Friday, March 29th, 2024

My mom has a Ph.D in plant genetics.  When I was growing up, she was a research scientist at Harvard University, and when we lived in Israel her research was at the Weizman Institute and Tel Aviv University. Beyond that, though, we kids never really knew what specific plant research she was doing.

Little did we know that Israeli plant scientists are among the world leaders in botanical research. They know how to solve problems of pests and pathogens, water, soil and climate. They successfully grow tropical crops like mangos, bananas, and avocados.

And now. . . . . . Super Chocolate.

Apparently, climate change has brought heavy rain, flooding, and fungal disease to the cocoa crops in West Africa, which supplies 3/4 of the world’s cocoa beans. This year, the cocoa bean season is expected to produce 33% less than usual. I think that means a $5 bag of M&Ms. But here’s what happened in Israel.

A scientist named Ellen Graber was working with cocoa plants, and on October 4, she sent 140 seedlings to a research and development station a few kilometers from the Gaza border.  Three days later, HAMAS.  As you can imagine, everything in that area shut down.  There was no electricity, the plants received no fertilizer or water until mid-January. The laws of nature as we know them meant that the plants should have died. But here, now, in mid-January, they discovered that 20 of the plants had survived and were even growing new shoots. More experiments followed – exposing those surviving plants to cold nighttime temps – and the plants, unprotected, still made it through. Strong. Resilient. Defying the odds.

The rest of the story is that the Volcani Agriculture Research Center where Graber works was just given NIS 20 million (USD$5.5 million) from the Agricultural Ministry.  The scientists there have plans to keep developing these superhero cocoa plants. As a country small in area, Israel won’t ever become a chocolate superpower. But it could become a main global supplier of cocoa plants and cultivation know-how. (The know-how is where we Jewish people always excel.)

My take-away from all of this?  Aside from Israel always leading the way? If seedlings in tiny containers can survive and thrive without fertilizer, hydration, and the care they need, then I believe that 134 hostages – with G-d’s help – can survive the conditions they are living in right now. Survive until they’re rescued and returned to thrive in the arms of their families and friends. Strong. Resilient. Defying the odds. Let’s keep praying, and let’s get them home!

Am Yisrael Chai!