INDEX / DIRECTORY / AHAVA

Ahava🇮🇱

Cosmetics & Skincare 78 CITED SOURCES UPDATED 2026-09-30 METHOD V6.5
BDS-1000 Score 709 /1000 B Tier B - Severe
Military ↗ 0.89 Digital ↗ 0.00 Economic ↗ 8.20 Political ↗ 3.81
OWNERSHIP TREE 6 brands and group businesses View all

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Key Findings

  • Economic / Settlements: Ahava is an Israeli mineral-skincare company historically associated with operations at Mitzpe Shalem; in September 2025, OHCHR listed Ahava–Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd. and Fosun International Ltd. under category (g), business use of natural resources. The current status of Mitzpe Shalem activity remains disputed: Ahava says its production chain has operated only from Ein Gedi since 2022, while 2026 reporting described AFSC photographs of dated containers and earth piles at the site.1, 2, 3
  • Military: In October–November 2023, Ahava publicly reported supplying essential/skincare products to Givati’s Shaked Battalion, IDF Division 99, and an unnamed paratrooper battalion. The available record does not disclose quantities, value, procurement terms, delivery receipts, or a continuing programme.4, 5
  • Political: Ahava and its parent Fosun have documented commercial and institutional engagement in Israel, including the 2022 opening of a new Ahava Dead Sea factory and meetings involving Israeli and Chinese officials. The retrieved material does not establish registered lobbying, anti-BDS legislative activity, political donations, or settlement-expansion sponsorship.6
  • Not found: No public evidence identified of Ahava manufacturing weapons, supplying defence primes, holding a verified Israeli defence procurement contract, participating in Project Nimbus, or providing surveillance, cybersecurity, AI, or other digital services to Israeli security bodies.4, 7

Target Profile

FieldDetail
Company NameAhava Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd. / AHAVA
JurisdictionIsrael; Ahava’s Israeli terms identify Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd., company no. 511334252.8
HeadquartersIsraeli contact addresses are documented at 1 Rakefet Street, Shoham, and separately at 1 Arava Street, Airport City. The audits do not resolve the current principal place of management.8, 9
SectorMineral skincare, cosmetics, and related Dead Sea-derived products and research.10
OwnershipFosun announced an agreement to acquire 100% of Ahava in 2016; its 2018 annual report recorded 100% equity ownership. Later Fosun material places the brand within Yuyuan’s beauty and health business. The precise current legal ownership chain and Ahava percentage were not independently verified.11, 12, 13
Key Executives / GovernanceRon Michael was identified as Ahava chief executive in June 2026. Fosun identifies Guo Guangchang as chairman, Wang Qunbin as co-chairman, and Chen Qiyu and Xu Xiaoliang as co-CEOs. A complete current Ahava board roster was not obtained.3, 14
Israeli-Nexus SummaryIsraeli-founded and incorporated cosmetics business with Israeli manufacturing/R&D footprint, historical and disputed settlement-linked operations, foreign Fosun ownership, documented 2023 in-kind support to named Israeli military formations, and no verified defence or security-technology contracting.3, 4, 8, 11

Key Facts:

Executive Summary

Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd. is an Israeli legal company and mineral-skincare brand, historically founded in 1988 and later acquired by Fosun. The available corporate record places the brand within the Fosun/Yuyuan consumer-business structure. Its documented Israeli nexus includes Israeli corporate identity, Israeli addresses, skincare research and manufacturing, and a factory opening reported by Fosun in 2022.8, 11, 12, 15, 6

The strongest economic and political evidence concerns settlement-linked resource and operational history. Historical investigations described an Ahava factory and visitor centre at Mitzpe Shalem in the occupied West Bank and alleged mud extraction from occupied territory. The evidentiary record requires temporal care: a reported 2016 government response said Ahava no longer held the historical excavation licence, while Ahava later said that its full production chain had operated from Ein Gedi, within the Green Line, since 2022.16, 2 In September 2025, the OHCHR settlement-business database listed Ahava and Fosun under category (g), concerning business use of natural resources.1

