Forum highlights role of water in Middle East peace process

by Alaina G. Levine

Arizona Jewish Post, vol. 56, issue 8
May 14, 2000
reprinted with permission

Israel's water crisis is reaching critical mass, and the Jewish National Fund has taken on the mission of educating people about the situation.

Yehiel Leket, world chairman of the Keren Kayemeth l'Yisrael - Jewish National Fund, recently visited Tucson to discuss the issues relating to the shortage of water in Israel, which he described as "one of the obstacles to peace in the Middle East."

Leket and Kennith E. Foster, president of the International Arid Lands Consortium located at the University of Arizona, were the keynote speakers at the community forum "The Water Crisis - Water for Peace" held March 26 at the Tucson Hebrew Academy.

Co-sponsored by Hadassah and in association with Congregation Or Chadash, the forum focused on the latest research and development of new water conservation and purification methods in Israel, and highlighted the interdependence of water and peace, as well as JNF's role in the process.

Since the mid-1980s, JNF has increased Israel's water supply by more than five percent by building dams and reservoirs. Yet a deficit still exists. A dramatic population increase and economic growth, combined with contaminated aquifers due to overpumping, have added to the problem, said Leket. The current drought has only aggravated the already critical shortage.

The decline in the level of the Sea of Galilee, a major source of water for both Israel and Jordan, is ominous. Ronald Lauder, JNF president, has warned that the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Kinneret, "runs the risk of becoming too salty for consumption." Nevertheless, the issue of access to the Sea of Galilee was behind the recent failure of peace talks between Israel and Syria. As The Washington Post reported in 1998, "water is forcing its own agenda - due to the simple fact that within the next 10 years, there won't be enough to go around."

So what's the solution? Desalination of water from the Mediterranean Sea, said Leket, is the best method "to maintain peaceful coexistence in the Middle East."

According to Foster, desalination "will increase the overall drinking water supply as needed. It is safe from drought cycles, and offers water as pure as bottled water, much better than Israel's tap water."

In addition, said Leket, desalination can provide a water supply that is free from political conflict, because the technology will be shared between Israel and its neighbors. "To share knowledge in order to enhance the ecology is an obligation to anyone who wants to achieve peace," he said.

But desalination is expensive. According to Foster, it would cost over $300 million to build one facility in Hadera.

In the meantime, as the desalination issue is examined further, JNF has embarked on an educational and fundraising campaign to raise more than $250 million to build more than 100 reservoirs to hold recycled water.

As part of the educational campaign, Leket participated in the recent forum in order to develop a dialogue between JNF and small communities like Tucson, which has its own water problems.

"In the past, Israeli and American Jewish organizations have not had the luxury to pay attention to water issues" in Israel, said Sherri Morr, JNF western zone director. "Now, this is a pressing issue, and we don't think enough people know about it. We want to share this message with the people of Southern Arizona."