There’s something about walking down the streets of Tel Aviv or Haifa today that feels different. Not just the usual buzz of tech startups or the resilient beat of life in the cafes, but something deeper – a shift in investing confidence. I’ve worked with Israeli capital markets long enough to know that when foreign investors start to come back, quietly but steadily, it means something is changing. And that’s exactly what’s happening now.
In the aftermath of the October 7 war and the political uncertainty that rocked Israel over the past year, many foreign investors did what investors always do in times of extreme volatility: they ran. Billions of shekels were pulled from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) as war broke out and headlines warned of deeper instability. I remember watching the numbers drop and thinking, “This will take a long time to rebuild.” But here’s the unexpected part – the recovery came much faster than anyone anticipated.
According to recent data from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s research department, since the beginning of the war, foreign investors have flipped from net sellers to net buyers. As of May 2025, foreign investors have injected a net total of over NIS 9.5 billion into Israeli stocks just this year. That’s not noise – that’s conviction.
And it’s not just any stocks. The biggest winners? Bank Leumi and Bank Hapoalim, two pillars of the Israeli economy, saw net foreign purchases of NIS 3.1 billion and NIS 2.1 billion, respectively. Elbit Systems, Israel’s leading defence contractor, also drew significant interest, with foreign investors acquiring more than NIS 1.7 billion worth of its shares. These are not speculative plays, these are stable, cash-generating institutions that reflect confidence in Israel’s core financial and industrial sectors.
You might ask: “But isn’t there still a war? Aren’t geopolitical risks high?” Yes, and yes. But that’s the point. Foreign investors are returning despite the uncertainty. As one senior banker put it, “They estimate that it won’t get any worse.” In markets, that shift in sentiment – when fear subsides enough to allow opportunity back in – is exactly where gains begin to grow.
There’s a realism here. Investors aren’t blind to the risks. Norway’s sovereign fund has made headlines for divesting from some Israeli firms. Political boycotts from parts of Europe remain a threat. And yet, what matters most in the world of money is performance – and Israeli banks, for example, continue to post low provisions for credit losses, growing loan portfolios, and some of the highest returns on equity in the developed world.
Foreign investors know this. And their actions speak louder than their words. Even amid global uncertainty, they are buying up shares in everything from the military sector and cyber security to pharmaceuticals and companies in the food sector.
Personally, I’ve always admired Israel’s ability to endure crisis with a clear eye on innovation and long-term growth. But this moment feels unique. It’s not just resilience it’s resurgence. The numbers on the TASE are not a fluke. They represent a calculated decision by some of the world’s sharpest investors: that this market is underpriced, underappreciated, and poised for recovery.
So why invest in Israel now?
Because when uncertainty turns into strategy, that is where real returns begin. Because the story is no longer about chaos but about a comeback. And because foreign investors, who once would not even take meetings, are now filling their portfolios with Israeli assets again.
I’ve seen the cycles. This one is turning upward. Don’t wait until the headlines change. By then, the best opportunities may already be gone.
Now is the time to invest in Israel.