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

Director's Report May 1st to June 17th

To Director's Blog Readers'

I apologize that I took a two month break in writing the blog. The last two months have been very intense and I was not able to keep up with the blog.  Things have calmed down a bit and I have finished the two courses I was taking at BGU - Quantative Research Methods and Evolutionary Ecology, so I will try to go back to producing the blog about once every two weeks.  The following report is not everything that has happened in the past two months but some of the major highlights.

Arava Institute student receives prestigious award for hydrogen production research


The World Renewable Energy Congress 2011 (WREC 2011) is an international scientific event that occurs once every two years. Most of the topics in the WREC 2011 focused on renewable energy technology and renewable energy applications. Arava Institute Ben-Gurion University Joint Master’s student, Bara Wahbeh had the chance to present his Master’s research; “Hydrogen Production by Boron Hydrolysis” that he is performing at the Arava Institute under the guidance of Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, the Arava Institute’s Director of the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation. The research simulates Hydrogen production in a car, by reacting steam with boron particles, the products of this reaction are Hydrogen gas, steam and boric acid (no green house gases are produced). During Bara’s presentation at the conference, he also discussed the advantages of Boron over other elements and compounds, as well as the hydrolysis technology compared to other technologies that are used to produce Hydrogen. Hydrogen production on board a car can overcome some of the obstacles facing Hydrogen use in vehicles such as the need for infrastructure to supply and store Hydrogen fuel. Bara’s paper was selected by the scientific committee of the conference as the winner of the “Best Paper Award within the topic Fuel Cells”.



Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar (PELS) Trip

From May 18th to the 20th, Arava Institute students went on a three day study trip. It started off with a hike on the ridge of Machtesh Ramon. Following that the students headed to the Sderot-Gaza area where they went to Moshav Netiv HaAsara, along the Gaza-Israel border. While there, they met with members of Other Voice, an organization that was created three years ago to continue dialogue and contact between Gazans and Israelis from the Sderot area. Besides hearing from Israeli members of Other Voice, the students were also able to speak with an individual from Gaza in order to get an idea of what the conflict is like there. Later in the day the students met with 9th graders from a regional school in Sderot. The students asked them questions ranging from what they think their government should be doing to help them to asking what it was like during Operation Cast Lead. The final part of the day in Sderot consisted of going to the JNF Sderot Indoor Recreational Center which is an indoor protected playground for the children of Sderot. The students organized and environmental art project with them the children. That evening the students spent the night at the Adamama Ecological Center in Netivot.

The next day the students travelled to the West Bank to the archeological site of the ancient village of Susya in the southern Hebron mountain region, where they were given a tour from a resident of the nearby Jewish settlement of Susya. The students saw the ancient synagogue and walked through some of the underground buildings. Students also asked questions about what it is like living in a settlement and how did the settlers from Susya get along with their Palestinian neighbors. After that, the students went to the Palestinian village of Susya which is next to the Jewish settlement. They received a tour from Arava alumni, Yair Teller and Abeer Abu-Sara of the bio-digester project that Arava Alumni projects has created and spoke to the villagers. The students learned about ongoing issues with the settlers. The students met members of the Villagers Group, an organization of Israelis and others who are working to help villages like Susya. The Palestinian villagers of Susya have set up a community center, which hosts groups and has programs throughout the year. The students split up into three different groups. One group went to plant trees that were donated by Dr. Elaine Solowey, another group worked on an environmental art project and the last group played with children from the village. At one point, students witnessed a confrontation between settlers and Palestinians over where the settlers' sheep could graze. That evening the students were divided and hosted by families where they had dinner and slept.

The final day of the trip was in Jerusalem where the students met outside the Knesset with Likud Knesset Member Benny Begin, who gave an impassioned speech about what he believes, are the history and truths of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Following MK Begins talk, the students heard from Christopher Gunness, a spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The students received an in depth briefing of the situation for the refugees in Gaza and in the West Bank and were very interested in what he had to say. The PELS trip was a unique opportunity for Arava Institute students to hear a wide range of narratives from Israeli’s and Palestinians. Report submitted by Josh Neirman.



Alumni Gathering in Jerusalem

The Alumni Department spent many hours over the month working on the submission of permit requests for Palestinians to attend the International AAPEN Gathering hosted by the Israel AAPEN Committee in late May. Additionally, visa requests were made for several Jordanian alumni. The visas and permits were received in time for the alumni to attend the gathering in Jerusalem. The International AAPEN Gathering took place on May 27-28, in Jerusalem. The main goal of the event was a social gathering with the possibility of discussions for developing regional activities. Around 50 people attended the gathering which included a number of workshops, meetings and discussions. Alumna Inna Filkovski led a gender circle, Assaf Katz and Liel Maghen facilitated a communication circle about the current situation in the Middle East, and Yoel Vierba helped organize and facilitate a session to focus alumni towards creating a new project. The gathering ended with a high level of energy and a feeling of family, new connections made amongst alumni from different years of study, and a team of people formed to plan the next social gathering.



AIES Night

On Monday, June 6th the Arava Institute held this semester's AIES night when students present their research from Independent Study and Masters Research. This semester there were five poster presentations and over twenty power point presentations. The students received high praise from their instructor, Dr. Clive Lipchin and the Director of the Academic Program, Dr. Elli Groner. The event lasted close to 4 hours but the time seemed to fly by, as each presentation was well thought out and interesting. The topics ranged from the feasibility of implementing a carbon tax in Jordan to hydrogen production via metal hydrolysis. It was a pleasant evening and included great desserts provided by AIES staff. The audience consisted of students, staff, kibbutz members and residents from the region. Report submitted by Josh Neirman

David Lehrer

Director's Report March 27th to April 8th, 2011

Student Culture Night
     On Monday, March 28th, the students gathered for their first culture night of the semester. It was a nice community event as many staff, kibbutz members and their families also attended. The evening started off with an American presentation of how to make a proper peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There were then a few presentations about Jordanian and American culture through pictures. The Israelis presented an extremely funny skit about an Israeli Passover seder and after that there was a beautiful Arab wedding ceremony. There were a few music pieces preformed and a few poems read as well. To finish the night the Arab students led us in a dabke (Arabic dance) and from there we danced the night away.It was another very successful evening and it was very nice to see the community come together and celebrate everyone's culture. Report provided by Josh Neirman

Food Sustainability Workshop
     Tali Adini, Director of EcoPaths and I attended a Food Sustainability Workshop held on March 28th and 29th at the Nes Ziona guest house in the Carmel Mountains.  The guest house is located on a mountain top that overlooks areas  that were part of the carmel forest fire disaster in the fall of last year.  The fire did not reach the guest house but came very close.
     Two years ago, the Arava Institue, together with the Heschel Center held Israel's first ever sustainable food confenrece, "Food for Thought".  Ever since then, the Heschel Center and the institute have been deliberating on how to bring in additional partners and create a real coaltion of individuals and organizations who are working together to promote a more sustainable food system in Israel.  Heschel used the funding for its annual think tank workshop MAOF to fund a 2 day coalition building workshop.  About 20 people attended including  representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Local Governments Council, a variety of non-governmental organizations working on food security, nutrition, vegeterianism, sustainable food supply as well as organic farmers and interested individuals.  The program included round-table discussions, "coffee house" discussions, "speed dating" and other creative ways to put on the table issues such as the food supply chain, the role of the major supermarket chains, government impediments to small local food supply industries, food security, nutrion, processed food, organic farming, farmers markets etc.
     The two day workshop produced an agend and a variety of projects that will be followed up through ad-hoc committees and continued coalition building. One of the important results of the workshop is the development of a Sustainable Food Covenant which will help the newly formed coalition to create a common agenda and action plan. Tali and I agreed that the conference was very helpful and that the Arava Institue must find a way to continue our involvement in the initiative.


