The farming kibbutzim and moshavim in the south of Israel were among the first to suffer from the blunt force of the initial Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023. 

Many have lost their families, their neighbors, and their workers to the savagery of Hamas. They were forced to abandon their fields and flee to safety, leaving their crops at peak ripeness to the elements.

The IDF doesn’t allow most of the farmers to enter their fields for security reasons. Those farmers who can return and want to try to salvage whatever produce they can, face a daunting task, as harvesting fields and hothouses without workers is impossible. 

The survival of the Israeli farmer is very much at stake.

Farmers were badly hit by years of Covid. This was followed by the year of Shmitah – when no produce was grown in their fields and many crops took much longer to recover.

Now, with a war lasting indefinitely, their farms are on the brink of collapse! 

Produce is rotting in the fields and there is no way for the farmers to plant crops for the next season – exacerbating an already untenable situation. 

Meanwhile, produce is getting scarce on grocery shelves and prices are increasing. The Israeli public is already feeling the effects of the farmers being forced to abandon their fields. 

Standing with our farmers in an effort to rebuild.

Israeli farmers who commit to keeping Shmitah become part of the Keren Hashviis family. It’s a relationship that spans the entire seven-year cycle of Shmitah, with so much more than just financial and educational aid during the Shmitah year. 

Now, with many of our Shmitah-observant farmers’ children serving in the army, and many of them facing financial ruin – with no access to their farms during the critical harvest time –  our efforts to support them are all the more needed. 

Keren Hashviis personnel on the ground are spending their days visiting farmers across the country, and have already distributed substantial funds to 30 farmers whom they have found to be in need of immediate financial assistance. 

Upon receiving the funds, the farmers were overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness – feeling that they were cared for and there were people out there supporting them. 

Furthermore, Queens residents Heshy and Adina Greenberg, longtime supporters of Keren Hashviis, have managed to send close to 100 duffle bags full of vital supplies to a supply warehouse near the Gaza border. Previously, the warehouse was a farm produce packing facility owned by Karen and AviChai Koch, Shmitah-observant farmers, who graciously turned the facility into a much-needed supply depot for the soldiers.

Keren Hashviis was instrumental in helping with the logistics of that shipment and ensuring the supplies made it through the Israeli customs process. 

Let’s continue this streak of giving and give even more! We don’t have any time to waste – Israel’s farmers are counting on us to respond quickly and efficiently in support of them and their farms. 

Stand with our Farmers. Save their Farms. 
Donate now: saveafarmfund.org/teams/khe