Political Audit: Zara

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

Inditex’s initial public response to the October 2023 Israel-Hamas war was operational rather than political: the company temporarily closed its franchised Israeli stores and extended return deadlines, without issuing any statement addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza or Israel ¹².

In December 2023, following boycott calls tied to the war in Gaza, Zara removed a global ad campaign (“Atelier”/“The Jacket”) from its website and social channels after critics said its imagery of mannequins wrapped in white fabric amid rubble-like props evoked destruction in Gaza; Inditex said the campaign had been conceived in July 2023 and shot in September 2023, before the war began, described the images as depicting “unfinished sculptures in a sculptor’s studio,” and stated that “Zara regrets that misunderstanding” ³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸.

In June 2021, after Zara’s then-head womenswear designer sent inflammatory anti-Palestinian messages to a Palestinian model, Inditex stated publicly that it “does not accept any lack of respect to any culture, religion, country, race or belief” and “condemn[ed]” the comments, while announcing no disciplinary action against the designer ⁹¹⁰.

In November 2022, after Zara’s Israeli franchise agent hosted a campaign event for far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, Inditex told the Palestinian National Economy Ministry that “the statements of the Zara agent do not represent or reflect the company’s policy” and that it would “take the appropriate action,” while affirming a general commitment to “defend human rights and reject racism” ¹¹. No public evidence identified of any subsequent disciplinary or contractual action against the franchisee. Trimera Brands remained Zara’s Israeli franchisee through the company’s 2025 flagship-store opening ¹²¹³.

By contrast, Inditex’s public response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine was explicit and detailed: the company documented a formal “humanitarian emergency response,” a partnership with UNHCR, and the donation of 272,090 clothing and footwear items to Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia, followed by a permanent divestment from Russia - the sale of its entire Russian business of 245 stores and a €2,211 million impairment recorded on Russian subsidiary investments in fiscal year 2022 ^14151617. No public evidence identified of a comparable humanitarian statement, donation programme, or divestment action addressing Gaza or Israel in company disclosures reviewed.

A pro-Israel commercial source separately characterizes Zara’s position as one of deliberate “political neutrality,” though it offers no verifiable primary documentation for that characterization ¹⁸. No public evidence identified of Inditex framing its Israel operations in any register other than standard commercial franchise retail, in contrast to the explicit humanitarian framing applied to its Ukraine response.

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

Inditex entered the Israeli market in 1997, opening its first Zara store at Ramat Aviv Mall in Tel Aviv ¹⁹.

As of the most recent franchise-market reporting reviewed, Inditex operated approximately 82–84 stores in Israel; an October 2023 breakdown counted 26 Zara, 25 Pull&Bear, 2 Massimo Dutti, 15 Stradivarius, 15 Bershka and 2 Zara Home stores, all operated under franchise by Trimera Brands, chaired by Canadian-Israeli businessman Joey Schwebel and co-controlled by Chanan Elituv ²⁰²¹¹².

In February 2025 - after the International Court of Justice’s 19 July 2024 advisory opinion on Israel’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territory and the International Criminal Court’s 21 November 2024 arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials - Zara opened its largest store worldwide, a 4,500 m² flagship combining Zara and Zara Home at the Big Fashion Glilot mall near Tel Aviv, covered in the Israeli press as a record-breaking retail opening ¹³²²²³. Big Fashion Glilot is located within Israel’s internationally recognized 1949 borders, not in occupied territory ¹³²³.

No public evidence identified that Inditex, Zara, or Trimera Brands appear in the UN Human Rights Office’s database of business enterprises involved in listed activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which recorded 158 enterprises as of its September 2025 update ²⁴. A cross-check against a public mirror of that list likewise found no Inditex, Zara, or Trimera entry ²⁵. No public evidence identified of a Zara or other Inditex-brand storefront located within a West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Golan Heights settlement, and No public evidence identified of a formal OECD National Contact Point complaint filed specifically against Inditex or Zara concerning Israel/Palestine.

The Palestinian BDS National Committee, the official coordinating body of the global BDS movement, issued a formal call to boycott Zara on 24 July 2025, citing the February 2025 Glilot flagship opening, the 2022 Ben-Gvir franchisee event, the 2021 designer controversy, the December 2023 ad campaign, and an April 2024 controversy over a campaign featuring an Israeli model ²⁶¹². That April 2024 controversy arose after Zara faced boycott calls over a campaign featuring Israeli model Sun Mizrahi, which drew a pro-Israel counter-mobilization defending the brand on social media ²⁷²⁸²⁹. Additional Arabic-language and boycott-tracking commentary has separately alleged that Zara’s continued Israel operations amount to support for “extremism and incitement against the Palestinians” ³⁰³¹. In 2025, Zara’s European workers’ union publicly urged parent company Inditex to exit Israel over the Gaza war ³².

Grassroots protest activity against Zara has recurred across multiple markets. Pro-Palestinian activists entered a Manhattan Zara store on Black Friday, 24 November 2023, chanting “Zara funds genocide!” and “Free Palestine,” resulting in four arrests by the NYPD ³³. Hundreds of protesters organized by Sisters Uncut marched through London’s West End on 23 December 2023, targeting Zara stores with chants including “stop supporting genocide,” with no arrests reported ³⁴. In October 2022, Arab-Israeli citizens burned Zara clothing and called for a domestic boycott after the Ben-Gvir franchisee event, a call publicly joined by the mayor of Rahat and by Knesset member Ahmad Tibi ³⁵³⁶³⁷.

