ABSTRACT
Weapons production remained largely an underground activity, established and funded by the Hagana. After 1948 these early cottage industries were incorporated into IMI, the Israel Military Industries. Shimon Peres, later Israeli defense minister and prime minister, was director general of the Ministry of Defense when the first giant strides were taken by the military industry. The Sinai Campaign two years later triggered an increased IDF demand for arms and an entire range of military supplies, the bulk of which could only be acquired from foreign sources. In procurement policy decisions he tended to favor dependency on imports as the basis for most IDF ordnance, notwithstanding heavy pressure from defense lobbyists arguing for protectionist measures and preference to local companies in IDF requisition orders. IDF demand for domestic military products grew by leaps and bounds, and the respective individual industries expanded accordingly.
