INDEX / DIRECTORY / NETFLIX

Netflix

Streaming & Broadcasting 94 CITED SOURCES UPDATED 2026-08-26 METHOD V6.4
Complicity Index score 581 /1000 C Tier C - High
Military ↗ 0.00 Digital ↗ 3.00 Economic ↗ 5.50 Political ↗ 6.40
OWNERSHIP TREE 6 brands and group businesses View all

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Key Findings

  • Distribution/Settlements: Netflix’s sole confirmed Israeli commercial relationship is a non-exclusive May 2017 distribution partnership with Partner Communications, an Israeli telecom that separately operates over 200 cellular antennas on occupied West Bank and Golan Heights land and pays rent to settlement councils including Beit El and the Migron outpost.1, 2, 3, 4
  • Content/Political: Netflix licensed and promoted the IDF-veteran-produced series Fauda, which received IDF production assistance and was later used by the Kfir Brigade as a training aid, while in October 2024 removing at least 19–24 titles from its “Palestinian Stories” collection - an action a 30-plus-organization coalition led by Freedom Forward publicly protested as suspect in timing.5, 6, 7
  • Governance: Board member Mathias Döpfner is Chairman/CEO of Axel Springer, whose Yad2 subsidiary has been independently documented advertising West Bank settlement properties; Döpfner received Israel’s Presidential Medal of Honor in October 2025 in his Axel Springer capacity, not as a Netflix corporate act.8, 9, 10
  • Not found: No evidence of Netflix defence contracts, military hardware, an Israeli subsidiary or office, or cloud/Project Nimbus military involvement; Netflix is absent from PAX’s arms-supplier inventory, Israel’s SIBAT defence directory, the OHCHR settlement-business database, and the UN Special Rapporteur’s July 2025 “economy of genocide” report.11, 12, 13, 14

Target Profile

FieldDetail
Company NameNetflix, Inc.
JurisdictionUnited States (California); no Israeli tax residency, Preferred Technology Enterprise status, or Israeli corporate registration identified15
HeadquartersLos Gatos, California, United States15
SectorSubscription video-streaming and content production/distribution
OwnershipPublicly traded, NASDAQ: NFLX. Major institutional shareholders: Vanguard Group (9.26%), BlackRock (8.27%), FMR LLC/Fidelity (4.65%)16
Key Executives / GovernanceCo-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters; Executive Chairman Reed Hastings; Board Chairman Jay Hoag (TCV); directors including Mathias Döpfner (Axel Springer CEO, since March 2018), Susan Rice (since March 2018, rejoined September 2023), Brad Smith (Microsoft Vice Chair/President, since March 2015), Rich Barton, Leslie Kilgore, Strive Masiyiwa, Ann Mather, Ellie Mertz, and Anne Sweeney17, 18, 19, 20
Israeli-Nexus SummaryNo Israeli subsidiary, office, or defence relationship; nexus runs through a 2017 Israeli telecom distribution deal (partner separately tied to settlement infrastructure), licensed Israeli-produced content including Fauda, a 2024 Palestinian-content removal controversy, and one board member’s separate Axel Springer/Yad2 settlement-advertising exposure

Key Facts:

Executive Summary

Netflix is a US-headquartered subscription streaming and production company with no Israeli subsidiary, office, or corporate tax presence15, 21. It entered the Israeli market in January 2016 as part of a global 130-country expansion, launching full Hebrew-language, shekel-priced service with local content in July 201721, 22. Its only confirmed in-market distribution relationship is a non-exclusive partnership announced in May 2017 with Partner Communications, which embedded Netflix on its Partner TV set-top box1; Netflix’s Open Connect content-delivery appliances are similarly hosted within Israeli ISP infrastructure rather than through Netflix-owned facilities23.

