Tel Aviv University has appointed a former Mossad spy agency technology chief to a senior post overseeing industry relations and entrepreneurship, deepening the institution’s links with Israel’s military-espionage establishment.
Haggai Itkin, known during his 20 years in the Mossad only by the initial “H,” held senior positions, including head of its technology division, before leaving in 2020.
In a 2022 television interview, he described his experience in cyber warfare and targeted killings, and assassinations across West Asia.
In a letter to faculty, university president Ariel Porat wrote that Itkin’s background included “senior positions in the military establishment” and credited him with building “connections and ties with the high-tech industry.”
Porat also noted that Itkin chairs Ramot, the university’s technology-transfer company, which manages the commercialization of research developed at the institution.
The appointment coincides with the so-called DefenseTech Week next month, organized by the university, Israel’s ministry of military affairs, its research and development directorate (MAFAT), and two university research centers, with 22 sponsors and 28 partners listed.
Israel's largest arms companies, Elbit, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries are among its sponsors, while 19 other Israeli and arms companies, including Lockheed Martin, feature in the remaining categories.
Its lead sponsor, Shield AI, founded by a former US Navy SEAL, develops autonomous flight systems, including AI-powered fighter aircraft and drones.
The programme will feature military officials, arms executives and generals, with sessions on autonomous combat systems, robotic vehicles, drones and cyber warfare.
The university’s military links extend to officer training through Erez, a programme combining combat preparation with academic studies for future commanders in the army’s ground forces, and Havatzalot, which trains recruits for espionage while they pursue university degrees.
Its TAU Ventures fund has cooperated with the Israeli spy agency, Shin Bet, since 2018, providing selected start-ups with a $50,000 grant, office space and support to develop technologies including artificial intelligence, cyber warfare and drones.
The university’s ties have drawn scrutiny from academic institutions which condemn its role in developing new technologies for the regime's military firms.
Porat told faculty that boycotts of so-called Israeli academia due to the regime’s genocide in Gaza are at their peak and efforts to counter them have achieved very limited success.
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