Israeli society has long been spared from drug trafficking and the violence that comes with it. Early Zionist settlers stigmatized hashish as a symbol of what they called Arab “decadence,” which they claimed to be fighting against. It was not until Israel’s occupation in 1967 of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that a psychedelic culture, largely imported from the United States, began to take root in Israel. The now-common “pilgrimage” to India to experiment with drugs became a frequent interval between the three years of military service for men (and two years for women) and entry into working life.

Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982 brought the hashish-producing regions of Lebanon into contact with the rapidly expanding Israeli market, with 700 tonnes smuggled in as early as the following year. Israeli officers were sometimes implicated in these cross-border networks, which were regularly dismantled. Crackdowns intensified due to the involvement of the pro-Iranian militia Hezbollah in these smuggling operations, and continued until Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.

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