Directors Report July 10th-29th, 2011

My last blog before going on vacation for the month of August:

Last Week of Dickinson Summer Sustainability Program - The Dickinson College Summer Sustainability Program at the Arava Institute is in its last week. For the last 3 weeks   8 students and  Dickinson faculty member Dr Marcus Key have explored issues of sustainability in Israel , focusing mainly on the Southern Arava. The program has included  a range of lectures, workshops and local trips including  biodiversity of local sand dunes, earth science in the Arava,  tours and sessions on renewable energy initiatives in the region, an introduction to human ecology and archeology , sustainable agriculture., mud building , discussions and lectures on water management in the Middle East and discussion groups and role plays based on environmental justice and activism. 

Submitted by Cathie Granit 

Israeli Minister for Environmental Protection, Gilad Erdan, visited the Arava Institute

Minister for Environmental Protection, Gilad Erdan, visited the Arava Institute on July 26th.  The mnister came with his entire senior staff to visit the area, see the Samar Sand dunes under threat of mining for building purposes, the Sasgon Valley near Park Timna under threat of development, renewable energy projects in the area and to visit the Arava Institute.  The Minister was also accompanied by Hevel Eilot Regional Council Chair, Udi Gat.  After introductions, David Lehrer gave a brief overview of the Arava Institute highlighting the academic program, research programs and alumni activiies. The minister was especially interested in the cross border cooperative educational and research programs.  Minister Erdan said that he did not want this visit to be check off on a list of things to do but the visit should be followed up by cooperation between the Arava Institute and the Ministry for Environmental Protection. Both the staff of the the Ministry and the Arava Institute is charged with following up programs and ideas for further cooperation.  At the end of David's presentation, David gave his usual closing line:  "It is our vision a the Arava Institute, that some day, the Minister of the Environment from Israel, the Minister of the Environment from Palestine and the Minister of the Enviroment from Jordan will all be graduates of the Arava Institute and will be able to work together for a more sustainable and peaceful Middle East."  Minister Erdan just smiled.

Arava Alumane Manar Saria participates in Washington DC Program

A new program in Washington DC, founded by Paul Costello is the New Story Leadership Program. We had two Arava alumni participating in the first pilot group and now the Arava Institute partners with NSL by identifying excellent alumni to participate each year. Arava alumnae Manar Saria is participating in the second New Story Leadership Program. NSL sees that Stories matter. NSL says "Old stories of grievance, suspicion, and fear, recycled endlessly, have kept generations of Israelis and Palestinians from moving toward a future free of conflict. It’s now clear: without a new story, there will be no peace. Fortunately, young people throughout the region are increasingly grasping this truth. More and more of them are no longer willing to play a part in the dead-end story their elders have scripted for them. They want a voice in their own future." See what's been happening this summer – what Manar and the others on video on the site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKYdRr7PRRY&feature=share

Submitted by Sharon Benheim

Across Borders:  Managing Transboundary Environmental Resources

From June 26th through July 24th, the Arava Institute, in partnership with Dickinson College, hosted a U.S. State Department funded program, “Across Borders: Managing Transboundary Environmental Resources in the Middle East.” The program, attended by 17 Americans from all sectors of environmental management, has participants attending lectures and site visits in Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. The program focused on transboundary water issues in and between these four countries. At the end of the program, participants completed group projects on environmental economic development, water conservation in Amman, the Red Sea-Dead Sea canal project and the prospect for transnational water management in Israel and Palestine.

In 2012, the program will bring young leaders from Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt to the United States to learn about transboundary environmental issues in the Chesapeake Bay. Applications are currently being accepted: http://blogs.dickinson.edu/acrossborders/call-for-applications-across-borders-2012//
The program is funded by the US State Department's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.
Submitted by Kristina Donnely

In keeping with the high standards of this blog, here is a little taste of student life at the AIES:


As you know our campus life team works tirelessly to address the needs of our campus community.  However, many people always wonder what the Program Associates (PA) are up to since they seem to come and go, from the office, through out the day.  Here is a sneak peak into what our two PAs from this past semester were up to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D1tYvA9cRM
Submitted by Josh Neirman
The next blog will appear in September.  Have a good summer

