BlackRock POLITICAL

Target: BlackRock, Inc. Evidence cutoff: 25 October 2026 Scope: Corporate communications, Israel-Palestine-related business operations, governance, political activity, institutional relationships, and leadership conduct.

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

Statements concerning Israel and Palestine

In October 2023, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink published a statement condemning the attacks of 7 October, describing the deaths and kidnappings of civilians, and explaining the company’s measures to protect employees in Israel. He identified BlackRock employees based in its Tel Aviv office and confirmed that senior executives Robert Kapito and Robert Goldstein had hosted an internal call addressing staff welfare and the effects of the violence.¹

On 16 October 2023, Fink discussed the Israel-Hamas war in an interview reported by Fox Business on 17 October. He described his reaction to the attacks and called for opposition to bigotry and hatred.²

In a BlackRock-published CNBC interview following its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings, Fink referred to a Gaza ceasefire while discussing international economic conditions and prospects for resolving other conflicts. The interview establishes continued public commentary on Gaza in January 2026.³

Comparative communications concerning Ukraine

In March 2022, Fink’s SEC-filed shareholder communication stated that BlackRock stood with the Ukrainian people following Russia’s invasion. It described BlackRock’s humanitarian response and its participation in measures isolating Russia from international financial markets.⁴

BlackRock’s iShares business separately documented the suspension of purchases of Russian securities in active and index funds from 28 February 2022 and subsequent restrictions affecting Russia-focused exchange-traded funds.⁵

On 19 September 2022, Ukraine’s presidency publicly described discussions with Fink concerning pro bono assistance from BlackRock Financial Markets Advisory for a reconstruction investment fund. Additional government announcements in December 2022 and May 2023 confirmed the progression of this relationship.^{6, 7, 8}

The reviewed record therefore includes explicit statements concerning Israeli victims of the October 2023 attacks, subsequent commentary about Gaza, and detailed corporate measures concerning Ukraine. A comprehensive comparison of every BlackRock statement about Palestinian civilian casualties across all corporate channels was not completed.^{1, 3, 4}

Market framing

BlackRock’s Israel website describes the company as an investment manager serving Israeli institutions, financial professionals, and individuals. The company states that it has operated in Israel since 2016 and identifies Anath Levin as its Israel country head.⁹

BlackRock’s 2023 acquisition announcement for Kreos Capital describes Israeli operations through the language of growth lending, private credit, technology, healthcare, and investment opportunities. The announcement does not describe the acquisition as a geopolitical or military programme.¹⁰

On 13 October 2023, BlackRock Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink addressed the Israel-Hamas conflict during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. He stated: “I’d like to begin saying that our thoughts are with everyone who has friends, family, or loved ones impacted by terrorist acts in Israel.” He described the violence and loss of innocent lives as “shocking and truly heartbreaking” and pledged continued support for BlackRock colleagues and clients in the region. This establishes an additional, formally delivered investor communication acknowledging civilian deaths and expressing humanitarian concern. Its immediate context was the 7 October attacks in Israel; the remarks did not specifically identify Palestinian civilian casualties, describe humanitarian conditions in Gaza, or articulate a company position on subsequent Israeli military operations. President Robert Kapito and Chief Financial Officer Martin Small were listed among the earnings-call participants, but the relevant statement was delivered by Fink.¹¹

On 24 October 2023, Fink addressed the Israel-Hamas war at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia. According to contemporaneous AFP reporting, he warned that unresolved conflict could produce “more global terrorism” and greater insecurity, fear and economic contraction. His remarks addressed the consequences of the Gaza conflict through the lenses of international security, confidence and economic stability. Although the same report separately discussed condemnation of violence against civilians in Gaza, that position was attributed to Saudi Arabia, not Fink. The available account therefore establishes public commentary by BlackRock’s CEO on the conflict but does not substantiate an explicit statement by him concerning Palestinian civilian deaths, humanitarian access or responsibility for civilian harm.¹²

