Short answer: Leonardo DiCaprio's connection to Israel is economic and personal, not political. He has invested in multiple Israeli companies, including the photo-sharing startup Mobli in 2011 and the cultivated-meat firm Aleph Farms in 2021, and he holds a 10 percent stake in a luxury eco-hotel under construction near Tel Aviv. He spent years in a relationship with Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli and visited Israel with her, including trips to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. He has made no public statement on the Israel-Gaza conflict, even after his hotel investment drew criticism during the war. He is not Jewish and was raised Catholic. As of August 2026.
What Leonardo DiCaprio has actually said and done
2007: DiCaprio visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The visit turned tense when his security detail clashed with photographers, injuring three, and two of his bodyguards were arrested, according to The Jewish Chronicle.
Mid-November 2010: DiCaprio traveled to Tel Aviv with then-girlfriend Bar Refaeli, the Israeli model, to celebrate his 36th birthday, staying at the Dan Hotel along with his mother and actor Kevin Connolly, per The Jewish Chronicle.
October 2011: DiCaprio invested in Mobli, an Israeli photo-sharing startup, as part of a $4 million first funding round, and became an advisor to the company, according to The Forward.
2018: A partnership was first announced for DiCaprio to co-finance a luxury eco-hotel at Herzliya Marina in Israel, originally planned at a much smaller scale, reported The Times of Israel.
September 22, 2021: DiCaprio announced an undisclosed investment in Israeli cultivated-meat startup Aleph Farms, part of its $105 million Series B funding round, and joined its advisory board. He said transforming the food system was "one of the most impactful ways to combat the climate crisis," according to The Times of Israel.
Week of July 27, 2025: The Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Committee approved the now-expanded Herzliya Marina hotel project, a 51,000-square-meter, 14-floor, 365-room development in which DiCaprio holds a 10 percent stake. The approval drew online backlash over the timing during the Gaza war, and DiCaprio has not responded publicly, according to The Times of Israel and Yahoo Entertainment.
The bigger picture
DiCaprio, a longtime environmental activist and UN Messenger for Peace, has never made a political statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the Israel-Gaza war, according to every outlet reviewed, including in the weeks after his hotel stake drew renewed public criticism in 2025. His ties to Israel run through business, three separate Israeli-company investments over 14 years plus the hotel, and through a personal chapter of his life: a years-long relationship with Israeli model Bar Refaeli that included trips to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
On heritage, DiCaprio himself is not Jewish and was raised without religious affiliation, and he was raised Catholic, with Italian ancestry on his father's side and German ancestry on his mother's. No reputable source documents Jewish heritage. Advocacy groups, including Reverse Canary Mission's "Complicit in Apartheid" listing and an Action Network petition, have targeted DiCaprio precisely because of these investments, seeking to pressure him to disavow them. There is no record of him joining any boycott of Israel or renouncing the investments.
The bottom line
DiCaprio's record shows sustained economic engagement with Israel, three Israeli-company investments since 2011 and a hotel stake, plus a personal history there, but no political advocacy for or against Israel. He has stayed silent even under direct public pressure to comment. Core facts here, Mobli, Aleph Farms, the hotel stake, and the Refaeli relationship, are corroborated by multiple reputable outlets. The claim of continued silence on Gaza is well documented through mid-2025, though it cannot be certified for every month through August 2026, since no source that recent was found.
Show where you stand, even when celebrities won't
Whatever a public figure chooses to say or not say, plenty of people want a clear, everyday way to express their own support for Israel. Shop Israel's Star of David jewelry collection is a simple, wearable option for anyone who wants to carry that connection with them.
Related
Does Gal Gadot Support Israel?
Does Scarlett Johansson Support Israel?
Does Timothee Chalamet Support Israel?
Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