The most substantive documented vectors are content- and governance-adjacent rather than material or military. Partner Communications is independently documented by Who Profits and allied monitors as operating more than 200 cellular antennas on occupied West Bank and Golan Heights land, paying rent to settlement councils including Beit El and the Migron outpost, and holding a telecommunications licence for settler service valid to January 20272, 3, 4; no evidence identified ties the Netflix distribution deal itself to that infrastructure, but the relationship establishes an indirect commercial nexus. Netflix separately licensed Fauda, produced by Faraway Road Productions (founded by IDF Special Forces veterans Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, whose overall Netflix deal was renewed in August 2021)5; the series received IDF production assistance including helicopters and use of the Tze’elim urban-warfare training base, and was later used by the IDF’s Kfir Brigade as an Arabic-language training aid for roughly 50 soldiers6. In October 2024, Netflix removed at least 19–24 titles from its 2021 “Palestinian Stories” collection, attributing the change to routine licence expiry; a coalition of more than 30 organizations led by Freedom Forward publicly disputed that explanation and demanded reinstatement24, 25, 7. At board level, director Mathias Döpfner is Chairman/CEO of Axel Springer SE, whose Israeli classifieds subsidiary Yad2 has been documented advertising thousands of West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Golan settlement properties8, 9; Döpfner received Israel’s Presidential Medal of Honor in October 2025, an award tied to his Axel Springer role rather than any Netflix corporate act10.

Several allegations and inferences do not withstand verification and are excluded or carried with caveats. Netflix does not appear in Israel’s SIBAT defence-export directory or PAX’s June 2024 inventory of companies arming Israel12, 11; it is absent from the OHCHR’s updated settlement-business database coverage and from the UN Special Rapporteur’s July 2025 “economy of occupation to economy of genocide” report, both of which name other technology and consumer firms but not Netflix13, 14. A widely circulated 2023 report that Netflix would “double-match” employee donations to an Israeli EMS service was subsequently corrected by the outlet that published it, and no verified Netflix-Israel charitable-matching policy exists26. No public evidence identified of an Israeli subsidiary, R&D facility, corporate investment in an Israeli company, or acquisition of an Israeli firm15, 27.

Weighed together, the record supports moderate-high political and economic exposure driven primarily by content decisions and licensing relationships, and by a director’s separate corporate role, against a near-total absence of military, hardware, or defence-sector involvement. This produces the FINAL V4 profile of Military 0.00, Digital 3.00, Economic 5.50, and Political 6.40, yielding a BRS of 581 and Tier C (High).

Timeline of Relevant Events

DateEvent
January 2016Netflix launches streaming in Israel as part of a 130-country global expansion; CEO Reed Hastings states no plan to open an Israeli office21.
May 2017Netflix and Partner Communications announce a non-exclusive Israeli distribution partnership, embedding Netflix on Partner TV set-top boxes1.
July 2017Netflix launches full Israeli subscription service with Hebrew interface, ILS pricing, and Israeli content22.
March 2018Mathias Döpfner, Chairman/CEO of Axel Springer SE, joins the Netflix board17.
March 2018Susan Rice, former US National Security Advisor and UN Ambassador, joins the Netflix board18.
March 2018BDS Movement campaigns against Fauda, calling it “propaganda for the Israeli occupation army”; more than 50 Hollywood executives sign a letter backing Netflix28.
August 2021Faraway Road Productions (Lior Raz, Avi Issacharoff) renews its overall deal with Netflix5.
October 2021Netflix launches its “Palestinian Stories” collection of roughly 32 films29.
December 2022Netflix’s global release of Farha, depicting 1948 Nakba-era killings, triggers an Israeli boycott campaign including criticism from then-Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman30, 31.
September 2023Susan Rice rejoins the Netflix board19.
October 2023Co-CEO Ted Sarandos publicly references the 7 October attack and pays tribute to a Netflix-affiliated sound technician killed in it32.
February 2024Investigative reporting documents Axel Springer’s Yad2 subsidiary advertising West Bank settlement properties, tied to board member Döpfner’s other corporate role8.
October 2024Netflix removes at least 19–24 titles from its “Palestinian Stories” collection, citing licence expiry; more than 30 organizations led by Freedom Forward send an open letter demanding reinstatement24, 25, 7.
July 2025UN Special Rapporteur’s “economy of occupation to economy of genocide” report is published; Netflix is not named among cited corporate examples14.
September 2025OHCHR’s updated settlement-business database coverage is reported; Netflix is not identified among named firms13.
October 2025Mathias Döpfner receives Israel’s Presidential Medal of Honor in his Axel Springer capacity10, 33.

Corporate Overview

Netflix, Inc. is incorporated and headquartered in the United States (Los Gatos, California) and operates as a publicly traded subscription streaming and content-production company (NASDAQ: NFLX)15. Its FY2024 SEC subsidiary listing enumerates entities across the United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada, and South Korea; no Israeli entity, branch, or Preferred Technology Enterprise registration is listed15. Netflix’s careers and office-location materials list no corporate office in Israel, consistent with then-CEO Reed Hastings’s January 2016 statement that Netflix was “not planning” to open Israeli offices21.

