Hours after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, as the Israeli government was readying for war, the Israeli tech sector was preparing for a war of its own.
Entitled Israel Tech Guard, the coalition of Israeli tech employees has pulled together what it’s termed an “army” of citizen volunteers primarily to defend Israel’s image online. The group has launched or collaborated on several projects aimed at targeting pro-Palestine content while boosting Israeli propaganda.
Israel Tech Guard comprises over 250 Israeli tech workers and was founded by entrepreneur Mor Ram-On, who worked for Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems; Ron Balter, a software engineer at Cybereason, a U.S. cybersecurity firm, and who served with the Israeli navy; and Lior Mizrahi, who heads the IT company Maveriks.
Given how new the non-profit is, financial statements for Israel Tech Guard have yet to be made available. However, the group was seeking $2 million in funding in November, and the Jerusalem Post reported that it’s backed by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, which produces weapons for the Israeli military.
According to Israel Tech Guards’ LinkedIn profile, “[t]he group works in cooperation with the Israeli security agencies.” An archived version of the site states it also works with the Israeli military. For instance, one such project, “Anchoring the Draw,” was completed in December 2023 with Unit 9900, an Israeli military intelligence corps whose work is classified. Information on the project and its purpose hasn’t been released.
Israel Tech Guard has also collaborated with the Israeli National Information Directorate and the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism to launch Words of Iron on the day of Hamas’ October 2023 attack.
With Words of Iron, social media users are encouraged to amplify pro-Israel content by commenting with autogenerated text created by the website’s developers, as well as mass-report content deemed “anti-Israel.”
“[I]f every individual spends just 10 minutes a day utilizing this tool, sharing messages in unwavering support of Israel, our collective voice will resonate globally,” Israel Tech Guard wrote on LinkedIn announcing the project. (more...)
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