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Amid war, food rescue group switches from relying on farmers’ generosity to helping them survive
Yariv Hagbi, a farmer whose family has been growing produce in the area of southern Israel near Gaza for generations, spent part of Oct. 7 fighting terrorists who broke into his family home in the town of Yakhini.
That Saturday, his brother, Yizhar Hagbi, and several other relatives were killed. Since then, the entire community of Yakhini has been displaced, but Hagbi stayed behind because he’s determined to save the family farm — despite all the grief, shock and devastation.
“At a certain point, you have to get back to life,” Hagbi said.
A range of produce grows at Hagbi’s farm in Nir Moshe, including broccoli, potatoes, cabbage, melon, tomatoes, corn and chickpeas. Until the war, the farm relied on Thai farmhands — part of an agricultural workforce of tens of thousands of foreign laborers in Israel. But most fled their places of work after Hamas’s brutal attack left dozens of foreign farmworkers dead or abducted and turned a large swath of southern Israel into a war zone. Without the 20 Thais who had worked at Hagbi’s farm, Hagbi’s produce was left unpicked and was starting to rot.
Hundreds of other farms in southern Israel — the source of approximately 75% of the country’s vegetables — were in similarly dire circumstances.
Joseph Gitler, Founder and Chairman of the Israeli food rescue organization Leket Israel, quickly pivoted his organization’s focus to address the crisis.
In normal times, Leket Israel collects surplus produce from farms around the country — and excess cooked meals from institutions such as hotels and army bases — and distributes the food to needy families via a network of nonprofit organizations. In 2022, Leket rescued 58 million pounds of agricultural produce, and the 20-year-old organization was on track to increase those numbers in 2023.
Then came Hamas’s attack and the war in Gaza.
“We immediately understood that the Oct. 7 attack would bring an upheaval to our work,” Gitler said. “We realized that our food sources were about to dry up.”
First, Leket shifted gears to aid Israeli farmers, who until the war had been Leket’s primary donors of surplus food. The organization began recruiting volunteers from Israel and around the world to help fill the gap left by the absence of farm workers, organizing 15,000 to 20,000 volunteers to farms amid a nationwide movement of volunteers helping pick, plant and protect produce from weeds.
Leket also began purchasing produce from farmers rather than just collecting surplus. The need is particularly high because Israeli farms have lost many export customers due to the challenges of harvesting and transporting the produce at a time when workers and overseas flights are both in short supply (most international carriers have canceled all their Israel flights).
Volunteers with a sign reading “United until victory” pause for a group photo amid work on a farm. (Courtesy of Leket Israel)
At the same time, Leket has been continuing to provide meals to needy Israelis even as some of the organizations it works with to distribute those meals have suspended operations during the war due to logistical difficulties — or, like the army, don’t have surplus food anymore. Today Leket provides about 15,000 meals per day — 50% more than before the war — all via purchased rather than donated food.
“The situations of people we help hasn’t gotten any better since October 7,” Gitler said. “In some cases, they have gotten worse.”
For farms in the vicinity of Gaza, the challenges are tremendous. Almost all farming families in the south are mourning loved ones or friends, have been evacuated from their homes, or have family members doing military reserve duty. The farms themselves have suffered significant damage, including incineration by Hamas terrorists, fields torn up by military vehicles, structures damaged by rocket or mortar fire, and locations commandeered by the army. Farms within four kilometers of the border must obtain special permission from the Israeli Defense Forces to continue operating amid the fighting. Then, of course, there’s the loss of the farmworkers themselves.
That problem is afflicting farmers all over Israel, not just those in the war zones.
Yuval Shargian, a farmer in Tzofit, north of Tel Aviv, whose 100-acre tract grows broccoli, zucchini and leeks, for years has donated his surplus to Leket. But when his entire workforce of Thai and Arab workers disappeared after Oct. 7, he became reliant upon volunteers.
“It’s been amazing with the volunteers,” Shargian said. “They have a lot of good will and a desire to help. My farm will survive because of them.”
Debbi Hirsch Levran, a retired social worker and lawyer living in Jerusalem, is among those who have has been volunteering on farms during the war, and she frequently helps organize buses of volunteers through her synagogue, Kol Haneshama.
“We have worked in cauliflower fields and strawberry fields. We picked sweet potatoes, oranges and tomatoes. We planted broccoli,” Levran said. “It has been therapeutic for us — not only to be in the fresh air and to be with friends, but also to assist people who we’ve never met before but who are part of our larger community of Israel.”
