Draft:Yoel Zilberman

Yoel Zilberman (born 1985) is an Israeli social entrepreneur who serves as the CEO and founder of the New Guard organization and chairman of the investment company Eretz Noshevet. In September 2025, he was selected as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post.[1]

Yoel Zilberman
CitizenshipIsrael
OrganizationHaShomer HaChadash
Websitehttps://www.hashomer.org.il/home/

Early Life

Yoel Zilberman was born in Moshav Zippori, to Chaim, a farmer and third generation of the founders of the moshav. His mother Ronit, is a pharmacist. He attended Agricultural High School in Nahalal, and studied biotechnology, biochemistry and biology, as well as theater. He was a guide for the Bnei Moshavim. youth movement. After graduating from high school, he studied at the Galil Elyon Mechina and Ein Prat Midreshet. He enlisted as a soldier in the 13th Battalion. During his military service, he fought in the Second Lebanon War.[2][3]

While a student at the Maayan Baruch Preparatory School, he founded the Ezum Project (Values ​​- Zionism - Tradition), in which the preparatory students taught tradition and current affairs to students in grades 11-12 in the Upper Galilee region. The project also continued at Dekel Vilnai High School in Jerusalem.

Zilberman holds a BA in Humanities and Social Sciences from the Open University and a MA in Security from Tel Aviv University. He is a graduate of the Maoz program and the Bnei Moshe program of the Shalem Center.

On the day of the October 7 massacre, he established the Mount Zion Mobile Unit 0710 under the Home Front Command and has been its commander ever since. He previously served in the reserves as a paratrooper company commander in the 226th Brigade and as a company commander in the 13th Battalion[4] and is a regular lecturer in the POM course.

Career

New Guard

Zilberman moved to live on his family's farm after his father was attacked by a gang of agricultural thieves who cut their the farm's fence and pensioned their animals.[5] Many volunteers joined him to help with the guarding one of whom was On Rfpman, who a few months earlier had led the struggle for Shai Dromi, a farmer who was arrested after defending his farm from intruders. Rifman was joined by students from the Bnei Zion preparatory school, where he was instructing at the time. In 2007 Zilberman and Rifman together founded New Guard after seeing the success they had in significantly reducing the number of criminal incidents.[6][7]

The organization has approximately 100,000 volunteers per year and is the largest volunteer organization in Israel.[8] It leads volunteer and educational activities in Israel's agricultural and open spaces.[9] Assistance to farmers is provided through agricultural volunteering, alongside educational activities centered on the values ​​of hard work, mutual responsibility, civic courage, and national pride.[10] Since its establishment, the organization's volunteers have assisted farmers during the arson attacks in the Gaza Envelope, during the burning of the Carmel forest, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and during the events of Operation Guardian of the Walls.[11]

HaShomer HaChadash among the recipients of the President's Medal for Volunteerism from President Isaac Herzog, June 2024.

Since March 2021, Zilberman has worked to promote the establishment of a National Guard with the Prime Minister, the National Security Council, and the defense establishment.[12] This is based on the perception that a National Guard is the only body that can help against the phenomenon of lack of governance, protectionism, and agricultural crime.[13]

Since October 7, 2023 the organization has been working to renew settlement in the periphery of Israel. As part of this activity, settlement points have been established throughout Israel, with the aim of strengthening the country's borders, Israeli agriculture, and the settlement enterprise. All of this as part of a renewal and return to the fundamental values ​​of Practical Zionism.

Food Security

Since the COVID-19 pandemic period, Zilberman has been working on the issue of food security in Israel.[14] He was appointed by Minister of Agriculture Tzachi Hanegbi, as Israel's Food Rescue Project Manager after many farmers were left without workers. He is working to make Israel a regional power in the food sector.[15]

From the first day of the Iron Swords War, the organization activated the New Guard Task Force which aims to help farmers overcome a shortage of workers.[16] By connecting with organizations, the New Guard brought over 170,000 volunteers to the aid of farmers.[17] In addition, with the assistance of the organization, the Mishmar Ha'am was established, which trained Haredi volunteers to patrol cities to increase the sense of security in the public.

