War With Hamas Is Taking a Toll on Israel’s Entrepreneur Economy

  • Army call-ups, slow demand, high rates hit smaller business
  • Small, medium-sized firms account for 62% of value added
Israeli reservists are transported to a military base near Tel Aviv on Oct. 7.Photographer: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Two months since Hamas attacked, Israel’s abrupt shift to a war economy has left entrepreneurs such as Shlomi Tuskia struggling to stay afloat.

“There’s effectively no business,” said the 56-year-old corporate events provider, whose company, Elateva, in the central city of Rishon LeTsiyon, is on life support awaiting a turn in the commercial tide.