David Lehrer

Director's Report June 19th to July 8th

Speech to Students at the End of the Spring Semester 2011
It is my privilege to have been the Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies for the past 10 years. I became the Director as the second year of the Intifada Al Aqsa began and just 10 days before the 911 Tragedy. For the past 10 years, the Middle East has remained a turbulent and unstable part of the world going from crises to crises and conflict to conflict; the Second Intifada, the second Lebanon War, The Gaza Withdrawal and the Gaza Operation/Invasion, Katyushot on Kiryat Shmona, Kasamim on Sderot, the Flotilla and then there is the wider Middle East conflicts – the Second Gulf War, Iran and this year – uprisings in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen.. Notice how so many of these conflicts start with the Second… Doesn’t that say something about our region? Are we trapped in a house of mirrors where we can only see ourselves and are doomed to walk around in circles repeating history and our own mistakes?

For 15 years, the Arava Institute has offered Middle Eastern and International students the opportunity to break through the mirrors and the stereotypes and to meet the other. For many of you it is your first time to really get to know the human side of the other side. Through wars, uprisings, political and military conflicts, the Arava Institute continues to wave the banner of “Nature Knows No Borders”. The institute continues to shine the light on a different path presenting a different paradigm for the Middle East. You have sat side by side in class, studying Ecology, Ethics and Water Politics together; you have slept on the beach together, hiked through dry desert valleys and braved pouring rain. You have disagreed over politics and over what to bring to the pot-luck dinner and you have agreed that there must be a different way to solve the Middle East conflict and that Elli gives way too many quizzes. You have had the incredibly unique opportunity to experience what life could be like in the Middle East without conflict.
It is not just a one time opportunity. Your teachers, staff and fellow students have given you the tools you need to go back to your home communities and to create a different paradigm. Like Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day, who discovers that the way to get out of the endlessly repeating loop in which he was caught was to stop looking at himself in the mirror and to start seeing the world through the eyes of others. I hope that your experience at the Arava Institute has enabled you to see the world through the eyes of your neighbors and that you will be able to carry this new view of your neighborhood back to your friends and family in order to enable them to envision a sustainable Middle East without conflict and a world living in peace. Thank you and good luck. - David Lehrer

Sababa at the Knesset
On June 22nd, an urgent gathering of the Knesset Finance Committee was called to discuss the mining in the Samar Sand Dunes. Five Sababa members and 16 representatives from other environmental organizations took part in the discussion. The meeting ended with the committee calling on the Israeli land Authority to stop the plan to mine sand in the Samar Dunes until surveys are conducted for alternatives such as mining below the surface of already mined areas, using sand from Timna waste piles and importing sand from Jordan. The support of Knesset members for our campaign to save the Samar dunes gives us proof that our mission in Sababa is important as the only grass roots environmental organization protecting and promoting sustainable development in the Arava.

Provided by Taal Goldman

Sababa in the Hevel Eilot Region
Sababa has taken on the challenge of leading the discussion of sustainable development in the region. On June 26th, a hot Monday afternoon, 50 people from the region came to a Sustainable Development Workshop to discuss future plans in the Arava and ways we can promote sustainable development and lifestyle. The two hour session resulted in a list of ideas and projects for Sababa to take on as new campaigns and a draft for a joint vision of the Arava. This is the first step in a one year project. We hope that by the end to present to the Chairman of the Regional Council a proposal of a new sustainable development policy to be used as guidelines for regional growth.
Provided by Taal Goldman

Across Borders
From June 26th through July 24th, AIES, in collaboration with Dickinson College, is hosting part one of a two-year project entitled Across Borders. In 2011 the focus is on managing transboundary environmental resources in the Middle East. Seventeen young emerging young professionals from the United States are actively participating in seminars at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and in the field, on site visits in the Negev, the Jordan River Valley, and the Red Sea coast. The group will travel through Israel, Jordan and the Sinai peninsula. The goal of this two-way exchange project is to allow professionals from the Near East and the United States to explore and develop a substantive, nuanced understanding of those complex forces that impact the management of trans-boundary environmental resources through interdisciplinary studies and complementary experiential learning.
The AIES faculty coordinator is Dr. Clive Lipchin, and research intern Kristina Donnelly is the program coordinator. Dickinson staff are Bryan Bartosik-Velez, Senior Associate Director for International Services, and Prof. Ed Webb of the Political Science and International Studies departments.
Provided by Tali Adini