Dan Greenberg, 51, joined a Leket volunteer group on a recent visit to Israel from his home in Brooklyn, New York, picking tomatoes and pomegranates near Gaza.
“The work was tough and exhausting. Every muscle hurt at the end of the day,” Greenberg said. “And it was the most fulfilling work I have ever done.”
Volunteers are helping keep Israeli farms afloat amid a dearth of farmhands and other problems resulting from the war in Israel. (Courtesy of Leket Israel)
Leket has set up a series of partnerships to create new avenues to support farmers and volunteers. A new partnership with Bank Leumi, the Israel Student Union and the Keshet media company will give 800 students who volunteer on a farm for 160 hours a yearlong academic scholarship. In a new partnership with Strauss foods, farmers can receive a debit card through which they get direct funding.
Supporting the farmers is vital not just to keep them in business but also to support Israel’s entire food system. If the farms in southern Israel were to collapse, Israel would have to embark on a major food import campaign with long-term repercussions for Israel’s economy and the national ethos of being self-sustaining.
“That would start a difficult path to come back from,” Shargian said. “Had the volunteers not helped with the planting, Israel would be having a real food crisis now.”
Levran and Hagbi both say planting is critical at this moment.
“The most important thing is to keep planting; it is about preserving our way of life,” Hagbi said. “My family has been farming here for generations, and our enemies want to erase our entire way of life. We are fighting for our very existence. Planting is our way of ensuring our long-term survival here in a Jewish, democratic state. We are doing this for all of Israel.”
Through Leket, tourists to Israel may volunteer for as little as several hours planting, packing or harvesting.
“We need all hands on deck right now,” Gitler said. “Leket is doing what we can. But we need more help. If you’re coming to Israel, be ready to roll up your sleeves. Everyone has to participate.”
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The post Amid war, food rescue group switches from relying on farmers’ generosity to helping them survive appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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When It Comes to Antisemitism, People Can’t Handle the Truth
Police officers gather on Pearl Street in front of the Boulder County Courthouse, the scene of an attack that injured multiple people, in Boulder, Colorado, US, June 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mark Makela
At a recent event at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan, Jewish historian and Holocaust expert Deborah Lipstadt said she has had to explain to people that antisemitism is real. It’s quite ironic, considering that she had to have a court battle with Holocaust denier David Irving that was made into the film Denial.
There are many Jews in denial about antisemitism, because they think if they lie and claim it doesn’t exist, all the problems will go away. This has been proven false time and time again throughout history.
Sadly, some are in another kind of denial — they claim that antisemitic attacks are preventable by combating “misinformation.” This is simply not true.
Was the antisemitic attack in Colorado preventable by the Egyptian terrorist who was residing in the US illegally? Only if he’d been deported — or never let in to begin with. It also perhaps could have been prevented if he’d told anyone about his plans, and they reported him to police.
The sad truth is that the majority of antisemitic attacks, or violent attacks against anyone, are not preventable. But that truth doesn’t make anyone feel good. Instead, people would like to promote a false sense of security that is actually dangerous. Just as people wanted to tell Lipstadt that antisemitism wasn’t a real problem, people like Professor Cynthia Miller-Idriss of American University want to claim that the Colorado attack was preventable by equipping people against misinformation.
In her article on MSNBC.com, titled “Boulder, Colorado terror attack victims deserved better from Trump-and Biden,” Miller-Idriss conveniently neglects to mention the attacker was in the country illegally. Nor does she mention what former President Joe Biden or President Trump should have done/should do to combat misinformation. I have interviewed numerous experts on antisemitism in my more than two decades of covering the topic, and there is no magic bullet. That’s why Miller-Idriss has nothing specific that Biden or Trump should have done/do.
I don’t like the term “misinformation” because something is either true, it’s a lie, or a person is spreading information without caring if it is true or not. The term “misinformation” lets the liar get away with it.
Zionism is the right for a self-determinate Jewish State. But there are many who learn that Zionism means Jewish supremacy over any other person — because they are taught that lie by their professors, their parents, podcasters, or so many others. Those who believe antisemitic tropes are not going to simply unlearn it in 30 seconds.
But wait! According to Miller-Idriss, “There is strong evidence that people can be dissuaded from believing in harmful online propaganda and conspiracy theories in as little as 30 seconds, just by learning about the manipulative tactics of persuasive bad actors and becoming more skeptical.”
