A digital war room in a shelter: when the north was left alone, Kiryat Shmona's youth kept working

When the sirens didn't stop, most businesses on the confrontation line ground to a halt. Customers were evacuated, shops closed, and owners found themselves far from home and income. That was exactly when the decision was made not to stop.

A dedicated shelter became a digital war room: computers, internet and workstations in a place where work could go on while rockets fell outside. From there, digital services were provided to businesses: pages, campaigns, content and online presence, so they could keep reaching customers through the hardest time.

The people working there were young people from Kiryat Shmona and the area who chose to stay. They got real work, learned a profession, and became part of what kept the region's businesses alive. For them it was a first job. For the region, a sign that life goes on.

It wasn't a one-off. Shapo Digital still promotes young people from the north and supports entrepreneurs and ventures along the confrontation line with guidance, digital tools and exposure, so a good business from the north gets the same chance as any business in the center.

Michel Zvigi, founder of Shapo Digital, lives in Kiryat Shmona and also works from an office in Netanya. "Our clients are all over the country," he says, "but our home is here. What we learned in the shelter, that you can keep building even in the hardest conditions, stays with us in every project."