Registry

Does Israel Railways support Israel?

Israel Railways Ltd.

Owned by State of Israel Records for the parent company are kept separately.

Business presence documentedupdated 2026-09-25

Israel Railways 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: Hotels & travel companies · Companies that support Israel

Background

Israel Railways is not a foreign company deciding whether to support Israel — it is the Israeli state's own railway, so the question on this page comes close to asking whether it supports its owner. The company is wholly owned by the Government of Israel, describes itself as the execution and operation arm of the Ministry of Transport, and is regulated and supervised by that ministry; the State Comptroller's audit puts it in one line: "The government company is fully owned by the Israeli government." What can be documented is therefore what it is and what it does, not philanthropy. It runs the national network — about 600 trains a day to 69 stations, on its own figures — including the fast Tel Aviv–Jerusalem line, which Reuters reported at its 2018 opening runs through land Israel captured in the 1967 war near Beit Surik and in the Latrun valley. The UN human rights office lists it, as it did in its 2023 update, among enterprises it has reasonable grounds to believe were involved in settlement-linked activities, recording against it the use of land and natural resources for business purposes and the dumping or transfer of waste to Palestinian villages; OHCHR is explicit that this is neither a legal characterization nor a judicial process. In wartime the railway has acted as an instrument of the state rather than a donor: it ran special trains for soldiers on 7 October 2023 in coordination with the army, and in March 2026 it operated a cut-down emergency timetable set by the Ministry of Transport while its own staff were mobilised. No charitable giving, aid or public statement of support by Israel Railways was found, and none is claimed here.

State Comptroller of Israel — Annual Report 70A (2020), Israel Railways (official) Israel Railways — "About Israel Railways" (company, primary; archived snapshot) OHCHR — A/HRC/60/19, annex I (UN primary document) Euronews (Reuters report) — Israel opens high-speed rail link, 25 September 2018 Ynet (Hebrew) — special trains for soldiers, 7 October 2023

Timeline of documented records

20032007201120152019202320272003 — Operations in IsraelOperations in Israel20032018-09 — Operations in Israel: Route through land Israel occupied in 1967 — the Latrun valley and the area of Beit Surik and Beit Iksa, north-west of JerusalemOperations in Israel2018-092023-10 — Operations in Israel: Israel Defense Forces (troop movement), in coordination with the armyOperations in Israel2023-102025-09 — Operations in IsraelOperations in Israel2025-092026-03 — Operations in IsraelOperations in Israel2026-03

Documented records

TypeDateAmountRecipientSources
Operations in Israel2003——
Israel Railways is a government company wholly owned by the State of Israel. It was incorporated in 1998 and began operating as a company in 2003, and it describes itself on its own site as "the operator of the national heavy rail system" and "the execution and operation arm of the Ministry of Transport". The State Comptroller of Israel says the same in an official audit: "The government company is fully owned by the Israeli government", with the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety responsible for regulating, supervising and controlling railway activity. On the company's own figures it runs about 600 trains a day to 69 stations. This entry records what the company is — a state enterprise, not a foreign firm that chose a side — and it is not a donation.
Operations in Israel2018-09—Route through land Israel occupied in 1967 — the Latrun valley and the area of Beit Surik and Beit Iksa, north-west of Jerusalem
The fast Tel Aviv–Jerusalem line (the A1 link), which Israel Railways operates, opened in September 2018. Reuters reported at the opening that the route runs through sections of land Israel captured in the 1967 war, near the Palestinian village of Beit Surik on the outskirts of Jerusalem and in the Latrun valley; the Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called the project part of Israel's "agenda of turning its occupation into annexation", and a Beit Surik resident, Mohammed al-Tari, said of the line that "it is very sad that you see a railway and see modern technology on your land and inside your land and you cannot use it". Who Profits, an Israeli advocacy research centre, reported in July 2017 that the route crosses the Green Line in two places — about 3 km through the Latrun enclave, and a stretch running 250–300 m inside the occupied area near Beit Surik and Beit Iksa — on Palestinian land, some of it privately owned; that characterisation is Who Profits' own. Running a rail line is commerce, not a donation.
Operations in Israel2025-09-26——
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights lists "Israel Railways Corporation Ltd." as entry 84 in its database of business enterprises involved in activities linked to Israeli settlements (A/HRC/60/19, 26 September 2025; 158 of the 215 enterprises assessed were listed). The activities recorded against it are (g) the use of natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes, and (h) pollution, and the dumping of waste in or its transfer to Palestinian villages. The same two activities were recorded against it as entry 41 in the 30 June 2023 update, and the current update covers alleged involvement between 2 August 2019 and 30 April 2025. OHCHR states that the exercise "does not purport to constitute a judicial or quasi-judicial process of any kind, nor does it provide any legal characterization", and that listing reflects "reasonable grounds to believe"; the database records the activity categories and not a company-by-company account of the underlying conduct.
Operations in Israel2023-10-07—Israel Defense Forces (troop movement), in coordination with the army
On the afternoon of 7 October 2023, hours into the Hamas attack, Israel Railways announced that it was running special trains from the north of the country to the south for IDF soldiers, in coordination with the army and according to demand, while train services to the southern stations of Ofakim, Netivot and Sderot would not resume until further notice. The state's own railway moved troops under military coordination; no payment, gift or donation is recorded here.
Operations in Israel2026-03-01——
During Operation "Lion's Roar" and the special home-front situation declared with it, the Ministry of Transport moved public transport to an emergency format on 1 March 2026, and Israel Railways announced it would run only main and essential lines: one stopping train an hour on five routes, Sunday to Thursday from about 05:00 to 21:00, calling at a defined list of stations only because employees and security staff had been called up for the war effort, plus special trains to clear passengers from Ben Gurion Airport. This is state-directed emergency operation by a state company, recorded here as what it is and not as a donation.
One source

Frequently asked questions

Did Israel Railways 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), 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. 10 distinct sources are cited for Israel Railways. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-09-25

Companies with documented support