For the past year and a half, like so many small businesses in Israel, we’ve been living day-to-day in the shadows of war; balancing survival with service, grief with grit. We at Let’s Bench, a modest Israeli business known for producing personalized benchers and Jewish print products, found ourselves in a moment of reckoning: How do we continue to serve the global Jewish community meaningfully when everything at home feels so unstable? 

The answer, surprisingly, came through swag. 

Tzipora Lifschitz

Daniel Laufer (left) and Yitz Woolf, owners of custom swag company Let's Bench.

For Jewish professionals — whether at schools, camps, synagogues or federations — swag is not just “stuff.” It builds belonging. It celebrates milestones. It helps people feel rooted in their communities. And in these turbulent times, we realized something: If institutions are already ordering tote bags, sweatshirts, water bottles, or even custom siddurim and benchers, why not make those purchases through an Israeli small business that’s trying to stay afloat? 

In the past year, Let’s Bench expanded its work beyond siddurim and benchers into event merchandise and custom swag. We served North American Federations ordering gifts for Israel solidarity missions and events. Jewish day schools seeking culturally resonant apparel. Camps looking for creative ways to celebrate their values. We’ve had t-shirts made for Israeli high school kids organizing protests for the hostages, and hoodies for mission participants coming to pick produce on farms impacted by the labor shortage resulting from the war. 

These business relationships did not impact Let’s Bench in isolation — we work with Israel’s industry of swag importers and producers. One of my newest colleagues is Shlomi, also from Jerusalem, who supplies merch of all kinds, most of it made here in Israel. There’s Roya from Holon, who has helped me through more than one kippah order calamity; and my regular standbys, Ofir and Shimon from Maor Velach, the local printer that takes care of all the bencher and siddur orders. Shimon is the owner of this small print shop that employs about 10 people, including Jews and Arabs who have been there for decades. (Not to be left out, my U.S. supplier is a Reform Jew in California, who initially contacted me as someone to service his customers heading to Israel; we now work together regularly and speak all the time about life in Israel and Jewish life in America.)

This isn’t just about commerce. It’s about connection. Every order supports our team and/or suppliers in Israel — some called up for reserve duty, others navigating disrupted lives. Every delivery is a reminder that the Jewish people are still showing up for each other, even in ways as seemingly small as a branded t-shirt or a custom bencher.

Resilience in Israel today isn’t always loud. Sometimes it looks like continuing to print, pack and ship. Sometimes it’s being the quiet bridge between your mission in America and our mission here in Israel. We know that swag isn’t the center of Jewish life, but the decisions around it reflect our values: Who we buy from. What messages we print. Which stories we choose to tell through the things we give. 

We hope Jewish institutions will continue thinking critically and creatively about how their purchases reflect their purpose. And for those looking for a way to stand with Israel, we’re here — still standing, still helping you celebrate with thoughtful swag, and still benching. 

Daniel Laufer is the founder and co-owner of Let’s Bench and a longtime Jewish educator with over 30 years of experience in the Ramah camping movement.