Jordanian Recruitment Trip

Sharon Benheim and Brenda Hausler traveled to Amman last week(June 27-29). Fifteen potential students were interviewed. Visa forms and application materials are currently being collected. In addition to our 6 continuing Jordanian students, we have accepted one new Jordanian student and are hoping to review another 5-6 candidates. Our Jordanian representative organized the intensive interview days, and many alumni came to visit and lend a hand.
Provided by Brenda Hausler

English Ulpan
The Institute received funding to do a pilot English language ulpan with Western Galilee College, in an effort to encourage Arab Israeli students to apply to the Arava Institute. The English Ulpan is going to open at the Western Galilee College on November 1, 2011. It was decided, after some feedback, that having an intensive ulpan, 5 mornings a week in the month of July was not going to be successful. People expressed interest in a longer program with evening hours. Dr. Hussein Tarabeah is our program coordinator. We are working closely with Liliana Caminer, the director of the college, and with Haya Shenar, the English Program Coordinator.
Provided by Brenda Hausler

Dickinson Summer Course

For the month of July the Arava Institute is running the Dickinson College Summer Sustainability Program. This program has 8 students who are accompanied by Dr Marcus Key from the Department of Earth Sciences and Joseph Priestley Professor of Natural Philosophy at Dickinson. The Sustainability Program is an introduction to the unique aspects of the desert environment and its natural resources and provides an understanding of the environmental challenges that are connected to human settlement in the Southern Arava. The course is divided into two main sections: Natural History of the Desert and Development Challenges in a Desert Environment. The AIES faculty coordinator is Dr Uri Gordon and the program coordinator is Josh Neirman.
Provided by Cathie Granit

Center for Transboundary Water Management
As part of the GLOWA research project, a training workshop was held at the Institute for Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian water professionals. The workshop, held from June 19th through the 24th, was focused on building proficiency in the use of a model-building software called WEAP, Water Evaluation And Planning. Over twenty participants from all three countries spent five intensive days with an instructor from the Stockholm Environment Institute, another partner in the GLOWA project, learning about the software and building models.  The workshop was sponsored by GLOWA-Jordan River, an interdisciplinary project addressing water scarce regions under the impact of climate and global change. GLOWA-Jordan River is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Provided by Abby Lutman

Weekly Report January 2nd-14th, 2011

2011 has started off with a flurry of activity:

• On January 3^rd a group of alumni and AIES staff members met in Amman, Jordan to plan the 2011 AAPEN Conference that will take place in Jordan on February 3-5^th. Suleiman, a former student and Program Associate, and the Chair of the 2011 Conference Organizing Committee, hosted the group at restaurant in Amman for a planning session to discuss the conference schedule, speakers, workshops, and logistics. In attendance was Organizing Committee made up of Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian alumni,  as well as AIES staff; Sharón,  the Director of the Alumni Department, Lindsey, the AAPEN intern, Khaled, who does Jordanian recruitment, and Elad, the current Chair of AAPEN, and myself. The team eventually moved the meeting to Suleiman's apartment in order to continue working late into the night, taking advantage of a time in which those from different regions could share a space. The night ended successfully with a feeling of progress and with a visit to a local sweet shop that provided us with their last piece of kanafeh.
• On Tuesday, January 4th, Taal Goldman, Sababa Coordinator and I met with the Management Committee of Park Timna. The purpose of the meeting was to receive an overview by Yuval Peled, from the Israeli Parks and Nature Authority, of the process for listing Park Timna as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The leadership of Sababa and Park Timna have been discussing this issue and the management of the park in general for sometime.  It was decided to jointly review different international recognition programs and management techniques. After a complete review, a decision will be made as to which direction to go.
• The intergenerational meeting at ECO-ME Center at the Jericho Junction.  If you are on your way to the Dead Sea from Jerusalem, please take a few moments to stop at the newly established ECO-ME Center just after the turnoff to Jericho on the left side of the road.  From the road, it doesn't look like much and admitedly, once you are inside the compound it doesn't look like much more, just a collection of tents, shaded areas, compost toilets, solar panels and camp fires, but I believe that for those who look carefully, you will realize that you are seeing a revolution.  I had the opportunity to visit the ECO-ME Center, established about 4 weeks ago by 4 Arava Institute Alumni, Ilana Meallem, Rina Kedem, Jennifer Golding and Yair Wahle and one non-alum, Itamar Cohen, for the first time at the intergenerational meeting on Friday January 7th.  In addition, to the 5 founders, a number of Israeli, Palestinians and internationals have joined the center for a stay of from a few days to a few weeks. The goal of ECO-ME is to create a space in the Middle East which is easily accessible to Israelis and Palestinians for meetings, workshops and ongoing contact.  Eventually, the goal is to find a space which is also easily accessible to Jordanians.  The current location, makes it possible for both Israelis and Palestinians to reach with no need for permits.  The intergenerational meeting included about 40 people, obviously young and old representing different generations of peace and environmental activists. The purpose of the meeting was for the younger generation to learn from the experience of veteran activists in order to build a permanent center and eventually an eco-village.  Though ECO-ME is not a specific Arava Institute project, through the Alumni Programs Department, the institute is providing some support.  I personally was incredibly proud to see how our alumni have taken the lessons learned at the Arava Institute and are turning them from theory into reality.  
• This week the Arava Institute hosted a delegation from Dickinson College who came for a three day site visit from Sunday Jan 9th – Tuesday Jan 11th . The Arava Institute is partnering with Dickinson College on a 4 week program called "Across Borders", which will bring 17 environmental professionals from the United States to the Arava Institute in the summer of 2011.  The program is funded by a large grant from the US State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.   The purpose of the program will be to learn about our local environmental resources, to study the connections between environment and security, and to consider the contributions that environmental studies, economics, political science, policy studies, as well as social, cultural and religious history can offer to resolving these issues effectively and sustainably. The visitors, Steve DePaul, Dr. Andrea Lieber, Dr. Doug Edlin, Dr. Ed Webb, and Bryan Bartosik-Velez, spent their time meeting with Arava Institute staff, attending AIES night, and having lunch with the European Ambassador and his delegation.  
• In parallel to the visit of the delegation from Dickison College, Professor Yaakov Karni, the new Chair of the Arava Institute Board of Directors, and head of solar energy research at the Weizmann Institute, http://www.weizmann.ac.il/ESER/People/Karni/spent three days at the institute getting to the staff, students and our program. Yaakov has already served on the Arava Institute Board for one year and is the head of the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Steering Committee.  The timing of his visit was fortuitous because it coincided with a number of exciting events that took place this week.  
• On Sunday evening, January 9th, the Academic Department held the end of semester AIES Night, when students present their independent study projects and masters research.  This is an evening when the students get a chance to  showcase the fruits of their academic labour and demonstrate exactly what they have learned through their independent study and research projects.  Those students who are taking the independent study course choose a topic and a methodology at the beginning of each semester and then spend once a week doing research.  The students work together with advisors, who provide knowledge and guidance for the mini-research projects.  As Dr. Clive Lipchin, teacher of the course and host of the evening noted this year, 4 of the advisors were Arava Institute alumni.  The kibbutz community center played host to the event which included a combination of Powerpoint and poster presentations to a wide audience of fellow students, staff and faculty and kibbutz members. It was certainly inspiring listening to not only the phenomenal research projects the students are involved in, but also witnessing their dedication to promoting environmental and social change in places where it is sorely needed.

Roy Zaidenberg, student shows his poster with Yonatan Chesler, staff member



• On Monday, January 10th, the Arava Institute was privileged to host the Head of the Delegation to Israel from the European Union, Ambassador Andrew Standley.  Ambassador Standley was accompanied by Rober Krengel, the Head of the Scientific Section and Alexandra Meir, Policy Officer for the Scientific Section.  The visit was initiated by Uri Nusinow our Financial Director who invited the Ambassador to visit the institute last year when Uri attended the Europe Day celebrations held in Tel Aviv at the home of the Ambassador. The visit was flawlessly coordinated by Rutie Kaplan-Roth.  Ambassador Standley was very moved by the mission of the institute, the programs and the students.  The final meeting was our traditional student panel where the Ambassador had the opportunity to hear from 4 students about their experiences at the Arava Institute. The Ambassador asked questions and then summarized his visit by praising the students and the work of the institute.  I believe that we now have a new and influential friend of the institute.  As I accompanied the Ambassador and his colleagues back to their car for their 4 hour trip back to Tel Aviv, it occurred to me that the EU Ambassador to Israel had made this trip especially to see the institute.  He did not stop by on his way to Eilat.  He got in the car, drove 4 hours to Ketura and when the visit was over, got in his car and drove back to Tel Aviv!



