Transcript [00:01] I knew I was always very Zionist [music] [00:02] from my upbringing. I made Ali from [00:05] London, married to my husband, Dir. He's [00:08] Israeli [music] and together we are [00:09] raising three Israeli children. I was [00:12] inspired by a man I met in England. [00:13] [music] He was responsible for the [00:14] agricultural development of Lish region [00:17] in the northern neg. And after I heard [00:19] him, I said, I know what I want to do [00:20] with my [music] life. And so I quit my [00:22] job for the British government and made [00:24] Dalia and went to work for the Israeli [00:26] foreign ministry. I just thought there's [00:27] nothing better and more Zionist [music] [00:29] than to work on behalf of the state of [00:30] Israel sharing one of the best things [00:32] Israel has to offer which is its [00:34] agricultural knowhow experience [music] [00:36] expertise. I was presented with the [00:38] opportunity to work together with [00:40] Israel's Volcani Institute. It's [music] [00:42] Israel's national agricultural research [00:44] institute has been responsible for most [00:46] of the agricultural [music] innovation [00:48] here in Israel throughout its history. [00:50] Every time there was a high level [00:51] foreign [music] delegation from around [00:52] the world, they would always ask the [00:54] same three questions. How did you do [00:56] this here in Israel? If you've done it, [00:57] why can't we? Can you help us? So to [01:00] realize this opportunity, I joined the [01:02] NGO, [music] [01:03] called it Volcani International [01:04] Partnerships. And before October the [01:06] 7th, [music] we were pushing and [01:08] supporting Israeli agricultural [01:09] innovation together with the Volcani [01:11] Institute and sharing Israel's knowhow [01:13] around the [music] world, both with [01:14] governments top down, but also bottom up [01:16] with the farmers themselves. October the [01:18] 7th was the day that changed all of our [01:20] [music] lives. And very quickly we [01:22] understood that what we should do is [01:23] build a national network of the top [01:25] Israeli agricultural scientists, [01:27] aronomists, economists, the tech [01:29] companies [music] and head down south to [01:31] the border with Gaza. And so we created [01:33] the project regrow Israel to not only [01:36] get all of Israel's [music] farmers [01:37] affected by October 7th and the ensuing [01:39] war back on their feet, but to really [01:42] ensure [music] they can grow back [01:43] stronger. And in so doing, we also [01:45] understood that there's probably a [01:47] long-term opportunity here. But if we're [01:49] smart and strategic, we can leverage [01:51] [music] what we're doing here once again [01:53] to go back to the world and help reduce [01:55] Israel's increasing global isolation and [01:58] make friends through agriculture, water, [02:01] climate change, [music] and food [02:02] expertise. We were privileged to be able [02:05] to raise more than $35 million to really [02:08] help farmers get back on [music] their [02:09] feet and to really grow back stronger [02:11] both for the south on the border with [02:12] Gaza and now we're starting in the [02:14] north. Receiving this award came as [02:16] [music] a little bit of a surprise, but [02:17] I'm deeply honored. I'm actually [02:19] thrilled about the recognition [music] [02:21] of the work that we've done in the [02:22] agricultural space and giving more [02:24] awareness to agriculture and to Israel's [02:26] farmers who day in and day out are [02:28] really building [music] the Zionist [02:30] dream for us all. I truly believe that [02:32] right now we're at a pivotal moment for [02:34] the state of Israel and global jewelry. [02:36] And we always need to [music] think [02:37] about the future, not the short term, [02:39] but how are we building a better state [02:40] of Israel for our children and our [02:42] children's children? [music] And I think [02:43] agriculture has a huge opportunity here [02:46] to really strengthen the state of [02:47] Israel.
Danielle Abraham, recipient of the 12th Annual Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize in the field of Global Impact
The annual Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize was established to recognize English-speaking Olim who have made a notable impact on Israeli society. Danielle Abraham, Executive Director of ReGrow Israel, who has led efforts to support farmers and rebuild agricultural communities affected by the October 7 attacks, was awarded the prize in the field of Global Impact.
For more information: https://www.boneizion.org.il/12th-annual-prize-recipients/
Video produced by Shai Getzoff