Student Water Trip
     On Monday April 4th the students departed on a three-day field trip for the Water Management course. On the first morning the group visited the sinkholes in the Dead Sea area and learned about the Dead Sea Works company that extracts minerals and resources from the increasingly destabilized Dead Sea. Dr. Clive Lipchin, an expert in water management in the Middle East, acted as tour guide and teacher, gave information about many sites along the way and provoked discussion on issues the students are learning about in class. As they drove along the Israeli side of the Dead Sea, the students also learned about what is happening to the Dead Sea and about water resources on the Jordanian side.

     After viewing several areas near the Dead Sea, the students arrived at a swimming beach for lunch, just in time for the first rainfall of the trip. The students witnessed the rare sight of large waterfalls cascading from the cliffs of Ein Gedi and as the journey continued north many more waterfalls could be seen from the road. Very fitting for a trip designed to learn about the water systems and resources in the region, the students stopped at a large waterfall next to the road and watched the roaring water fall from the towering cliffs above, flood the road and flow into the Dead Sea. Successfully bypassing the area through the rain and floods, the bus continued and made several more stops in the Dead Sea region for more lectures from Clive. The group then stopped at the Lido Junction, which sits at the northern tip of the Dead Sea. There the group discussed issues related to the history of the Dead Sea Region, in relation to transboundary ownership and management. They  discussed the ways in which the area has changed as the waters have receded and ownership has changed hands over time. They arrived at EcoME, an alumni project in the West Bank that is easily accessed by Israelis and Palestinians, learning about a successful alumni venture and were hosted overnight by Arava Institute alumni Yair Wahle, Rina Kedem, Ilana Meallem, Jennifer Golding and the rest of the EcoME team.
     Flexibility was required of both students and staff when the planned hike had to be cancelled due to flooding in the desert, and the group set off through the lightly falling rain to a natural spring north of Jericho to hear about the spring that provides water for the settlements and villages in the area. The visit included a lecture from Clive and an improptu trash cleanup at the spring. From there the students continued to Uja village for lunch and then a visit to a family home to learn about the sewage treatment systems that individual households maintain without relying on waste water infrastructure. In the afternoon the group visited a village in East Jerusalem to understand the problems of wastewater systems related to the political situation and the interests of Palestinians and Israelis working together on wastewater management. There the group also visited a current student's home and heard from a community member about the efforts to manage water in the village.
     The group had dinner in East Jerusalem at a restaurant owned by the family of alumnus Ihab Baraket and spent the night in Nes Harim in the Jerusalem mountains. They woke up early to arrive at the Palmachim Desalination plant south of Tel Aviv and were given an in-depth educational tour of the facility to learn about alternative water resources in a region that has very few (and those are rapidly depleting). After several hours at the plant the group visited the Palmachim beach, which was recently saved from development by an environmental campaign.  One of the campaign activists came to speak with the students at Ketura earlier in the semester to teach them about activism in the Environmental Leadership course. After lunch, sand-castle building, volleyball, and swimming, the students left the beach and arrived at the last stop on the field trip: the biggest waste water treatment facility in the world, the Shafdan waster water treatement plant. After an hour of education, discussion and questions the students were able to tour the entire facility by bus and see the treatment of sewage firsthand!

     Despite a rain cloud following the bus around the country, the trip was successful in educating the students on the many issues of water in the region. The discussions had during the trip are relevant to Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians and students from around the world because it's clear that no water source or treatment system can be considered without thinking of the other people who rely on the same bodies of water to provide fresh water. The trip was also an opportunity for the AIES community to travel together, visit alumni, visit  student's homes, and recognize the borders that are sometimes overlooked while learning in a classroom on campus. Report provided by Lindsey Zemler

Director's Report Feb 27th to March 11th

• Spring Semester students are continuing a volunteer project that was started by our students from last year working with Sudanese refugee children in Eilat. This week, one of the student organizers, Inna Filkovski presented the project to staff members. There is a Sudanese refugee community living in Eilat. The total number of Sudanese refugees in Eilat is unclear. There is a strong distrust of Israelis authorities so they don’t reveal numbers. Because Eilat residence view the Sudanese refugees as a threat to their jobs and because the Israeli government has not stepped in to provide funding for welfare services the Eilat municipality has decided to ignore the refugees and provide social services for the adults nor for the children. Some children study in school and some don not . But there is no afternoon program for the children. The policy of the municipality does not allow the social workers to attend activities with/for Sudanese.



     Despite the animosity in Eilat towards the refugees, the students of the Arava Institute have stepped into the void and are trying to provide afterschool environmental activities. The students go to the refugee neighborhood once a week. The program was started by Assaf Katz in fall 2009 and ran all year. This year's student's decided to continue the program. The weekly is on Sundays from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. The children are of various ages (from 5-15). About 15 children attend on regular basis. There are approximately 25 children in the building. The activity takes place in an abandoned building in the Sudanese refugee neighborhood because the community centers in Eilat will not allow the activities to take place on their premises.
     The program includes strengthening English skills with an emphasis on environment, recycling, reducing using environmental games like bowling with recycled bottles, identifying animals, and arts and crafts using local material. The kibbutzim in the area have donated material and toys for the project. About 15 Arava students were involved last semester, even more are participating this semester. The fact that many Palestinian and Jordanian students are involved is helpful because the Sudanese speak Arabic.
• Visits: A group from the Holy Land Trust, 15 college students visitied the Arava Institute this week. Cecil Rimer spoke in morning. Dr. Tariq Abu Hamed did walk through the park. Intro to PELS with Michelle Shachar , Sharón Benheim held a student panel (which also served the Ramah group staying in Keren Kolot).
     A group of students from LeSalle University, a university with campuses around the world vsiited the institute and met with students. This group was from Philladelphia and from Brazil. They are on a program looking at sustainability through community.
     Karen Shapiro, member of the Friends of the Arava Institute, her husband Doug Frazer, Israel Ride alum, Doug's parents, Karen's mother and Nathan Frazer visited the institute. David Frazer, Doug's father facilitated the May Mann Estate donation which funded the May Mann Campus and the May Mann laboratory. The family was taken on a tour of the institute, the new Research and Visitors Park, the new Arava Power Company solar panel field and the dorms. The family also had the opportunity to hear from a student panel.
• The new group of students, although already busy with their classes in their second week at AIES, have initiated a number of extracurricular activities. Last night was the first Women's Circle of the semester, held around a campfire on the night of International Women's Day and attended by the female students and staff members. Continuing students from last semester facilitated a space for personal communication and invited each one present to speak about a woman who influences and inspires them. Many women shared what qualities they admire in the women who influence them, and later a staff member who attended told them that in order to recognize such admirable qualities in others, the female students certainly embody the qualities themselves. In addition they were invited to share the difficulties in a new place and to see the circle as a safe space of support and listening. The evening ended with rolling out dough and making pita over the fire, and the women were encouraged to continuing asking themselves the questions which had come up and to seek each other out for individual communication and reflection, as well as invited to facilitate future Women's Circles. Cathie Granit, Program Director, who attended the event said: "The women’s circle was fantastic. It made me feel excited about the students we have this semester, at least the women. We have a dynamic, energized, active bunch this semester. They seem to have good follow through." Reported by Lindsey Zemler

David Lehrer

Director's Report - Month of February 2011

I apologize to all blog fans but the month of February overwhelmed me with travel and conferences such that I was not able to keep the blog updated. I will try to fill in the month of February and then hopefully get back to a routine of updating at least every two weeks.

