Registry

Does Zara support Israel?

Owned by Inditex Records for the parent company are kept separately.

Support documentedupdated 2026-09-24

Yes — Zara has documented support for Israel on record. Every claim below links to its source.

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

Background

Zara has no stores of its own in Israel: everything sold there, under the Zara name and five other Inditex brands, is operated by the independent franchisee Trimera Brands, chaired by Joey Schwebel. Boycott pressure specific to the Zara brand dates mainly to Schwebel's October 2022 hosting of a Ben-Gvir campaign event — a franchisee action Inditex publicly disowned in November 2022, telling the Palestinian National Economy Ministry that "the statements of the Zara agent do not represent or reflect the company's policy." In December 2023 Zara itself pulled an ad campaign after critics likened its imagery to Gaza's destruction, and days after the war began Inditex briefly closed all of Trimera's Israeli stores, including Zara's, before they reopened. The BDS movement names Zara, rather than Inditex generically, as its boycott target, citing the franchisee's conduct; in 2025 a European Zara workers' union and Inditex's European works council separately called on Inditex management to end the Israeli franchise agreement, without a public response from the company as of this writing. No evidence was found of Zara or Inditex donating to the Israeli state, military, or affiliated charities.

WAFA (Inditex statement) BDS movement (boycott call) Ynetnews (works council / union ask) Al Jazeera (ad withdrawal)

Timeline of documented support

202320242022-10 — Franchisee action: Itamar Ben-Gvir's Knesset election campaign (private event hosted by the franchisee's chairman)Franchisee action2022-102023-10 — Operations in IsraelOperations in Israel2023-102023-12 — Public statementPublic statement2023-12

Documented support

TypeDateAmountRecipientSources
Franchisee action2022-10—Itamar Ben-Gvir's Knesset election campaign (private event hosted by the franchisee's chairman)
Joey Schwebel, chairman of Trimera Brands — the independent Israeli franchisee that operates Zara (and Inditex's other Israeli brands) — hosted a campaign event for far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir at his home in Ra'anana in October 2022, ahead of Israel's November 2022 election. This was Schwebel's own action as the franchisee's chairman, not a decision by Zara or by Inditex corporate. It triggered protests in which Palestinian citizens of Israel burned Zara clothing and called for a boycott; Knesset member Ahmed Tibi and Rahat mayor Faiz Abu Sahiban publicly condemned the brand. Spokespeople for Schwebel and for Zara Israel called the event private and declined further comment.
Operations in Israel2023-10-10——
Zara's stores in Israel are run entirely by the independent local franchisee Trimera Brands, which also operates Inditex's other Israeli brands; Zara's shop staff in Israel are Trimera employees, not Zara or Inditex staff. On 10 October 2023, four days after the Gaza war broke out, Inditex temporarily closed all 84 Trimera-run stores in Israel across Zara, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti and Zara Home. The stores later reopened — about 82 Inditex-brand franchise stores, Zara's included, were operating in Israel by the end of 2024.
Public statement2023-12——
In December 2023, Zara removed an advertising campaign for a men's tailoring line from its own website after pro-Palestinian activists said the imagery — mannequins with missing limbs and statues wrapped in white sheeting — resembled photographs of destruction in Gaza; the backlash trended online as "#BoycottZara." Inditex's corporate press office, which speaks for the Zara brand, called the removal part of a normal content refresh, said the photos were shot in September 2023 before the war began, and said the concept was inspired by classical tailoring rather than current events. The campaign and website were Zara's own; the explanatory statement came from Inditex corporate rather than a separate Zara spokesperson, and Zara did not separately address the boycott calls.
One source

Frequently asked questions

Did Zara donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?

We have no records of cash donations, but Zara has documented support of other kinds (Franchisee action, Operations in Israel, Public statement). 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 Zara. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-09-24

Companies with documented support