Israel must transform itself into “the Joseph of the Middle East” by becoming a regional power in food, water, and agricultural solutions, HaShomer HaChadash founder and CEO Yoel Zilberman said during a conversation with Jerusalem Post News Editor Alex Winston at The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York.
Zilberman, whose Zionist volunteer organization works to protect Israeli land and connect Israelis and Jews around the world to agriculture, said Israel must treat food security as a central pillar of national security, especially in light of the war and the escalation in the North.
“We must ensure that Israel becomes nothing less than the Joseph of the Middle East,” Zilberman said. “We need to act now so that the next accords will be the Joseph Accords.”
He said the vision should be for Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt to rely on Israeli solutions for water and food, arguing that such a shift could reshape the region’s strategic relationships.
“Israel is in exactly that position,” he said. “Just as we have made sure to build a great and strong army and develop significant energy resources including natural gas, etc., we must also ensure that Israel has food security. I won’t say food independence, because we will never be fully food independent, but we need food security that does not depend on Turkey or Jordan.”
Zilberman pointed to Russia and Qatar as examples of countries that responded to strategic threats by strengthening their domestic food industries. Russia, he said, elevated its agricultural sector in preparation for a long-term war, while Qatar rapidly expanded its food production following the 2017 embargo imposed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.
He also cited Egypt’s vulnerability following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, noting that the country had relied heavily on wheat imports from Eastern Europe.
Against that backdrop, Zilberman argued that Israel must strengthen its agricultural presence, particularly along its borders. He said that one of his proudest achievements during the war was not only commanding a division of more than 1,400 soldiers, but also establishing a ranch on the Syrian border.
“My greatest source of pride is actually that I established a new ranch right on the Syrian border, with 140 cows helping to guard the border,” he said. “I’m here, in New York, and they’re doing all the work.”
He said HaShomer HaChadash is also working with Kiryat Shmona to turn the city into Israel’s capital of agritourism, with plans to plant a record number of fruit trees and vineyards and create a volunteer village that could bring hundreds of thousands of children to the city.
“The story will be the love of the land, the connection to the land,” he said.
Zilberman repeatedly urged Jews around the world to build a direct connection to Israeli land, saying that every Jewish child should have “their own piece of land in Israel.”
“There is enough room in Israel for all of us to grow dates, lemons, grapes for wine or anything else you would like,” he said.
He also called for Israel to adopt a new national narrative, arguing that too much money is being spent fighting antisemitism instead of building a more compelling story about Israel’s contribution to the world.
“We were the Start-Up Nation,” he said. “Now we’re seeing that we need to build a new story, that Israel is a place that feeds the world.”