How to Shop Israeli Right Now

It feels a little surreal to be an American Jew right now. Every morning I check in with my Israeli cousins on WhatsApp, then open Instagram to see footage of friends and influencers alike shuffling into shelters and safe rooms at all hours of the night.

It’s depressing and disorienting to watch this terrifying moment unfold on our screens a world away. But the upside of being so digitally interconnected is that there actually is something we can do from afar. We can support Israeli designers and artists. 

While fulfillment will take a while—international shipping is grounded, like the entire country—a lot of our favorite Israeli small businesses are still taking orders online and are grateful for the support.  

One of the places damaged in an early Iranian missile attack was the iconic PhotoHouse in Tel Aviv, a 90-year-old family business that sells prints and postcards featuring the work of the store’s late matriarch, photographer Rudi Weissenstein, as well as other classic Israeli images. I reached out to Mai, the shop manager, on Instagram, who told me: “We are lucky that no one was hurt, but the damage to the shop is severe.”

“The PhotoHouse has been open since 1940 and has gone through many of Israel’s wars, changes and challenges,” she added with that characteristic Israeli toughness, “and we will come out of this one stronger.” 

The store is closed, but they are taking orders through their website. This might be the time to pick up a print of Rudi Wasserstein’s “Beit Dolphin color” from 1954:

Or the classic 1957 “Ben Gurion on head” photograph by Paul Goldman: 

You can check out their full archive of more than a million images, organized by decade—and follow the store’s cleanup on Instagram. 

I asked Noa Tarlovsky, the Jaffa-based designer behind Ofna Bracha and Noa Tarlovsky Wedding, what life has been like for her over the past few days. 

“I’m writing this to you now at 12:50 a.m., from inside a bomb shelter I had to run to from my home,” she replied. “‏We get an alert with a sound that drops your heart to the floor. Then we have just a few seconds to throw something on and run for cover. ‏In the morning, we wake up to see the scale of the destruction. ‏Our days have been completely turned upside down.”

Noa runs a popular fashion brand and bridal salon. “Some of my brides had their weddings canceled the night before the ceremony. ‏When I speak with them, it’s absolutely heartbreaking. All we can do is cry together.”

‏”My role in this world is to bring beauty. ‏Fashion designers abroad don’t realize what a privilege it is to simply dream and create without constant disruption. ‏Here, every few months, we have to gather up the pieces—emotionally, and sometimes physically. What keeps me going is the thought that I have a purpose here: there needs to be something beautiful and joyful to focus on when everything feels dark.” 

Noa is running an “emotional support sale” online, with 20% off everything on her site. Her styles are all unisex, and I especially love her button-down shirts:

And her wearable handkerchiefs, all featuring her own designs:

You can also always get an Ofnat Bracha gift card for later—or send one to a friend! 

“How can I create when everything outside feels like chaos?” the Israeli jewelry designer Sivan Lotan posted on Instagram earlier today. “That question stayed with me for days. And then I realized something I had forgotten: My work isn’t just work. It’s an anchor. A source of strength. It gives me emotional resilience. It reminds me that I have meaning. That I have something to give. And somehow, it heals me, through the impact I create for others.” 

Sivan’s “This Too Shall Pass” ring strikes a hopeful note for this moment, with the hebrew Gam Ze Ya'avor engraved into the side of the ring.

I was connected with Shay Sobol of Layou Design through one of my mom group chats (shoutout to the Imas). She’s based in Tel Aviv and has been chronicling her life this week as a mother and a designer on the brand’s Instagram account. She’s lowered her prices site-wide, with an additional 10% off her sale section, but was hesitant to be featured knowing there was no way of knowing when packages will go out. I think this leopard skirt is worth the wait:

We featured Makers of Israel—a curated collection of works by Israeli artisans for an international audience—earlier this year on GOLDA. Yesterday they wrote that their mission of connection and pride is more important than ever, and I couldn’t agree more. I love this new necklace created from recycled book paper by My Paper Tale.

I keep thinking about something the designer Noa Tarlovsky wrote me in the middle of the night from that bomb shelter: 

“What we’ve been going through here over the past two years is truly a nightmare. We’re living in an endless cycle of death, grief, fear, and pain. ‏And in the midst of all this, we try to find the beautiful and joyful things to hold on to. ‏We build our lives, our businesses. ‏We go to the beach. ‏We meet up with close friends. ‏We eat something comforting. ‏We take short breaks, go on little vacations. We remind ourselves that life is still beautiful.”

I’m grateful to all of these artists for reminding us that life is still beautiful.

Stay GOLDA,

Stephanie