About Us

The DefenseTech Summit, taking place on December 10-11, 2024, at Tel Aviv University, is a premier gathering for experts in defense technology. The summit will dive deep into the latest advancements of Defense Tech and practical lessons from Israel’s cutting-edge solutions that are addressing global security challenges.
As a nation with a rich history of innovation in security, Israel is at the forefront of defense technology development. The DefenseTech Summit will feature prominent global leaders from the military, academia, and industry, providing invaluable insights into how Israel’s advancements are shaping the global defense landscape.

Hosted by the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center, the Yuval Ne’eman Workshop, and in collaboration with Directorate of Defense, Research & Development (DDR&D), Israel’s Ministry of Defense, the DefenseTech Summit is poised to highlight Israel’s strategic role in global security innovation.

Conference Chairman

Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel

Isaac was born in Israel (Tel-Aviv), 1949. He studied Mathematics, Physics and Philosophy at Tel-Aviv University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1988.

He joined the Israel Air Force (IAF) after graduating high school (1967) and has served continuously up to his retirement (2002).

During his service, Isaac Ben-Israel held several posts in operations, intelligence and weapon development units of the IAF. He headed the IAF Operations Research Branch, Analysis and Assessment Division of IAF Intelligence, and was the Head of Military R&D of Israel Defence Forces and Ministry of Defence (1991-1997). In January 1998 he was promoted to Major General and appointed as Director of Defence R&D Directorate.

DefenseTech Summit Team

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DefenseTech Summit Organizers

Blavatnik ICRC

The Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC), inaugurated in 2014 at Tel Aviv University (TAU), is a joint initiative with the National Cyber Directorate of the Prime Minister’s Office and provides an academic framework for interdisciplinary research on the dynamic and constantly evolving field of cyber. The Center’s 50+ TAU faculty members and 200+ cyber researchers have attained national and international prominence for their scholarship and industry expertise. They are drawn from many different disciplines including the Exact Sciences, Computer Science, Law, Engineering, Social Science, Management and the Humanities. Since its inception, the ICRC has aimed to enrich the volume and quality of academic research in the cyber field, provide information to the security sector for future use, help advance academic training and the efforts of academic personnel in the field, increase the academic efforts and awareness of the field of cybersecurity, and provide an important intersection between government, industry and academia. The ICRC researches key issues such as security software, attacks on hardware and software, cryptography, network protocols, security of operating systems and networks, as well as the impact of these topics on national security, society, regulation and the business sector.

Yuval Ne'eman Workshop

The Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security was launched in 2002 by Prof. Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Isaac Ben-Israel in conjunction with the Harold Hartog School of Policy and Government and the Security Studies Program at Tel Aviv University. The Workshop was founded with the clear directive of exploring the links between science, technology and security. The Workshop conducts a broad range of research activities that include the publication of research papers and policy reports in the field of national security strategy & policy. Alongside its research activities, the Workshop also holds a senior executive forum that promotes public-private partnerships and initiatives, and a popular series of monthly conferences at Tel Aviv University with the participation of senior IDF staff and security organization members, politicians, academia, and executives from leading Israeli and International companies. The goal of the Workshop’s activities is to create an open and fruitful dialogue with the general public in the fields of interest of the Workshop: Cyber Security, Space and Emerging Issues of National Security.

After October 7th, we began a series of events on different aspects of the failure on the Israeli side to foresee this tragic event. The aim is to enrich the dialogue on national security concerns to better understand how October 7th happened and how to prevent such occurrences in the future.

Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University (TAU)–Israel’s largest and most comprehensive institution of higher learning–is home to over 30,000 students studying in nine faculties and over 125 schools and departments across the spectrum of science, humanities and the arts.
Situated in Israel’s cultural, financial and technological capital, TAU shares Tel Aviv’s unshakable spirit of openness and innovation and boasts a campus life as dynamic and pluralistic as the metropolis itself. Tel Aviv the city and Tel Aviv the university are one and the same–a thriving Mediterranean center of diversity and discovery. Consistently ranked in the top 20 in the world in terms of scientific citations and among the top 100 universities internationally, Tel Aviv University is also Israel’s first choice for students, and its graduates are the most sought-after by Israeli companies. Global in outlook and impact, TAU advances teaching and research that break down the walls between disciplines, striving to address the twenty-first century’s most pressing challenges through bold, interdisciplinary solutions.

The Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D)

The Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), at Israel’s Ministry of Defense, is a globally recognized center of knowledge and expertise in the field of military technology. The DDR&D contributes to the development, production and maintenance of the tools and technology used by the IDF and the entire defense estalishment. Their work guarantees Israel’s ability to protect its civilians and maintain its qualitative military edge.