Billionaire entrepreneur Yitzhak Tshuva, a man whose parents couldn’t afford to buy him a watch for his Bar Mitzvah, is now planning to undertake an even greater project on himself.
The self-made Real Estate and business wheeler dealer is now planning to become fully involved in the construction of the proposed “Red-Dead” canal, that is hoped will not only save the Dead Sea from drying up, for lack of water, but result in fresh water from desalination and the generation of electricity as well.
The monumental project has been under consideration for some time, and had reached a state that the Kingdom of Jordan has almost decided to undertake the project on its own – until Tshuva decided to become involved.
In a report by Israel’s Globes financial newspaper, Tshuva gave a speech at the opening of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in which he said that his project of developing some off shore gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean will make Israel completely energy independent for some time and may even resulting Israel becoming an energy exporter.
He added that with this in mind, “I have dreams of Israeli energy being a ‘blue-white product’ and also have dreams of electricity generation and water desalination.”
While his speech was meant to give optimistic encouragement to his country being able to pull itself out of the current world economic crises, he also spent time talking about environmental issues such as water resources and saving the Dead Sea, which a previous Green Prophet article notes has been nominated as one of the seven modern wonders of the world.
Tshuva’s own success story is as amazing as the story of Israel itself. He hails from very humble beginnings, and reached where he is today through nothing more than sheer determination, combined with an uncanny ability to size up and undertake risks which have made him one of Israel’s wealthiest citizens.
Almost without formal education ( “I hire these kind of people to work for me” he was once quoted as saying), Tshuva does not forget growing up in Netanya, where he spent his boyhood; and still refuses to wear a watch, due to his parents not being able to afford to buy him one.
Tshuva’s, Delek Energy Ltd. the one that will be involved in both the natural gas production and the canal projects, is one of the most successful companies in Israel, and also includes a big stake in gas stations, high profile real estate, and convenience stores in the USA. The company has a huge stake in Israel’s off shore natural gas reserves, reportedly larger than first estimated.
His dream of the Red-Dead canal project bringing in a million jobs is largely based on the number of “spin-off” industries and businesses which will develop upon completion of the project.
The tycoon also wants to become more involved in building more desalination plants to turn salty Mediterranean Sea water into fresh drinking water, using natural gas to fuel the plant facilities. “I have no doubt that in the not too distant future, Israel will not have a water problem, because it will be possible to desalinate water from the Mediterranean Sea at a cheaper cost than to take water out of Lake Kinneret,” he told his TLV Stock Exchange audience.
The entire idea has not been without controversy, however, as precious Green Prophet articles, like one on May 19: “Jordan to Launch Red-Dead Canal Without Israel” and followed by another on July 2: “Red-Dead Canal Announcement Stirs controversy”, indicates there appears to be a “great race” as who will be the major player in thid project, once it gets underway.
With an entrepreneur like Tshuva entering the fray, there’s no telling how this undertaking will end up. But with a guy like Yitzhak Tshuva at the helm, Israel is sure to come out a leader.
Do your homework on the Red Sea Dead Sea canal. Read:
- Jordan To Launch Red-Dead Canal Without Israel
- Dead Sea Canal Peace Project…Let it Flow
- Red-Dead Canal Announcement Stirs Controversy
- The Ongoing Debate: Is Red-Dead or Med-Dead Better for Israel?
- Drought in Jordan Calls People to Pray for Rain and the Controversial Dead-Red Peace Canal
[…] gas goldmine, off the country’s coast, gas which it is exploring with a private businessman Yitzhak Tschuva and the US company Noble Energy. Once the Israeli gas goes online, the country should be energy […]
[…] despite efforts being made to save the Dead Sea, including such measures as plans to build a seawater conduit from the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat to the world’s lowest and saltiest lake, the new danger being caused by a build up of water […]
there was an article in the economist regarding the desalination experiments in canada using a method that first takes sea water and lets it evaporate in low black pools so that the salt content is brought up to a level that electrical charges desalinate the water by passing it next to its opposite charge. the dead sea seems a great place to take advantage of the new technology
there was an article in the economist regarding the desalination experiments in canada using a method that first takes sea water and lets it evaporate in low black pools so that the salt content is brought up to a level that electrical charges desalinate the water by passing it next to its opposite charge. the dead sea seems a great place to take advantage of the new technology
Glad you looked into Yitschak Tshuva. I was wondering what became of him.
While Tshuva is to be commended for thinking about the shared regional water issues, the somewhat utopian ending – Israel is bound to be a leader – doesn’t really deal with the central problem here. Is Tshuva using an environmental crisis to push ahead an ecologically bankrupt vision for the south of the country? Or are green groups slamming his program without adequate examination of the details?
Not to mention the worrying fact that his fuel company has a major stake in pumping offshore gas resources, which also have far-reaching environmental implications.
It’s true that we should learn about and be in touch with big players like Tshuva, who stand to make fundamental changes to the regional landscape. But I think we need to take a more questioning eye before writing enthusiastically of their plans.
Near the canal – a perfect dream for young families from israel. The project is called – Neve Zohar Project. More info at http://www.neve-zohar.co.il