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Jerusalem establishes new accelerator initiative to expand role in Israel’s defense‑tech sector
- Anna Ahronheim | The Jerusalem Post
- Aug 2
- 1 min read
With hundreds of new start-ups, Israel’s growing defense-tech scene is heavily concentrated in central Israel.
Jerusalem has established a new accelerator to broaden the capital’s footprint in Israel's defense-tech ecosystem. The program will help local companies.
The accelerator is led by the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA) along with the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D aka MAFAT), the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem and Jewish Tradition Ministry, and several major defense companies.
The accelerator is being launched as part of a strategic cooperation agreement signed last December between the Jerusalem Municipality and the Defense Ministry. It forms one component of a broader initiative aimed at positioning Jerusalem as a national hub for innovation across defense, hi-tech, medicine, and academia.
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Dr. Daniel Gold, head of DDR&D, said that combining DDR&D’s national R&D capabilities with Jerusalem’s academic and entrepreneurial strengths creates a “force multiplier” for Israel’s defense‑tech ecosystem.
“As Israel’s national center for defense technology, DDR&D leads the country’s technological frontier and defense innovation efforts, while continuously working to connect the operational challenges faced by the defense establishment with dual-use technologies,” Gold said, adding that developing the city’s defense-tech scene “will strengthen the security and economic resilience of both Jerusalem and the State of Israel.”
(c) The Jerusalem Post, 2026
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