Maybe this is true of a tiny amount of people, but not in any real numbers — and certainly not someone who has decided he is ready to kill Jews. Jews need to learn self-defense and be armed as much as possible. Kumbaya idealism is suicidal. But have no fear — Miller-Idriss lays out in the article that the solution is “upstream prevention,” a nonsense term meant to pacify uncritical eyes. When schools barely teach the Holocaust and many believe Israel woke up one day in 1948 and decided to simply steal someone else’s land, authors like this professor miss the point entirely.
The author correctly writes that people blame American Jews for the actions of Israel. But why? Russia invaded Ukraine unprovoked, but no American Russians fear getting attacked.
No Chinese Americans fear being attacked for what has been done to the Uyghurs.
The reason is that they aren’t Jews.
Even if it was only “misinformation” there is no way to combat it to a significant degree. It would be like trying to dry the ocean with a paper towel. It is about long-taught hatred, and not relegated to what is currently happening in the Middle East. That is simply used as the inspirational flashpoint to claim it has nothing to do with antisemitism and is anti-Zionism.
We are either serious about combating antisemitism or we are not. If we are, it involves calling out major outlets that spew antisemitic bile. If the professor wanted to criticize Biden, she should have rebuked his staff for barely responding to people who called him “Genocide Joe.” His lack of a response to this did irreparable damage to American Jews that will be felt for decades to come.
Either Biden or one of his representatives should have once a day for a week explained why Israel is not committing a genocide and rebuke professors teaching that it is.
There is no more “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and it is time to stop living in the land of make-believe.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post When It Comes to Antisemitism, People Can’t Handle the Truth first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Despite the Ongoing War, Israel Must Build Up Its Natural Strengths
An Israeli flag flies at a past Israel Day Parade.
Since October 2023, the State of Israel’s main strategic vector has been a campaign against enemies in the region centered around Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran. This campaign is nearing its end. In the coming months, the open challenges will be decided. Whether by force, agreement, or a combination of the two, the issues of the hostages and Hamas’s full disarmament and removal in Gaza as well as the nuclear project in Iran will reach decisions.
The other challenges are undergoing processes of change that are mostly positive from Israel’s perspective. In Lebanon, a new order is taking shape, influenced by the weakening of Hezbollah. In Syria, a new order – not without risks – is being built without the presence of Iran and its proxies. In Judea and Samaria, the system is converging around the question of the day after Abbas; and the Trump administration is pushing for the promotion and expansion of the Abraham Accords and the integration of Israel into the region.
In this situation – even if the military operation in Gaza continues for several more months or an Israeli or Israeli-American campaign is conducted against Iran – it is clear that within six months to a year at most, Israel will emerge from the war into a reality of the continuous use of force.
It is appropriate to return to the basics of David Ben-Gurion’s national security strategy and realign the national focus from the security level “Strike Force” to the national level “Prime Force,” as Ben-Gurion did after the War of Independence. One of the basic conventions of his strategy is that Israel should strive as much as possible for long periods of national capability-building and reduce as much as possible the time it takes to transform into a “Strike Force” for the purpose of defeating enemies.
The ongoing mobilization and activation of the “Strike Force” since October 2023, along with the clear victory already achieved and its expected completion in the coming months, gives even greater validity to this principle. Unlike in the days of Ben-Gurion, the “Strike Force” will remain in the form of increased regular and permanent service and in the periodic but significantly reduced mobilization of the reserves. This will make it possible to maintain ongoing security efforts across the various arenas.
A significant acceleration of “Prime Force” national efforts – in terms of security, the economy, and society – is needed to place Israel on a path of renewed strength. I will not touch on the regional and international political aspects, though extensive action must also be promoted in these areas. One, for example, is the effort to enlarge Israel’s “Competitive Identity.”
The Israeli government’s work plans for 2025 show noteworthy efforts to accelerate the development of national strengths. The main challenge is the national need to make a substantial leap forward in the arrangement, inclusion, and implementation of core components of the next national strength. To this end, it is important to focus execution on core issues, consolidate existing plans and their completion, allocate executive attention (ministerial committees, teams of Directors General), abolish execution barriers, and move forward vigorously and quickly to execute clear planning goals.
Israel should define a limited number of national efforts, the implementation of which would be led by the executive branch. Without ignoring other important efforts, the focus should be on those that can provide a public and business growth engine for other issues as well. Some, like the housing issue, are already being addressed.