IDF Reserves

Zilberman is a lieutenant colonel in the reserves and established the Mount Zion Unit at the beginning of Operation Iron Swords. It serves as the Home Front Command's mobile unit, in cooperation with the Home Front Command's Southern Infantry Brigade.[18][19]

Views

The New Guard was designed on the basis of the historic Hashomer organization with the aim of preserving the pioneering ethos of reconnecting the Jewish people to their land, fighting public indifference and fighting the blood of protectionism and agricultural terrorism.[20]

Zilberman is sometimes seen as someone who strives to "rebuild the original Zionist ethos" within the modern high-tech state, while attesting to himself as being influenced by the philosophies of A.D. Gordon, Berl Katznelson and Rabbi Soloveitchik.[21]

Educational entrepreneurship

In 2015, he was a partner in establishing the "Adam and Adama" high school network alongside founder Amit Meir, with the aim of educating the younger generation to love the land and connect to the land, while combining significant assistance to farmers in Israel. Zilberman is the chairman of the high school network.[2][22]

Economic Entrepreneurship

In 2022, he founded the agricultural investment company Eretz Noshevet with Michael Eisenberg, which invests in young farmers' ventures, technology and agritech ventures and land development, in the amount of $20 million.[23][24] Its goal is to encourage young people to choose to engage in agriculture and to encourage development and solutions in the future of food production.[25]

Recognition

  • In 2015 he was awarded the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism.[2][26]
  • In 2016, he was selected with On Rifman by the Israel Agriculture Conference as #1 on their list of 40 promising young people in the field of agriculture under the age of 40.[27]
  • In 2022, he was selected by Globes as one of the 40 most promising young people under the age of 40.[28]
  • In 2023, he received the "Love of the People and the Land" award at the "Facing Each Other" conference of the Communities Foundation.[29][30]
  • In 2024 he accepted the President's Award for Volunteerism on behalf of HaShomer HaChadash presented by President Isaac Herzog.[31][32]
  • In 2025, he was selected as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post[1]

Personal life

Zilberman lives in Moshav Natur with his wife and five children. He is an avid marathon participant.[33]

Media and files on Yoel Zilberman on Wikimedia Commons.

Published Articles

  • When old threats resurface, we must rise higher by Yoel Zilberman, Novermber 6, 2025, Jerusalem Post.[34]
  • Jews in Israel and the Diaspora Must Take Action to Bring Themselves Together by Yoel Zilberman, December 23, 2019, The Algemeiner.[35]
  • Ensuring Food Security in Israel During Coronavirus by Yoel Zilberman, March 22, 2020, The Algemeiner.[36]

