January 22, 2007 / 3 Shevat 5767

Given the continued Kassam rocket fire, the Jewish Agency has decided to award emergency assistance to small and micro businesses in Sderot and in the Gaza perimeter communities thanks to a special contribution by the United Jewish Communities, the Federations of North America (UJC).

The goal is to assist hundreds of small businessmen who have been under fire for a number of years and have sustained economic damage of various proportions due to the continued security incidents.  According to data available to the Jewish Agency, in the Sderot region and in the Gaza perimeter there are nearly a thousand small businesses.  Due to the Kassam attacks, hundreds of them are in severe economic difficulty and many of them face closure.

The assistance will be granted to micro businesses (who have a VAT exemption for 2006) or small businesses (whose annual sales volume does not surpass 500,000 NIS gross for 2006).

The grant to each business will be up to 4200 NIS and is intended to help partially defray the damages caused by the security situation in the region, and to allow the businessmen to continue their activities.

This measure is part of a special effort which the Jewish Agency is currently leading, via special assistance from Jewish communities the world over, to reinforce Sderot and Gaza perimeter communities via a series of educational and communal programs.  The Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Zeev Bielski, said that “we are dealing with the continued assistance of Jewish communities worldwide to rehabilitate Sderot and the Gaza perimeter communities as well as the northern communities”.

Applications for receipt of the grant will be accepted until February 15, 2007.  Priority will be extended to business owners who are the sole breadwinners, new immigrants, terror victims, and special cases.  The Jewish Agency reserves the right not to respond to every request.  There will be no cases of double grants.

For further details or to receive application forms go to the Jewish Agency website www.jewishagency.org  or telephone 050-6301963.