From Brooklyn to Kibbutz Ravid: Kane Street Synagogue Volunteers in Dror Israel’s Educational Orchards

This past week, a group of young adults visiting Israel with Kane Street Synagogue in Brooklyn spent a meaningful day volunteering in Dror Israel’s Educational Orchards at Kibbutz Ravid. They came to connect with the land, to experience Israel firsthand, and to take part in work that is grounded, hands-on, and deeply needed. With focus and care, they contributed to the kind of agricultural work that demands effort, precision, and commitment, and that truly supports the people who are sustaining these fields throughout the year.

Kane Street Synagogue’s visiting volunteer group from Brooklyn with Dror Israel’s educator-agricultural team at Kibbutz Ravid, after a day of working side by side in the Educational Orchards.

Dror Israel’s Educational Orchards are a unique combination of agricultural production and educational mission. Located at Kibbutz Ravid, the orchards grow mangoes, lychees, olives, clementines, and avocados. They function as a working farm, but also as a hands-on educational space where youth movement members, school groups, and gap year participants come to learn through shared labor, responsibility, and teamwork. Most of this work is done by young people participating in Dror Israel’s educational frameworks, including gap year programs, schools, and youth movement initiatives, who use the orchard as a place to strengthen their connection to the land and to each other through hard work and shared purpose.

Each volunteer first learned the precise technique for trimming the trees, then took responsibility for completing the job from start to finish.

The orchards are sustained year-round by a dedicated team of educator-agricultural workers who combine field expertise with educational leadership. Like so much of Israeli life, their work has been deeply affected by the war. Many team leaders have spent hundreds of days in reserve duty since October 7th, while agriculture has faced labor shortages, reduced exports, and growing economic strain, further impacted by shifting tariffs. Even under these pressures, the orchards continue to operate, giving young people a tangible way to contribute and keep Israel growing.

Quality time in the fields brought meaningful work and conversations that bridged worlds between Americans and Israelis, from Brooklyn to the Kinneret.

The Kane Street group arrived at a critical moment in the orchard cycle. After the avocado harvest, trimming the trees becomes an essential next step to protect the health of the orchard and prepare it for the seasons ahead. It is not quick work and it is not easy work. It requires care, accuracy, and stamina. This is exactly what the group took on. With sleeves rolled up and full focus, they joined the trimming effort in a way that made a genuine impact and directly supported the orchard’s ability to continue producing.

After working in the fields, the group shared tea, coffee, and snacks among the trees and learned more about Dror Israel’s broader mission. The Educational Orchards are one hub in Dror Israel’s nationwide work, spanning classrooms, youth movement branches, community initiatives, and coexistence efforts that bring people together across difference. From Mitzpe Ramon in the south to Kiryat Shmona in the north, Dror Israel educators partner with diverse communities to build a more just and equal society rooted in responsibility and solidarity.

Visiting Israel, working the land, and building connection through shared purpose.

This visit marked another chapter in the relationship between Kane Street Synagogue and Dror Israel, a partnership that began in 2019 and has grown steadily since. Kane Street has hosted Dror Israel educators in Brooklyn and most recently welcomed a performance by Hashayara, Dror Israel’s educator-musician ensemble. As Rabbi Michelle Dardashti shared, “Dror Israel is a part of the Kane Street Synagogue family.” That sense of connection was felt strongly in the orchards, where a community from abroad came not only to witness Israel’s complexity, but to stand alongside Israelis doing the work of sustaining it.

Looking for a meaningful experience while visiting Israel? Join us in Dror Israel’s Educational Orchards at Kibbutz Ravid, we welcome both short-term and long-term volunteers.

We are deeply grateful to the Kane Street group for their hard work in the fields and for the partnership that continues to grow between our communities. Dror Israel is proud to welcome visitors, both short-term and long-term, to join us in the Educational Orchards. For communities looking for a meaningful way to engage with Israel, the orchards offer something rare: a chance to take part in real responsibility, to contribute in a way that matters, and to experience what it means to build resilience together, one tree at a time.