On October 7th, Osi Glick’s life turned upside down when terrorists reached the gates of her community near the Gaza border. After long hours trapped in her house, she escaped with her family, leaving her home and her woman’s clothing business in Netivot behind.

“We were in trauma and mourning… who could think about a business?” Osi says of the first weeks when she had been evacuated to a hotel in Jerusalem.

Still, over time, Osi began to think about the five women she employed in Netivot. The streets of Netivot were deserted and her store and fashion design studio shuttered. Confined to a hotel, she could not keep her internet business operational.

Despite the pressure, Osi did not want to put her employees on furlough. With no sign of revenue, she bravely chose to keep paying their salaries.

JDC partnered with the Azrieli Group to offer free retail space in their malls to small businesses from the south forced to close by the war. JDC approached Osi to take advantage of this opportunity to sell her goods from the Azrieli mall, and Osi agreed.

Your emergency funding supported this initiative. Osi is one of the first small businesses from the south that was reestablished on free space in Azrieli malls. This initiative will reach 50 small businesses.

JDC is also assisting small businesses impacted by the war through a unique “Pay now, Receive later” initiative in partnership with online platform, Zap. Customers prepay for their products and services with an understanding that they will receive them at a future date. 60 small businesses are already taking advantage of this initiative.

Osi has now successfully established her business in the Azrieli Mall in Modiin. Women from the city show their support, buying clothing from her stand. This has generated cash flow which allows her to continue paying salaries to her five employees. This week, she re-opened her Netivot store with limited hours, determined to keep going.

Your emergency funds make it possible for Israeli small businesses from Southern Israel to stay afloat during this period of war. Your support means that JDC can help hundreds of small businesses like Osi’s with solutions that keep them viable, with hope for better times ahead.