Short answer: Yes. As of July 2026, Intel is one of the most deeply Israel-invested multinationals in the world, and that is verified corporate fact, not rumor. Intel has operated in Israel since 1974, runs major R&D centers in Haifa, Petah Tikva, Jerusalem and Yakum, manufactures chips at Fab 28 in Kiryat Gat, and has invested more than $50 billion in the country over five decades, making it Israel's largest private-sector high-tech employer. Its planned $25 billion Kiryat Gat expansion (Fab 38) has been frozen since June 2024, but that pause is tied to Intel's global financial crisis and company-wide fab cancellations, not to any withdrawal from Israel. BDS lists Intel as a boycott target, yet Intel has never boycotted Israel or signaled political distance from it.
What the record actually shows
Intel's ties to Israel are among the deepest of any American technology company, and the core facts are all on the record.
- 1974: the founding site. Intel opened its first design and development center outside the United States in Haifa, drawing on Technion engineering talent. (Intel corporate timeline)
- Decades of R&D expansion. Intel runs major research centers in Haifa, Petah Tikva, Jerusalem and Yakum. In May 2021 it committed roughly $600 million more, about $400 million for a Mobileye campus in Jerusalem and about $200 million for the IDC12 facility in Haifa. (Israel Hayom)
- Manufacturing and scale. Intel produces advanced chips at Fab 28 in Kiryat Gat, has invested more than $50 billion in Israel over five decades, and is the country's largest private-sector high-tech employer, with roughly 9,000 to 12,000 direct staff. (Globes)
- December 2023: a record commitment. Intel and the Israeli government confirmed a $25 billion chip factory (Fab 38) in Kiryat Gat, backed by a $3.2 billion state grant that Prime Minister Netanyahu called the largest investment in Israel's history. (The Times of Israel)
Where the boycott talk comes from
Some viral posts claim Intel "abandoned Israel" or "caved to a boycott." Here is what actually happened, in order.
In March 2024, the Palestinian-led BDS movement launched a global #BoycottIntel campaign in direct response to the December 2023 investment. (BDS Movement) Then, on June 11, 2024, Intel halted construction of the $25 billion Fab 38 plant, citing project timing and capital management amid its own financial troubles. It did not formally cancel the project. (The Times of Israel, Haaretz) Days later, on June 19, BDS claimed the halt as its "biggest victory yet." (Middle East Monitor, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre)
That framing does not hold up. Intel's own explanation was capital management, and during the same period the company also cancelled major fab projects in Germany and Poland and cut tens of thousands of jobs worldwide. The Israeli freeze is one piece of a global retrenchment, driven by Intel's capital problems, not a political exit. (Calcalist) Through 2025, under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Intel restructured globally, and the Kiryat Gat site saw layoffs and early retirements as the company automated production lines, while its existing Israeli R&D and Fab 28 manufacturing kept running. (Calcalist) As of July 2026, Fab 38 remains frozen with no announced restart, the $3.2 billion grant is suspended, and contractor headcount has fallen from a 2024 peak of about 5,500 to roughly 2,000. (Globes)
Appearing on a BDS "complicit company" list is not the same as Intel boycotting Israel. Those lists are advocacy targets, not evidence of a company policy. The opposite is true here: Intel has spent five decades expanding in Israel and accepted a record Israeli government grant to build there.
The bottom line
Intel is a genuine, long-standing friend to Israel's economy: in operation there since 1974, invested past $50 billion, and its largest private-sector high-tech employer. The frozen Kiryat Gat mega-fab is a symptom of Intel's global financial troubles, the same crisis that stalled its planned fabs in Germany and Poland, not proof it turned against Israel. BDS targets Intel, but a boycott-list appearance is not the same as Intel boycotting Israel, which it has never done.
Support Israel directly
Multinationals write checks and freeze projects when their own balance sheets shift, and none of that is in your hands. The support you control is the everyday kind. If you want to stand with Israel in a way that does not depend on a boardroom, our Support Israel collection puts Israeli-made and Israel-proud designs in your hands, from apparel to jewelry to home pieces. Every purchase backs an Israeli business directly.
Related
Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
