Roger Benjamin: Pioneer in Israeli agriculture

Roger Benjamin was a Kiwi and a pioneer in Israeli agriculture. His sister Jacqui tells his story.

by Jacqui Beder

Roger Benjamin was born in Wellington in 1930, the second son of Zelda and Joe Benjamin. He had a typical primary and secondary school education in Wellington and went on to complete an Agricultural Science degree at Massey Agricultural College.

In 1948, while Roger was still at University, the State of Israel was established, inspiring pride in many Jewish young people in New Zealand. Many of the Jews living in New Zealand at the time had escaped from Europe at the start of World War II or had arrived as survivors of the Holocaust. A small group of young men and women from Wellington and Auckland met, and decided to form a New Zealand branch of Habonim for the purpose of identifying with the Zionist cause.

They established an annual two week summer camp as a means of bringing NZ Jewish youth together. Schlichim (leaders) were sent to these camps from Israel to describe the new State, to teach the campers Hebrew songs, and to instil a sense of Zionism and Chaluziot (youth pioneering). Roger’s older brother, Trevor (known as Zvi after he went to Israel), was one of the early Habonim leaders. When Trevor and several other NZ young Jews began leaving for Israel around 1950, Roger and some of his friends took over the leadership of Habonim.

In 1953 Roger, together with Reuven Zander, left Wellington to make Aliyah to Israel. Roger was drafted into the army shortly after his arrival in Israel following a relatively short period in an ulpan to study Hebrew. Part of his army service was spent in an outpost in the Southern Negev situated near a saline swamp and spring called Ain Radyan in the Aravah Valley.

There Roger took charge of the sheep and cattle herd at the site and was involved in the introduction of four Israeli Holstein heifers that were the beginning of a dairy herd. It was a hot and arid environment that was regarded by dairy specialists as totally unsuitable for a dairy herd. This did not deter Roger. Eventually the outpost became Kibbutz Yotvata and its dairy expanded and developed into one of the foremost dairy operations in the country.

Roger cooling off the cattle in the heat

After setting up the agricultural basis for Ain Radyan, Roger, with a close friend Moshe Sela also an unofficial employee of the Ministry of Agriculture, began an ambitious project to ‘make the desert bloom’. In Roger’s words ‘Moshe was short on education but long on personal charm, very short on inhibitions and very long on unadulterated chutzpa. He was the dreamer I was the practical agronomist with a sympathetic brother who, as an accountant could keep me aware of the economic pitfalls surrounding our pioneering activities'.

It was towards the end of the 1950s that Roger checked out the possibility of exploiting the springs that ran into the saline swamps at the Southern end of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. He found the water there was pretty brackish, but only a relatively small part was affected by the agriculturally pernicious sodium chloride. It seemed good for date palms and maybe tomatoes.

With very little capital between them Roger and Moshe managed, with the financial help of friends and relations, to set up an agricultural enterprise. They drilled bore holes to ensure regular flow from the springs and planted date palms and tomatoes in the upper, drier reaches of the swamp. The date palms took and looked promising, the tomatoes growing on brackish water tasted better than tomatoes grown with regular water and the future looked bright. Those were the beginnings of Neot HaKikar.

Agriculture in the Aravah Valley subsequently developed into a major industry exporting quality produce mainly to Europe but also to the United States. It was one of the most enduring accomplishments of Israeli agriculture.

The dates and tomatoes were grown in a small area of the swamp. A much larger area was covered with the common reed (Phragmites Australis) and some salt bushes. This inspired the two dreamers to experiment with raising the local Baladi breed of bullocks on the reed pasture. After a few months they put on weight and were sold for good money.

When the experts at the Ministry of Agriculture heard of their success they visited Neot Hakakir and recommended a South African cattle breed, the Afrikander, as more appropriate for the area. With the assistance of the Ministry, Roger set off for South Africa to buy his new herd.

