Does Americana support Israel?

We have not yet found publicly recorded donations from Americana. Absence of records does not confirm absence of support.

Filed under: Fast food & restaurant chains · Companies that support Israel

Background

Americana Restaurants International PLC is the MENA franchisee of KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee's, Krispy Kreme, Costa Coffee, TGI Fridays and Baskin-Robbins, running roughly 2,400 outlets across twelve markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Kazakhstan. It is dual-listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Saudi Arabia's Tadawul (a first for both markets, December 2022), and 66.03% of it is held by Adeptio AD Investments Ltd, owned indirectly in equal halves by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Emirati businessman Mohamed Alabbar, who chairs Americana. No recorded donations, investments, contracts or statements in support of Israel were found for Americana Restaurants itself. It has no restaurants in Israel: the KFC and Pizza Hut outlets there are operated by separate, unrelated Israeli licensees of Yum! Brands, and holding the same brand's franchise in Arab markets creates no ownership, revenue-sharing or control link to those Israeli operators. Americana was one of the businesses most damaged by the post-October-7 boycott of US-linked brands: first-quarter 2024 net profit fell about 51% to $26.6 million, first-half revenue dropped 15.2% to roughly $1.05 billion with profit down about 45%, third-quarter profit fell 54% to $37.4 million, and the company cut its 2024 opening plan from 225 restaurants to 175–185; in November 2024 its chief executive said the 'worst is behind us.' Precise attribution matters on one point that circulates about the company: its chairman and 50% indirect controlling shareholder, Mohamed Alabbar, has a personal record of contacts with Israel — he travelled to Tel Aviv in 2005 and met Shimon Peres about buying structures from evacuated Gaza settlements (saying afterwards the aim was to benefit Palestinians and reaffirming the UAE's position against normalisation without peace); Israeli business daily Calcalist reported in August 2021 that he had been, since 2018, one of five anonymous funders of an Israeli national food-security programme; and he spoke at Sheba Medical Center's 75th-anniversary gala in June 2023, where he was described as having helped connect the hospital to Gulf medical institutions. Those are acts by an individual, not by Americana Restaurants, and Alabbar has publicly said he is 'not interested in business' with Israel. No company decision, payment or statement has been tied to them.

Gulf News — Americana H1-2024 revenues drop 15.2% AGBI — Americana CEO says boycott 'worst is behind us' PIF — press release on acquiring a stake in Americana Group Ynetnews — Alabbar's 2005 Tel Aviv visit and the reaction in the UAE Middle East Monitor (citing Calcalist) — Alabbar among funders of an Israeli food-security initiative eJewishPhilanthropy — Alabbar at Sheba Medical Center's 75th-anniversary gala

What we checked

• News & official statements — 2026-07-30
• Nonprofit tax filings (Form 990) — 2026-07-30
  No US-registered Americana or Adeptio foundation appears in ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer; the group's giving is Gulf-based and is not reported on US Form 990. No Israel-linked grantmaking identified.
• SEC filings — 2026-07-30
  Americana Restaurants has no SEC registration or CIK; it reports to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Tadawul, so US disclosure systems do not apply. Its ADX/Tadawul filings and IPO prospectus list no Israeli market, subsidiary or counterparty.
• Federal election records (FEC) — 2026-07-30
  No Americana or Adeptio committee appears in FEC records; foreign corporations and foreign nationals may not contribute in US federal elections, so no US political money trail exists.
• Independent fact-checkers — 2026-07-30
  Cross-checked BDS Movement materials and circulating boycott lists: Americana appears only as the regional operator of boycott-targeted US brands, not for any documented act of its own. Claims that its Gulf outlets fund Israel were not corroborated by any primary document or mainstream report.
• usaspending — 2026-09-25
  Queried the USAspending.gov award API on 2026-09-25 for US federal contracts, grants and other awards to this company whose award text mentions Israel. It returned no awards.
• lobbying — 2026-09-25
  Searched the US Lobbying Disclosure Act database at lda.gov on 2026-09-25 for filings naming this company as the client whose reported lobbying issues mention Israel. No filings matched.
• ohchr — 2026-09-25
  Checked the UN OHCHR database of business enterprises involved in activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, report A/HRC/60/19, on 2026-09-25. This company is not listed in it.
• whoprofits — 2026-09-25
  Searched the Who Profits company index on 2026-09-25 — the research centre that documents corporate involvement in the Israeli occupation. This company has no profile there.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-09-25

• Gulf News — Americana H1-2024 revenues drop 15.2% gulfnews.com
• AGBI — Americana CEO says boycott 'worst is behind us' agbi.com
• PIF — press release on acquiring a stake in Americana Group pif.gov.sa
• Ynetnews — Alabbar's 2005 Tel Aviv visit and the reaction in the UAE ynetnews.com
• Middle East Monitor (citing Calcalist) — Alabbar among funders of an Israeli food-security initiative middleeastmonitor.com
• eJewishPhilanthropy — Alabbar at Sheba Medical Center's 75th-anniversary gala ejewishphilanthropy.com