Rachel Kalikow, CEO. I recently returned from Israel and saw a country very different from the one I visited just over a year ago. This week, the murder of six hostages taken on October 7th has compounded the emotional, if not physical, devastation in Israel. Alongside this, the destruction and displacement affecting the lives and public health of civilians in Gaza is heartbreaking. The impact of the war hovers around the surface everywhere. Yet, I also saw a resilience among people that affirmed the value and opportunity of environmental cooperation. I saw that the Arava Institute is welcomed as a credible partner among Palestinians, Bedouin, and Israelis. While the concept of “peace” may feel more elusive than ever, the bonds between the Arava Institute and its partners have held fast and the commitment to environmental cooperation remains strong. I returned confident that the Institute’s work can move individuals beyond the current levels of distrust. Your partnership is essential to help the Institute continue to do this.Here are just a few takeaways from my visit:
The Institute has shaped a generation of peacebuilders and continues to bridge the next generation. These relationships hold strong. This is how we will move beyond war and build a sustainable and peaceful future. I met Israeli and Palestinian alumni engaged in environmental education, human rights, water technologies, environmental cooperation and more. The war has made their gatherings and work more difficult, but it hasn’t swayed their resilience.
Palestinian villages continue to work with the Arava Institute despite war. These Palestinian communities including al-Ouja in Jericho and nearby Marj Na’je in the West Bank lack water and sanitation for basic needs. In al-Ouja, the Institute is working with the Arab Development Society and support of the United Nations Development Programme to implement off-grid wastewater recycling and biogas systems. Before the end of the year, Marj Na’je will have a modular wastewater treatment plant to support 1,000 people. The wastewater recycling and biogas systems in al-Ouja will enable the animal farm and dairy infrastructure to become operational and to grow.
A Bedouin unrecognized village is now a model and demonstration park for off-grid resiliency. In al-Fura’a, an unrecognized village near Arad, Arava Institute alum Fareed is an educator at the 3,500-student regional school, where the Institute recently launched an off-grid hub. The hub provides drinking water, a sanitation system, a biogas system, and more. The students will build a community garden, will benefit from the first off-grid classrooms in all of Israel, and have easily accessible drinking water for the first time. While work continues with this community, this system is now being replicated in another Bedouin community in the Negev.
The Institute’s Jumpstarting Hope for Gaza initiative has built an international coalition of humanitarian, aid, and environmental organizations to bring water and sanitation solutions to innocent civilians in Gaza. Leveraging the Institute’s environmental expertise, this coalition is possible because of the years of relationships and trust the Institute has built through cross-border environmental cooperation.
Environmental peacebuilding is more challenging than ever. But I returned from Israel believing that it is an answer during this dark time. Israelis and Palestinians live side by side. They share the water aquifers, they experience the same impacts of climate change. It is sometimes difficult to look ahead, but as my colleague, Arava Institue Executive Director Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed says, we do not have the luxury to wait for peace.