On 5 November 2023, The Guardian reported remarks Fink had made in an interview with The Sunday Times. Fink linked the Hamas attacks of 7 October, Israel’s subsequent military attack on Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to heightened geopolitical uncertainty. He warned that increasing fear and diminishing hope could undermine consumption and increase recession risks in Europe and the United States. The report explicitly situated his comments in the context of an escalating humanitarian crisis, but the humanitarian characterisation was the journalist’s framing. Fink’s quoted remarks concerned geopolitical instability and its economic consequences. The interview therefore provides additional evidence that he publicly acknowledged the Gaza conflict, without establishing an express position on Palestinian civilian casualties, humanitarian relief or the conduct of Israeli military operations.¹³

October 2023–25 October 2026 - no public evidence identified: The bounded searches of BlackRock-related investor communications, corporate newsroom material indexed by public search engines, reported interviews and public statements attributed to Larry Fink, Robert Kapito, Robert Goldstein, Martin Small and Thomas Donilon did not retrieve a further attributable declaration explicitly addressing Palestinian civilian casualty figures, calling for humanitarian access to Gaza, condemning specific attacks on Palestinian civilians, or adopting an express institutional neutrality policy concerning Palestinian civilian harm. The accessible evidence includes Fink’s October 2023 earnings-call remarks and subsequent conflict commentary. The search was neither a complete review of every corporate publication nor an exhaustive examination of all interviews, internal communications, archived webpages or social-media posts. Accordingly, the negative result is limited to the reviewed material and cannot establish comprehensive corporate silence.^{11, 12, 13, 4}

The comparison with Ukraine is evidentially asymmetric but remains unresolved as an assessment of BlackRock’s complete public position. In his SEC-filed chairman’s letter of 24 March 2022, Fink expressly stated that BlackRock stood with the Ukrainian people, characterised the indiscriminate killing of civilians as particularly painful, and identified corporate refugee assistance, philanthropic mobilisation and participation in measures isolating Russia from financial markets. By comparison, the additional October–November 2023 material concerning Israel and Gaza contains expressions of concern about innocent deaths following the attacks in Israel and discussion of wider conflict-related economic risks, without similarly explicit statements concerning Palestinian civilian suffering or corresponding humanitarian commitments. This is a documented difference between the reviewed communications, not proof that BlackRock maintained silence across every channel, formally adopted neutrality, or declined all humanitarian assistance concerning Palestinians.^{11, 12, 13, 4}

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

Territorial presence

BlackRock confirms that it has operated in Israel since 2016, with its current Israel website describing ongoing services to institutional and individual investors.⁹

Larry Fink’s October 2023 statement independently confirms that BlackRock maintained a Tel Aviv office when the attacks occurred.¹

BlackRock completed its acquisition of Kreos Capital on 2 August 2023. Kreos provides venture and growth debt financing to technology and healthcare companies in Israel and Europe.¹⁴

BlackRock’s current Kreos website confirms the continuing integration of Kreos into its private-markets business and describes an operating presence in Israel. Its disclosed business activities cover technology, cybersecurity, healthcare, and other growth sectors.¹⁵

Contemporaneous reporting in June 2023 identified Israeli technology companies among Kreos borrowers and described Raoul Stein and Uri Galai as figures associated with its Israeli operations.¹⁶

No public evidence identified of a specific BlackRock-owned office, Kreos lending contract, or other directly controlled operating facility located in an Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Israeli technology investments

On 22 April 2021, Deep Instinct announced a $100 million Series D financing round led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. Deep Instinct described its products as cybersecurity systems using deep-learning technology to detect and prevent cyberattacks.¹⁷

On 26 April 2021, Israeli law firm Gornitzky confirmed that it represented BlackRock in the investment transaction and described Deep Instinct as an Israeli cybersecurity company.¹⁸

The transaction establishes financing by BlackRock-managed investment vehicles. The reviewed announcements do not identify an Israeli military customer or establish deployment of Deep Instinct technology in occupied territory.^{17, 18}

Legal and regulatory scrutiny

On 12 July 2024, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reported that it had invited BlackRock to respond to UN experts’ concerns about arms transfers to Israel on 2 July 2024. The organisation recorded that BlackRock had not responded to its invitation.¹⁹

The Resource Centre’s record documents a company-response request and an absence of a recorded reply at that time. It does not establish that BlackRock itself manufactured, supplied, or transferred weapons.¹⁹

No public evidence identified establishing that BlackRock was individually named in a final regulatory enforcement decision concerning settlement operations.