The following are what I consider the top five national projects:
- National public transportation network: Israel needs to accelerate construction of an integrated network of public transportation solutions that will provide a comprehensive, relevant, and available door-to-door response to the population’s residential, employment and service needs. This network includes the deployment of several international airports, including one additional major airport parallel to Ben-Gurion Airport; a passenger and cargo rail network; (electric) buses; and improvements in maritime access to Israel. This network must connect the periphery to the center in order to expand the connection between housing and employment solutions. In terms of cost, it should be accessible to all segments of the public. Metropolitan transportation authorities will be needed to best adapt the plans. Reducing the scope of vehicle use will also require providing a respectful response to transportation needs on Shabbat.
- National computer network: Israel must complete both a leap forward in physical communications infrastructure (cellular and fiber optics) in a way that allows for bandwidth tailored to future needs and the full digitization (applications, cloud infrastructure) of national and local services and supporting infrastructure for businesses.
- Advanced computing infrastructures: Israel must significantly accelerate the establishment of the computing infrastructure required for artificial intelligence needs, the promotion of a national response to the challenge of quantum computing, and the supporting frameworks that enable the implementation of these capabilities. The implementation of national plans for AI is currently too slow to keep pace with developments in the field.
- Health and welfare response to population growth: The expected growth requires a significant expansion of the pace and scope of construction of response infrastructure. There is already a National Strategic Outline Plan at the Ministry of Health and the Planning Directorate for Health Institutions. There are plans to expand the response to the challenge of an aging population, but the necessary increases in infrastructure and manpower must be accelerated.
- A relevant and strong security solution over time: Security capabilities are a key component of the “Prime Force,” and in the current period also a significant engine of technologies and exports. During the war, the defense establishment received – and will continue to receive – increased resources to create a robust response after the revelation of insufficiencies in October 2023 and thereafter. The historical phenomenon of waves of increases and decreases in the IDF’s response capacity must be stopped. This time, lessons must be learned and a response built that will create a strong and relevant army and security system while avoiding excessive reductions in investment during periods of apparent calm. The goal is to ensure that the investment is carried out not as a concentrated effort but as an ongoing process over decades. This will require close examination and control by elements within and outside the IDF.
Alongside the five “national projects” will be some “national challenges.” The legislative branch (the Knesset) should lead the handling of these challenges as a basis for strengthening its position (see below), and because they require dialogue, agreements, legislation and control of implementation processes. I have tried to define what I consider the five “national challenges” on which to focus (though this is of course open to discussion):
- Rebalancing the three branches of government: Defining the relationship between the three branches and returning powers and capabilities to the legislative branch. The executive branch should focus on the efficient execution of processes. One way to do this is to significantly reduce the number of ministers and stop viewing the Knesset as an “employment solution” for legislators. Small ministries should be consolidated into “super-ministries.” A limited number of ministers should serve as horizontal projectors (by, for example, leading the integration of “national projects”). All others should return to essential key roles in the legislative branch. At the same time, the process of transforming the judiciary – mainly the High Court – into a legislative branch (“legislators in judges’ robes”) should be stopped. The determination of norms and principles should be returned to legislators. Judges should focus on examining compliance with the law.
- Integrating the ultra-orthodox into the economy and sharing the civic burden: The Israeli economy will have difficulty functioning if the growing ultra-orthodox population does not share in the national security effort and the economic burden. A fundamental change in the current situation will require agreements that address the unique needs of this population.
- Eliminating crime in Arab society: Organized crime is a source of chaos at the national level and hinders the normal development of Arab society. Significant efforts are being made to deal with it, but close monitoring of the effectiveness of these efforts as well as legislation are required.
- Lowering the cost of living by increasing competitiveness: The cost of living in Israel is a national problem that requires serious solutions. The many efforts in this area do not sufficiently address the main problem: the concentration of power in key industries in the hands of a few corporations and the lack of competitiveness. A legislative and practical leap is needed to increase competitiveness and reduce the control of these corporations.
- Reconstruction of the South and the North: Considerable efforts are being made on this issue as well, but the depth of national commitment to the issue and the need to assist and develop the population will require dialogue, in-depth monitoring, and legislation.
The next strategic vector of the State of Israel, after stabilizing a desirable security environment and perhaps even a political one for the country in the coming year, is a significant acceleration of national strengths. To this end, Israel should begin a strategic process of defining a limited number of “national projects” and responding to “national challenges” to strengthen its capabilities with a forward-looking vision.
