USA

US Universities Received More Than $15 Million in Israeli Defense-Linked Funding

25 August 2026 22:08 PM

NEWS DESK

At least 15 US universities have conducted research supported by Israel’s Ministry of Defense and Israeli defense companies, with more than $15 million in funding reportedly going undisclosed or being inconsistently reported in US government databases, according to an investigative report.

The findings, based on an investigation by The Drop Site and an analysis by the Antiwar Initiative, cover financial relationships between US universities and Israel’s defense establishment from 2004 through 2025.

Researchers examined university and state-level audit records, foreign-funding disclosures and academic documents to identify funding that they say was either missing from federal databases or reported inconsistently.

Universities identified in the investigation include Columbia University, Cornell University, Princeton University, Harvard University, Northwestern University, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech University and others.

The funding was provided through research grants, contracts, scholarships and other forms of support.

In some cases, Israel’s Ministry of Defense directly funded university research projects. In others, Israeli defense companies—including Elbit Systems, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)—were involved in funding or research arrangements.

At the University of Connecticut, state audit records show that Israel’s Ministry of Defense provided approximately $668,000 for a project between 2013 and 2023, according to the investigation.

At Columbia University, records identified approximately $800,000 in funding for two projects linked to the Israeli Defense Ministry.

Princeton University also had a reported $600,000 contract connected to research involving a magnetometer.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), meanwhile, reported receiving approximately $4 million between fiscal years 2015 and 2024 for projects associated with Israel’s Ministry of Defense.

The investigation raises questions about transparency in foreign funding of US academic research, particularly when the funding involves foreign military institutions and defense contractors.

William Hartung, an expert on the US arms industry and Pentagon spending, criticized US universities for accepting funding from Israel’s defense establishment.

Given Israel’s military activities, Hartung argued that universities concerned with academic independence and institutional integrity should reconsider accepting such funding.

The findings are likely to intensify an ongoing debate in the United States over university ties to foreign governments, defense companies and military research, as well as the adequacy of existing disclosure requirements for foreign funding.

US universities support Israel’s Ministry of Defense