Many of you have been in touch to ask how the producers and small businesses that Lev Haolam supports are coping during this pandemic. Thank you so much for your concern and all the words of encouragement.

The truth is that these are devastating times for the whole world, and Israel is no exception.

Israel is now in its third week of national lockdown. The only stores permitted to open are supermarkets and pharmacies. Many businesses across the country have already collapsed and the unemployment rate is soaring.

The artisans and producers that Lev Haolam supports are no longer able to sell their goods on the domestic market. It's terrible to hear how some of these Jewish pioneers who have spent years building up small businesses against all odds are now teetering on the closure.

The uncertainty about what the future holds makes it even harder to plan. No one knows how long the lockdown will last, or what the situation will be afterwards. In the meantime, there are still bills to pay.

International orders are one of the only sources of income available to many of our suppliers. Even then, there are few companies still working and shipping Israeli products overseas. At Lev Haolam, we have committed to stand with our suppliers and continue to send monthly packages all over the world.

We know how crucial it is to our network of small businesses in Judea and Samaria that we don't stop our operations at this time, as many other companies have. So, rather than pausing trade, we put our heads together to figure out how we could change the way we work to be able to keep the Ministry of Health regulations without shutting up shop. By working remotely and moving more of our processes online, we're able to continue selecting the highest quality Israeli products each month and shipping them to our worldwide family of subscribers.

Your support means more than ever during these challenging times. By continuing to receive your Lev Haolam package during this world crisis, you are quite simply providing a lifeline to our suppliers. There are no words to express the gratitude and relief they feel when they receive our orders.

So, we want to take a moment to say thank you. Thank you for choosing to stand with Israel at this time. Thank you for supporting Jewish pioneers in the heartland of Judea and Samaria. Thank you for helping keep small family businesses selling unique Israeli products operational during these terrible days.

If you don't yet receive Lev Haolam monthly packages and would like to help Israeli artisans and producers at this time, you can click here to subscribe. We'd love to have you on board.