Israel may be dubbed the Land of Milk and Honey, but that milk is drying up and the honey is crystallizing into something unpalatable as the human drain on natural resources in the region tasks the environment in ways that could destroy the people before they can destroy each other.
Fortunately, Americans are not the only ones concerned about the environment.
Liraz Moriah, an Israeli Jew, and Muna Dajani, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem, recently visited Boulder to talk about their cooperative involvement in helping to preserve the environment in the Middle East. The two women spent three weeks stateside for a dance workshop and to discuss the Arava Institute to anyone who would listen.
The Arava Institute is focused on showing what environmental issues Israel and the region is facing, like air pollution, water, trans-boundary water conflict. The mission is to bring students together to discuss these issues and come up with solutions,says Dajani, a first semester student at the institute. She is studying environmental education and is interested in water issues, primarily water management in the Palestinian territories. I came to the institute to see what the other side has to offer me in regards to solving the conflict over shared water resources.
We share the same environment so we have to work together to accomplish a better future, adds Moriah.
Jordanians and Israelis may be on different sides of the Dead Sea, but both are drinking the same water. One of the slogans at the Arava Institute is that nature has no borders, which is not an easy concept for people in the region to embrace because border is such a strong thing in Israel and Palestine. But the fact is that air pollution produced in Tel Aviv flows to the West Bank or vise-versa, or water pollution generated in the West Bank trickles to the Israeli side, says Moriah.
Located in the Negev, in the center of nowhere, the Arava Institute provides not only a center where like-minded people can study the environment, but also a place where disparate cultures are forced to work together and live together.
You have to find another kind of cooperation that deals with daily living procedures, says Dajani, and talk abut whats going on around us. We dont live in a bubble. Whats happening politically really affects the students at the Institute.
So theres a lot of talk and cooperation and talk about the conflict and different views.
Making the decision to attend the institute was not an easy one for Dajani, a Palestinian who had to get a permit to travel to the Negev. But then I thought that this is a trans-boundary issue and [the decision became easier]. I thought if we keep ignoring the fact its trans-boundary, and we dont find some cooperative ways to work on the issues, then its all going to go down stream.
The Arava Institute is gaining recognition and popularity in the US. Jewish National Fund is among several organizations promoting its efforts.
Closer to home, BYahad Trex, a Boulder-based organization dedicated to promoting Israel from an active perspective, is organizing a November fundraiser for the Arava Institute that involves a 300-350 bike ride through the Jewish state.
A great way to see any country is from a bike seat because you get up close and personal, says Boulderite Bruce Shaffer, who wears the proverbial yellow jersey for the organization.
Not only do riders get a beneath the surface look and understanding of current issues in contemporary Israel, the ride also bonds people from our local community beyond the trip itself. In addition to a widened social circle, people who have ridden through Israel together and learned about contemporary issues on the ground become more involved in local issues related to Israel and the greater Jewish community in Boulder, he says.
And its that kind of involvement and awareness that Israelis and Palestinians, like Moriah and Dajani, hope will have a ripple effect around the world.
This place definitely brings me hope, says Moriah. Im seeing peoples point of view change already. They understand cooperation is needed now.
I see it with Arab students and Israeli Jewish students that cooperation must be a first priority.
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