Current settlement activity is unresolved rather than established as a settled fact. Reporting in June 2026 described AFSC photographs at Mitzpe Shalem showing chemical containers marked 2025/2026 and piles of earth believed by researchers to be Dead Sea mud. Ahava denied operating a production facility at the site, said the site belonged to a local kibbutz, and maintained that production had been consolidated in internationally recognised Israeli territory by 2022.3 Ahava’s own store directory described its Mitzpe Shalem factory/visitor-centre entry as temporarily closed; that visitor-centre status does not independently resolve whether any other activity continues there.17

The documented military nexus is narrower. In a November 2023 corporate statement, Ahava said it had supplied essential products to Givati’s Shaked Battalion, Division 99, and an unnamed paratrooper battalion, and said it had reached combat areas. Contemporary media reporting repeated the named recipients. These sources do not establish a paid defence contract, quantity, value, delivery location, military specification, or continuation after 2023.4, 5 Ahava’s business-gifting page includes a Ministry of Defence-labelled testimonial, but provides no date, purchaser, procurement instrument, value, or recurring supply term.18

The audits found no public evidence of weapons manufacture, military components, defence-prime supply, tactical product lines, security-body service contracts, or Israeli military export licensing. They also found no public evidence that Ahava participates in Project Nimbus or provides surveillance, cyber, state AI, or other digital services to Israeli security bodies.7, 19 Under the fixed, human-vetted V6.5 assessment, the principal score is economic: Economic is 8.20, resulting in a BRS of 709 and Tier B, Severe Complicity.

Timeline of Relevant Events

DateEvent
1988Ahava’s corporate materials date the mineral-skincare business’s founding to 1988.15
2012Who Profits documented historical claims concerning Ahava’s factory/visitor centre at Mitzpe Shalem and resource extraction in occupied territory; these are historical findings, not proof of unchanged present operations.16
April 2016Fosun announced an agreement to acquire 100% of Ahava for NIS290 million from shareholders including Kibbutz Mitzpe Shalem and Kibbutz Kalia.11
April 2016Who Profits reported that a government response said Ahava no longer held the historical mud-excavation licence; original correspondence was not independently retrieved.2
December 2018Fosun’s annual report recorded 100% equity ownership of Ahava.12
30–31 August 2022Fosun reported opening a new Ahava Dead Sea factory and described Ahava as an Israeli brand in its beauty and health business.6
25 October–8 November 2023ICE and Ahava’s own statement identified in-kind product support to Givati’s Shaked Battalion, Division 99, and an unnamed paratrooper battalion.4, 5
October 2024Ahava stated, as reproduced by Who Profits, that its entire production chain had operated only from Ein Gedi since 2022.2
September 2025OHCHR listed Ahava–Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd. and Fosun International Ltd. under category (g) in its settlement-business database.1
25 February 2026Ahava publicly asserted that ingredients came exclusively from undisputed Israeli territory and that extraction and production operated under valid permits; permits and coordinates were not supplied.20
5 June 2026Reporting described disputed evidence of activity at Mitzpe Shalem and Ahava’s denial that it operated production there; Superdrug reportedly removed third-party marketplace listings of Ahava products.3

Corporate Overview

Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd. is identified in its Israeli website terms as company no. 511334252. The terms name an address in Shoham, while an Israel Innovation Authority recipient record names a separate Airport City address. The audits therefore do not merge these into a single verified current headquarters or principal-management location.8, 9

Fosun announced an agreement to purchase the entire Ahava equity interest in 2016, and its 2018 annual report recorded 100% ownership. Fosun later described Ahava as part of Yuyuan Beauty & Health. These sources establish historical full ownership and later group association, but not a complete current intermediate chain or current shareholder-register extract.11, 12, 13

The company’s modern corporate account centres on mineral skincare and Dead Sea research. Fosun documented a new factory opening in 2022, while Ahava states that production has been consolidated at Ein Gedi since 2022.6, 2 The location and function of any present Mitzpe Shalem activity remain disputed. Reporting on photographs and material at the site is balanced by Ahava’s denial of operating production there, and a temporarily closed visitor-centre listing is not conclusive evidence either of continued production or complete exit.3, 17

