Community. Agriculture. Roots.
These three words have guided Kibbutz Erez since its founding in 1949, an agricultural community built on Israel’s border with Gaza around a simple idea: work the land, connect to it, and put down roots.
Erez Honey has been part of that story since 1950 – one of the oldest apiaries in Israel, with hives set along the border itself. The wildflowers of the northern and western Negev give it a distinctive character, and it’s extracted exactly as it goes into the jar. The honey is bottled much as it is extracted from the comb: never heated, never diluted, with no preservatives or additives. Just pure, natural honey – sold in Israel not as a supermarket staple, but as a premium, artisanal product.
The honey is owned by the members of Kibbutz Erez, and its profits flow back into the community – funding education, resilience, and reinvestment in the business. Purchasing a jar means investing directly in the people who make it.
That connection to the land took on new meaning after October 7. Returning to Kibbutz Erez wasn’t only about returning home – the bees still needed tending; the fields still needed working. Even on October 8, agriculture was part of what pulled the community back.
We have incredible honey makers on Kibbutz Erez. Meet Uri. Uri who works at the apiary today, was critically wounded defending Kibbutz Erez on October 7. Uri is still undergoing rehabilitation, and his work at the apiary has become part of his journey back to routine, purpose, and community.
Kibbutz Erez is in southern Israel. Greater MetroWest NJ is 6,000 miles away. And yet, we are one community. When a GMW community member opens a jar of Erez Honey, they taste a little of Kibbutz Erez – its land, its people, its roots.
