TEKOA, Judea, Israel – As the war in Gaza captures headlines, there’s another battle over land in the so-called occupied territories of Judea and Samaria, which much of the world considers the West Bank. Some in this region see their grapevines as a key weapon in their battle.
Just south of Jerusalem, in the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, sits Tekoa, where the ancient prophet Amos lived and foretold that the mountains shall drip with wine.
CBN News traveled to Tekoa, to the vineyard of Yoni and Gadi Afik. They’re answering the prophetic call of Amos to replant the vines in the hills of Judea.
However, modern-day Tekoa stands on the front lines of a very different kind of battle, a battle for the heart and soil of the land of Israel.
Yoni Afik told us, “Agriculture and farms, trees and vineyards at the border – they are like the border between us and our neighbors.”
His brother Gadi asserted, “If you’re not planting, you’re losing your ground.”
The brothers are strengthening Israel’s frontiers, one vine at a time.
Yoni encouraged us, ” Look around you. We are right on the border between the village, Tekoa, and the new vineyard.”
The brothers believe that the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria was given to Israel by God, to settle it peacefully by cultivating the land.
Gadi explained, “Every day (we) work here to guard and keep and watch our lands.”
Yet, on October 7th, 2023, both brothers were called up to the Israel Defense Forces to join the war against Hamas and Hezbollah, trading pruning forks for rifles.
“I got a call from my unit, and they said, ‘We need you,” Yoni recalled. “We didn’t want it, and we wanted to do agriculture.”
During Gadi’s 230-day military service, his wife Chava and their five children kept the frontline vineyards alive.
She admitted that they were terrified and exhausted, but the children learned farming, living out what the prophet said.
Last month, Israel’s government approved a symbolic resolution to once again take control of Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley, which have been under an Israeli military administration since the victory in the 1967 Six-Day War.
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In early August, House Speaker Mike Johnson became the highest-ranking U.S. official ever to visit Judea and Samaria. He said he was “blessed” to be in the biblical city of Shilo, where the ancient tabernacle once stood.
Johnson declared that the mountains of Judea and Samaria belong “by right” to the Jewish people.
Families such as the Ariks are already laying the groundwork – literally.
Gadi stated, “When we were new here, there were only a few caravans. With building my house, doing agriculture, we were able to help this place to develop, to grow bigger.”
Driving through the hills, Yoni pointed to the desert planted with vines.
He observed, “This is like the forefathers’ land. This is the Bible lands. This is our valley. This is where we are planting most of our vineyards.”
The next valley over from the Ariks’ vineyard is Amos Valley, still bearing the name of the biblical prophet.
Yoni explained, “This is the original Amos Valley. If you go all the way east, you will meet the Dead Sea. Amos’ grave is over there. I’m touching a stone that maybe Amos the prophet was touching.”
The brothers believe they’re partnering with prophecy, according to Amos 9:14:
“I will bring back the captives of My people Israel. They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them. I will plant them in their land, and they shall no longer be pulled up from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God.”
Every vine they plant is more than agriculture. It’s rooting Israel’s future deep into the land.
Gadi contended, “It’s a very deep and spiritual relationship between the grapevine and the people of Israel.”
Our nation was divorced for 2000 years,” Yoni noted. “You can’t divorce from your land. You can’t divorce from your story.”
“He added, “My grandfather, my grandmother, (were) in Europe during the 40s (World War II).
The brothers’ grandparents survived the Holocaust and came to the reborn State of Israel.
Yoni told us, “My best relationship is with the ground, with the land.”
They drive posts into the ground, bring water, enrich the soil, nurture vines for three years, until the fourth year, and the first harvest.
“It’s exciting (for) me when I hold the plants, see what’s going on, it’s like a baby. Everything is in the nature. God’s doing everything for us. The story of the vineyard is like: I believe in this land. I believe in the future, I believe in the next generations.” Yoni declared.
He continued, “During the war, a few teenagers planted a new vineyard. When we came back, we saw it, and we were very, very happy about it, to see it. We saw that the next generation is doing vineyards, and this is our vision.”
in the Ariks’ way of thinking, this isn’t just about reclaiming the desert and cultivating a vineyard. It is about the prophetic call to reclaim the land of Israel for future generations.