No independently verified company-specific inclusion in the OHCHR settlement-business database was established during this audit.

Civil society and boycott activity

In October 2025, Cambridge student newspaper Varsity reported a Palestine solidarity protest associated with a university recruitment event. Activists objected to the presence of investment and consulting firms, including BlackRock, on grounds related to their alleged connections to arms financing. The newspaper reported that BlackRock had not attended the event.²⁰

An April 2026 Edinburgh protest announcement identified Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Extinction Rebellion Scotland, and Christian Climate Action among groups associated with a demonstration against BlackRock. The organisers criticised BlackRock’s investments in sectors they connected to warfare, environmental damage, and the destruction in Gaza.²¹

No public evidence identified of a comprehensive company response specifically addressing either of these two protest campaigns.

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

Employee relations

In October 2023, Fink publicly described BlackRock’s efforts to account for employees in Israel and support colleagues affected by the conflict. He identified an internal communication hosted by Robert Kapito and Robert Goldstein.¹

BlackRock’s public leadership directory identifies Kapito as president and Goldstein as chief operating officer, confirming their executive positions.²²

No public evidence identified of a verified BlackRock disciplinary proceeding, dismissal, or employment judgment specifically concerning an employee’s pro-Palestinian expression.

No public evidence identified of a BlackRock lawsuit against a trade union concerning Palestine-related speech.

Platform and editorial policies

BlackRock’s publicly described products include asset management, investment technology, portfolio analytics, and related financial services.^{9, 22}

No public evidence identified of a BlackRock-operated consumer social-media platform imposing Israel-Palestine content moderation rules.

No public evidence identified of regulatory findings concerning BlackRock suppression of Palestinian content through an algorithmic editorial platform.

Retail and supply-chain practices

BlackRock’s Israeli retail-facing website presents investment products and financial services, including iShares exchange-traded funds.⁹

No public evidence identified of a BlackRock consumer-product labelling policy concerning goods originating from Israeli settlements.

No public evidence identified of a regulatory action against BlackRock concerning mislabelling the territorial origin of physical consumer goods.

Shareholder governance

BlackRock’s 2025 and 2026 SEC proxy materials describe board oversight, shareholder governance, political participation, and related disclosure procedures.^{23, 24}

No public evidence identified in the reviewed materials establishing suppression of a specific Israel-Palestine human-rights shareholder proposal.

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

Corporate positioning

BlackRock’s corporate investor-relations materials describe an investment management, financial technology, and fiduciary-services business. Its communications present the company’s activities through investment management and financial outcomes.²⁵

BlackRock’s Israel website similarly emphasises savings, retirement provision, investment management, and financial security.⁹

No public evidence identified that BlackRock uses Israeli military heritage or Israeli defence-sector origins as its primary commercial brand identity.

Institutional relationships

BlackRock’s acquisition of Kreos Capital, announced in June 2023 and completed in August 2023, expanded the company’s presence in growth and venture debt financing in Israel and Europe.^{10, 14}

BlackRock’s subsequent institutional materials confirm that Kreos continues to operate within its private-markets platform, including its Israeli business presence.¹⁵

BlackRock’s investment in Deep Instinct was confirmed through the Israeli cybersecurity company’s own April 2021 financing announcement and by BlackRock’s Israeli transaction counsel.^{17, 18}

Comparative government partnerships

In September 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office publicly described discussions with BlackRock concerning reconstruction financing.⁶

In May 2023, Ukraine’s presidency confirmed that its Ministry of Economy had signed an agreement with BlackRock Financial Markets Advisory relating to support for the Ukraine Development Fund.⁸

These disclosures establish a formal government advisory relationship outside Israel and Palestine.^{6, 8}

Israeli state and public-relations sponsorship

No public evidence identified of BlackRock formally sponsoring an Israeli government cultural-diplomacy or Brand Israel campaign.

