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Does Gap support Israel?

The Gap, Inc.

Business presence documentedupdated 2026-09-26

Gap does business in Israel — we found records of its operations there, but no record of donations, aid, or a public statement of support. Every claim below links to its source.

Filed under: Fashion & apparel brands · Companies that support Israel

Background

Gap's presence in Israel was always through local franchisees, never company-operated: Elbit Imaging brought Gap and Banana Republic to Israel in 2009, sold the franchise to the Zara Israel group (Gottex Models Ltd.) in 2012, and the franchisee closed all seven stores in 2017 for commercial reasons (weak sales and competition from cheaper rivals). Gap Inc.'s remaining direct tie to Israel is CB4, the Tel Aviv-founded AI startup it acquired in October 2021, which is still an Israeli subsidiary in its 2026 SEC filings. No donations by Gap Inc. or the Gap Foundation to Israeli organizations were found, and its small corporate PAC shows no identified pro-Israel committee disbursements. In August 2025 customers of Gap's Athleta brand were shown a post-checkout prompt inviting donations for families in Gaza and some threatened a boycott; the campaign, for the aid organisation CARE.org, was placed by Rokt, a third-party post-transaction advertising platform, which said its clients had no active role in deciding whether the campaign was displayed and that it removed the campaign as soon as complaints surfaced. Commenters on the Instagram post that raised the complaint said similar prompts had appeared to AMC cinema ticket buyers. Neither Athleta nor Gap Inc. commented on it.

Times of Israel Gap Inc. (CB4 press release) Israel Hayom, 20 Aug 2025 — Athleta checkout prompt and Rokt's statement (archived capture) Globes — Ilanit Hayut, 10 Jan 2012 (archived capture)

Timeline of documented records

20092011201320152017201920212009 — Operations in Israel: Gap and Banana Republic stores in Israel (franchise, ended 2017)Operations in Israel20092021-10 — Acquisition: Context-Based 4 Casting Ltd. (CB4), Tel AvivAcquisition2021-10

Documented records

TypeDateAmountRecipientSources
Operations in Israel2009—Gap and Banana Republic stores in Israel (franchise, ended 2017)
Gap entered Israel in 2009 through a local franchise: Elbit Imaging Ltd. (Motti Zisser) opened Gap and Banana Republic stores, including a flagship at Jerusalem's Mamilla Mall. In January 2012 Elbit sold the franchise and the chain's operations (Elbit Trade & Retail Ltd. and GB Brands LP) to Gottex Models Ltd. — the Israeli Inditex franchisee the Hebrew press calls the Zara Israel group, owned by Joey Schwebel and Hanan Elitov — for NIS 26 million plus Gap inventory valued at about NIS 14 million, a total of NIS 40 million, free of liabilities, with completion expected in February 2012 subject to antitrust approval. Globes reported that the Gap chain then had five branches and about NIS 75 million in annual sales, that the buyer Joey Schwebel called the Gap operation loss-making, and that Elbit kept the Mango chain. That money passed from one Israeli company to another; none of it was paid by or to Gap Inc. The stores were owned and run by these Israeli franchisees, not by Gap Inc. directly. The relationship ended when all seven remaining stores were closed in 2017 after years of weak sales.
Acquisition2021-10-04—Context-Based 4 Casting Ltd. (CB4), Tel Aviv
Gap Inc. acquired CB4 (Context-Based 4 Casting Ltd.), a New York and Tel Aviv-based AI/predictive-analytics startup founded in 2013 out of Tel Aviv University research by Prof. Irad Ben-Gal and Dr. Gonen Singer. Deal value was not disclosed; CB4 had raised about $30 million. The Israeli entity remains listed as a Gap Inc. subsidiary in Israel in the company's FY2025 10-K subsidiary exhibit.

Frequently asked questions

Did Gap donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?

We have no records of donations. What is on record is commercial activity in Israel (Operations in Israel, Acquisition), which is not the same as support — 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. 9 distinct sources are cited for Gap. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-09-26

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