Registry · WDC
Does Western Digital support Israel?
Western Digital Corporation
Western Digital 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: Tech companies · Companies that support Israel
Background
Western Digital's connection to Israel was inherited rather than built: it came with the May 2016 purchase of SanDisk, whose Israeli flash-memory R&D dated back to SanDisk's 2006 acquisition of msystems Ltd. of Kfar Saba. For nine years Western Digital's SEC subsidiary lists included Western Digital Israel Ltd. When the company spun off its flash business as an independent Sandisk Corporation in February 2025, those Israeli sites and the Israeli subsidiary moved to Sandisk; Western Digital's FY2025 annual report does not mention Israel once. The Israeli press fills in what the filings leave out: Globes counted about 800 employees at three sites — Kfar Saba, Tefen and Omer — when 60 of them were laid off in May 2023, and ice and Mako name Western Digital among nine companies partnering in ‘MeshuhrarTech’, an October 2022 programme run by IATI with the IDF and the Israel Innovation Authority that prepares female soldiers for hi-tech careers before discharge. This research found no Western Digital donation, in-kind aid, public statement of support or political contribution connected to Israel — the record is commercial operations plus that training partnership, and the operations have now been transferred to a separate company.
SEC — Western Digital Form 8-K, SanDisk acquisition completed (2016-05-12) SEC — Western Digital EX-21 subsidiaries list, FY2025 10-K SEC — Sandisk Corporation FY2025 10-K (Israeli R&D properties) Globes — 60 employees in Israel will leave Western Digital (24 May 2023, Internet Archive) ice (אייס) — 'MeshuhrarTech' launch, Western Digital among the partner companies (24 October 2022)
Timeline of documented records
Documented records
| Type | Date | Amount | Recipient | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | 2016-05-12 | — | SanDisk Corporation (and its Israeli flash R&D operations) Western Digital completed its acquisition of SanDisk Corporation on 12 May 2016, as reported in its own Form 8-K. SanDisk had built large flash-memory R&D operations in Israel after buying the Israeli company msystems Ltd. in 2006, so the deal brought those Israeli sites and staff under Western Digital ownership. Western Digital's subsidiary list filed with the SEC from that point on included Western Digital Israel Ltd. This is a corporate acquisition and the operations that came with it, not a donation. | |
| Partnership | 2022-10 | — | 'MeshuhrarTech' programme — IATI (Israel Advanced Technology Industries), the Business Sector Presidency, the IDF and the Israel Innovation Authority Western Digital is named as one of nine companies taking part in 'MeshuhrarTech' (משוחררטק), a programme run by IATI with the Business Sector Presidency, the IDF and the Israel Innovation Authority to prepare female soldiers for hi-tech careers before their discharge. IATI dates the opening session to 23 October 2022 and the Israeli outlets ice and Mako reported the launch on 24 October 2022; the first cohort of 75 soldiers, selected from about 1,000 candidates, began in November 2022 with pre-academic training, mentoring by female engineers from the participating companies, lectures and company visits. The nine companies named in the press are Apple, Google, Elbit, Dell, Western Digital, AT&T, Intel, Palo Alto and Philips Israel. ice and Mako published the same list on the same day, so this is one announcement carried twice, not two independent reports; IATI's own page on the opening session thanks the IDF, the Business Sector Presidency and the Innovation Authority and names no individual company. No payment, donation or in-kind gift by Western Digital is reported — this is participation in a joint training programme. | |
| Operations in Israel | 2023-05-24 | — | Western Digital's Israeli development centre — the former SanDisk sites in Kfar Saba, Tefen and Omer Globes reported on 24 May 2023 (Assaf Gilad) that Western Digital had begun a second round of layoffs within six months at its Israeli development centre, the former SanDisk operation, expected to affect 60 of the roughly 800 people it then employed in Israel. The report places the Israeli offices in Kfar Saba — the site that came with SanDisk’s 2006 purchase of Dov Moran’s msystems — plus Tefen in the Upper Galilee and Omer in the Negev, and frames the cut as one more American company reducing its Israeli activity after Google, Meta, Dropbox, Electronic Arts and Corning. This is the size and location of a commercial operation and a reduction of it, not a donation or a statement of support; these sites went to Sandisk Corporation in the February 2025 separation. | One source |
| Operations in Israel | 2024 | — | Western Digital Israel Ltd. (Israeli subsidiary) Western Digital's Exhibit 21 subsidiary list attached to its FY2024 annual report (10-K, fiscal year ended 28 June 2024) names Western Digital Israel Ltd., incorporated in Israel, alongside the SanDisk entities the company then owned. The same list appears in earlier annual reports after the 2016 SanDisk acquisition. This documents an operating corporate presence in Israel during the period Western Digital owned SanDisk, not any donation or political act. | One source |
| Operations in Israel | 2025-02-21 | — | Sandisk Corporation (spin-off; Israeli operations transferred) Western Digital separated its flash-memory business as an independent Sandisk Corporation, entering the Separation and Distribution Agreement on 21 February 2025 according to its own Form 8-K. The Israeli operations went with Sandisk: Western Digital's FY2025 annual report (fiscal year ended 27 June 2025) and its Exhibit 21 subsidiary list contain no Israeli entity and no mention of Israel at all, while Sandisk's own FY2025 filings list Sandisk Israel Ltd. and three Israeli R&D sites. Western Digital's remaining hard-drive business therefore has no Israeli subsidiary on record after February 2025. |
Frequently asked questions
Did Western Digital donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?
We have no records of donations. What is on record is commercial activity in Israel (Acquisition, Partnership, 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. 9 distinct sources are cited for Western Digital. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.
Sources & citations
Record last updated: 2026-09-26
- SEC — Western Digital Form 8-K, SanDisk acquisition completed (2016-05-12) sec.gov
- SEC — Western Digital EX-21 subsidiaries list, FY2024 10-K (2024-08-20) sec.gov
- ice (אייס) — 'MeshuhrarTech' launch, Western Digital among the partner companies (24 October 2022) ice.co.il
- Mako (Channel 12) — 75 female soldiers who did not serve in technological roles to be trained for hi-tech (24 October 2022) mako.co.il
- IATI — own page on the 'MeshuhrarTech' opening session (23 October 2022) iati.co.il
- Globes — 60 employees in Israel will leave Western Digital (24 May 2023, Internet Archive) web.archive.org
- SEC — Western Digital Form 8-K on the Sandisk separation agreements (2025-02-24) sec.gov
- SEC — Western Digital EX-21 subsidiaries list, FY2025 10-K sec.gov
- SEC — Sandisk Corporation FY2025 10-K (Israeli R&D properties) sec.gov