Bayer

Bayer, the German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate. It acquired Monsanto in 2018, which is directly linked to Israeli war crimes through its subsidiary's production of chemical agents used as weapons by the Israeli Occupation Forces. The company maintains a growing operational footprint in the apartheid state through investments, partnerships, and a dedicated cybersecurity center.

Bayer-Monsanto chemicals as IOF weapons in Lebanon and Syria

In early 2026, the IOF had deployed the herbicide glyphosate in southern Lebanon and occupied Syria. Lebanon's Ministry of Agriculture found glyphosate concentrations exceeding normal levels by 20 to 30 times, and Lebanon's president described the situation as "environmental and health crimes."

The human rights organisation Medico International published a report titled: Cartographies of Destruction: Israel's War Against Lebanon in June 2026, documenting the IOF's repeated use of white phosphorus in Lebanon alongside the glyphosate contamination. The Coordination against Bayer Dangers also stated that "there is strong evidence that phosphorus used in the Middle East war comes from Bayer's glyphosate production facility in Soda Springs in the United States."

Medico International's noted that the IOF has already been using glyphosate against civilians, as they attacked Gaza with it in 2014.

The IOF has deployed glyphosate and white phosphorus to render the southern Lebanon border area uninhabitable in order to create a "security zone", destroying farmland and robbing farmers of their livelihoods. Human Rights Watch documented a white phosphorus artillery attack on 3 March 2026 in the area around Yohmor, preceded by evacuation orders to residents of the town and 50 surrounding villages. Amnesty International confirmed that IOF white phosphorus attacks in 2023 used 155mm M825-series artillery shells of US origin.

Bayer's operations and investments in Israel

Bayer has been active in Israel since 2008, steadily deepening its involvement in the Israeli economy. In June 2022, Bayer announced the establishment of a cybersecurity development center at its existing offices in Hod Hasharon. Hugo Hagen, managing director of Bayer Israel, stated the company sought to "integrate with Israel's unique cybersecurity ecosystem."

In 2016, Bayer established a $10 million agriculture fund with the Trendlines Group to support Israeli agtech startups. The same year, Bayer co-founded the $15 million accelerator targeting Israeli agricultural technology companies. Bayer has invested in Israeli firms including plant genomics company Evogene (2010), cancer immunotherapy firm Compugen (2013), and drip irrigation developer Netafim (2016). The company partners with Israeli biotechnology incubator FutuRx and collaborates with Prospera Technologies on AI-driven agriculture.

OECD complaint: human and environmental devastation in South America

In April 2024, an alliance of six organisations -- Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (Argentina), Terra de Direitos (Brazil), BASE-IS (Paraguay), Fundacion TIERRA (Bolivia), Misereor, and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) -- filed an OECD complaint against Bayer documenting severe health impacts, water and food contamination, deforestation, criminalisation of community leaders, and land conflicts linked to the company's glyphosate-based pesticides and genetically modified soy business model.

Over 50% of agricultural land in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia is cultivated with GM soybeans resistant to glyphosate. Bayer holds a market share of approximately 30% for glyphosate-based products in the region.

After more than two years, the German National Contact Point closed the case, recognising that Bayer's products were plausibly linked to the negative impacts described in the complaint, yet refusing to discuss the resulting violations of communities' rights to health, food, land, water, and a healthy environment. The NCP instead offered mediation focused solely on Bayer's general due diligence policies. The affected communities rejected the offer stating:

We have decided to reject the mediation because discussing abstract policies changes nothing for people who are still losing their land and are getting sick after being exposed to Bayer's pesticides.

Chemical weapons legacy: from World War I to Vietnam

Bayer's involvement in chemical warfare predates the current genocide. Bayer developed one of the world's first chemical weapons in 1914 with Dianisidin, followed by additional warfare agents including prussic acid, Lost (mustard gas), Sarin, and Tabun. During the Cold War, Bayer continued chemical weapons research and contributed to the chemical warfare programme in Vietnam, where Agent Orange devastated millions of Vietnamese civilians, causing severe birth defects and cancers that persist across generations.

Bayer's parent entity, IG Farben, was the Nazi regime's chemical conglomerate that produced Zyklon B, the poison gas used in extermination camps, and extensively employed slave labour from concentration camps including Auschwitz. After World War II, IG Farben was dissolved by the Allies and Bayer was re-established as an independent company, maintaining the chemical expertise that had been built through crimes against humanity.

Sources:

• Amnesty International Lebanon: Evidence of Israel’s unlawful use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon as cross-border hostilities escalate
• Bayer AG The History of Bayer
• CBG Network EU condemns glyphosate use in Middle East war
• ECCHR German authorities ignore human rights violations: corporate greenwashing instead of justice
• Human Rights Watch Lebanon: Israel Unlawfully Using White Phosphorus
• Medico KARTOGRAPHIEN DER ZERSTÖRUNG: ISRAELS KRIEG GEGEN DEN LIBANON
• Middle East Monitor Medico: Israel's white phosphorus and glyphosate point back to Germany's Bayer group
• Reuters Bayer clinches Monsanto with improved $66 billion bid

• Times of Israel Pharma giant Bayer to set up cybersecurity center in Israel
• Times of Israel OurCrowd, Bayer set up $15 million agtech fund
• Times of Israel Bayer to invest $10 million in Israeli ag tech fund