IKO is a family-owned Canadian company that specializes in the manufacturing of roofing, waterproofing, and insulation products, serving both residential and commercial markets.
The company was established in 1951, in Calgary, Alberta, by Isidore (also referred to as Israel) Koschitzky, who emigrated from Poland to Canada after World War II, and continues to be run by members of the Koschitzky family, with David Koschitzky serving as CEO and Co-Chair at IKO North America.
Now headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, IKO has 37 plants across North America and Europe, and is regarded as one of the world’s largest exporters of asphalt shingles.
“I have many family members in Israel; my sons served in the military, and my connection to Israel, like that of many others, is very deep.”
Israel Connections
The Koschitzky family has been one of the largest family donors to Israeli causes through the Israel Koschitzky Family Charitable Foundation. It has donated to a wide range of charities, with a particular focus on Jewish and Israeli organizations. Some of the notable recipients of their donations include:
- United Israel Appeal
- Hillel
- Jerusalem Foundation
- Jewish National Fund
- United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto
- Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto
- Jewish Community Foundation of Montreal
- Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver
- Jewish Community Foundation of Calgary
- Mizrachi Organization of Canada
- Canadian Friends of Yad Sarah
The Israel Koschitzky Family Charitable Foundation is listed among the top donors to the United Israel Appeal (UIA), with its contributions forming part of the over $1.3 billion donated to the UIA by various Canadian charities and foundations in recent decades.
According to public records from the Canada Revenue Agency and compiled reports from 2000 to 2023, the Foundation has donated a total of $20,704,067 to the UIA.
Since 2000 the foundation has donated $2,967,802 to Mizrachi Canada, the Canadian branch of the global Mizrachi movement, which champions Zionism and support for the State of Israel. This places the Koschitzky Family Foundation among the largest donors to Mizrachi Canada over the past two decades.
In the past the Koschitzky family’s foundation also donated to the Ne’eman Foundation of Canada, which channeled millions of dollars to organizations supporting the Israeli military. Ne’eman’s charitable status (along with that of the Jewish National Fund Canada), was revoked by the Canada Revenue Agency in August of 2024.
Over the last 20 or so years, the Israel Koschitzky Family Foundation donated $204,600 to the revoked JNF Canada, as well as $1,270,99 from their Binah Charitable Foundation (most of this in 2020-2022) and their Datt Chariable Foundation donated $110,000, with a total of $1,585,000 being provided by these trilogy of Koschitzky family charities. The Daat and Binah charities indicate they own a home for people visiting a hospital but don’t’ indicate which hospital, however most of their funds seem to be going to other Zionist, Pro-Israel charities such as the JNF Canada, Mizarachi, Ne’eman, UIA, and to the Israel Koschitzky foundation.
Over the years, the Koschitzky family has made several large donations to York University’s Jewish Studies. In 1998, through the Israel Koschitzky Family Charitable Foundation, they funded the Chair in Jewish Teacher Education, the first of its kind at a publicly funded university in North America. The program is designed to train teachers of Hebrew and Jewish studies for the 25,000+ students enrolled in Jewish day schools across Canada.
“The Program in Jewish Teacher Education, designed to serve the needs of Toronto’s unique Jewish education system, as well as other communities across the country and in the U.S. and Israel, has emerged from that commitment to community service.”
In 2008 York University’s Centre for Jewish Studies was renamed the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies following a large donation from the Koschitzky family, which created an endowment providing funding for, among other things, facilitate exchanges between Jewish Studies scholars in North America, Europe and Israel.
Koschitzky family members have held prominent leadership roles in Canadian Jewish organizations, such as CIJA and have been deeply involved in supporting Israel.
“In addition to Reisman, Schwartz, Tanenbaum and Belzberg, the group included Senator Leo Kolber, former director of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, Seagrams and Loews Cineplex; Israel Asper, co-founder and CEO of CanWest Global; Stephen Reitman, whose family owns Reitman’s clothing stores; Julia Koschitzky, whose family fortune derives from the IKO Group, global manufacturer of construction materials.” https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-new-israel-lobby-in-action-david-noble
David Koschitzky is also listed as one of the governors of the Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal, the official global fundraising organization for Israel, recognized as one of the country’s three “National Institutions,” but it’s not clear if it is the same person as the CEO of IKO.
“I have many family members in Israel; my sons served in the military, and my connection to Israel, like that of many others, is very deep.” – David Koschitzky