Netflix’s Israeli market presence is structured entirely through third-party commercial relationships rather than direct incorporation: distribution via Partner Communications’ set-top box platform since 20171, and content delivery via Open Connect appliances embedded in the networks of Partner Communications, Bezeq International, Cellcom, and other Israeli ISPs23. On the content side, Netflix licenses Israeli-produced series through production partners including yes Studios (Fauda)34, Faraway Road Productions (Fauda; founded by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff)5, and Keshet International (When Heroes Fly)35; Fauda has been filmed at locations including Kfar Qasim and the Tze’elim IDF training zone used as a West Bank stand-in36, 6. Separately, Netflix was named alongside Apple and Disney+ in coverage of a proposed Israeli law that would have required streaming platforms to fund local content production; the proposal was reportedly scrapped following a trade-related demand linked to the Trump administration37.

Governance ties run through individual board members’ separate corporate roles rather than through Netflix’s own structure: Mathias Döpfner’s Axel Springer chairmanship and roughly 22% ownership stake connect Netflix’s board to Axel Springer’s Yad2 settlement-advertising exposure38, 8, 9. No Israeli defence-industry directorship, equity holding, or FIDF/reservist-fund donation was identified for Döpfner, Susan Rice, or other named Netflix directors17, 18, 20.

Domain Summaries

Military: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

No public evidence identified of any contract, tender, or MOU between Netflix and Israel’s Ministry of Defense, IDF, Israel Prison Service, or Israel Border Police; Netflix does not appear in the SIBAT defence-export directory12 and is absent from PAX’s June 2024 inventory of companies arming Israel and their financiers11. Netflix has no hardware product line and no documented ruggedised or mil-spec variant of any service. The only documented commercial nexus flagged in Tier-1 NGO settlement-monitoring is indirect: Who Profits lists Netflix in the “Partners” field of its Partner Communications company profile, alongside Apple and Juniper Networks2, reflecting the 2017 distribution deal1; Who Profits and allied monitors separately document Partner Communications maintaining cellular infrastructure on land leased from Israeli settlement councils3, 4.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Netflix’s core business model - content streaming - has no logistics, munitions, heavy-machinery, or base-services dimension, and the audit found no anomalous evidence suggesting otherwise. No public evidence identified of export-licence proceedings, sanctions actions, or court proceedings involving a Netflix–Israel defence-supply relationship. Netflix itself does not operate, fund, or maintain settlement infrastructure; the settlement-linked antenna network belongs to its distribution partner, Partner Communications, and no evidence connects the Netflix content-distribution deal to that infrastructure2, 3.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Digital: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

Netflix’s only confirmed cloud-infrastructure relationship touching Israel is its general status as an AWS customer; no public evidence identified confirms Netflix specifically provisions workloads in AWS’s Israel region. Netflix’s SEC disclosures identify AWS (a US-headquartered company) as its core, difficult-to-switch infrastructure dependency39. Netflix’s confirmed Israeli-market technology footprint is limited to the Partner Communications set-top box distribution deal1 and Open Connect CDN appliances hosted within Israeli ISP networks23; that Israeli distribution counterparty is separately documented for settlement-facing network infrastructure, including a unified licence for settler telecommunications service valid through January 20272, 3, 4.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

No public evidence identified of any Netflix contract, partnership, or service agreement with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, IDF, or Israeli intelligence bodies. No public evidence identified of Netflix use of Israeli-origin biometric, surveillance, or predictive-policing technology; Netflix’s business model has no retail or loss-prevention function that would employ such tools. A web-search-generated claim asserting Netflix’s “technographic dependence on Unit 8200-linked vendors” was traced to circular, self-referential sourcing and explicitly disregarded as unverified rather than scored. Neither Netflix nor Netflix principals were identified in the OHCHR Business & Human Rights settlement database13, 40, and Netflix was not named in the July 2025 UN Special Rapporteur report, which instead cited other technology companies14.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Economic: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

