NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) – The Walmart Foundation, the philanthropic arm of U.S. retailer Walmart, has pledged to donate $1 million to disaster relief and emergency medical services organizations in Israel.
Walmart’s (WMT.N) donation, reported by The Jerusalem Post on Friday, joins a growing list of similar funding efforts by major U.S. companies to provide relief to injured Israelis after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. become. Companies that have pledged aid to Israel include UBS, Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Jefferies.
“To show our support for all those affected by these tragedies in our region, the Walmart Foundation is providing $1 million in funding (to Magen David Adom) for emergency services to save lives. ,” said an internal memo signed by CEO Ofer Saban. Leader of a software engineering team in Israel.
Magen David Adom is Israel’s disaster relief and emergency medical service.
As the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalates, other countries, including billionaire Elon Musk, are helping the Middle East in other ways. Musk said Saturday that SpaceX’s Starlink will support communications links with “internationally recognized aid organizations” in Gaza.
Walmart does not operate stores in Israel, but it employs 171 people in the country working in its technology division Walmart Global Tech, Walmart U.S. operations and Flipkart India.
Walmart said the donation follows a $1 million grant the Walmart Foundation committed to the U.S. Holocaust Museum in October. The company also announced that it will match donations from employees in the United States, up to $3 million, on a two-to-one basis with nonprofit organizations, including organizations providing humanitarian relief.
The memo also said it would provide meal vouchers and counseling services to Israeli employees and encourage them to continue working from home if needed.
“Our hearts go out to our colleagues, partners, and the communities in which we serve and live,” Saban said.
Report by Siddharth Kavale in New York
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