• Alumni Conference in Aqaba - Feb 3rd-5th - Over 100 alumni and affiliates of the Arava Institute gathered in Aqaba, Jordan for the annual Arava Alumni Peace and Environmental Network (AAPEN) Conference. In our largest alumni conference to date, an amazing groupof individuals gathered to participate in workshops, see inspiring lectures, communication and planning sessions, alumni-led activities as well as social opportunities, networking, and cultural activities. It was a weekend full of energy and activity which included a lecture by a representative of Engineers Without Borders Palestine who spoke about his experiences working in the environmental field in the Palestinian Authority, small-group “open space” discussions, a “Decision Making and Time Management” workshop with a Jordanian management consultant, an alumni-only communication session which provided the opportunity for more personal connections based on shared experiences between alumni from various years, presentations and discussions on the structure of the alumni network, elections for a new alumni committee, and a keynote speech by T.H. Culhane on his solar energy projects. A number of alumni presented their current work to all conference participants to offer an opportunity for cooperation and collaboration and provide updates from their field and experiences. Amongst those who shared were Gonen Sagy, the coordinator of the Youth and Environmental Educational Peace Initiative (YEEPI) project run by AIES and funded by USAID, Yair Teller on the bio-digester project in Susya, updates on various environmental and peace building projects happening the Jerusalem area, our Jordanian alumni who are working on a project called Green Echo in Jordan, and a team of alumni who initiated the EcoME Centre.In addition to a full schedule the alumni and other conference participants held a Kabbalat Shabbat service, an open prayer session with music, various musical jams, and a dance party as well as many chances to socialize, network, meet new and old friends, and revitalize the feeling of strength and connection between alumni. At the end of the weekend each region (Jordan, Israel and Palestine) elected four representatives to sit on the new AAPEN committee with a chair for each region coming together to form the international committee. The conference ended with a feeling of progress, inspiration, and excitement for all the upcoming events, projects and potential collaborations and partnerships. (Report provided by Lindsey Zemler)

Our alumni having a serious discussion about sustainability in the Middle East

• Trip to the US Feb - 6th -18th - Immediately after the conference, I travelled to the US in order to attend the Friends of the Arava Institue (FAI) Executive Committee meeting hosted by Board members Karen and Barry Fierst in their home in Maryland. The main purpose of the meeting was to finalize the FAI budget, work plan and to interview candidates for the position of FAI Executive Director. The meetings were very successful and the committee has chosen a new Executive Director for FAI, Daniel Schachter from Boston, Mass. In addition to the committee meeting, I also had the opportunity to meet with donors, foundation representatives, political leaders in Boston, NY, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Colorado. I also met with the JNF Board of the Mountain State Region who have raised over $800,000 towards their $ 1 M goal for the new dormitories. I had the opportunity as well to visit Eddie Sperling, our rider who was seriously injured on the 2010 Israel Ride, in the hospital where he was undergoing a procedure.
• Opening of the Spring Semester 2011 -  On Tuesday, February 22nd, a group of 38 students, 4 Palestinians, 9 Jordanians, 13 Israelis, and 12 North Americans, arrived to Kibbutz Ketura and the Arava Institute. Before classes begin, the students have a few days of orientation.  The first evening of orientation, the students and interns participated in some get to know you ice breakers and then the students were officially welcomed by the Arave Institute staff.  The next morning all of the students walked over to Dr. Elaine Soloway’s experimental orchards where she explained that she’s growing trees from Morocco and Jordan to see how they adapt to the climate of the Arava and understand their medicinal value and other traits.. The students then had their first Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar session with Michelle Shachar and Dr. Uri Gordon.  Everyone had the opportunity to learn about one another through different activities. Later in the day, the students went on a hike followed by a Middle Eastern style gathering with the staff and faculty of the institute. On Thursday the students were taken on a regional trip. They went to Kibbutz Naot Smadar where they learned about the art center, saw wood working and got to learn about the construction of the building. The students also went to their organic winery and learned about organic agriculture and cheese production on the kibbutz. The students finished the day by taking a hike to Nachal Kasui pristine landscape above Ketura with sand dunes close to 100 feet high. The students frolicked in the sand for a half hour and then had a very nice lunch on the dunes.  Friday was course registration day. Everything went smoothly for the students. In the evening some students went to Friday night Shabbat services and everyone came to a very nice meal in the kibbutz dining hall.  On Shabbat about half of the students went on a beautiful Shabbat hike in the desert. On Sunday morning classes began. (Report provided by Josh Neiman)
• International Renewable Energy Youth Conference - Feb 20th - 22nd This year, the first International Renewable Energy Youth Conference Competition was held in the Hevel Eilot Region as part of a broad focus on renewable energy and spring board for regional development Thirty two youths participated in the conference: 2 from Jordan, 12 from abroad (France, Germany, Italy, Britain, India, Romania, Latvia, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Serbia) and 16 from Israel. The competition was about creative solutions for energy storage. Participants also toured sustainable projects in the region. The participants stayed at the Keren Kolot Guest House and had the opportunity to visit the Arava Institute, the Research and Visitors Park and hear a lecture from Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, head of the Arava Institute Center for Renewable Energy.  The competition winners created  a "fly wheel renewable energy storage system.  The atmosphere of the conference was interesting and exciting and introduced the participants to life in the Arava.
• Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Conference - Feb 22nd - 24th - The fourth annual Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Conference was held in Eilat at the Herods and Dan Hotel. Over 2,000 people participated in the conference which once again brought together, entrepreneurs, scientists, policy makers and financers to discuss the promotion of renewable energy in the Middle East and the world. The conference began with the opening ceremony of the new Arava Power Company solar field, the first commercial size field to be licensed by the Israeli Electric Company. The APC field is located just south of the new Arava Institute Research and Visitors Park. Throughout the conference, both the new solar field and the Research and Visitors Park were flooded with visitors from high government officials, reporters, developers and other conference participants. On the final day, 4 bus loads of conference participants descended on the park, the field and the institute providing a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of the institute's academic and research programs.

David Lehrer

Weekly Report October 17th - November 5th, 2010

It has been an intense and stressful two weeks since my last posting. Unfortunately, a few sad events have occurred and overshadowed a great deal of the positive work being done at the institute. Most of this week's posting will be devoted to these sad events but I will also try to provide an update on other more positive stories.


