A major visitors center in the West Bank town of Har Bracha in Samaria was inaugurated last month by The Israel Guys, a Christian Zionist organization that has spent nearly two decades bringing more than 5,000 volunteers from 35 countries to help develop the Land of Israel. Joshua Waller, CEO of The Israel Guys, originally established as HaYovel, said the organization’s mission is to bring people to see for themselves how the biblical heartland is flourishing, despite what he says are media narratives portraying the area as beset by conflict. "We live here, we see the people who live here, and then we tell everyone what is actually happening.
Our role is to expand that and bring thousands of internationals to come and see for themselves," he told Fox News Digital. US AMBASSADOR HUCKABEE SLAMS EXTREME GROUP OF ISRAELI SETTLERS FOR SEIZING PALESTINIAN HOMES ON WEST BANK "You may love the Jewish people but be unsure how to deal with the propaganda, specifically the term ‘settler violence.’ Jews in Judea and Samaria have been branded as a radical group that would probably be dangerous to encounter. Well, come to the visitor center, and you will see the exact opposite," he said.
"You will see that it is a fake narrative built by the international community … it is a straight-up war against the Jewish [people]," he added. The organization’s volunteer programs include the Heartland Experience, a 10-day trip to Israel combining touring, volunteer work and interaction with local residents; the Grape Harvest trip, a two-week program held in late summer and early fall that focuses on helping farmers with the harvest; and the Men’s Pruning trip, a two-week program in early spring focused on pruning vineyards. Other programs include Zion Ops, a four-week program for young adults ages 18 to 30, and Day Visits, which offer two-hour visits to Har Bracha.
ISRAEL LAUNCHES 'BIBLICAL HIGHWAY' AMID CAMPAIGN TO ERASE JEWISH HISTORY In 2004, Tommy Waller, Joshua Waller’s father, traveled to Israel for the first time, where he met Nir Lavi, founder of Har Bracha Winery. Lavi shared his plan to fulfill the vision of the Prophet Jeremiah: "You shall again plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food" (Jeremiah 31:5). In 2007, after moving with his wife, Sherri, and their 11 children from Tennessee to Har Bracha, Waller Sr. established HaYovel, a U.S. nonprofit that provides Christian volunteers with an opportunity to work the land alongside Israeli farmers.
In 2013, the organization sought to counter anti-Israel rhetoric by launching The Joshua & Caleb Report TV show, its first dedicated pro-Israel media project, which in 2018 transitioned into a weekly podcast. Five years ago, the organization rebranded as The Israel Guys and stepped up its advocacy efforts. CHRISTIAN LEADERS HOLD EMERGENCY SUMMIT IN JERUSALEM TO CONFRONT GLOBAL RISE IN ANTISEMITISM The Israel Guys currently counts more than 20 team members and, since its founding, has helped develop some 120 farms.
Volunteers who come to Judea and Samaria work alongside local farmers, planting trees, erecting fences, harvesting crops and assisting with infrastructure projects. In the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Israelis, The Israel Guys launched Operation Ittai and raised $3.85 million to provide tactical supplies to communities in the area and strengthen their defenses against possible terrorist attacks. The group went viral at the time after bringing American cowboys to Israel to help farmers whose workers had been called up as reservists.
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