"War Zone? not at all": Top investor bets big on Israeli market

Israel’s economy, rocked by the October 7 Hamas attacks, is showing unexpected strength as 2025 begins. While international relations remain strained, most notably marked by the suspension of free trade talks with the United Kingdom, the Israeli private sector is proving to be a resilient force.

Foreign investment, which dropped by 68% in the wake of the attacks, is beginning to bounce back. By the end of 2023, foreign investors had pulled an estimated ₪9 billion (around $2.4 billion) from the Israeli market, causing the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s TA-35 index to plummet by nearly 8% and the shekel to weaken to its lowest point in over a decade. In response, the Bank of Israel intervened decisively, selling $8 billion in reserves to halt the currency’s slide, an effort that began to pay off by November 2023.

Now, over a year later, investor confidence is returning. Juan Delgado-Moreira, Co-CEO of global investment giant Hamilton Lane, said Israeli companies demonstrated remarkable agility, restructuring rapidly and leaning on their strong ties to global capital markets. “Despite war-related disruptions, the fundamental growth story of Israeli businesses remains intact,” he noted.