• About two weeks ago, the Institute held a cultural night where recently arrived students had the opportunity to share their diverse cultural backgrounds with other students and residents of the kibbutz through food, music, songs and dance. The evening was very successful however, Sometime after the party was over during the night, two drunken residents of the kibbutz visited the campus and wrote a racist hate message against Arabs on the door of one of the student's units. When the students discovered the graffiti message on the door, that were horrified and immediately informed the staff of the Institute who informed the kibbutz officers. The Regional Security Coordinator was called in and she investigated the crime. The next morning, the kibbutz officers met with the students and assured them that they were safe, that this act was an isolated one that in no way reflects the attitude of the members or residents of the kibbutz towards the students and that those responsible would be found and dealt with appropriately. Within a few days, the Regional Security Coordinator had discovered who perpetrated this hate crime on our students. Sadly, it was a volunteer and the son of a kibbutz member. Both admitted their guilt. In the past week, the staff of the institute has been dealing with this despicable act and the impact it has had on the students. Though this has been a traumatic experience for the students it has also been instructional as it has given them an opportunity to test their commitment to peaceful conflict resolution and to try out the tools they are learning in the Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar (PELS). On Thursday morning, the students met with the volunteer who participated in the incident. It was a very moving session in which the volunteer took full responsibility for the part he played in the crime and expressed his sincere regret without making up any excuses. The students conveyed to the volunteer the impact the incident had on them, how it made them feel but also appreciation to the volunteer for his willingness to speak to them and to apologize to their face. The session went a long way to heal the wounds created by the crime and created a live example of how dialogue can resolve conflicts. The students will be meeting with the son of the kibbutz member next week.

• This year's Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride began on Wednesday, October 17th with 117 Riders. Though the ride was successful on many levels, a number of serious accidents which plagued the Ride overshadowed those successes. Two riders collided on the first day which resulted in both being sent to the hospital and left with their arms in casts. The most tragic accident however occured on the last day of the ride when Edward Sperling fell from his bike just as we were about to enter Eilat. Edward is not in an life threatening situation however his injuries are very serious. We do not know yet the full consequences of his condition and may not know for many months. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Eddie and his family. If you would like an update on Eddie's condition, the family has set up a blog to keep family and friends informed. http://edsperling.wordpress.com/

These two sad events made the past two weeks very difficult for the staff of the institute and of Hazon, students, riders, kibbutz members and family of those involved in the accidents. On a personal level this has been one of the most difficult times of my life but what has given me strength is the warm human spirit I see in Eddie's family, the unwavering belief of the students in dialogue as a means to resolve conflicts and the love and support staff and colleagues. I want to thank all of you for giving me the strength to deal with these tragic circumstances while continuing the valuable work of the Arava Institute.

Other events:

• This week saw the close of the MASHAV course on ‘Gender, Water and Development’, which took place between the 25th of October and 7th of November. 26 participants from 11 countries were hosted by Kibbutz Ketura and as a token of their appreciation held a Culture Night for everyone on the kibbutz last Wednesday, which included many fun and educational displays, ranging from a cooking course in Myanmar cuisine to an Africa wedding.

• In response to pressure from Sababa and other Israeli environmental organizations to save the Samar Sand Dunes, an official hearing in the Supreme Court has been set for January 12th, 2011. In the mean time events to raise awareness continue, with guided tours being offered daily during the Chanukah vacation and an open photography event taking place on the 4th of January run by a group of photographers from New York.

• Gigi Strom recently returned from her trip to Germany and the UK where she had many worthwhile experiences, in particular at the GLOWA (Global Change and the Hydrological Cycle) workshop which looked at projections of climate change and projections of socio-economic and political realities in the Jordan River Basin from now until 2050. She also came across certain opportunities for collaboration with the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland (a research institute which focuses on issues of land use, environment, and agriculture) which, with the exception of local differences of annual rainfall and regional conflict, is largely working on the same issues as AIES.

David Lehrer

Weekly Report September 24th to October 16th

It has been quite a while since I have been able to update the blog as I have been travelling around the US for the past few weeks.  Michael Edmeston, the Administrative Intern gave me the following report on the first week of the new semester:

• Each semester the arrival of the first ‘batch’ of students at the kibbutz always signals something special for all of us at Arava Institute: a sense that a new horizon awaits to be explored, mixed with a profound appreciation that all the previous years of hard work are what make that horizon possible. This year, it was the arrival of five MASA students (North American Students who are recipients of the Jewish Agency scholarship program MASA) on Tuesday the 28th of September  that signalled the new beginning. A week later, on the 6th of October, the arrival of the other 24 students making up the student body for the fall semester ensured that (despite the stress and panic of the faculty) a breath of hope and excitement filled the Institute.
   
  With the semester officially starting on the 10th of October there was just enough time to provide the students, many of whom it is there first visit to Israel or a kibbutz, a chance to get to know one another and what life might be like for the next four months. Over the last few days numerous orientation activities took place- from the mundane such as registration to the more entertaining such as a tour of neighbouring kibbutz Lotan, kite flying at the nearby Samar sand dunes and an evening social gathering of students, interns and staff at the pool followed by that which makes up the fabric of any great academic institute- a night at the pub. Finally, to top things off and as timing would have it, the day before the first seminars everyone was treated to the unique cultural celebrations synonymous with a bar-mitzvah. Making the event that much more meaningful was the fact that not only was it a bar-mitzvah for twins, but also that the boys were the sons of Sharon Benheim who herself deserves celebration for taking on the powers that be in order for students from all walks of life to be part of the experience.
   
  Indeed, like any other academic institution, the students are the ones that make up the life energy of the Arava Institute. However, the fact that the students congregated here in the beautiful Arava desert in the south of Israel are a mixture of American, Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian Jews, Arabs and Christians gives a whole new meaning to the idea of student life. For these students the chance to learn, live and celebrate under the same roof for a whole semester while their respective communities remain at political odds offers them more than simply a means of getting ahead in life. It offers them (and the world) a means of learning to get along in life. So, as the fall 2010 semester get underway, we wish all the participating students well as they pursue their respective ambitions, all of which no doubt share the common thread of helping build a more peaceful and environmentally conscious society.

A few highlights from my trip:

• Peace Building and Environmental Stewardship Award Ceremony for Pastor Gerald Durley
  
  On October 6th, the Atlanta Friends of the Arava Institute, led by Board of Trustees member Glenda Minkin held an event to bestow the Arava Peace Building and Environmental Stewardship Award on Pastor Gerald Durley of the Providence Missionary Baptist Church of Atlanta Georgia. Pastor Durley is a well known figure in the Afro-American community in Atlanta. Durley has been a long time civil rights and human rights activist and has recently become very involved in the environmental movement http://pmbcatlanta.org/bios.html. In addition to civil rights and the environment, Pastor Durley has been very active in interfaith community activities in Atlanta. For the past 10 years, the Atlanta religious community has sponsored an interfaith trip called the World Pilgrimage Mission to the Near East and Mediterranean visiting, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey and other countries in the regions concentrating on religious sites that having great meaning to Christians, Moslems and Jews. Many of the leaders of the three religious communities in Atlanta have participated in these pilgrimages. In 2007, the World Pilgrimage Mission visited the Arava Institute and made a lasting impression on the participants in the trip including Pastor Gerald Durley.
  