Netflix generates Israeli-market revenue through direct-to-consumer subscriptions (launched January 2016, full local service July 2017) and through its Partner Communications distribution deal, but does not break out Israel as a separate reporting segment in SEC filings, reporting only aggregate EMEA figures21, 22, 15. Netflix licenses multiple Israeli-produced series - Fauda (with yes TV/yes Studios), When Heroes Fly (Keshet International), Shtisel, and Hostages34, 35 - representing content-acquisition spend flowing to Israeli production entities. Board member Mathias Döpfner is Chairman/CEO and an approximately 22% shareholder of Axel Springer SE, whose Yad2 subsidiary publishes roughly 1,300 property listings in West Bank settlements, including more than 1,000 paid broker advertisements38, 8.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Netflix’s FY2024 subsidiary listing shows no Israeli entity, and the company maintains no Israeli tax residency or Preferred Technology Enterprise status15. No public evidence identified of Netflix paying corporate taxes to Israeli authorities, holding Israeli sovereign bonds, or investing in or acquiring any Israeli technology or media company; its 2020–2024 acquisition history includes Finnish, Australian, US, and French targets but no Israeli ones27. Netflix is not listed on the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global’s exclusion list41 and is not named in the UN OHCHR Database of Business Enterprises linked to Israeli settlement activity40. Netflix’s Employee Giving Program is a general 2:1-matching policy with no Israel-specific allocation identified42, and a separately reported “double-match” arrangement for an Israeli EMS charity was corrected by its publishing outlet and could not be verified as an active Netflix policy26.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Political: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

Netflix has issued no corporate statement specifically addressing the Israel-Gaza conflict since October 202343. Its Israeli distribution partner, Partner Communications, holds a West Bank/East Jerusalem telecommunications licence, operates settlement-area antennas, and is listed as a Netflix “partner” in the Who Profits database2, 3, 4. Netflix licensed and promoted Fauda, created by IDF veterans and filmed partly in the West Bank36, 6, and removed at least 24 films from its “Palestinian Stories” collection in October 2024 - a collection entirely erased in Israel, where 28 films had previously been available - attributing the removal to licence expiry24, 25, 7. Netflix’s 2022 film Farha, depicting the 1948 Nakba, drew condemnation from then-Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman as “incitement against Israeli soldiers”30, 31.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

No documentary evidence of lobby-group pressure behind the Palestinian Stories removal was found, and Netflix’s stated licence-expiry explanation could not be independently disproven, though critics noted the timing coincided with one year of the Gaza war24, 25. No Israel-specific political spending, PAC contributions, or lobbying activity was identified in OpenSecrets or FEC records44. Searches found no direct connections between Netflix board members and FIDF, JNF, or AIPAC, and no verified public statements on Israel-Palestine by Reed Hastings, Ted Sarandos, or Greg Peters43. Reed Hastings’s January 2024 $1.1 billion donation to the Hastings Fund was documented as education-focused (HBCUs, KIPP, charter schools), with no FIDF, JNF/KKL, or Israeli reservist-fund allocation identified43. Netflix has not provided free cloud services or infrastructure to the Israeli military or government, unlike other major technology companies with documented Project Nimbus involvement14. Netflix maintains a global, non-Israel-specific political-advertising ban across its ad-supported tier45, and has faced comparable content-related government pressure elsewhere - for example, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states demanded removal of content deemed to violate Islamic values in September 2022, without a public Netflix response - indicating content controversies are not unique to the Israel-Palestine context46.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Complicity Index Score (V4)

DomainIMPV-Domain Score
Military0.000.000.000.00
Digital3.007.009.003.00
Economic5.507.008.005.50
Political6.407.508.506.40

V_MAX is driven entirely by Political, reflecting Netflix’s highest-magnitude, highest-directness documented vector: the Fauda/IDF-production relationship and the October 2024 Palestinian Stories removal, both scored with high proximity (P=8.5) because they represent direct corporate content-and-partnership decisions rather than indirect exposure. Economic’s 5.50 reflects the Partner Communications distribution relationship and Israeli content-licensing spend. Military’s 0.00 reflects a complete absence of documented military, defence-contracting, or hardware-supply evidence. The BRS of 581 and Tier C (High) result from combining V_MAX with the average of the remaining three domains (Avg_OTHERS = 2.83), using the scale-free Impact x Magnitude/Proximity methodology, evidence-only and human-vetted.

