Oracle's Ties to Israel Raise Questions as Tech Giant Takes Control of TikTok

13 Oct, 2025

By Eli Sachs

Oracle Corporation's $14 billion acquisition of TikTok's U.S. operations has drawn scrutiny over the company's extensive ties to the Israeli government and military, raising concerns about potential influence over content moderation on one of America's most popular social media platforms.​

In September 2025, President Trump signed an executive order transferring TikTok's U.S. operations to a consortium of American investors led by Oracle, with participation from private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Under the arrangement, Oracle will oversee TikTok's algorithm, manage U.S. user data, and provide continuous monitoring of content delivery. The deal was framed as a national security measure to address concerns over Chinese influence, with ByteDance's stake reduced to below 20%.​

Oracle will acquire a copy of TikTok's algorithm code from ByteDance, retrain it based on U.S. user data, and exclusively manage content delivery for American users. This expansion builds on Oracle's existing partnership with ByteDance to host TikTok's U.S. user data domestically.​

Oracle maintains extensive partnerships with the Israeli military and government that have raised questions about potential conflicts of interest in its new role overseeing TikTok's content.​​

The company has provided direct support to Israeli military operations. In February 2024, Oracle donated medical and environmental supplies valued at $500,000 to Israeli soldiers. In July 2022, Oracle hosted soldiers and software developers from the Israeli military's C4I Corps to train them on using Oracle's cloud services for military purposes. The company has also partnered with the Israeli Air Force on Project Menta, a classified data engineering initiative.​

Oracle became the first multinational tech company to sell Israel cloud services in 2021, establishing a $319 million data center in Jerusalem. The company leased an underground data center in Jerusalem's Har Hotzvim in 2019 to supply Israeli banks, health funds, and military forces with AI processing services, data management, and information storage.​

According to a BDS Movement complicity profile, in November 2023 Oracle led an initiative to elevate pro-Israel content on TikTok and Twitter in collaboration with Israeli development ministries to "help Israel in the battle for global public opinion during this conflict". This raises particular concerns given Oracle's new control over TikTok's algorithm.​

Oracle's executive leadership has made explicit statements about prioritizing Israel over other considerations, including employee views and international markets.​

CEO Safra Catz, born in Holon, Israel, told Israeli media outlet Calcalist in 2024 that one of her first actions after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack was to ensure Oracle's websites worldwide displayed "We stand with Israel" in local languages, including in countries where Oracle holds government contracts. She framed this as distinguishing "good from evil".​

"So what we did was first sort of hug our employees, hug my Oracle employees by doing everything we could think of and put on our website 'We stand with Israel', not only on our Israeli website or even on our American website, but on our websites around the world in the local language. And as you know, we operate in a lot of countries. And it was very important for us to make sure we made a powerful message about how important Israel is and what the difference is between good and evil."

In 2021, Catz told Israeli media that unlike competitors Google or Amazon, employees who disagreed with Oracle's partnership with Israel had "no place in the company". Eran Feigenbaum, head of Oracle Israel, reinforced this stance in a 2023 interview with Ynet, stating that "employees not aligning with support for Israel may find Oracle isn't the right fit".​

At a 2025 leadership summit, Catz declared: "Leadership is about values. And our values are clear: We stand with Israel". Oracle subsequently donated over $1 million to Magen David Adom, Israel's national emergency medical service.​

Oracle co-founder and Chairman Larry Ellison, who orchestrated the TikTok deal alongside Trump, has donated at least $26.6 million to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), a U.S. nonprofit that provides direct financial support to the Israeli military. This includes a record $16.6 million pledge in 2017 for a new soldier training facility, and a $10 million donation at a 2014 Los Angeles fundraiser where he declared "there is no greater honor" than supporting the IDF.​

Ellison has described Israel as "our home" and maintains a close personal relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to hacked emails reviewed by investigative journalists, Ellison vetted then-Senator Marco Rubio for "fealty to Israel" before supporting his political ambitions.​

Despite fiduciary concerns raised by Israel's declining credit rating and economic instability during the Gaza conflict, Ellison announced in March 2024 that Oracle planned to spend $10 billion constructing computing facilities in Israel in 2025, including "large AI centers in a total area in which eight Boeing 747 aircraft could be parked".​