Ambassador Standley addresses the students

• Solar for Gaza and Sderot Workshop - from January 11 to 13, 2011, over fifteen energy and environment experts from the academic, non-profit and private sectors in Israel, Palestine, the United States and Europe convened at the Arava Institute for the initial workshop of the Solar for Gaza and Sderot (S4GS) project. The workshop, "Exploring the Role of Renewable Energy in Addressing Humanitarian Concerns," was distinctive for enabling residents of the Gaza Strip and Israeli border region, among others, to meet. The workshop agenda was designed to facilitate discussion, networking and planning among potential partners for research, education programs, technical trainings and applied projects focused on addressing the humanitarian and energy crises in the Gaza Strip and contributing to a more sustainable and peaceful cross-border region.

Discussion of next steps

• The first five panel sessions and video-conference presentations explored the current conditions in the Gaza Strip and Israeli border region; potential roles for renewable energy in achieving better living conditions in Gaza; the threats of non-renewable energy and climate change to the region; the state of the Palestinian energy sector; and the value and feasibility of cross-border, civil society cooperation. The final session of the workshop, facilitated by two students of Tufts University, resulted in a list of next steps, long-term objectives and potential joint projects, including providing a clinic in Gaza with solar power, building household-scale solar desalination applications and bringing Gazan students to the Arava Institute.While the current political situation, regional instability and siege on Gaza produce formidable challenges to enacting any educational, research or applied projects, the workshop was a significant, first step toward understanding the need and feasibility of these efforts as well as the interest in pursuing them among potential partners. The S4GS workshop also included a regional tour of local renewable energy initiatives in the southern Arava and informative evening discussions on conditions in Gaza and the Israeli border region with Institute staff and students and members of Kibbutz Ketura. The workshop was organized by the Arava Institute, the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University and the Sustainable Spatial Development Group at the University of Liechtenstein, with the integral support of the Merrin Family Fund and the Israeli Ministry of Regional Cooperation.

 David Lehrer



Weekly Report August 1st -13th, 2010

• On the Sunday evening, August 1rst, Shira Kronich, fresh back from her trip to Kenya, gave a presentation to the members of Kibbutz Ketura about her experience there and about the exciting activiteis of the new Arava Center for Sustainable Development (ACSD). The institute is now in negotiation with the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs's Development Aid Department (MASHAV) on an expanded program for 2011.  Members of the kibbutz were thrilled to hear about these global developments taking place in their own back yard.

• The next evening, I presented the Arava Institute's strategic growth plan for the next 15 years  to the Kibbutz Ketura Secretariat.  The members of the Secretariat were impressed by the level of detail and strategic thought put into the plan.  The Secretariat decided that the plan should also be discussed in the General Assembly of the kibbutz.
• The following week on August 9th, Gigi Strom, Scientific Editor for the Arava Institute and I met with Nir Peres from the Israeli Ministry of Regional Cooperation.  The ministry is interested in working together with the Arava Instittue on programs that promote regional cooperation in the area.  The ministry turned to us because of our reputation and experience with Jordan and Palestine. They have proposed funding a number of programs including conferences, alumni activitiy and cross border work in high schools.  Many of these projects are in cooperation with the Dead Sea Arava Science Center as Well.  The mandate of the ministry is very similar to the mandate of the Arava Institute, therefore joint projects seems like a very logical step.
• The next day, the institute staff decided to take the afternoon off and go to the beach. The beach day was organized by Ronit Friedman, our institute secretary.  Late Tuesday afternoon, about 20 staff members piled into cars and headed down to the Dolphin Reef Beach in Eilat.  The cool water and afternoon breeze was just what the staff needed - that plus the beer, humous and chips.  Dolphin Reef is the home of a group of dolphins who are cared for by the professional staff of the beach but are free to roam the gulf.   The staff was thrilled to have the opportunity to get a close up look a the beautiful creatures. 

