Yedidya Harush took the stage at the annual JNF Breakfast for Israel – Twin Cities on Tuesday morning, which was something Harush wasn’t expecting to be able to do even a couple of weeks ago.
“Until the last hours before the flight, I was still not sure whether the flight was going to happen,” he said. “But it worked out, and I’m here.”
Harush, recently named as one of the Ynet Global Future Young Voices, was the keynote speaker at the breakfast, which had more than 220 people in attendance. Other speakers included Minnesota native and IDF soldier Ben Ribnick, Lone Soldier parent and JNF volunteer Michelle Shamash; Ainsley Nuytten, a St. Thomas University student who participated in a JNF Caravan for Democracy; a high school senior who was a recent participant in Alexander Muss High School in Israel; and Pastor Dumisani Washington, the founder and CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel.
Harush lives in the town of Shlomit in the Haluza region in Israel’s south, right near the borders of Egypt and Gaza, and the western-most community in Israel. The region was forced to evacuate to Jerusalem after Oct. 7, 2023, for several months.
“Then we decided that we want to return, because for us, continuing to build this piece of land is a victory,” he said.
Harush likens the secret of the Jewish people to an olive.
“If you try an olive straight from the tree, it’s very bitter [and] not edible. It’s probably one of the only fruits that you cannot eat straight from the tree,” he said. “But when can you eat it? When you take it, you beat it up. Then amazing oil comes out. This is the Jewish people. You beat us up. And then amazing things happen.”
Harush has spent more than 600 days in the IDF reserves since Oct. 7. When not with his unit, he is a JNF liaison to the region, managing about $70 million of projects with JNF and the government.
“The idea of developing the area and expanding it and attracting young families to move to the communities,” he said. “It’s incredible. Our community has grown 20 percent since Oct. 7.
“We don’t have to convince them. They hear about what’s going on and they want to come.”
The community is a little more than an hour from Tel Aviv, and about a 30-minute drive to a train station for those who don’t want to drive into the city.
“There are advantages and disadvantages of being a pioneer in Israel in 2026,” he said. “There aren’t many, but it’s a different kind of pioneering. In the early pioneering movement, being a pioneer was so cool to go and dry the swamps and be out front. Nowadays its more challenging because you give up the ability to go get a coffee without driving 35 minutes, or going to the nearest bank.
“But we also realize that we have to offer people quality life, and we have to give them equal opportunities, like in the center [of Israel.”
Harush talked to the group about the region, which was founded in 2005 by families who left settlements in Gaza.
“We asked the government for the next national mission, and the government sent us to the borders with Egypt and Gaza, a place that has never been developed or lived in before,” he said. “From the sand, 15 families, against all odds, managed to turn it into an oasis, a place that is responsible for over 82 different species of fruits and vegetables, a place that has over 500 families today, young families, lots of kids, lots of life.
“Who would believe that the heart of the desert, 400 yards from the Egyptian border, two miles from Gaza, you’ll be able to succeed? “
Harush left the breakfast to fly back to Israel after five days in the Midwest representing JNF. He’s returning to his IDF unit to add to the 600 days that he has spent in active duty since Oct. 7.
“What we experienced on October 7 is not easy; we experienced great darkness, but great darkness, you don’t fight just with swords and guns…you mainly fight it with light,” he said, crediting the support of the JNF for his community and others to return home. “[Coming to the U.S.] is no less of a mission than being in the Army fighting in Gaza. And I want to take back with me all this energy, all this hope, and all this strength.”