(NewsNation) — A group of cowboys, dressed in wide-brimmed hats, denim jeans, leather belts with large buckles and well-worn boots, are working in the Middle East, helping Jewish settlers tend to their land as several had to leave their farms, and their families and were called up to the frontlines.
Joshua Waller, John Plocher, Ezekiel Strain, Yosef Strain and Luke Hutslar joined Operation Ittai and flew to Israel to help out Jewish residents on the West Bank. They hail from Montana and Arkansas.
Waller, who is the operations manager of HaYovel and has lived in Israel for the past 20 years, said he called upon colleagues to assist as soon as the war started Oct. 7.
“These guys are massive heroes. They jumped in here. A lot of these guys left crops in the fields just to get here immediately,” he said.
Polcher said before he answered Waller’s call, he was working on a project to raise funds for Israel.
“When the war happened, when the attack happened, our hearts immediately broke for Israel, and we’d already determined that we would do whatever we could to help. Then, Josh called and said the people here needed our help. Pretty much immediately once he called, we knew we wanted to go,” he said.
Waller said the situation in the West Bank is “dire” on the farms because settlers don’t have help, but they’re doing everything they can to assist them.
“We don’t want these farms to be lost in such a horrible time. The nation of Israel needs these guys strong and we also want to see Israel strong, want to see these farmers strong, want to see these communities. Ultimately, we want to see these people safe from the dangers that surround them,” Waller said.
Though the farmland is a little different in Israel than in the U.S., Waller said the Bible is full of stories that take place on the land where they’re working.
“To be working in an area like this, it’s, like, potent; it’s so incredibly powerful just to be here and see the places and connect so much to … even the Bible,” Waller said.