The audits identify historical overseas marketing subsidiaries and branches, including Ahava North America, Ahava Cosmetics GmbH, and Fosun-reported branches in the United States, Germany, and China. They do not establish present importer-of-record arrangements for all markets, current ownership percentages for every affiliate, or a complete franchise and retail-location schedule.21, 12

Domain Summaries

Military: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

Ahava’s verified military-facing activity is a limited 2023 product-support channel. Its Hebrew corporate statement said it supplied essential products to Givati’s Shaked Battalion, Division 99, and an unnamed paratrooper battalion, and stated that it had reached combat areas. ICE separately reported the same named recipients and described skincare donations.4, 5

A separate Ahava business-to-business page contains a customer testimonial labelled “Ministry of Defence,” indicating a claimed gift-pack customer relationship. It does not identify the purchaser, date, goods, value, or a recurring arrangement.18

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

The strongest defence is that Ahava is a civilian skincare company and that the documented 2023 activity was in-kind product support, not a verified defence procurement relationship. The available material provides no contract, tender, framework agreement, memorandum, delivery receipt, product quantity, price, or evidence of military-specific formulations.4, 18

No public evidence identified of Ahava producing weapons, munitions, strategic systems, tactical variants, military equipment, or components for Elbit, IAI, Rafael, IMI, or other defence primes. No public evidence identified of contracts involving military logistics, base services, detention support, freight for military cargo, or continuation of the 2023 donations after 2023.7, 4

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Digital: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

Ahava’s published privacy materials disclose ordinary retail technology relationships. The Israeli privacy policy names Yotpo for reviews, tracking, and marketing, and Kaltura for tracking and marketing. Its US materials identify Saywhatt as provider of an AI Beauty Advisor and Mirage as an IT-services provider.22, 23 Loyalty terms link rewards to orders marked paid in Shopify, documenting a storefront function rather than enterprise-wide infrastructure.24

Yotpo’s supplier documentation identifies Israeli corporate and CDN ecosystem components, including Yotpo Ltd. and Akamai Technologies Israel Ltd. However, those supplier-level disclosures do not show which Ahava data traverses those systems or establish a security or state-service relationship.25

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

The documented technology is consumer retail, marketing, ecommerce, and beauty-advice technology. Ahava’s mobile policy says it does not collect biometric data; this is a company policy statement rather than an independent technical audit.26 The AI Beauty Advisor is described as a retail sales application, not a state or security tool.23

No public evidence identified of Ahava deploying facial recognition, predictive policing, workforce surveillance, Israeli government cloud services, Project Nimbus participation, military/intelligence IT, offensive cyber tools, surveillance AI, or digital services to settlement institutions.19, 22

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Economic: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

The principal economic nexus is Ahava’s Israeli manufacturing and resource-linked business history. Historical reports described the Mitzpe Shalem factory and visitor centre, settlement-linked shareholders, and alleged use of Dead Sea mud from occupied territory.16, 2 The September 2025 OHCHR database listed Ahava and Fosun under category (g), business use of natural resources.1

Ahava’s 2022 factory opening, its stated Ein Gedi production consolidation, current product pages, and a 2024 Innovation Authority recipient record establish an ongoing Israeli economic and research footprint.6, 2, 9 Foreign ownership does not erase this operating nexus: Fosun’s 2018 report recorded full ownership, while later disclosures place Ahava in Yuyuan’s consumer-business orbit.12, 13

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Ahava’s strongest defence is its stated relocation and lawful-sourcing account. The company says its entire production chain has operated only from Ein Gedi since 2022, that ingredients come exclusively from undisputed Israeli territory, and that extraction and production use valid permits.2, 20 The audited record does not include permits, extraction coordinates, batch tracing, or an independent current verification of these claims.

