Israel and Greece share a common threat from a malevolent enemy, Erdogan’s Turkey. While the pro-Palestinian mobs in Europe and America demand that military ties with Israel be ended, the hard-headed men who run the European defense establishments are not about to abandon the opportunity to cooperate with, and receive weapons from, the most battle-hardened army in the world, which also happens to be a world leader in weapons technology. Already Israel is the third largest seller of weaponry in the world, after the United States and France, and by 2030, it is almost certain to surpass France to become the second largest seller of weaponry in the world. An amazing feat for such a tiny country with such a small population.
More on the deal Israel has signed with Greece, the latest country to seek closer ties with Israel as a defense partner, can be found here: “Achilles Shield: Israel, Greece sign over NIS 10b. air defense deal against Turkey,” by Anna Ahronheim, Jerusalem Post, August 31, 2026:
Israel and Greece formalized one of the largest defense export agreements in Israel’s history on Monday, signing a €3 billion government‑to‑government deal that will see Israel design and deliver a complete, multi‑layered national air defense architecture for the Hellenic Republic’s Achilles Shield project.
Signed in Tel Aviv by Defense Ministry Director-General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Baram and his Greek counterpart, Maj.-Gen. Ioannis Bouras, the agreement marks a significant expansion of bilateral defense cooperation and places Israeli missile defense systems as the backbone of Greece’s long‑term air defense modernization program.
Senior officials from Israel’s Defense Ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT), the Defense Research and Development Directorate (MAFAT), and the Israeli Missile Defense Organization attended the signing, alongside the CEOs of Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
Israel has three main defense companies — Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Elbit. Two of them are involved in this, the largest defense deal in Israel’s history. Rafael will supply Greece with David’s Sling, which is designed to defend against heavy rockets and ballistic missiles, as well as mobile SPYDER systems designed to counter unmanned aerial vehicles and drones.
Israel Aerospace Industries will provide Greece with the BARAK-MX system, which is designed to defend against aircraft and missiles. And Israel, not the U.S., will now provide Greece’s main defensive weapons against potential Turkish aggression, a clear vote of confidence in the Jewish state’s technology, that has already proven its worth in battlefield conditions.
And many other countries in Europe have been eager to buy Israeli weapons, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Romania. So have countries in Asia, including India and the Philippines. Politics is not allowed to get in the way. And once a country has benefited from Israeli weaponry, its stance toward the Jewish state invariably becomes more supportive.
On Greek streets, pro-Palestinian crowds consisting of young people and Arab migrants can shout against the Jewish state “from the river to the sea/Palestine will be free,” but the no-nonsense Greek military men have a country to defend, and quite sensibly, they have turned to Israel and its weapons to secure their nation’s safety. And so are other countries, including NATO’s newest member, Finland, which has just signed a large deal to buy Israeli weapons. Whatever their political differences with the Jewish state, many European countries know what’s best for their own survival, and Israel stands high in the topography of their relief.
Rick Gordon says
Great! I appreciate the information – and the actions of Greece and Finland.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Actually, Ukraine’s tactical alliances w/ the Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – has managed to put the kabash on those so-called “hybrid attacks” by both Belarus & Russia. They now have arrangements for building & sharing drones. So that Russia can’t open new fronts there w/o those countries retaliating better than Ukraine itself did in 2022
The Ukraine of 2022 vs the Ukraine of this year is such a contrast – it’s like the USSR of 1941 vs the USSR of 1944. Just like Hitler never imagined that he’d start losing the war at any point of time, neither did Putin. And for the first time in history, Russia’s “strategic depth” has been transformed from an asset to a liability – too many targets to hit. And Ukraine has hit targets as far off as Omsk, and most of the Russian leadership has fled to various locations in Siberia: Moscow is now considered a war zone, & Putin has had to cancel major parades that he holds there. Plus all the bombings of Russian oil refineries, and causing major fuel shortages throughout the part of the country that matters (not sure about the situation in Vladivostok or Magadan) as well as bombing of Wildberries warehouses (their equivalent of Amazon) has totally shocked the Russian population. Besides cutting off Iran’s main source of refined oil, kicking off the current fuel shortages in Iran
Also, I saw a couple of months ago that Ukraine warned Belarus that if they continue allowing Russian military assets to operate out of Belarus, they too would end up in the war. For the first time, Lukashenko has to do a major balancing act – either invite attacks from Moscow or Kyiv. He’d do well to do what Zelenskyy asks, given that Putin is in no position to help him, and that’s his one way to remain in power if he wants to once this war is over
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Decades overdue!
Maybe Greece can invite Israeli military bases in Crete, Rhodes and myriad Aegean islands?
Beans🫘 says
It came at a great cost but got done. Lots of groups inside the government were against it. An MP flipped out in their parliament and basically said we should be doing what is right to protect Greece not Palestine.
They’re willing to gamble on their own security just to support Palestine. I do believe Greece population is mostly pro Palestine. I hope they’re reasonable and see this helps Greece with Turkey.