No public evidence identified of Inditex issuing any statement in direct response to the July 2025 BDS National Committee boycott call.

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

No public evidence identified of Zara or Inditex disciplining, suspending, or terminating any employee for pro-Palestinian speech, symbols, or union activity.

The one documented HR-adjacent incident in the research record ran in the opposite direction: in June 2021, Zara’s then-head womenswear designer sent Palestinian model Qaher Harhash messages stating “Maybe if your people were educated then they wouldn’t blow up the hospitals and schools that Israel helped to pay for in Gaza” and that “Israelis don’t teach children to hate nor throw stones at soldiers as your people do”; Inditex publicly condemned the remarks but did not discipline her, per contemporaneous reporting ^9383910.

No public evidence identified of independent reports, academic studies, or regulatory inquiries into algorithmic moderation or editorial content suppression by Zara or Inditex related to the conflict. Zara does not operate a social-media or search platform of the kind typically subject to such findings, per company profile review ⁴⁰.

No public evidence identified of regulatory action or investigative reporting regarding Zara or Inditex labeling, sourcing, or categorizing products originating from Israel or Israeli settlements.

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

No public evidence identified that Zara or Inditex uses military heritage, defense-sector ties, or state-security origins in its commercial branding. The company’s founding narrative centers on textile retail in Galicia, Spain, unrelated to defense or security origins ¹⁹.

No public evidence identified of Inditex or Zara hosting Israeli government officials, receiving Israeli state honors, or entering formal non-commercial partnerships with Israeli state academic or governmental institutions, and No public evidence identified of Inditex or Zara sponsorship of “Brand Israel” or comparable Israeli state-backed cultural or public-relations campaigns.

The February 2025 Big Fashion Glilot flagship opening was covered extensively in the Israeli press as a landmark retail event, with the mall operator’s chief executive stating it would “change the rules of the game in Israel” ¹³²³. No public evidence identified of formal Israeli-government co-sponsorship or participation in the opening.

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

Inditex, registered under its legal name Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A., is listed on the EU Transparency Register with four accredited European Parliament lobbyists and a declared lobbying budget band of €300,000–399,999, engaging on ecodesign, textile labelling, extended producer responsibility, trade-agreement negotiations and digital consumer issues ⁴¹. The company retains external lobbying consultancies FTI Consulting Belgium, Hanover Communications International, and Ohana Public Affairs, and is a member of BusinessEurope ⁴². No public evidence identified of Israel/Palestine-specific lobbying activity in Inditex’s EU Transparency Register entry, and No public evidence identified of Inditex lobbying activity, PAC donations, or advocacy specifically concerning Israel/Palestine trade policy or anti-boycott legislation in the US, UK, or EU registers reviewed.

No public evidence identified of any Inditex, Zara, or Trimera Brands corporate donation, sponsorship, or financial contribution to the IDF, Friends of the IDF, the Jewish National Fund/Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, Lev Echad, Israeli reservist funds, or settlement organizations.

No public evidence identified of Inditex directing free services, logistics, or infrastructure to Israeli state, military, or state-aligned NGO efforts during the conflict. This stands in contrast to the company’s documented Ukraine-directed “humanitarian emergency response,” including its UNHCR partnership and donation of 272,090 clothing items ¹⁴. No public evidence identified of an equivalent Gaza-directed humanitarian donation or mobilization.

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Inditex is a private commercial fashion retailer; no state-held golden share or state-linked founding mandate was identified. Ownership is concentrated in the founding family: Amancio Ortega, through the Pontegadea Inversiones and Partler holding vehicles, holds approximately 59% of voting rights, and his daughter Sandra Ortega Mera holds a further approximately 5.05% through a separate family holding company, with shares trading on a one-share-one-vote basis ⁴³⁴⁴.

No public evidence identified that Inditex’s corporate charter or founding documents tie its mission to any state’s geopolitical or infrastructure goals, in Israel or elsewhere. The company’s founding and stated mission are standard commercial fast-fashion retail, per company disclosures ⁴⁴.

Executive & Leadership Footprint

No public evidence identified of personal donations by Amancio Ortega, Marta Ortega (Chair), Óscar García Meceiras (CEO), or other named Inditex principals to Friends of the IDF, the Jewish National Fund, or other Israeli parastatal or military-welfare organizations.

No public evidence identified of a statement by Marta Ortega (Chair since 2022) or by the Inditex CEO specifically addressing Israel, Gaza, or Palestine. The only individually attributed political statements identified in the research are the pro-Israel Instagram messages sent by then-head designer Vanessa Perilman in June 2021, which Inditex publicly disavowed ^9383910. Separately, Joey Schwebel - chair of Israeli franchisee Trimera Brands, not an Inditex officer or board member - hosted a campaign event for Itamar Ben-Gvir at his home in Ra’anana, Israel, on 20 October 2022 ³⁵²¹. Ra’anana lies within Israel’s internationally recognized territory, not a settlement ²¹.

Inditex’s board of directors, as most recently reported, comprises ten members: Marta Ortega (Chair), Óscar García Meceiras (CEO), Amancio Ortega, Flora Pérez Marcote, Roberto Cibeira, José Luis Durán, Denise Patricia Kingsmill, Pilar López Álvarez, Belén Romana García, and José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, former CaixaBank chairman, who joined the board in 2026 ⁴⁵⁴⁶. No public evidence identified of any current board member holding a board seat, leadership role, or advisory position in a pro-Israel/anti-BDS organization, a settlement-support organization, or an Israeli defense or cyber firm.

End Notes