The 2016 reported discontinuation of an historical excavation licence means continued licensed extraction cannot be inferred from historical evidence.2 Likewise, 2026 reporting concerning photographs at Mitzpe Shalem does not independently establish current manufacturing volume, operator, origin of exported batches, or the status of particular products. Ahava denied operating production there.3

No public evidence identified of current Ahava-specific Israeli sovereign-bond underwriting, direct state/military lending, current tax payments, settlement-attributable revenue, current national market share, or quantified profit repatriation.27

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Political: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

The political score reflects documented settlement nexus, institutional-commercial engagement, and the 2023 military-unit product support rather than verified electoral or lobbying activity. Fosun’s 2016 acquisition event was attended by Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry officials, while its 2022 factory-opening account described meetings with Israeli and Chinese officials concerning investment, tourism, and economic cooperation.11, 6

Ahava has publicly contested allegations concerning its operations. In 2017, Ron Michael was quoted as saying he was certain Ahava was not breaking international law. In 2025–2026, the company disputed its UN classification and maintained its post-2022 Ein Gedi production account.28, 3

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

The evidence supports commercial diplomacy and corporate responses, not verified political advocacy. No public evidence identified of Ahava or Fosun PAC contributions, registered lobbying, anti-BDS legislative advocacy, formal “Brand Israel” participation, settlement-event sponsorship, political donations, or military-welfare funding.6, 29

The company’s documented 2023 military product support is in-kind and limited by absent value, contractual, and continuation evidence.4 Fosun’s documented Hong Kong pandemic donations were to civilian organisations and are not evidence of IDF, settlement, or military-welfare funding.30

Named Entities and Evidence Map

BDS-1000 Score

Method: V6.5.

DomainIMPV-Domain Score
Military2.502.509.000.89
Digital0.000.000.000.00
Economic8.207.009.208.20
Political8.903.009.003.81

Economic is the maximum domain because the vetted record documents Ahava’s substantial Israeli economic footprint, historical settlement/resource nexus, continuing public scrutiny, and unresolved evidence regarding the status of Mitzpe Shalem operations. Political reflects the directness of that nexus and the documented 2023 military-unit support, while Military remains limited because no contract, weapons, defence-prime relationship, or continuing delivery programme was verified. V6.5 is scale-free and evidence-only; scores reflect human-vetted activity type, scale, and directness rather than allegations alone.

Methodology Note

Footnotes

  1. https://madisonrafah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Database-of-Business-Enterprises-OHCHR.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. https://www.whoprofits.org/publications/report/132 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  3. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/uk-retailer-superdrug-drops-ahava-products-after-reports-of-activity-at-israels-illegal-settlements-in-west-bank/3957371 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  4. https://www.ahava.co.il/blogs/news/%D7%9C%D7%AA%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%9F-ahava-%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  5. https://www.ice.co.il/consumerism/news/article/985483 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. https://en.fosun.com/content/details46_4611.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  7. https://welcome.ahava.com/business-to-business-2/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  8. https://www.ahava.co.il/pages/terms-of-service ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  9. https://innovationisrael.org.il/importWinner/511334252/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  10. https://global.ahava.com/pages/about-ahava ↩

  11. https://en.fosun.com/content/details46_4293.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  12. https://en.fosun.com/Upload/File/202104/20210401181450_7942.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  13. https://en.fosun.com/content/details46_4571.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  14. https://en.fosun.com/about/team.html ↩ ↩2

  15. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/elana-drell-szyfer-appointed-chief-executive-officer-of-ahava-worldwide-217745451.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  16. https://www.whoprofits.org/publications/report/60 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  17. https://www.ahava.co.il/pages/ahava-stores ↩ ↩2

  18. https://welcome.ahava.com/business-to-business-2/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  19. https://www.ahava.co.il/pages/%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%98%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA ↩ ↩2

  20. https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/Business__Human_Rights_Resource_Centre_LtSMYuK.pdf ↩ ↩2

  21. https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2019/0426/ltn20190426989.pdf ↩

  22. https://www.ahava.co.il/pages/%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%98%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  23. https://www.ahava.com/policies/privacy-policy ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  24. https://global.ahava.com/pages/loyalty-program-terms-conditions ↩ ↩2

  25. https://www.yotpo.com/subprocessors/ ↩

  26. https://www.ahava.com/pages/mobile-app-privacy-policy ↩

  27. https://www.global.ahava.com/products/dead-sea-osmoter-concentrate ↩

  28. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/companies-targeted-by-unhrc-settler-blacklist-reject-wrongdoing-charges-508574 ↩

  29. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/fosun-international ↩

  30. https://en.fosun.com/content/details46_4508.html ↩