No public evidence identified of BlackRock accepting a specific Israeli state honour in recognition of support for government policy concerning Palestinian territory.

No public evidence identified of corporate sponsorship of an event celebrating Israeli settlement expansion.

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

Political lobbying and contributions

BlackRock’s 2026 proxy statement confirms that the company maintains a federal political action committee funded by voluntary employee contributions. It describes bipartisan political spending and oversight by a PAC board chaired by the company’s Global Head of Corporate Affairs.²⁴

The same disclosure states that BlackRock does not contribute corporate funds to federal candidates, political party committees, political action committees, or political organisations exempt from tax under Section 527 of the US Internal Revenue Code.²⁴

BlackRock’s 2025 proxy statement describes similar political contribution policies and reporting arrangements for the preceding year.²³

These disclosures establish political fundraising and lobbying infrastructure but do not, by themselves, identify an Israel-specific lobbying expenditure or anti-BDS legislative campaign.^{23, 24}

No public evidence identified of an individually verified BlackRock corporate payment to an organisation specifically lobbying for Israeli settlement expansion.

Financing and investments

In April 2021, BlackRock-managed funds and accounts led a $100 million financing round for Deep Instinct, an Israeli cybersecurity company.^{17, 18}

In August 2023, BlackRock completed the acquisition of Kreos Capital, which provides growth debt financing to companies operating in Israel and Europe.^{14, 15}

Independent reporting from June 2023 described Kreos’s established Israeli lending relationships and named Israeli technology businesses among its borrowers.¹⁶

The Deep Instinct transaction was reported as a financing round involving BlackRock-managed funds and accounts; this description does not establish an equivalent $100 million expenditure from BlackRock’s own corporate treasury.¹⁷

Military and settlement-related donations

No public evidence identified of a verified BlackRock corporate donation to the Israel Defense Forces, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, JNF/KKL, Regavim, Im Tirtzu, or a specifically identified settlement organisation.

No public evidence identified of an itemised BlackRock corporate payment to an Israeli military-welfare fund.

No public evidence identified establishing that proceeds from a specific BlackRock-managed investment were contractually earmarked for an Israeli military unit.

Civil-society scrutiny of military financing

On 12 July 2024, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre documented that BlackRock had not responded to its request concerning UN experts’ call relating to arms transfers to Israel.¹⁹

The October 2025 Cambridge protest and April 2026 Edinburgh campaign independently document continued public pressure concerning BlackRock’s investment relationships after July and November 2024.^{20, 21}

Corporate resources and crisis mobilisation

Larry Fink’s October 2023 statement confirmed BlackRock’s immediate employee-welfare response concerning colleagues in Israel, including efforts to account for staff and provide internal support.¹

No public evidence identified of BlackRock donating physical military equipment, military logistics, transport capacity, or free military services to Israeli armed forces during the Gaza war.

No public evidence identified of BlackRock providing a named military organisation with free cybersecurity infrastructure or operational assistance.

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Foundational mandate

BlackRock’s investor-relations materials identify the company as a publicly traded asset manager and provider of investment technology and advisory services.²⁵

Its public leadership materials identify Larry Fink as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Robert Kapito as President.²²

BlackRock’s 2026 SEC proxy statement describes its corporate governance, board composition, shareholder ownership disclosures, and political participation arrangements.²⁴

No public evidence identified of a corporate charter provision requiring BlackRock to advance Israeli government geopolitical objectives.

No public evidence identified of an Israeli government golden share or equivalent disclosed special voting right over BlackRock.