Col. (res.) Shay Shabtai is a senior researcher at the BESA Center and an expert in national security, strategic planning, and strategic communication. He is a cyber security strategist and a consultant to leading companies in Israel. A version of this article was originally published by The BESA Center.
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Parshat Naso: Finding Peace By Working Together Towards Common Goals
A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org.
In this week’s parsha, we find the three-part blessing of Birchas Kohanim, which culminates in a blessing of “Shalom” — peace. We find the blessing of peace to be a culminating one in a number of places across Jewish liturgy. It is the final blessing in Shmoneh Esreh, the silent conversation we have with Hashem three times a day, and it is also the way we end almost all versions of Kaddish (aside from the half Kaddish).
Clearly, peace is important on a national level. Not having enemies actively attacking us and calling for our destruction has been hard to come by at many times in our history, and our present. We certainly want to be at peace as a nation, but is this all that this blessing of peace means?
Instead, we should ask what peace is on the individual, family, and team levels. The ending words of Kaddish give us a clue.
As we finish Kaddish, we say “oseh shalom b’mromav, hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu” — “He who makes peace in the heavens should place peace upon us.” What peace is made in Heaven? Are there potential attackers that need to be quieted? Is there divisiveness in heaven that Hashem needs to adjudicate?
This phrase comes from the book of Iyov (25:2) — from one of Bildad’s speeches where he is waxing poetic about the awesomeness of Hashem. Rashi, in his second explanation, says that the Shalom needed in Heaven is because the elements of fire and water are present, and Hashem orchestrates them working together in peace rather than the water putting out the fire. The Targum also explains that there are different angels that have the force of these elements, and Hashem helps them work in unison. Shalom, in this understanding, may be better translated as harmony.
Rav Yitzchak Arama, in explaining this concept says, “Peace and harmony are trademarks of G-d’s creation and handiwork. Nothing is functional or endures in this universe unless it represents the successful merging of a variety of elements.” Instead of a level of unity that we might imagine is closer to the oneness of Hashem, we find that Hashem specifically has opposing forces working together towards a similar goal, and this is the hallmark of heavenly harmony — Shalom.
In our current reality, avoiding the echo chamber is hard. Our phones and technology are programmed to track our preferences and give us more of what we like and agree with. Debate in the political arena (and many others) has become so emotional and personal that many would rather just not bring up an opposing viewpoint instead of risking awkwardness, embarrassment, or anger. But this is not the way Hashem runs Heaven. It is not the way of Shalom.
This concept of Shalom should also influence our leadership. A number of the school leaders I work with have been very excited by the book, The 6 Types of Working Genius. It lays out a construct for recognizing the different steps needed from initially generating ideas to executing the best idea. In breaking down the process, the author also recommends identifying which steps are areas of strength and weakness for each team member, to better understand how to involve team members in projects so that they will enjoy their work and add maximum value.
These leaders have found this system to cultivate a sense of teamwork, and help facilitate people working together towards a common goal. It seems that part of the power of the construct is that it acknowledges that everyone has areas of natural talent and enjoyment, as well as areas they find frustrating when working on a team. Instead of being embarrassed or hesitant to share that I dislike some of the work I know needs to get done, it becomes an expected preference that I am encouraged to share with my team so we can play to everyone’s strengths. This construct leans into Rav Yitzchak Arama’s concept of Shalom — nothing will be successful unless it includes a variety of team members with different strengths and weaknesses. Accepting this premise and assuming that team functionality will be strongest when such harmony exists, is critical for leading teams well.
There is also another place where peace is the final blessing. It is the way that Rav Yehudah HaNasi ends the Mishna. His epic work encapsulating the skeletal structure of all of Jewish law ends with a final Mishna in Uktzin: Hashem found no better utensil to hold blessing for the Jewish people than peace. As it says, “Hashem gave strength to His nation. Hashem blessed His nation with peace.” Perhaps here as well, the ultimate blessing is the Shalom, not from an external threat, but that of the Jewish people working together in harmony toward the same goal.
May we be given the wisdom to create this peace in our own leadership and life, and may Hashem grant the Jewish people the strength and the gift of peace, from external enemies and from internal divisiveness, speedily in our days.
Maury Grebenau is the director of JNTP’s Administrator Support Program, coaching dozens of school leaders each year. Maury publishes and speaks widely on topics of leadership and education.
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