References

  1. ^ a b "No. 35: Alon Futterman and Yoel Zilberman". The Jerusalem Post. 2025-09-21. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  2. ^ a b c "The watchman". The Jerusalem Post. 2015-04-29. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 2025-11-21. They will begin a new program in September called Adam Ve'adama (Man and Nature), whose name is borrowed from an A.D. Gordon book, where high school students in the Arava will work in the morning and study in the afternoon.
  3. ^ Constantinoiu, Marina (2023-02-05). "Youth group instills love of the land in Bedouins and Jews". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  4. ^ "שטח הפקר: הארגון שנאבק לשמור על הנגב המערבי | ישראל היום". www.israelhayom.co.il. 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  5. ^ Avrahamoff, Sagi (2025-05-14). "The New Guardians: Safeguarding agriculture across Israel". JNS.org. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  6. ^ "A bid to protect one farm became a national movement". Ynetnews. 2015-05-23. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  7. ^ "האם "השומר" יחזור להגן על אדמות הגליל?". Haaretz הארץ (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2025-01-21. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  8. ^ "ארגון השומר החדש (ע"ר) | גיידסטאר - אתר התאגידים של ישראל | משרד המשפטים". www.guidestar.org.il. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  9. ^ "Israel Hayom hosting conference on crime and security in southern Israel – www.israelhayom.com". 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  10. ^ Ronen, Gil. "Viral Video: Farmers' Plight". Israel National News. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  11. ^ "Hashomer Hachadash, SparkIL launch emergency farm loans". Globes. 2024-01-02. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  12. ^ Zilberman, Yoel (2025-03-19). "Israel's security model is failing". JNS.org. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  13. ^ "'We're in the Middle East – not everything is rosy'". 2025-07-14. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  14. ^ Glick, Caroline B. (2020-03-29). "Israel and the demise of the global village". JNS.org. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  15. ^ ""Food insecurity poses a serious existential threat to Israel that the public doesn't even know about"". ctech. 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  16. ^ Avrahamoff, Sagi (2025-05-14). "The New Guardians: Safeguarding agriculture across Israel". JNS.org. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  17. ^ גלעד, אסף (2023-10-22). "חקלאי העוטף איבדו אמון במערכת, בשומר החדש מנסים למלא את החלל". Globes. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  18. ^ "צה"ל משנה את פניו: מפיקוד העורף - לפיקוד ההגנה? | ישראל היום". www.israelhayom.co.il. 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  19. ^ "פרויקט "צעיר לנצח": צה"ל מגייס מתנדבים עם רכב ליחידות ג'יפאים". The Marker (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2025-01-25. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  20. ^ "Hashomer Hachadash". My Tree in Israel. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  21. ^ Algemeiner, The. "A Return to Farming: The Refuge for the Corona Unemployed". Algemeiner.com. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  22. ^ Inberg Ben-Haim, Tsipi. "Hands-On, Unexpected Satisfaction!". Jewish Business News.
  23. ^ "Hashomer Hachadash launches investment company, raises $20 million for agritech fund". ctech. 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  24. ^ Bethlehem, Lily. "Eretz-Noshevet Launched to Promote Young, Innovative and Future Agriculture in Israel".
  25. ^ "Eretz Noshevet to invest $2m. for farmers, agro-tech, land development". The Jerusalem Post. 2022-11-14. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  26. ^ "Haaretz Columnist Israel Harel Wins Moskowitz Foundation's Zionism Award". April 05, 2015. The other recipients of the award, which is bestowed by the Moskowitz Foundation, are... Yoel Zilberman, founder of the New Guardians project, which protects Jewish farmers and their land in the Galilee and Negev. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Aiden, Yaniv (December 24, 2016). "The Founders of the "New Guard" Movement: A Model to Follow".
  28. ^ שקלאר-חמו, אביה (2021-12-14). "נבחרת המנהיגות המבטיחה של גלובס לשנת 2022". Globes. Retrieved 2025-11-23. [Fifteen years ago, Yoel Zilberman, a third-generation cattle farmer in Moshav Tzipori, saw his father on the verge of abandoning his life's work. "It happened after criminals tried to take over his pastures: they set fire to the area, cut down fences, stole and killed animals - and also beat him. He went through a very serious trauma," he says. "Then, at Shabbat dinner, my father announced to the family that he had decided to close the business. That he couldn't take it anymore. I told him - over my dead body."]
  29. ^ "מייסד "השומר החדש" לא חושש מהגרעינים התורניים: "עוסקים במסר של אחדות"" [The founder of "HaShomer Hadasha" is not afraid of the Torah seed groups: "We are dealing with a message of unity]. כיפה (in Hebrew). 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  30. ^ קמפינסקי, יוני. "זילברמן: לראות את היפה בוויכוח שאנחנו בו" [Zilberman: Seeing the beauty in the debate we are in]. ערוץ 7 (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2025-11-23. [Founder and CEO of 'HaShomer Hadasha', winner of a certificate of appreciation at the Communities Foundation conference: We have moved from community to individual. Return to the discourse on the common goal]
  31. ^ "BaltimoreJewishLife.com | Israeli President's Award for Volunteerism 2024 (Photo Essay)". baltimorejewishlife.com. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  32. ^ "Single-Handedly Saving Israel's Agricultural Sector". jnf.org. Retrieved 2025-11-23. For its incredible contribution to the war effort, and for contributing to the spirit of unity, Jewish National Fund-USA's HaShomer HaChadash agri-volunteering organization was awarded Israel's President's Award. "As a country and as a society, it's our moral duty to make sure that we protect our food independence," said Yoel Zilberman, founder and CEO of HaShomer HaChadash. "Together with our partners such as Jewish National Fund-USA, we will not let up on our efforts to support every one of Israel's farmers, so that they can continue their important work. That is Zionism!"
  33. ^ ""המרתון הציל לי את החיים": הנס של מייסד השומר החדש". כיפה (in Hebrew). 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  34. ^ "When old threats resurface, we must rise higher". The Jerusalem Post. 2025-11-06. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  35. ^ Algemeiner, The. "Jews in Israel and the Diaspora Must Take Action to Bring Themselves Together". Algemeiner.com. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  36. ^ Algemeiner, The. "Ensuring Food Security in Israel During Coronavirus". Algemeiner.com. Retrieved 2025-11-23.

Category:Israeli farmers Category:Agriculture in Israel Category:Agricultural organizations based in Israel

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