Aside from the heavy loss of life from the October 7 attack by Hamas inside Israel, the country has endured economIc hardship, especially in the agricultural segment. Crops need to be harvested, seeds for next harvest need to be planted. But farm workers from Thailand and from Gaza no longer are available.
Volunteers from America and other countries have flown to Israel, though the numbers in no way equal the required manpower. Several of my friends, including Ken Friedland, Richard and Janet Greenfield, and Michael and Barbara Picheny undertook five day missions to Israel. Benny Cohen, along with Harold and June Hochberger, spent six weeks in the fields and in makeshift kitchens near Gaza feeding soldiers on their way to battle.
What follows is Ken’s (edited) report on his mission:
I went to Israel the second week of December on a JNF (Jewish National Fund) volunteer mission for the primary purpose of helping perform needed manual tasks that weren’t and still aren’t getting done because of the worker shortage. It was an extraordinary experience.
Some background:
- As a result of the October 7th Hamas attack and the ensuing Gaza war, most if not all of the 80,000 Thai agricultural workers left the country, Israel suspended its program that allowed 100,000 Palestinian workers to enter the country daily, and some 350,000 IDF reservists were called up for active duty. The net effect has been a critical shortage of workers across the economy but the agricultural industry has been hit the hardest.
- The prime harvest season is well underway and will be quickly followed by the planting season for next year and there just aren’t enough workers to harvest or plant crops and the farming industry is facing an economic catastrophe. Many farms have already gone under with their owners unable to hold on. The government has no official program to assist but there’s a functioning organization, HaShomer HaChadash, that works to identify the worst hit farms and the agricultural products most needed, and organizes Israeli volunteers to help. Some 80,000 Israelis have responded and have spent days and even weeks on the farms doing what they can, but the crisis is still acute. Just not enough hands. This same organization has partnered with JNF to send volunteers and several thousand Americans have signed up. Ours was the first volunteer mission to go. We were comprised of some 60 people from all over the U.S. and were together on the mission for four days, not including the arrival day. A quick in and out for most. Our roundtrip travel was each person’s responsibility.
- There are several hundred thousand evacuees across the country as the Israeli populations of the Gaza Envelope and the towns and cities along the Lebanon border were required to evacuate. These evacuees are living in hotels indefinitely and support for them (food, clothing, schooling, supplies, etc.) is coming mostly from non-governmental organizations.
- Israel has been traumatized by recent events but the entire country is functioning as one and in concert as they mourn their losses, fight a war, and care for each other. Amazing to actually be a witness to a society working together toward a common goal. I’d never experienced anything like it.
The highlights of our experience which was entirely focused on the Negev and the farms, communities and institutions that were and continue to be directly affected by October 7th and its aftermath:
- We stayed at the beautiful Kedma Hotel in Sde Boker. There were no guests. Just us and the evacuees.
- We were given daily and multi-daily instructions (as our venues changed) about sheltering should the sirens go off. None did.
- We were on the buses each day by 7:30 a.m. and returned after dark, totally exhausted. On the third day, Richard and I and some others decided we needed a well- deserved alcohol experience (Richard is a devoted single malt guy and I love my vodka) and so I asked the bus captain if we could stop at a liquor store. She looked at me as though I was crazy and asked why we didn’t just get some drinks at the hotel bar. Yup. There it was. A beautiful bar located just off the lobby. Seems that we were all too tired to notice it as we dragged our bodies off the bus and into the hotel, ate our dinner, and collapsed in our beds.
- Day 1: We were driven to a farm on the Egyptian border where we spent 4-5 hours on our hands and knees weeding a scallion field. For me, it was the most difficult physical task I experienced on the mission but we all went about it with extraordinary energy. Then back on the bus heading to Beer Sheva with a stop at a cemetery where we visited a newly- created area of graves accommodating 29 victims murdered at Kibbutz Beeri. Families, children -- just awful. Kaddish. We then drove north where we worked at the campus of The Alexander Muss High School putting together hundreds of Hanukkah gift packages for wounded soldiers and their families, and the staff at Soroka Hospital.
- Day 2: Another 4-5 hours of farm labor, picking lemons and oranges on a farm not far from Sderot and not far from Gaza where we could easily hear the sounds of war. We were by then used to the roar of jet fighters and the distant noise of explosions but the moment we heard something obviously different, we looked up and saw something new. There were several white puffs in the sky, apparently the tell-tale signs of successful interceptions by Iron Dome missiles of Hamas rockets. The rockets had been heading north towards Ashdod where sirens had gone off. No rockets got through that day. We were a few miles east and had a perfect view of the event.
The four tons of oranges and lemons we picked were just a small fraction of what was available in the grove where we worked; nevertheless, a smiling farmer thanked us profusely.
We then drove to Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva, the medical epicenter of the horrors of October 7th. After meeting with hospital administrators, we split into small groups and went room to room to deliver the Hanukkah gift packages we’d put together the previous day. One’s experience depended entirely on what took place in an individual room. For Richard, Janet and me, we’ll never forget those moments.
- Day 3: We spent the entire day at an army warehouse and distribution center putting together (assembly line fashion) snack packages for IDF soldiers in Gaza. We were told the packages would be on site in Gaza for the soldiers as soon as the next day. It was a labor of love and by day’s end, we were exhausted but so very content with our small contribution.
- Day 4: The buses again headed toward the direction of Gaza to take us to ADI Negev, a special medical facility which is home to several hundred in-patients including children with special needs and soldiers and others in rehab recovering from surgeries, traffic accidents, etc. It is the only facility of its type in the Negev and is the creation of an extraordinary man named Doron Almog. Doron was the first soldier off the plane at Entebbe, served as a member of the small group of men assigned to hunt down and “eliminate” the Munich Olympic terrorists who’d murdered Israeli athletes, was the IDF head of Operation Moses (the rescue of the Ethiopian Jewish population) and rose through the ranks to become the head of the IDF Southern Command. He was chairman of the Jewish Agency and he’s the person responsible for the creation of ADI Negev. He spoke to us for about 20 minutes and related an incredibly compelling story about the essence of being a Jew in Israel and the kind of country Israel should be. You can access his talk via this link (Download Attachment). I believe it’s worth your time to hear what he has to say.
If you recall some of the videos seen on world news outlets showing the initial fighting on October 7th, you’ll certainly remember many scenes of cars being attacked by Hamas on various roads in the Negev. The entrance to ADI Negev is on one of those roads and, for whatever reason, the terrorists drove past the facility and went on a killing spree just a mile or two further into Israel. There were no casualties at ADI Negev.
- In the many talks we heard and interactions we had with a wide variety of Israelis, there was zero talk of politics. The country is entirely focused on winning the war and having the captives returned.
In sum:
Unique, extraordinary, incredible, fulfilling, satisfying, inspiring and so much more. An experience to remember for the rest of my life. We made a very small tangible contribution but just as important, we gave every Israeli we came into contact with a sense that they are not alone. Am Yisrael Chai.
