The first time I entered Zendegi, a natural and organic clothing shop in Tel Aviv’s historic Neve Tzedek neighborhood, a particularly unique pair of boots caught my eye. I picked up the boots to take a closer look, but quickly realized that they were out of my intern-activist-blogger budget range. “But you have to understand […]
A variety of healthy, homemade, organic spreads and olives at Cafe Louise in Haifa. Israel has no shortage of organic cuisine. From LovEAT café in Tel Aviv to Mizpe Hayamim in the Galilee and Negev Nectars in the south, this country is chock-full of good organic eatin’. And here’s one more to add to the […]
Need another reason to eat organic? Or at least pesticide-free? In a study to be published this month, Israeli researchers examining the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease in the Wadi Ara communities in northern Israel found an unusually high prevalence of the disease in Baqa al-Gharbiyeh. Baqa al-Gharbiyeh, an Arab community, has an incidence of […]
The Templar palace ruins in Akko (Acre), one of the sites where a geo-archaeological study was carried out. New research finds that short-term rising and falling of sea levels may not say much about global warming patterns. Rising sea level, one of many climate change-related phenomena expected to occur in the coming years, is a […]
The current border wall between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. According to experts, a new underground wall will cause serious damage to Gaza’s Coastal Aquifer. The Coastal Aquifer, the main freshwater resource for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, has been in danger for a long time. The environmental impacts of last year’s war between […]
On a recent trip to Istanbul, Turkey I found myself in a tree-hugger’s wonderland amidst the bustling labyrinth of the Grand Bazaar. In the heart of this Middle Eastern market, Abdulla Natural Products boasts a wide variety throws, blankets, covers, and shawls, as well as a full line of hamam products, or special towels and […]
In Israel, kibbutzim (once-socialist agricultural collectives) have risen as a hotbed of environmental activity. Green Prophet has covered Kibbutz Ein Shemer, which holds environmental education seminars in their state-of-the-art greenhouse, and Kibbutz Lotan, which hosts the Center for Creative Ecology, just as a few of many examples. Although not physically based on a kibbutz, the […]
This past weekend I traveled to historic Madaba, Jordan at the first Middle East Green Bloggers Conference. Among this inspiring collection of environmental writers, professionals, and activists, I’ve just met a trio of Jordanian young innovators bringing a special variety of “thin film” technology to the Middle East. Zein Nsheiwat, Sawsan Issa, and Osama Suliman […]
Last night, Israel’s NGO delegation to the Copenhagen climate talks kicked off a week of activism with a very special Channukah candle-lighting. Delegates gathered in City Hall Square of the city to publicly light the Channukah menorah, but with a climate-flavored twist. Instead of singing the traditional words to age-old Channukah songs, the activists changed […]
The prospects of solar energy are heating up in Palestine. Rachel reports on a new solar thermal plant at Beit Jala school. The Talitha Kumi school in Beit Jala, Palestine just became home to Palestine’s first solar thermal plant for warm water supply and central heating, Green Prophet learns. The 200 square-meter plant, which went […]
Israel’s been dragging its feet over the proposed drought tax. It’s been a pretty tumultuous month for water politics in Israel. After more than five years of abnormally low rainfall, as well as decades of unsustainable water consumption (at least according to Prof. Hillel Shuval) Israel faces an increasingly dire water crisis. Back in July, […]
A report published Sunday by the Israeli human rights group B’tselem, titled, “Foul Play: Neglect of Wastweater Treatment in the West Bank” found untreated wastewater to be a major source of pollution in the West Bank. 91 million cubic meters (mcm) of wastewater is produced each year in Israeli settlements, parts of Jerusalem, and Palestinian […]
The global contest for the Seven New Wonders of the World is not the only reason the Dead Sea is making news this week. Last Saturday, Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom announced that the World Bank agreed to finance a $1.25 billion feasibility study on the Red-Dead Canal plan. The plan, a joint venture supported […]
As we saw in recent posts on vegawarianism and collective vegetarianism, meatless lifestyles now come in all different shapes and sizes. To add to these vegetarian possibilites, Jana and Ilan Gur, owners of the Al Hashulchan (“On the Table”) food magazine, recently introduced the Sheni Tzimchoni (Vegetarian Monday) initiative. Dozens of Israel’s best restaurants have […]
In yet another move to reduce solid waste and increase innovative recycling, Israel has joined Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe project. The Reuse-A-Shoe project was started in the United States in 1990 as a way to recycle old sports shoes. Instead of allowing these worn-out items to be tossed into landfills, Nike collects the shoes and salvages rubber […]
Noah Dan has not forgotten the tastes of his childhood. He remembers eating brara, the fruits and vegetables bursting with incredible flavor but too “ugly” to package for sale in the cities, on Kibbutz Givat Brenner, where he was born and raised. He also remembers eating creamy, homemade gelato in Trieste, Italy where he spent […]
As we saw in the recent Gaza and Lebanon wars, violent conflict can be a major obstacle to environmental protection in the Middle East. Recently, a letter signed by Issac Ben David, deputy director of Israel’s Ministry for Environmental Protection, and addressed to Major-General Gadi Shamni, commander-in-chief of Israel’s central command, contained even more evidence […]
Earlier this year, we saw members of the Lebanese group IndyACT trek out into the snowy wilderness to protect Lebanon’s snow from catastrophic climate change. This week IndyACT members, along with their friends in the Association for Forest Development and Conservation (AFDC) were back in action, putting the heat (so to speak) on decision-makers to […]
The World Bank published a report yesterday recommending an immediate change in the water regime between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Coming at a particularly sensitive time, considering the region’s ever-worsening water crisis, the report, entitled Assessment of Restrictions on Palestinian Water Sector Development, concluded that “the joint governance rules and water allocations established under […]
As we’ve mentioned often here at Green Prophet, nature knows no boundaries. The environment, therefore, can provide a powerful incentive for collaboration amidst conflict. Last week, in yet another example of cross-border environmental cooperation, the Council for a Beautiful Israel brought 25 Palestinian teachers and educators to their educational center in Tel Aviv for special […]
With the regional water crisis weighing so heavily on everyone’s minds, it’s no wonder that the Palestine Academy for Science and Technology and the Palestinian Water Authoirty have teamed up to host the 2nd International Conference on Water: Values and Rights. The conference, to be held in Ramallah from April 13-15, will bring together academics, […]
As the global community celebrated World Water Day on Sunday, many eyes were on the Middle East. The region’s ongoing water crisis is a cause for serious economic, political, and – most importantly – humanitarian concern. So it’s great to hear that, as one of many possible solutions to the ongoing scarcity, Canada’s International Development […]
Israel’s Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). As compensation for polluting the Yarmouk River, Israel will pump freshwater from the lake into Jordan As if the regional water scarcity wasn’t bad enough already, Israel will soon begin compensating Jordan with freshwater after oil waste and sewage contaminated the shared Yarmouk River water supply. After detecting pollution […]
The Green Building in Manchester’s Macintosh Village. An Israeli version, coming soon? Last month, the Tel Aviv municipality implemented some creative solutions to help solve Israel’s ongoing water crisis. It appears they are not stopping there in their efforts to green the City That Never Stops. Soon, construction will begin on Tel Aviv’s first ecological […]
Disputes over natural resources are not a new part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Water, for instance, is a famous bone of contention between the two parties. Recently, however, a newer twist developed in this ongoing battle between nations. On Monday, Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights, an Israeli rights group, petitioned the High Court […]