Dear friend and supporter, A jobs crisis is silently sweeping across Israel. Since the October 7 attacks, tens of thousands of once-thriving enterprises have shuttered, casting hardworking families into sudden unemployment. More than 46,000 small and mid-sized businesses have already closed, and experts warn the number could reach 60,000 before year’s end —erasing local economies overnight. Even before the conflict, small businesses made up 95% of Israel’s companies and employed roughly half of the private workforce. Today, 41% of IDF reservists have lost their jobs after prolonged deployments, and one-fifth of Israelis displaced from the north and south remain unemployed. Mothers and fathers who once ran cafés, garages, and tech start-ups are burning through savings just to keep the lights on. Children are skipping after-school programs, and elderly parents are postponing medical care. Without decisive action, thousands more livelihoods will vanish. Every week we help more families but the need is growing faster than we can meet it. We cannot do this alone. | 
