Brooks Running POLITICAL

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

No public evidence identified of any Brooks Running corporate statement - general or specific - addressing Israel-Palestine, the events of 7 October 2023, or the Gaza war. ^{1, 2, 3}

Brooks Running has issued explicit, dated public commitments on other social issues, including co-founding and funding the Running Industry Diversity Coalition in response to the 2020 killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. ^{4, 5, 6} The company has published diversity, equity and inclusion goals targeting 30% BIPOC and 50% women representation by 2025, and reported 100/100 Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index scores in 2020 and 2021. ⁷

No public evidence identified of a Brooks Running statement addressing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. ^{1, 2, 3} no public evidence identified of Brooks corporate communications framing its Israeli market presence as a distinct strategic partnership; current public evidence instead consists principally of R.U.N Sport Ltd.’s importer and retailer representations. ^{8, 9, 10}

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

No public evidence identified of Brooks-owned manufacturing, assembly, corporate offices, subsidiaries, or direct operations in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, or Israeli settlements. ^{11, 12, 13, 14, 15} Brooks Running does not appear in the September 2025 OHCHR update to its settlement-business database, which lists 158 enterprises from 11 countries; the reviewed OpenSanctions mirror likewise contained no entry for Brooks Running, Berkshire Hathaway, or ISCAR. ^{12, 16, 13}

The prior categorical absence finding for all Brooks retail activity in settlements requires qualification. R.U.N Sport Ltd.’s current Brooks Israel “Branches” directory lists outlets in Beitar Illit, Modi’in Illit, Ma’ale Adumim, and Kibbutz Kfar Etzion under its Jerusalem-area locations, and an Ariel outlet under its central-area listings. These appear in its stockist section, distinct from its own branches.⁸ The directory does not establish that R.U.N owns those businesses, provide a dated contract for each outlet, or independently establish the territorial legal classification of every locality. ⁸ It is nevertheless a current first-party distributor-site record placing those outlets in its Brooks retail-location directory. ⁸

R.U.N Sport Ltd. states that it has exclusively imported Brooks, ASSOS, and OOFOS into Israel for more than 20 years, distributes through approximately 100 selected stores, operates six stores and online shops, and has its logistics and management base in Petah Tikva. ^{17, 8} Its FAQ describes it as the official importer of Brooks in Israel, while its terms identify the operator as R.U.N Sport Ltd., company no. 513413922. ^{18, 19} A Spring 2026 Brooks sell-in workbook separately lists R.U.N Sports Ltd. in Petah Tikva as the Israel contact. ¹⁰ These records support the importer’s current representation of an active exclusive-import relationship, but they do not establish a Brooks-issued appointment agreement, precise territorial scope, contract duration, renewal terms, or Brooks Sports’ corporate approval of each retail listing. ^{18, 8, 10}

Brooks Running’s disclosed Tier-1 manufacturing footprint is concentrated in Vietnam, accounting for approximately 85% of production across nine Tier-1 factories, and Indonesia; prior China-based production was largely relocated to Vietnam from around 2018. ^{11, 20, 21, 22} no public evidence identified of Israeli or settlement-linked manufacturing, assembly, or component sourcing in Brooks’s published supply-chain transparency disclosure. ¹¹

No public evidence identified of a UN database listing, OECD National Contact Point complaint, or formal regulatory or legal action naming Brooks Running specifically in connection with occupied-territory operations. ^{12, 16, 13}

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

No public evidence identified of Brooks Running HR actions, disciplinary measures, or legal disputes involving employees over pro-Palestinian speech, political symbols, or related union activity. ^{1, 2, 3} Brooks Running is a footwear and apparel business rather than a content-moderation or editorial platform, and no public evidence identified of a regulatory inquiry into a Brooks content or platform policy relevant to this domain. ^{14, 15}

No public evidence identified of regulatory action or public reporting concerning Brooks product labelling, sourcing disclosure, or categorisation in connection with Israel or Israeli settlements. ^{11, 8} The current R.U.N retail directory provides distribution-location information but does not disclose settlement-specific sourcing, country-of-origin labelling, or a Brooks retail-compliance policy. ⁸

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

No public evidence identified that Brooks Running invokes military heritage, defence-sector ties, or state-security origin narratives in its brand marketing. ³ The company’s public history instead describes a Pennsylvania footwear-company origin in 1914 and its subsequent commercial revival during Jim Weber’s 2001–2024 CEO tenure. ³