  A few months ago, David Weisberg approached Pastor Durley about accepting our award and though reluctant at first (he said he had enough awards) he finally agreed after he and David found a common love for Broadway musicals and because Pastor Durley understood how much a large community event could help support the Arava Institute. Over 100 people from the various religious and ethnic communities came to the event which was held in a downtown Atlanta hotel only a few blocks from the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose presence was felt throughout the evening.
  
  The event was emceed by a local Atlanta television news anchor, Brenda Wood. The evening started with our own alumni Mousa Diabat and Eitan Amiel speaking about their experiences in peace building at the Arava Institute. Then David Weisberg played the guitar and led the Providence Missionary Baptist Church Choir in a rendition of "The World is Coming to a Start" from the Broadway musical "Purlie" (yes it will be very hard to replace David Weisberg). Other speakers included long time civil rights activist, Reverend C.T. Vivian and the Fulton Council Commissioner, John Eaves. The award itself was given to Pastor Durley by three of his friends who are also members of the clergy, the Reverend Dr. George Wirth, Rabbi Ron Segal and Immam Plemon El-Amin. The evening took on a comical air as the four old friends traded barbs and turned the evening from an awards event into a "roast". As Pastor Durley was speaking last, he warned Plemon, "don't bring a knife to a gun fight". I was laughing so hard that tears came to my eyes and in his concluding remarks Pastor Durley reminded us all of how important it is to keep a sense of humor about us as we fight to make the world a better place. The three clergy also announced that in addition to granting the award, they have established the Durley Legacy Fellowship which will annually enable two Arava Institute alumni to come to Atlanta and spend time with Pastor Durley and other community leaders to learn about community organizing and activism in the birthplace of the civil rights movement.
  
  
  This event was an overwhelming success and by far one of the most professional and high profile events ever held by FAI. It raised the bar for FAI and has helped to strengthen the institute's connection with the diverse Atlanta interfaith community. Enormous congratulations and thanks go to Glenda Minkin, David Weisberg, Audrey Galex (who first made the connection to the World Pilgrimage Mission) and the other organizers of the event.

• Meeting with Pete Seeger
  
  
  
  On October 8th, my daughter Ariana and her boyfriend, Ori and I drove up from Manhattan to Beacon, New York to meet famous folk singer and activist, Pete Seeger. It was an incredible honor for us to have been invited to this American icon's home along the Hudson River. Pete Seeger has been one of my heroes since childhood and after spending over two and a half hours at Mr. Seeger's home with him and his daughter Tinya, I am even more in awe of him and his conviction to make this a better world. At 91, Mr. Seeger may not be as physically active as he once was but his mind is as sharp as ever, especially when it comes to what the human race needs to do to survive. Pete Seeger says that if the human race exists 100 years from now, it will be because people who deeply disagree with each other have learned how to communicate often through music, the arts and even sports. I told Mr. Seeger and his daughter about the work of the Arava Institute bringing Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and students from around the world together at the Arava Institute to teach them that nature knows no borders. I also discussed the concerns raised about the Jewish National Fund's sponsorship of "With the Earth and With Each Other", the internet event in which Mr. Seeger has agreed to participate. I explained to Pete and his daughter Tinya that the Jewish National Fund (JNF) has been an important partner to the Arava Institute over the years enabling the institute to do the cross border environmental work and to bring Palestinian and Jordanian students to the institute. The JNF is only one of many sponsors of the event which is focused on raising awareness about peace building efforts in the Middle East such as the work of the Arava Institute.
  
  Though I originally thought we would spend about an hour with Mr. Seeger, Pete was incredibly generous with his time and seemed to enjoy, telling my daughter, Ariana, her boyfriend Ori and I about his long history as a folk singer, peace activist, civil rights activist and in recent years environmentalist. Pete's Clearwater Foundation has led the battle to clean up the Hudson River. We were enthralled to hear Mr. Seeger tell us about his early days starting out singing, his friendship with Woodie Guthrie, how he met his wife, his early days as a member of the Communist Party, the need to "switch sides" when Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler, the revival of folk music in the late 50's and early 60's and his current activities in support of the environmental movement. I hope that at the age of 91, I still have the same fire in my eyes, moral conviction and courage that I witnessed on my visit to Beacon, NY. The Arava Institue and the Friends of the Arava Institute are privileged to be able to name such a legendary artist and social activist as one of our friends.
  
  David

Weekly Report September 12th to the 24th, 2010

• On September 13th, the new Academic Team including Cathie Granit the new Program Director, Barbara Finkel the new Campus Life Director, Dane Cooper, the new Academic Coordinator, Brenda Hausler, the new Admissions Coordinator as well as the Dr. Elli Groner, the Academic Director and Michelle Shachar, Director of PELS, kicked off the opening of the Academic year with a faculty meeting. The meeting reviewed the achievements of last year as well as the expectations for the coming year, the new developments in the relationship with BGU, admissions (about 35 students expected in the fall semester) and the start of construction of new dorms.
• The next day, 35 members of staff and a few family members, went on a two day staff seminar. The following report was provided by Michael Edmeston, the new Administrative Intern who replaced Tamar Norkin:
• Staff Trip September 14th - 15th, 2010
• Early Tuesday morning the Arava staff gathered at the kibbutz bus station and began a two day tour of interesting ecological projects taking places across the country. The theme of the tour was ‘sustainable food production’. Included in the itinerary were four selected projects: Bio Bees Biological systems located at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu in; Emek Netofa a model for cooperative farming in the Bet Netofa Valley; EcoOcean Marine Research and Education operating in the Red Sea and; Hava and Adam an ecological farm near the city of Modi’in in central Israel.
• Bio-Bees Biological Systems: On arrival at Bio-Bees the group was introduced to the concept rearing beneficial insects and mites as a means for pest control in the agricultural industry. Here we were presented with what can be best described as a nature documentary that utilized the best in 1980’s horror film sound-effects to enlighten the public as to how this concepts works. As a progressive and ecologically thinking company, their objective is to provide the agricultural industry with an chemical-free alternative to protect crops against the invasion of destructive pests. After a brief tour of the kibbutz’s other environmental projects (such as the installation of owl houses in agricultural fields) we made our way to a seemingly enchanted picnic area located on the kibbutz where we enjoyed delicious home prepared bread, pastries and cakes combined with other typical Mediterranean cuisine such as hummus, pickled and fresh vegetables and dolmades.