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  During the week, we recieved some exciting news from our partners at Dickinson College in Carlisle Pa. that we they had received the US State Department grant that we had submitted together.  Miriam Sharton had worked with staff from Dickinson on the development of a proposal to the US State Department to fund a student and professional exchange program.  The total grant is for $500,000 over two years. The proposal will enable the Institue to host a summer program and the following year to send a delegation of alumni to the US.  It also strengthens our relationship with Dickinson College and opens the doors for long-term cooperation.
• Thursday morning, Tali Adini, Eco-Paths Director, Sarit Maagan-Rosenfeld, Eco-Paths Logistics Coordinator and I drove to Mitzpeh Ramon in order to scout out the new hotel we will be using this year and look at other logistical issues.  Due to overbooking at the Ramon Inn, the Israel Ride will be using two hotels in Mitzpeh Ramon, the Ramon Inn and the new Ramon Hotel which is also an apartment block converted into a hotel.  It is brand new and though still lacking a pool, should be a great place to spend Shabbat for those Riders who will be housed there. The new hotel is about 5 minutes from the old hotel and very close to the machtesh.  Tali, Sarit and I met with the hotel managers of both hotels and we also went to visit "IBike" where the crew will be spending Shabbat. IBike is a great little hostel for bikers - very cool and cozy - with its own hot-tub.  The Israel Ride crew will be happy campers.  Finally, we had lunch at restaurant called "HaKatzeh" (The Edge) right on the outskirts of Mitzpeh Ramon.  I had the chicken, Tali and Sarit had the sweet potatoe quiche.  Very good but avoid the brocoli souffle (not well cooked).  In any case, we found Mitzpeh Ramon to be full of interesting tourist attractions and are looking forward to spending October 22nd-24th there during the Israel Ride.  Mitzpeh Ramon - who knew! 
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  On Thursday night, an evening in memory of Michelle Samson, a member of Kibbutz Ketura, who died of cancer last year, was held behind the pub. Michelle Samson was a avid star gazer and  August 12th was chosen as the evening to celebrate her life because it is the peak of the summer Perseid meteor shower.  The evening was organized by Abby Lutman a long time friend of Michelle's and staff member of the Arava Institute.  Michelle a nature lover, participated in many classes and activities of the institute before her passing.  The evening included a lecture by Ayli Eschar on astronomy and the meteor shower, the screening of the sci-fi movie classic, Galaxy Quest and the unveiling of the brand new telescope donated to the Arava Institute in Michelle's memory.  Yonatan Chesler, who is in charge of IT at the institute instructed kibbutz members and childern on how to see Saturn through the telescope.   The telescope will be kept inside the institute but will have a permanent stand in the new Research and Visitors Park.

David Lehrer  

Weekly Report February 21st to 26th

• 42 students arrived this week for the start of the spring semester 2010.Students came down to the institute by bus on Sunday afternoon. They arrived a few kilometers away from the institute at Nahal Kisui, a beautiful spot in the hills behind Kibbutz Ketura where silky sand blown from the coast of Egypt covers bare sand stone rock. The bus dropped off the students and they hiked the rest of the way to the institute getting their first view of Kibbutz Ketura from high atop the mountain that overlooks the Arava. That evening, after settling in and eating dinner in the kibbutz dinning room, the student gathered in the kibbutz community center in order to meet each other and to meet the staff.
• The next day, the students were taken on a tour of the area which included visiting the International Birding Center in Eilat, hearing from Dr. Reuven Yosef, one of Israel’s leading ornithological experts and visiting the Hai Bar Nature Reserve just south of Yotvata.
  On Tuesday, Dr. Elli Groner, introduced the students to the Academic Program and then the students spent the rest of the day registering for courses, dealing with financial issues and receiving general orientation to the kibbutz and life at the institute. Wednesday morning classes began.
• Andrea Lieber from Dickenson College, Pennsylvania, visited the institute this week. The initial contact with Dickenson College was made through David Weisberg. Andrea and David are old friends. I visited Dickenson last September and encouraged Andrea to plan to visit the institute. What is intriguing about the college is the strong emphasis on sustainability and on students spending part of their studies abroad. While the college is small with only 2,200 students, 60% spend a semester or year abroad. Andrea met with students and staff. Miriam and I discussed the possibility of a summer program with Dickenson and signing an agreement regarding transfer credit for the regular program.
• Wednesday night, Sababa, the Center for the Environment in the Arava, organized an urgent meeting about the threatened Samar Sand Dunes. The Samar Sand Dunes are the last large block of sand dunes on the Israeli side of the border housing a unique ecosystem with endemic species to the Arava. The dunes are threatened by a decision to mine 1/3 of the sand to use as building material for housing in Eilat. Sababa opposes this decision and organized a special action committee to try to stop the proposed mining.

David Lehrer