re tha tcombatants d is t ingu ish between c iv i l ian and mi l i ta ry ta rgets and not a t tack the c iv i l ian

82

Counci l o f Eth ics Recomm endat ion to t he Norw egian M in i s t ry of F inance, May 15th

, 2009 , p. 283 H R W , Precise ly W ron g, p. 1184 Ib id , p. 1185 Sour ces in Stop th e Wall s fact sheet on Elbi t : h t t p : / / s t op thew a l l .o rg / f act shee t s/ 1997 .sh tm l


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popu la t i on .86 How ever , th r oughout Is rael s occupat io n o f the W est Bank and Gaza, and inpar t icu lar in the past severa l decades, the Is rae l i a rmed forces have cont inua l ly ta rgeted

c iv i l ians . The most recent war on Gaza, where 926 o f the 1 ,417 Pa les t in ians k i l led werec iv i l ians , w i th ch i l d r en const i tu t in g a shock in g 22.4% of to t a l dead, is on ly th e m o

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Brazilian-Israeli Military Ties

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