Israeli Gold Rush Story, Except Much Better

January 4th 2011

The hunt for Diamonds in Israel…

Tourists to Israel already have the opportunity to sift through dirt discarded from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, they can visit Zion Oil searching for “black gold,” and they can view the Haifa bay gas refineries from atop Mount Carmel...how about mining for Diamonds?

Sometimes, in order to strike it rich, you have to follow the advice of wise people and have a lot of faith.

In a remarkable story, former Israel mayor Arie Goral traveled to the holy city of Brooklyn to speak with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The Rebbe advised Goral:

“Haifa sits on the sea, and one shouldn’t be impressed by depth. Haifa has a sea, and it has a valley, and the valley contains good and precious stones. The Lord has done something miraculous: he has hidden the stones deep in the earth, and it looks like they’re deep in the river.”

When someone of such high spiritual stature hints at something like that, there are two logical courses of action to take:  listen or don’t listen.  An ardent follower of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,  Avraham “Avi” Taub  ( whom the Rebbe had encouraged to follow his diamond mining business dreams),packed up his bags and went a-searching for treasure in the Haifan valleys.

Taub left everything he had and founded Shefa Yamim, dedicated to the discovery of diamonds. The latest jaw dropping move ( as if this article hasn’t had enough already)  is that Shefa Yamim is now planning on issuing $100 million worth of stock, an unusual fundraising tactic to be open to the public.

Shefa Yamim is the first and only company  on the search for precious stones in Israel.

So what’s the diamond turnout been like so far? Shefa Yamim has discovered 76 diamonds, mostly micro-diamonds, and 14 kimberlite boulders. A  few other precious stones have also been found – sapphires, rubies, emeralds, kainite, and corundrum.

A word to the wise- listen to the wise!