The Green That Wouldn’t Die as Israel’s Mankai Rises from the Ashes

Scott Mathias
Apr 26
2 min read

On October 7, 2024, the world watched in horror as Israel's Kibbutz Be’eri came under senseless attack. Lives lost. Hostages held. Families shattered. And for the team behind one of Israel’s quiet agricultural marvels - Hinoman’s Mankai - everything they’d built was left in ruins. The greenhouses once housing one of the world’s most efficient crops were torched. Gone in hours.

But here we are. Just months later. And against every conceivable odd, those same greenhouses are growing again.

Source: Hinoman Mankai - Mankai growing again in the re-built green house.

This isn’t just a food tech redemption story. It’s a middle finger to destruction. A quiet, green rebellion growing one microscopic leaf at a time. Because Mankai isn’t just another plant—it’s nutrition, sustainability, and science packed into the smallest flowering vegetable on Earth.

Grown in a closed hydroponic loop, Mankai uses virtually no water, needs no pesticides, and keeps pumping out clean, complete protein, year-round. It’s the kind of crop you’d expect to find in a sci-fi novel or a Martian biodome. But no, it’s real. It’s Israeli. And it just made a comeback worthy of headlines.

Let’s talk substance. Mankai delivers all nine essential amino acids, iron, polyphenols, B12 (yes—actual absorbable B12), and over 60 nutrients. No hype. Just science. It’s already being clinically studied for blood sugar regulation, liver health, neuroplasticity, and gut microbiome support. In plain speak: it’s the nutritional Swiss army knife we need more of.

Source: Hinoman Mankai

But let’s zoom out. This story isn’t just about food. It’s about faith. The decision to regrow Mankai at Be’eri wasn’t a business move, it was an act of hope. Of defiance. A collective “no” to letting tragedy define the future.

The team at Hinoman didn’t just rebuild a greenhouse. They restored a symbol. A heartbeat. A belief that food can still connect us, even when everything else breaks.

So here’s to the growers, the engineers, the quiet scientists who didn’t walk away. Who chose to plant again. Who understood sometimes the smallest leaf can carry the heaviest weight.

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