Critics warn that Oracle's documented history of pro-Israel advocacy and its leadership's explicit statements about prioritizing Israel create a concerning environment for content moderation on TikTok.​

TikTok has been widely used by young Americans to access diverse perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including content critical of Israeli government policies. The platform's algorithm, largely outside the control of Washington or Tel Aviv prior to the acquisition, emerged as a frontline space for activism and alternative narratives.​

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently emphasized TikTok as a key arena for pro-Israel messaging. Oracle's acquisition places executives with documented pro-Israel commitments in direct control of the platform's algorithm and content delivery systems.​

While a White House official indicated that CEO Safra Catz will not directly manage TikTok's algorithm, observers note her track record suggests potential for indirect influence. The Israeli government has separately contracted with Brad Parscale's firm Clock Tower X to influence AI systems like ChatGPT to frame Israel-related topics in a pro-Israel manner, with content specifically targeted at Gen Z audiences on platforms including TikTok.​​

Questions remain about how Oracle will balance U.S. priorities, operations in other countries, and its executive leadership's personal commitments to Israel. Concerns center on whether the platform will allow open discussion and critique of Israeli policies, or whether moderation policies will reflect the priorities of its new owners.​

Reports indicate that Oracle employees who have expressed criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza have faced repression and punishment. According to Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, employees who disagreed with Oracle's stance were reportedly referred to the company's mental health services.​

Oracle's global workforce of 160,000 includes employees in numerous countries, yet the company's leadership has made clear that support for Israel is a condition of employment. This corporate culture raises questions about whether employees tasked with content moderation at TikTok will feel free to make impartial decisions regarding Israel-related content.​

Ellison has publicly advocated for mass surveillance as a tool for controlling citizen behavior. On an investor call, he stated: "We're going to have supervision. Every police officer is going to be supervised at all times, and if there's a problem, AI will report that problem and report it to the appropriate person. Citizens will be on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that's going on".​

According to investigative reporting, if Ellison's relationship with Netanyahu persists, Oracle is positioned to take a lead role in redeveloping Gaza, potentially implementing the surveillance-oriented society Ellison has described.​

Oracle's involvement with Israel extends to artificial intelligence systems used in military operations. An Associated Press investigation revealed that since the October 7, 2023 attack, the Israeli Defense Forces have dramatically increased their use of Microsoft and OpenAI technology, with similar cloud infrastructure provided by Oracle.​

The Israeli military employs AI to analyze intelligence data, intercepted communications, and surveillance footage to identify targets. While Microsoft has received more attention for its role, Oracle's infrastructure and partnerships with Israeli military units position the company as a key enabler of these systems.​

Israeli military officials have stated that AI tools "enhance the accuracy and efficacy of intelligence operations" and "facilitate the identification of more targets at a quicker pace". However, the conflict in Gaza has seen a significant increase in civilian casualties, raising concerns that these technologies are contributing to the loss of innocent lives.​

The TikTok deal was justified as addressing national security concerns about Chinese government influence over the platform. However, critics argue the arrangement may simply transfer potential foreign influence from one government to another.​

Oracle operates in numerous countries and holds government contracts globally, yet its leadership has publicly declared that the company prioritizes Israel in its decision-making. This raises questions about potential conflicts between U.S. national security interests and Oracle's stated commitments.​

The structure of the deal remains fluid, with negotiations ongoing about exact ownership stakes and governance arrangements. ByteDance will retain control of the app's U.S. segment while Oracle and partners manage user data and backend operations through a joint venture.​

Oracle's extensive military contracts with Israel, its leadership's explicit ideological commitment to the Israeli government, and its history of elevating pro-Israel content on social media platforms have created significant concerns about the company's new role controlling TikTok's U.S. operations. As one of the most influential platforms among American youth, TikTok's content moderation policies under Oracle's oversight will have far-reaching implications for free speech, access to diverse perspectives on international conflicts, and the geopolitical influence of technology companies.​

The deal represents a test case for how corporate ideology and international partnerships shape information flows in an increasingly consolidated tech landscape. Whether Oracle can maintain neutrality in content moderation given its documented commitments, or whether TikTok will become another platform shaped by the geopolitical interests of its owners, remains to be seen.​

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