Our Process

In the fields of Israel grows a beautiful and resilient red flower, poignantly called The Blood of the Maccabees. Legend has it that everywhere a drop of blood spilled from one of these ancient Judean rebel warriors, another flower came into being. In their deaths they commanded our land to bring forth new life. The beauty that surrounds us here is in the merit of those brave men and women who sacrificed their lives so that our nation could live on.

This protected flower has never been domesticated. In 2017 we at “Dam Hamaccabim” (Hebrew for Blood of the Maccabees) worked together with local experts at the Seeds of Zion nursery to sow the seeds for the first field of its kind in Israel where this rare flower would once again bloom in our land. Our project was fraught with challenges on every front, as we were intending not only to grow these wildflowers in hothouses, but to accelerate their natural blossoming time by three months so that the flowers would be ready for distribution, here and abroad, in time for Israel’s Memorial Day. By 2019 our efforts had born fruits and we were ready to launch our pilot promotion! These flowers require constant care and nurturing, and we are continuously monitoring and documenting the growth and the development of this mysterious flower.

Our success guarantees the preservation of this flower. Her seeds will now forever be blowing in the wind and our landscape will be all the richer for it.

In the wilds of nature, these flowers only blossom in April. As a protected species, it is forbidden to ever tamper with them. In our dedicated field, these flowers are ready for picking by February. The flowers are picked by hand so as not to harm their delicate structure. Within a few hours they are already being dried through a special process we designed which enables us to preserve this flower in all its glory for many months.

The process of drying and preserving the flowers takes approximately seven days. Once they are ready, they are formed into a decorative pin which has been specially designed to conform to the size of this small flower and to protect it. Each flower is then individually packaged and is ready to be shipped to any location, in Israel or abroad.

Prior to Memorial Day, tens of thousands of these flowers are distributed for free at numerous distribution points throughout the country. On Memorial Day itself, we distribute the flowers at the various military cemeteries to those who come to participate in the official ceremonies, to the bereaved families, and to friends and relatives who are there to comfort and to salute them.

The project is costly and many expenses are incurred throughout the year. Numerous volunteers come forward to assist in the picking and in the packaging stages. In order to cover our costs and to guarantee the continued success of our endeavors, we solicit funds and offer pins for sale through our website. All incoming monies are used solely for the benefit of promoting our organization and for perpetuating our project.