During their meeting on Monday at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu presented US President Donald Trump with a striking American flag pin set with precious gemstones that were mined in northern Israel, transforming a routine diplomatic gesture into a statement of the bond between the two countries.

But these were not just any gemstones.

The story behind them begins decades earlier, with a remarkable statement by the Rebbe. In 5748 (1988), during a conversation at Dollars with Chaifa Mayor Aryeh Goral, the Rebbe spoke about the uniqueness of the Haifa region. “The uniqueness of Chaifa,” the Rebbe said, “is that it has a sea and it has a valley, and in the valley are precious stones and gems. Hakadosh Baruch Hu did a wondrous thing; He concealed them in the depths of the earth.”

At the time, the idea sounded far-fetched. Despite the deep Torah connection between Eretz Yisroel and precious stones, no one in recorded history had ever attempted to mine gemstones in the Land. Based on accepted geological thinking, experts were certain such deposits did not exist.

R’ Avi Taub, a diamond dealer and a devoted chossid of the Rebbe, heard the Rebbe’s words and could not let them go. In 5759 (1999), despite scientific skepticism and widespread doubt, he and his longtime good friend Reb Dovid Nachson set out on an unprecedented mission. Together with partners, he established a company dedicated to researching and exploring for precious gemstones in northern Eretz Yisroel, in the Haifa–Carmel region, the portion of shevet Zevulun.

The odds were overwhelming. For years, there were no results. Experts dismissed the effort, and investors urged him to stop. Yet for more than two decades, R’ Avi persevered, guided by the Rebbe’s words and an unshakable emunah that they would be fulfilled.

After over 20 years of research and exploration, the breakthrough finally came. Deposits of valuable gemstones were discovered near Nachal Kishon and Har HaCarmel. In 5780 (2020), five months after R’ Avi’s sudden petirah, the government issued its first-ever Discovery Certificate confirming an economic deposit of precious gems in Eretz Yisroel.

These stones are truly unique, representing the first documented, commercially viable precious gemstones ever mined in Eretz Yisroel and clearly alluded to in Moshe Rabbeinu’s bracha to shevet Zevulun: “They will draw nourishment from the abundance of the seas, and from the treasures hidden in the sand.”

Today, R’ Avi’s children continue his shlichus under the Holy Gems brand, producing jewelry set exclusively with these rare, never-before-seen natural gemstones, each fully traceable from mine to finished piece.

Shortly before Israel’s Prime Minister set out to meet with President Trump, R’ Avi’s son contacted the Prime Minister’s Office with a proposal: to present President Trump with a gift that would symbolize not only the alliance between Israel and the United States, but its depth and eternity.

The result was an American flag set with precious stones mined from the Holy Land itself, a gift rooted in faith, perseverance, and a prophetic statement made by the Rebbe more than 35 years earlier.