(44) Unifying a fractured nation by regrowing the land, with Danielle Abraham

This week Joanne meets Danielle Abraham: Oxford-educated, Woodford-raised, and now one of the most driven women rebuilding Israel from the ground up. As founder and CEO of Regrow Israel, Danielle mobilised emergency support for farming communities devastated in the Western Negev and northern Israel in the wake of October 7th, raising over $30 million and supporting more than 110 farms. She is also co-founder of Volcani International Partnerships, an Israeli NGO tackling global food and nutrition insecurity through Israel's world-leading agricultural expertise. In this conversation, Danielle unpacks the systematic, premeditated agricultural terrorism of October 7th, in which 40 irrigation control boxes were targeted and destroyed on a single kibbutz alone. She explains why rebuilding the farms was the only possible foundation for rebuilding the communities, and why agriculture sits at the very heart of Israel's identity. Together they move from the pioneering spirit of Ben Gurion's Israel to today's border farmers, from tikkun olam and Israel's global agricultural leadership to whether the land can be a unifying force for a fractured nation. A conversation brimming with hard-won hope and a powerful case for a part of Israel's story that is still largely untold. This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.