The local baladi bullocks fed well on the swamp reed Phragmites Australis

The Afrikaner cattle had an interesting journey to Neot HaKikar

When he arrived in South Africa on a New Zealand passport Roger found that New Zealanders were persona non grata because of their boycott of South African rugby due to apartheid rules that did not allow blacks, even Maoris, to play against a white South African team. The problems that beset him would fill a book but suffice it to say that with kiwi ingenuity and downright doggedness Roger purchased 120 young pregnant heifers and transferred them from Bulawayo in Rhodesia to the Dead Sea. This involved loading the cattle from the railway to the boat and then the daily chore of watering the cattle and replacing the feed. More problems were to follow when Roger and the herd arrived in Eilat where there were no cattle handling facilities. He had no alternative but to lift the animals up in a winch, drop them into the sea and let them swim the last lap to the Promised Land.

Arnold Treister recalled visiting Roger on two occasions in Sdom where he and his co workers lived in caravans. “The conditions were difficult and the heat was unbearable. Of course the Bedouin took great interest in what Roger was doing and tried to steal the cattle. Roger would corral the animals at night and sit in a dominant position with a gun on his lap and pity anyone who came near to try and steal his animals.”

Ian Kaplan also recalled visiting Roger at Neot Hakikar in 1963. “When I visited Roger on his farm it was a going concern, with several workers and producing tomatoes and dates. To accomplish this feat Roger had to work long hours under stifling temperatures which reached 45 to 50 degrees Centigrade in summer. His pioneering spirit was remarkable, but unfortunately his dedication to toiling under these conditions led to a breakdown in his health from which he never really recovered.”

The economics of the venture at the Dead Sea began to eat away at its future. Some of the heifers ran off into Jordan (or were stolen). Some calved, but in order to maintain their condition and to grow, they needed extra feed. The herd was maintained for 4-5 years and eventually those that remained were sold for meat. In Roger’s words, ‘what has remained is the fading memory of an impossible operation that was successfully conducted in a period when the impossible was the order of the day’.

Roger then took charge of Migda, an agricultural research farm set up by the Ministry of Agriculture to examine alternatives to monocultural wheat in a semi-arid environment. The farm became an integral part of the Agricultural Research Organisation and attracted cooperative research projects on animal husbandry, farming systems and pasture improvement in a semi-arid environment with universities in and outside Israel as well as research institutions in The Netherlands, USA, Egypt and Germany. Roger not only maintained the agricultural activities on the farm but participated actively in the research projects. He authored and co-authored the farm’s research findings in international professional journals.

Scientists and students came from the Netherlands and Germany as well as Israel, Gaza and the West Bank to participate in the cooperative research projects with Roger. They not only learned research techniques from him but a ‘work ethic’, as Roger was one of its enthusiastic proponents – if not an outright task-master! Nevertheless, they knew that they could depend on Roger to help them solve any problem they encountered, whether it be professional, administrative or personal. Most of them saw through Roger’s rough and tough exterior to the sincere and caring heart within.

Roger’s pioneering vision meant that he developed one of the foremost dairy operations in Israel, confounding the ‘experts’

Roger dared to challenge the impossible and by his efforts and determination, helped the Israeli desert to bloom

According to his lifelong friend, Ian Kaplan, Roger was ‘one of the first New Zealand Chalutzim to settle in Israel. He was a true pioneer with a great heart. He was unselfish and always available to help his friends and family. New Zealand Jewry should be proud of him and his friends will miss him’. His contribution to Israel’s agronomy was recognised by the Israeli Government with the presentation of a medal.

Roger continued his professional activities well into his 70’s despite his health problems. He died in Beer Sheva, Israel, on 12 November 2008 after nearly 60 years of commitment to the country he loved and served. He played a key role in producing food in areas where it was not believed anything would grow. He dared to challenge the impossible and by his efforts and determination, helped the Israeli desert to bloom.

He is survived by his wife Helen, four daughters and a son and eleven grandchildren in Israel and a younger sister in New Zealand.

Roger Benjamin: Pioneer in Israeli agriculture