Hugging Trees at Kibbutz Sde Eliayhu

• Al Batuf Valley (Emek Bet Netufa):  After reluctantly packing up our lunch, we left Bio-Bees and headed further north towards Galilee and specifically the Bet Netofa Valley. On reaching the ascent overlooking the Valley area we were greeted by Laithi Gnaime, an Arava Institute alumnus, who explained to us his work and vision in developing the valley into model for sustainable and organic farming. The overarching aim of his project is to increase the Valley’s sustainability, independence, and economic viability. The main vehicles for this are the encouragement of traditional and organic agricultural methods, the establishment of an agricultural cooperative to educate, organize, and market the products of this agriculture, and the cultivation of the Valley as a destination for eco-tourist travel.
• Abu Gil Organic Vegan Restaurant: Having been in the bus for much of the day it was a relief to finally reach our hotel in Tel Aviv where we would be spending the night. We briefly checked-in and then headed to our dinner spot- Abu Gil organic and vegan restaurant. On offer was tasty, healthy plates of various assortments ranging from bean soup to quinoa salad to lentil balls.
• EcoOcean Marine Research and Education:  Waking early, we once again got on the bus departing for EcoOcean’s research vessel docked at the harbor just north of Tel Aviv. Here we were welcomed by Andreas Weil, the founder of EcoOcean and also a proud alumnus of the Institute. Once on board we were briefed of all the necessary safety requirements before ‘setting sail’. Leaving the harbor, we were educated on the regions marine ecology and provided a short demonstration on how to take measurements of water salinity and sea life. This was followed by a particularly interesting lecture on the marine environment of Israel and the many problems facing those such as Andreas, his team at EcoOcean and other environmental groups when it comes to conserving and protecting the marine and coastal environment.



EcoOcean's Mediterranean Sea  research vessel docked in Herzilya Port

• Hava and Adam:Arriving hungry, our last stop was the ecological farm of Hava and Adam near the city of Modi’in. Again, as a group we were fortunate and proud to be introduced to the project by another two former students from the Institute- Haim Feldman and Dafna Dagani. Touring the eight-acre farm, we were shown the component necessary in order to truly live sustainably: composting toilets, chicken hatches, vegetables gardens and fruit trees, a grey water system and a herbal workshop to name a few. Having worked up an appetite once more, it was off to get our hands dirty as we prepared to harvest what we were going to eat for lunch. This meant collecting freshly laid eggs for omlettes and eggplant, onions and herbs for a salad and as filling for mud oven baked pastries.

Preparing the meal from freshly picked vegitable garden
• There are not many work days in the month of September due to the holidays.  Other than preparing for the arrival of the new students, things were fairly quite this month. One other exciting event took place on Tuesday, the 20th of September when the Steering Committee for the Alumni Biogas Project met in Susia, a Palestinian/Bedouin village just inside of the Green Line in the West Bank. A group of Palestinians, who live like Bedouins were living near Arad before 1948 and were forced to move to the West Bank during the war. Since the Israeli take over of the West Bank in 1967, their lives have not been easy and have included additional forced relocations as well as the destruction of their tent domiciles in 2002. The Israeli Supreme Court has backed their right to stay where they are, just outside of the Jewish settlement of Susia and to continue to live in tents (they are not allowed to build permanent structures).  A lack of water, sewage, electricity, waste disposal, health care etc. makes life in the village of about  50 families (500 residents) fairly precarious.  Yair Teller, is managing an Arava Institute Alumni project to introduce a low tech biogas technology solution to use animal waste to produce methane gas for cooking and heating.  The project already has one working biodigester and is planning to build 4 more. A number of Arava alumni are working on the project which has included short stays in the village, environmental education programs and technical aid with the biodigester technology. The plan is to expand the areas of aid to include, other technological solutions such as rain water harvesting, gray water reuse, solar panels, agricultural help etc.  The additional help to the village will probably be provided through the new Arava Center for Sustainable Development.  The Steering Committee met with representatives of the village council to create a dialogue on how best the institute and its partners, Ben-Gurion University as well as other non-profits working in the village can best support sustainable development in the village.

 

David Lehrer and Ilana Meallem (Um Biogas) with the first flames on a biogas burner

David Lehrer

Weekly Report June 20th - July 2nd, 2010

It has been a very busy two weeks:

• On June 21st and 22nd, I attended the 38th annual conference of the Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences.   A number of Arava Institute faculty attended the conference including Elli Groner, the Arava Institue Academic Director, Shmuel Brenner, Nir Becker, Donny Ornstein and of course Alon Tal.  In addition to faculty a large number of Arava Institute alumni also attended the confernce which brings together Israel's leading academic and professional ecologists and environmentalists to discuss current research in the field.  Shmuel Brenner and Alon Tal appeared on the main panel discussing nuclear energy in Israel.  I gave a presentation of my research on the economic impact of invasive species. 
• Immediately after I gave my presentation, I left the confernce in order to catch my flight to Sri Lanka where I had been invited to attend a workshop sponsored by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) to discuss the report that IWMI is preparing for UNEP on the role of ecosystems in providing clean water and other ecoservices for agriculture.  The institue was asked to participate in the writing of the report which is a collaborative work by research institutes around the globe.  It was very exciting for me to visit Sri Lanka as it was my first venture to the Far East.  The people I met both from Sri Lanka and from the research institutes were great.  The meetings were held in Colombo which is the capital of Sri Lanka and the home of the IWMI.  I had one day for site seeing but as it was a Budhist holiday, the shopping was limited.  I was able to visit a Budhist Temple for the first time in my life.  See trip report.  

• This same week, Clive Lipchin, Shira Kronich and Yair Teller took off for Kenya.  Through its new center, the Arava Center for Sustainable Development in Arid Lands (ACSDAL), the institute has partnered with MASHAV - Israel's development aid department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to run 2 week long courses on water management in Sauri, a rural area of Kenya which suffers from a lack of infrastructure; electricity, water and roads.  Clive, Shira and Yair will be running a course on water management for households and small farms using a rainwater harvesting and treatment system developed especially for this project by an Israeli company called Shamraz.  The demonstration project was first set up at the institue and then shipped to Kenya.  In addition to the course, Clive will be holding meetings with additional contacts in Kenya as well as making a trip to Tanzinia to meet with Sivan Achor-Borowitch, founder of Jewish Hearts for Africa, regarding the establishment of an eco-village.
• The week of June 20th to the 24th was also the final week of the semester at the institute.  Students completed their papers and took final exams.  They spent the week cleaning the campus and meeting with staff in order to give feedback about the semester.  As usual, the students expressed overwhelming satisfaction in their experience at the institute along with suggestions for improvement.  The final party was held on Tuesday night and Thursday afternoon after a very tearful goodbye, most students got on the bus and left.  

• On Sunday June 27th, the staff said goodbye to Amit Chertoff our Student Life Coordinator and our two Program Associates, Yousre Odeh and Lauren Rauch.  Though the academic year 2009-2010 presented its challenges, it was very successful and much credit goes to Amit, Yousre and Lauren as well as Michelle Shachar, Student Life Director and the other members of the Academic Staff.  The institute wishes Amit, Yousre and Lauren lots of luck and hopes to see them back at the institute soon.
• On Wednesday night, June 30th, Sababa held its monthly steering committee meeting.  The committee was updated on a number of initiatives such as the initiative to list Timna Valley as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, meetings with the secretariats of the kibbutzim in the area, and the Timna hotel campaign.  In addition, Avi Ramot, from the regional council water authority spoke about the planned new water reservoirs in the region.  The committee then discussed the main issue of the meeting, the Samar Sand Dunes and the contractor's request for a building a mining permit.  Taal Goldman and I updated the committee on what is happening and the committee decided to issue a letter to the region urging action to delay the issuing of the permit.
• Professor Emeritus, Frank Fisher from MIT arrived on Wednesday night in order to meet with staff and discuss opportunities for collaboration.  Professor Fisher is an economist who has worked on the issue of trans-boundary water management between Israel, Palestine and Jordan.  Professor Fisher and his colleagues at MIT have developed a computer model that serves as a decision support system for water and resource allocation in the Middle East.  Professor Fisher would like to work with the Arava Institute in updating the model (the information is 10 years old) and expanding to other countries in the region.  Professor Fisher is on the Board of the New Israel Fund and the American Friends of Peace Now.  Professor Fisher has also recently become involved in the new JNF Parsons Water Fund.

