October 7 created a wave of support from within and outside of Israel, with activists and organizations filling the void left by the government, which struggled to recover from the initial shock in those early days.
One of the bodies that demonstrated the most impressive mobilization was the Jewish Federations of North America, which immediately raised hundreds of millions of dollars for Israeli society upon the outbreak of the war. We at the Yozmot Atid organization, which supports and assists small business owners, also received support from them for a short-term business recovery program for small business owners who had been grappling with a difficult economic reality for many months. For those women, the support of the Jewish Federations was highly significant, but it also highlighted the absence of the government, the lack of leadership, and the many people who fell between the cracks.
This is not a new phenomenon. For many years, the Israeli government has preferred to step back and let NGOs manage Israeli society through professional non-profit organizations, volunteer work, and donations. The intent may have been well-meaning: to allow professional bodies, each specializing in their own field, to formulate and develop appropriate responses to the needs of different social groups – such as organizations in the field of at-risk children, Holocaust survivors, or small business owners. But the pendulum has swung too far.
The bottom line is that civil society in Israel today is almost entirely managed by the social sector. The social sector has indeed demonstrated its tremendous operational capabilities, but the recent months have also highlighted that in times of distress, people and organizations choose to donate to the visible, media-focused areas: the IDF soldiers fighting courageously against Hamas, the hospitals treating the wounded, and the communities of the Gaza envelope that have become a disaster zone. However, those outside the focus and are not among the war's immediate victims have been neglected and marginalized, and so the concern is that the difficulties of small business owners are perceived as secondary compared to the critical issues on the agenda.
This is where we return to the role that the state can and should take upon itself: the establishment of a professional and experienced body to advise it on matters of the social sector. Similar to the National Security Council, which was established to advise the government and provide it with alternative perspectives and information outside the national security apparatus, we need a new body – call it a Socioeconomic Security Council – who will be tasked with building a roadmap for the third sector. Within its role, it will be able to coordinate the resources not only to the places that are front and center at that particular moment but also to provide an in-depth and strategic view of the less-visible needs, where the contribution and assistance are sorely needed now. This is crucial in order to prevent Israel from facing not only a security tragedy but also an economic and social one. The government would be well advised to establish this body as soon as possible before the economic and social calamity reaches our doorstep.
