A variety of explanations have been offered as to why Israel is reluctant to redistribute water resources. The most obvious reason is that doing so would require a change in Israeli lifestyles: no more private swimming pools and green lawns. But the motives go deeper than that, according to Robin Twite, director of the Environment Program for the Jerusalem-based Israeli/Palestine Center for Research and Information, a public-policy think-tank. Twite says Israelis have what he calls a “mythical belief in development.”
Blood and Water
Part II in a two-part series. Read part I of this series.
“Since first settling the land over 100 years ago, Israelis have never stopped building, developing, and expanding their homes and infrastructure. And the kibbutz, agricultural settlements, and farms hold a special place in Israeli affections. The strive to develop has a momentum of its own and tampering with it could be politically dangerous,” Twite says.
An irrigation system in Israel.
Photo: USGS.
Henry Gold, an engineer and chair of Israel’s Committee for... Read more