David Lehrer
 

Weekly Report May 30th - June 4th

Weeks like this are the most difficult times for students and staff at the Arava Institute. The flotilla incident off the coast of Gaza, with the deaths of numerous foreign activists and the injuries and life threatening situation to Israeli soldiers generated anger and conflict among our students. At the same time, the mixed feelings of both staff and students towards the situation also created internal conflicts inside each one of us as we listened to the news and watched the television reports.
During times like this, I see my role as Director of the Arava Institute to keep the calm, to ensure that the students continue to feel comfortable on the kibbutz and to ensure that the kibbutz feels comfortable with the students. It is of course, not easy. At these times I do not see my role as explaining Israel's position to the students, giving a history lesson or using the opportunity to teach a message. I simply look for the right words to say to the students that will lower the flame under the pot and keep the pot from boiling over.
Before the week started, the Academic Department had been planning on sending the students on a two day trip to Jerusalem as part of the Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar (PELS). The trip was scheduled for Thursday and Friday. On Monday morning when the events began to unfold on the news, the Academic Department Staff as well as other staff members, met to discuss whether or not it was right and safe to send the students to Jerusalem on the trip. The original program of the trip was to meet with politicians, journalists, human rights activists and alumni involved in an environmental project. After giving thought, the staff decided to go ahead with the trip but to make some adjustments to the program in order to avoid meetings in East Jerusalem. I also decided to join the students on the trip.
In the meanwhile, the student life staff, worked to create a safe space for the students to release their feelings in a way that would avoid hurting each other and would enable the program to continue to function. That evening, the student life staff helped the students organize an internal discussion that allowed them to exchange opinions and to get out their anger. It was a difficult discussion but the students used the many tools they had learned in PELS which enabled them to say difficult things to one another without things falling apart. Michelle Shachar, head of PELS and Student Life, and I made a strategic decision not to participate in the discussion but to give the students their space. Of course Program Associates were present, but the students ran the discussion themselves and it went on until the wee hours of the night. We understand that it was a very difficult discussion and that some students left still angry and conflicted.
Despite the difficulty, it seems that this session was enough to enable students to continue in the day to day campus life, going to class together, eating in the dinning room and preparing for the upcoming field trip to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Tuesday night, the night after the flotilla incident, I sat in front of the television, falling deeper and deeper into depression as I watched the Israeli and international coverage of the tragic events off the coast of Gaza. Suddenly I was reminded of a birthday party for Shira Kronich, one of our staff members, being held in the Keren Kolot lobby. My wife, Barbara and I were both happy to escape the televsion and walked over to the Keren Kolot guest houses.
We walked into the Keren Kolot lobby/coffee house as if we were entering a dream. About 30 students had organized a surprise party for Shira with cake, cookies, juice and so on. The students, Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and North Americans, were all sitting together around one long table, smiling, laughing, telling jokes. As soon as Shira walked in, they burst into singing Happy Birthday in three languages of course. They acted like a group of students anywhere's else in the world, happy to take a break from studies and just enjoy being together.
On Thursday afternoon, the studetns left for a day and a half field trip to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, they met with Tania Hary, Director of International Relations of Gisha, an Israeli NGO whose goal is to protect the freedom of movement of Palestinians through the Israeli legal system www.gisha.org. Gisha was the organiztion which helped the Arava Institute win its case to allow Palestinian students to study at the Arava Institute. The students met Tania in the outdoor park of old Jaffa. It was a beautiful night as Tania managed to overcome the surrounding noise to give the students a very vivid description of life in Gaza and some of the challenges faced by Gazan and West Bank Palestinans to travel. Obviously, many of our own students had no problem relating to these issues on a personal level. After the talk the students ate together in a great Middle Eastern restaurant - Abulafiah (I highly recommend it).
That eveing, the students went to spend the night at the Hava V'Adam Eco-Farm outside of Modiin. Two of our Arava alumni, Hayim Feldman and Dafna Dgani live and work on the farm.
The next morning, the students got a tour of the farm and some participated in one of the classes. After breakfast, the students packed up and we headed to Jerusalem for a few more meetings and lunch. Michelle, with the help of Miriam Sharton, the Associate Director of the Institute had organized a room in the Olive and Fish restaurant on Jabotinsky Street in Jerusalem (another restaurant I highly recommend). Before lunch, the students heard from two journalists, Amira Hass, who writes for the Israeli daily newspaper, Haaretz and Tom Weiss, who hosts an American radio program called "The Ambassadors Show". Amira and Tom (both Israelis) represent very different perspectives on the blockade of Gaza and so the discussion was, let's say, quite lively, at times. Students participated fully in the discussions, asking quesitons, arguing and engaging in an issue that even for the North American students, has by now, become very personal. After lunch, the field trip closed with a talk from the two Co-Director's of the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI), Gershon Baskin and Hanna Senora. These two speakers were obviously in much more agreement than the previous speakers, though Hanna as a Palestinian was able to present the general mood of the Palestinian people, while Gershon concentrated on what he believes must happen in order for the proximity talks to succeed. Surprisingly, with all that is happening in the Middle East, both Hanna and Gershon are very optimistic that the end of the occupation and peace between Israelis and Palestinians under the two-state formula are within reach.
It was nice to finish the field trip and this week in general with a hopeful message.
As this tough week comes to a close, I am filled with awe at the continued courage and resiliance of our students. It is an unfortunate part of reality in this part of the world that as soon as conflict breaks out, the first thing that happens is the end of discourse. It is percieved as not honorable for enemies to speak to enemies and so often the secondary casualties of violence in the Middle East are the very coexistence activities between Palestinians and Jews that are designed to lead us out of the cycle of violence. The small revolution that is taking place at the Arava Institute is that the first thing that our students do in a time of conflict and crises is to meet and talk. The talks are difficult but that is how trust is built, by knowing you can say harsh things and still remain friends. The first reaction of our students, to meet and talk, during a time of crises may seem obvious and yet it is apparently not so obvious to the leaders in the region.

The political events overshadowed everything else that happened this week at the institue but I do want to mention some other important activities.

• The institute held its first "Grant Writing" Course for staff and people from the region. The course was organized by Sarit Maagen Rosenfeld, our Hebrew grant writer, and was taught by David Epstein, one of Israel's leading experts in the field. Over 20 people attended the two day course. Five staff members took part  while the rest were paying participants from the local area. The course was so successful that we plan to do a second course on "Fundraising" in the fall.
• The Arava Institute Research Programs staff held a department meeting reviewing the impressive achievements of the department. Dr. Clive Lipchin, head of the department began by laying out a clear vision of the departments strengths and concentrations. Iff in the past, the institute has been opportunistic in its pursuit of research funding, today the institute has 4 very clear areas of concentration, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, transboudary water management and ecosytems. The four areas of research are represented by the four research centers. In addition, the Arava Center for Sustainable Development in Arid Lands (ACSDAL) which is a partnership between the Institute, the Science Center and the Agriculture R&D Center, though not part of the Research Programs Department, a critical mechanism for dispersing the information and knowledge developed in our research programs.
• The JNF organized a visit by a few trustees from the Reiger Foundation. The Reiger Foundation, located in Santa Barbara, California, works with the JNF to allocate scholarships to students studying sciences in Israeli universities. The trustees met with three of our students just before the students left for their field trip and after that we took the trustees on a tour of the institute.

