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Historically, Jews often lived in regions where it wasn't uncommon for a war to occur. I imagine some shrewd businessmen took advantage of this to profit by doing things like selling equipment or other tools to both sides. However, I'm curious as to whether this is actually allowed in Judaism or not since it could be understood that you are supporting or prolonging a war by engaging in such an activity, thus leading to a loss of lives due to your own selfishness.

What do the Jewish texts say about this historically?

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  • Big time Jewish business. War profiteering. It’s up there right after middle man. It’s halachic allowance? Not sure
    – TheKugelMan
    Commented May 5, 2023 at 12:12

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B"H

Regarding the question of selling weapons to non Jews in general it says in the Talmud that it shouldn't be done, unless it's for defense or if the weapons serve another purpose.

Regarding the question of prolonging a war specifically, I haven't heard of any sources that discuss that

Logically I can't think of any difference between the case and paying taxes, since the money will probably contribute to weapons etc., and the Torah is very strict about following all tax laws in the government without making a distinction between wartime or not

Regarding profiting off of a war in general, if one side wins are Jews allowed to go to that new conquered land and benefit from it as a member of the country that conquered it?

Is it a problem for Jews to live in America since it was originally conquered from the American Indians?

Many Rabbis have and do live in America, as well as many other countries that have benefited from war in one way or another, including conquering other countries

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