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"We Just Wanted to Live Peaceful Lives": One Israeli Farmer’s Story of Survival and Generosity
After the horrors of October 7, Leket Israel helps farmers rebuild—and feed the hungry.
Yossi handed a knife to his eleven-year-old son and said, “If I don’t come back, you’re the one to protect the family.”
It was just after dawn when the rockets began to fall.
In a quiet farming village near the Gaza border, Yossi awoke to explosions. The Iron Dome battery behind his house roared, rattling the walls. His wife rushed to gather their four sons—ages five to eleven—into the bomb shelter. But it wasn’t just missiles that morning. It was something far worse.
“I saw my neighbor flying down the road, and I knew,” Yossi recalls. “The shooting came from every direction. It wasn’t normal. It wasn’t safe.”
Within minutes, terrorists had invaded their moshav - a tight-knit farming community.
Meet Yossi: Farmer and Father
Yossi’s hands are weathered from decades in the soil. Farming isn’t just his livelihood—it’s his legacy. He grew up working the fields alongside his father, learning to coax life from Israel’s dry southern soil. Today, he’s returned to those roots, growing tomatoes and fennel the traditional way in open fields.
But on October 7, 2023, that peaceful rhythm shattered. Terrorists breached the borders and descended on his moshav. Gunfire echoed from every direction. Yossi and his wife huddled with their four young sons in the bomb shelter. The army was nowhere in sight.
“They took four houses. I saw smoke rising,” Yossi says. “My wife was on WhatsApp with other mothers—no help for hours.” In the chaos, Yossi handed a knife to his eleven-year-old son and said, “If I don’t come back, you’re the one to protect.”
Yossi has a message for Christians: “What happened to us will happen to you. It’s not just because I’m Jewish. It’s because we want to live, raise our kids, and become grandparents. A peaceful life. If you think in the West that this has happened to us because we are Jewish, you have a big mistake, right? That's what I believe.”
God spared his family.
Though many were lost that day, no one in Yossi’s home was injured. “We were saved,” he says, still in awe. “People gave their lives for us.” With that second chance, Yossi did something remarkable.
The Bigger Picture: Agriculture in Crisis
Yossi’s story isn’t unique—it’s one of thousands.
Israeli farms along the southern border, once vibrant, are now scarred by war. Over 20% of Israel’s fresh produce comes from this region, the hardest hit on October 7. In a single morning, communities were uprooted, equipment destroyed, workers killed or driven away and fields burned or abandoned.
The toll is staggering.
Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture estimates farms in the Gaza envelope suffered $140 million in damages in the weeks following the attacks. Many growers lost crops and laborers. The cost of rebuilding is immense; the emotional toll is even greater.
Yet, against all odds, Israeli farmers like Yossi are growing food again. They’re planting, harvesting and doing what they were born to do. They can’t do it alone.
Where Leket Israel Comes In: The “Holy Company”
Despite everything, Yossi still gives.
“Leket is a holy company,” he says. “You don’t throw it away—you bring it to people who don’t have food.”
Leket Israel steps in when crops are near the end of their market life. Preventing farmers from plowing them under, instead of wasting good food, Leket coordinates with Israeli farmers like Yossi to rescue it.
Each year, Leket Israel collects millions of pounds of surplus produce that would otherwise be discarded. This food is distributed to tens of thousands of hungry Israelis—Jews, Arabs, refugees, single mothers, Holocaust survivors, children in poverty — everyone in need.
We practice the commandment of Leket, meaning to glean, found in Leviticus 19:9-10 nKJV,
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.”
Over 20 years of service, God has blessed Leket Israel in our mission to feed the hungry. We now feed over 450,000 Israelis a week, through over 300 partner charities.
After October 7, many assumed generosity would stop—that farmers who lost so much would have nothing left to give. Over 500 farmers have taken up Leket’s mission, and have allowed us to donate over 70 million pounds of food to those who need it!
Why This Matters: A Christian Call to Stand with Israel
As Christians, we’re called to feed the hungry, as Jesus taught. When we hear stories like Yossi’s, we don’t turn away. We lean in.
We recognize the courage it takes to keep planting in a war zone. We believe in standing with Israel’s farmers in their time of need.
Leket Israel is on the ground, doing the work. Farmers are giving. We can too.
Hope, Harvest, and Help
Yossi is still farming, planting, and hoping. “I returned to my roots,” he says. “I’m planting tomatoes again in July.” The soil has seen fire, but it’s not finished. Where terror once reigned, life grows again.
With your help, Leket Israel can ensure this harvest reaches those who need it most.
You Can Be Part of the Miracle
Support Israeli farmers like Yossi and help Leket Israel rescue more food for Israel’s vulnerable. We are thankful for how God has blessed our efforts but there is so much more to be done!