No public evidence identified of Brooks Running hosting Israeli government officials, entering formal partnerships with Israeli state, academic, or governmental institutions, sponsoring Brand Israel-style public-relations campaigns, or sponsoring the Tel Aviv Marathon. ^{1, 2, 3} R.U.N Sport’s retrieved commercial pages describe sports-product import, retail, and logistics activities and contain no verified state-partnership or military-support statement. ^{8, 9}

R.U.N Sport Ltd. ran a Brooks-footwear promotion connected to the Tel Aviv Marathon in 2026, effective from 27 February to 30 April 2026. ²³ This distributor-organised retail promotion does not establish Brooks Running sponsorship of the marathon or a state-linked partnership. ²³

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

No public evidence identified of Brooks Running corporate lobbying registrations, a dedicated Brooks Running political action committee, or FEC-filed political contributions specific to Israel-Palestine policy, boycott legislation, or anti-BDS trade law. ^{24, 25, 26} no public evidence identified of direct financial contributions, donations, or sponsorships by Brooks Running to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, Jewish National Fund/Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, Lev Echad, Israeli reservist-welfare funds, Regavim, Im Tirtzu, or other military-welfare or settlement-linked organisations. ^{27, 28, 29}

Brooks’s documented charitable-giving infrastructure - including the Brooks Gives Back portal, a five-year $10 million Future Run commitment, and Back on My Feet matched-gear donations totalling $675,000 in 2022 - is directed to running-community programmes, with no Israel- or Palestine-linked recipient identified in the reviewed disclosures. ^{27, 28, 29}

No public evidence identified of Brooks Running providing logistics, free product, services, or infrastructure to a state or military actor in connection with the Israel-Gaza conflict. ^{1, 2, 3}

No public evidence identified of an act by R.U.N Sports providing goods, funds, services, or logistics to a reserve paratroopers brigade, including the alleged quantity, date, recipient unit, or public messaging. ^{30, 8, 9} Existing source ³⁰ concerns Warren Buffett’s views on the Israeli economy and is not a R.U.N Sports or reserve-paratroopers source. ³⁰ no public evidence identified that Brooks Running approved, funded, supplied, promoted, knew of, or publicly responded to the unverified alleged R.U.N Sports military-related act. ^{1, 2, 3, 8, 9}

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Brooks Sports, Inc. is a Washington subsidiary listed in Berkshire Hathaway’s 2025 Exhibit 21. ¹⁵ Berkshire’s 2025 annual report describes Brooks Sports as Seattle-headquartered and as marketing and selling Brooks-branded high-performance running footwear and apparel worldwide through retailers and directly to consumers. ¹⁴ Berkshire’s current operating-company directory continues to list Brooks. ³¹

Brooks Running is therefore a Berkshire Hathaway operating business whose disclosed commercial mission is performance-running footwear and apparel, and no public evidence identified of a charter provision, governance arrangement, or founding document tying its primary mission to advancing a state’s geopolitical goals. ^{14, 15, 31}

At parent-company level, Berkshire acquired 80% of Israeli precision-toolmaker ISCAR Metalworking in 2006 for approximately $4 billion and acquired the remaining 20% in 2013 for approximately $2 billion, making ISCAR wholly owned by Berkshire. ^{32, 33, 34, 35} Berkshire’s 2006 release identified IMC’s headquarters in Tefen, Israel. ³⁴ Berkshire’s 2025 annual report states that IMC has primary manufacturing facilities and a regional warehouse in Israel, that a large portion of its products are manufactured there, and that its Israel operations were not significantly affected by regional conflicts in 2025. ¹⁴ These Berkshire/IMC facts do not establish Brooks Running operational involvement in IMC. ^{14, 15}

Separately, Berkshire held an approximately 6% Chevron equity stake reported at roughly $29 billion in 2024. ³⁶ Chevron, through its acquisition of Noble Energy, operates or co-owns Israel’s Tamar and Leviathan offshore gas fields; Tamar has been reported as holding a 25% stake and Leviathan a 39% stake, while reporting cited in the existing audit stated that approximately 70% of Israel’s electricity generation relied on Chevron-sourced methane gas by 2022. ^{36, 37, 38} Chevron is the subject of a named Boycott Chevron campaign organised by BDS-affiliated groups. ^{37, 39, 40}

