A Letter from Alex Haruni, Dalton Winery Owner

October 30, 2023

By Alex Haruni

Owner, Dalton Winery

I’m writing to you after the worst days I have ever experienced in the 30 years that I have lived in Israel. Our country is still reeling from the carnage from that fateful Shabbat - Simchat Torah, 7 October (Black Shabbat).

Our sons and daughters have all been conscripted to the fronts both in the South and the North. There is not a single family in Israel that has not been touched by these events.

Thousands of families have been displaced from their homes and are living in temporary accommodation. No one is going out, businesses that want to work have no staff, restaurants are mainly closed and just helping to prepare meals for soldiers all over the country, and while there is a huge communal spirit, everyone is looking for the opportunity to volunteer to help our soldiers there is very little economic activity.

The outpouring of support that we have seen from our friends abroad has been amazing, the help given to soldiers who need to return home and the provision of equipment has been remarkable, but we also need to think of tomorrow.

We cannot predict what will happen to the economy but it is clear we will need a boost from somewhere. I know that everyone abroad wants to help and many are contributing to very worthy causes.

I would like to suggest a simple way to help us in Israel, something you can do every day that will come at little or no personal cost. Please buy Israeli products whenever possible. Try to ensure that every day when you sit down to eat you have an Israeli product or two on your dinner table and if you are drinking wine then it should be an Israeli wine. That is the support we will need in the long run, that is the support we will need to keep our businesses running here and for you to continue to enjoy the brands you have loved for ages.

In addition, we would like to raise awareness about the Israel Leadership Forum (ILF), an organization that my wife and I are involved in on a day-to-day basis. At the beginning of the war, the ILF managed to supply crucial equipment for soldiers on the front line, but more recently they have been concerned with finding wholesome accommodation for the surviving families and communities of the Gazan border who had their homes, families, and lives so brutally ripped away from them. You can be assured that every penny of your donation will be used wisely.

We should all know better days.

Alex

Owner, Dalton Winery