Dr. Haran is the founder and president of Fair Planet, a global NGO, whose mission is to help smallholder farmers in Africa grow more food and exit the cycle of hunger and poverty through access to improved climate-resilient seeds and better farming practices. These seeds, developed for harsh conditions and adapted to Africa’s soil and climate, triple farmers’ crop yields, improve nutrition, increase profits and improve families’ livelihood. Over the past decade, these crops have nourished a million people in vulnerable areas in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda. 

On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded her home in Be’eri, southern Israel, and murdered her husband and her younger sister; they have murdered 101 civilians in her small community: babies, children, women and men. Dr. Haran herself was kidnapped and held captive by Hamas in Gaza together with her daughter, her little grandkids, her sister in-law and niece. They were detained for 50 days before their safe return. As of today, Haran’s son in-law, Tal Shoham, is still a hostage in Gaza. This harrowing ordeal highlighted her resilience and unwavering dedication to humanitarian causes and to helping other hostages around the world.