In recent days, the global diamond industry and Israeli arms manufacturers have come under intense scrutiny amid mounting allegations of complicity in what leading genocide scholars and human rights organizations now call the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The controversy erupted on multiple fronts, from the bustling halls of Poland’s International Defense Industry Exhibition to the glittering showrooms of the world’s top jewelry brands, revealing a tangled web of commerce, ethics, and international law.
On Wednesday, September 3, 2025, the Polish-Palestinian Justice Initiative (KAKTUS) filed a legal complaint against four Israeli arms firms present at the International Defense Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, Poland. According to AhlulBayt News Agency, the complaint argued that Poland, as a signatory to the Genocide Convention, the Rome Statute, and the Arms Trade Treaty, has a legal and moral obligation not to promote or legitimize entities whose technologies are used to attack civilians in Gaza. The complaint specifically targeted the practice of advertising weapons as "battle-tested," contending that this amounts to celebrating their deployment against Palestinian civilians.
The legal move quickly gained traction. Polish police questioned several representatives of Israeli weapons manufacturers Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, though some employees reportedly left the country before authorities could reach them. By Friday, September 5, all Israeli booths at the exhibition stood empty—a stark visual of the controversy’s immediate impact. Earlier in the week, protesters disrupted the event by spilling a blood-red substance at Elbit’s stand, an act intended to symbolize the bloodshed in Gaza. These demonstrators were briefly detained and charged with property damage before being released.
Human rights groups had already called on Polish authorities to bar Israeli companies from the exhibition, citing Poland’s legal duty to prevent complicity in genocide. Their calls grew louder after the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS)—the world’s leading body of experts on mass atrocities—declared on Monday, September 1, that Israel’s actions in the besieged Palestinian territory meet the legal definition of genocide under the United Nations convention. This declaration added considerable weight to the argument that international actors, including private companies and governments, must reconsider their ties to Israel’s military and economic apparatus.
The backdrop to these events is nothing short of grim. Since October 2023, more than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to figures cited by AhlulBayt News Agency and other human rights sources. The scale and pace of the violence have prompted comparisons to past atrocities, and the term “genocide” is no longer confined to activist circles—it now appears in the statements of major academic and legal institutions.
This reckoning has not been limited to the arms trade. On September 7, 2025, Middle East Monitor published a searing exposé on the global diamond industry’s ongoing relationship with Israel. The article named leading luxury brands—De Beers, Forevermark, Tiffany’s, Bulgari, Harry Winston, Cartier, Signet Jewellers, among others—as continuing to sell diamonds processed in Israel, despite the mounting evidence that such trade helps finance the Israeli regime responsible for the violence in Gaza. The piece contends that these brands have made a "calculated acceptance of reputational, financial and legal risks," betting on their ability to obscure their complicity through complex certification schemes and public assurances.
For over two decades, diamond exports have been a cornerstone of the Israeli economy. Even in the midst of the 2024 escalation, diamond exports were Israel’s second most valuable net export, adding $3.8 billion to the economy. The Middle East Monitor article points to statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who asserted in January 2023 that Israel’s economic strength, including revenues from the diamond sector, "has been directly translated into military strength." Netanyahu claimed that such economic-military synergy would lead Israel to greater diplomatic clout.
Critics argue that this economic engine directly supports Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Israeli political economist Shir Hever has noted that diamond companies in Israel generate significant tax revenue for the government, employ members of the military, and even donate directly to the armed forces. Despite this, leading jewelry brands and industry bodies continue to rely on certification schemes such as the Kimberley Process (KP) and the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) to assure consumers that their gems are "conflict free." However, as Middle East Monitor highlights, the Kimberley Process only covers rough diamonds that fund rebel violence, not polished diamonds linked to state actors like Israel.
The upcoming KP plenary meeting, scheduled for November 17-21, 2025, in Dubai, is expected to formalize a definition of "conflict diamonds" that continues to exclude Israeli diamonds, despite widespread calls to broaden the criteria to include all diamonds linked to grave human rights violations. The article notes that while the diamond industry quickly condemned Russian diamonds linked to violence in Ukraine and those from the Central African Republic and Zimbabwe, it has remained conspicuously silent on Israeli diamonds—despite tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed.
This selective outrage and the industry’s continued reliance on self-regulation have sparked a new wave of activism. Across university campuses worldwide, students and young consumers are mobilizing against Israel’s actions in Palestine, demanding genuine accountability and transparency from luxury brands. The movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel’s regime has gained new momentum, with the diamond industry identified as both vulnerable and central to the Israeli economy.
As the global groundswell of anger at Israel’s actions grows, the diamond industry faces a formidable challenge: how to win the trust of consumers who demand ethical credibility throughout the supply chain, not just at the mine gate. The legacy of what critics call the "diamond-funded genocide" in Gaza will not be easily erased by public relations campaigns or industry-sponsored certifications. Instead, genuine reform and accountability may be the only way forward.
With legal complaints, international condemnation, and grassroots activism converging, the world’s luxury and defense sectors now stand at a crossroads. The choices made in the coming months—by companies, governments, and consumers alike—will shape not only the future of these industries but also the broader struggle for justice and accountability in one of the world’s most enduring conflicts.
