Short answer: As of July 2026, Larry Page has no public record of supporting or opposing Israel. He has never made a documented public statement on Israel, the Palestinians, or the Gaza war, and there is no evidence of pro-Israel donations, event appearances, or boycott activity. His only personal tie is by heritage: his mother is Jewish and his maternal grandfather emigrated to Israel, though Page was raised in a secular household. The Israel links most often cited (the Waze acquisition, a 2013 letter over Google's "Palestine" labeling) are Google-as-a-company matters during his tenure, not personal statements of support.
What Larry Page has actually said and done
- March 26, 1973: Larry Page is born in East Lansing, Michigan, to Gloria, who is Jewish, and Carl Page. The household is described as secular, and Page does not follow a formal religion (Wikipedia).
- 20th century: Page's maternal grandfather later emigrated to Israel, giving Page a personal, if indirect, family connection to the country. One genealogy compilation names the grandfather as Samuel Weinstein and traces the family to Newark, New Jersey with roots in Brest-Litovsk, though that finer lineage detail is not independently confirmed (Wikipedia; SelectSurnames).
- Early May 2013: Israel's deputy foreign minister Zeev Elkin writes to Google CEO Larry Page urging the company to reverse its switch from "Palestinian Territories" to "Palestine" across its products. Google declines to change it (Haaretz; NPR).
- June 11, 2013: Google, under CEO Larry Page, acquires the Israeli navigation startup Waze for roughly $1.15 billion, outbidding Apple and Facebook and keeping the development team in Israel. This was a business tie, not a political one (NPR).
- June 1, 2015: The widely quoted line that "Israelis succeed because you don't follow the rules" was said by Google chairman Eric Schmidt at the Weizmann Institute, not by Larry Page. Page has no comparable Israel remark on record (Ynetnews; Wikipedia).
- December 3, 2019: Page steps down as CEO of Alphabet, alongside co-founder Sergey Brin, and largely withdraws from public life. He issues no public positions on Israel before or after (Times of Israel).
- July 10, 2025: Co-founder Sergey Brin reportedly calls the UN "transparently antisemitic" in an internal Google chat. The contrast is notable because Page, unlike Brin, has never voiced any comparable stance on Israel (Jewish Telegraphic Agency).
A quiet family connection, not a public stance
Larry Page's connection to Israel is personal and by heritage, not political. Drawing on published biographies, Wikipedia states plainly that his mother is Jewish, that his maternal grandfather emigrated to Israel, and that his childhood home was secular. One genealogy compilation names the grandfather as Samuel Weinstein and traces the family to Newark, New Jersey with roots in Brest-Litovsk, though this finer lineage detail is not independently confirmed. The load-bearing fact, well attested across biographies, is simply that his maternal grandfather moved to Israel. The Israel items people tend to attach to Page belong to Google the company during his years as CEO, not to Page the individual. In June 2013 Google acquired the Israeli startup Waze for about $1.15 billion, a landmark for Israel's tech scene but a business decision. A month earlier, Israel's deputy foreign minister had written to Page over Google's move to label the Palestinian territories as "Palestine," and Google declined to reverse it, which is the opposite of a pro-Israel gesture and, in any case, a corporate policy rather than a personal statement. Unlike his co-founder Sergey Brin, who was reported in 2025 to have called the UN "transparently antisemitic," Page has kept complete public silence on Israel, the Palestinians, and the Gaza war.
The bottom line
There is no public evidence that Larry Page supports Israel, and none that he opposes it. He has a real but quiet family connection, a Jewish mother and a grandfather who moved to Israel, yet he has made no statements, donations, appearances, or boycott decisions on the subject. Anyone citing Waze or Google's dealings as proof of Page's personal stance is pointing to company activity, not to the man. The fair summary: personally connected by heritage, publicly silent on the issue.
Wear your own answer
Larry Page has stayed silent, but you do not have to. If his heritage-but-no-stance story leaves you wanting to make your own position clear, you can support Israel directly through our Support Israel collection, from an I Stand With Israel bracelet you can wear every day to flags, tees, and Star of David pieces made to be seen. Where a billionaire has said nothing, a small, visible choice says plenty.
Related
- Does Bill Gates Support Israel?
- Does Casey Neistat Support Israel?
- Does Andrew Huberman Support Israel?
Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
