Registry
Does Wissotzky Tea support Israel?
Yes — Wissotzky Tea has documented support for Israel on record. Every claim below links to its source.
Filed under: Food & beverage brands · Companies that support Israel
Background
Wissotzky Tea is one of the oldest continuously trading Jewish-founded businesses in the world and one of the most Israeli: founded in Moscow in 1849, it lost its Russian empire in the revolution and re-rooted itself in the Land of Israel, where it now supplies the large majority of the tea sold in the country — enough for the Israel Competition Authority to declare it a monopoly in June 2023. Its Israel-related record runs on two tracks that should not be conflated. The historic track is the founder's personal Zionist philanthropy and the family fund created from his 1904 bequest, which helped establish the Haifa Technikum (the Technion); those are acts of a man and an estate, not of the modern company. The current track is corporate: since October 2023 the company has given product to soldiers, rescue services, Gaza-envelope residents, evacuees and the wounded, and has run its 'Tea Truck' as a free distribution point around the country. No monetary donation figures have been published by the company, so no amount is recorded here; our record is a floor, not a ceiling.
Times of Israel — Wissotzky declared a monopoly Walla Food (Hebrew) — Israeli food companies mobilise Central Zionist Archives — Wissotzky
Timeline of documented support
Documented support
| Type | Date | Amount | Recipient | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operations in Israel | 2023-06 | — | State of Israel (manufacturing, employment, taxes; Israel's dominant tea brand) Wissotzky Tea is an Israeli, family-owned tea company — founded by Kalonymus Ze'ev Wissotzky in Moscow in 1849 and rebuilt in the Land of Israel after the firm's Russian business was lost — and is by a wide margin the leading tea supplier in its home market, with offices in London and the United States. On 28 June 2023 the Israel Competition Authority formally declared Wissotzky a monopoly, finding that its share of sales of green tea and herbal infusions to Israeli retailers exceeds 70%; industry reporting puts its overall Israeli tea share at roughly 78–80%. This entry records the company's Israeli identity and market position, not a donation. | |
| In-kind support | 2023-10 | — | Israeli security and rescue forces, Gaza-envelope residents and evacuees, and people wounded in the fighting After the October 2023 attacks, Wissotzky Tea and its Tel Aviv tea house joined the wartime relief effort with donations of product for Israeli security and rescue forces, residents of the Gaza-envelope communities and people wounded in the fighting, and sent its branded 'Tea Truck' around the country handing out free tea and biscuits to evacuees and residents in shelled areas; the company also ran a project distributing calming herbal infusions to homes in areas under rocket fire. Attributed to Wissotzky Tea the company, with quantities not disclosed. | |
| Donation | 1912 | — | Technion (then the Technikum, Haifa) and Jewish settlement in Ottoman Palestine The company's founder, Kalonymus Ze'ev Wissotzky, was an early and dedicated backer of Jewish settlement in Ottoman Palestine: he travelled there in 1885 as an already wealthy tea merchant and financed settlement projects, and the bequest he left on his death in 1904 was used to create the Wissotzky Foundation, whose donation was among the funds that established the Haifa Technikum — today the Technion — whose cornerstone was laid in 1912; his son David Wissotzky was active in the fundraising for it. Attribution note: this was the personal giving of the founder and the family fund created from his estate in the pre-state era, not corporate giving by the present-day Wissotzky Tea company. |
Frequently asked questions
Did Wissotzky Tea donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?
We have no records of cash donations, but Wissotzky Tea has documented support of other kinds (Operations in Israel, In-kind support, Donation). 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. 8 distinct sources are cited for Wissotzky Tea. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.
Sources & citations
Record last updated: 2026-07-30
- Times of Israel — Wissotzky declared a monopoly timesofisrael.com
- JNS jns.org
- STiR Tea & Coffee Industry International stir-tea-coffee.com
- Walla Food (Hebrew) — Israeli food companies mobilise food.walla.co.il
- TLV Times (Hebrew) tlvtimes.co.il
- Central Zionist Archives — Wissotzky zionistarchives.org.il
- Deutsche Technion-Gesellschaft — history technion-gesellschaft.de
- Australian Technion Society — Technion timeline austechnion.com