Complicit locally, ethical globally? CSR and employee volunteering schemes in the Israeli arms industry

• In Event: Darker sides of philanthropy

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is often discussed as a form of private regulatory mechanism designed to address governance gaps resulting from economic globalization (Barkay, 2009). Initiated primarily by private firms and companies, CSR schemes often involve collaboration and partnerships with various third sector organizations. Such cooperation may involve the development of ethical codes and social responsibility policies in conjunction with rights groups or environmental organizations, and commonly encompass support for third sector organizations through employee volunteering programs, corporate funding, and pro-bono services (Cycyota et al., 2016; Roza et al., 2017).

The proposed paper questions CSR’s potential in fulfilling its proclaimed social and ethical goals by analysing the case of social responsibility programs implemented by Israeli arms companies. The core business of companies in this sector is to provide weapons and lethal technologies, security services and surveillance equipment to governments and state agencies worldwide, including the Israeli government. As a result, these companies profit from Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and other armed conflicts associated with severe violations of human rights. Despite human rights being a central tenet of CSR that often features in corporate reporting on their ethical considerations (Barkay & Shamir, 2020), weapon companies disregard their core business activity as a relevant CSR concern. Instead, CSR strategies of Israeli weapon companies mostly emphasise aspects such as community involvement and employee volunteering. Within this framework, companies partner with a range of third sector organizations in areas such as education, healthcare and food donation, and encourage their employees to volunteer in projects operated by their third-sector partners.

To address this problematics, we utilise findings from our respective ethnographic studies in the Israeli CSR field, conducted in the past 18 years. We complement this data by a qualitative document analysis of official publications published by Israeli arms companies, their third sector partners and local and international ESG rating agencies (that provide assessments of corporations environmental, social, and governance risks), as well as the social media communication of these organizations. These analyses allow us to explore the efforts made by Israeli arms companies to secure their reputation, gain legitimacy and play an active role in reshaping the logic and landscape of CSR. By focusing on these these efforts, the paper brings to the fore the involvement of the arms industry in both local and global CSR fields, and highlights the attempts being made by companies in this sector to influence the trajectories and contested contours of CSR, often overlooked in scholarly discussions on the social responsibility of ‘sinful industries’ (Oh et al., 2017). By so doing, the paper considers the role played by third sector actors in facilitating these attempts, potentially contributing to the militarization of civic spheres (Shachar, 2023). This analysis aims to deepen the understanding of CSR as a dynamic outcome of the interrelations and mutual effects of local, national and transnational actors and fields.

References

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Authors

• Itamar Shachar, Univerisity of Hasselt School of Social Sciences

• Tamar Barkay, Tel Hai College