Relevant subsidiaries and acquired businesses

BlackRock completed the acquisition of Kreos Capital on 2 August 2023. The transaction expanded BlackRock’s private credit activities, including lending activities involving Israeli businesses.¹⁴

BlackRock’s current institutional website confirms Kreos’s integration into the group’s private-markets platform and its continuing coverage of Israel.¹⁵

BlackRock’s Israeli presence predates the Kreos acquisition: its own website states that the company began operating in Israel in 2016.⁹

Investment-management distinction

Deep Instinct’s 2021 announcement specifically attributes participation in its financing round to funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.¹⁷

The wording identifies managed investment vehicles as participants; the announcement does not disclose that Deep Instinct became a controlled BlackRock corporate subsidiary.¹⁷

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Larry Fink - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

BlackRock identifies Larry Fink as a founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer and states that he co-founded the business in 1988. [pre-2020; founding relationship confirmed ongoing as of the current leadership disclosure].²⁶

In October 2023, Fink publicly condemned the Hamas-led attacks in Israel and discussed BlackRock’s employee-protection response.¹

Fox Business reported further October 2023 remarks in which Fink called for moral leadership and opposition to bigotry following the attacks.²

In January 2026, Fink referred to a Gaza ceasefire in a CNBC interview published by BlackRock.³

Fink also participated in discussions with Ukraine’s presidency during 2022 concerning reconstruction financing, providing a documented example of his involvement in a government-facing geopolitical and economic initiative.^{6, 7}

No public evidence identified of a verified personal donation by Fink to the IDF, FIDF, JNF/KKL, or a specified Israeli settlement organisation.

Robert Kapito - President

BlackRock identifies Robert Kapito as President in its current leadership directory.²²

Fink’s October 2023 statement identifies Kapito as one of the senior executives who hosted an internal employee call addressing the effects of the conflict.¹

No public evidence identified of a verified personal donation by Kapito to an Israeli military-welfare or settlement organisation.

No public evidence identified of a current Kapito board role in a specifically identified Israeli settlement advocacy organisation.

Robert Goldstein - Chief Operating Officer

BlackRock identifies Robert Goldstein as Chief Operating Officer.²²

Fink’s October 2023 statement identifies Goldstein alongside Kapito in BlackRock’s internal employee-support communications following the attacks.¹

No public evidence identified of a verified personal donation by Goldstein to an Israeli military or settlement organisation.

Martin Small and other senior management

BlackRock’s 2026 proxy statement identifies Martin Small among its named executive officers and describes the firm’s executive governance and compensation arrangements.²⁴

No public evidence identified of a verified Israel-Palestine-related personal donation by Small.

Thomas Donilon

BlackRock’s leadership directory identifies Thomas E. Donilon as Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute.²²

No public evidence identified in the reviewed record of a specific Donilon-directed BlackRock contribution to an Israeli military-welfare or settlement organisation.

Israeli business leadership

BlackRock’s Israel website identifies Anath Levin as Country Head Israel.⁹

Contemporaneous reporting concerning the 2023 Kreos acquisition identified Raoul Stein and Uri Galai among figures associated with Kreos’s Israeli operations.¹⁶

BlackRock’s current Kreos website confirms its continuing Israeli business presence following the acquisition.¹⁵

No public evidence identified of verified personal donations by these named business leaders to an Israeli military or settlement organisation.

Board affiliations and personal philanthropy

BlackRock’s 2026 proxy statement provides its formal governance disclosures and identifies board and executive oversight arrangements.²⁴

No public evidence identified of a transaction-level grant from a foundation controlled by a named BlackRock executive to FIDF, JNF/KKL, Regavim, Im Tirtzu, or a specifically identified settlement organisation.

No public evidence identified of a verified current BlackRock executive appointment to a governing board responsible for Israeli settlement expansion.

No public evidence identified of a BlackRock executive personally underwriting a named Israeli military fundraising event.