Should love of Israel translate into investments?
As originally appeared in The Jerusalem Post on August 8, 2025.
Earlier in the week, on Tisha B’av, we remembered all the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout the ages, including the destruction of both Temples. In this week’s Tora portion, we read Va’etchanan. This portion contains two elements that are paramount to Judaism, the 10 commandments and the sacred ‘Shema yisrael’ prayer. While one could certainly come up with multiple connections between these 2 tenents of the religion and Tisha b’av, I think that there is a more basic connection.
The beginning of the portion begins with a plea from Moses to be able to enter the land of Israel. He has worked tirelessly for 40 years, leading the nation from Egypt to entering the Holy Land, and he wanted nothing more than to be able to complete the mission. His plea is to no avail and G-d basically tells him not to pray anymore for this because the answer is No!
Juxtapose the desire of Moses to enter the land with the actual origin of Tisha B’av and the connection is striking. Rabbi Jay Kelman writes, “The origins of Tisha B’Av stem from the chet hameraglim, the sin of the spies, in which the Jewish people lacked the desire to enter the land. Upon hearing the report of the spies—on the 9th day of Av—the Jewish people cried out, causing G-d to exclaim, “You cried a needless cry; I will establish for you [a reason to] a cry for all generations” (Taanit 29a). And it is that error with which Moshe opens up sefer Devarim—always read the Shabbat before Tisha b’Av—as the Jewish people are once again on the verge of entry into the Land. How tragic when those who are able to attain a gift do not want it, and those who desire that same gift are unable to attain it!”
Rabbi Keleman continues, “Yet I would argue that the most important connection between Tisha b’Av and the parsha lies in the verse, “You shall do, hayashar vehatov, what is straight and good in the eyes of G-d, so that it will be good for you; and you will come and inherit the good land that G-d has promised you” (Devarim 6:18). It is this verse which serves as the obligation to act lifnim meshurat hadin, a concept that does not lend itself easily to translation but incorporates the idea of acting beyond the letter of the law and incorporating the spirit of the law. The Biblical verse itself links the practice of going beyond the law to the inheritance of the land. It is thus no surprise, then, that Rav Yochanan claims that, “Jerusalem was only destroyed… because people insisted on the strict application of the law and did not practice lifnim meshurat hadin” (Baba Metziah 30b).”
We see the importance of loving the land of Israel but should that translate into actually investing your money in the Holyland? After all we are still in the middle of a war with Hamas, get daily reminders from the Houthis that not all of the Iranian proxies have been destroyed and that diplomatically Israel has turned into a global pariah.
Less than a month after October the 7th I wrote in these very pages, “The Shekel dropped to levels not seen since 2016. On the stock market side, the leading index the TA-35 had dropped nearly 20% from it’s highs and is trading at levels last seen in 2018. Israeli tech stocks that trade in the US have gotten clobbered as well. The real estate sector, which was already suffering due to higher rates, is on the verge of collapse. Investor confidence has been shaken and there is an air of worry and pessimism out there. That’s exactly why I am, and you should maybe start getting excited about investing in Israel.
It’s hard to find a silver lining in this situation but for investors sitting with cash or for young, first-time investors, this could be an ideal situation. You certainly need to do your own homework and research and make sure any investment fits your financial profile. This is certainly not a recommendation, but something you should maybe start thinking about…. Learning from history we see that these types of military operations tend to cause short term economic softening, but longer term it’s not a negative for the economy, in fact it leads to stronger growth. At some point the destruction of the south will be rebuilt. (I am not even talking about the rebuilding of Gaza).
Tourists will come back in droves. And let’s not forget that 200-300,000 reserve soldiers will be going back home and both working and spending and that will be a boom for the economy. Not that I know what the future holds, but hours before the ground invasion started the Shekel dropped to 4.08 versus the US dollar and is now back under 4.0. Again, that doesn’t mean that it won’t weaken again, but in my decades of professional investing experience, this type of reaction is normal. Now may be the time to take advantage of the recent market plunge and look at starting to invest in stocks.”
Fast forward 22 months and the Tel-Aviv stock exchange has been one of the best performers in the world, the shekel has appreciated by over 15% and maybe the best vote of confidence, Palo Alto Networks has announced that they are buying the Israeli tech company CyberArk for approximately $25 billion!
While Israeli’s are seemingly becoming persona non-grata throughout the world, maybe now is the time to re-focus locally. Maybe it’s time to talk with our money and pull money out of Europe and invest locally.
The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.
Aaron Katsman is the author of Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing (McGraw-Hill), and is a licensed financial professional both in the United States and Israel, and helps people who open investment accounts in the United States. Securities are offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. (www.prginc.net). Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, SIFMA, FSI. For more information, call (02) 624-0995 visit www.aaronkatsman.com or email aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il.
