We’ve seen naked people bare all for the Dead Sea, and a pledge by the Israel Chemicals Corp to pay billions in damage to save the hotels there. But this is not enough: The Dead Sea is dying and governments aren’t doing anything to protect it for future generations. In response, today November 21, Friends of the Earth Middle East are staging a funeral procession for the Dead Sea at 9:30 this morning opposite the Israeli Parliament building in Jerusalem. If you are nearby, join the funeral.
Friends of the Earth says this funeral is in response to the rejection by the Ministerial Committee of the proposed bill to protect and rehabilitate the Dead Sea, put forth by MK Dov Hanin, who will also be present at the event.
The proposed bill symbolizes the last hope to save the Dead Sea, and without
the necessary governmental support to pass the bill, it is a death blow to
the Dead Sea.
Activists from the activist group will participate in the funeral procession, wearing black, and carrying a stretcher with the corpse of the Sea.
I was in a mock funeral once in high-school. Selected in advance, after the morning announcements the U2 song Running to Stand Still came on. I stood up like a zombie, pretending to be dead, and went and joined a procession of other kids who’d all been killed by car accidents. Zombies, funerals and naked installations work, even if they are a little sensationalist.
Update later that day: a photo of the funeral procession