(Video: Tomer Shunam, Yaron Brener)
Shortly after the beginning of war, ten cowboys from the United States arrived in Israel to help farmers, some of whom were called up for reserve duty, or whose foreign workers had fled and not returned due to the situation, leaving no one to take care of the fields.
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Two of the initiators of this movement are Britt Waller and Yossi Strein, who are currently at HaYovel farm in the northern West Bank. They spoke with Ynet about the topic.
"My dad actually started an organization almost 20 years ago now to bring Christian Zionists from all over the world to come in and help," Waller said.
Yoss, you live in Montana, what drives you to come to Israel?
"Well, I'm a Christian, so I believe the Bible is true. And from what I can see the Jewish people have a right to live here, and so I'm going to do anything I can to support them in that. I've been here three other times helping out with that and when the war started, I said if I get the opportunity, I'm going to come. There's no way I'm going to ignore that."
How long are you going to stay here?
"I'm planning on about a month right now, but I might extend it."
And the family back in Montana? Are they worried?
"No, they're not worried. They're very supportive."
HaYovel farm was established by the Waller family from Texas. They are an entirely Christian family, with no Jewish connection, who believe in the Jewish right to the land of Israel. They call themselves "Christian Zionists".
The Waller family has 11 children and over 40 grandchildren, many of whom live on the farm. They sustain themselves through donations, primarily from the U.S., and their aspiration is to maintain a simple agricultural lifestyle.
In recent weeks, they raised $2.5 million, using the money to purchase equipment for the alert squad of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.