Our Staff

Marvin Israelow, Founder

Marvin was first introduced to the Negev more than 40 years ago. Working as a volunteer on Kibbutz Lahav during the summer of 1966 he developed an attachment to the land and an appreciation for the pioneering spirit of the people. For the past 30 years he and his extended family have been involved with Ben Gurion University of the Negev, inspired by the commitment of the University to fulfill David Ben Gurion’s vision of making the desert bloom.

Marvin and his family have continued to look for opportunities to help support the applied research of BGU focused on making life sustainable not only in the Negev but also in other desert regions of the world as well.  Marvin was intrigued to learn that certain plant varieties, including olive trees, tend to thrive on brackish water and that the Negev holds a very large quantity of brackish water in underground aquifers.  He sampled the olive oil from several farmers and was pleasantly surprised to discover the high quality of oil that was being produced and further that a few of these farmers were growing their crops organically.  Future trips to the farms revealed additional agricultural treasurers.  Marvin created Negev Nectars to connect a select group of Israeli farmers with American consumers and to help these farmers expand the market for their products.

email Marvin at marvin@negevnectars.com