Wishing you and the world a peaceful weekend.
David Lehrer

Weekly Report May 16th-20th, 2010

After last week's long and action packed report, I am happy to provide a much shorter and calmer summary of this week's activities:

• Students commemorate Nakbah Day "the Great Catastrophe of the Palestinian People"- One of the more difficult aspects of running a program where Palestinians and Israelis live together, is how to deal with national holidays and rememborance days. There is always a hightened level of tension around these events and every year, staff and students struggle to find the right balance of national pride and sensitivity to others. For a reminder of how the staff and students dealt with Israeli Memorial Day and Israeli Independence Day, please refer to my weekly report from April 11th to April 23rd, 2010. The following is a brief report by Yousre Odeh, one of our Program Associates and one of the staff who helped organize the Nakbah Day event this year.
• On Monday night, we met together on the campus (North American, Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian students) to commemorate the memorial day for Nakbah (Catastrophe). The commemoration was a student run activity which took place in 3 parts. We started with the screening of a documentary that shows the situation in Palestine from early 1984 untill 2007, shedding light on the human rights situation in the West Bank by interviewing civilians, politicians, Palestinian students, Israeli activist and Israeli professors. The second part of the activity was the telling of personal stories from selected students. We tried to have a diverse group of student speak. One student talked about her grandfather's experience as a refugee in the West Bank. Another spoke about his grandfather's experience as a refugee in Jerusalem. One student whose family were refugees in Jordan and another whose family is living in Haifa talked about their experiences. The last part of the activity was to divide up the group into smaller groups (family groups) where we reflected on what we heard and we tried to relate the personal stories and the movie to events in our lives. The impression about this session was difficult but positive and students stayed on the grass discussing their thoughts untill after midnight. - Yousre Odeh Student Life PA.
• The students and staff had a break this week as Shavuot, the festival of Weeks commemorating the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, started on Tuesday night. On Tuesday afternoon, the kibbutz members, children, residents and students gathered together for the ceremonial offering of the first fruits (Bikurim). The kibbutz holiday staff organized a Bikuriada, a contest between various branches of the kibbutz. The Arava Institute went up agains the Kibbutz Environmental Committee in the trash recycling contest, seeing who could recycle the most trash within the time limit. Our valiant team was led by PA Lauren Rauch, but victory was snatched from our grasp as the kibbutz team managed to take the trophy (we of course have lodged an appeal on the judges decision). In any case, this game seemed unfair as the opposing team captain was our own Yonatan Chessler, wearing his other hat as head of the Environmental Committee. We'll get you next time Red Barron!
• Finally, this week we celebrated Hannah Medaliah's 90th birthday. Hanah holds the world record as the oldest research intern at the institute. Hannah has been volunteering for years with Dr. Elaine Solowey in the Experimental Orchard. Born in Germany, Hannah made aliyah with her parents when she was a child. Hannah lived for more than 40 years on Moshav Bnei Zion near Rechovot, where she attended agricultural school. A number of years ago, Hannah moved to Kibbutz Ketura in order to be able to work with Dr. Solowey. Every morning after her coffee in the dinning room, Hannah walks down to the fields to spend the whole day, planting and taking care of trees, bushes and herbs. Clearly a recipe for a long life. The Arava Institute staff and some students threw a surprise birthday party for Hannah this morning at Keren Kolot.

Hannah Medaliah on the left, Dr. Elaine Solowey on the right.

David Lehrer

Weekly Report May 2nd - 7th, 2010

• The Academic Study Program left this week for a 4 day trip around the Dead Sea Basin as part of the Water Course taught by Dr. Clive Lipchin. The trip started on Monday morning when the students crossed into Jordan at the Arava Border and headed north towards Wadi Mujib on the Dead Sea. The Palestinian students and Yousre, our Palestinian program associate are not allowed to cross into Jordan from at the Arava Crossing. They are required to go in and out of Jordan through the Allenby Bridge crossing, therefore they left on Sunday for Jordan spending the night in Amman. The Palestinians met the rest of the staff and students at Wadi Mujb for a wonderful hike in water that at some points reached people's waist. Students finished the day in Amman. The next day, the trip travelled up the Jordan Valley meeting with water professionals and visiting the King Abdallah Canal. The day ended in Irbid close to the Syrian border. The next day, the Palestinians students once again had to take a seperate route leaving early to cross back over the Allenby Bridge in order to eventually reach the Sea of Galillee. The rest of the students and staff visited the Yarmouch River where water is divided between Israel and Jordan. Then students and staff crossed at the Beit Shean border crossing back into Israel. That day included rafting on the Jordan River and a night on the Sea of Galilee. The final day of the trip included a visit to the Sapir pumping station where water is pumped out of the Sea of Galilee and sent by way of the National Water Carrier down to the Negev. The trip concluded with a visit to the West Bank and meetings with Palestinian water professioinals.
• I did not join the students on their trip but I also travelled to Jordan on Sunday and Monday in order to acompany Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed in meetingw with the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Irbid and the National Energy Research Center (NERC) in Amman. At JUST we met with the Vice-President of the University and with the head of the Renewable Energy Department to discuss a joint research project on Biogas and the possibility of collaboration on a Masters Degree Program in Energy and the Environment. Our meetings in Amman with our NERC partners also concerned the Biogas project.
• The student trip left the institute empty and quite but the staff left behind still had their hands full between visits, student registration at BGU and helping Ben Morgan in his recovery from his broken leg. Ben is doing fine but is on a crutch and needs a bit of help getting around. He got a note from the Doctor saying he was excused from classes for the next month!
• On Tuesday, we were honored with a quick visit from the Treasurer of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Hagai Merom. Hagai has visited the institute in the past but was pleased to see the progress being made and to hear about the good relationship with the Toronto Jewish Federation through the Partnership 2000 program. The Chairman of the Regional Council, Udi Gat accompanied Hagai on the quick visit.
• On Thursday, I met with a group from the JNF doing an environmetal tour of Israel. Among the participants in the tour was Bobbie Landau, a supporter of the Arava Institute who was thrilled to see the institute for the first time. Dr. Elaine Solowey took the group to meet the 2,000 year old date palm, Methusala and then took the group down to her Experimental Orchards.
• That night, I was asked to come to Eilat to meet a group on a different JNF mission from Atlanta. This mission was organized and led by the Atlanta JNF Rep and past FAI Board member, Beth Gluck. I came a bit early to meet with Willian Rosenberg, a participant in the trip and a past head of the Air Quality Division of the US EPA. William and I discussed possible collaboration on a policy paper on renewable energy and his further involvement with the institute.

David Lehrer