Israel is simultaneously a major exporter and a leading importer of the most modern weapons systems in the world. The exports of its arms industry provide the national economy with over $1 billion per year of foreign currency and employment for almost 30 percent of its industrial work force. The industry, which originated in clandestine workshops in Palestine under British mandate in the 1930s, has developed in response to Israel's urgent need for arms independence and its quest for a foreign policy freed from the interests of the arms-exporting great powers. While Israel's arms independence has increased, the state's economy has grown ever more dependent on this volatile portion of its industrial sector, and in turn more dependent on American-based capital and technology.

The Israeli Arms Industry explores the complex interaction of Israel's economic, foreign, and defense policies as they have evolved to the present day.