No public evidence identified of a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder resolution specifically addressing Israel or Gaza divestment; broader 2023–2024 shareholder-proposal reporting identified other companies rather than Berkshire Hathaway or Brooks Running. ^{24, 25, 26}

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Warren E. Buffett was Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO during the documented 2016–2018 Israel Bonds activity. ^{41, 42, 43, 44, 45} The primary issuer account fixes one event date as 7 June 2018: Buffett welcomed Israel Bonds to Omaha for his third event with the organisation in 18 months, securing $80 million in investments and intentions to invest, with attendees making new minimum $1 million purchases. ⁴⁵ The issuer account does not provide exact dates for the preceding two events. ⁴⁵ The separate primary 2017 event index dates Buffett’s New York luncheon and dinner appearances to 15 June 2017, describes minimum participant commitments of $1–5 million, and reports over $210 million in combined investments and intentions from New York and the preceding Omaha event. Those overlapping totals must not be added to the later $290 million cumulative figure. ⁴⁶

Existing reporting supports Buffett’s participation in at least three Israel Bonds fundraising events during the approximately 18-month period ending in June 2018, cumulative fundraising described as approximately $290 million, and a personal purchase of at least $5 million in Israel Bonds. ^{41, 42, 43, 47, 44} Buffett said that investing in Israel Bonds was “a terrific tribute to the country,” and the issuer’s 7 June 2018 account records that he was “delighted to own Israel bonds.” ^{44, 45} These documented acts are pre-2020. ^{41, 42, 43, 47, 44, 45}

The 7 June event was in 2018, not 2024; the issuer account concerns the historical June 2018 event rather than a separate post-2023 event. ⁴⁵ no public evidence identified of a qualifying Buffett Israel Bonds fundraising, purchase, or advocacy act after 2018, including after 7 October 2023. ^{45, 48} Israel Bonds’ current post-7-October fundraising release describes aggregate global sales but does not name Buffett. ⁴⁸

No public evidence identified of the maturity, redemption, sale, reinvestment, or current balance of Buffett’s personal Israel Bonds. ^{14, 49, 50} Israel Bonds states that active holdings and maturity dates are available through a holder’s secure account, rather than through public holder-specific disclosures. ⁵⁰ no public evidence identified of a current Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Israel Bonds position, or of maturity, sale, reinvestment, or current holdings by Berkshire or GUARD. ^{14, 49, 50} Berkshire’s 2025 annual report aggregates fixed-maturity holdings under foreign governments without issuer-level identification, so it cannot confirm or rule out an Israel Bonds holding by Berkshire, GUARD, or another Berkshire insurer as of 31 December 2025. ¹⁴

Buffett publicly stated that he is a big believer in Israel’s economy, compared Israel to the post-independence United States, and cited Israel as the most promising investment hub outside the United States. ^{30, 32} no public evidence identified of personal donations by Buffett to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, Jewish National Fund/Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, or settlement-linked organisations specifically; Israel Bonds are sovereign-debt investments, distinct from direct charitable or military-welfare giving. ^{44, 45}

Berkshire’s 2026 proxy states that Buffett had been a Berkshire director and controlling shareholder since 1965 and chairman since 1970. ⁴⁹ Buffett remained CEO through 31 December 2025. ^{49, 14} Greg Abel became Berkshire CEO on 1 January 2026, while Buffett remained chairman, director, Berkshire’s largest shareholder, and a controlling shareholder with approximately 30.0% voting interest and 13.7% economic interest reported in the proxy period. ^{49, 51}

No public evidence identified of personal statements, donations, or board affiliations concerning Israel-Palestine, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, Jewish National Fund, or settlement organisations attributable to Jim Weber, Brooks Running’s CEO from 2001 to April 2024, or to Dan Sheridan, Brooks Running’s CEO since April 2024. ^{1, 2, 3} Limited public disclosure of a separate Brooks board composition was located, and no public evidence identified connecting a named Brooks board member to Israel-Palestine advocacy, settlement organisations, or defence- and security-sector board roles. ^{52, 49}

The 2026 Berkshire proxy identifies Howard G. Buffett as a Berkshire director and chair and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. ⁴⁹ The foundation’s public reporting index lists annual reports, but the reviewed materials did not yield usable latest grant schedules; no conclusion is made here about its grant recipients. ^{53, 54}