PAGE 16A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, FEBRUARY 10, 2017
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By Allison Levlne
The first-ever Jewish Na-
tional Fund (JNF) Israelwater
mission, titled IsraelH20: A
Tour on the Trail of Israel's
Water Solutions, attracted
participants for many differ-
ent reasons, but ultimately, all
came with the same goal--to
learn more about how Israel,
a once water starved country,
has become a place where wa-
ter issues have become stable
and its water crisis mitigated.
The mission was a natural
continuation and a fitting
conclusion to JNF's yearlong
successful Water Summits
held in dozens of cities around
the United States. "The goal
of this mission is to show
how Israel is a true model to
the world of how it is possible
to overcome severe water
shortages through proper
management and constant
innovation," explained Talia
Tzour Avner, Chief KKL Israel
Emissary based in New York.
The 40 participants con-
sisted of Jews and non-Jews
alike, civil engineers, academ-
ics, long time JNF supporters,
as well as four representatives
sent by the Thai government,
and an official from the United
Nations. "I am learning so
much about the work that
JNF does for water issues in
Israel, and I've been able to
see the levels of cooperation
that exist between corporate
entities, farmers, and legis-
lators working together for
a common goal," said Anne
Juepner, the UN Director of
Global Policy Center who is
based in Nairobi, Kenya."Iwas
most impressed and surprised
by how fully aware Israelis
are of water issues, not only
within Israel, but also around
the world."
Starting the mission in
Northern Israel, which includ-
ed a visit to waste treatment
plants and water reclamation
facilities, the group traveled
south to JNF's Basor Res-
ervoirs. On the morning of
the mission's visit, countless
birds were seen nesting in the
nearby bushes and flying over
the fields in flocks. The JNF
group gathered at an overlook
point that provided views of
the reservoirs as well as fruit
trees, farmlands, and the
winding Basor River.
The reservoirs created by
JNF---over 250 throughout
Israel--hold either treated
water or rain water collected
from annual regional flood-
ing, depending on each res-
ervoir. "The water is mainly
used for irrigation purposes
in these dry parts of the
county--because of the res-
ervoirs, Israeli farmers are
able to irrigate 10,800 acres
(44,000 dunams) of additional
land," Ofer Brokshtain, Keren
Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL)
engineering and development
officer, told the group. "Before
these reservoirs were built,
there was nothing here--this
region is a desert! All the
vegetation and all of the fields
and orchards thatwe see today
are thanks to the network of
JNF-KKL reservoirs."
The JNF Israel H20 Mission
was chaired by Bob Lembke,
President of the United Water
and Sanitation District, from
Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Lembke, who brought a num-
The Tour on the Trail of Israel's Water Solutions trip to Israel attracted over 40 participants, Jews and non-Jews alike,
with various backgrounds including civil engineers, academics, long time JNF supporters, as well as four representatives
sent by the Thai government, and an official from the United Nations.
ber of colleagues with him
on this mission, mentioned
Seth M. Siegel's best-selling
book, Let There Be Water:
Israel's Solution for a Water
Starved World, and hearing
Siegel speak a JNF Water
Summit."JNF is key onwater,"
said Lembke. "Israel's water
system is well designed and
efficient, while at the same
time, Israel is constantly
working on new innovations.
On this trip, we are seeing how
the water distribution system
is well managed, and how
the water crisis has been ad-
dressed through desalination,
water conservation, andwater
recycling."
Overall, per-capita, Is-
raelis use about 27 percent
less water than Americans.
While a good portion of JNF's
IsraelH20 Mission focused on
visiting corporations, facili-
ties, or government officials,
they also visited an elemen-
tary school in Ofakim, a small
development town near Be'er
Sheva in the Negev, where
they witnessed first-hand
JNF's rain harvesting water
system and learned about
the water education program
JNF runs in collaboration
with partner organization
Green Horizon. Standing in
a noisy courtyard with curi-
ous schoolchildren coming
to see the visitors, mission
participants met with JNF
Green Horizons Liaison Ido
Eisikovitz to learn more about
how water-saving techniques
are taught in Israel from child-
hood. "If we want to educate
people for the future, we have
to start at the beginning,
which is what JNF is doing
in this and about 50 other el-
ementary schools," explained
Eisikovitz.
"It is important for us to
learn from what Israel has
done and continues to do in
dealing with water scarcity,"
said Chompoonoch Dolsuk-
lert, one of three delegates
sent by the Thai government
on this important mission.
"We often have droughts in
Thailand, andwe need to work
to be innovative in addressing
the situation."
The focus on Israel's suc-
cesses inwater recycling came
up repeatedly throughout the
mission. "Israel is number
one in the world for using
recycling water for irrigation
purposes, with about 85 per-
cent of waste water being re-
used. The next country after
Israel is Spain, who recycles
about 20% of their water,"
said Juepner. "We are seeing
how the global water crisis
continues to affect countries
around the world, and the key
is approaching the issue from
different directions, not just
relying on one solution. A lot
of what JNFhas been able to do
in Israel has worked towards
water sustainability, and I'm
hoping to see more JNF mis-
sions like this in the future,
with representatives from
different countries touring,
learning, and joining in the
conversation."
"I really think that this can
be a cornerstone of peace in
the region--being able to
generate useable water in
general abundance," added
Lembke. "Chairing this mis-
sion, I'm pleased that so many
others get to see how JNF,
the government of Israel,
and other stakeholders have
worked together to develop
technology to desalinate or
treat water at a high level, and
alsoways to supply and store it.
All of these elements are vital
for anyone looking to work
addressing the critical issues
of water shortage, which affect
us all regardless of borders or
nationality."
Please join its for an evening
of celebration honorhag
Amy Geboff
tbr txven -one },ears of se dce to Ohev Shalom
as Director of Youth and Family Education
Sunday, FebmaD, 26, 2017
Congregation Ohev Shalom
613 Concourse Parkway South
Maitland, FL 32751
5:00 PM Cocktail Reception & Silent Auction
6:30 PM Dilmer & Program
Log into our On-lhm Auctioi1 at:
x x ,.32auctions.com/COSGala2017
Oiflhle Auction begins February 12, 2017
and remains active until
11:45 PM Thursday, Febma " 23, 2017
Highest bid on each item becomes the
opening bid on tim night of the gala
Camp Attire RSVP by February 16, 2017
