Manufacturers Association, asked Prime Minister Naftali Bennett: eliminate discrimination of defense industries from Israel

Dr. Ron Tomer, president of the Manufacturers Association, asked Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to examine the possibility of eliminating the discrimination of defense industries from Israel compared to those of other countries receiving security assistance from the US administration, in a meeting with US President Joe Biden this evening.
According to the manufacturers, the US administration discriminates against the defense industries in Israel compared to those of responsible countries that receive security assistance from it, such as Egypt, Jordan and dozens of other countries. When the IDF purchases weapons from the United States, it must be manufactured entirely on its own land. If he wants to add Israeli communications systems or electronic warfare to the American F-35, for example, he must fund them from a shekel budget.
However, when the Egyptian army purchases weapons systems in the United States through the security assistance that Washington gives to Cairo, it can include Egyptian components worth up to 49% of its price, and it will still be possible to finance all of the aid money.
According to Tomer, in the past, the administration refused to cancel it on the grounds that Israel already receives another benefit, of converting up to 25% of American security assistance for purchases from Israeli factories. However, this benefit will be phased out as decided by the administration under the current aid agreement, and will disappear completely in 2028.
"As early as 2024, Israel's ability to convert dollars of dollar aid into shekels will decrease dramatically, and the purchases made by the Defense Ministry's procurement manager annually from local industries will decrease from an average of NIS 11.5 billion per year, to 20.5 billion in 2028," wrote Tomer Levant.
According to a mapping conducted by the Manufacturers' Association in 2017, in addition to IAI, Elbit and Rafael, there were another 630 defense plants and subcontractors of the major industries in Israel at the time. The association then estimated that at least 130 of the small companies would be forced to close production lines in Israel and some would even close, which did happen. The Ministry of Defense estimated in its own investigation that at least 22,000 of the 65,000 employees of the defense industries will be fired.