Registry · F
Does Ford Motor Company support Israel?
Yes — Ford Motor Company has documented support for Israel on record. Every claim below links to its source.
Filed under: Car & automotive brands · Companies that support Israel
Background
Attribution notes: founder Henry Ford was a notorious antisemite in the 1920s, but later leadership reversed course. Henry Ford II personally donated $100,000 to the Israel Emergency Fund during the 1967 war and $50,000 to a United Jewish Appeal campaign — personal gifts, not corporate donations. The Ford Foundation, which appears in some viral lists, has had no ties to Ford Motor Company for decades. Ford vehicles are sold in Israel by an independent local importer, not a Ford subsidiary. In December 2024, Ford's X account was briefly hacked and posted anti-Israel messages ('Israel is a terrorist state'); Ford deleted them and said they were unauthorized.
The Henry Ford — Henry Ford and antisemitism San Diego Jewish World JTA — Ford Foundation has no ties to Ford Motor Co. Times of Israel — Ford apologizes for hacked X posts
Timeline of documented support
Documented support
| Type | Date | Amount | Recipient | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operations in Israel | 1966 | — | Israeli market (local assembly licensee; from 1968 Automotive Industries Ltd., Nazareth) Ford licensed an Israeli company to assemble knocked-down Ford vehicles, a deal that put Ford on the Arab League boycott blacklist from 1966. The company refused to withdraw: chairman Henry Ford II said "Nobody's gonna tell me what to do," and in 1981 Ford Mid-East and Africa president K. D. Holloway reiterated that boycott threats "will not sway" Ford from doing business in Israel. Licensee assembly in Nazareth ran from 1968 to 1975; Ford vehicles have since been sold in Israel through an independent importer. | |
| Acquisition | 2016-08 | — | SAIPS (Rehovot-based computer vision and machine learning company) Acquired Israeli computer-vision and machine-learning company SAIPS — Ford's first acquisition in Israel — to develop algorithms for its autonomous-vehicle program. The price was not disclosed; Israeli media reported several tens of millions of dollars. Ford wound the SAIPS team down in September 2023 after exiting the Argo AI self-driving venture. | |
| Operations in Israel | 2019-06 | — | Ford Research Center Israel (Tel Aviv) Opened the Ford Research Center, Israel in Tel Aviv's Adgar 360 building, inaugurated by executive chairman Bill Ford, who called Israeli tech part of the "lifeblood of future Ford." The center scouts Israeli startups in connectivity, sensors, in-vehicle monitoring and cybersecurity and housed a vehicle lab alongside the SAIPS team (about 60 people at peak). When SAIPS was shut in September 2023, Ford said it would keep "focusing our commitment to and involvement in the Israel innovation and technology community through the Ford Research Center located in Tel Aviv." | |
| Government contract | 2020-07 | — | Mobileye (Jerusalem-based Intel subsidiary) Selected Jerusalem-based Mobileye as its vision-sensing supplier for advanced driver-assistance systems across Ford's global lineup, using the EyeQ camera-based technology for collision avoidance, starting with the F-150 and Mustang Mach-E, with Mobileye branding displayed in Ford vehicles. |
Frequently asked questions
Did Ford Motor Company donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?
We have no records of cash donations, but Ford Motor Company has documented support of other kinds (Operations in Israel, Acquisition, Government contract). See the records on this page.
Where does this information come from?
Every record on this page links to its source — news reports, official company statements, tax filings, or government records. 13 distinct sources are cited for Ford Motor Company. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.
Sources & citations
Record last updated: 2026-07-21
- JTA (archive, 1981) jta.org
- San Diego Jewish World sdjewishworld.com
- TechCrunch techcrunch.com
- Globes en.globes.co.il
- CTech/Calcalist calcalistech.com
- Ford press release (via Automotive World) automotiveworld.com
- Times of Israel timesofisrael.com
- Mobileye (official) mobileye.com
- CNBC cnbc.com
- CTech/Calcalist calcalistech.com
- The Henry Ford — Henry Ford and antisemitism thehenryford.org
- JTA — Ford Foundation has no ties to Ford Motor Co. jta.org
- Times of Israel — Ford apologizes for hacked X posts timesofisrael.com