Since October 7th, most businesses in Arab cities have suffered a significant decline in profits, and some are laying off employees or even closing, Ynet reported.

Abu Gosh is an Arab town outside of Jerusalem that used to be popular with Jewish tourists. Since October 7th, the businesses and stores in the town are suffering from significant losses.

“In the last few months, sales have dropped by 90%,” said restaurant owner Javad Ibrahim. “We already closed the restaurant due to COVID and the losses were great, and today we are losing again because of the ongoing war. We even reduced the number of employees from 10 to only four and the income is still not enough for daily expenses. If it continues like this, the damage will be unbearable.”

The owner of Tik Tok tire shop in Kfar Qasim, Abed Issa, said. “I had to reduce the number of employees. Our work decreased by almost 100% after Jews stopped coming to us at the beginning of the war. Since then, they started calling me and asking about the situation, and I told them that entering Kfar Qasim is not dangerous – but there are still many who don’t come.”

Issa added: “If the situation continues as it is, there is a great danger to our livelihood. Arabs and Jews live together in this country and relations must be maintained.”

Jad Ziad, the owner of a car wash in Baqa al-Gharbia, said: “Before the war, I used to come to Jewish cities on a daily basis and take people’s cars to be washed at my place and return them to their owners. Since the beginning of the war, they asked me not to come, maybe because I am an Arab. This sends a message as if the Arabs are enemies – even though we live in coexistence and peace and don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Ahmed Abu-Moh, a taxi driver in Baka, said: “In general I was not exposed to any racist treatment during my work.” However, he added: “At the beginning of the war, a family from the Sharon region asked me to stop picking up their daughter with special needs to transport her to school. They told me that they ‘want a Jewish driver’ – after I worked with them honestly and respectfully for a year and a half. I don’t deny that this war changed many things in our lives, but no matter what the circumstances, our relationships must not be harmed.”

E., the owner of a commercial center in the north, said: “It isn’t easy to work during a war. I closed the center because of a decrease in income. Every Thursday, hundreds of customers, Jews and Arabs, would come here to buy clothes, games, electrical goods, gifts, and more. Since the war, there has been an almost 80% drop in revenue, so we decided to simply close until it calms down.”

Israeli-Jews are not the only ones that changed their habits since the war. Some Arab-Israelis have stopped visiting Jewish areas. “I used to travel a lot to visit Netanya, shop there, and eat,” said Abdelrahim Masarwa, a resident of Taibeh. “Since the beginning of the war, I won’t go there because of the tense atmosphere.”

L. from Tira said that she often used to shop in Ra’anana and Kfar Saba, which are close to where she lives. “Since the beginning of the war, I prefer to shop here in my community because I don’t want any unpleasant encounters. I want to get back to normal, but apparently, it will take time.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)