Does Hershey's support Israel?

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

Filed under: Food & beverage brands · Companies that support Israel

Background

Hershey has no documented donations, investments, operations, contracts, or statements supporting Israel. The company does not operate in Israel — its chocolate reaches Israeli shelves only through independent third-party importers — and it has issued no public position on the conflict. Its corporate PAC has made no contributions to pro-Israel committees, and Hershey has no corporate grant-making foundation (the M.S. Hershey Foundation is a separate legacy trust that funds cultural institutions in Hershey, Pennsylvania). Viral social-media claims that 'Hershey funds Israel' have not been substantiated by any independent fact-checker, and Hershey does not appear on the BDS movement's official targeted-boycott list; a Times of Israel blogger has even criticized the company for how little presence it has in Israel.

The Hershey Company — Community (official giving priorities) FEC — The Hershey Company PAC (C00200139) ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer — The M.S. Hershey Foundation (separate legacy entity) Times of Israel Blogs (criticizing Hershey's absence from Israel)

What we checked

• News & official statements — 2026-07-20
• Nonprofit tax filings (Form 990) — 2026-07-20
  No corporate 'Hershey Company Foundation' exists. ProPublica search for 'Hershey foundation' returns only unrelated or legacy entities — chiefly The M.S. Hershey Foundation (EIN 23-6242734), a separate trust funding Hershey, PA cultural institutions. No Israel-linked grantees identified.
• SEC filings — 2026-07-20
• Federal election records (FEC) — 2026-07-20
  The Hershey Company PAC (C00200139) is active. Schedule B disbursements searched for recipients matching israel/AIPAC/jewish/NORPAC/pro-Israel/DMFI/zionist/JStreet: zero results.
• Independent fact-checkers — 2026-07-20
  No Snopes/AFP/Reuters fact-check substantiates 'Hershey funds Israel' claims; the claims circulate only on social media and unofficial boycott sites. Hershey is absent from the BDS movement's official targeted-boycott list.
• 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.
• hebrew-arabic-press — 2026-09-25
  Searched Hebrew and Arabic news for this company on 2026-09-25 via Google News and Bing News. No headline mentioned a donation, aid, the war, an investment, an acquisition or a boycott.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-09-25

• The Hershey Company — Community (official giving priorities) thehersheycompany.com
• FEC — The Hershey Company PAC (C00200139) fec.gov
• ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer — The M.S. Hershey Foundation (separate legacy entity) projects.propublica.org
• Times of Israel Blogs (criticizing Hershey's absence from Israel) blogs.timesofisrael.com