The damages of the "Dawn" operation are starting to pile up: apart from the property damage caused in several settlements in the south - restaurants and shops in the south and in the center of the country are already reporting a decrease in sales and cancellations of orders.
Fortunately for the businesses, the first days of "Dawn" fell on the weekend and the fast of Tisha B'av, during which they were closed anyway.
The main concern of the restaurant industry, which currently employs about 170,000 workers, is the apparent damage to the tourism industry.
It seems that the fear is not completely unfounded.
Thus, for example, only yesterday we were informed of the cancellation of the match between Juventus and Atletico Madrid in Bloomfield following the security escalation, and this is because Juventus was reluctant to come to Israel.
"The problem is that the tourism market, unlike the local market, does not recover very quickly. If there is a ceasefire tomorrow, the Israelis immediately return, they don't wait long. But the tourists - as soon as they hear about some kind of security flare-up, they cancel their vacations even for a month or two Go ahead," explains Shai Berman, CEO of the Restaurant Association, in a conversation with Israel Hayom.
Berman adds: "This is our main concern today. In August, the Israelis fly to the Greek islands, and this vacuum has to be filled by the tourists. If the tourists don't come, we will be in trouble."
Many cancellations
According to Berman, bars and restaurants in the center of the country and in the south felt the security escalation very well: "In the lowland area and Gush Dan on Fridays and Saturdays, there were many cancellations, more than 50% cancellations. Even in places of young people, such as bars, there was a 20-30% drop in turnovers . But in the restaurants, in the places of the families, there was a real catastrophe. On Shabbat night anyway, there was a fast on Tisha B'Av, so the damage is less significant."
Barman's words are in line with the ontopo application data, according to which as of Friday afternoon there was an almost two-fold increase compared to last week in the number of cancellations of existing restaurant orders.
Also, there was a 22% drop in restaurant orders for Friday-Saturday, and in the southern region alone there was a 59% drop.
"We hope that the political situation will not deprive the business owners of the assistance they deserve. We are after two very difficult years and are trying to raise our heads above water. We hope that all parties will behave responsibly and statefully," Berman concludes.
Despite the operation and constant alarms, many businesses continue to operate under fire.
However, some business owners tell about employees who are afraid to come and the closure of some branches as a result.
Tzachi Cohen, manager of the TOGO shoes chain of stores, tells "Israel Hayom" that "on Saturday, anxious employees already informed us that they would not be able to come to the branches because they are afraid. Some of the stores did not open, such as the branch in Kastina, because of employees who refuse to come, and saw This also in the stores next to our stores. We opened and closed the Sderot branch. In Kiryat Gat we have one employee and she is the manager. In Ashdod the stores are completely empty and they are open. There is no traffic, people do not enter the stores in general. The stores are empty. Even the goods drivers who arrive on Sunday, To fill goods, they refuse to come. We have a concern because there are no customers. The workers are anxious, and there is a loss of income and the expenses continue."
Assaf Suissa, CEO of Arad Textile, added that "last Saturday, two of our branches in Rishon Lezion and Billo were closed due to the situation.
Yesterday we carried out a situation assessment, and we made a decision to open the branches because there is access to a protected area.
However, there is very little traffic, it cannot be compared to normal days.
This is a decrease of 70%-60%.
It's about three-four people who come an hour, compared to 10-15 visitors."
"The main concern is the aspect of time. If we enter into a broad campaign, it will have a dramatic effect on the activity. During such times, people do not think about shopping. On such days, the people of Israel are not interested in any sale in the stores. We have experienced a significant decrease in the 'Guardian of the Walls'. There needs to be a real plan for compensation".
One of the areas that are particularly affected during operational activity in the south is of course the entertainment area which includes the restaurant industry.
According to Yariv Ganis, director of the Greg and Biga chains, "We have branches in the south, including in Sderot and Ofakim. Some branches are closed due to the situation, and we carry out situation assessments every day. We work in an increased format of deliveries. The volume of deliveries has jumped and there is also self-pickup. However , in the end we were significantly hurt.
"Initially, people are shocked by the situation and do not leave the house. Obviously, if there is an increase in deliveries, it does not compare to the normal amount, which includes sitting."
As for the workers, he says: "The workers are afraid. We work in a limited format, only in places where there are protected spaces, of course."
Regarding compensation, Ganis says: "There is uncertainty because we do not know what the compensation mechanism will be. The government has not said anything about it. We do not know how long it will take and we expect adequate compensation. It is very difficult to obtain compensation, and it is a very long process."
The cook Idi from Ashdod tells about a significant impact in his restaurant.
According to him, "the security situation has a complete impact and we are talking about a 100% drop at the end of the week."
To the question of whether they received the compensation they deserve, he answered: "For ten years we have been shelled, we fight and life goes on. We usually don't get what we deserve for the losses.
"After many months, those whose business continues to survive are being compensated. Farmers in the south have not received compensation to this day for wars and fires that happened here many times in the past."
And what about compensation?
According to the current legislation, only residents of the Gaza Strip are entitled to compensation.
As for businesses outside the envelope, Finance Minister Lieberman hastened to send a reassuring message on Saturday: "The Ministry of Finance is examining the developments and will work to provide a response as necessary, depending on the scope of the fighting and the situation on the home front."
Yesterday, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, MK Alex Kushnir (Israel Beitnou), sent a letter to the Agreements Committee, requesting to approve an urgent meeting of the Finance Committee following the "Dawn" operation.
According to the letter, the purpose of the discussion is "to examine the government's readiness to provide compensation to citizens, both for direct and indirect damage that has already been caused, or may be caused to residents and businesses as a result of the operation."
Kushnir said in a conversation with "Israel Today" that it is necessary to examine the inclusion of the businesses that are outside the envelope in the compensation outline.
We note that due to the election period, the Chairman of the Finance Committee must obtain approval from the Agreements Committee in order to convene the discussion.
We can only hope that the committee will be convened as soon as possible, and that, unlike the previous rounds of fighting, the business owners will be able to receive compensation close to the time of causing the damage and not a few months later.
The Self-Employed Forum of the Histadrut also issued an urgent call to the decision-makers to provide immediate compensation to the thousands of businesses and self-employed people who are affected by the security tensions.
The forum stated that "the state must not procrastinate as happened during the Omicron period. We expect the government to first of all inject the necessary oxygen for businesses and the self-employed in the Gaza Strip - and in the entire country.
"Furthermore, this is an excellent opportunity to implement and pass into law the emergency compensation procedure, which we have been proposing to the government and the Knesset for a long time. If we had such a procedure in the law today, it would be possible in one swing of a decision to breathe air into all the businesses that are currently affected."
The chairman of the Independents Forum, Rami Beja, said that "the Independents Forum strengthens the security forces and the government for conducting a just campaign in the south.
At the same time, economic security and certainty for businesses and the self-employed are more important and necessary than ever.
We trust the government to immediately take care of compensation for businesses in the Gaza Strip and the rest of the country."
"trust the government"
As a reminder, the emergency compensation law, which was named "compensation procedure at the push of a button", is a move initiated by Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David and the Self-Employed Forum of the Histadrut House. various such as a round of fighting, a widespread economic recession, an epidemic or unusual environmental damages.
In such cases, there will be an orderly assistance and compensation procedure for the self-employed, which will be implemented through a decision only.
As a second step to the procedure, compensation will be awarded for unusual losses in the business.
As mentioned, the procedure only concerns crisis situations.
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