For over a century, Hanan Grebelsky’s family-run business has quarried and cut Jerusalem limestone, providing iconic buildings in Israel and abroad — such as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art — with chiseled stone facings, floors and more.

Founded in 1923 by Grebelsky’s grandfather Aharon, who immigrated to Israel from the Ukraine, A. Grebelsky & Son has weathered challenges from missile attacks to economic downturns while continuing to churn out blocks of stone for domestic consumption and export.

But the rise of the shekel, which recently hit a 30-year-high against the dollar, has created a “huge strategic concern” that outstrips those other challenges, according to Grebelsky, leaving him and many export-reliant businesses primarily paid in foreign currency struggling to stay afloat.

“[When] the country was at war it was imperative for us to show our customers that we are not stopping the machines,” Grebelsky told The Times of Israel. “But the surge in the shekel, which is out of our hands, is making our products more expensive, and endangers our ability to compete.”

According to Grebelsky, unless the government intervenes, the company will have to begin downsizing or cutting production to make up for the shortfall.

“I’m the third generation, and I really hope that I can at least give my kids the option to continue,” said Grebelsky.

The shekel last week fell below the exchange rate of NIS 3 to the greenback for the first time since 1995, hitting NIS 2.98.

The local currency has appreciated by almost 6 percent against the dollar so far in 2026, and about 20% over the past 12 months, despite an economy strained by military campaigns in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza.

The strengthening is driven by increased purchases of stocks in the Israeli market by local and foreign investors, global dollar weakness, and inflows of foreign investment into Israeli companies. The Tel Aviv-35 stock index has soared more than 21% since the start of the year, and the TA-125 rose about 18%, outperforming the 4.5% advance in the S&P 500 index during the same period.

“There is a general sense, maybe not so much in the last month, but generally over the past year, that Israel’s geopolitical situation has stabilized,” said RISE Israel Institute chief economist Assaf Patir. “Since the ceasefire in Gaza, a lot of anxiety about investing in Israel has subsided somewhat because of the economy’s resilience, and investors are coming back to Israel.”

Exporters, along with many high-tech firms and multinational companies, earn their money chiefly outside of Israel, meaning they are paid in dollars. But they pay workers’ salaries, overhead costs, taxes and other expenses in shekels.

“Every dollar that we make, we get less, as some 75% of our sales are to the US,” said Grebelsky. “At the same time, all of our production and........

© The Times of Israel