Methodology Note

Footnotes

  1. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170529005095/en/Partner-Communications-Announces-Netflix-and-Partner-Communications-Collaborate-in-Israel ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/4000 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  3. https://www.whoprofits.org/writable/uploads/old/uploads/2018/09/SIGNAL-STRENGTH-OCCUPIED-THE-TELECOMMUNICATIONS-SECTOR-AND-THE-ISRAELI-OCCUPATION-1-1.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  4. https://www.972mag.com/israeli-cellular-companies-paid-to-squat-on-palestinian-land/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  5. https://deadline.com/2021/08/avi-issacharoff-lior-raz-faraway-road-re-up-overall-deal-with-netflix-1234811455/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  6. https://www.thewrap.com/fauda-returns-inside-real-life-elite-commando-unit-behind-hit-israeli-drama-video/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. https://freedomforward.org/2024/10/24/netflixpalestinianfilms/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  8. https://theintercept.com/2024/02/05/axel-springer-israel-settlement-profit/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  9. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/israelpalestine-axel-springers-israeli-classifieds-site-promotes-real-estate-firms-selling-jewish-only-west-bank-settlements-advocating-for-building-settlements-in-gaza-and-empowering-far-right-settlers-incl-co-comment/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  10. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-10-22/ty-article/herzog-presents-presidential-award-to-miriam-adelson-and-pro-israel-german-media-mogul/0000019a-0d34-d77b-a3ff-2ff523820000 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  11. https://paxforpeace.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/The-Companies-Arming-Israel-and-Their-Financiers-June-2024.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  12. https://www.sibat.mod.gov.il/Industries/directory/Pages/default.aspx ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  13. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/26/un-lists-150-firms-tied-to-illegal-israeli-settlements ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  14. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/advance-version/a-hrc-59-23-aev.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  15. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1065280/000106528025000044/ex211-q424.htm ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  16. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NFLX/holders ↩ ↩2

  17. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/axel-springer-ceo-mathias-dopfner-joins-netflix-board-directors-1144876/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  18. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ambassador-susan-e-rice-appointed-to-netflix-board-of-directors-300620661.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  19. https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/susan-rice-rejoins-netflix-board-1235718156/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  20. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1065280/000119312525084425/d867701ddef14a.htm ↩ ↩2

  21. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-netflix-launches-in-israel-1001093751 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  22. https://about.netflix.com/news/netflix-is-now-truly-israeli-1 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  23. https://www.netify.ai/resources/cdn/netflix-cdn/country/il ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  24. https://deadline.com/2024/10/netflix-palestinian-films-licensing-agreement-petition-1236158715/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  25. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/netflix-responds-palestinian-films-removed-licenses-expired-1236045575/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  26. https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/10/12/netflix-to-double-match-donations-made-to-israeli-ems-service-through-jewish-jewelry-company/ ↩ ↩2

  27. https://tracxn.com/d/acquisitions/acquisitions-by-netflix ↩ ↩2

  28. https://www.jpost.com/archvie/article.aspx?ID=ARKP6H ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  29. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/companies/netflix/ ↩

  30. https://theintercept.com/2022/12/03/farha-netflix-nakba-palestine-israel/ ↩ ↩2

  31. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jordan-oscar-contender-farha-attacked-on-social-media-1235277733/ ↩ ↩2

  32. https://deadline.com/2023/10/fauda-amp-tehran-co-creators-detail-how-they-are-helping-israeli-relief-efforts-as-ted-sarandos-pays-tribute-to-sound-tech-who-was-victim-of-attack-1235572484/ ↩

  33. https://www.gov.il/en/pages/president-herzog-awards-the-israeli-presidential-medal-of-honor-22-oct-2025 ↩

  34. https://www.yesstudios.tv/fauda ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  35. https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/when-heroes-fly-netflix-keshet-international-1202979923 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  36. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/fauda-begins-filming-of-fourth-season-685169 ↩ ↩2

  37. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/s1qloqhc11x ↩

  38. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_D%C3%B6pfner ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  39. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1065280/000106528025000044/nflx-20241231.htm ↩ ↩2

  40. https://www.ohchr.org/en/business/bhr-database ↩ ↩2

  41. https://www.nbim.no/en/news-and-insights/the-press/press-releases/2025/decisions-on-exclusion ↩

  42. https://doublethedonation.com/matching-gifts/netflix ↩

  43. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/netflix-and-israel-special-relationship ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  44. https://www.opensecrets.org/officeholders/spencer-j-cox/contributors?cycle=2024&id=9899747&recs=100 ↩

  45. https://theaapc.org/aapc-condemns-netflix-decision-to-deny-access-for-political-speech-and-the-democratic-process-3 ↩

  46. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62811522 ↩